Address at the Centenary of St. Paul's Church, Norwalk, Conn.

My dear Right Reverend Father, and my dear brother, the reverend rector of the parish, when he to whom was courteously intrusted the preparation of this paper was privileged, two years since, to stand in your presence in this holy spot and witness the approach within a single year to this memorial rail, for the laying on of hands, of some two hundred of the children of the old parents resting, he was impressed; how could it be otherwise; yet ought we to accept the fact of this great and gratifying success, without recognition, also, of the earnest faith and piety of those who laid in the years that are dead such strong foundations ? Borrowing, in part, the language, is not that which makes 1886 such a memorable year the fact that so many marvels have already been wrought ? We beg with profound deference to pray that the God of Seabury and of Jarvis, and of Brownell, may bless with the completest temporal and spiritual health and wealth, their beloved successor; and may he who was with Mead, and Kemper, and Sherwood, and Whitlock, and Bowden, and Learning, and Dibble, be with him who is walking this day in their footsteps. And for you, descendants of the admirable ancestors of this historic patrimony, the Lord our God be with you as he was with the fathers. May he never, never leave you nor forsake you. Amen and Amen. *The late George Platt, Esq. tThis harvest has, as an Important contribution, the record of the dili- gence and devotion of those who have lived, and labored, and gone to their rest, in times comparatively recent, the roll of whom is here presented. The 72 recollection of many of these communicants is yet tender, and of them, con sequently it fails to the future annalist to treat with historic impartiality. Miss Matilda Prowitt, Mrs Eliza Selleck, Frederick Church, Mrs. Nancy Skidmore, Mrs. Ebenezer Church, CARMT LOCKWOOD, Samuel Church, Mrs. Jess Smith, James Moody Hoyt, Mrs. Garrett H. Newkirk, Mrs. Celina Partrick, Mrs. Hannah Kroger, Mrs. Charlotte St. John, Mrs. Thomas Merrill, Mrs. Laur v Lockwood, Mrs. Sarah Street, Charles Hoyt, Mrs. Isaac Camp, Mrs. Elizabeth Street, Mrs. Henrietta Aiken, Mrs. Margaret Wood, Mrs. Deborah Ann Montgomery. Miss Beeching, Mrs. Susan Virginia Sherry, Mrs. William St. John, Mrs. Mary Hoyt, John Fitch, Mrs. Edward Street, Mrs. Lydia Staats, Mrs. Samuel Church, David St. John, Reuben A. Williams, DANIEL PARSONS, George Hoyt, Mrs. Emily Lockwood, Mrs. Lucinda Cornwall, Miss Hattie Hurd, Mrs. Joseph w. Hubbell, Mrs. Wheater, Mrs. Hannon, MiSS SARAH JARVIS, Frederick Hubbell, Mrs. Fanny Harrington, Isaac Church, Miss Ann Bryan, Col. Albert H. Wilcoxson, Miss Margaret Belden, Mrs. Maria Harlan Mead, Mrs. William C. Street, Miss Maria Bryan, Mrs. Colonel Ferris, Charles H. Street, Mrs. Caroline Platt, Asa E. Smith, Jonathan Camp, Mrs. Mary Gray, Mrs. Nancy St. John, Mrs. Harriett Finney, Mrs. Lydia Mitchell, Miss Emma Smith, Miss Amelia Belden, Charles Sherry, Jr., George Platt, Mrs. John Isaacs, Samuel Lynes, Theodore E. Smith, Mrs. Charles Jarvis, Mrs. John P. Beatty, Miss LAVINIA JARVIS, James A. Hoyt, Miss Sophia Bryan, Samuel Lynes, M. D., Miss Belle Platt, Miss Amelia Jarvis, Mrs. Harriett Wilson, Mrs. John G. Quigley, Mrs. Laura Craw, Mrs. Martha Wilcoxson, Thomas Brady, Mrs. Asa E. Smith, Henry W. Smith, Mrs. Esther Raymond, Charles Sherry, Sr., Henry Butterworth, John A. McLean, M. D., Alfred Jackson, Miss Eliza Hoyt, Miss Julia Camp, Miss Eliza Curtis, James Wiseman, Miss Julia M. Olmstead, Mrs. Shultz, John B. Orcutt, Mrs. Sarah Ann Pinkney, Mrs. dr. w. a. Lockwood, Miss Mary Jarvis, Miss Catharine Jarvis, Mrs. Thomas Brady, Mrs. Esther Beers, Mrs. Capt. Allen, Mrs. Edward Sheppard, Mrs. Robert Ells, Mrs. Amanda Eckford, Mrs. Susan St. John, Mrs. Angennette Mallory, Mrs. Eliza Whitehead, Mrs. Catharine Baird, Joseph W. Hubbell, Mrs. Dorinda Lockwood, James W. Pinkney, Samuel E. Olmstead, Mrs. Israel Lockwood, Miss Sally Nash, Mrs. William Kellogg, Mrs. Charles Partrick, Harvey p. Terrell, Mrs. George Hoyt, Bradley O. Banks, GOULD D. JENNINGS, Mrs. LUCRETIa Daskam, Mrs. Benjamin Barraclough, Miss Eliza Lockwood, Chauncey Street, Mrs. William Baxter, Henry Holmes, Mrs. Henry Holmes, Miss Sarah Holmes, Mrs. Post. Felicitous phrazes concerning the worth of the departed may be. a gratify- ing tribute ; well weighed biographical statements may be valuable testimony ; but the best memorial of membership in the church below, is a blameless walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. May such excel- lence, on the part of its children, constitute the glory of St. Paul’s parish through all coming generations. APPENDIX. . . ’ ' APPENDIX. |£v’HE services on July, 15th, 1886, in St. Paul’s parish, were of a ^highly interesting character. The following is the invitation, which had been addressed to the right reverends the bishops of the church in the United States, and to the clergy of the diocese of Connecticut, and to many others, both clergymen and laymen, in different parts of the union : lVSSt^e**- —-^1886. it jt>t. ^ixxxVs Church, jji ^°^Walk, cobnssECrnc^rr* You are cordially invited to attend the centennial commem- oration of the consecration of St. Paul’s Church, Norwalk, Con- necticut, to be held on Thursday, July 15th, 1886. This service will commemorate the first consecration of a Church in the United States. ORDER Holy Communion, - - - - * * * 10 :30 a. m. Sermon, by the Bishop of Connecticut. Address, by Rev. E. E. Beardsley, D. D., and others, with an Historical Address by the Rev. Chas. M. Selleck, - - 2 p. m. Visitors will be entertained by the ladies of the parish immediately after the morning service. The clergy will please bring their surplices. HOWARD S. CLAPP, Rector. Norwalk, Conn., June 21, 1886. 76 The day broke under a gray sky, and the weather during its early hours, was unfavorable. This, however, did not prevent a goodly congregation from assembling for the introductory service, at half- past ten o’clock. , a. m. , at which hour some thirty of the clergy, having previously robed in the rectory, preceeding the bishop of the diocese, marched to the main entrance of the church. The hymn “ O God our Help in Ages Past,” was the processional; on reaching the chancel, the lines divided, and between them Right Reverend John Williams, the bishop of the diocese, followed by the Rev. Howard S. Clapp, the rector of the parish, and the Revs. Drs. Beardsley and Vibbert, and Rev. Mr. Selleck, passed into the sanctuary. In the choir of the chancel sat the rectors and pastors of the five daughter parishes of St. Paul’s: The Rev. Messrs. Bell, Williams, Lewis, Meyrick, and Coley. The remainder of the clergy occupied reserved front seats in the middle aisle. The bishop began the anti-communion office, Rev. Mr. Selleck reading the epistle, and the Rev. Dr. Beardsley reading the gospel. After the singing of the hymn ‘ ‘With One Consent Let all the Earth. ” The bishop preached from Psalm XCHI: 6, “Thy Testimonies, O Lord, are very sure; Holiness becometh thine house Forever.” The sermon was one of rare power; its palpable idea being The Strength and Perpetuity of Truth and the Church. The holy communion was celebrated, the bishop being consecra- tor, and the rector, assisted by the clergy, within the sanctuary, administering. At the conclusion of the morning service all visitors were the guests of the parish; and at half past two o’clock, p. m., the bishop, with the rector and Rev. Dr. Beardsley and Rev. Mr. Selleck, re-entered the chancel. The hymn “ O Come loud Anthems” was sung, and the Rev. Dr. Beardsley made an address of marked force and interest. The hymn, “O Render Thanks” followed, and, after the reading of the historical paper which forms the body of this book, the doxology was sung. The bishop then read the concluding collects, and gave the final benediction, and a memorable day in the parish closed beneath a cloudless heaven, and with happy auguries for the future. 77 THE VISITING CLERGYMEN. RT. REV. JOHN WILLIAMS, - REV. DR. E. E. BEARDSLEY, - REV. WILLIAM D. VIBBERT, D. D.,- REV. DR, GIBSON, REV. M. M. FATHERGILL, REV. JOSHUA KIMBER, - REV. W. W. MONTGOMERY, - REV. WILLIAM FITCH, - REV. J. W. BONHAM, - REV. GEORGE P. HEBBARD, - REV. CHARLES G. ADAMS, REV. JOHN TOWNSEND, - REV. C. C. CAMP, REV. SYLVESTER CLARKE, - REV. JAMES E. COLEY, - REV. J. H. FITZGERALD, - REV. LOUIS FRENCH, REV. A. N. LEWIS, REV. H. L. MEYRICK, REV. W. C. ROBERTS, REV. G. P. TORRENCE, - REV. MILLIDGE WALKER, REV. JOHN R. WILLIAMS, REV. THOMAS BELL, - REV. W. W. WALKER, REV. EDWARD RIGGS, REV. M. B. DUNLAP, - Connecticut. New Haven. Fair Haven. Utica. Quebec. New York. Mamaroneck. Brooklyn. New York. Jersey City. Southport. Middletown. New Haven. Bridgeport. Westport. Milford. Darien. Westport. New Canaan. Ansonia. Bethel. Bridgeport. Westport. So. Norwalk. Stratford. Stamford. Redding Ridge. The committees appointed to make arrangements and have gen- eral charge of the ceremonies were as follows: FINANCE COMMITTEE. The Rector, and Senior and Junior Wardens. COMMITTEE ON INVITATIONS. THE REV. HOWARD S. CLAPP, - - - Chairman. MR. ST. JOHN MERRILL, REV. C. M. SELLECK. 78 COMMITTEE ON HOSPITALITY, HON. ASA SMITH, CHARLES E. ST. JOHN, A. CARMI BETTS, LEGRAND C. BETTS, GOOLD HOYT, CHARLES F. OSBORN, WILLIAM H. SMITH, DR. C. W. MANY, W. S. MOODY, JR., SAMUEL BEATTY. DECORATION COMMITTEE, MISS CARRIE SMITH, MISS ELINOR L. SMITH, MISS M. M. WEAVER, MISS ANNA P. MERRILL, MRS HARRY BALCOM, MRS. M. LOUISA LEONARD. MISSIONARIES, MINISTERS IN CHARGE AND RECTORS OF ST. PAUL’S, 1737 TO 1886 REV. HENRY CANER, - - - - - - - 1737 REV. RICHARD CANER, 1738 REV. JOHN OGILVIE, very brief charge, - - - 1749 REV. JOHN FOWLE, temporary, ----- 1851 REV. EBENEZER DIBBLE, ------ 1756 REV. JEREMIAH LEAMING, D. D. - - - - 1758 REV. EBENEZER DIBBLE, D. D. - - - 1779-1784 .REV. JOHN BOWDEN, D. D., 1784 REV. MR. FOOTE, 1789 REV. GEORGE OGILVIE, ----- 1790 REV. WILLIAM SMITH, D. D., - - - - - 1797 REV. HENRY WHITLOCK, 1800 REV. BETHEL JUDD, ------- 1811 REV. EVAN M. JOHNSON, 1313 REV. BETHEL JUDD, - - 1814