OF THE 
 
 LONGI^EGATIONAL L/HURCH 
 
 IN 
 
 Killingworth, Connecticut, 
 
 MAY :tl, 1870. 
 
 P,Y REV. WILLIAM MILLER. 
 
 c to it) a b c n : 
 
 ft * 
 
 FROM PRESS OF HOGGSON & ROBINSOX. 
 
 1870.
 

 
 Killingworth, Connecticut, 
 
 MAY 31, 187O. 
 
 BY REV. WILLIAM MILLER. 
 
 fleto 
 
 FROM PRESS OF HOGGSON & ROBINSON. 
 
 1870.
 
 - 

 
 Preliminary Meeting. 
 
 Ax a meeting of the citizens of Killingworth, April 14, 1870, 
 it was voted to observe with appropriate religious services May 
 31st, 1870, it being the fiftieth anniversary of the dedication of 
 the church edifice. 
 
 Voted, that Mr. Nathan II. Evarts, Mr. Francis Turner, 
 Dea, Lauren Nettleton, Mr. Orlando E. Redfield, and Mr. E. 
 Harvey Parrnelee, be the committee of arrangements. 
 
 At a meeting of the committee, Mr. Francis Turner was 
 chosen Secretary. 
 
 It was votc-d to invite Rev. William Miller, to prepare and 
 deliver a historical discourse of the Church in Killingworth, 
 May 31st, 1870. 
 
 Voted, that Mr. and Mrs. Lyman Stevens ; Mr. and Mrs. 
 Randolph Stevens ; Mr. Francis Turner ; Mr. and Mrs. John 
 Phelps ; Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose Parmelee ; Mrs. Abner Lane ; 
 Mrs. Ellsworth Hull ; Mr. J. Harvey Lane, and Miss Mary Lane, 
 be a committee to superintend the tables. 
 
 FRANCIS TURNER, Secretary. 
 
 At an adjourned meeting of the committee it was voted, to 
 return a vote of thanks to Rev. William Miller, for his able his- 
 torical discourse, delivered on the fiftieth anniversary of the 
 dedication of the chiuvh edifice, and that a copy of the same be 
 requested for publication. 
 
 Voted, that a report of the exercises of the day be also 
 published with the address. 
 
 FRANCIS TURNER, Secretory. 
 
 2012478
 
 DECORATIONS. 
 
 It is proverbial, that the ladies of Killingworth do well 
 whatever they undertake to do. Their taste is correct, so that 
 they have only to put their fingers to the flowers and evergreens, 
 and they stand forth fashioned into " a thing of beauty." 
 
 The following ladies were appointed to superintend the de- 
 corations of the church : Mrs. William Miller, Mrs. Francis 
 Turner, Mrs. Andrew Griswold, Mrs. Orlando E. Iledfield, Mrs. 
 Ralph Barnuin, and Mrs. Mary J. Williams. 
 
 The Church stands upon a hill, commands a wide prospect, 
 and is sixty-two feet long, and forty-eight wide. At the east end 
 is a recess for the pulpit and platform. There is a gallery on 
 three sides of the house, around the front of which were festooned 
 evergreen wreaths. At equi-distances were set upon the cornice 
 of the gallery front bouquets of flowers, and between them the 
 names of the pastors of the church. Their names were formed of 
 evergreen letters, with the date of installation made in the same 
 manner underneath, the whole surrounded by an evergreen 
 border. 
 
 Beginning at the left of the pulpit, the names were as follows: 
 Seward, 1738; Ely, 1782; Andrews, 1802; King, 1811; 
 Swift, 1833; Bell, 1850; Lyman, 1S66. 
 
 In front of the pulpit was the name of the present acting 
 pastor, Miller, 1870. Around the name was a wreath of flowers, 
 wrought by Miss Anna Marsh ; and around the whole a more ex- 
 tensive wreath of flowers, wrought by Mrs. Stephen Norton. 
 Upon one side of the desk was a iuschia in full bloom, and on the 
 other side a cactus, full of beautiful blossoms. At the right of 
 the pulpit \vas an oil painting of Dr. Asahel Xettleton, a native 
 of the town. Over and under it were his dying words, " While 
 ye have the light, walk in the light." 
 
 At the left of the pulpit was a large evergreen cross, with 
 flowers interwoven, wrought by Miss Lucynthia Crampton ; over 
 and under it were words the whole designed to read " Cling 
 to the Cross of Christ." 
 
 Over the arched top of the recess was an evergreen wreath, 
 wrought by Mrs. Antionette Lord ; and at the cornice of the pil-
 
 lars, two wreaths ; cue of which surrounded the date, 1820, and 
 the other the date of 1870, these were connected by a chain, the 
 links of which were made of evergreen leaves. This was wrought 
 by Miss Julia A. Turner. 
 
 Upon the rear wall of the pulpit, in the recess, were the fol- 
 lowing inscriptions formed of letters made of Arbor Vitae : 
 
 "Church Organized, January 18, 1738." 
 " House Dedicated, May 31, 1820." 
 
 Not the ladies only, but the young gentlemen took an active 
 part in the work. They were ready at any point to lend a help- 
 ing hand. J. NovelloHull, Horatio Kelsey, Densmore Parmelee, 
 Sylvester Hull, and others, seemed to vie with each other as to the 
 amount of assistance they could render. 
 
 Let us not forbear to express our warmest thanks to our be- 
 loved pastor, Rev. William Miller, for his excellent Historical 
 Discourse. The facts he has brought to light indicating great 
 labor and research and laid before us in a manner so interesting, 
 will be of great use to us, and to our children after us. He has 
 made us acquainted with the active labors of those who have 
 gone before us, and who were instrumental in laying the found- 
 ations of our religious institutions. We have seen, as it were, 
 their dust animated again. They seemed to be in the midst of 
 us, inspiring us witli their spirit, and beckoning us onward to 
 nobler deeds.
 
 ANNIVERSARY SERVICES. 
 
 On the 31st of May, 1870, a most delightful day, the Con- 
 gregational Church and Society in Killingworth, celebrated with 
 appropriate religious exercises the fiftieth anniversary of the 
 dedication of their Church Edifice. The occasion brought to- 
 gether a large concourse of people. The house was filled to its 
 utmost capacity, and many stood around the doors and windows, 
 unable to gain admittance. 
 
 Some took their seats full three-fourths of an hour before the 
 opening of the services. The people flocked from all the neigh- 
 boring towns, literally filling the streets with carriages. So 
 large an assembly never before was gathered on Killingworth 
 Hill. 
 
 The elderly persons took their seats below, while "the youth 
 and beauty" filled the spacious galleries. 
 
 ' The services were opened at 10 o'clock, A. M. 
 
 The Choir, under the direction of Dea. J. Buell, sung a song 
 of welcome from the platform in front of the pulpit. 
 
 Mr. Nathan H. Evarts, Chairman of the Committee of 
 Arrangement, bade all welcome. He said, it had been designed 
 to send invitations to those who had left town, but they were 
 found to be so many that only a general invitation could be given. 
 He extended a hearty welcome to all, to the former residents and 
 natives of the town, to those whose ancestors had resided here, to 
 our friends from neighboring towns, to citizens, and all others, 
 old or young, who had come up to enjoy with tis the festivities 
 of the day. 
 
 Invocation and reading of the Scriptures, by Rev. S. Hine, 
 of Higganum. 
 
 Singing Hymn composed by Mr. E. H. Parmelee. 
 
 1. O thou to whom we pray, 
 Help us on this glad day, 
 Thy praise to sing 
 O let the Heavenly Dove, 
 Descending from above, 
 Fill all our hearts with love 
 Great God our King
 
 2. Our fathers worshipped thee ; 
 Now may our offerings be, 
 
 Like theirs received 
 Here iu this sacred place, 
 They sought thy heavenly grace, 
 Hoping to see thy face, 
 
 In thee believed. 
 
 3. This temple here they reared ; 
 Here they thy named revered, 
 
 And loved thy praise ; 
 Now in thy courts above, 
 They sing thy dying love, 
 And all thy will approve, 
 
 In heavenly lays. 
 
 4. We celebrate this day, 
 And here we humbly pray, 
 
 Grant us thy grace ; 
 As we together meet, 
 To worship at thy feet, 
 And here our kindred greet, 
 
 Hide not thy face. 
 
 5. When we our race have run, 
 And all our work is done, 
 
 And we must die ; 
 May we thy goodness prove, 
 Bear us on wings of love, 
 Up to thy courts above, 
 
 To dwell on high. 
 
 Prayer was offered by Rev. John Todd, D. D., of Pittsfield,. 
 Mass. 
 
 Discourse. 
 
 Anthera sung by the choir who sang the same at the dedi- 
 ation of the house. 1 
 
 Discourse finished. 
 
 Singing, by "ye ancient choir," the 132 Psalm, let part 
 gong fifty years ago. 
 
 Prayer.
 
 8 
 Hymn, written for the occasion, by John Marsland 
 
 To-day, O God, in love draw near, 
 And bless thy saints assembled here ; 
 Humbly we bow before thy throne, 
 To praise the Father, Spirit, Son. 
 
 We praise thee for thy wondrous love ; 
 By it we live, by it we move ; 
 O may we give to thee alone 
 All glory for thy mercies shown. 
 
 Again to thee, this house we give ; 
 Here let thy blessed spirit live ; 
 May all that in this place is done, 
 Honor thy name, thou Three in One. 
 
 Of those who first did consecrate 
 This house to thee, as heaven's gate ; 
 Many are in the world of bliss, 
 A few are travelling yet in this. 
 
 May we the race to glory rim ; 
 And when our work on earth is done, 
 Sing on heaven's peaceful, shining shore, 
 Anthems of praise for ever-more.
 
 Historical Discourse. 
 
 " I will utter sayings of old, which we have heard, 
 
 and known, and our fathers have told us." Ps. 7S : :2, ']. 
 
 HISTORY is a knowledge of past events. In the study of it 
 we find much to attract, amuse, and interest. It is attractive, 
 because it represents the ever changing scenes of life, whether 
 simple, as that of individuals, or combined, as that of nations. It 
 is amusing, because it gives scope for the play of the imagination, 
 and because the passions and actions of men are brought out more 
 distinctly than in the drama. It is instructive, because it points 
 out the errors and mistakes of men, arid hence we are taught to 
 guard against them, and also what course to be pursued in order 
 to attain to virtue and position. 
 
 Hence History has been styled, " Philosophy teaching by 
 example." In other words, we may learn from history what to 
 shun, and what to cultivate, in order to success in life the life 
 of individuals, or of nations. 
 
 The sources of history are sayings of old which we have 
 heard and known, and our fathers have told us ; and the written 
 record. I have made diligent inquiry of the fathers respecting 
 what they have heard of their fathers, and what they themselves 
 have known. 
 
 The Records, too, have been closely examined. 
 
 The history of this church is full of interest, and it would 
 require more time than is allotted to me this morning to present 
 it in its detail. 
 
 I may pass over many important facts, but shall endeavor 
 to gather up the chief of them and present them in the following 
 discourse. 
 
 I shall begin with a brief sketch of the town, (for Killing- 
 worth included Clinton till 1838,) in order to show the rise of
 
 10 
 
 this, as nearly all the first inhabitants of this place came from 
 the South Church, or parish. 
 
 The Hammonassetts were a tribe of Indians that lived be- 
 tween the Aigicomock now East River and the Connecticut. 
 It was not a numerous tribe. They lived, mostly, near the 
 shore, but roamed over these hills as their hunting grounds. 
 
 The name of their Sachem was Sebaquanash, or, " the man 
 that weeps." 
 
 Uncas, Sachem of the Mohegans, married his daughter, and 
 came into possession of all the lands lying between the Aigico- 
 mock and the Connecticut. 
 
 He sold to the town of Guilford all the land west of the 
 Harnmonassett River, Dec. 27th, 1641. Upon this, a large part 
 of the tribe passed over to the east side of the Connecticut. 
 
 There were but few Indians here when the first planters 
 were entered in 1663. The settlement was called by the name 
 of Hammonassett Plantation till 1667, when it took the name 
 of Killingworth, after a town of the same name in Norwich- 
 shire, England. 
 
 The first settlers were disposed to treat the Indians kindly, 
 and honorably purchase whatever land they needed, as the fol- 
 lowing record of conveyance will show. 
 
 " These Presents Witness, that I, Uncas, Sachem Mohegan, 
 have hereby sold unto Mr. George Fenwick a considerable par- 
 cel of the land, now lying within the bounds of the Town of 
 Killing\vorth : we, Woncas, and Josuah my son, do by these 
 Presents alienate, assign, and pass over forever all our Right 
 and Interest whatsoever, in any or all of the land, lying within 
 the bound and limit of the Town of Killingworth to the inhab- 
 itants there, which I have not formerly sold unto Mr. George 
 Fenwick, and we do by these Presents ratify and confirm this 
 sale to the said Inhabitants of Killingworth them their heirs, 
 or assigns, to have and to hold, enjoy and possess forever, free 
 from any molestation by either of us, Woncas or Josuah, or any 
 other person, or persons from, by, or under us, only as we reserve 
 six acres of land on the great Hammock, four acres about the 
 middle of the Hammock, and the other two acres, at the east 
 end of the Hammock, of the best of the land there, and also free 
 liberty to hunt in the woods, and fis"h in the rivers and harbors,.
 
 11 
 
 and to make of any trees for canoes ; and rushes and flaggs to 
 make mats, and for the true performance hereof, we have inter- 
 changeably set to our hand, this present November 26, in the year 
 of our Lord 1(H>!) 
 
 Mark of L-J^ WONKAS. 
 
 Mark of C ' v Jos UAH, his son. 
 
 Witness : 
 
 HENRY CRANE, 
 
 NATHAN KELSEY. 
 
 Notwithstanding, in these early days the planters suffered 
 many privations, and were exposed to many dangers. 
 
 The Indians still hovered round, prowling as beasts of prey. 
 This is evident from the following record : 
 
 " At a Town Meeting, March 23, 1675-6 : 
 
 " It was voted and agreed upon, that there shall be two 
 common fortifications made in the town for places of defence ; 
 and, it was also voted and agreed upon, that these places for for- 
 tification shall be at Mr. Woodbridge's the first Pastor of the 
 South Church and at Andrew Ward's : further, it was also voted 
 and agreed upon, that Mr. Woodbridge and the townsmen, until 
 a Commission be chosen, shall appoint when the persons in the 
 Town shall come into these fortifications, and that they will be 
 subject thereto, and it was also voted, that these fortifications 
 shall be made by equal proportions by the male persons from 
 fifteen years of age and upwards ; and it was also agreed upon, 
 that these fortifications shall be sufficiently made and finished 
 within a fortnight-time, and Mr. Griswold and Win. Stevens are 
 chosen as a committee for to appoint how this shall be done, and 
 to lay out the proportions." 
 
 There must have been some immediate apparent danger, or 
 such haste and precaution would not have been required. Prob- 
 ably what gave occasion for these apprehensions was the breaking 
 out of King Phillip's War, or the roaming of Indian scouts, 
 plundering wherever they coxild meet with the defenceless inhab- 
 itants. But there was no attack, or more serious alarm. The 
 danger was quickly over, and all was calm again.
 
 12 
 
 u At a Town Meeting, Apr. ye 7th, A. D. 1676 : 
 
 " It was voted and agreed upon, that there shall be no land 
 let or hired ont to any Indian, or Indians, within the limits of this 
 town, for the year, under the penalty of twenty shillings for each 
 acre so hired out." 
 
 The Planters were not only sturdy men able and willing 
 to defend themselves, but they were Christian men ; and hence 
 their first object was to " erect a Meeting House," and settle a 
 godly minister. The first Pastor of Killingworth now Clinton 
 was Rev. John Woodbridge. 
 
 He remained twelve years with his people, and then resigned, 
 for reasons which, at the present time, are not known. The next 
 fifteen years the church was without an undershepherd. Divis- 
 ions sprung up which rendered the prospects of the church 
 gloomy. At last God sent them one, who should unite them, 
 gaining their love and confidence. 
 
 Abram Pierson was the second Pastor : " a man around 
 whose character and history the shadows of more than a century 
 and a half have gathered, but who has still left memorials enough 
 of his honorable and useful career to secure immortality." 
 
 He was appointed 1 Jet-tor of Yale College. Under him the 
 first six classes graduated. A monument now marks the place 
 " near which was given the first instruction under the authority 
 and protection of the College." 
 
 He died 1707. About the time of his death the first settlers 
 came north. The stream began to divide, flowing on in the same 
 direction, but in two different channels. 
 
 (The History of the South, or " ye ancient Church," my 
 friend, Rev. Win. E. Brooks, has ably given in his Two Hun- 
 dredth Anniversary Discourse, Nov. 13, 1867.) 
 
 Parting from the thread of his discourse at this point, I take 
 the northern stream which flowed over these hills and through 
 these valleys. 
 
 At what precise time this part of the town began to be set- 
 led I have not boeu able to ascertain. It must have been soon 
 after 1700, for in 1716, the following families were here, viz. : 
 Isaac Kelsey, Esq., Dea. Joseph Wilcox, Dea. Josiah Hull, Dea. 
 Daniel Buel, John Wilcox, Joseph (iriswold, Nathaniel Parni- 
 elee, EbeneKer Hull, Samuel Stevens, and Edward Rutty. 8
 
 13 
 
 These were soon joined by Solomon Davis, Timothy Chitted- 
 xlen, and Theophilus Kcdfield. Others followed ; all church-going 
 and church-loving people. This is evident from their attendance 
 at the first or South Church a distance of from five to eight 
 
 O 
 
 miles and also from the fact, that as soon as there was a suffi- 
 cient number of inhabitants, they formed themselves into a parish, 
 or North Society. How early this people contemplated the for- 
 mation of a distinct society, cannot be ascertained. Certain it 
 was before 1728, for, 
 
 " At a town Meeting, Dee. 12, 1728 : 
 
 ''Lieut. Joseph Wilcox, Capt. David Buel, Capt. .losiah 
 Stevens, Josiah Baldwin, and Justice Abram Pierson were 
 chosen a Committee to confer with our Northern Neighbors 
 the farmers respecting sd farmers embodying themselves by 
 themselves, for the Public worship, and to consider where it may 
 be most commodious and reasonable for a line to be run between 
 sd farmers and the rest of the town." 
 
 Meanwhile it appears that the farmers had sent a petition to 
 the General Assembly, for, 
 
 "May 7, 1730, Lieut. Joseph Wilcox and Jonathan Lane, 
 were chosen and appointed agents for the Town to appear at the 
 General Assembly at their session in May, the 19 instant, and 
 there to object against the Memorial of divers of the inhabitants 
 of sd Killingworth, commonly called Killingworth Farmers ; 
 requesting that Killingworth may be divided into two distinct 
 societies, and there to show to the General Assembly, the un- 
 reasonableness of sd Memorial." 
 
 No record is made of the success of this committee, while 
 it seems certain that the Memorial was not granted at this time : 
 for, 
 
 "At a meeting of the Farmers in Killingworth, Sept. ye , 
 18th Day, A. D., 1730: 
 
 "It was agreed that we, the subscribers, would again ask 
 the Town of sd Killingworth, that there may be a line between 
 us and the sd town in order to our being a society with the 
 rest of our neighbors, for the reasons hereinafter mentioned : 
 first, we would humbly suggest that our best interests are much 
 exposed for want of it, for, if faith comes by hearing of the word 
 preached, then hearing of the word preached is necessary, and,
 
 14 
 
 if faith be a principal qualification in order to justification, and, 
 if faith comes by hearing the word preached, then we hope no 
 good man will deny our prayer; and, if we cannot be a society, 
 we cannot hear the word preached but seldom, and so have not 
 the means in order to faith which makes our case lamentable, 
 which makes us pray for relief, and pray that a Committee may- 
 be chosen by you to settle a line as above said, and your Memo- 
 rialists as in duty bound shall ever pray. 
 
 JOSEPH WILCOX, 
 DANIEL BUEL, 
 NATHANIEL PARMELEE. 
 TIMOTHY CHITTENDEN, 
 THEOPPIILUS REDFIELD, 
 and sixteen others. 3 
 
 The following is the result : 
 
 " At a Town Meeting, Dec. ye 4th, 1730 : 
 
 "The within Petition was granted, respecting the choosing 
 a Committee, and the Town will defray the charge of the work 
 that shall be done by the Coimiittee that shall be impowered, 
 Provided sd Committee be allowed by the General Assembly." 
 
 The Committee chosen were : Capt. James Ward worth, of 
 Durham ; Capt. Samuel Hill, of Guilford ; and Mr. Samuel 
 Lynde, Esq., of Saybrook. 
 
 For nearly five years from the above date, no account of 
 any farther proceedings can be found on the Town Records, KO 
 that I have no means of learning whether the controversy was 
 carried on or not. Neither have I been able to find the Memo- 
 rial which was presented, nor when it was presented. 
 
 The following is the Act of Organization : 
 
 "Att a Generall Assembly, Hold '.MI at Hartford, May, 8, 
 1735. An act Dividing the town of Killingworth, in the county 
 of Newlondon into two Ecclesiastical Societies. 
 
 " Be it Enacted by the Govener, Counsell, and Representa- 
 tives in Generall Court assem" led, and by the Authority of the 
 same, that the sd town of Killingworth by a line to begin at 
 Saybrook bounds, at a place commonly called ye South East- 
 Corner of Pollotiah Ward 1 * farm, being ye proper Southeast
 
 15 
 
 Corner of Capt. Peter Ward's Ninth Division land, and to ex- 
 tend from thence, W. S. West 5 South to Guilford line, shall and 
 is hereby divided into two Distinct Ecclesiasticall Societys ; and 
 ye part of sd town lying southerly of sd line is hereby declared 
 to be a Distinct Ecclesiasticall Societie, with all power and priv- 
 ileges proper for such a society, and that such part of ed town 
 that lieth northerly of ye above sd line shall be and is hereby 
 by the authority afore sd, made into one Distinct Ecclesiasticall 
 Society, with all the power and privileges proper for such a Soci- 
 ety ; always Provided that all lands in sd town, if ye owner 
 liveth in the town Aforesd, shall be taxed for the Defraying 
 parish Charges only whare ye owner or owners of such land dp 
 live." 
 
 A True Copy of Record. 
 Examined, per GOUG WYLLYS, Secretry. 
 
 This part of the town being thus set off into a distinct Ec- 
 clesiastical Parish, the first meeting " of ye north or second 
 society in Killingworth was held att ye hous of Ebenezer Hull 
 in sd Society, September ye 25 day, A. D., 1735, Joseph Will- 
 cocks was chosen Moderator, Isaac Kelsey was chosen Society 
 Clerk and sworne. Nathaniel Parmeley, and Nathan Kelsey, 
 and Samewell Steevens was chosen a Committey to warn Society 
 meetings as is nedfull." 
 
 The Society being thus organized, the divisions of the fol- 
 lowing Discourse will take the order of prominent and successive 
 events. 
 
 I. Pastors of the Church. 
 
 " At a meeting held, May 1st, A. D., 1736, Mr. Josiah Hull 
 and Mr. Joseph Willcocks, and Mr. Nathaniel Parleme (Parme- 
 lee) was chosen a Commety to gow and discors with Mr. Samuel 
 Eliot from time to time, and to know his mind whether he intends 
 to labor in the work of the ministree or now." 
 
 Samuel Eliot was the eldest son of Jared Eliot, Pastor of 
 ye first church. He graduated at Yale College, 1735. He, 
 probably, had the ministry in view, but for want of health did 
 not enter it. He studied medicine, and died Jan. 1st, A. D.,
 
 16 
 
 1741, on a voyage to Africa, undertaken for the benefit of his 
 
 i O 
 
 health, in the 26th year of his age. 
 
 It was voted, Nov. 5, 1736, that " wee wold hier a minister 
 to com and preach among us this winter coming." 
 
 " Tt was agred and voated, Deo. ye 1, Day, 1736, that we 
 wold hier Mr. 'William Seward three months with Avhat we have 
 herd him ; and allso, it was voted, that we will a low Mr. Sewai'd 
 thnrty shillings for every Sabath Day for the hull term of time.'* 
 At the same meeting, " Daniel Buel was chose to read and 
 tune the Salm for three months." 
 
 Mr. Seward was " hiered" for another quarter at thurty-tive 
 shillings " a weak and his keeping allso." 
 
 After Mr. Seward had preached here six months, Apr. 29th, 
 1737, it was 
 
 " Voated that we w6ld hier Mr. Seward for one quarter of 
 a year upon trial, in order to a settlement in the work of the 
 ministree among us." 
 
 It was also " voted that we will give three hundred pounds 
 settlement to the minister that we shall agree to settle among 
 us." 
 
 There was no distinction between church and parish in these 
 early days. All Ecclesiastical matters were transacted at the 
 same meeting the society included the church. 
 
 " It was voated, July 6, 1737, that we will have Mr. Seward 
 for our minister, if he can be obtained." 
 
 It was agred and voated, Oct. "ye 17, 1737, that we will 
 give Mr. William Seward, if he continue in the work of the 
 menesteree, to pay six pence upon the pound in the list anaulley 
 nntill his sallery shall amount to one hundred and forty pounds, 
 at the rate of silver at twenty o fur (four) shillings the ounce, 
 as money now goes, and if the money alters to rise and fall 
 with it."* 
 
 * "At the same meeting, it was voated that wee will sett Mr. Seward a house 
 '*A feet in lenirt h ; 'JS feet in breath ; and 10 feet between ioynts, and to conipleat all 
 the stone work and Covrriim-: w'mdo frames, Casments, Dors, and inside 
 joyners woork Excepted, if In; lives and dies in yc work of the gospel ministry 
 among us." 
 
 Dec. 13, 17:17, '' Is;i:ic Keisry, and Josiah Hull was chose a Comrnete to fall 
 and hew timber, and frame and sit up a lious for Mr. Win. S ward." " Nathan- 
 iel Parmelec and .JoMah I'armelee was chose a Commetc to git shingels and 
 Clabords and nails and cover sd hous." 
 
 " Daniel Buel and Nathaniel Hull was chose a Com'mete to Didg and Stone 
 the seller and build Chimncs and underpin sd hous." 
 
 The house, thus built, and in which Mr. Seward lived and died, stood where 
 Mr. Lyraan Stevens's house now stands. The house was burned several years since.
 
 17 
 
 This vote was afterwards somewhat modified, when six pence 
 upon the Pound should amount to one hundred and forty-four 
 pounds : " after that we will give him to the value of one hun- 
 dred and sixteen ounces of silver yearly." 
 
 To these several votes, Mr. Seward returned no answer in 
 writing. They were satisfactory to him, for on the 27th of Dec., 
 1737, " it was voted that we wold gow down to the first society 
 meeting hous in Killingworth to ordain Mr. William Seward." 
 
 The ordination took place Jan. 18, 1738. The "Elders" 
 present were : Rev. Mr. Phineas Fisk, of Haddam, Jared Eliot, 
 of Killingworth, William Worthington, of Saybrook, Abrah'm. 
 Nott, of Saybrook, Thomas Ruggles, of Guilford, William Hart, 
 of Say Brook, Jonathan Todd, of East Guilford. These, together 
 with their Delegates, or Messengers, composed the Ordaining 
 Council. 
 
 Mr. Seward made the following entry : Those who were in 
 full communion in the Xorth Parish in Killingworth, at the time 
 of my ordination, and of the first embodying of the church there, 
 are as follows : 4 The number was fifty. It would seem from the 
 wording of this record that the church had been previously 
 formed, though all accounts assign it to Jan. 18, 1738. 
 
 Thus the Church was organized, and the Pastor settled, one 
 hundred and thirty-two years, four months, and thirteen days ago.* 
 
 Rev. Wm. Seward, the first Pastor, was the son of Dea. 
 William Seward of Durham. He was born in Guilford, July 
 27, 1712. He graduated at Yale College, 1734, and took his 
 second degree, 1737. He was licensed by the New Haven East 
 Association, 1735. 
 
 He came to this people in the ardor of his youth, not being 
 twenty-six years of age at the time of his settlement. 
 
 At that time the parish was small, but under his labors it 
 
 *Dec. 5, 1738, " it was agreed and voted, to sit up a scool among us to in- 
 struct children in reading and writing." 
 
 Sept. 21, 1741, "Lieut. Nathaniel Parmelee and Abijah Willcocks ware chosen 
 a Comete to petition the Town of Killingworth at a Town Meeting, to grant sd 
 2nd society their proportion according to ye list of sd society of ye money se- 
 quested by the general Court of this Colony for the suport of schools in sd 
 Colony. 
 
 Dec. 6, 1758. "It was agreed upon and Toted, that there Should be a Night 
 School kept, upon the same cost and Charge as the Day School is kept." 
 
 Thus advanced were our fathers, in respect to education, that, at this early 
 date, they maintained evening schools, so that all might be taught. 
 
 2
 
 18 
 
 increased and became strong. The people were widely scattered 
 over these hills, and the ways to their habitations difficult, requir- 
 ing more energy and perseverance than in these days of ease ; but 
 being a man of a firm constitution, and of indefatigable diligence, 
 he performed his duties as a faithful steward, a workman that 
 needeth not to be ashamed enduring hardness as a good soldier 
 of Jesus Christ. 
 
 His heart was in the great work of the ministry he had un- 
 dertaken. He was mighty in the Scriptures, a scribe well in- 
 structed unto the kingdom of heaven, bringing forth out of his 
 treasures things new and old. 
 
 He could repeat a large portion of the Word of God ; his 
 mind was ever intent to acquire u that learning which was least 
 for show but most for service. He was apt to teach. He held 
 the pen of a ready writer.* He was not eloquent, but impressive. 
 He was beloved by his people. " He sought them, not theirs." 
 He made himself servant to the people that he might gain the 
 more. They "generally had a high esteem of him so laboring 
 among them, esteeming him very highly in love for his work's 
 sake. And he had the comfort to see his people generally united 
 in love, ' keeping the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace.' " 
 This he acknowledges in his preface to his " Two Sermons on 
 Joseph a Type of Christ." He says : " I present them to you as a 
 :small token of my endeared love and affection to you, and as a 
 small acknowledgment of your love and kindness to me." 
 
 " As a minister," says Rev. Jonathan Todd, in the sermon 
 which he preached at his funeral, " he Avas really a shining light, 
 and obtained the great esteem of the most judicious in all our 
 congregations. His preaching was solid, his manner grave and 
 serious, his subjects were the great things of God's law and the 
 doctrines of the gospel. He was excellently gifted in prayer, and 
 remarkable for pertinence and fulness of matter upon special 
 occasions. 
 
 " A happy concurrence of ministerial gifts and graces ren- 
 dered him very useful in the pastoral office in his day. 
 
 * One of his congregation requested him to preach from Gen. xlv:4, "I am 
 Joseph your brother." The request was made, probably, Thursday evening. 
 The subject "Joseph an eminent type of Christ," was one that interested, him. 
 He says, "I considered withal that discourses of this kind would be suitable on 
 a sacrament day, and therefore preached on it the next Lord's day." The dis- 
 course fills 48 pages, 12mo, of closely printed matter all written in two days.
 
 19 
 
 " He labored among this people forty-four years. During 
 this long period he was detained from the house of God but 
 three and one-half days, until the last four Sabbaths of his life." 
 
 During his ministry the church greatly prospered, though 
 at a period when piety was very low throughout the land. 
 There was no general revival during his pastorate, yet he received 
 one hundred and -fifty-eight into full communion, and four hun- 
 dred and sixty-six owned the Covenant. He baptized one thou- 
 sand three hundred and forty-three in his own parish, and married 
 three hundred and seven couple. 
 
 The following entry is found on the Records of the church : 
 
 "Feb. 5, 1782. Departed this life in comfortable and firm 
 hope of a better, the Reverend and Worthy Mr. William Sew- 
 ard, first pastor of this church. After having served God and 
 his generation faithfully, he died in the 70th year of his age, and 
 had just entered upon the 45th of his ministry. 
 
 He was much beloved and respected among his people, and 
 all his acquaintance, by whom his departure is much lamented." 
 
 The second pastor of this church was Henry Ely. He was 
 born at Wilbraham, Mass., May 15th, 1755, and graduated at 
 Yale College 1778 a class-mate of Noah Webster. He 
 preached first to this people during Mr. Seward's sickness. He 
 continued to supply till July 9th, 1782, when he was invited to 
 " settle in the Gospel Ministry." The same day he returned a 
 favorable answer, though he did not fully accept the call. Thus 
 matters stood till Sept. 2nd, when the Society stipulated to pay 
 Mr. Ely 300 Ibs. lawful money, as a settlement, and 90 Ibs. salary, 
 " silver at 6s. and 8p. per ounce," or wheat at 5s. per bushel. 5 
 In addition to this, it was voted to "give him sixty loads of wood 
 by the year." Also it was voted " that if the salary was not 
 paid at the time agreed, then interest should be paid till the time 
 of settlement." 
 
 These proposals were satisfactory. In his answer of accept- 
 ance he says : " Having received an invitation, with suitable en- 
 couragement from you, to settle among you in the work of the 
 Gospel ministry : having received the advice of friends and 
 fathers in the ministry, and seeing, as I imagin, the path of duty 
 plain before me, I cannot be disobedient to the intimations of 
 Providence."
 
 20 
 
 He was ordained Sept. 25th, 1782. Rev. Theodore Hinsdale 
 preached the sermon. Rev. John Devotion gave the Right 
 Hand of Fellowship. 
 
 For eighteen years Mr. Ely's pastorate was pleasant, and the 
 people united and happy. No sign of dissatisfaction appears till 
 a Society Meeting, held Nov. 3d, 1800. Then, "on motion to 
 grant the Rev. Henry Ely a salary for the year ensuing, passed 
 in the negative," by a large majority. The causes of this " un- 
 easiness " are not recorded. The parties could not, or did not, 
 agree. Dissatisfaction became more decided and out-spoken. 
 
 O A 
 
 No " accommodation of views " could be made. Negotiations 
 were entered into, and, when the Society agreed to take his house 
 and land, he resigned, and was dismissed, Feb. 12th, 1801. His 
 pastorate was eighteen years, five months and seventeen days. 
 
 He gathered into the church ninety-two : one hundred and 
 seventy-three owned the Covenant. He married one hundred 
 and sixty-four couple, and baptized five hundred and seventy- 
 nine. 
 
 After his dismission he returned to Wilbraham, Mas*. 
 Thence he removed, the same year, to Rome, N. Y., preaching 
 most, if not all the time, at that place, till 1805, when he 
 removed to " New Connecticut," to the town of Stowe, now in 
 Summit Co., Ohio. In this then very new part of the State, he 
 preached gratuitously in a log school house, till the opening of 
 the war, 1812. 
 
 His home was on the bank of Pleasant Lake, from which 
 he was driven by the Indians, with only a very few hours' notice. 
 
 He then returned to N. Y. and spent the remainder of his 
 days with his children, though he " continued to preach until the 
 infirmities of age pressed too heavily upon him : maintaining his 
 Christian character and integrity to the end. He loved his 
 culling, and strove to do good while life lasted. He had a serene 
 old age, and a peaceful death." He loved more and more, as age 
 advanced, the teachings of Jesus. He taught more clearly the 
 doctrines of the cross, and enforced more pointedly the practical 
 duties of the New Testament. 
 
 He died at the house of his youngest daughter, Mrs. E. P. 
 Braton, in Watertown, N. Y., Aug. 2d, 1835, in the eighty-first 
 year of his age.
 
 21 
 
 Mr. Ely built the house where Mr. O. E. Redfield now lives. 
 It was voted, Dec. 2d, 1782, "that Lieut Roswell Parmelee, 
 Josiah Parmelee, and Sergt. Joseph Griswold, be a Committee to 
 git ye timber and hew and frame a house for Mr. Ely." 
 
 Another committee was chosen " to see that ye sellar be 
 stoned, and ye chimney built for sd Mr. Ely's house." 
 
 For more than eighty years this house was the home of the 
 pastors of this church. When Mr. Bell left, in 1864, the prop- 
 erty passed into other hands, and the present beautiful parsonage 
 was built. 
 
 The third pastor of this church was Josiah B. Andrews. 
 He was born at Southington, this State. He graduated at Yale 
 College, 1797, and was class-mate of Lyman Beecher, D. D. 
 He studied Theology with Abel Flint, D. D., of the South 
 Church, Hartford, and was licensed by the Tolland Association, 
 June 4, 1799. 
 
 In the year 1800 he was sent out by the Connecticut Mis- 
 sion Society to the southern part of N. Y., and the northern part 
 of Penn. He was gone eighteen weeks and two days, traveled 
 1,349 miles, preached one hundred and eleven times, attended 
 several conferences, and one funeral, beside catechising and in- 
 structing children more than fifty times in a public manner, and 
 frequently visiting from house to house. He rode, at one time, 
 over four hundred miles without meeting with any regular minis- 
 ter. 
 
 In this missionary tour he was the instrument of doing much 
 good, in awakening an interest in the subject of religion, and in 
 leading many souls to Christ. 
 
 Soon after his return he began to preach in this place. 
 March 1, 1801, he occupied the desk for the first time. 
 
 At a meeting of the Society, held May 18, 1801, it was 
 voted 
 
 "That we will give Mr. Josiah B. Andrews a call to settle 
 here in the work of the gospel ministry." 
 
 "Voted, June 29, 1801, to give a salary of $400, and $1,000 
 settlement." 
 
 To this invitation Mr. Andrews replies : 
 
 " The state of things in this place is such, at present, united 
 to my circumstances at this time, that if it should meet with the
 
 22 
 
 approbation of the people, I should prefer a delay in giving a 
 decisive answer until the first Monday in December next." 
 
 From August to December, Mr. Andrews was absent. (I 
 have not been able to learn who occupied the desk during his 
 absence.) After his return he preached till March 22, 1802, when 
 he gave them a formal answer, accepting the call. 
 
 February 25, 1802, the church "voted to give Mr. Josiah B. 
 Andrews a call to settle among us in the work of the gospel 
 ministry." 
 
 In his answer he says : " Whereas serious difficulties have of 
 late existed in the church, which have caused unhappy divisions 
 among the people, I have, in time past, thought it not rny duty 
 to comply with your request, consequently a delay of almost 
 nine months has been made of this important matter since your 
 call was first given." .... 
 
 Among other reasons for accepting, he says : " Consider- 
 ing that through the blessing of God, and the effectual workings 
 of his Holy Spirit, there hath been a very serious and uncommon 
 attention to divine things since my first entrance into this place, 
 among both old and young, so that we have reason to hope num- 
 bers have been born into the kingdom of Christ, forever to rejoice 
 with him in glory, and viewing the progress of the work as still 
 glorious, but apparently much hindered by reason of a delay 
 of the settlement of a minister, that he may be statedly and 
 steadily with the people ; Under these circumstances, I think it 
 my duty to submit the important question relative to my settle- 
 ment with you, to the better judgment of a wise and judicious 
 council, which may be called in." 
 
 Accordingly he was ordained to the work of the gospel min- 
 istry, April 21, 1802. 
 
 Rev. Abel Flint, D. D., of Hartford, preached the sermon, 
 from Acts, 28 : 31. Rev. David Seldon gave the Right Hand of 
 Fellowship. 
 
 Mr. Andrews was a small, short man, very active, and much 
 admired by his people. lie was animated and popular as a 
 preacher, and an advocate of "high Calvinism." He was strik- 
 ing in his remarks, convincing in his reasoning. He was sociable 
 as a companion, entertaining in conversation, apt to teach, as 
 those under his instruction can testify.
 
 23 
 
 The church greatly prospered under his ministry. Many 
 built their hopes of salvation upon a new foundation, even faith 
 in Christ. Others were strengthened in their Christian character. 
 Many who had lived ungodly lives, were led to the Lamb of God, 
 who taketh away the sins of the world, and found peace in 
 believing in Him. 
 
 The character of Mr. Andrew's preaching was doctrinal, 
 with pointed application. He discussed a new class of subjects, 
 those which teach the entire sinfulness of man, and his depen- 
 dence upon Christ alone for salvation ; that morality and good 
 works were not a sufficient ground for a good hope of heaven. 
 He told them that they were in the hands of an angry God, at 
 his sovereign disposal. He also taught them that whosoever 
 would repent of their sins, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 should secure life eternal. 
 
 Some took offence at these doctrines, and hence opposition 
 arose. Better feelings were cherished. Sides were taken. 
 Charges were made involving moral character. His usefulness 
 was impaired. A council was called. Lawyers plead the case, 
 but nothing was proved against him. He was regularly dismis- 
 sed, April 16, 1811. His pastorate was nine years, wanting five 
 days. 
 
 In looking back to these days of trial, and yet days of bless- 
 ing, I think we must conclude that the influence of Mr. Andrew's 
 ministry, was, upon the whole, good. He awoke the mind and 
 set men a thinking. He started this church in its upward course 
 of prosperity. From his day to the present God has blessed us, 
 and the plain practical teachings of Jesus have been loved. 
 
 He admitted to the church one hundred and forty-three ; 
 united in marriage sixty-seven couple; baptized one hundred and 
 twenty-five, and attended one hundred and forty-eight funerals. 
 
 After leaving this place, he went to Perth Amboy, N. J. 
 where he became involved in difficulty, and left the sacred office. 
 
 He then studied medicine, received his diploma from the 
 New York Medical College, 1816. He returned to Southington, 
 and remained there till the death of his father. In 1837 he re- 
 moved to Kew York City, practising medicine, and preaching 
 occasionally. He died 1853. 
 
 The fourth pastor of this church was Rev. Asa King. Coming 
 soon after, or rather in the midst of the excitement attending the
 
 24 
 
 dismission of Mr. Andrews, when feeling, ran deep and strong, 
 when friends and neighbors had been alienated, and when opinions 
 on religious subjects were held widely at variance, it was no diffi- 
 cult matter to harmonize these discordant elements. Particular 
 men are i-aised up for particular occassions. There is a niche 
 which they only can fill. Such was Mr. King. The friends of 
 Mr. Andrews liked him, because he preached so much like their 
 former pastor. The opponents of Mr. Andrews were pleased 
 with him, because he preached so unlike their former pastor. 
 Hence, at the very first, Mr. King had the good will of all. 
 
 The Rev. Asa Kinsr was a native of Mansfield, Conn., the 
 
 o 
 
 son of Mr. John and Mrs. Elizabeth King. Living at a distance 
 from public school, his early advantages for education were limit- 
 ed. When about eighteen, he united with the church in his 
 native place ; from this time he had a strong desire for an educa- 
 cation. The way seemed to be hedged iip. He was in feeble 
 health, and had no funds or friends to aid him, still he made the 
 effort. He qualified himself for a teacher, and taught for more 
 than a year on Long Island. He entered Princeton College in 
 1795, but for the want of health and of funds he left at the end 
 of the year. He taught in Easton, Penn., and then opened a 
 select school in New Haven, where he remained three years and 
 a-half The ruling desire of his life was to preach the gospel. In 
 the Spring of 1801 he entered the Theological School of Dr. 
 Backus, at Somers. He was licensed by the New Haven West 
 Association, October 20, 1801. 
 
 Very soon after he was invited to settle as a colleague with 
 Rev. A. Putnam, of Pomfret. Here he continued nine years, 
 being dismissed in June, 1811. 
 
 At a special meeting of the second Ecclesiastical Society of 
 Killingworth, held October 7, 1811. it was voted, "that we give 
 the Rev. Asa King, a call to settle among us in the work of the 
 Gospel Ministry." 
 
 " Voted, That we will give the Rev. Asa King, five hundred 
 and ten dollars, and twenty cords of good merchantable oak 
 wood annually, for his salary, from the time he shall be settled 
 in the work of the Gospel Ministry among us, until the pastoral 
 and ministerial relation between him and us shall be dissolved."
 
 25 
 
 Having accepted the call,* he was installed, November 20, 
 1811. Rev. Ludovicus "Weld, preached the sermon, from 1 Cor. 
 3 ; 4, 5, 6 verses. Rev. Dr. Lyman gave the Right Hand of 
 Fellowship. 
 
 Upon Mr. King's settlement, all discord ceased harmony 
 was restored. Old friends that had been alienated forgot the 
 past. Subjects of heated discussion were dismissed, doctrines 
 once distasteful were now cordially believed, so that there was 
 tranquillity in church and society. 
 
 It is often dangerous for a minister to settle with so much 
 popularity/at first. It is like standing on the top round of a lad- 
 der, whei'e the only movement must be a downward one. But 
 Mr. King retained his good standing. He labored on, year after 
 year, strengthening the weak, confirming the wavering, and 
 bringing the whole church up to a higher level of Christian ex- 
 perience. When he left Pomfret, a person of another denomin- 
 ation said, "I am glad Mr. King is going away, for his people 
 have been worshipping him." For seventeen years he was re- 
 spected and loved. His influence in town was great. When 
 the temperance question began to be agitated, being a staunch 
 temperance man, he took advanced ground. Part held with the 
 pastor, and part against him. Exciting meetings were held. In 
 earnest debate, questions were discussed, which at present would 
 awaken no interest at all. The very formation of a Temperance 
 Society separated friends, and caused serious divisions in the 
 church. Under these circumstances Mr. King asked for a disso- 
 lution of the pastoral relation. At a special meeting, held July 
 9, 1832, it was voted, " To appoint a committee to wait on the 
 Rev. Mr. King, and request him to withdraw his request to the 
 society for a dismission." 
 
 The request was not withdrawn, and he was dismissed on 
 the 1st of August, 1832. Mr. King's pastorate was twenty years, 
 eight weeks, and eleven days. During this time he attended 
 two hundred and thirty-five funerals ; solomnized one hundred 
 and sixty-six marriages ; baptized three hundred and fifty-two, 
 and admitted to the church two hundred and fifty-nine. 
 
 From Killingworth, he removed to Westminster, and was 
 
 * The church voted, Nov. 4th, That Friday, the 15th instant be appointed 
 as a fast preparatory to the installation. The public service to begin at 1 o'clock, 
 P. M.
 
 26 
 
 installed in January, 1833. He remained pastor of this people 
 for nearly seventeen years. He died December 2, 1849, being 
 nearly eighty years of age. 
 
 " Mr. King was a Christian man." Said his last companion, " I 
 never knew such a Christian. He seldom, if ever, retires at night 
 or rises in the morning without repeating some passage of scrip- 
 ture, or some hymn, and adding reflections upon it. He has much 
 communion with God." 
 
 He was a sympathizing friend, and but "few knew better 
 how to offer the consolations of religion." He was a man of 
 sound faith, of unswerving principles. " He took hold of the 
 massive pillars of the Divine Government, and there he stood 
 firmly." His master honored him with a long life, and much 
 success in his ministry. 
 
 Rev. Ephraim G. Swift was the fifth pastor. He was born in 
 Williamstown, Mass., August 14, 1782. He was the son of Rev. 
 Seth Swift, who graduated at Yale College, 1779. His mother 
 was Lucy Elliot, of Clinton, (Old Killingworth,) a descendant of 
 Elliot the Indian apostle. He graduated at William's College, 
 1804, and studied Theology with Dr. Stephen West, of West 
 Stockbridge. He was settled a colleague with Dr. West for 
 nine years. Afterwards he supplied several parishes until he came 
 to Killingworth. He commenced his labors here in Jan. 1 833, 
 and was installed Dec. 11, 1833. 
 
 Mr. Swift was conciliatory in his character, having that char- 
 ity that suffereth long and is kind, doing good unto all men as he 
 had opportunity. His ministry was laborious but successful. 
 He sought to win souls for the master, nor did he spend his 
 strength for naught. He admitted one hundred and ninety-eight 
 to the church, baptized two hundred and ninety-six, iinited in 
 marriage one hundred and fifty-three couples, and attended 
 three hundred and thirty-eight funerals. 
 
 At his own request, he was dismissed Nov. 6, 1850, being a 
 pastorate of sixteen years, ten months, and twenty-five days. After 
 his dismission the Society entered the following on its records. 
 
 Jtesolved, " That the effort to secure and preserve peace and 
 harmony in the church and society, the faithful and zeal- 
 ous discharge of all pastoral duties, the earnest and consistent 
 and exemplary life, which have characterized the course of Mr. 
 Swift during his ministration with us, merit and receive our
 
 27 
 
 most sincere thanks, and that our best wishes will ever attend 
 him through life." 
 
 He died at Buffalo, Aug. 28, 1858. Though among strangers, 
 he received every expression of kindness which his condition re- 
 quired, and died, as he had lived, cheered and sustained by a good 
 hope in Christ of a blessed immortality. 
 
 The sixth Pastor was the Rev. Hiram Bell. He was born 
 at Antrim, N. H., graduated at Williams College, 1836, studied 
 Theology at East Windsor Hill, and was licensed by the Tolland 
 Association, 1838. 
 
 He was ordained at Malborough, Feb. 17, 1840. After a 
 pastorate of ten years, he was dismissed, and was installed over 
 this church, Nov. 6, 1850. He was dismissed, 1864. He is now 
 acting pastor of the church in Westchester. 
 
 Of him and his labors I need not speak, for he is here and 
 will speak for himself. Sure am I, that you will give him a cor- 
 dial welcome in your greetings to-day. Many whose Christian 
 graces were quickened by his instruction, many who acknowl- 
 edge him as their spiritual father, many who accepted not the 
 invitation, " Come to Jesus " which he so often gave will take 
 him by the hand, and throngs of memories will come rushing 
 back to the heart. 
 
 He gathered one hundred and twenty into the church, mar- 
 ried seventy-six couple, and attended two hundred and fifty-three 
 funerals. 
 
 In the list of the departed, during this period, I find the fol- 
 lowing sad but honorable record. The names on the Roll call 
 of those who fell in their country's sei'vice are Benjamin Lord, 
 Joseph V. Evarts, Wilson S. Hall, Charles D. Stevens, Erwin 
 Nettleton, Ellsworth Rutty, Edson Stevens, Dennis Nettleton, 
 Samuel B. Hill, Henry E. Barnum, George B. Marsh, Elford 
 Franklin. 
 
 Of these twelve, but two lie buried here among their friends. 
 Of the rest, some died of disease, and others from w r ounds receiv- 
 ed in battle, and were buried from the hospital. One was killed 
 at Gettysburg!!, and was buried with the noble slain. One died 
 within those fearful stockades, at Andersonville, where life was 
 wasted away through sufferings and agony, such as are almost un- 
 heard of in the annals of cruelty. Though they lie far away on 
 southern soil, and in graves over which friends never weep, yet
 
 28 
 
 their memory is blessed, their names enshrined on tablets never 
 to be effaced. 
 
 Thus, looking over our homes made desolate by war, redraw- 
 ing scenes of social and domestic happiness from which some 
 loved form has dropt out, and recalling those who went out full 
 of life and buoyant hope, but who Avere never to return ; some 
 falling in battle, some by the way, some in. southern prisons, for- 
 cibly are we reminded of the words of the poet : 
 
 " New England's dead ! New England's dead ! 
 
 On every hill they lie ; 
 On every field of strife, made red 
 By bloody victory. 
 
 Each valley where the battle poured 
 
 Its red and awful tide, 
 Behold ! the brave New England sword, 
 
 With slaughter deeply dyed. 
 
 Their bones are on the northern hills, 
 
 And on the southern plain, 
 By brook and river, lake and rill, 
 
 And by the roaring main." 
 
 To return from this digression. 
 
 The seventh pastor was Rev. Timothy Lyman. He was 
 born in Chester, Mass., graduated at Amherst College in 1844, 
 and studied Theology at Andover Seminary. He was licensed 
 by the New York and Brooklyn Association, 1848. He then 
 went west, and for fourteen years labored there, most of the time 
 as a Missionary of the American Home Mission Society. 
 
 He spent one year among the freedmen at the South. 
 
 On the 14th of April 1866, he was invited to take the pas- 
 toral charge of this church and people. Accepting the same, he 
 was installed Nov. 21, 1866. 
 
 Rev. J. S. Dudley, of Middletown, preached the sermon. Rev. 
 J. A. Gallup, of Madison, gave the Right Hand of Fellowship. 
 
 He was dismissed March 1st, 1869.
 
 29 
 
 I need not give a definite statement of his labors, as they 
 are all fresh in your minds. 
 
 Your present acting pastor preached in this desk, for the first 
 time, March 29, 1869. 
 
 II. Meeting Houses. 
 
 The spirit of the early settlers was manifested at their first 
 society meeting, held Sept. ye 25th day, A. D. 1735, for it was 
 then voted that it was " necessary to build a meeting Hous." 
 
 " At the same meeting Edward Rutty, and Josiah Hull, and 
 Daniel Buel was Chose a Commete to lay a memorial before the 
 General Assembly, in October next, to pray the Assembly to es- 
 tablish a Commitey to affix a place for a meeting hous." 
 
 " At an iurned meeting from ye 25, Day of September, A. 
 D. 1735, to ye forth day of November next, at the house of Sam- 
 ewell Steevens at twelve o'clock at none ;" 
 
 " Josiah Hull and Joseph Willcocks and Edward Rutty and 
 Theophilus Redfield and Nathaniel Parmelee was chose a com- 
 mety to wait upon the Gentlemen Commety appointed by ye 
 General assembly to affix a place for a meeting hous for sd So- 
 ciety." 
 
 " At the same meeting, John Lane and Nathan Kelsey and 
 SameweH Stevens was chosen a Commety to Meashur whare the 
 Gentlemen Commity apointed by ye General Cort shall think it 
 nedful." 
 
 Nov. 18, 1735, it was voted "wee wold be in preparation to 
 Buld an hous thurty feet long, 22 feet in weth, and 7 and 
 betwene Gints, with a Dobel Chimney atone end." 
 
 Mar. 25, 1736, " it was voted, that ye society hous agreed to. 
 be bult shall be set up about eight or ten rods northeast from 
 ye place affixed for ye sitting of ye meeting hous." 
 
 This house, either because it was too small, or for reasons not 
 now known, soon gaA^e place for another. It was occupied as a 
 place of worship less than six years. It was called the " society 
 house," and probably was never dedicated to the worship of 
 God. 
 
 Nov. 25, 1739, " it was voted that we will go about building 
 a meeting house for the worship of God this year." 

 
 30 
 
 " Also voted that we will build sd house fifty-eight feet in 
 length, thirty-eight feet in bredth."* 
 
 Mr. Edward Rutty, Dea. Joseph Wilcocks, and Josiah Hull, 
 blacksmith, " was chose a committee to buld." The posts were 
 to be two feet shorter than those in the first society. The house 
 was to be enclosed with " sawed cla-bords," and the roof covered 
 with eighteen inch chestnut shingles. 
 
 This house was so far finished as to be occupied in 1743, per- 
 haps the year before. 
 
 I can find no account of any dedication service, though Mr. 
 King, in his last sermon in the old house, says : " it is now near- 
 ly eighty years since it was dedicated. 
 
 A vote was passed Dec. 20, 1743, "that ye seats and pues 
 in our meeting house shall be dignified by ye same rules that 
 East Guilford hath dignified the seats and pues in their meeting 
 house." 
 
 Both houses stood upon the ledges a few rods south of Mr. 
 David Chittenden's, at the head of " Bear Swamp." The last 
 house faced south. There was a door on the south side, and at 
 
 * In this connection, the following records are of interest : 
 
 In 1730, the South Society voted to build a new Meeting House, and tax all 
 the inhabitants of the town according to their list, in building sd house. To 
 this the settlers in this part of the town objected, as they were so soon to be a 
 society by themselves, and would, of necessity, be at the expense of building a 
 house in which to worship. An adjustment was made. 
 
 "At a Town meeting, January ye 15, A. D. 1731, It was voted that our 
 Northern Inhabitants should join us in building a new Meeting House, and that 
 it shall be built by a Rate or Rates particularly by themselves, and when sd 
 Northern Inhabitants shall be set off, and qualified according to law to be a soci- 
 ety by themselves, and shall be a Building a Meeting House for themselves, that 
 then, we that remain, that is to say, the old society, shall reiniburst back again 
 to those that then will be our new society as much as sd society shall disburst 
 towards building sd meeting house in the old society." 
 
 Turn we now to the records of the new Societv. Take the following, the 
 last of a series of the same kind. It bears date of Dec. llth, 1739. 
 
 "This society now takeing into consideration the affairs respecting the 
 money payed by the Inhabitants of this society towards building a meeting 
 House in the South or first Society in Killingworth, which money hath not yet 
 been payed to us altho we are now in Building a meeting House in this Society, 
 and tho we have used endeauvrs for the gaining sd money, yet we are still de- 
 layed to our damage ; Whare fore, by a major vote of this society, Isaac Kelsey, 
 Lieutenant^Natlianiel Parmelee and Nathan Kelsey, are now Chosen a committee, 
 to ask, demand, Resieve and Recover of the Inhabitants of the sd first society 
 what the Inhabitants of this society advanced towards the building of the sd 
 meeting House in the sd first society. all of which is secured to us by the vote 
 of the Inhabitants of Killingworth, assembled in a meeting upon ye 15th day of 
 January, A. D. 1731. 
 
 Thus, I presume, the money was refunded after a delav of more than eight 
 years ; for there is no farther account of the transaction.
 
 31 
 
 the east and west ends. There were nine windows on the front 
 side, and five on each end, and eight on the north side. There 
 was no steeple on the house it looked like a large, high barn, 
 full of windows. It was for many years a peach-blossom color, 
 but when old and ready to decay, it assumed a " dark brown." 
 The step-stones were low, broken, askew, and rocking. The 
 window casements rattled in the wind. 
 
 The pulpit was on the sides of the north, with a large sound- 
 ing-board over it : square pews below, and galleries all around. 
 The church was surrounded by quite a number of Sabbath-day 
 houses, "where the people gathered at noon for shelter, or 
 warmth, or to eat, or to talk, or to gossip, or, perhaps, all.' 1 '' 
 These have all crumbled and gone. Shrubs now grow where 
 once the house of God stood. Mr. David Chittenden has kindly, 
 at my suggestion, chiseled upon a large flat rock, which was un- 
 der the old meeting-house, " 1739 and 1820," so that the present 
 and future generations may know where our fathers worshipped.* 
 
 The society voted in 1816 to build a new house of worship. 
 This building was raised in 1817, completed in the spring of 1820. 
 On the last sabbath in May the 28th 1820, worship was held 
 for the last time in " ye old meeting house." Here, for eighty 
 years, the people had gathered. Here had many dedicated them- 
 selves to God. Here had more than two thousand children been 
 consecrated to the Lord in baptism; but with joyful hearts did 
 they look towards this their new house of worship. 
 
 As we look back to the old sanctuary which our fathers 
 loved which they honored with their presence in which they 
 worshipped the words of the Psalmist are naturally suggested 
 " The Lord shall count, when he writeth up his people, that this 
 man was born there." Mr. King's closing discourse was from 
 
 o o 
 
 John 14: 31, "Arise, let us go hence." 
 
 On the 31st of May, fifty years ago to-day, was this house 
 dedicated to the service of God. The text was in Haggai, 2 : 9, 
 " The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the 
 former." 
 
 This house, thus dedicated to God, God lias owned, and has 
 often shown his glory in it. Here he has met his children. He 
 
 * I would suggest that a large stone be placed where the first society house 
 stood, with the dates of 17361742 chiseled upon it.
 
 has heard their petitions and granted their requests, even giving 
 them more grace. He has enlarged their hearts when they ran 
 in the way of his commandments. He has honored his servants 
 who have here ministered at the altar, in making them the cho- 
 sen instruments of leading many to the Lamb of God, whotaketh 
 away the sins of the world. 
 
 As in days past, so in generations to come, may this house 
 stand not as a land-mark to guide the sailor outward bound- 
 but as a beacon light, along a dangerous coast, to guide those 
 who are crossing the ocean of time, to the haven of peace, of eter- 
 nal blessedness. 
 
 May the glory of the future of this house be greater than 
 that of the past. May it be a place where God reveals his name 
 that it may be there forever. 
 
 III. Seasons of Revivals. 
 
 At the close of the last century, the standard of piety in our 
 churches was not very high. The half-way covenanfa i. e. " a 
 creditable profession of godliness is not necessary to full commu- 
 nion," was generally adopted, and nearly all were thus brought 
 in. A good moral character, and the practice of general Christian 
 duties, were sufficient to admit to full communion. No doubt 
 there Avere true earnest Christians in those days, but piety as- 
 sumed then a very different type from that of to-day. 
 
 After the time of Whitfield, seasons of refreshing from the 
 Lord were infrequent till the close of the century. 
 
 The opening of the present century was marked by great 
 religious movements throughout the land. In 1799 and 1800 
 many churches in this state were refreshed. In 1801 and 2 there 
 was a more remarkable outpouring of the Spirit. Among those 
 highly favored of the Lord was this town. In the spring of 1801 
 Mr. Andrews came to preach to this people. Seriousness at once 
 began to prevail. Some of the young people requested their 
 pastor elect to preach a sermon to them on election day, a thing 
 so unusual that Mr. Andrews declined. But the solicitation being 
 renewed, another day was soon appointed. The house was crowd- 
 ed. Many wept. The Spirit of the Lord was working secretly in 
 their hearts. In May, the interest became general, and so con-
 
 33 
 
 tinned for several months. In August, as Mr. Andrews was to be 
 absent several months, he invited all who were interested, to 
 meet for religious conversation. More than two hundred were 
 present, "anxious about their salvation." In Sept., 1801, Rev. 
 David Huntington received thirty-two into the church. 
 
 After Mr. Andrew's return, the interest was renewed, and, in 
 1802, seventeen were added to the church. The next year, 1803, 
 "the attention of both old and young seemed to be unusually 
 excited again, and thirty-three Avere added to the communion." 
 In 1804 twenty-one were added to the church, making, in all, one 
 hundred and three. 
 
 "Many lost their former hope, and were led to build again on 
 another foundation, which is Christ, formed in the soul, the hope 
 of glory." 
 
 The influence of this revival was great. It reached all 
 classes, soothing bitter feelings, causing animosities to cease, so 
 that all once more enjoyed sweet communion together, unitedly 
 praising the God of their fathers. 
 
 Another influence of this revival was, it changed the taste 
 of this people as to the truth they desired to be taught. Instead 
 of smooth things, " healing the hurt of the daughter of my people 
 slightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace ;" they 
 loved solemn, pungent truths, those that take hold of the 
 heart, those that teach that we are all sinners before God, and 
 that there is no hope of salvation, only through Christ, the sin- 
 ner's friend. 
 
 Among those who united with the church at this time were 
 Philander Parmelee and Asahel Nettletou. They were friends in 
 early life, and the friendship thus formed was never broken. 
 They were class-mates, and, I think, room-mates in College. 
 They graduated at Yale College, 1809. 
 
 Mr. Parmelee was first settled at Victor, N. Y., May 5, 1812. 
 Dismissed Dec. 28, 1814. 
 
 He was settled at Bolton, Nov. 8, 1815, and died there Dec. 
 27, 1822. He was a laborious and earnest worker. He loved his 
 Master's cause. He was a faithful under-shepherd. Though cut 
 down in the prime of life, he had not labored in vain, nor spent 
 his strength for naught. 
 
 Mr. Nettleton studied Theology with Rev. B. Piuneo, of 
 
 3
 
 34 
 
 Milford, and was licensed by the New Haven West Association, 
 May 28, 1811. He entered upon the work of the ministry with 
 his whole heart. But few have equalled him in effectiveness, 
 while at the height of his power and of his usefulness. 
 
 Dr.' Bacon says : " The power of his preaching consisted very 
 much in the clearness with which he exhibited and urged the 
 duty of impenitent sinners to repent immediately, notwithstand- 
 ing their dependence on the saving grace of God, and notwith- 
 standing the metaphysical difficulties about the doctrine of the 
 will. While he insisted on the inability affirmed in these words 
 of Christ, ' No man can come to me except the Father who hath 
 sent me draw him,' he also insisted on the New England distinc- 
 tion between natural inability and moral, and made his hearers 
 realize that the ' cannot ' is only an obstinate ' will not.' ' 
 
 As a man, Dr. Nettleton was sociable, and always had power 
 to interest, especially the young. He was a lover of poetry, 
 and would often enliven conversation by introducing a striking 
 passage from some favorite author. 
 
 As a preacher, he taught practically the great truths God 
 has communicated to us in his word. He presented truth with 
 remarkable clearness and pungency. He seemed to know just 
 what topics to select, and when to urge them. He was never 
 afraid to make a faithful application of God's word to the heart 
 and conscience, or to bring it to bear upon any known course of 
 sin. 
 
 " His manner in the pulpit, and in all his dealings with indi- 
 vidual inquirers," says Dr. Bacon, " was intensely solemn, and 
 in that way impressive; while now and then there was some 
 thing like ' sign-language ' in his gestures, and, corresponding 
 with it, something imitative in his tones." He adds, " The broth- 
 erly regard and respect which Dr. Taylor and Dr. Beecher had 
 for him, to the end of life, is a better tribute to his memory than 
 any eulogism that could be written." 
 
 Dr. Todd says, " I heard him preach what was said to be his 
 first sermon. It was in the school-house on Parkershill. I recall 
 that sermon it must have been sixty years ago about Balaam 
 and Balak. I remember the preacher was very awkward. He 
 woiild bend the knees, as if making a courtesy, every few minutes. 
 How different from the same man when I met him in 1820, at the
 
 35 
 
 revival in Yale College, when he seemed almost to raise the dead. 
 No one who did not hear him in those days can have any idea 
 of the simplicity, keenness and power of his preaching then. His 
 throne was in the school-house meeting, crowded, dimly lighted, 
 breathless and solemn. It is a crreat honor to Killing-worth to 
 
 o O 
 
 have raised one such man." 
 
 He died at East Windsor, May 16, 1834. 
 
 In his last sickness, near the close of life, one said to him, 
 " You are in good hands ; are you willing to be there ?" He re- 
 plied, " I am, I know not that I have any advice to give my 
 friends. My whole preaching expresses my views. If I could 
 see the pilgrims, scattered abroad, who thought they experienced 
 religion under my preaching, I should like to address them. I 
 woul d tell them that the great truths of the gospel appear more 
 precious than ever, and that they are the truths which now sus- 
 tain my soul." 
 
 Among his last articulate utterances, was an allusion to a 
 farewell sermon he preached in Virginia, from the words : " While 
 ye have the light, walk in the light." 
 
 At eight o'clock in the morning of a beautiful May day, he 
 calmly fell asleep in the arms of the Savior he loved. 
 
 May we all remember his dying words, " While ye have the 
 light, walk in the light ;' ' and, in order to do this, " cling to the 
 cross of Christ." 
 
 In 1810 God again visited this people, and fifty -one were 
 gathered into the church. 
 
 I see before me two, who, sixty years ago stood up in the 
 old church and avouched the Lord to be their God and Savior. 
 Throughout this long period their testimony is " There has not 
 failed one word, of all his good promise, which he promised by 
 the hand of Moses, his servant." 
 
 In August succeeding the dedication of this church, in a 
 Bible class taught by the pastor, commenced " that ever-to-be-re- 
 membered revival." " It had been," says Mr. King, " in pleasing 
 progress for some time, when, under the labors of Dr. Nettleton, 
 it received a new impulse, and went forward with unusual power." 
 Dr. Xettleton says that, " on the 25th of Sept., 1820, he attended 
 an inquiry meeting at which sixty-two were present. On the 
 29th, thirty-nine were rejoicing in hope, and on the 23d of Octo-
 
 36 
 
 ber there were ninety rejoicing." Mr. King says that " the 
 hopeful converts were one hundred and sixty-two." 
 
 The influence of that revival upon the church was very hap- 
 py. It produced unanimity of sentiment on doctrinal points 
 about which they had long contended, and cordiality of feeling, 
 where there had been prejudices of long standing. 
 
 There are many present here to-day, who remember the im- 
 pressive scene of Jan. 21st, 1821, when one hundred and seven 
 stood in these aisles to profess their faith in Christ. A deep feel- 
 ing rested upon every heart, almost like the felt presence of God. 
 It was not the moistened eye, but the breathless silence which 
 told of feelings too deep to be uttered. 
 
 These are some of the say in GTS in regard to this revival 
 which we have heard, and our fathers have told us. 
 
 Beside these, there have been other seasons of the gracious 
 out-po\iring of the Spirit. In 1827, forty-nine were added to the 
 church ; 1830, twenty-two ; 1835, twelve ; 1 836, fifty-nine ; 1843, 
 seventy; 1847, twenty-five; 1854, forty-one; 18-38, forty-six; 
 1866, fifty. 
 
 "These years are memorable in the annals of this church, 
 and glorious in the eyes of God's people." Our borders were en- 
 larged, and we can say, " Behold the tabernacle of God is with 
 men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, 
 and God himself shall be with them and be their God/' 
 
 IV. Conferences, Sabbath Schools, &c. 
 
 Mr. Andrews says: "In April, 1801, perceiving that the 
 Lord was in a very peculiar manner pouring out his Spirit, and 
 that many were seriously inclined, a weekly Conference Meeting 
 was established." 
 
 I have not been able to learn how these meetings were con- 
 ducted, but they appear to have been meetings for religious con- 
 versation and prayer. 
 
 At first they were looked upon in an unfavorable light, be- 
 ing regarded as a kind of secret conclave, for party purposes. 
 Insinuations were thrown out, but to no purpose, for those who 
 had established these meetings swerved not from their steady- 
 purpose of seeking and glorifying God. But when richer dis-
 
 37 
 
 plays of God's grace were made manifest ; when, according to the 
 Prophet, " sinners in Zion are afraid, fearfulness hath surprised 
 the hypocrite,' 1 when the general cry was: "Lord what shall I 
 do to be saved ?" opposition ceased, and these meetings became 
 fully established, and they have been continued uninterruptedly 
 to the present time. 
 
 The next upward step was the organization of the Sabbath 
 School. 
 
 Mr. King was a live man. His heart was in the work, and 
 whatever would advance the cause of Christ, he was quick to 
 sieze, and find its practical value. In 1816, the first Sabbath 
 School was held. The Pastor, Dr. Turner, and Bro. Reuben 
 Hinckley, were appointed to conduct the exercises. All children 
 between six and fifteen years of age were invited to become mem- 
 bers. The lesson Avas the first twelve verses of the first chapter 
 of the gospel of St. John. 
 
 On the day set for the opening of the school, Mr. King and 
 Dr. Turner being both absent, Mr. Hiuckley took charge of the 
 school. He gathered the children into the front seats, and then 
 divided them into four classes of about eight in a class. At the 
 opening and close of the school, there was neither singing nor 
 prayer. 
 
 Mr. Hinckley, Miss Sally Davis, afterwards Mrs. R. Hinck- 
 ley, were two of the teachers in this first school, and they are 
 with us to-day, with young hearts, though advanced in years. 
 
 Subsequently, Mr. Hinckley became the first superintendent, 
 which position he held for twelve years. 
 
 His interest in the Sabbath School has never abated. Though 
 now nearly four score, he takes great pleasure in seeing the chil- 
 dren gather into their classes on the sabbath, and in listening to 
 their songs of praise. 
 
 There are present, this morning, several who belonged to 
 this first school of thirty. Among them is Dea. Abel AVilcox, who 
 was the second superintendent, which position he held for nearly 
 twenty years. 
 
 From this small beginning, the school has increased till it has 
 sometimes numbered two hundred and fifty, including not the 
 young merely, but the aged all who love the study of the Bible. 
 God has blessed the instruction of his Word, for, of those who
 
 38 
 
 have united with the church since 1816, a large proportion has 
 been from the sabbath school. 
 
 The first or society house had a " single chimny notwith 
 standing ye former voat." Whether this house was ever warm- 
 ed or not I do not know. But for the second house there was no 
 provision made for warming it. In this region of hills, and snow, 
 and wind, a house with no surrounding trees to shelter, or fire to 
 warm, must have been a cheerless place in which to worship the 
 most High, yet these sturdy men of yore, inured to the cold, here 
 assembled and listened to the words of heavenly wisdom. 
 
 I have sometimes fancied Dea. Wilcox, of Tower Hill, Isaac 
 Kelsey, Esq., of Cowhill, Theophilus Redfield, of Chestnut Hill, 
 and Edward Rutty, of Pai'kers Hill, all going to cliurch, prob- 
 ably on foot, from three to four miles, through a keen, cold, blus- 
 tering storm of mingled snow, and sleet and rain, and sitting all 
 day, in the old open meeting house, without a fire, listening at- 
 tentively to the word preached, and being profited thereby. I 
 have wondered at the patience, and admired the faith of our early 
 pastors, when clad in fur, they delivered their messages of love, 
 when the only word that would fire the eye was " Amen," at the 
 close of the service, so that the hearers could go to their " Sab- 
 ba-Day houses," or to the neighbors to get warm. The internal 
 fire must have been strong and glowing, in order to keep off the 
 external cold, or some would have frozen. 
 
 So quiet and still was it around the old house that the spar- 
 rows found it a good place to build their nests. The squirrels, 
 also, often disturbed the decorum or gravity of the worshippers, 
 by running from pew to pew, leaping the aisles. 
 
 There was once one of the congregation who had leaned his 
 
 o o 
 
 head forward and was fast asleep. A squirrel came running 
 along, when a boy struck it a hard blow, and he fell right on the 
 sleeper's bald head. He suddenly awoke to the amusement of all 
 around. O that there were squirrels in our modern houses to 
 wake up the sleepers. 
 
 There have been twelve Deacons. Dea. Joseph Willcocks 
 was the first, and was probably chosen at the organization of 
 the church. He lived to a good old age a faithful man one
 
 39 
 
 that feared God. Unlike many churches, we have had good dea- 
 cons, men of principle of exemplary piety Puritanic men. 
 They loved the cause of Christ, and were willing, in their turn, 
 to "take the laboring oar." 
 
 Eight have closed their labors, and have entered into rest. 
 Four remain to this present. 
 
 During the one hundred and thirty-two years since the or- 
 ganization of the church, there have been seven pastors, making 
 an average for each of about nineteen years. Mr. Seward's 
 pastorate was the longest, forty-four years. Mr. Lyman's the 
 shortest, two years and three months. 
 
 The first six pastorates averages twenty-one years and eight 
 months. 
 
 During the whole history of the church there has been less 
 than two years, in which this people has been without a pastor, 
 or a pastor elect. 
 
 It would, probably, be difficult to find another church of 
 which the same is true. 
 
 Our fathers ever manifested a generous and noble spirit. 
 
 In 1737, the salary voted to Mr. Seward was "at the rate 
 of silver at twenty-four shillings the ounce, as money now goes, 
 and if money alters, to rise and fall with it." Money depreciated. 
 In 1751, silver was 54 shillings per ounce, in 1752, 3 Ibs. and 10 
 shillings the ounce, 1753, it was 4 Ibs. to the ounce. Still Mr. 
 Seward received the same value as when silver was only 24 shil- 
 lings the ounce. In 1751, his salary was 135 Ibs., two years 
 after it was 416 Ibs. 
 
 In 1797, Mr. Ely made a statement that his salary was insuf- 
 ficient to meet his yearly expenses. A committee was appointed. 
 They report : " Your committee are of the opinion that it is highly 
 reasonable that the society should make an allowance to Mr. Ely, 
 on his last two salaries, the sum of one hundred and ten dollars, 
 and this, because from the investigation they found that the 
 general advantage accruing to the community from the high 
 price of things, has operated in the reverse to Mr. Ely, and has 
 made his salary less productive than formerly." 
 
 This report was accepted. The society borrowed the money
 
 40 
 
 and paid it to Mr. Ely, and then, at the same time, voted to raise 
 his salary 10 Ibs. a year. Thus generously did our fathers aet. 
 
 There have been trying scenes in the history of the church. 
 The passions were excited, and it seemed fur a while, as if the 
 church would be rent asunder, but like some sudden squall 
 at sea, its rage, though furious, was but momentary, and all was 
 calm again. 
 
 O 
 
 They had an excellent way of getting over difficulties. Take 
 the following as an illustration. 
 
 o 
 
 At a meeting of the second church of Christ, regularly con- 
 vened at the meeting house in North Killingworth, Aug. 4th, 
 1808, the following act was passed : 
 
 "Whereas great unhappiness and painful divisions have long 
 existed in this church, and whereas the acts of this church in 
 their last three meetings, which wereholden with a view to effect 
 
 O ' 
 
 a healing, which is now experienced, have not been placed on 
 record, only on file, voted, that the pastor now records, only this 
 our final act of oblivion, with respect to all past difficulties, and 
 that we will cordially receive each other in the bonds of the gos- 
 pel as brethren who are disposed freely to forgive each other, and 
 have by mutual agreement now settled all past differences and 
 layed aside all disaffection that we may prayerfully worship God 
 together, and enjoy mutual faith through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 Beecher says : " There is an ugly kind of forgiveness in this 
 world a kind of hedgehog forgiveness, shot out like quills. 
 Men take one who has offended, and set him down before the 
 blow-pipe of their indignation, and scorch him, and burn his faults 
 into him, and then forgive him." 
 
 Not so here, so complete was the reconciliation that even 
 the parties are not named, not even the cause of dissatisfaction. 
 Oblivion rests upon the whole transaction. May the mantle of the 
 sires fall upon the children, and children's children, for successive 
 generations. " Charity covers a multitude of sins." 
 
 It is a striking fact, that from the rural districts, more 
 young men, comparatively enter college and the ministry, than 
 from the villages and cities, where is the restless hum of business 
 strife, and the dissipation of fashionable life.
 
 41 
 
 From our homes, nestling among the hills, there have gone 
 forth those who have occupied stations of trust and usefulness. 
 Fourteen have graduated at college, and two died in their Colle- 
 giate course at Yale. 6 Eleven have entered the ministry. 7 
 
 I have already named Philander Parmelee and Asahel Net- 
 tleton. Then there was William S. Pierson, the beloved Physi- 
 cian. Dr. John Todd spent his early days with us. That dis- 
 tinguished missionary, Titus Coan, is a native of this town. 
 Here he played. Here he was rescued from a watery grave by 
 a friend and neighbor, who still lives. Here he studied, and how 
 much his character was molded or shaped by that holy man, Mr. 
 King, to whom he recited, I know not. He went from this place 
 when he was about twenty-six years of age. Even in childhood 
 he indicated what the man would be. In his deportment, he 
 seemed to be conscious not proud, far from it, that he had a 
 work to do. 
 
 He was born Feb. 1st, 1801. He was a child of many pray- 
 ers, trained by Christian parents, and by them taught the fear of 
 the Lord. Though he did not make a profession of religion 
 while in town, yet he was known as a man of religious character, 
 a man gifted in prayer, an earnest worker in the Master's cause. 
 As a teacher in our schools, his influence remains to this present. 
 He made a profession of religion at Riga, N. Y., March 1828. 
 He studied Theology at Auburn Seminary, and was ordained in 
 Park Street Church, Boston, Mass., April 4, 1833. Then he 
 went on an exploring mission to Patagonia. Landed near the 
 straits of Magellan, Nov. 14, 1833. He found everything un- 
 promising, returned, and arrived at New London, May 14, 1834. 
 He was married Nov. 3, 1834, to Miss Fidelia Church. He em- 
 barked for Honolulu, Dec. 5, 1834, and arrived June 6, 1835. He 
 was stationed at Ililo. Here his labors have been greatly bless- 
 ed, wonderful has been the work God has wrought by him. A 
 heathen island has been transformed, and, instead of idol wor- 
 ship, everywhere is seen and felt the pure influence of the 
 gospel of Christ. The wilderness and solitary places have been 
 made glad by him, and the Isles of the sea have been converted 
 to God. 
 
 The admissions to his church for twenty-five years, when his
 
 42 
 
 connection with the American Board ceased, and his church became 
 a sell-sustaining ehuivh, were eleven thousand, four hundred and 
 ninety-one. 8 In 18l>:>, liis church contained four thousand three 
 hundred and eighty-six members. 
 
 Mr. Coan is now on a visit to the United States, the first that 
 he has made since entering the service, Dec. 5, 1834. 
 
 V. Retrospect. 
 
 Fifty years ago to-day, this house was dedicated to God. 
 How different our situation from that of our fathers ! They 
 lived more simple, more frugal than we. They came to church 
 on foot or on horseback, we in cushioned carriages. They " seat- 
 ed " the house of God, we obtain our seats by the highest bid. 
 They "dignified" the house, we know no distinction ; scats offer- 
 ed alike to all. They were called to churcli by a drum, we by 
 a bell. They sat through all the cold winter's day, storm 
 never so hard, without a fire ; we have ceiled houses and well 
 warmed. 
 
 We, also, are situated different from what our children will 
 be. They in their turn will refer to us, and, fifty years hence, 
 shall we be contrasted with the generation that then is; yet in a 
 great measure they will be as we are. Character, influence, is 
 like many streams, which disappear for a long distance, and all 
 traces of them seem to be lost, but farther on come to the earth 
 again, and flow on to the ocean. So the influence we exert may 
 sceiu to be lost, but it will rise in a future generation to mold 
 and shape destiny. How often do AVC hear it said, that a child 
 resembles a grandparent, or even some earlier ancestor. What a 
 lesson this to us, who are now the actors on life's stage. 
 
 Standing then, on this pivoted moment, and looking back ;< 
 What change's. What desolations hath God wrought? Our 
 fathers, where arc they? Where are those whose locks were 
 silvered o'er with age when this goodly temple was raised ? 
 Where are those who were foremost in erecting this sanctuary, 
 for themselves and children, in which to worship God ? Where 
 is he who then ministered at this altar V 
 
 They are gone all gone.
 
 43 
 
 Fifty years ago these seats were filled with the aged the 
 young the beautiful. Their seats to-day are vacant. They 
 greet us only in spirit. They come not to welcome us to their 
 homes any more. The bright, blazing fire casts not their shadow 
 upon the wall. The old armed chair is set aside, and child- 
 ren who are a crown of joy to the hoary head, weep over the 
 graves of their sires. Alas ! how many who Avere then young 
 are not with us now. Not a family circle remains to-day as it was 
 then. Dear ones have fallen every year. Our ranks are thin- 
 ning, and soon all will be gone. 
 
 In this period, how many have been added to the countless 
 dead ! Probably not less than two thousand of our townsmen 
 have mouldered back to dust, since the worship of God has been 
 established here, and the voice of prayer and praise have ascended 
 from these heights of Zion. 
 
 Of all this number but one reached the age of a hundred.* 
 She was born 1732 memorable for the birth of Washington 
 and died 1832. She worshipped in all three houses that have 
 been erected here for the worship of God. 
 
 Through these years under review, the human heart has 
 acted out its deep depravity, showing how fully it is set to do 
 evil. On the other hand, God has made rich displays of his 
 grace, revealing himself a God, gracious, long-suffering, ready to 
 pardon. He has heard the voice of prayer, blessed the labors of 
 his children, and sent his good spirit to rene\v and sanctify the 
 heart. Since this church was organized, one thousand and ninety 
 six have taken upon themselves solemn vows, and dedicated 
 themselves to God. The present number of the church is two 
 hundred and seventy-two, so that about eight hundred have been 
 housed in the grave gone to their eternal home, 
 
 " What is tliis passing scene ? 
 
 A peevish April day, 
 A little snow a little rain, 
 And then night sweeps along the plain, 
 And all things fade away, 
 
 Whatever else is true, we are swelling the stream of dying 
 
 * Mrs. Mary Turner, wife of Capt. A. Turner.
 
 44 
 
 immortals, which, ever flowing on, will soon engulf us all, and we 
 shall rest beside the generations that have gone before us. 
 
 What a page in the world's history would the events of the 
 last half century comprise. Yea, what since this church was 
 organized. Kingdoms have crumbled. Thrones have been over- 
 thrown. Wars have desolated our land. The combined force 
 of the French and Indians has been broken. The oppressive 
 yoke of foreign power has been shaken off and in the bloody 
 strife thousands have fallen. On the gory field are they laid 
 far from home and loving hearts. 
 
 General intelligence has been diffused. Colleges and Semina- 
 
 d> O 
 
 ries of learning have been established. The school houses " where 
 New England men are made," dot the land. The old beaten 
 tracks are left. Inventive genius has been busy. Franklin has 
 " caught and tamed the lightning," and Morse has taught it not 
 only the " English language," but the elements of all language, 
 The steamboat plows every river and the mighty ocean. Moun- 
 tains are levelled and valleys raised, and the steam car speeds 
 across the continent. Battles for civil and religious liberty have 
 been fought, and the victory won. 
 
 Bible Societies, Mission Societies, Temperance Societies, 
 have all come into being since our fathers first worshipped here. 
 Thus marked has been the progress that has been made in sci- 
 ence and literature, and in all that relates to the extension of 
 Christ's kingdom since this goodly temple was reared on this 
 beautiful hill. 
 
 Instead of the fathers, shall be the children. They are the 
 connecting link between the past and the future. Through them 
 is to be transmitted the rich inheritance we have received. Our 
 fathers were wise men far-seeing men. They well understood 
 that the prosperity of society depended upon the permanence of 
 the gospel ministry. 
 
 Sept. 9, 1736, we find the following record : 
 
 " We being set off by the General Assembly, to be a distinct 
 ecclesiastical society, with all powers and privileges proper for 
 such a society, we have therefore agreed and voted that we 
 will set up and carry on the public worship of God among us 
 for the future, as God shall enable us."
 
 45 
 
 "Dec. 1, 1736, it was agreed and voted that we will uphold 
 the worship of God among us continually." 
 
 From that day to this, there has not been wanting to this 
 people a religious teacher. The fire has not gone out upon the 
 altar. 
 
 " The upholding public worship continually " what a power ! 
 It reaches through the whole history of man the life of the soul. 
 It affects his present as well as his future happiness. It stimu- 
 lates thrift and enterprise as well as sobriety and decorum. Its 
 victories are not those wide wasting victories of the conqueror, 
 but the noiseless victories of peace and love. Its triumphs are 
 not the triumphs of vice, but of virtue. It raises no " Trajan 
 Pillar," no " Coliseum," erects no granite pyramids, founds no 
 marble College to the exclusion of God, and all that relates to the 
 destiny of man ; but it erects pillars of true "glory on Malabar's 
 coast." It builds pyramids of enduring worth built of living 
 stones and cemented by the blood of Christ, which stand as the 
 proud trophies of the gospel, and will stand when Egypt's fall. 
 It rears Colleges, and dedicates them to Christ and to the church. 
 It sends up the high spire to glitter in the sun and be as a bea- 
 con light to the weary traveller, to tell him where is the house of 
 God that he is safe. It points to the tomb, and farther it 
 points beyond the tomb, and brings from thence the great and 
 glorious truth 
 
 Man, thou shall never die. 
 
 Its influence is transforming upon the heart and character. 
 " Whereas I was blind, now I see." 
 
 It was to enjoy the worship of God and the privileges con- 
 nected with it, that our fathers left the quiet of their homestead- 
 circles suffered in prison braved the dangers of a winter pass- 
 age, and the severe frost and snows of these New England Hills. 
 
 It was for this that 
 
 " A band of exiles moored their barks, 
 On the wild New England shore."
 
 46 
 It was for this that 
 
 " They shook the depths of the desert's gloom 
 With their songs of lofty cheer." 
 
 It was for this that 
 
 " The sounding aisles of the dim woods rang 
 To the anthem of the free." 
 
 " Aye, call it holy ground, 
 The spot where first they trod, 
 They have left unstained what there they found, 
 Freedom to worship God," 
 
 It was for this, they levelled the forests and planted vine- 
 yards on these rugged hills. For this they encountered the 
 dangers of an Indian warfare. For this they resisted the tyranny 
 of their mother country, rose to arms and poured their blood in 
 the defence of Freedom. For this they passed through those 
 almost superhuman struggles, to give unto us, their children, those 
 inestimable privileges which we this day enjoy. 
 
 Yes, the pulpit made our fathers what they were, men of 
 sterling character of stout heart of ennobling views. They 
 have entered into their rest, and we into their labors. We have 
 come into possession of what the pulpit secured to them : for it 
 
 " (in the sober use 
 Of its legitimate and sober powers) 
 Must stand acknowledged while the world shall stand, 
 The most important and effectual guard, 
 Support and ornament of virtue's cause." 
 
 The pulpit is the central, moral power of the world. Its in- 
 fluence is abiding. Its work is permanent. The monuments 
 of art crumble. Where is Babylon, with its towering walls and 
 hanging gardens ! Where is the splendor of Palmyra ! Where 
 is Thebes, with its hundred gates ! Where is the kingdom of 
 Alexander ! Where are the trophies of Caesar. They are gone 
 all in ruins ! " Where are the monuments of the work of the 
 ministry ! In the ransomed spirits ; in the sweet peace of the 
 Christian's dying bed ; in hearts transformed ; in virtues to bloom
 
 47 
 
 forever ; in SOIT!S that are immortal ; in the glories of the resurec- 
 ition ; in the crowns incorruptible and unfading; by the river of 
 of life, and amidst the splendors of heaven." 
 
 What interest cluster around and in a historic day like this ! 
 Old associates are revived, faces once familiar are recalled, homes, 
 as they were years since, are repeopled, and we are young again. 
 We embrace again the rocks and trees, around which we played 
 in early life. We gather again at the paternal knee, and feel 
 again the hand of love resting on our heads, and all the tender 
 feelings awakened by the name of father, mother, arise fresh in 
 the heart. 
 
 We go farther. We recall our ancestors. We enter their 
 humble dwellings. We sit at their frugal board. We are with 
 them in their toils as they cleared these hills ; in their sympathies 
 as they met to consult about the house of God ; in their sacrifices, 
 when with one mind and one heart they labored together for the 
 honor of Christ ; and into their joys, when they saw their efforts 
 crowned with success. 
 
 This festive day will quickly close. This assembly will part, 
 never all to meet again till we meet at the last day. These 
 flowers will wither. These evergreens will fade ; and, when an- 
 other anniversary shall come, these names will be crowded closer 
 together, and others will be placed upon these walls. In this 
 pulpit, other men will preach. These seats will have other occu- 
 pants. Others will sing the songs of Zion. Othei's, too, will 
 sustain the ministrations of this house. May this Church be 
 enriched in everything to all bountifulness. May her love, her 
 faith, her prayers abound ! 
 
 At the battle of Lake Erie, when one after another of the 
 brave men fell, the survivors looked silently around to Perry, 
 and then stepped into their places. Those who had fallen, 
 Avounded and weltering in their blood, were all found with their 
 faces towards him, and their eyes fixed on his countenance. 
 
 So when 1870 shall be linked with 1920, may those who are 
 then in the midst of the conflict, see that we have fallen at our 
 posts of duty each with his eye on the great Captain of our 
 salvation Christ the only hope of glory. 
 
 To-day we would rededicatc this church to the service and
 
 48 
 
 Worship of the 1 one living and true God. To-day we would re-- 
 consecrate ourselves to Christ. To-day we would provoke one 
 another unto love and good works, emulating the bright ex- 
 amples that are before us. Thus may the faith of the fathers be 
 transmitted through us, the sons, to those who shall come after 
 us and worship in this sanctuary. And now, what wait we for ! 
 "Arise, O Lord God, and enter into thy rest thou and the ark 
 of thy strength." And here we, thy people, will abide forever.
 
 Afternoon Services. 
 
 At the close of the morning service, all present Avere cordially 
 invited to repair to the Town Hall for refreshments. 
 
 Of the entertainment, we need only say, that it was one of 
 those rare feasts such as the ladies of Killingworth know how to 
 give. Or, as Dr. Todd said of it, " if other ladies thought to 
 provide a better or more inviting feast, than had been provided 
 for them to-day, in this they would be disappointed." 
 
 Silence being required, Rev. Dr. Todd invoked the Divine 
 Blessing. 
 
 Xearly eight hundred people had their wants supplied. 
 
 This was an hour of social regathering, and of mutual 
 
 O O t 
 
 greetings. Old friends met again on the Hill and spoke words 
 of cheer. It was an interesting sight to see friend meet friend, 
 and to hear the hum of happy voices, often the shout of glad 
 surprise. 
 
 At two o'clock, all repaired again to the Church. Again 
 the spacious house was filled to repletion. 
 
 Mr. E. H. Parmelee gave an Address of welcome, as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 Friends and fellow-citizens of Killingworth, and friends 
 from abroad, to whom this place is endeared by the remembrance 
 of your fathers, and you from neighboring churches, who have 
 assembled with us to-day, to join in the celebration of this anni- 
 versary : '-We welcome you to this home of our fathers. We 
 welcome you to this house of prayer, which they here erected, 
 and, a half century ago, dedicated to the worship and service of 
 Almighty God. And we cordially invite you to unite with us, 
 as with grateful hearts we offer prayer and praise to Him whom 
 
 4
 
 50 
 
 our fathers worshipped. With what considerate regard for the 
 honor of their Maker, for the advancement of the cause of Zion, 
 and for the welfare of succeeding generations, did they here erect 
 this house of prayer, this temple on the hill, the site of which 
 seems to be suggestive of the thought that their aspirations were 
 heavenward. But I would not wish to be understood as suppos- 
 ing that God or heaven is nearer the hill top, or the mountain 
 top, than the valley. Yet to the mind of the Bible reader, there 
 are many interesting thoughts associated with the thought of as- 
 cending an eminence to commune with our Heavenly Father. 
 We remember Moses on Sinai communing with his God, and re- 
 ceiving the commandments ; we think of Elijah, who alone was 
 left of the prophets of the Lord, ascending Carmel's heights, there 
 to confront the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and there 
 to decide the question, " Whether indeed the Lord was God, or 
 whether the supremacy belonged to Baal" ; and our faith is strength- 
 ened as we think of his glorious triumphs there. We remember 
 Zion, where God's ancient people worshipped. We remember, 
 too, that our Savior went out into the mountains to pray. 
 
 " Cold mountains, and the mid-night air, 
 Witnessed the fervor of his prayer" 
 
 We think of the scenes of Calvary and Olivet. And with 
 these memories clustering around their minds, we wonder not 
 that our fathers selected this eminence as a site for their house 
 of worship, that they might say to their children, and to their 
 households, " Come, and let us go up to the house of prayer, and 
 bow before our Maker." O what sacred associations are in our 
 minds connected with this place. 
 
 Here on this hill for half a century God has fed his flock, 
 and here watered it from the living fountain. Here it has been 
 watched by faithful shepherds. Other shepherds were here be- 
 fore the erection of this house. viz., Seward, Ely, Andrews, 
 who are known to many of us only in history, or in the traditions 
 of our fathers. But when we come to the name of Rev. Asa King, 
 the hearts of many of us are warmed with the most tender re- 
 collections. He was the shepherd of the flock when we were the 
 lambs of the fold. By his office and ministry many of us were,
 
 51 
 
 by our parents, consecrated to God in the sacred ordinance 
 of baptism. From his lips we heard the first gospel sermons of 
 which we have any recollections ; and for myself, I would say 
 that the first sermon, the subject of which I remember, was from 
 him, on Ezekiel's vision of dry bones. 
 
 I remember too that he was the first king that summoned his 
 people, and marshalled his forces, and led them in person, in a 
 desperate charge upon the army of the subjects of king alcohol ; 
 and leading that army in person as he did, the missiles of the en- 
 emy falling thick and fast about his head, he received many a 
 grievous wound ; yet undaunted, he pushed the battle to the 
 very gates of the citadel of the enemy's stronghold, and many 
 of the subjects of king alcohol deserted his cause, and enlisted in 
 the temperance army ; and the ball which was then set in mo- 
 tion rolled on, and the result is, that the enemy has received such 
 a check, that to-day Killingworth can boast that she has not a 
 dram shop in town. And if in any instance any of our inhab- 
 itants are found intoxicated, we have the consolation of suppo- 
 sing that they have been to some neighboring town to obtain the 
 means of becoming so. 
 
 Next the beloved Swift ministered to the flock. To strangers 
 that name might seem a misnomer; for he was not swift to speak, 
 not swift to adopt new measures or new means ; but swift to run 
 to the relief of the suffering ; swift to visit the chamber of the 
 sick and dying ; swift to aid in promoting every good word and 
 work ; but he has gone to his rest, and his works follow him. 
 
 Next was heard on the walls of Zion here, the sound of a 
 warning bell ; warning the voyager o'er life's tempestuous seas 
 of the dangerous breakers and shoals ; and many, by giving heed 
 to that wai-ning, escaped shipwreck, and have landed safely in 
 the port of heaven. May that bell long sound the warning, and 
 many yet, by heeding it, escape the danger, and be guided safely 
 to the desired haven. Next came the Rev. Lyman, of wfyom we 
 were not worthy, and his sojourn here was brief. And now our 
 prayer to-day is, that our faithful beloved Miller may so distrib- 
 ute to us the bread of life, that each may receive a portion in 
 due season, so that there may be no spiritual famishing here. 
 But I have said enough, I fear too much. While then we look 
 up in thankfulness to that Almighty being who has graciously
 
 52 
 
 lengthened out our lives to see this clay, we ask you again, dear 
 friends, to join with us in our thanks for all his mercies shown 
 to us. 
 
 The choir then discoursed sweet music : Anthem. 
 " Bless the Lord O my soul." 
 
 Dr. John Todd of Pittsfield, Mass., then gave one of his cha- 
 racteristic speeches. No report can do it justice. He referred 
 to his leaving town fifty-eight years ago, bare-footed, and all his 
 clothes under his arm. He recalled and presented before the 
 mind of his hearers the old Church, and the customs of the peo- 
 ple in those early days. He related many pleasing incidences 
 which kept the audience in good humor. 
 
 It was a speech that must be heard in order to be appreciated. 
 
 Singing, " What is Life." 
 
 After him, Gen. Wm. S. Pierson, of Windsor, grandson of 
 Deacon Abraham Pierson, who was active in Revolutionary 
 times, and who held correspondence with all the town boys who 
 were in the field, having their letters to which he referred, gave 
 the following 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : 
 
 When I received the invitation from your Pastor, the Rev. 
 Mr. Miller, to be present on this occasion, it was accompanied 
 with the further request, that I should say something respecting 
 my ancestors, who resided here for several generations ; and also 
 of the part taken by the citizens of this town, in the war of the 
 Revolution. 
 
 These requests almost persuaded me to decline the invi- 
 tation altogether ; but when I came to think of the semi-cen- 
 tennial day of the dedication of the old Church, of which I had so 
 often heard my father speak, I had so strong a desire to be 
 here to-day, that I accepted the invitation to be present ; and on
 
 53 
 
 the still further request from your pastor, since my arrival, will 
 address you for a few minutes. 
 
 Remaining a day in Clinton, formerly Killingworth, and part 
 of this town, on my way here, and visiting the old Cemetery 
 there, I found the grave-stone of my venerated ancestor, Rev. 
 Abraham Pierson ; and also the memorial stone, in front of the 
 Congregational Church, of the founding of Yale College, of which 
 he was the first Rector ; by which I became reminded that he- 
 was a citizen of this town befor,e the year seventeen hundred, 
 as Pastor of the Church, and President of the College, until the 
 time of his death ; and also by the inscription on the grave stone 
 of the son of the Rector, to the " Worshipful Abraham Pierson," 
 I was reminded that he was an old Colonial Magistrate and Es- 
 quire, who lived a long and honorable life in this town ; and 
 then coming to Killingworth, and visiting the Cemetery of this 
 Parish, I found the grave-stone of Deacon Dodo Pierson, who 
 had moved from the South Parish at an early day, and passed a 
 long life here, filling the offices of the town and church ; and 
 also that of the son of Dodo, Deacon Abraham Pierson, who 
 was Treasurer of the School and Ecclesiastical Societies, Town 
 Clerk, Selectman, Captain of the Military Company, Justice 
 of the Peace for thirty-two years, Justice of the Quorum for 
 Middlesex County for five years ; and for twenty-four years rep- 
 resentative of this town in the General Assembly of the State of 
 Connecticut ; and there being persons present and before me, 
 who knew Deacon Abraham, I can but realize that it will be 
 surely "like carrying coal to Newcastle," for me to attempt to 
 say anything to this audience, about the old Piersons of the town 
 of Killingworth. I will therefore say nothing further respecting 
 this part of the request of Mr. Miller, than I shall have occasion, 
 in speaking of the services of the soldiers of this town, in the 
 Revolutionary war. Neither do I propose to speak generally on 
 the subject of the part, our fathers in Killingworth took, in the 
 war. Never having resided in this town, and indeed having re- 
 sided out of the State most of my life, since my boyhood, some 
 person more familiar with your citizens and local history, can 
 better do justice to the subject. 
 
 I find, however, among the old papers which have been trans- 
 mitted from former generations in our family, many letters, writ-
 
 54 
 
 ten to and from the soldiers in the field, in the Revolutionary 
 war, and have brought a few of them with me, and will occupy 
 your time a few moments in reading some extracts from them. 
 These are the original letters, not copies even, and as they are 
 genuine, will give a good idea of the patriotic sentiments of our 
 ancestors, in that day of our country's trial. In looking over 
 these letters this morning, the inquiry has pressed upon my 
 mind, whether this town did no more than its share of service in 
 the war, and if not, how great must have been the burden and 
 the struggle of the whole country, in achieving our independence. 
 North Killingworth was then a small Parish of the town of Kil- 
 lingworth, with a rugged soil, and sparse population, and still are 
 found among the names of the soldiers in the field, the names of 
 Redfield, Woodruff, Turner, Kelsey, Stevens, Hull, Buel, Bristol, 
 Ward, Wilcox, Parmelee, Seward, Pierson, and indeed about all 
 the names I have been accustomed to hear, as residents of this 
 town. They were in the service from before the battle of Bun- 
 ker Hill, until the capitulation at Yorktown, and the close of the 
 war. 
 
 The first letter from which I will read, was written by Dea 
 con Dodo Pierson. Both Dodo and his son Abraham were in 
 the field ; and it appears sometimes relieved each other. 
 
 NEW HAVEN. MA A 17,1777. 
 LOVING WIFE AND CHILDREN : 
 
 * * All the Continental troops are under marching orders 
 for Peekskill, as we are informed the enemy are about to take 
 the North River. We hear by a correspondence at head quar- 
 ters in this town, that a detachment went from Ticonderoga in 
 
 ' O 
 
 disguise, to St. John, and have burnt the stores. I am not un- 
 easy ; our duty is not hard. I would not have my son attempt 
 to supply my place until you hear further from me.' 1 You see 
 the old man was good grit. When you hear a soldier say his 
 duty is not hard, you may make up your mind he is a plucky 
 fellow. I will only read from this letter one other sentence, cha- 
 racteristic of the man. " I desire that you would still maintain 
 family prayers, that our separate ejaculations may still find audi- 
 ence at the Throne of Grace," and sends his " humble regai'ds" 
 to the Rev. Win. Seward. It is a fact of interest, that almost
 
 55 
 
 every letter from the different soldiers, contains soine message of 
 respect for Mr. Seward. 
 
 The next letter, from which I will read a single sentence, 
 was written by Ich'd Ward, to Abraham Pierson. It shows 
 Mr. Ward's estimate of the services of the old man. " I believe 
 that through the blessing of God, we shall have peace before 
 long. I have seen your honored father standing sentry, which 
 made me feel otherwise at first, but when I came to consider the 
 grand cause he was in, I found myself rejoiced to think that men 
 of his age and rank were willing to turn out ; and I hope God in 
 his providence will return him to his family soon." 
 
 William Redfield, Jr., wrote from Camp 2d Hill, New Mil- 
 ford, that * " It begins to be a little tedious, lying in tents 
 these cold nights, and I should like to go home, but Capt. Lacy 
 is not willing to spare me, and I must remain, if my country 
 needs my services. 
 
 Eleazur Woodruff wrote to Abraham Pierson, from New 
 York, Oct. 18, 1776, that * * "We are encamped on York 
 Island, about eighty rods east from Mount Washington, in the 
 woods. The place is universally liked would not exchange 
 places for any other regiment on the Island. We have good 
 tents to live in, straw to lay on, salt pork and beef, good bread, 
 plenty, and sometimes a few potatoes, cider at seven coppers a 
 quart, and who can wish to live better than that." 
 
 With much experience with soldiers, I pronounce Eleazur 
 Woodruff to have been a good soldier. He was no grumbler. 
 
 Abraham Pierson wrote from Camp North Castle, Nov. 
 10, 1776. 
 " HOXOEED PARENTS : 
 
 * * The first week after I came here, we were ex- 
 ceedingly fatigued. The enemy came within less than half a 
 mile and daily hove cannon balls, which fell thick among us. A 
 good Providence preserved all our regiment, though men were 
 killed all around us. We were forced to lay on our arms, in an 
 intrenchment night and day. One stormy night I lay out and 
 was wet through. It was very cold. I could not dry my blan- 
 ket the next day, and took cold. The enemy have gone back 
 now, and we are more at peace. I have had the entire charge of 
 the company, as there has been no other officer here."
 
 56 
 
 Abraham Piersou also wrote from Camp, at Rye, New York, 
 that * * " Whether I shall ever be so happy as to return 
 home, the Lord only knows. Should I indulge in thoughts of 
 home, perhaps it might cause discontent, but I am sensible it is 
 necessary I should stay, and I am content." * * 
 
 We are all aware of the patriotic spirit exhibited by the 
 women of our country, during the Avar of the rebellion, not only 
 in providing for the wants of the men in the field, following 
 them to the camp and hospital, and nursing the sick and wound- 
 ed, but also in the greater sacrifice, perhaps, of encouraging 
 their brothers, lovers and husbands to enlist, when they believed 
 the country required their services. 
 
 This lends me to read a single sentence from a letter of Pam- 
 aris Pierson, written from Killingworth, to her brother Abraham, 
 when in the field. 
 
 "Father and mother desire to be remembered to you, 
 for they are greatly exercised and troubled on your account, and 
 desire to hear from you, and I hope you will come home, as soon 
 as possible, without being very mean, for I greatly desire to see 
 you." * * 
 
 This sister's devoted love did not induce her to ask her 
 brother to do a mean act, in coming home, much as she desired to 
 see him. 
 
 During the war of the rebellion, some of our men in the 
 army, felt that unkind and unreasonable things were said by 
 those at home. Human nature seems to have manifested the 
 same depravity, in the days of our revolutionary struggle. 
 
 Ich'd Ward wrote from Cam]) Valley Forge, Jan. 18, 1778, 
 to Abraham Pierson, * * "I am sorry to hear of the uneasi- 
 ness there seems to be at home, concerning the soldiers. It 
 seems, by what I can understand, that some ;:re very uneasy 
 becausc we have not killed all the enemy. They wonder what 
 we are about forty shillings a month and nothing to do. I 
 wish that some men were to undergo half as much as one of us 
 has this winter, in long marches lying on our arms, in open 
 field and half starved; Xow concerning our great wages, what 
 expenses are we at for everything half a crown for a quart of 
 cider one dollar for a pound of butter, &c.. Xow what becomes 
 of our forty shillings." * *
 
 57 
 
 As early as Sept 11, A. D. 1775, Joseph Wilcox wrote to 
 Abraham Pierson from Camp Roxbury, that * * " I am de- 
 prived of the privileges I enjoyed at home, and I know how to 
 prize them, but I am willing to undergo anything, to preserve 
 our rights and privileges to myself and others." * * 
 
 On the 22d day of February, A. D. 1776, Samuel Ward 
 wrote to Abraham Pierson from Camp Roxbury that * * 
 " We are ready to go at a moment's warning. We shall have a 
 bloody battle, whenever we go there. I am very Avell contented 
 to stay and fight for my country, for I believe it the duty of 
 every man to come down, in this day of trouble. Our duty is 
 very hard. No man that comes down here and sees the havoc 
 these red dogs have made, can go home before he sees the coun* 
 try relieved from these rascals. For my part, I intend to stay 
 and risk my life for my country. My life is dear to me, as any 
 other man's, but my life is but a trifle to my country's lib- 
 erty." * * 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen Was not Sam Ward a patriot ? 3 
 
 On the2d day of October, A. D. 1775, Job Seward wrote 
 from Camp Roxbury, to Abraham Pierson. 
 
 "Mr WOKTIIY FKIEND: 
 
 When I think of home, I look over into Boston, and 
 I see our enemy stand ready to slay every one of us, or to make 
 slaves of us all, and I give myself qontentment to be here, for if 
 I know my own heart, I had rather risk my life in battle, than 
 to risk my country and the many privileges of a sacred and civil 
 nature, that we have enjoyed in times past." * * 
 
 Citizens of Killingworth, what think you of Job Seward? 
 Are you not proud of your ancestors ? 
 
 In times of great trial, moved by deep feelings and patriotic 
 emotion, men from whom you would not under other circumstan- 
 ces expect it, express lofty sentiments, and perhaps in verse. As 
 early as in seventeen hundred and seventy-six, Abraham Pierson 
 prepared for the singing school some verses, which I will read, 
 which were sung by the choir,
 
 58 
 
 " O Liberty ! how sweet the sound 
 How dreadful is it to be bound, 
 In tyrant's chains oppressed by those, 
 Who are our souls' and bodies' foes. 
 
 The sword is drawn against our land, 
 To make us yield to their command, 
 Which are unholy and unjust, 
 Therefore refuse them all, we must. 
 
 How far exceeds the martyr's death, 
 Who for his country spends his breath. 
 The life of him, who rather see, 
 His country bound in slavery. 
 
 O, may the God who rules above, 
 Look on our country, and in love, 
 Descend victorious, on our part, 
 That we may pierce the tyrant's heart. 
 
 May whigs have blessings, which may be, 
 Transmitted to posterity ; 
 May every tory ever dwell 
 Within, or near the gates of Hell." 
 
 During the war of the rebellion, it became ray duty to com- 
 mand the Depot for confinement of captured rebel officers, to the 
 number of seven thousand. Among them were men who had 
 been members of the Legislatures of the different States Judges 
 of the Courts of the State Governors of the State Senators and 
 Representatives in the Congress of the United States Officers of 
 the Army, who had been educated at West Point, at the expense 
 of the United States, and men who had taken oath after oath to 
 support the Constitution, and yet all leprous with treason, and 
 dripping with warm blood, were captured fighting against the 
 United States : and when I saw the manifestation of their rualisc- 
 
 * O 
 
 nant joy, at some of the reverses of our arms, in the dark days of 
 the war, I used to find myself repeating these last lines, which I 
 had learned in my childhood, changing the word tory to rebel : 
 
 May every rebel ever dwell 
 Within, or,
 
 59 
 
 and I would stammer over the word " near," and I fear at the 
 expense of the metre, and not having the charity of my old 
 grandfather, leave it out, and leave these rebels without mercy, 
 " within the gates of hell." But that day is passed, and we will 
 all be magnanimous and forgiving now. 
 
 I said that deep patriotic emotion led persons sometimes to 
 express their feelings in verse. This is true of another passion. 
 Do the young ladies before me desire to know how the girls of 
 this revolutionary period expressed themselves ? If so, I will 
 read for your especial benefit, and your grandmothers must not 
 listen. 
 
 " Your absence grieves me to the heart ; 
 I cannot bear with you to part 
 For I with grief am sore oppressed, 
 That night, nor clay I take no rest. 
 
 " You have my heart, oh sir, be kind, 
 And leave another heart behind, 
 And then shall I most happy be, 
 When I your face with favor see." 
 
 No wonder Abraham Pierson wrote in verses. If such 
 bright-eyed girls, as I see here, had written to me in this manner, 
 when I was young, I am sure I should have imitated my grand- 
 father in writing verses, however I may fall short in other re- 
 spects. This letter is not signed by Lydia Redfield, my grand- 
 mother, and I may read the name of some other grandmother, 
 unless you excuse me from reading the signature to this letter. 
 
 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : 
 
 This is a great and glorious country, extending from the 
 blue waters of Erie and Superior to the phosphorescent waters 
 of Mexico ; from the Atlantic to the Pacific ; variegated and 
 adorned with beautiful lakes and rivers, with extended plain and 
 prairie, with grand old forests, with smiling valley and fertile 
 hill and lofty mountain ; abounding in exhaustless mines of rich- 
 est mineral and metal ; embracing every variety of soil and cli- 
 mate and production ; the broad savannas of the South furnish- 
 ing the raw material, which, manufactured by the busy industry 
 of the East, both the East and the South are fed by the over-
 
 60 
 
 flowing granery of the West all contributing to the common 
 wealth and greatness. Under this free government of ours, our 
 resources have developed with a rapidity of progress, such as the 
 world has never before witnessed. The " desert has been made 
 to bud and blossom as the rose." Where but a few years ago, 
 in the beautiful language of Mr. Wirt, " in these lakes and in these 
 rivers, the red man gathered his fish, and hunted his game," there 
 are now the cultivated field, the thriving village, the refined and 
 wealthy city. Instead of heathen rites and savage orgies, tem- 
 ples like yours have been erected, with spire pointing toward 
 Heaven, dedicated to the worship of Almighty God. Our inter- 
 nal traffic is greater than that of any other nation; and our for- 
 eign commerce in the interchange of its commodities, in vessels 
 with richly laden cargoes, propelled by that invention of modern 
 days, of amazing power, in imprisoned steam, or by God's own 
 breath against the white sail, seeks every port, in the fulfillment 
 of its mission. We achieved our independence after a seven 
 year's war, in which our fathers in Killing worth took so honor- 
 able a part ; and years after we met the proud mistress of the 
 sea on her own chosen element, and there caused our rights to be 
 respected and acknowledged, wherever our flag floats from the 
 mainmast in the breeze. While such was our proud position 
 among the nations of the earth, and the philanthropist of every 
 country and clime was casting his longing eye, to this " star of 
 empire of the West," rejoicing that this free government of the 
 people, was exercising such a beneficent mission among the na- 
 tions of the earth, we found that our institutions were subject to 
 another test. Constitutional government and constitutional lib- 
 erty was then put on trial, and it remained to be seen, whether 
 those institutions, which had been sufficient for the arts of peace, 
 under which we had advanced to greatness and to glory ; which 
 had proved a sure defense against a foreign foe, would have a self- 
 sustaining power, or whether we should perish by our own inter- 
 nal dissentions and divisions; by domestic feuds and border war- 
 fare; by treason and rebellion; until the name of our republic, 
 like those of the old world, should only be known by its sad 
 career, and bloody downfall ; and our name, like theirs, become 
 the argument of tyrants, for a further oppression of the subject. 
 To put down such a rebellion, required the union of all loyal
 
 61 
 
 hands, and loyal hearts, and loyal means, and loyal men ; but 
 we cut through every obstacle and institution, and every oppo- 
 sing race, or color of men, whether black, or white, or yellow, or 
 red, till the majesty of our government was vindicated, and every 
 where acknowledged. 
 
 In the gathering of our armies for this great conflict, the 
 American Eagle, that proud bird, emblem of our nationality, 
 hovered over them, in their encampment, and on their marches, 
 and in the thickest of the fight ; his bright eye flashing fire, as it 
 caught our glittering guns, leading them onward, till victory 
 perched upon our standard, and the stars and the stripes waving 
 aloft, proclaimed the triumph of republican liberty. Then it was, 
 that this nation stood forth as the great exemplar of equal rights 
 to all mankind. Then it was, that it became true in verity and 
 fact, as well as theory, in the language of the Declaration of In- 
 *dependence, that "all men ai'e created ,equal endowed by their 
 Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, lib- 
 erty, and the pursuit of happiness." It was a prophetic vision of the 
 greatness and glory and liberty of our country, which put it in 
 the heart of Joseph Wilcox, while enduring the hardships of the 
 field, in the Revolutionary war, to feel and say, " I am willing to 
 undergo anything to preserve our rights and privileges to myself 
 and others ;" and of Samuel Ward to say, " for my pai't I in- 
 tend to stay and risk my life for my country. My life is as dear 
 to me as any man's, but my life is but a trifle to my country's 
 liberty." And of Job Seward to say, " If I know my own heart, 
 I had rather risk my life in battle, than to risk my country and 
 the many privileges of a sacred and civil nature, that we have en- 
 joyed in times past." And of Abraham Pierson to say "I am 
 sensible it is necessary I should stay, and I am content." Im- 
 mortal honor to the memory of our patriot fathers ! Everlasting 
 thanks for these patriotic words of theirs, which have been pre- 
 served to us until this day. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Bell, former Pastor, followed in a few remarks 
 showing that he had still an interest in the Church. 
 
 Hymn composed for the Anniversary by Mrs. Amanda V. 
 Evavts, in the 74th your of her age :
 
 62 
 
 H Y M IV 
 
 Thy people long ago 
 
 This house of worship rais'd, 
 O God of mercy, now 
 
 Let thy Great Name be praised ; 
 For sure this temple long has stood, 
 To shew the builders' zeal for God. 
 
 What wonders have been wrought 
 
 Within this sacred place ! 
 How many wanderers brought 
 
 To seek the Savior's face ; 
 Like the foundation ever sure, 
 The storms and tempests to endure. 
 
 The worthy men of God 
 Who built this structure strong, 
 
 Now sleep beneath the sod ; 
 Their souls have joined the throng 
 
 Who need no earthly temple now 
 
 In which to praise as here below. 
 
 Who shall the story tell 
 
 Of two score years and ten, 
 The mighty change reveal 
 
 Recall the past again ? 
 Ye who for half a century long 
 Within these walls have raised your song 
 
 As years have rolled around, 
 
 God has his people blessed, 
 The Church His mercy found, 
 
 Though oft with fear distressed ; 
 The Holy Spirit has been given 
 To lead repentant souls to Heaven,
 
 63 
 
 Pastors to guide this flock, 
 The Heavenly Shepherd gave, 
 
 Who lov'd the sacred work, 
 And sought our souls to save, 
 
 And lead to Christ the living vine, 
 
 " Like stars forever shall they shine."* 
 
 From souls here born again, 
 The news has spread around, 
 
 Of Jesus' love to men, 
 The islands heard the sound ; 
 
 From here COAN, beloved name, 
 
 With tidings of salvation came. 
 
 From hence that man of Godf 
 
 With great revivals blest, 
 Told of the Savior's blood 
 
 To thousands East and West ; 
 He now in Heaven, before the throne, 
 Ascribes the praise to God alone. 
 
 Dear sacred house of prayer, 
 
 Within thy blest abode 
 May souls God's mercy share 
 
 By his rich grace bestowed ; 
 And still may every blessing flow, 
 For years to come, as long ago. 
 
 The meeting was closed by the singing of an Anthem by 
 the Choir and the Doxology by the Congregation. 
 
 BENEDICTION. 
 
 * Daniel 12, 3. t Rev. Asahel Nettleton, D. D.
 
 64 
 
 Thus closed a delightful day a day long to be remembered 
 by all who participated in its enjoyments, but especially by the 
 members of this Church and Society, for the words of cheer spo- 
 ken for the happy social regathering of friends, and for the 
 hope inspired that the future of this Church may be as bright 
 as honorable, as the past has been.
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Names of those who belonged to the Choir fifty years ago, aud who 
 sang at the fiftieth anniversary. 
 
 Mr. Rufus Redfield, Mrs. Reuben Hinckley, Mrs. Nathan Griswold, 
 
 Henry Hull, Esq., Mrs. Abel Wilcox, Mrs. Ely Stevens, 
 
 Capt. Jerry Parmelee, Mrs. Ezra Rutty, Mrs. Hezekiah Child, 
 
 Col. Jedediah Stone, Mrs. Jerry Parmelee, Mrs. Rufus Crane, 
 
 Mr. Nelson Hall, Mrs. Chauncy Parmelee, Mrs. Alanson Lyndes. 
 
 3. Residences of the first settlers. 
 
 Isaac Kelsey, Esq., lived on Cow Hill, a few rods east of Mr. Loomiw's. 
 Deacon Josiah Hull lived on Cow Hill, west of Mr. R. Hinckley's. Deacon 
 Joseph Wilcocks lived on Tower Hill, just north of Col. Stone's. Daniel 
 Buel lived where Mr. Sherman Stevens now lives. Joseph Griswold lived 
 in the south west district, a few rods east of Mr. Nathan Griswold's. Na- 
 thaniel Parmelee lived near the house of Andrew Brooks. Ebenezer Hull 
 lived near where Maj. Stevens now lives. Samuel Stevens lived on Tower 
 Hill, near the house of Mr. Reynolds. Edward Rutty lived on Parker's 
 Hill. Theophilus Redfield lived on Chestnut Hill. 
 
 3. Names of the memorialists for a new Society. 
 
 Joseph Wilcox, Peletiah Ward, Theophulus Redfield, 
 
 Daniel Buel, Lemuel Parmelee, Ephraim Kelsey, 
 
 Benjamin Turner, Nathaniel Hull, Daniel Redfield, 
 
 Samuel Stevens, Nathan Kelsey, Nathaniel Wilcox, 
 
 Nathaniel Buel, John Nettleton, Matthias Kelsey, 
 
 Josiah Parmelee, Nathaniel Parmelee, Stephen Kelsey, 
 
 Abel Wilcox, Timothy Chittenden, Benjamin Carter, 
 
 4. Names of the original members of^ the Church. 
 
 Edward Rutty, Josiah Hull, Elizabeth Hull, 
 
 Samuel Stevens, Joseph Griswold, Temperance Griswold, 
 
 Nathaniel Parmelee, Benjamin Griswold, Abagail Griswold, 
 
 Timothy Chittenden, Joseph Willcocks, Rebecca Willcocks, 
 
 Nathaniel Hull, Benjamin Turner, Martha Turner, 
 
 Josiah Parmelee, Daniel Buell, Elizabeth Buell, 
 
 Peletiah Ward, Nathan Kelsey, Hannah Kelsey, 
 
 Abijah Willcocks, Abel Wilcocks, Martha Wilcocks, 
 
 Nathaniel Buell, Lemuel Parmelee, Sarah Parmelee, 
 
 Daniel Rutty, Jeremiah Stevens, Concurrence Stevens, 
 
 Jonathan Hodgkin, John Lane, Experience Lane,
 
 Daniel Lane, 
 Nehemiah Parmelee, 
 Joseph Buell, 
 Jonathan Willcocks, 
 Hannah Willcocks, 
 Bathsheba Clark, 
 
 66 
 
 Jemima Lane, 
 Hannah Parmelee, 
 Anna Buell, 
 Experience Willcocks, 
 Priscilla Redfield, 
 Hannah Nott, 
 
 Jane Kelsey, 
 Ruth Willcocks, 
 Elizabeth Roggers, 
 Remember Stevens, 
 Widow John Willcocks. 
 
 Total 50. 
 
 5. Prices for other articles were as follows : 
 
 "Wheat per bushel, 
 
 Rye 
 
 Indian Corn, " 
 
 Oats, 
 
 Beef, per cwt. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 d. 
 
 
 4 
 6 
 
 6 Butter, 
 
 
 
 Tallow, tried, per Ib. 
 Wool, 
 
 Flax, 
 
 10 
 
 Cheese, 
 
 s. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. Names of College Graduates : 
 
 William Seward, Aaron II. Kelsey, Martin Wilcox, 
 
 John Punderson Seward,William S. Pierson, Luther Hull, 
 Asahel Nettlcton, Alvin Parmelee, Sylvester W. Turner, 
 
 Philander Parmelee, Josiah Pierson, John Wilcox. 
 
 Henry Lord, Ebenezer II. Wilcox, 
 
 Two, also, while pursuing their studies at Yale College, died: "Ely 
 Kelsey, son of Aaron Kelsey. He died April 26, 1788, aged 25 years, want- 
 ing thirty-two days." 
 
 " A vigorous application to the Academical studies, early finished a life 
 devoted to learning and religion. His benevolence and integrity, and his ex- 
 emplary piety endeared him to his friends, to the seminary and to the church 
 of God, and enabled him to die in so heavenly a manner, and to recommend 
 religion to all, and make every one wish to have died in his stead. 
 
 In Christo, mea vita latet; mea Gloria Christus, in uno Jesu omnia." 
 
 Written by President Stiles. 
 
 Reuben Wilcox : " College Education partly completed ; died in the 
 anorning of Mfe, Nov. 18, 1788, aged 24. 
 
 Youth blooming : Learn your mortal state, how swift your life, how 
 short the date. 
 
 Via lethi ab omnibus tentanda." 
 
 7. Names of those who have entered the ministry : 
 
 William Seward, 
 Asahel Nettleton, 
 Josiah Pierson, 
 George Coan, 
 
 Philander Parmelee. 
 Martin Wilcox, 
 Henry Lord, 
 Alvin Parmelee, 
 
 Titus Coan, 
 John Wilcox, 
 Eben. H. Wilcox.
 
 Ill I I " 
 
 A 000105661 3 
 
 67 
 :8. Number of admissions to Mr. Coaii's church, from 1837 to 1863: 
 
 1825 to 1837 84 
 
 1838 539 
 
 1839 5244 
 
 1840 1499 
 
 1841 154 
 
 1842 273 
 
 1843 331 
 
 1844 306 
 
 1845-6 553 
 
 1847 117 
 
 1848 186 
 
 1849 265 
 
 1850.. . 164 
 
 1851 169 
 
 1852 192 
 
 1853 442 
 
 1854 176 
 
 1855 95 
 
 1856 83 
 
 1857 105 
 
 1858 81 
 
 1859 . ... 48 
 
 1860 51 
 
 1861 106 
 
 1862 72 
 
 1863.. .. 57 
 
 Total, 11,491.