Connecticut Historical Collections

the United States, and other u■(H■k^ lur uhn-h ' ■' ' -i ''■" ''■- '^'■"" ^^-""^ and esteemed bv his conntrvin-n .'IS iin alile l)i\'L. _ , humble, and devout, he siisMmrd wnh di-imv i,ll his leh.li.ins in lile, and died a firni and joyful believer in hisCiod and ."savuHir; aniiei[):itin- wiili expiessions of praise, the corning of ilie Lonl. Ezra Stiles, D. D. was a native of this to\^n. lie was the son of the Rev. Isaac Stiles, and was bdrn November 29th, 1727. He was graduated at the seminary over which he was destined to preside, in I74G, and in 1749 was cliosen tutor, in which station he remained six years. . After having preached occasionally, his im]jaired health, and some doubt respecting the truth of Christianity, induced him to pursue the study of the law. In 1753, he took the attorney's oath at New y 244 N 0 R T H H A V E N . Haven, and practiced at the bar till 1755. But having resumed preach- ing, on the 22d of October in this latter year he was ordained minister of the second Congregational church in Newport, Rhode Island. In March, 1776, tlie events of the war dispersed liis congregation, and In- duced him to remove to Dighton. He afterwards jireached for some time at Portsmouth. In 1777, he was chosen president of Yale Col- lege, as successor to Mr. Clap. He was not desirous of this honor, for he loved retirement ; but he was persuaded to accept it. He was installed July 8, 1778, and he continued in this station till his death, May 12, 1795, in the sixty eighth year of his age. Dr. Stiles was one of ihe mosi learned men, of whom this country can boast. He had a thorough kiiowk-dge of the Hcbiew, Greek, and Latin iangiiajrcs, the former of which he learned when lie was about foity years of age; he had made considerable progress in the Samaritan, C'haklee, Syriac, and Arabic ; on the Persic and Coptic he had bestowed some atienliDH ; and the l''rench he read with great facility, lie wa.s also well versed in must branches of niaihcmaiical know ledge. Next to sacred litera- ture, astronomy was his favorite science. He had read the works of divines in various languages, and very lew have had so tliorough an acquaintance with the father.s of the Christian church. He possessetl an intiinale acquainiance with the Kabbiniual writings. He was a most impressive and elocpient preacher, for he spoke with that zeal and energy which the deepest interest in the mo^l imiioilant subjects cannot fail to in- spire. His earlydiscoiirses were philosophical and moral ; but he gradually became a serious and powerful preacher of the inomenloiis truths of the guspt-l. In the room of labored disquisitions addressed rather to reason than to the conscience and heart, he employed his lime in preaching repentance and faith, the great truths respecting our disease and cure, the physician of souls and our remedy in him, the manner in winch the sinner is brought home to God in regeneration, jusiiticalion, sanctiticatiun, and eternal glory, the terrors and blessings of the world to come, the influence of the Holy Spirit and the cfiicacy of the truth in the great change of the cliaracler, preparatory for Heaven. The doctrines of the triiiiiy in unity, o( the divinilj' and atonement of Christ, with the capital principles of the great theological system of the doctrines of grace, he believed to have been the uninterrupted I'aith of eight tenths of Christendom from the ascension of Jesus Christ to the present day. This system, he observed to his Hock, 1 have received from God in the scriptures of truth, and on the review of my ministryl hope you will find, that I have preached the unsearchable riches of Clirist. He delighted in preaciiing the gospel to the poor. Among the members of liis church at Newport were seven negroes. These occasionallv uiet in his study, when he in- structed them, and fulliii- .ai their knees tugnher he'iuiidored for them and for him- self the blessing of that Ci.ul, with \\hu\ii all di.-,iiiiction excepting llr.il ul' (I'hriMian excellence is as noiliing. in the cause of civil and religious liberty, Dr. Siiles was an enthusiast. He contended, that the right of conscience and private judgment was unalienable, and that no exigencies of the Christian church could render it lawful to erect any body ol' men into a standing judicaioiy over the churches. He engaged with zeal in the cause of his country. He thought, that ilic thirtieth of January, which was observed by the Epi.scopalians in cdinnH-nioralion of the martrydom of Charles I, " ought to be celebrated as an anniversary thank.-giving, that one nation on earth had so nuich fortitude and public justice, as to make a royal tyiant bow to the sovereignty of the neu|ile." He was catholic in his sentiments, for his heart was open to receive all who loved tlie Lord Jesus in sincerity. He was conspicuous for his be- nevolence, as well as for his learning and piety. " The I'ollowing exiiarts fioin his diary furnish evidence of his Christian good- ness. ' The review of my life astonishes me with asense of my sins. May 1 be washed in the tdood of Jesus, which cleanseth from all sin. Purify and sanctify me, O blessed Spirit ! — I hope I love my Saviour for his divine excellencies, as well as for his love lo sinners ; 1 glory in his divine righteousness ; and earnestly beseech the God of all grace lo endue me wuli true and real lioliness, and to make me like himself. I have earnestly importuned the youth of this 'university to devote themselves to thai divine Jesus, who hath loved them to the death. And praised be God, I have reason to hope that the ble.Stied spirit hath wrought effectually on the hearts of sundry, who have, I think, been brought lunne to God, and experienced what liesh ami blood can- not impart to the human mind. "Wheiher 1 shall ever get to heaven, and through many tribulations enter into rest, God only knows. This I know, that I am one of the most unworthy of all the works of God.' Though in the first .stage of Iils last sickness o n A N G E . ^45 he expressed nwful apprehension of standing at the divine tribunal ; yet his hopes of heaven brightened as he approaehed llic grave, and he ilepaited hi great ealnniess and peace. " He was a man of low stature, and of a small though well proportioned furm. His voice was clear and energetic. His cuunienanee, e.'ipi;eially in conversation, was ex- pressive of benignity and mildness; but if occasion required, it became the index of majesty and auihoriiy. He publi.>hed a I'uneral uration in Latin on Governor Law, 1751; a discourse un the Christian union, preached before the Congregational minis- ters of Rhode Island, 17C0; in this work h(/ recommends harmony among ditlering Christians, and shows an intimate acqiiainianci- wiih the ecclesiasiical allairs of this country; a sermon at the installation oJ reveiend Samuel lloiikins, 177(1; a Latin oration on liis induction into his oilice of juesideiit, 177,S; the United Siaies ele- vated to glory and honor, an election .'-ermon, jMcached i\hiy S. 17^:), which exhi- bits the eloquence, and iiatrioiiMii, and jjlowing seimmenis of lii.riiy, u ah which the august occasion could not fail lo in-piie him ; a sermon :it the ordmalion of the reverend Henry Chaniiiiig, at New London, 1787; hisioiy of ilie three judges of King Charles I, Whalley, Golfe, and Dixwell, I'Jmo. 17;i;') ; in this worlc he dis'closes veiy^ fully his sentiments on civil liberiv, and predicts " a republican reiiovaiion,'' in Eng- land. He left an unfinished eccicsiaslnal hisiory of New llngLuut, and m.uelhan forty volumes of manuscripts. An iiiterrsiing account of his hie was published by his son-in-law, tlie Rev. Dr. Holmes, m 17i)>S. '* The following is copied from the nioiiuinent of Mr. Stiles, the father of President Stiles, in the grave yaid in the center of the place. This monument is erected to the memory of the Rev. Iwaac Stii.ks, A. M, who was born in Wimlsor, July 30ih, 1G'J7, received a liberal educaiioii at \'ale College; ordained to the pastoral oilice hi ihe chineh ol Norlli Haven, November Hth, 17'21,' where he served in tlie ministry 3l) yeais, and died May llih, I7t;(l, aL;ed iVA. Having n mind ennobie<l with sublime and venerable coiicc|Uion.s ol the glories of ihe Mo.sr Hmjh, and the jierfeet oider and lia|ipiiiess vl' the uiuveise; illunVinaied with Divine views of the economy ol that f)ait of it under the inediatonal iloininion of Jesus CiiKisT. Also being iniimaiely acquainted with the .^ucrcd oracles, and iiaving a natural gift oiElomtuni, he preacheii ihe go-pel with fervor and Jidelily. A friend to puie and imdeliled religion, with a charitable benevolence lo all viaa- kiad. Mors Mihi vila Lst. This town lies between AV'w ila\eii and MiHbrd, being bonndcd on the north by Derby and Woodbiidge, on ilie east by INuw Haven, on the south by Long Island sdund, and on the west by iMiUord, It is about 6 miles in length, and about iU nillus in breaclili. The face of the township is hilly, and tlie soil pioihictive. 'J'he inhabitants are generally farnters. It was incorporalud by the (jcneral Assembly holden at New Haven in May, \S-Z:l^ and was formed by the union of North Milford, a parish which belonged to jMillbrd, with West Haven, a parish from New Haven. The first town meeting was held at the meeting house in the parish of North Milford, on the second Monday in June, of which meeting Charles H. Pond, Esq. of jMiUbrd, was pre- viously appointed moderator by the Legislature. At ihls meeting Ben- jamin L. Lambert, Est}, was appointeil town clerk. The committee appointed by the two parishes to obtain the act of incorporation for a town, after having a variety of names under consid- eration, finally adopted that of Oruno-c, in commemoratlun of the lu'iie- fits received from ^ViHiam, Prince of Orange, by Connecticut, when a * Allen's Biographical Dictiouary, 215 O J{ A N G F. . colony ; particularly in the restoration of their charter privileges, after the tyranny and usur|)aii()ii ol" Sir Ednuiud Anili'oss.