USA > Vermont > Windsor County > Norwich > The Congregational heritage : 1770-1961 in Norwich, Vermont > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
The Reverend Herman J. Wells was in- terim pastor from May second until Au- gust first, 1948.
The Reverend A. Lynn Booth and his wife moved here from Danville, Vermont, to begin his pastorate on the fifth of Sep- tember, 1948. Dr. Booth resigned in 1951.
The Reverend Norman C. Weed served until the summer of 1953.
In January, 1954, the present pastor, the Reverend Loren G. House, Jr., came with his family from Danville, Vermont.
Two sons of this church have been or- dained in recent years: Herbert Loring and Charles Parker. A daughter of the church, Miss Bertha L. Cook, is Director of Chris- tian Education in a Rhode Island church.
As this history is being written, the church has voted to ratify the constitution of the United Church of Christ, a union of the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church. "The First Church of Christ in Norwich, Vermont" was one of the churches that formed the Grafton Presbytery in 1773. This was succeeded, about 1800, by the Orange Association (Congregational).14 The first use of the word "Congregational" in the church records occurs in March, 1823, as "The First Congregational Church of
17
Christ in Norwich, Vermont." The "South Religious Society in Norwich" was or- ganized by the Proprietors of the South Church on January 16, 1818. It was fur- ther "organized" on September 28, 1831, so that "Any person might become a mem-
ber by signing the constitution."
On April third, 1891, the members voted to incorporate the Congregational Church of Norwich, Vermont, and on May 27, 1891, the members of the society voted to transfer their property to the church.
1 Records of the South Religious Society, Book I, pages 1-3.
2 Ibid, page 3.
3 South Church Records, Book I, pages 10, 11.
4 South Religious Society Records, Book I, pages 8, 29.
5 General Catalogue of Dartmouth College, 1769-1925, page 122.
6 History of Norwich University, comp. and ed. by W. A. Ellis, Vol. 3-list of professors, page 585.
7 South Church Records, Book I, page 35.
8 South Religious Society Records, Book I, pages 35, 40.
9 South Church Records, Book I, pages 76-79.
10 Ibid, pages 81-89.
11 Ibid, page 89.
12 Ibid, pages 137-140.
13 South Religious Society Records, Book I, page 192.
14 A History of Dartmouth College, 1815- 1909, by John King Lord, pages 7, 8, 15.
ORGANIZATIONS
AFTER THE FORMING of the Sabbath School Union in 1827, the records of the Sunday School are few until 1865. At the annual meeting in 1888, the superintendent gave a history, listing superintendents' names, and the development of a "uniform method of Bible study." The "Home Department" was formed in 1887.
The Ladies' Charitable Society was or- ganized in 1820 for the promotion of char- itable and religious objects. At first it helped the poor of the town, and for over thirty years it worked for the Home of the Friendless in New York City.
The Ladies' Aid Society was organized on the sixteenth of October, 1879 by a few Christian women who wanted to do something for "Him." This group worked
1 Church Records, Book II, pages 132-136.
for the Home of Destitute Children in Burlington, Vermont.
The Auxiliary of the Woman's Board of Missions was formed on the thirteenth of December, 1878 for the cultivation of the missionary spirit.
The first Young Men's Christian Associ- ation was formed in 1858, lapsed in 1861, and reformed in 1867. It was not given up until the forming of the Christian En- deavour Society in 1886.
The Young People's Society of Chris- tian Endeavour was organized on the third. of November, 1886.1
The Fidelis Bible Class, organized in 1915, together with the Ladies' Aid So- ciety and the Woman's Missionary Society, were united in the Women's Fellowships in the fall of 1949.
18
A drawing of the Church when it was situated on the common, in front of the North and South Barracks of Norwich University. Norwich University was founded in 1819 and remained in the town of Norwich until 1866, except for a few years during the 1830's. The University is now situated at Northfield, Vermont. The Church was moved to its present site in 1853.
Above: The Church as it appeared in 1917 with the horse sheds. The last sheds were taken down in 1939.
Below: The "Communion Furniture" given by Thomas Emerson to the South Church in 1835.
PSALI
-
HEATING, MOVING AND REPAIRING THE CHURCH BUILDINGS
IN THE EARLY DAYS, meeting houses were not heated. In bitter cold weather, church services were held in someone's house; otherwise, people brought coals in their own "foot-warmers"-some of which may be seen in the Historical Society's collection.
On November second, 1837, the society voted $75.00 to pay for two stoves and suffi- cient pipe and other necessary appendages to be put up in the meeting house. The stoves were in the vestibule, and the stove pipe ran the length of the church, under the galleries, on wrought iron brackets, up through the ceiling into the chimney.1
A furnace was installed in 1887, and in the winter of 1901-1902, Mrs. Olive P. Newton gave money to meet the expense of a new furnace.
DUTIES OF THE JANITOR
ONE OF THE ARTICLES voted at the annual Religious Society meeting on November 5, 1822, is as follows: "Jacob Burton is to ring the bell, wind the clock, sweep the Meeting House, shut doors and windows --- one year for the sum of $28.00 cash at the year's end."
In 1837, the janitor work was let to the lowest bidder. At the annual meeting in 1853 J. B. C. Burton introduced this reso- lution :
"Resolved: that the ringing of bell for all meetings of the Church and Society meet- ings and singing schools, tolling the same for all deaths and funerals, sawing the wood, making and tending fires at all times when necessary in both houses, filling, trim- ming and lighting lamps, sweeping the vestry, and also the stairs and lobby in the meeting house as often as is necessary, clear- ing away the snow from each house in a proper manner, tending the doors, see that windows and blinds are kept shut when not necessary for them to be open, and winding
the town Clock, be sold to the lowest bid- der and if the person who bids it off shall fail to give satisfaction, the committee shall have the right to dismiss him, and give him an order on the Treasurer for his pay according to the time he has served, and agree with some other person to serve for the remainder of the year."2
In 1860, a similar resolution added the following duties: "winding also the small clock, seat strangers, putting out the lamps in the vestry after meetings and locking both houses, opening blinds when necessary, making fires, lighting lamps in vestry for choir meetings and young Ladies' prayer meetings."
In 1845, two cords of wood were bought for $3.00.
At the turn of the century, George Lary served as sexton, "for a dollar a Sunday and glad to get the dollar" and among his du- ties was that of pumping the organ.
ENLARGING THE MEETING HOUSE
A special business meeting of the so- ciety was called on July 25, 1850. General William E. Lewis presented the following memorial:
"We the undersigned members of the Ladies Sewing Circle in Norwich would represent to you that we believe several al- terations can be made in our meeting house which would add much to the convenience and comfort of all the worshipers in said house, and the beauty of the village. We would therefore request you to call a meet- ing of the Society and the proprietors of the Meeting House as soon as convenient to take into consideration the propriety of moving said house to some more desirable spot, also enlarging the same and making such other alterations and repairs as you in your wisdom shall think will contribute to
21
the best interest of this church and society. Any reasonable effort or sacrifice on our part to bring about the desired object will be cheerfully acquiesced in by your humble petitioners."
Norwich-July 13th, 1850. (Signed by 42 women)
It was voted that the memorial be placed on record and that a committee be ap- pointed to take the necessary steps toward accomplishing the suggested changes. On August fifteenth Doctor Shubael Converse reported for the committee that a piece of land suitable to set the meeting house on could be bought for $225.00, that he had circulated a subscription paper and ob- tained $60.00. The building was moved, in 1852, and on April 26, 1854, a contract was "sold" to Harvey Burton for $600.00 "to enlarge church by not exceeding twenty pews."3
One of the reasons for moving the build- ing may be found in the Norwich Uni- versity History in a reminiscence by Wil- liam H. Hubbard (N.U. 1852): "The church bell that hung so temptingly near enjoyed but little peace. A string tied to its tongue, with the other end anchored at a fourth story window, always enabled us to make the night hideous with small danger of detection : it was so easy to throw the ball out the window and jump into bed at the first sound of approaching footsteps."4
At a church meeting held in November, 1855, Colonel Alba Stimson "asked for the privilege of Members of the Society to build horse sheds on the side of the meet- ing house on the line next to Miss S. H. Richards house lot." He attended to the building of them. There were also sheds to the north of the church, which were moved back away from their first location in 1930, after the land in the present par- sonage property had been bought. The sheds to the east of the church were taken down in 1931, and the others in the sum- mer of 1939.
On March 6, 1872, the society voted to shingle the meeting house with the best quality of old growth pine shingles, to
paint it "as it now stands," to close all windows on north end of church. At this time, too, the spire was repaired.
In 1906, it was voted to repair the church and to leave the effort of raising the money to the Ladies' Aid Society.
In 1908, extensive repairs and remodel- ling of the interior of the church were car- ried out. The organ was moved from the balcony down to the front, the ends of the balconies were cut off, the rods that had been put in at some time to hold up the balconies were removed and the original pillars put back in place, the front pews were removed and a new pulpit was placed on the platform, in memory of Mrs. Cyn- thia M. Smith, a gift from her sons.
RECENT CHANGES
REPAIRS TO THE SUPPORTS of the spire were completed in 1957.
When the rebuilt organ was installed in the spring of 1959, the choir loft was en- larged and the screen in front of the organ chamber was put up to match the front wall on the other side of the platform.
A PARSONAGE FOR THE MINISTER
IN JANUARY, 1820, the South Religious Society voted $700.00 to the Reverend Rufus W. Bailey for laborers and materials to build himself a house. Nothing more is recorded about this.
On the seventeenth of October, 1831, it was voted to build a house on Elm Street for the use of the minister. Mr. Henry Olds wrote in 1917 that the parsonage was built in 1833; but not completed for a number of years. In a list of contributors, in the South Religious Society Records, the amount raised for the parsonage totalled $1,136.74. It seems probable that the builder, Harvey Burton, kept title to the property until he was paid for his work, for the town land records (Volume 8, page 364) show that the deed to the parsonage was recorded on May 19, 1840 by Harvey Burton: "one half acre of land and build- ings thereon to the South Religious Society for the use and benefit of said society."
22
During the times when the pulpit was being supplied from Hanover, the parson- age was rented and the proceeds used for church expenses.
The house and land where the present parsonage stands having been bought, the Elm Street property was sold at auction to Mr. J. D. Thompson for $3100.00 on July 20, 1921. It is now owned by Dr. Robert Gosselin.
The fire that destroyed the old house on the present parsonage site left the side porch and the front entrance to be used in the new building, constructed in 1930.
VESTRY
THE BUSINESS MEETINGS of the South Re- ligious Society were held in the school house of District Number One, or sometimes at one of the Burton houses. It was voted, on March tenth, 1837, to take into considera- tion the expediency of building a house for the purpose of holding conferences and re-
ligious meetings. In January, 1839, Harvey Burton was directed to secure money by subscription, and superintend the building of a vestry on land granted by J. B. C. Bur- ton. At first, the second floor was rented for use as a private day school, under the su- pervision of the South Religious Society. In 1857, Mr. Burton asked the Society to move the vestry; or if not moved, to paint the lower story and use it for religious meetings; to use the upper story for lec- tures, singing schools, lyceums and political meetings; and to exclude the day school.
The building was used for Y.M.C.A. meetings, for Thursday evening prayer meetings, for band rehearsals, choir re- hearsals, suppers, meetings of the various church organizations, Sunday School classes, as well as for church services in cold weather.
After the present parish house was built, during the winter of 1948-1949, the vestry was sold, and has been used as the town post office.
1 Paper by Henry Olds, 1917.
2 South Religious Society Records, Book 1, page 161.
3 Church Records, Book III, pages 189, 247.
4 History of Norwich University, Volume I, page 127.
23
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EARLY MINISTERS
PETER POWERS (1728-1800)
THE REV. PETER POWERS Was born at Dunstable-then in New Hampshire-on November 29, 1728, the son of Capt. Peter Powers and Anna Keyes Powers, and moved to Hollis with father and mother in 1731. In 1754 he graduated from Har- vard College, with degrees of A.B., A.M., and began his labors as a minister in No- vent, a parish in Norwich, Connecticut. . .. At the age of 36 years he moved to Newbury, Vermont, where he organized the First Congregational Church and was its minister for 20 years. During that time he received an honorary degree from Dart- mouth College. (A.M. 1782).
The Rev. Powers was an eminent and historical clerical figure of those times, a dedicated preacher and a great patriot in the struggle for freedom of the Colonies. In 1783, having incurred the enmity of the Tories, he left Newbury and in 1785 he received a call to minister to the inhabitants of Deer Isle, Maine. It was while he was in Newbury that he was called to gather a church in Norwich.
In a letter dated August 26, 1960, a great-great-grandson of Peter Powers re- fers to him as "one of the leading and im- portant personages of the era 1785-1800," and expresses the hope that "interested per- sons in the future might know of this per- son and some of his noble and illustrious deeds."
LYMAN POTTER1 (1746-1826)
"REV. LYMAN POTTER, a native of Salis- bury, Ct., and graduate of Yale University in 1772, was settled as pastor (in Norwich) August 31, 1775. His ordination took place in a wood, on an eminence, since occupied as a burying ground near where the first Meeting House was afterward built and where the center M.H. now stands. . Mr. Potter was minister of the whole town
26 years. He was considered a man of talent and prudence and much beloved by his people. He removed to Steubenville, Ohio, and preached in new settlements but was not settled. He lived to the advanced age of 80 .
"As the first settled minister in town he received the grant of land provided in all the New Hampshire town charters for this purpose .. . between three hundred and four hundred acres."" Part of this property is now owned by Mr. Frank Ryder.
Mr. Potter was a worker and carved out of the wilderness a home to which he brought his bride whom he married Sep- tember 1, 1776. She was Abigail Payne, daughter of Col. Elisha Payne of Lebanon, New Hampshire. They had nine children, three sons and six daughters, who are listed in the first record book of the town. He was "a practical and successful farmer and a thrifty manager of property." "He preached long expository sermons, made long prayers, and used many long metric hymns in his services. He dressed in the clerical garb of his day with loose and flowing coatskirts, powdered hair, and wore a three-cornered cocked hat of the conti- nental (sic) pattern. Being a man of large size and commanding appearance, he was an object of considerable awe, especially to children and young people, who on his coming into their presence were expected to show especial attention and courtesies, which he would reward with a pleasant smile and a few kindly words. He is said to have been very punctual in visiting the schools and catechising the children."
Two of his sons graduated from Dart- mouth College, one in 1799, the other in 1802. He, himself, received the degree of A.M. from Dartmouth College in 1780, and was elected a trustee in 1800.
As chaplain, "he accompanied the regi- ment or half regiment of militia that was
24
called out to meet the invasion of Bur- goyne's army in the autumn of 1777." He preached the election sermon "on the con- vening of the Vermont legislature at Nor- wich in June, 1785, as also at Newbury on a similar occasion in the fall of 1787.
"In his pulpit efforts he does not appear to have been especially happy, his delivery being marred by a slight impediment in speech and by a harsh, shrill voice. He was, however, considered a man of strong mind, and won the respect and affection of his parishioners.
"He was brother of Reverend Isaiah Potter, settled over the church in Lebanon, N.H."4
JAMES W. WOODWARD (1781-1847)
"REV. JAMES W. WOODWARD Was the son of Professor Bezaleel Woodward of Dart- mouth College. He studied divinity and was ordained as an evangelist in September, 1802, spending about two years as a mis- sionary in the western part of New York and Pennsylvania. He was pastor of church at Norwich (1804-1821) ... afterward settled for about 3 years at Brownington, Vt. (Jan. 7, 1825-March, 1828.)5
"The benevolent disposition and schol- arly graces of Mr. Woodward made him universally respected and beloved. A man of singular purity of character and life, his name still lingers among the older in- habitants of the town-a tender and fra- grant memory."6
The first volume of church records was begun by Mr. Woodward on September 5, 1804. Some of our information about the early history of the church, and the early ministers, is found in letters he wrote to Rev. Samuel Goddard in 1838.
After his dismissal from the "First Church of Christ," he taught at the Ameri- can Literary, Scientific and Military Acad- emy, 1821-1825.7
He was received into membership in the "South Church in Norwich" in 1822, and supplied that pulpit after Mr. Bailey left. (1823-1825)8
The last of his life was spent at his daughter's home in Waterbury, Vermont.
SAMUEL GODDARD (1772-1844)
MR. GODDARD Was born in Sutton, N.H., July sixth, 1772. In his own words, he had not the benefit of an education. For several years he was in trade with a brother in Royalston, Massachusetts. Here he mar- ried his first wife, Abigail Goddard of Athol, and here his older children were born. The business failed, and he turned toward preparing for the ministry, study- ing with Dr. Seth Payson of Rindge, N.H.
In 1809, he removed to Concord, Ver- mont, where a small church had been gathered through the efforts of Deacon David Hibbard, who had moved there from Norwich in 1799. In addition to building a flourishing church in Concord, he per- formed missionary labours in Vermont, or- ganizing, among others, a church at Bar- net in 1816, and churches at Glover and Barton in 1818. He is said to have estab- lished the first Sabbath School in Vermont in 1811, or 1812.
The Reverend Samuel Boardman wrote of him as follows:
"While he made no pretensions to schol- arship he had, above all, the Lord's work at heart. He preached generally without notes, and though wanting perhaps in the logical method secured by thorough train- ing, he had an aim before him in every sermon, the conversion and sanctification of souls. The earnest manner and godly de- votion of the man commanded universal reverence. People were glad to see him in all the neighboring pulpits. He was a fa- vorite at Hanover, where the students never criticised him. They saw in him something higher than the rules of rhetoric or mere human culture, something that silenced and overawed criticism. Speaking in this simple, artless manner he would neverthe- less, often rise to a high degree of natural eloquence."
Mrs. Abigail Goddard died in 1823, Mrs. Prudence Hayward Goddard in 1840. The third wife, Eunice Hutchinson God- dard, survived her husband, dying in 1880 at the age of 88.
In 1839, while visiting his daughter
25
Elizabeth in Freedom, Ohio, Mr. God- dard was invited to preach. The people of that church asked the people of the "North Church" in Norwich to release him; but were refused. He was in Freedom for four
or five months during the winter of 1839- 1840, returning to Norwich from his last visit to Ohio in May, 1840.9 He died on the fourteenth of November, 1844 at the age of 72, of an "affection of the liver."10
1 Dartmouth College records (Catalogue, 1769-1925) "b. 1 March ,1748, Watertown, Conn. d. 1827, Mingo Bottom, O." Page 19.
2 Notes on Norwich, collected by Rev. Samuel Goddard, 1838.
3 A History of Norwich, Vermont by M. E. Goddard and Henry V. Partridge, 1905, page 236.
4 Ibid, pages 236-238.
5 Notes on Norwich, collected by the Rev. Samuel Goddard, 1838.
6 A History of Norwich, Vermont by M. E. Goddard & H. V. Partridge. 1905, page 77.
History of Norwich University, vol. 3- list of professors, etc. comp. and ed. by W. A. Ellis.
8 South Religious Society Records.
9 A History of Norwich, Vermont by M. E. Goddard and Henry V. Partridge, 1905. Pages 205-209.
10 Church Records, Book II, deaths in 1844.
NORWICH MINISTERS I HAVE KNOWN
MY ALL-TOO-OBVIOUS PROBLEM is not what to say; but what to leave out. I think my memories of Norwich ministers would fill a book. My first Norwich minister was the Rev. N. R. Nichols. He was nearing the end of a twenty-four year pastorate when, after an absence of a dozen years, my father and mother brought their two young boys back to mother's old home to live. My outstanding memory of him is the way he loved his people. He was held in affec- tionate respect by many outside the church. For instance, someone made a slurring re- mark about him in the store one evening and an old Roman Catholic who overheard it exploded in righteous wrath and most unrighteous language. He said: "Mr. Nichols is a good man. He came up to see us when my wife was sick and we were in trouble, and I won't stand by and hear any- body run him down."
Once, when he was called back here for a funeral, he preached on Sunday morning and I wrote down and kept his opening words: "It is a pleasure, I assure you, to speak again from this place, although there are few before me whom I saw the first
time I preached here. How they do drop out, one after another! It would be a pleasure to meet them. Perhaps we shall meet them in another, and I trust, a better world than this-excellent as this world is for the purpose for which it was intended." There, in smallest compass we have a min- ister's love for his people, and a sense of the eternal realities and values. The last time he came to Norwich he was too feeble to preach; but he sat on the platform on Sunday morning, spoke a few words of greeting, and pronounced the benediction. I was at the organ when he came in, so had no chance to speak with him; but after serv- ice I went around to shake hands and he said to me: "Do you know what I said to myself as I came in here? I said-'That is Deacon Dutton's grandson at the organ.' Now, how did I know? "
Mr. Heyhoe and Mr. Moe were young men who preached here while attending Dartmouth. It was while Mr. Heyhoe was here that the church was remodeled and redecorated. He went from here to Doane College in Crete, Nebraska and spent the rest of his working years there. The chair that he held at Doane College was later held by Herbert Loring.
Mr. Moe went from high school to
26
Bangor Theological Seminary and then preached, first at Pomfret and then at Norwich while he went through Dartmouth and graduated second in his class. It was a strenuous way to get into the ministry, but a fairly common one in those days. He and others set a good example to many who are tempted to think and to say what won- ders they would do if they had a better chance.
Two Dartmouth professors deserve spe- cial mention. Professor Charles Adams, one of the college's "grand old men," was a Congregational minister and the son and the father of Congregational ministers. For years, he was one of our mainstays when we needed a "supply for the pulpit." His preaching was at once simple and profound, and many of us felt that we learned a great deal from him.
Professor Benjamin Marshall-“Ben Marshall"-the boys called him, was Dart- mouth chaplain for a time and preached here regularly for about six months while we were without a resident pastor. I think of him as possibly this church's greatest preacher. Good old Dr. Gordon of the Old South Church in Boston used to say that the prevailing Christian belief had changed more in the previous fifty years than it had in a thousand years before that. Needless to say, the change was not wrought without much searching of heart and a certain amount of acrimonious discussion. The min- ister who preceeded Professor Marshall here paid his respects to Dartmouth with the remark that it was "perfectly disgusting, there wasn't an orthodox Christian in the town of Hanover." Ben Marshall helped this church as few ever have to see the good in progress.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.