History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Thither tlicy wero suiiiiiKincil I'nr ludiv th:m five years by tile l)eatiiig of a ilniiii, ■ ami iiieaiiwliilr were making ett'orts to reliuilil tlnir uwii saiic-tuary. An applieatioii was iiuule ti> the General Assembly in 17.S2 for a grant of one thousand pounds, f'nini eonfis- eated estates, and sueh grant seems to have Ijeen made to them, as w-ell as to (ireen's Farms and Xor- walk. On tlie I'.ith (jf January, 178"). after in(inirie< as to the estimate<l eost had been made, it wai voted a:id agreed in soeiety meeting, more than twu-lhirds of tlif>se ]iresent voting in the atlirmative, to proceed to the building a new meeting-house. The honor- able eourt was petitioned at its ne.xt session to li\ the plaee and set up a stake where it should be built. It was further residved to have it made of the s:ime di- mensions as the hist, and within the same Ibundations, if the honorable eourt approve. A tax of si.\ i)eiiee on the pound was laid, and a subseription jiaper started. "The frame was raised iu June, 17.S.'), and on tin- 2(5tli of Mareh, 178(), it was so far advaneed towards completion that divine servii'e was held in it, the pas- tor preaching both morning and afternoon fnnn (Gen- esis .\xviii. 17: 'This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven.' "The appearance of the building on this day of its dedication must have been far from ]irepo.ssessing. The walls were unplastered, the gallery floors unlaid, and with no stairway. There were no casings around tlie steeple doors or gallery windows; the only seats Were rough benches, and there was no jiermauent pulpit. Yet the people acknowdedged God's good- ness in bringing them on thus far. It was not until some eleven or twelve years after the ineeting-hou-e was oc<nipied that it was fully i^ipiipped with a puljjit 'after ;\Ir. Bulltinch's plan,' and with long \)i;\\!i, having a door at each end in its centre, and others, like those in the former church, next to the wall. "In March, 17'j'.>, the tbllowing residution was passed: " ' Whrreax, Col. David Ilurr has generously oU'ereil to paint the pulpit in the meeting-house at his own exiiense, he have liberty to do the same, provided the paint be of a light stone color.' " It may be in keejiing liere to say that the generous si)irit wdiicli actuated Col. David lUirr is still alive in the soeiety, as the fence they have [Hit up bears testi- mony. Mr. Burroughs, the efficient and persevering pastor, endeavors to i)reserve it with various original and commendable efforts, which, united with the co- operation of the church, must certainly be successful. "To return to the old meeting-house in which so many were wont to gather on every Lord's day. Plight of the long pews iu front and eight in the rear were at first reserved in common, but sulisequently some of tliese were ordered to be leased. A bell was * All iniprovemcnt fin tlii' oM Bvatcm nf ciilliiis tlif iicnplc to rhunh by sIrikiiiK two lioiinla lofj.'ther, wliioli «;w iloiic .m cc-itiiiu hills, from wliich circumstanco Clnpboiird Hill derives its iiiiiiie. procured and rung every day during the .-uiuiner at twelve o'click noon, and in the winter at nine o'clock at night. " Jlr. Eliot pursue! the even te:ior of his way, and among the earliest of the many ehildre;i hi' baptized was William Henry ISibliin;, who afterwards married his grand-daughter and died iu .Fiily last. Daring his ministry four deacons were at dillerent times ap- pointed and srilenmly lu'daine 1 with prayer and tlic laying on of hands: 1 livid .ludsin, .Ian. 7, 17.^7; Gold ISelle 'k .Silliman, at a date not ascertained; Daniel Osborne, Sept. o, 17!ll); and Jlose^ Jennings, 1804. "Jlr. Eliot died o:i the ::;i;ili of September, ISd.'i, in the si.xty-seeond year of his age. He lel'i a widow and six children. One of his sons graduated at "^'ale t'ollege in 171''.t; was ordained pastor of the church at New Mil ford in ISOS, and died in l.S2!l. "One of his daughters became tlie wife of Rev. Dr. Ilewil ; another of Deacon Bibliin^; a third of Dr. Win. B. Nadi, ol' liridgepirt ; and a fourth of Burr. His children's children are with us unto this day. "I'r. Jame-; D.uia thin wrote of him; 'In ^Ir. Eliot the bereaved tlock have lost a judicious, afl'ec- tionate, and faithful pastm', to whom God had given I tile spirit of fortitude, love, and a sound mind, — who attended cintinually on his ministry unenlangled with the ;liiugs of this life. The steady affection and esteem, the deserved eUimation in which he was ever held by liis brethren in the ministry, and liis accept- ance in the churchei, are honorable teitimonie; t;>liis worth, candor, and u:i iffe-ted piety, wdiich, with the wisdom that dwells with iiriidence, were distinguish- ing jiarts of his character. His aci|ualntaiice with gener.il science, his urbanity and friendly and social affections, conciliated the eUccm of all ranks.' "After Mr. Eliot's dece:ise it was agreed that liis salary be continued to the widow s:) long as the min- isters of this district siijiply the pmlpit, each one Sab- bath, which probably they did. "In ]\rarcli, IS'Mi, i\Ir. Porter w.n invited to ]n'e:ich on probatiini, and on t!ie 12tli of .lanuary, 1807, He- man Humphrey was called on a salary of si.K liuudred dollars. His history is well known liy the whole church in New England, and his life-labors h;i\c left a dee;i and lasting inllueiice I'or good upon the wlioh' country. He was ordained .\pril 1(1, 1X07, and dis- missed Jlay lo, 1817. After a ministry here of tc;i ye;irs he was settled as pastor of (he lirst church in Pittsfield, Mass., and subseiiuently liecame president ol' .Vniherst College, an office which he lilled for many years with distinguished success, lie was the first pastor of this church who did not die in the odice. Dr. IIumi>lirey prepared tlii' conl'cssion of faith and covenant still in use. Two deacons were chosen (luring his ]iasti>rate, both in 1810, viz., Elijah Bibbins and Koger M. Sherman. The memory of buth of ' these is fragrant, and to the latter, who adorned the 350 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. Church and State alike by his wisdom, eloquence, :iik1 i)icty, the society is indebted for the cominodious l>ars()nage which it possesses. " In the year of Mr. Hunijihrey's installation a re- monstrance wa.s made by thc.society against the removal of the court to Greenfield. Another specimen of the tnist reposed by the society in tlic generosity of indi- viduals appears in the following vote, April 4, ISl.'i: ' A'oted, that any person may at his own expense paint the outside of the meeting-house, under the direction of the society's committee.' "On the 1st day of May, 1817, Consociation was called to dismiss Mr. IIunii)hrey. He was an able and faithful minister, and among the fruits of his labors were eighty-nine persons who made confession of Christ during his pa.storatc of ten years. Of these, three remained on the roll as late as 18G7. The last of these, Mrs. Deborah Bennett, died early in 1880, in New ITaven, at an advanced age. Dr. Humphrey died in Pittsfield, amid the scenes where he had pre- viously witnessed the greatest and richest trophies of the gospel, in the year 18G1." The successors of Dr. Humphrey were as follows: Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Hewit, Dr. Hunter, Dr. Willis Lord, Alexander McLean, Edward E. Rankin, D.D., and G. S. Burroughs. Tlie present ehnrcli edifice was erected in 1849. Engraved on a stone in the foundation of the church, near the entrance, is the following inscription: '* First Church built about a.d. 1C40. "Second Church built a.d. lG7j. " TliinI Clnuvli built a.d. 1747, and burned \>y llio Brilish, 1770. "Fourth Church built a.d. 17S5." On a tablet on the other side of the entrance is the following: " This amrcli croctcd MDCCCXLI.X." j CONGREGATIONAL CHLRCH, GREENFIELD. The petition for the organization of this jjarish j was granted by the General ("onrt, Oct. 14, ITSS. It < wa.s incorporated an the Northwest Parish, and two years later its name was changed to Greenfield. At < its organization Greenfield Parish embraced all the northern part of the original town of Fairfield, and in Dr. Dwight's days numbered one thousand. CIIUKCn KDIFICES. The first move towards the erection of a church j edifice was made in 1721!, when it was voted that a meeting-house, fifty-two by forty-two feet, and twenty- two or twenty-five feet l)etween joint.s, should lie built, but it was nut completed and ix'cupied until 174.'V In 17tiO a new meeting-house was voted, and completed in the following year. This was occu])ied as a place of worship until the completion of the next church, in 1848. This wiu^ destroyed by fire on the night of Nov. 14, 185.3. In the following March it was voted to build a new church, which is the present structure. LIST OF PASTORS. The pastors of this church have been as follows: Rev. John Cioodsell, who was ordained at the time of the organization of the church, May 18, 1726. He ofliciated until 1756; Mr. Pomeroy, from 1757-70; William Mackey Tennant, 1772 to about 1780 ; Timo- thy Dwight, D.b., 1783-95; Samuel Blatchford, 179G- 97, as supply; Stanley Griswold, 180;?— 1, as supply; Horace Holly, 181)5-8; David Austin, 1810-12; Wil- liam Belden," 1812-21 ; Richard Varrick Dey, 1821, — he remained but a short time, and was succeeded for a year or two by Charles Nicoll ; he was followed by Nathaniel Freeman, who remained nine years. In 1840, Bodney G. Dennis preached for some months; Thomas B. Sturges, 1842-67 ; R. P. Hibbard, 1868-72 ; Henry B. Smith, 1873; he was succeeded, in 1878, by I. O. Rankin, who continued six months. Rev. Chester Bridgman commenced preaching Oct. 1, 1879, and is the present pastor. The following persons were pew-holders in the first church edifice erected: .Joseph Wheeler. Benjamin Banks, Joseph Diamond, Nath:miel Hull, Daniel Brad- ley, Benjamin Gilbert, John Thorp, Joseph Banks, Samuel Wakeman, Daniel Burr, John Gilbert, Samuel Bradley, Benjamin Sherwood, heirs of Eliphalet Hull, Joseph Hill, Jabez Wakeman, David AVillianis, and Samuel Price.