Norwalk After Two Hundred & Fifty Years

of Mr. Norris was one of re-organization, strengthening and enlargement. So far back as 1890, Miss Katherine Atherton started a building fund for a new church build- ing, but it remained for Mr. Norris to institute the new movement and carry it to completion. Under his ad- ministration the church grew in numbers and "in some other respects" so that in the summer of 1899, it was ready to proceed at once to enlarge the church building. The following gentlemen were appointed a building com- mittee: S. C. Palmer, G. C. Stillson, R. H. Golden and Stephen S. Hatch. The work was completed at a totai cost of $11,606.26, all paid for when the committee sub- mitted its final report April 16, 1900. The corner stone of the new church was laid on October 1, eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, 1899, by the Rt. Rev. Chauncey Bunce Brewster, Bishop of Connecticut, and the new church consecrated by him May 26, 1900. The resigna- tion of Mr. Norris was most reluctantly accepted, April 27th, 1900, when resolutions appreciative of "his splen- did work in stimulating spiritual life and promoting growth in numbers and financial strength." In August, 1900, a marble altar was erected in honor of William Cooper Mead. D.D., founder of Trinity church, and placed in the sanctuary, a bequest from his daughter. The Rev. Romilly F. Humphries assumed charge as rec- tor November t, 1900. At Easter, 1901, the parish pre- sented a handsome marble and Caen stone reredos in memory of John H. Smith, whose life was so closely link- ed with that of the parish. The present wardens and vestrymen are: Senior warden, George C. Stillson; junior warden, Tosiah N. Grumman ; vestrymen, Col. Leslie Smith. William W. Lester, Philip N. Knapp, Minot S. Smith, David W. Raymond, Milford A. GifHn, Charles H. Aisthorpe and Edwin H. Mathewson ; treas- urer, Col. Leslie Smith; clerk, Samuel W. Hoyt, Jr.; sexton. Robert H. Wood. It is true this record does not set forth what might be termed the inner life of Trinity Parish. Its influence as a church upon the community, its ministration to human lives, but these, no human rec- ords would be sufficient to show. Perhaps the best testi- mony is to be seen in its present outlook. Trinity church in its old life and in its new is aglow with desire to fulfill the wishes of her Master. God grant that as the day of Trinity Church con- tinue, so her strength may be sufficient for this service. 57 AT THE SOUTH NORWALK METHODIST CHURCH | LARGE congregation gathered at the South Norwalk Methodist church, to attend the special celebration service. Rev. Walter W. T. Duncan delivered an able address on "A Brief Sketch of Methodism in South Norwalk." His text was Numbers xxiii., 23: "What hath God Wrought?" A digest of his remarks follow: "The very first of the original Methodists to visit New England was really one of that band of devout and scholarly young men in Oxford, England, called in de- rision The Holy club.' It was none other than the Rev. Charles Wesley, M. A. This, however, was before his experience of the Witness of the Spirit, without which Methodism would never have been the power it has be- come. It is therefore more correct to say that the first Methodist sermon in New England was preached thirty- six years later, viz.: 1772, when the Rev. Richard Bard- man, one of America's first Methodist missionaries, es- tablished a society in the city of Boston. But still later, in the year 1785, the Rev. William Black, the founder of Methodism in Nova Scotia, was on his way to Baltimore to attend the famous Christmas conference which organ- ized the Methodist Episcopal church. He stopped and preached the gospel somewhere in the neighborhood of Bridgeport, Conn. But still one more itinerant was destined to precede the great founder of Methodism in New England ; it was the Rev. Cornelius Cook. His career was short — only two years. During one of them he preached at Norwalk. "We come now to Jesse Lee. He was the 'founder' because he gathered up the scattered fragments of Meth- odist labor and gave to them permanent form. The story of his first visit to Norwalk is this: It was Wednesday afternoon, the 17th day of June, 1789. At 4 o'clock a preacher on horseback appeared before the door of Heze- kiah Rogers. This gentleman was away and Lee made his desire known to Mrs. Rogers. He desired to preach in her house. She refused, explaining that her husband was absent. Lee asked the use of an old deserted build- ing, or of the orchard. Being refused in all, he went out on the highway and proclaimed the message of free salva- tion from the text, 'Ye must be born again.' The recep- tion he received was cold, but no man was ever better fitted to carry the message of experimental religion to a people who, from their very training, were calculated to make most chilling the reception of such a preacher as he. He adds a word of comment which at once shows his sunny faith and mounts on prophetic wing: 'Who knows but I shall yet have a place in this town where I may lay my head?' "The first circuit formed in this section of country was known as the Fairfield circuit. It embraced a terri- tory which then had only few members, and no regularly appointed pastor but which now has some twenty-three pastors and some six thousand members. "It was not, however, till Absolom Day, a Methodist convert from New York city, came to South Norwalk that Methodism really took root. He opened his house for preaching. But, noble-hearted, godly man that he was, he seemed destined to see the cause he loved de- cline and die; for despite the faithful preaching of the itinerants the field proved so barren of results that it was decided to abandon it as a preaching place. "But on the day selected for the last service, several persons received a religious awakening, a revival broke out which resulted in the bringing of Methodism at once into prominence and prosecution. Great difficulty was experienced in securing suitable accommodation. It was not until the year 1817 that the first church building was dedicated. In 1834 Norwalk became a separate charge and had a pastor of its own. In 1836 the first parsonage was built, the land having been given by Absolom Day. It was situated on what is now South Main street. This property was abandoned in the year 1851, and the next year the present grounds purchased. The building pur- chased with it was used as a parsonage until sixteen years later the present building was substituted. "The second church building was erected in 1843 during the pastorate of the Rev. Harvey Husted. Some thirteen years later while the Rev. Francis Baltome was pastor, the old edifice was enlarged and its seating ca- pacity increased to six hundred. In 1858 the Methodist church in Norwalk was established and although through this movement and the subsequent establishment of two Methodist Episcopal churches in the town of Norwalk 69 "Old First" lost many members, she has continued strong to this hour and brings forth blessed fruit in her old age. "In the evening Rev. Mr. Duncan gave the annual address to the firemen of South Norwalk and East Nor- walk. The church was__filled to_o_verflowing upstairs and down. About ninety firemen were in attendance in full uniform. They declared the service to be most instruc- tive and enjoyable. Mr. Duncan made several additions to the historical data given in the morning in regard to Methodism in order that the record to be filed would be complete. The church was decorated with flags in keeping with the day. (VI SKETCH OF ST. MARY'S FAIRISH (C A T H Q L I C) HE honor of being the first Catholics to settle in Norwalk belongs to Mich- ael Cooney and family who came from New York in May, 1828. Mr. Coo- ney was a hat dyer and lived near the dock on the east side of Water street. William Donahoe followed with his family of six persons in 1829. Cle- ment Burns came later and four years later the families of Farrell Gillooly and of Brennan arrived. Father Mc- Dermott visited Norwalk semi-annually from 1832 until his transfer to Lowell in 1837, each time celebrating mass in the front room of Mr. Cooney's house. The next priest to visit Norwalk was Rev. James Smyth of New Haven. During his visits here he celebrated mass in various places, including a residence in Five Mile River. In 1848 a committee embracing Paul Bresnen, John Hanlon, John Foley, Terence Reynolds and Farrell Gil- hooly was appointed to frame a petition to Bishop Tyler for a resident priest. Accordingly, he appointed Rev. John Brady to Norwalk, with Stamford and other places nearby as dependencies. Father Brady began imme- diately to prepare for a church building. Both Protes- tants and Catholics contributed generously to the erec- tion of the edifice. An anecdote will illustrate the feel- ing of good will that prevailed among all classes. Paul Bresnen and Terence Reynolds were appointed the com- mittee to solicit aid from non-Catholics. The most in- fluential man in the town was the Rev. Dr. Mead of St. Paul's Episcopal church. He must be secured to head the list, said the committee ; so to him they went and, after making their business known, Dr. Mead, who knew the men very well, said, "Paul, how is it you come to me first? Why not go to the Congregational minis- ter, Dr. Hall?" Paul, who was always ready, promptly replied, "Well, Dr., we know you to be an offshoot from the parent stock." The Dr. took the list and headed it generously and was followed by Dr. Hall and many of the most influential citizens of the town. The church was completed in 185 1 and on January 28th of that year, it was dedicated by Bishop O'Reilly. In 1853, Father