History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

"A memoir of Mr. Baldwin, i)re])ared liy his brother, Hon. Simeon Balilwin, formerly judge of the Sui)reme Court of Connecticut, may be found in Sprague's 'Annals of the American Pulpit.' Mr. Baldwin's brother Simeon and James Kent, after- wards Chancellor Kent, of New A'ork, and author of ' Kent's Commentaries,' were memliers of a class of young men who studied under the direction of Mr. Baldwin while pastor of this church. Chancellor Kent, in a Phi Beta Kappa oration given at Yale in l.S.'il, paid a beautiful tribute to the memory of Mr. Baldwin. Speaking of the tutors in that college, he said, ' And suffer me for a moment to liring to recol- lection from among this class of men the Rev. Eben- ezer Baldwin, of Danbury, for it is to that great, excellent nmu that the individual who has now the honor to address you stands indebted for the best part of his early classical education. Mr. Baldwin was tutor in this college for the period of four years, and he settled as a minister in the First (Jongregational Church of Danbury in the year 1771*. He was a scholar and a gentleman of the fairest and brightest hopes. He was accustomed to read daily a portion of the Hebrew Scriptures, and he was extensively acquainted with Greek and Roman literature. His style of preaching was simple, earnest, and forcible, with the most commanding and graceful dignity and manner. His zeal for learning was ardent, and his acquisitions and reimtation rapidly increasing, when he was doomed to fall prematurely in the flower of his age and while engaged iji his country's service. Though his career was jiainfully short, he had lived long enough to attract general notice and the highest respect bydiis piety, his learning, his judgment, and his patriotism. He took an enlightened and active interest in the rise and early progress of the Ameri- ! can Revolution. In the gloomy campaign of 1776 he was incessant in his efforts to cheer and animate his townsmen to join the militia which were called out : for the defense of New York. To give weight to his i eloquent exhortations he added that of his heroic example. He went voluntarily as a chaplain to one of the militia regiments, comjiosed mostly of his own parishioners. His ofHce was pacific, but he nevertlie- less arrayed himself in military armor. [ was present when he firmly but atfectionately ba<lc adieu to his devoted parishioners and affectionate jiupils. This was about the 1st of August, 1776, and what a mo- ment in the annals of this country! There never was a period more awful and portentous. It was the verv crisis of our destinv. The defense of New 220 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. York had become desperate. An enemy's army of thirty tliousand men, well disciplined and well eijuipped, was in its vicinity, ready to overwhelm it. Gen. Washington had, to oppose them, less than eighteen thousand men, and part of them were ex- tremely sickly. Nothing could have afforded better proof of patriotic zeal than Mr. Baldwin's voluntary enlistment at this critical juncture. The militia, much reduced by sickness, after two months' service were discharged. Mr. Baldwin fell a victim to the sickness that prevailed in the army, having only strength sufficient to reach home, where he died on October 1st, ' honored by the deepest sympathies of his own people, and with the public veneration and sorrow.' " WEST STREET CIIUKCII. This church originated with Mr. Horace Bull. He was impressed by reading a series of letters, pub- lished in the New York Observer, on the duty of large churches to colonize. They were written by Rev. Dr. Humphrey, of Jlassachusett^. He claimed " that tlie activity of a church would be increased by such a les- sening of its members, and that new churches would draw in strangers, and thus increase the number of church-goers." Mr. Bull bad a little property, and he gave one-third of it to start the enterprise. He had been for many years a member of the First Con- gregational Church, and contributed to its permanent fund, but was in no way distinguished e.^cept as a leader of singing. It was no part of his wish to deprecate other churches, but only to extend more widely the influence of a joyful gospel. Twenty memliers joined him in leaving the "old hive;" one came from the Methodist Church, one by letter from Poughkeepsie, and another from New York City. " At a meeting of individuals in favor of forming a new organization for religious worship, held in the basement of the First Congregational church in Dan- bury, May 20, ISol, on motion, Horace Bull was ap- pointed chairman, and a committee of two, consisting of Henry Lobdell and L. C. Hoyt, were appointed to confer with the Universiilist Society to engage their house of worship, now St. Peter's Hall, for one year, and were authorized to correspond with Mr. William C. Scoticld, of New Haven (Theological Seminary), and, if they deemed it necessary and expedient, to engage his services as pastor for the term of two months from the first day of .Tune." At a meeting held on the evening of May 23, 1851, the committee rcporteil that tliey liatl hired the I'ni- versalist church for one year, and that Mr. Scoticld would i>rcach eight Sabbaths. Permission having been obtained from the First Church, by a vote of fourteen yeas to seven nays, to attempt the experiment of forming a new church, it was resolved to go forward notwithstanding that the First Church granted it.-< per- mission only with th^ coiulition that it was not to be held responsible " either for its succc.-*s or support." After voting to hold the first religious services in the ! new place of worship, June 1, 1851, the meeting ad- journed. In 1851, .July 9th, the church was organized by a Congregational Ecclesiastical Council, meeting , in First Church. Oct. 15, 18.54, the corner-stime of a church edifice was laid. This building is now in the l)ossession of the Catholic Church, west of tlie park. May 6, 1852, the new church building was dedicated. On .June 18th of same year rules of government were adopted and a resolution passed to organize an eccle- siastical society. Mr. Scofield was ordained to the gospel ministry and installed pastor of the new church on Sept. 15, I 1852. Thus it will be seen that within about a year from the preliminary <neetiiig the infant society had ' attained to a formal and regular ecclesiastical organi- zation, built a house of worship, and obtained a set- tled pastor. April 26, 1854, the pastoral relations of Mr. Scofield with the church were dissolved by mutual consent. From this time until the spring of 1858 the church wius without a settled pastor. During the in- terim, however, the pulpit was supplied for more than two years by the Rev. E. S. Huntington, a friend of the church and a resident of Danbury. In 18.57, frimi .Inly 1st until September 17th of tli. same year. Rev. William Page su])i)licd the ]iul|iit. From November, 1857, until April 1, 1858, Rev. S. H. Howell made the suj)plies. The Rev. David Peck, of Woodbridge, received a call March 26, 1858. On June 23d, Mr. Peck was regularly installed. Mr. Peck served acceptably until Jan. 2, 1861, when h<' was dismissed at his own request. Rev. Ezra D. Kenny was invited to supply for three months. Mr. James Robertson, a licentiate of Union Theological Seminary, New York City, also was engaged to suji- ply for a time. On Dec. 20, 1861, the church voted to engage Mr. Robertson for twelve months. His ser- vices were .so acceptable that the church voted to have Mr. Robert.son ordaine<l March .SO, 1862. As the con- gregation grew and their wants increased, the neces- sity of a larger and more commodious building be- came apparent. Meiusures were taken to construct such edifice, and the result was that in May, 1865. the new West Street church was dedicated. July 1. I>*65, Mr. Robertson severed his connection with the church. The Hev. Henry Powers was immediately called, and began his duties as acting jiastor. He was inslalle<l April 15, 1868, and was dismissed at his own rc<iuest after serving about nine months. May 30, 186!», .Mr. D. A. Ea.ston, a licentiate from Andover Theological Seminary, Ma.-'sachusett.^, began to supjily the pulfiit. On June 3d he received and accepted a call as stated preacher. Mr. Easton was finally called to the pas- torate and accepted, and Dec. 29, 186I>, he wiu* or- dained to the gospel ministry, and installed p-astor of the church Oct. 10, 1870. Mr. C. A. G. Thur.-iton, a licentiate of Andover Theological Seminary, Mas.«a- chusetts, and more recently stated ])reacher at Brad- ford, N. H., began his duties as as.sociate pastor and preacher with .Mr. Easton, who.se health, being im- DANBURY. 221 paired, rendered him unable to perform the duties of the pastorate witliout assistance. Sept. 20, 1871, Mr. Ea-stoii was dismissed as pastor on account of ill health, but, ])reserving membership of tlie cluircli, lie often supplied tlie i)ulpit and greatly ai<led in clear- ing oft'a funded debt which was burdening the cluncli. The Rev. S. B. Hershey, the present pastor, was in- stalled Oct. 27, 1874. ST. J.AMES' EPISCOIWI. CHURCH. The earliest records of 8t. James' C'luirch, Danlinry, now in possession of the church go back only as far as the year 1812. Tlie second missionary sent to this State liy the venerable "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in J'oreign Parts," — a society still in vigorous existence in the English Church. — the Rev. Henry Canes, a graduate of Yale in the class of 1728, and who went to England for holy orders iu 1727 and became missionary to Fairfield late in the autumn of the same year, souglit out the churchmen scattered in the contiguous regions. In his first reijort, made to the society in 1728, he speaks of a " village northwest- ward of Fairfield about eighteen miles, containing twenty families ; the name of it is Chestnut Ridge (Redding), and where I usually preach and lecture once in three weeks." He also visited Ridgefield and Danbury as often as his duties would pernut, and stated that there were in most of these ])laces seven, ten, or fifteen families professing the doctrine of the Church of England.