File #11603: "BX6249_S7_C4_1875.pdf"

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CENTENNIAL

SERVICES

OF THE

STAMFORD

BAPTIST
INCLUDING

HISTORICAL

CHURCH,

THE

DISCOURSE,
BY

REV.

EDWARD

LATHROP,

D. D.,

PASTO R O F THE CHUR CH .

NOVEMBER

--

6, 1873

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HI- T -HE_ R_T _O -H -AT_H_ T_H_E _ L-OR
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_ E_L -PE_ D_ U_S----11
.

80CI
1875:
STAMFORD

, CONN .

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•

·-

Wl\1. W. GILLESPIE

& CO.,

PRINTERS,
STAMFORD,

CONN.

CENTENNIAL

SERVICES

OF THE

STAMFORD

BAPTIST

CHURCH.

THE Baptist Church of Stamford, Conn., commemorated the onehundreth annivernary of its organization, on Thursday, November
6, 1873. The occasion was one of deep interest to all who participated in the exercises and enjoyments of the day. In addition to
the members of the Church, Congregation and Sunday School in
attendance, there were present many friends and guests from
abroad. The invitations, extended in the name of the Church by
the Committee of Arrangements, were responded to in person, by
letter, or by messages of friendly sympathy, by most of those to
whom invitations had been sent. It should also be mentioned that
the sister churches of Stamford, of all denominations, were fairly
represented at the several meetings held during the day and evening, giving expression, by the views and presence of their mem~
bers, to that sentiment of Christian fellowship and fraternity which
the Gospel inculcates and develops.
The church edifice was appropriately decorated with flowers, autumn leaves, vines and evergreens, which in the various forms of
emblems, mottoes, hanging-baskets, wreaths, etc., won the admiration of all beholders, and evidently served to suggest to the
speakers themes of thought which found eloquent expression.

6
Of the eight surviving ex-pastors of the Church, five were present
and took part in the Centennial services. Perhaps the most prominent among these was the venerable Rev. Greenleaf S. Webb, D.D.,
who seemed a living link, connecting the past with the present,
from the circumstance that besides having been pastor himself
some sixty years before, he had also known and succeeded the first
pastor of the Church, Rev. Ebenezer Ferris.
The former pastors
in attendance were, Rev. Dr. G. S. "'Webb, Rev. H. H. Rouse, Rev.
J. H. Parks and Rev. P. S. Evans. Letters of sympathy, regretting unavoidable absence, were read from Rev. J. M. Stickney, Rev.
Addison Parker, and Rev. ·william Biddle.
Among the friends from abroad who were present, were Rev. Dr.
Dowling, Rev. Dr. Armitage, Rev. Dr. Gillette, Rev. Dr. Patton,
John R. Ludlow, Esq., C. T. Goodwin, Esq., and many others from
New York; Rev. Dr. Turnbull, Rev. Mr. Cushman, of Hartford;
Rev. S. D. Phelps, D. D., of New Haven; Rev. C. W. Ray, of
Bridgeport;
Rev. Dr. Ives, of Suffield; Rev. Mr. Boxer, of Sing
Sing. Of Stamford clergymen present and participating in the
services were Rev. Messrs. Thurston, Van Slyke, Dodge, Willis and
Huntington.
The morning services (in which all the ex-pastors present participated,) began with singing "Praise God from whom all blessings
flow," followed by reading Ephesians rr, and Psalm cxxrr, (Rev. P.
S. Evans.)
The hymn, "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name," was
then sung ; after which a fervent prayer was offered by the venerable Rev. Dr. G. S. ·webb. The Historical Discourse was then delivered by Rev. Edward Lathrop, D. D., present pastor of the
Church. The discourse is herewith given in full. After the morning service, the congTegation were invited to partake of a collation
which was prepared and served in the large Sunday School room,
and which was universally admitted to have been not least among
the attractive and popular featurns of the occasion.

7
The afternoon services were conducted by Rev. Dr. Lathrop, and
were at the outset confined to the ex-pastors of the Church. The
letters from those who were unable to be present were read, and
addresses followed, from Rev. Dr. Webb, (1816-'21,) Rev. H. H.
Rouse, (1856-'57,) Rev. J. H. Parks, (1857-'58,) and Rev. P. S.
Evans, (1858-'65.)
These addresses were full of interesting and
often affecting incident and reminiscence.
Then followed reports
from Churches which had been organized in other places by colonies from the Stamford Church, the most prominent being the
Church at Sing Sing, N. Y., whose pastor (Rev. Mr. Boxer,) and
delegates feelingly testified their deep interest in the parent society. The remainder of the afternoon was fully occupied by a
number of eloquent addresses by guests from abroad, including
Rev. Dr. Armitage, Rev. Dr. Phelps, (who read an appropriate
poem entitled "The Century Church,") Mr. H. M. Prowitt, of Norwalk, (who also read an original poem,) and others. At the conclusion of the afternoon services, another collation was served in
the Sunday School room, after which the commemorative programme was resumed, in the presence of an audience which filled
the large church edifice in every part.
The evening services consisted of addresses by Rev. Dr. Dowling, of New York; Rev. Dr. Ives, of Suffield;_ Rev. Dr. Gillette, of
New York; James L. Howard, Esq., of Hartford;
Rev. Dr. Turnbull, of Hartford; Rev. P. S. Evans, of Shelburne Falls, Mass.,
( who read an original poem whose sparkling humor and genial personalities were greatly relished by the audience;) and Hev. R. B.
Thurston, Rev. E. Van Slyke, Hev. J. S. Dodge, Jr., Rev. J. S. Willis,
Rev. E. B. Huntington, and Alex. Milne, Esq.,-all of Stamford.
At a late hour in the evening the services concluded with singing
the hymn, "Shall we gather at the River?" and a benediction by
Rev. Dr. Latln·op, pastor of the Church.
It is unnecessary to add that this Centennial occasion was,

8
throughout, a source of grateful satisfaction to all who participated
in the commemoration exercises, of which the merest sketch is
given above. The Historical Discomse which follows will sufficiently indicate the way in which God has led the Stamford Baptist
Chmch, and also exhibit how truly and faithfully His gracious leadership has been exercised.

\

HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
HITHERTO

HATH THE LORD HELPED US.-1

SAML.VII

:

12.

THESEwords sound the key-note of our subject, and
they express the thought which, as I think, should be
uppermost in our minds to-day. The occasion which
called forth the utterance is familiar to all readers of
the Bible, and therefore I need only briefly to refer to
it. 'rhe men of Israel, after many conflicts and some
disastrous defen,ts, had finally succeeded in overthrowing
the Philistines near Mispeh, a city of Benjamin, whither
the Israelites had resorted to confess their sins and to
seek diYine succor. This victory secured many years
of tranquility and independence to the hitherto harrassed tribes, and the event was duly commemorated
by the erection of a stone significantly called '' Ebenezer," or The Stone of Help. "Then Samuel took a stone
and set it up between Mispeh and Shen, and called the
name Ebeneze1·, saying, hitherto hath the Lord helped
us." To-day, on the completion of the one-hundreth
year of our existence as a Christian Church we erect
gratefully, our "Ebenezer."
We would call to mind,
as we reYiew the century, not the wisdom of men, for
that has been small ; nor the strength of men, for there
has been much weakness ; nor the goodness of men, for

10
there have been marked instances of human imperfection and error: but we would "remember the years of
the right hand of the Most High ;" and, upon the monument which we here and now set up, we would inscribe
in liYing capitals, " HITHERTO HATH THE LORD
HELPED US."
One hundred years ago ! It would be difficult for
any of us, taking our stand, say in the tower of our
Town Hall, or on one of the adjacent hills, and surveying thence this now densely settled village and its
beautiful surroundings-it
would be difficult to form an
accurate conception of the appearance of the old Stamford of a century ago. Ahvays, it is true, "beautiful for
situation," and retaining still the same general contour
as of yore, yet, in all else, how changed ; and how
transformed into almost the dignity of a city is the little
hamlet where not farther back than the commencement
of the American reYolution, dwelt the brave and honored men whose grayes alone remain to this day. But into this field, interesting as it would be to traverse it, I
do not now propose to conduct you ; nor is this at all
necessary, since our esteemed fellow-townsman, Rev.
:Mr. Huntington , in his History of 8tamford, has painted
the picture , and indicated the contrast, with equal elegance and skill. It is mine, at this time to speak to
yon simply of the rise and progress of a single religions
organization.

11

•

The Church whose history I am about to recount,
was not planted, at :first, in this quarter of the town,
but north of this some four miles, in the district now
known as Bangall ; where still stands the house of worship, the frame of which was raised in 1772, on land
purchased for £4:l0s York m{)ney, by Mr. Ferris, who
subsequently served the Church, as pastor, for thirtysix years. It was not until 1790 that the members in
the lower part of the town, outnumbering those who
resided in the upper district, took measures for building nearer home ; and, in pursuance of thi::,; design, a
house, not unlike the one at Bangall, was erected on
This house, with some
River Street in this village.
modifications and improvements, continued to stand until a comparatively recent date, when it was supplanted
by another and a more convenient edifice.
Ebenezer Ferris, so far as we can ascertain, was the
first Baptist resident of the town. He doubtless was
horn here, as the name Ferris is found in the list of the
earliest settlers ; and we learn also, from the town records, that he was for two years one of the selectmen of
Stamford.
Mr. Ferris, as was true of nearly all the inhabitants of the town at that early period, had been a
member of the Congregational Church; but, as Mr.
Huntington tells us in his History, "he," (Ferris,) "had
become so far convinced of the invalidity of his baptism
as to seek immersion at the hands of Rev. Mr. Gano, of
New· York city."

12
The following , in Mr. Ferri s' own words, are the reasons which led to his change of church relation s :
"Having been some time exercised in mind, in disputes upon
religious subjects - searching the Scriptures for understandingbecame convinced that the Baptists, in their practices, according
to their confession of faith, are agreeable to the order of the Gospel--convinced
of the duty and importance of professing the name
of Christ, and having, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures obtained hope, I accordingly made application to the Baptist
Church in New York, under the pastoral care of Elder Gano,
desiring to unite with them in the privileges of the Gospel.
After
being examined, they manifested their :freedom. \Vas baptized
October 27th, 1769, and received into church fellowship."

And now , before proceeding to speak in detail of the
organization and movements of the Church here , allow
me to state , as concisely as I can , what the foundation
principles are which Baptists have ever regarded as e;;;sential in all gospel church-building.
I do not speak in
the spirit of a controversialist, nor would I be understood as intending the slightest reflection upon our
brethren of other churches, who may disagree with us
on some pointR. On the contrary, I deprecate all nee<lless religiouR contentions , and I maintain that BaptistR ,
as a body , are pre-eminent for their broad Christian
charity and catholicity.
Their principles make them
such. It is, howeYer, the history of a Baptist Church
that we are now to consider, aucl it would be clearl~remiss in m e, should I fail, on an occaRion like this. to
indicate our distinctive principles and practices.
I am aware that charitablenes s and catholicity are
not generally ascribed to the people whom. I to-day

13
represent.
Rather are we stigmatized by many as narrow and bigoted, and as attaching undue importance to
the forrn of a gospel ordinance.
By some, even in this
enlightened age, baptism is thought to be nearly, if not
quite, the whole of our religion.
Those, however, who
have taken the pains to study our history and Church
polity will readily acquit us of the sectarian littleness
referred to. and will come at once to Ree that we have,
from the beginning, "maintained a body of principles,
of which baptism is merely the appointed symbol."
"'\iV
e do, indee<l, attach great importance to baptism,
because it iR a duty poRitively enjoined upon believers by
the Lord Jesus Christ, who is King in Zion ; but we do
not magnify the ordinance disproportionately;
nor do we
regard it as possessing, in any measure, a regenerating
efficacy. We honor the ordinance of Christ, because it
is Christ's ordinance; an<l we can see in it also a typical significance and beauty, which reveal at once the
wisdom an<l grace of Him who instituted the rite- a
significance which can be retained in ·no other way than
by the burial of the believer's body in water, "in the
likeness of Christ':-; death," and the emergence of the
body out of the water '' in the likeness of Christ's resurrection "-a fact which is so obvious that the late distinguished Professor Moses Stuart, of Andover, was
obliged, in candor, to admit that it was "a thing made
out that the ancient practice [ of baptism J was immer-

14
sion." But it is not my purpose to argue a point which
the best scholars of every Christian denomination
frankly admit.
What I am specially desirous of, at this time, is to
vindicate the Baptists against the unjust aspersion of
attaching to the ordinance in question, any regeneravVhy, of all people on
tive, saving influence whatever.
earth, we are the very last against whom such a
charge can consistently be brought; for , as you know ,
we have ever and earnestly insisted upon conversion by
the Holy Spirit as pre-requisite to baptism and church
membership.
This is, with us, a fundamental princihave -always held the Scriptural doctrine, that
ple. We :...
it is not
the Church of God is a spiritual body-that
composed partly of regenerate and partly of unregenerate persons, but that renewed believers in Christ alone
are entitled to admission into the sacred fold ; and that
baptism, to such, is the rite initiative to church fellowship. Consequently we attach no importance to ordinances and ceremonies, where personal faith in the recipient is wanting.
We do not regard baptism and the
Lord's Supper as "means of grace," in the sense of imparting a divine quickening to the "dead in trespasses
and sins;" but rather and simply as duties and privileges
incumbent upon those who have already been made
partakers of the justification which is through faith in
our Lord Jesus Christ.

15
Other distinctive principles which we have eyer
maintained are, the right of private judgment in all matters of religion : in other words, perfect liberty of conscience, and the absolute divorcement of the State from all
purely religious questions.
No solitary instance can be shown in which those
holding our faith have sought, by the use of civil power,
or by any other agency, to coerce the convictions of
others. On the contrary, we haYe uniformly and
persistently defended the right of every human being ,
be he Jew or Turk, Romanist or Protestant, to think
and decide for himself on all points of religious faith
and practice, being responsible to God alone, who is
Lord of the conscience.
The word toleration, now so complacently enunciated
vVe
by some, is not found in our church vocabulary.
tolerate nobody. vVe regard toleration, in matters of
It implies the
religion, as a modified form of tyranny.
right to prohibit and to coerce. This right we deny ;
and we proclaim, as the Scriptures do, not toleration ,
but the liberty-the right of every man to worship God
according to the dictate of his own conscience.
These views , I am aware, are now held in common
by the Protestant denominations of our country ; but it
has not always been so. One hundred years ago, many
of the principles which are now conceded by American
Christians generally, were regarded as Baptist peculiari-

16
ties, and the people who contended

for these prmc1ples were looked upon by not a few, as dangerous
schismatics, deserving of public reprobation and punishment. No further back than one hundred years ago ,
the civil magistrate claimed it as his prerogatiYe '' to
persecute error," and to wield the authority of the
State in promoting what he deemed to be the only true
religion.
Those days, however, are happily past , and
New England arnl Yirginia would now, in 1873, clasp
hands with Rhode Island and Pennsylva ,nia in contending for the liberty which, in 1773 they (New England
and Virginia) protested against as tending to licentiousness and infidelity.
It is but historically just , however,
to say that the Baptists have been alwn,ys and uncompromisingly the apostles and champions of the liberty,
both civil and religious, which all now recognize as the
crowning glory of our national constitution.
It was the practical advocacy of these principles
which led General vVashington, when President, to say
of the Baptists:-''
I recollect with satisfaction that the
religious society of which you are members, have been,
throughout America, uniformly and almost unanimously
the friends of civil liberty, and the persevermg promoters of our glorious Revolution."
It was this which secured to the Baptists the cooperation of such patriots as Benjamin Franklin, Patrick
Henry, and Thomas Jefferson, when the former, in

17
1789, succeeded, by petitions and other appeals, in
securing, despite the opposition of the "state church
party," that memorable amendment to the constitution
which declares that "congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion , or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof.''
The principle embodied in this article has ever been
as dear to Baptists as life itself. When Roger Williams
announced this doctrine, in founding the State of Rhode
Island , he did not proclaim a new truth-did
not discover a new principle; he merely incorporated in civil
polity a principle which was as old as Christianity itself,
and which Jesus taught in the words, "Render unto
Cmsar the things which are Cmsar's; and unto God the
things which are God's."
But Roger Williams put this
principle where it had never before been found: namely,
in the constitution of a State. That was a new thing
under the sun; and Bancroft does but simple justice to
the memory of the sturdy old Baptist pioneer when he
says, "If Copernicus is held in perpetual reverence,
because, on his death-bed, he published to the world
that the sun is the centre of our system-if
the name
of Keplar is preserved in the annals of human excellence for his sagacity in detecting t~e laws of planetary
motion - if the genius of Newton has been almost
adored for dissecting a ray of light, and weighing the
heavenly bodies in a balance, let there be for the name

18
of Roger Williams, at least, some humble place among
those who have advanced moral science, and made
themselves the benefactors of mankind."
But I must not weary you with further general remarks of this nature. Let me say, in a word, that
accepting, as we do, the revealed word of God as the
only authority in matters of religious faith and practice,
we are bound to recognize its teachings, as we understand
them, as final, and to follow in the line of our honest
convictions. We do not claim to be infallible. We do
uot pretend th~t we hold all the truth, and that'' wisdom
will die with us." But, nevertheless, we must walk
according to the light which we have; and we cannot
substitute and make our own the convictions of others.
If, on some points, we differ with those whom, as Christians, we love, and with whom our spiritual intercommunion is sweet, our differences are not matters of
choice, but conscientious necessities. We must obey what
we believe to be the Master's instructions.
But what
we claim for ourselves, we freely accord to all others;
that is, the inalienable right of individual judgment in all
religious matters. vVe are one in heart and in purpose
with our Christian brethren of every name, who hold
the Head, and who are striving to promote the common
salvation. We believe, in the words of the Christian
Alliance, the savor of whose influence is still upon us,
that '' Chr1:stian union is consistent with denominational

19
distinctions."

Indeed, there can be no such union, with
human nature constituted as it is, where these distinctions are sought to be overborne.
But no; uniformity
in all things, is not essential to the unity and fellowship
of Christian hearts.
Union is of the spirit, not of the
letter.
The Church of God, as has recently been well
said, '' is not a manikin bound together by mechanical
joints and bands," but a living body, in which dwells the
living Christ, and the throbs of whose heart are the
pulsations of the divine love, shed abroad by the Holy
Ghost, and given unto all who are partakers of the one
precious faith.
There is something, recognized by all regenerate
believers, as above sects, above churches, above denominations ; and that something is Christianity itself. Christ in the believer-the
life of God in the soul of
man. This Life is "the bond of perfectness."
"Let us
then, whereunto we have already attained, walk by the
same rule ; and if in any thing we be otherwise minded
God shall reveal even this unto us." Let all who love
the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, "endeavor to keep
the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, till we all
come in the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of
the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ."
And now, having said this much concerning principles, which could not consistently be overlooked, let

20

me take up the thread of the history, and conduct you,
without further interruption, to the end of the narrative.
Ebenezer Ferris, I have said, was baptized in 1769.
In the year following five other persons were baptized,
and these, in connection with a member of the First
Baptist Chnrch in New York, who had moved into
Stamford, were recognized as a branch of the New York
church-which
branch , the Pastor, Rev. Mr. Gano,
agreed to visit, from time to time, to administer the
ordinances, and to attend to such other matters as the
interests of the little band might require.
These visits
were continued, at intervals, for several years; and to
the judicious co-operation of John Gano must be attributed, under God, a large measure of the prosperity
which attended the earlier movements of the Baptists
in this place. This prosperity, I say, was remarkable,
when we take into account the disabilities and discouragements under which the non-conforming churches ,
at that time, labored. Laws, it is true, had been passed,
exempting from the payment of the "Parish Rates"
those who "elected" to attend other than the churches
of the '' standing order ;" but the officers of the law
were not always prompt to recognize the justness of
these enactments, and it was found to be easier by the
non-conformists, in many cases, to submit to the unjust
taxation than to contend against the imposition.
From

21
_1769 to 1773-a period of only four years-. about thirty believers had been baptized ; and it was then thought
to be expedient to organize independent churches. Accordingly, on the 3d of N overnber, 1773, "those brethern living most convenient to King Street and Horse
N eek, (I quote from the record,) were constituted a
church there ;" and the remaining number (twenty-one)
were, on the 6th of November, of the same year, recognized as the Baptist Church in Stamford.
The names of these constituent members being, in
some sense, historic, I here transcribe them.
They
were, Ebenezer Ferris, Azariah Winchel, Na than Scofield, John Ferris, Nehemiah Brown, Sylvan us Reynolds,
Gabriel Higgins, Joseph Webb, Jonathan Whelpley,
Moses Reynolds, John Higgins, Elizabeth Brown, Mindal Smith, Hannah Ferris, Rebecca Reynolds, Mary
Reynolds, Elizabeth Davis, Mary Miller, Sarah Higgins, Esther Smith, Hannah Tyler.
The Church, after its organization, was supplied for
several years, by different ministers , mostly from other
places ; among whom, in addition to Mr. Gano, were
Dr. Manning, then President of Brown University, Rev.
Mr. Coles, Mr. Ustic, a licentiate from New York, and
Robert Morris, also a licentiate, who, for doctrinal unsoundness, was subsequently excluded from the church.
In 1783, Rev. Elkanah Holmes, who had preached, for
two years, as a "supply," accepted the pastoral charge

22
at a salary of " £60 a year, and the use of the parsonage." In this same year, Mr. Ferris, who had served
the church as its first deacon, was licensed to preach
the gospel, and in the succeeding year, he was ordained
to the work of the mfnistry.
Mr. Holmes, at the time of his induction into the
pastoral office, was required "to divide his time" between Stamford, Salem and Bedford, and shortly after
the ordination of Mr. Ferris, he (Holmes) was removed
to Salem to serve the " branch " in that place, and also
the one at Bedford, while Elder Ferris, as he was then
called, should remain with the church in Stamford.
This, then, October, 1784, was the commencement of
the pastorate of Ebenezer Ferris. It was in this year,
December 8th, that twenty-six persons were dismissed
to form an independent church in Salem, and in April,
of the following year, Mr. Holmes dissolved his connection with the church here. Mr. Ferris now became sole
pastor, in which relation he continued until 1819.
During the long period above indicated, the Church
passed through some sore trials arising from controversies on doctrinal points, and also, in part, perhaps,
from the constitutional peculiarities of the " Elder,"
who, notwithstanding his excellencies, was only a man.
To these controversies I can only briefly allude in the
course of the narrative.
On the 3d of March, 1787, seventeen of the members

23
of the mother church, residing near Bedford, were dismissed to form a separate church at that place and on
the 15th of October of the year following, thirty-two
united with others to ·constitute a Church at Yorktown,
N. Y.
Two years afterwards (Nov. 6th, 1790,) thirty-four
were dismissed to form a Church at Sing Sing. Thus
in the first seventeen years of its history, the Church in
this place, organized with only twenty-one persons, had
sent out, to constitute separate churches, elsewhere,
not less than one hundred and one of its members.
On the 17th of July, 1791, Marmaduke Earl, a licensed preacher from New J er:;;;ey,was invited to accept
the position of "assistant"
to Mr. Ferris.
This connection, however proved to be unhappy, and it was of
short duration.
Mr. Earl, only a few months after entering upon his work here, openly expressed his dissatisfaction with certain doctrinal statements advanced by
Mr. Ferris and the Church, in their annual letter to the
Warwick Association, and a spirited contest ensued.
Mr. Earl drew off a portion of the congregation, and
gathering also some sympathizers from other denominations, he commenced an "opposition meeting," and succeeded, in connection with his adherents, in greatly disturbing the peace of the Church. In December 1792, the
matter was brought to an issue, and Mr. Earl was summarily dismissed. The consequences of this division,

24
however, were not arrested by the action of the Church
above referred to. A large number of members were
excluded for joining the "opposition,"
and, finally, a
council from churches belonging to the Association, reviewed the whole matter, and gave their emphatic approval of the disciplinary proceedings of the Stamford
Church.
It ought to be stated here, that the Church,
during these troubles, abandoned the old house at Bang all, and conducted their business and worship in the
newly finished house on River street.
The unhappy controversy now under review, not only
interposed a serious check to the spiritual prosperity of
the Church, but it also put in jeopardy the claim of the
body to certain lands and other property, which, by the
agency of Mr. Ferris. had been procured for church
uses. Accordingly, in 1793, application was made to
the courts for authority to form an "Ecclesiastical Society," which incorporation alone under the law of the
State, could hold and dispose of property in behalf of
churches.
In this application you will notice (Art. 8,)
with what jealousy our fathers guarded the old Baptist
principle of the exclusive right of the Church to determine all matters affecting the spiritual
welfare of
"the household of God." The article is in these words:
" All authority of choosing preachers and ministers to
serve and ( of) dismissing (the same) is wholly in the
Church, without the congregation."
In the year follow-

25
ing this act of incorporation, Mr. Ferris conveyed to
the " Society" the parsonage, and the land upon which
both the parsonage and the new meeting-house stood.
vVe pass on now to the year 1806, when, for the
first time, we have an intimation of the existence of another Baptist Church in the town of Stamford. The following record, under date of September 27th, of this
year giYes the information: "This Church, taking into
consideration a request of the Long Ridge Church in
this town of the professed order of the Baptists, that
this First church, in this town, would quit claim the
first built and North Baptist meeting-house to the sai(l
Long Ridge or North Church of this town, together
with the land belonging to said house, this Church voted to romply with their request, and appointed a committee giving them authority to quit said house and land
to the Long Ridge Church."
vVith regard to the Church here spokeu of, called afterwards '· the Second Church," I find the following in
a historical sketch contained in the minutes of the firRt
meeting of the Fairfield County Baptist Association :
"In 1804, a number being converted through the instrumentality of brother Nathaniel Finch and others, a second Baptist church
was formed in September.
In 1808 brother Henry Hoyt became
their pastor. Under his ministry they prospered until he left.
They then declined and almost lost their visibility. Under the labors of brother Farnham Knowlton they were again revived, and
many souls added to them. In 1832 brother Sherwood became
theii: pastor. Shortly after, through the influ ence of false teachers,
who came in among them, they fell into contention.
Several of
the members were excluded. Difficulties soon arose with the so-

26
ciety about their meeting-house.
The church were denied the use
of it in 1837. Some of the brethren and sisters, being discouraged,
took letters of dismission.
In the commencement of 1838 they decided to dissolve ; but God interposed.
He sent among them
their present pastor, John Waterbury.
They were encouraged.
Some have been converted, and some are anxious. They now occupy their meeting-house.
As a church they compose a Missionary and Bible Society. Their present number is thirty."

This was in 1838. Since that time, as we well know,
the '' North" or '' Second Church," as such, has expired.
But we return more directly to the history in hand.
After the trials growing out of Mr. Earl's disaffection,
Elder Ferris continued in sole charge of the church
until the year 1807, when Frederick Smith, who had
previously been licensed and ordained, was appointed
assistant minister.
Mr. Smith, however, for alleged
irregularities, was dismissed after a few years' service.
In the meantime, Mr. Greenleaf S. Webb, "having"
as the record says, "been some time improving in
preaching on trial for the ministry," was presented by
the Church to a council for examination, and was ordained as an Elder, June 9th, 1816, to serve the church
in connection with Mr. Ferris-the
ministers officiating
at the ordination being William Parkinson, Lebbeus
Lathrop, Henry Hoyt, Ebenezer Ferris and Luther Rice,
the missionary companion and fellow-laborer of Judson.
Mr. Webb, who had previously been connected with
the Mulberry street Church in the city of New York,
and who had been licensed to preach by that body, gave
great satisfaction to the people here, and rapidly gained

27
the confidence of the community. It was not long, however, before the peace of the Church was again disturbed
by doctrinal controversies ; and the venerable "Elder,"
candor compels me to say, manifested no little irascibility, and clearly demonstrated his title to membership in
the "church militant."
He was now, however, well
stricken in years, and we must not judge uncharitably
of one whose life had been productive of so much that
was good. The Church, throughout the long and tedious discussions which ensued, while expressing the
profoundest respect for their aged pastor, could not
sanction his procedure, as touching his associate, and
they uniformly sustn,ined Mr. Webb, who, in 1819, became sole pastor of the Church and continued in this
office till 1821, when he resigned his charge and removed to New Brunswick, N. J., where, in a green and
honored old age, he still lives.
In December of the following year, Rev. John Ellis,
who had left the Episcopal ministry to become a Baptist, was called to succeed Mr. vVebb, and served as
pastor until 1836.
This period of fourteen years was one of undisturbed
peace to the Church, and also, near its close, of vigorous and healthy growth. It was during the ministry
of Mr. Ellis; namely, July 2d, 1825, that the first Sunday School, in connection with the Church was organized. The "resolution" touching this matter was very

28
brief, and is in these words: "Agreed to commence a
Sabbath school in the meeting-house."
The brevity of
this resolution, however, must not be accepted as a criterion of the Church's interest in the Sunday School
cause. From the date just given down to the present
day, there has been no period, it is true, when the Sunday school work has been appreciated, as it deserves to
be, by all the members of the Church ; but, neYertheless,
there has been a constantly growing interest in the
cause ; and never, so much as now, has the Sunday
school occupied its true place in the affectionR arnl labors of this Church.
It was also during the fourteen years named, that the
Church entered with somewhat of system and vigor upon the prosecution of missionary work. In 1827 a Missionary Society, with Mr. Ellis as its President, was
formed to act in concert with other societies then
being organized within the boundR of the New York
association.
A remarkable out-pouring of the Holy Spirit also
characterized this period.
Near the close of 1835, while
the pastor was necessarily absent in a distant part of
the country, a series of meetings were held by the
Church, under the direction of Rev. Israel Ro bards, assisted by Rev. J. L. Burrows, now of Richmond, Ya.,
Rev. Archibald Maclay, of New York, and also, as the
record states, by brethern N. Sherwood, S. Adams, and

29
Dr. Seaman, of Stamford, and brethren Oldering and
Waterbury, of New York. A large number of persons
- estimated at about one hundredwere hopefully
converted, many of whom joined this Church, and some
of whom "continue unto this day," witnesses of the efficacy of the grace then imparted.
As we enter, now, upon a period so near our own
time that its history is familiar to many whom I to-day
address, I shall not find it necessary to dwell upon details, but will hasten to state concisely what remains
to be said.
Mr. Ellis resigned his charge, October 16, 1836, and
was succeeded on the 23d day of the same month, by
Rev. Wm. Biddle, whose faithful labors, for two years
and two months, were crowned with a large blessinga goodly number, during that time, having been added
to the Church. After the resignation of Mr. Biddle, the
Church, being sometime without a pastor, called to ordination Mr. Henry Little, who had long and faithfully
served as Church clerk, and he supplied the pulpit for
several months.
In April, 1839, Rev. James M. Stickney was elected
pastor, and remained with the church three years. The
labors of this brother were not without blessed results,
and not far from fifty persons were received into the
church during his ministry.
Rev. Addison Parker followed Mr. Stickney.
He was called April 3d, 1842,

30
and resigned August 24th, 1845. Between twenty and
thirty believers were baptized by Mr. Parker, during
his residence here.
On the 1st day of November , 1845 , Rev . Henry H.
Rouse accepted the pastoral care of the church , and continued in this office till April, 1848.
With regard to the difficulties which arose during the
pastorate of Mr. Rouse , and the subsequent division of
the church into two nearly equal parts , it is not my purpose minutely to enter.
The wounds then opened are
now happily healed, and no one desires to have them
re-opened.
We believe they are permanently healed ;
and if they were not, this centennial occasion would be
the time for completing the cure.
It will be sufficient to say that the portion of the
church which went out with Mr. Rouse constituted
themselves into a distinct organization, under the name
of the Bethesda Baptist Church, and subsequently built
a house of worship on Atlantic street . . This body was
recognized as an independe11t church by an ecclesiastical
council convened in Stamford, June 28th, 1848 , and
similarly recognized by the old First Church in May ,
1856.
Mr. Rouse continued to serve the Bethesda church,
as pastor, till January, 1857, when he was succeeded
by the Rev. A. H. Bliss, who held the office about one
year.

31
The First Church, after the division, invited to its pastoral care, Rev. James Hepburn. (March. 1849) who
continued his labors here with acceptance to the people,
but under no little necessary disconragement, for nearly
eight yearR. On the 15th of March, 1857, Rev. J. H.
Parks was chosen pastor, and remained with the church
until the disbandment, which took place in the year
ParkR actively co-operating in measures
following-Mr.
looking towards the reunion of the churches.
The existence of these two churches. professing the
same faith. and living side by side in a small community
like this, was felt, from the beginning. to be greatly
detrimental to the Baptist cause in this place. This
sentiment was entertained, not only by judicious friends
in other places, but alRo by many of the brethl·en
who felt themselves called upon at the outset, to
give their voice in favor of the division. Many efforts were therefore made, from time to time, to effect
a reconciliation of the two bodies, and mnch time was
spent in devising ways by which such reconciliation
might be most wisely and righteously brought about.
These efforts, however, were for a long time unavailing,
and it seemed, for a season, that the peaceful adjustment of the difficulties would have to be indefinitely
postponed.
God, however, graciously interposed, and,
moving by His spirit upon the hearts of His redeemed
people, opened a door of hope. An arrangement for

\

32
reunion was finally proposed, and the plan, which was
mutually satisfactory, was carried out in good faith.
The terms of the compact were in these words :
Resolved, That the joint committee of the two Baptist Churches
of Stamford, recommend said Churches to give regular letters to all
their members, to any Church of the same faith and order, and disband : in order to organize, from the two, one new Baptist Church,
under the name of "The Stamfo1·d Baptist Church."

rrhe recommendation was signed, on the part of the
Bethesda Church, by J. B. Hoyt, and on the part of the
First Church, by J. B. Taylor. The steps here proposed were _cordially adopted by the Churches ; the property held by each was turned over to the new organization, and on the 27th day of October, 1858, a council
composed of representatives from five Churches in New
York and Brooklyn and three Churches in Connecticut,
formally and with appropriate religious exercises, recognized this as The Staniford Baptist Church.
Of those constituting the Church fifty-seven were from
the body before known as the First Church ; fifty-five
from the Betb.seda Church, and two from the First Baptist Church in New York-in
all one hundred and fourteen.
The Church, thus organized, under circumstances so
favorable, took immediate measures for building a commodious house of worship on an eligible site. Rev. P .
. S. Evans, who had resigned his charge of a Church in
Boston, was invited to be the first pastor of the newly
formed Church. This was December 12th, 1858. Mr.

33
Evans, hmvever, did not formally signify his acceptance
intervening
of this ''call" till the following March-the
months having been spent by him in preaching to
the people, and in becoming acquainted with the Church.
The new house was rapidly carried forward to completion, and 011 the 2d day of August, 18G0, the
substantial and co1wenient structure in which we are
now assembled, was dedicate<l to the worship of God.
After a successfu l ministry of more than six years,
Mr. Evans, in consequence of impaired health, resigned
his charge, March 27th, 1865. Dnring a large portion
of the year which followerl Mr. EYans' resignation, the
pulpit was acceptably supplied by Rev. Chas. Townley,
who was then without a charge.
On the 24th of November of the same year, the present pastor of the Church was called, and on the first Sunday in February, 1866, he entered officially upon his
labors. The conditions and transactions of the Church
for the past nearly eight yean:;, are familiar to all inter ested, and need not, therefore, be spoken of at this time.
Let me, however, before leaving the purely historical
portion of these remarks, add a few facts. From its
organization to the present time, there have been re ceived into the Church, so far as I can ascertain
from the record, nine hundred and eighteen members.
Of these six hundred and fifty-nine ,yere admitted by
baptism, and two hundred and fifty-nine by letter and

34
experience.
Our present number is two hundred and
thirty-four.
In 1781, the Church became connected with
the Philadelphia Association; in 1791, with the V{arwick
Association; in 1819, with the New York Association,
and in 1838 it united with other churches in forming the
Fairfield County Association.
Six of its members have
been licensed to preach the gospel.
Several of these
were also called by the Church to ordination.
I must here close the historical review , and yet I cannot dismiss the subjectindeed I ought not to dismiss
it without saying, briefly, a few things, which my desire
to preserve the continuous flow_ of the narrative prevented my saying at earlier stages of the discourse. I would
gladly speak to you , had I the time, concerning individitals-reYered
brethren, and " honorable women also,
not a few, " whose names in connection with this Zion ,
deserve to be held " in everlasting remembrance."'
This, however, is now impracticable.
But I will ask
your indulgence for a few moments longer , while
I refer more particularly
to the circumstances amid
which our predecessors labored in laying the foundation
upon which we, in these later days, are building. These
circumstances we must distinctly keep in miud, if we
would estimate correctly the sen·ices and worth of the
fathers who wrought for us. near the close of the past
and in the beginning of the present century.
These
men labored under disadvantages, and they ,vere beset

with trials, such as we of the present day, can scarcely
appreciate. . For the most part, they were unversed in
the learning of the schools. They had to submit, also,
on account of their opinions, to a social ostracism, and,
in some instances, as we have seen, to civil disabilities,
which, to say the least, were hard for human nature to
bear. They were "the sect everywhere i;;poken against."
But, nevertheless, they were strong in their religious
co1n·ictions, uncompromising in their adherence to what
they believed to be the truth of God, and nobly selfsacrificing in maintaining " the faith once delivered to
the Saints." vVith the Bible in their hands, they defied
ridicule and scom. and manfully defended, as they understood them, the doctrines and ordinances of the gospel. If, therefore, there seemed to be, in some cases,
on the part of our fathers, a harshness of manner and
a dogmatic utterance of opinion which we might not altogether approYe, we must take into account the proYoking circumstances under which they struggled for
liberty and for truth.
These facts will explain to us, in some measure, the
.controYersies-especially
the doctrinial controYersies,
which characterized the early history of the Baptist
Church in this to,,·11. These disputes were not altogether between members of different religious sects ; but
also and frequently between those who held substantially the same Christian faith. The preaching of those

3G
days was pre-eminently doctrinal ; and warm discussions often arose. In the attempt to define and settle
what our fathers loved to call " principles" there was a
commendable desire to '' hold fast the form of sound
words ;" but this desire sometimes overleaped itself in
contentions for distinctions, ·where in reality there were
no differences. Hence a large portion of the time of
"church meetings" was occupied in " disputes" upon
doctrinal questions, where all were not a.greed as to the
theological standard of interpretation and adjustment.
And yet, after all, the doctrinal basis upon which this
Church was organized was, as a whole, eminently Scriptural.
The truth was, in the main, distinctly stated as
revealed in the word of God. 'L1hecreed then. was, essentially, what it is now.
It must not be inferred, however, from what has
been Raid, that the Church, in its earlier history, was
exclusiYely occupied in abstrnse discussions, to the neglect of godliness in the life. The records abundantly
show that those who professed the name of Christ were
required, in morals, to be correct ; in their worldly
transactions, just ; and in their '' covenant obligations,"
faithful.
'L1hediscipline of the Church was never withOn the other
held where it was deemed to be needfnl.
hand, however, it must be admittecl that the matter of
discipline was sometimes stretched to an extent which
it would now puzzle us to find a Scriptural warrant for,

37
as, for example, where a brother, in 1785, was cited to
appear before the Church to answer, among other
things, for "approving of musical instruments, and of
Christians using them in their families.··
Let us not judge others, however, by our light.
While our predecessors, like ourselves, were not perfect;· and while in some things-perhaps
in many
things-we
can detect errors and false judgments which
it would be well in us to avoid, we must, at the same
time, accord to them many sturdy virtues, and a jealous
solicitude for the purity of the Church of God, which it
certainly becomes us sedulously to imitate.
I had thought also, in this connection, of saying
something to you touching the friends of our cause,
who, not only in the remote past, but also in more recent years, have stood manfully by the Church in times
of emergency; who have devoted time and thought and
prayer to its interests, and who, in their unselfish and
generous support, have vindicated their title to belong
to that elect company, who, in the words of the converted Karen, have been "ordained of God to make up
deficiencies."
The record of these things, however, is
on high ; and as some of these honored ones are still
amongst us, their names shall be unmentioned.
And now we turn from the past. The future, full of
of promise and of hope, lies before us.
rrhe first century of our existence as an organized Church of Christ,

38
1s closed. What is past is past.
We '' reach forth
unto those things which are before."
Deeply humbled.
and I trust, penitent, in view of our personal deficiencies and lack of entireness of consecration to the
Master's service, let us throw ourselves, in the fulness
of faith, upon the unfailing promise of the Captain of
our Salvation, and in His name, let us go forward to do
or to suffer as He may direct.
Upon one side of the commemorative pillar which we
to-day erect, we would inscribe, in grateful recognition
"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us."
of past mercies:
Upon the other side, as we look into the new century
upon which now we enter, we would engrave in ineffaceable letters:
'' Jesus, who loved us and washed us from
our sins in His own blood. In whose name we trust;" in
whose service we will cheerfully labor, and by whose
strength we shall finally conquer. To Him be all the
glory, forever.
Amen."

SEMI-CENTENNIAL

SERVICES

OF THE

SUNDAY

SCHOOL
OF THE

STAMFORD

BAPTIST
INCLUDING

HISTORICAL

CHURCH,

THE

ADDRESS,
BY

WILLIAM

W. GILLESPIE,

JULY

4,

1875.

1875:

STAMFORD, CONN.

Esq.,

WM. W. GILLESPIE

& CO.,

PRINTERS ,
STAMFORD,

CONN.

Sunday School Semi-Cente~niaL
THE Sm1day School of the Stamford Baptist Chmch, Conn.,
celebrated its fiftieth anniversary on Sunday evening, July 4th,
1875. The occasion was one of mmsual and intense interest to
all connected with the School, and will long be remembered by
those who took part in it.
The Church was very beautifully and tastefully decorated, while
flowers, in great abundance, almost entirely covered the pulpit
In the centre
platform, filling the Church with their fragrance.
of the platform was erected a large arch which was en-wreathed
with :flowers ftnd ferns, and bore the motto,-"
God bless 01i1·
School."
On the right was a large lyre trimmed with choice
:flowers and lam·el, bearing the motto,-" Praise ye the Lord ;"
and on the left stood a cross formed entirely of :flowers, with a
border of eYergreens . Suspended from the columns on either
side were rich shields in black and gold, with the dates 1825 and
1875, while the transept pillars on both sides of the Church were
adorned with illuminated mottos brought from the school-room.
The effect wfts rnry fine, and reflected great credit upon those
ha:ving charge of the decorations.
Although the appearance of the Church was most beautiful and
attractive, the exercises were still more so, and they were enjoyed
by a large congregation which filled the house to overflowing.
The exercises were as follows :
CHANT
- " 0 come, let us sing unto the .Lord."
PRAYER
- By Frank Ferris, Esq. , of New York.

42
liYJIIN

OF

On this night of joyous greeting,
Parents. teachers, children come
Join us in our happy meeting.
In our blessed Sabbath home.
Hear our voices, sweetly blending
In the praises of our Lord :
Notes so sweet to heaven ascending,
Angel voices might accord.

GREETING.
2 We are taught the wondrous story,
That for us the Saviour came ;
That we have a home in glory,
Purchased by the dying Lamb.
3

May our hearts to Him be given,
In our happy childhood days ;
Trav'lers in the road to heaven,
Cheer the way with songs of praise.

READINGOF SCRIPTURE-By J . W. Stevens, Esq., of New York.
HYMN-" Our glad Jubilee."
l

2

Wake! wake the song! our glacl jubilee
Once more we hail with sweet melody.
Bringing our hymns orpraise unto Thee,
0 most holy Lord!
Praise for Thy care by day and by night,
Praise t'or the homes by love made so
bright:
Thanks for the pure and soul -cheering
light
Beaming from Thy word.
Marching to Zion, clear blessed home !
Lord, by Thy mercy, hither we come;
Guide us, we pray, where'er we n1ay
roan1,
Keep us in Thy fear ;

ADDRESSof Salutation
Lathrop,

3 Yet once again the anthem repeat.
Join every voice the Master to greet :
Love's sacrifice we lay at His feet ;
In His temple now.
Jesus, accept the off'ring we bring,
Blending with songs the odors or
sprino.
Still of ThY
wondrous love we will sing,
Till in heaven we bow.

and Welcome

by the Pastor, Rev. Edward

D.D.

Hnrn-By

·william Cullen Bryant, Esq.

As shadows cast by c1oud and sun,
Flit o'er the summer grass,
So, in Thy sight, Almighty One!
Earth's generations pass.
2

Fill every soul with love all divine,
Now cause Thy face upon us to shine ;
Grant that our hearts may truly be
Thine
All the coming year.

And while the years. an endless host,
Come pressi11g swiftly on.
The brightest names that earth can boast
Just glisten. and are gone.

3 Yet cloth the Star of Bethlehem
A lustre pure ancl sweet;

shed

This hymn, with the exception

Aud still it leads, as once it led,
To the Messiah's feet.
4

AND DEEPLY, AT THIS LATER DAY,
OUR HEARTS REJOICE '1'0 SEF.
How CHILDREN GUIDED BY ITS RAY,
COME TO THE SAVIOUR'S KNEE.

5 0, Father, may that holy star
G1·ow every year more bright,
And sen<l its glorious beams afar
To fill the world with light.

of the fourth verse, was origin-

ally written to commemorate the semi-centennial of the Chm·ch of
the Messiah, New York. At the request of one of om· teachers,
Mr. Bryant fitted an additional

stanza to the hymn, (the fomth,)

expressly for this occasion, and all were sung in grand congregational style to a familiar tune, proving a delightful feature of the
service .

43
HISTORICAL

ADDRESS -

and
of
POEM

exceedingly
the

School,

"Fanny

printed

Crosby,"
occasion,

fest

delight

W.

·wm.

interesting

the

Gillespie,

sketch

full

in

BY F Al'\"NY CROSBY. _:

this

l

By

The

children's

was

read

of the

whole

by

record

writer,

Superintendent

contributed

by

expressly
to

for

the

mani-

Planted by His faithful children,
Planted fifty years ago.
See to-day its branches laden'd
With the frnits of joy to come;

Precious souls with eyes expectant,
Turning towards their heavenly home.

9 Buels of promise, 0 how lovely !
Blossoms that to fruit will grow
From the tree our fathers planted,
Planted fifty years ago .
10 Jesus, Saviour, smile upon us

On this holy, festive day,
While our parents, friends and teachers
Come before Thy th1·one to pray ;

4 Like a tree where pleasant waters
Murmur on with gentle fl.ow,
Then our Sunday School was planted,
Pl anted fifty years ago.
5 Earnest were the prayers that'bless'd

11 While our School would humbly thank
Thee
For the streams of joy that fl.ow
By the tree our fathers planted,
Planted fifty years ago.
12 Lead us by Thy hand, our Saviou r !

it:

Faith was strong, ancl hope was bright;

Anel the tree put forth its branches ,
'Mi d the smiles of heaven's pure light.

Bring, 0 bring us, when we die,

6 Few its leaves, yet green and fragrant

To the " Tree of Life " immortal,
In the realms beyon~. the sky .

With the breath of Christian love ;
And the dews of grace descended
From the Eden land above.

13 And may
For the
From the
Planted

7 Soon it budded, bloom'd and blossom'd;
God beheld, and bade it grow:

HYl\IN-"

God

Goel bless our school !
Sing to the praise of God most high ;

bless

our
3

children in,

Frank

exhibited

a beautiful

to grow.

Teach us to serve Thee here below I
God bless our school ?
4

God bless our school!
Fill every heart with heaven l y grace
Lead us in love to that blest place

Bring all the heirs of death and sin,
Bring them immortal life to win ;
God bless our school !
SERMON-By

School."

Teach us in Christian strength

Sing how He brings salvation nigh:
God bless our school !
God bless our school !

thousands yet adore Thee,
peace and joy that fl.ow
tree our sainted fathers
fifty years ago .

God bless our school !
Teach us the word of truth to know,

Sing how He sent His Son to die;

BLACKBOARD

admirable

years'

company:

sacred temple,
divine,
bow of mercy,
of glory shine .

Bring all the wandering

An
fifty

poem,

hymn

the

a Here where we so oft have gathered
In these consecratecl walls,
What a scene of heartfelt rapture
Fifty years to-day recalls !

·2

Esq.
the

elsewhere.
following

Birthday of our Country's freedom,
Birthday of the School we love,
Welcome! while our songs of gladness
Blend with Angel choirs above.

2 Resting on this
In its majesty
See the radiant
With its hues

of

Where we shall see our Saviour's face :
God bless our school !

Beard,

Esq.,

the

Artist,

of

New

York.
Mr.

Beard

colored

chalk

picture,

entitled

44
the "Paradise of Eden," which won the admiration of all present.
He then dJ:ew the face of a child, representing
"innocent childhood," on one board, and the outline of a heart on another, and
then in a very instructive and impressive manner illustrated the
effect of certain sins in the heart, on the countenance and features
of the child. Discontent was typified by the head of a serpent in
the heart.
Envy, by a brier.
Vanity, by a peacock.
Insolence,
by a frog. Laziness, by a hog, and Swearing, by a poisonous
weed. These sins were well elucidated by the speaker, with story
or anecdote, and then written vertically upon the board, the
initial letters forming a word which well illustrates just what these
sins are, thus :
D-iscontent.
E-nvy.
V-anity.
I-nsolence.
L-aziness.
S-wearing.
Their effect on the face was noticed by a decided change in the
expression, which was effected by a few simple strokes of the
chalk, and the change thus wrought was so characteristic of the
:\Ir. Beard's
sin, that eYery change was a wonder and surprise.
happy manner, combined with his rare talent of using chalk,
excited intense enthusiasm, and though the service was a protracted one, the children, "old anrl ymmr;," would glaclly have
remained longer, allowing him unlimited time.
The hymn, "My Country, 'tis of Thee," was then sung, the
Benediction pronounced by the Pastor, and the semi-centennial
became a thing of the past ; but the memories of which will long
live, and the service be a green spot in the histor:v of the School
for all time.

HISTORICAL

ADDRESS.

Mr. Superintendent, Members and Friends of the Sabbath
School:
It is eminently fitting that the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of our Sabbath School, should be honored by
an appropriate celebration.
It is fit that we should
gather together in the presence of so conspicuous and
interesting a way-mark on our journey, and offer our
mutual congratulations upon the sturdy vitality our institution exhibits after the struggles and vicissitudes
of half a century-that
our voices should be heard in
. prayer and song, expressive of our gratitude to the
Giver of all good, for the helping hand with which
He has hitherto sustained us-that
we should unite in
such exercises as would awaken the sympathies and enlist the attention of all, both young and old, both members and those whom a friendly interest has brought to
,vitness our proceedings, and that our celebration should
be at once as suggestive and hopeful for the future as
commemorative of the past.
There was also, it seems to me, an especial fitness in
the suggestion of the committee of management, that

46
some one should be selected to present, iu the form of
an historical address, a synopsis of such facts and incidents in connection with the origin and early history
of the school, as could be collected from the meagre and
fast decaying records within reach, as well as from the
personal recollections of living witnesses, who, in the
ordinary course of nature, must soon be num-bered with
those who have gone before.
The attempt to collate
and prepare such material, showed better than anything
else could, the necessity and timeliness of such an effort,
if we would preserve for our own gratification and that
of our successors, the story of our school's origin and
early progress-a
story to which, as Baptists, we can
never become indifferent, and which ought to command
a still wider interest in the community as that of une of
the first Sabbath Schools established in Stamford.
As to what I shall have occasion to say in regard to
the importance of the Sabbath School as an institution.
not only in its influence as a conservator of civil and religious liberty, but its priceless value as an adjunct of
the Church of God, and a promoter of Christ's kingdom
upon the earth. I shall but express, as briefly as I may,
view·s which I have long held, and which, I am sure, will
meet with your ready assent and sympathy.
All I can
say of the inestimable and far-reaching benefits of the
Sabbath School will pass unchallenged in such an iutelligent assembly.
But we cannot turn our attention too

47
often, or too earnestly, upon the Sabbath School work
and its glorious results, nor is the subject in its general
as well as in its special aspect an inappropriate
topic
for consideration upon an occasion like the present.
Robert Raikes, the printer, "builded better than he
knew,'' when in 1781, he gathered together, on the
Sabbath day, by his own personal exertions, some of
the neglected children from the streets of Gloucester,
and caused them to be instructed in the primary eleme11ts of good learni11g. He had seen with pain and apprehension the sad waste of all that enohles and saves humanity, represented by the neglect. ignorance and even
more vicious influeuces which surrounded
the swarms
of young children, whose rude and often brutal sport
made the Sabbath afternoon the noisest of the week, in
the back streets and alleys of a populous manufacturing
town.
Those who had reached adult age, and whose
stolid and sin-marked
faces told only too plainly of
their graduation from the same school of idleness and
ignorance, which was fast deforming the moral features
of the succeeding generations, appealed less forcibly to
his sympathies than the condition of the young; or
rather. to illuminate the moral and i11tellectual darkness
-to combat the fixed habits of adults-seemed
to him a
far less hopeful task than the endeavoi· to reach and influence those who were still in the susceptible and impressionable period of youth.
He saw plainly the con-

48
nection between vice and ignorance, and knew that the
stronghold of the former could best be reached by an
It pressed upon him as a duty,
attack upon the latter.
and he performed it as well as he could, prayerfully
and faithfully.
He did not-he
could not-know
that
the little rill of good influences trickling from his feeble
Sunday School was to flow on in a constantly broadening and deepening current, bearing on its bosom argosies
of richest blessings to future ages, not only in England,
but throughout the civilized world.
He knew not that
from th8 little mustard-seed of his planting there was
to grow a mighty tree whose wide-spreading
branches
were yet to afford security and refreshment to the unnum berec1 hosts whom the Sabbath School has recruited·
for the Army of the Redeemer.
The Sabbath School idea which Raikes originated soon
found its ,Yay to America, and shortly after the second
,var ·with England had secured and established the Independence ,von at the Revolution, we find Sabbath
Schools set up in New York and other of our larger
ritie><. The vast importance of the institution as a conservntor of law and order as well as a promoter
of
Ch1·i~t's kingdom was recognized by both statesmen ancl
Churchmen.
Daniel Webster, the great Massachusetts
orator and RtateRman, in a letter which has only recently b een pnblished, though written twenty-five years ago,
took occaRion to say, "The Sabbath School -is one of

49
the great institutions of the day.
It leads our youth in
the path of truth and morality and 111.akest!1-em good
men and useful citizens.
As a school of religious instruction it is of inestimable value.
As a civil institution
it is priceless.
It has done more to preserve our liberties than grave statesmen and armed soldiers.
Let it
then be fostered and preserved until the end of time."
Never before was the Sabbath School more valuable
and more necessary as a civil institution than at present.
The Bible which has contributed so vitally to the abolition of tyranny ·and the spread of political freedomwhich has done so much for civil as well as for religious
liberty-which
stands to-day beneath laws and constitutions, the foundation stone on which is based our best
hopes ·for the permanency of our free institutions, is still
an object of attack, and those who love it are still called on to rally to its defence.
Skepticism
and bigotry
are now, as ever, arrayed against the teachings of Divine inspiration.
On the one hand, men conspicuous
for learning and intellectual
culture
are insinuating
doubts of Divine truth, because in their pride of knowledge they have attempted to reach out to the Infinite
without remembering
that it is Spiritually and 11ot alone
intellectually
discerned ; and on the other hand we see
the Bible attacked by
Romish hierarchy at whose demand we must banish it from our public schools as if it
had contamination
in its touch.
But though we rely

50
upon the Sabbath School as a highly important agent
in implanting in the youth of our country a sentiment
favorable to the growth and preservation
of onr free
institutions, and the development to the fullest extent
of popular ecluca.tion, the special mission of the Sabbath
School is incompa.rably of more consequence than any .
merely material interests.
As the greenhouse is to the
garden; as the nursery is to the orchard ; as the recruiting station is to the army ; as the relation ·which the
work. of the husbandman in tho spring-time _bears to
the crowning har;-ests of autumn; so iR the Sabbath
School to the Church of Goel. It is pnrely in its religious aspect that I he Sabbath School commands our
warmest affection and our most cleYoted Rervice. It
was itR benificont promise in this regard that attracted
the earnest Ryrnpathy and support of the good men ,vho
were contemporaneous
with Robert Raikes.
Cowper,
Newton, and ,YeRley were qnick to interest themsekes
in the prosperity of the new mo;-emont. ~ 7 esley wrote
in 1787, to a friend in Chester, ·' I am glad yon have taken in hand that blessed work of :;;etting up Sunday
Schools in Chester.
It seems these will be _one great
means of re;-iving religion throughout
the nation.
I
wonder Satan has not sent out some able champion
against them."
The celebrated Dr. Adam Smith said
of the Sabbath School, "No plan has been deYised since
the days of the apostles which has prmnised to effect

·51
such a general change of manners, with equal ease and
simplicity."
I need not point to the evidence of later
years in favor of the Sabbath School as a means of adding to the Kingdom of our Lord and Master, Jesus
Christ. ,Vhat pen could write or tongue could tell of the
innumerable host of redeemed ones who found the way
to Jesus, through the portals of the Sabbath School?
Many, alas, have failed to profit by the opportunities
it presented, bnt, to countless thousands, it has been the
very gate of Heaven.
I would gladly dwell on this
theme, but the more specific object of the present adto be treated of, and I must hasten fordress is Yet
..,
,vard.
The founders of this, the Stamford Baptist Sunday
School, were, no doubt, imbue~1 with these grand
ideas, and, impressed with the thought that they owed
something to posterity, felt that the best manner in
which they could possibly discharge the conscious obligation to the generations who should come after them,
was to inculcate and instil into the hearts anr1 minds of
those who ,vere then children, the precepts and principles of the Gospel of the Son of God. The nation,
at that time. was not quite half a century in existence.
Many of the men who had fought in the Revolutionary
and succeeding wars still lived. The spirit of the Declaration of Independence, born of Scriptural truth,
was fresh in the affections of men, and there was no

52
fear that the flame it kindled in the breasts of these
patriots-some
of whom, with bare feet and scanty
clothing, had endured hardship and fought tenaciously,
that "the truth, which had been crushed to earth,
ever be extinguished ; but
should rise again"-woukl
the question remained ; how shall these principles be
maiutained and perpetuated in future years ?
Consult the history of the men who constructed the
palladium of human rights, this declaration of selfevident truth, and you will find that it was from the
Bible that they received the inspiration to give to the
world a production whose very first sentences may yet
be written in letters of gold, 011 the throne of every
monarch and despot in Christendom.
Now, if from
the Bible these glorious principles have come, the Bible
must be the text-book in the hands of every child it is
possible to reach. Its sacred pages must be opened
and kept open. Its direction must be followed. The
youthful mind, thirsting for knowledge, must receive
its first impressions from its golde11 texts, and the
Lord's Day must be entirely devoted to its perusal and
study.
Such, no doubt, were the thoughts in the
minds of the organizers of this Sunday School, when,
fifty years ago, on the first Sabbath of July. 1825, it is
to be presumed, they called together, for the first time,
all who would assist in the promotion of this new
agency of human benefaction.
At a meeting of the

•

53
Church, held the day previous, this resolution
was
passed : '' Agreed to commence a Sabbath School in
the Meeting House," and this fact, together with the
testimony of one living witness, at least , who distinctly
remembers attending the school in 1825 , is all th e evidence I am able to find that the school was held that
year.
In the following April another record appears
which says : '' On motion made by Bro. Little to set up
a Sabbath School in the Meeting House the Church
agreed that the request should be granted and rl.esired
him to proceed."
It is evident. ho·\Vever, that as the
Sunday School was not held during the winter months ,
this record spoken of in April. '26 , was simply renewed
authority to re-commence for the summer followi11g the
work which gave promise during the short season of
'25. And when we find in the records that a person
speaking or exhorting outsid e of the Meeting Honse. between the hours of worship, without permission by vote
of the Church, was highly censurable, we cau readily
conclude that it would be necessary for those desiring
to re-engage in the Sabbath School work to have pemission to "set up a Sabbath School" every returning
spring; at least until the Sabbath School was considered an indispensable auxiliary in promoti11g the cause.
The person who would scan the pages of the Church
records , during these early years, and notice how precisely every resolution is worded and with what care

54
the faithful clerk has made his recordA, would then not
wonder that before a single step should be taken by
any member, the Church must first pass judgment on
the expediency of the movement.
In the old barn-like structure, erected in 1790, on
the north-east corner of the lot, now occupied by Rev.
Wm. 0. Hoyt's residence, on River street, the first
It is evident there was not much
meeting was held.
demonstration
at the opening.
It being among the
first Sunday School enterprises in Stamford, its projectors moved very modestly, and with fear and trembling
rather than with the enthusiasm which would characterize the opening of a new school to-day ; now that we
are assured of its benign influences.
So quietly was
the organization effected that the only survivors whom
I have found-who
were present on the occasion, without doubt-have
no distinct recollection of the manner
in which it came into existence.
One good lady, Miss
Maria Seely, of Darien, who was a member of the
Church two years before the Sunday School was commenced, cannot now recall any of its early history, beyond the fact that there was a Sunday School and that
It is not surprising, however, that a
she attended.
person eighty-three
years of age, with failing memory,
should be unable to reproduce the impressions and
scenes of fifty years ago, with any degree of accuracy.
Mr. Warren Little, of Five Mile River, --vvhowas in the

55
Sunday School as early as '27, could not recall a single
incident of its first feeble years. But at the end of the
season of 1828, the Superintendent gave to each of the
studious children an honorary certificate, setting forth
the number of verses recited during the summer. One
of these has been shown me, and reads as follows:
'' This is to certify that Phebe Adams has recited, durSigned by the
ing the summer past, 3,304 verses."
Superintendent.
Stamford, December, 28, 1828.
This lady, who is now the wife of Deacon Chas. G.
Powelson, and who is probably present this evening,
was but nine years old when she received this certificate, and it is also remembered by her teacher at that
time-who
still lives,-that
she recited as many as four
hundred verses at one session of the school. Should
Mr. Snelling, our present Superintendent,
write on his
black-board, next Sunday, that the designated verses
to be committed to memory, during the coming week,
would be 400, how many little girls and boys would
come prepared on the following Sabbath, to recite
them?
I believe he only requires four, but then, do
all the scholars comply with hi:;;request?
I hope they
do.
vYhen the first Sabbath School was held, there was
not a Baptist family living in the village, except the
minister's, and, therefore, it was designed for children
of every denomination.
The Baptist children that at-

56
tended were only those who came with their parents,
from King street, Darien, Horse N eek, Greenwich and
all the region round about, within a radius of several
miles. At first, there were two sessions-one
in the
morning and one in the afternoon,-so
that the family,
on Sunday morning, would start very early and carry
with them their day's rations ; returning not till the
second two-hours' sermon, from good old Father Ellis,
was ended, about five o'clock in the afternoon.
As I
have said, the building was barn-like in appearauce,
and it was partly used for barn purposes ; for, who
could help thinking so, if they saw the sturdy old
fathers, (should the day prove stormy,) carrying in on
their shoulders, a full set of harness, or a saddle and
bridle, and deposit them in a convenient place near the
pulpit. There was no plaster on the walls or roof at
this time. The rough timbers were all exposed and
studded with nails, on which the hats of the male members were hung before they devoutly took their seats.
It was an uncouth, unsightly and desolate-looking
place, uninviting in the last degree. A large wood
stove was set up in the centre, and a stove-pipe protruded through a pane of glass at either end of the
'rhe object of this was to
building, east and west.
prevent the stove from smoking, provided the wind was
contrary ; for they had a contrivance to stop one end
of the pipe if it should prove unruly, and let the

57
smoke out at the other end of the building.
This is
enough to give you an idea of the quaint old house the
first Sunday School was held in. But it might be said
of it, (being the spiritual birth-place of several whom I
now address,) as Rev. Mr. Evans said at the Church
centennial celebration of the old house now standing in Bangall :" Oh, holy place ;
Round thee, what sacred memories yet do twine!
In thee, no pillar carved, no vaulted aisle had part-No "dim, religious light," no costly shrine.
Thou wert not built an offering to man's pride :
A monument of what his skill can do;
But for a place where Christ, the crucified,
Might be held up within poor sinner's view.
·within thy walls what cries to God have gone,
From burdened souls who longed for liberty!
·what happy songs of triumph have been sung
When Jesus set these captive prisoners free!
What melting messages of gospel grace,
What wholesome homilies of doctrine strong,
·within thy humble walls have oft' found place!"

The faithful Clerk of the Church, from 1818 to 1846,
and who was also the Precentor who lined out the
hymns and led the congregation in singing, for a period
of over thirty-five years ;-a man of deep piety, anxious to serve his Master in every possible way , a man
whose excellent qualities of head and heart endeared
him to all who ever knew him ; a man \Vhose sincerity
of purpose, whose faithfulness in serving the Church
without remuneration, is most apparent and impressive
from the records ; a man, the fragrance of whose

58
character lingers still with those who were honored
with his acquaintance ; a man who, only two years ago,
fell asleep in Jesus, as a shock of corn fully ripe for
the Master's garner ; HENRYLITTLE, of blessed memory,
was the founder of this, one of the first Sabbath
Schools in Stamford.
This Christian gentleman remained the Superintendent for over 25 years , and, having gathered information from the reports of the American Sunday School Union, The Sunday School Pioneer,
Minutes of Sunday School Conventions, Plans and Motives for the Extension of Sabbath Schools, and other
books and papers relating to the subject, found among
his effects, he threw into the work from the very outset, the whole force of his perBevering nature, and.
with prayer and patience, waited for the coming results,-which
he ·was graciously permitted to see before he departed this life. He could well exclaim, in
his eighty -first year, adopting the language of the aged
Simeon, " Lord. now lettest thou thy servant depart
in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.''
A fortunate Providence occurred in 1836. It was during this year that the great revival took place. and that
nearly one hundred persons were hopefully converted,
a number of whom joined other churches, but severu,l
of the converts were received into the fellowBhip of
the Baptist Church, and this at a time when the interest in the Church and Sabbath School was waning to

59
an alarming degree. It seemed a direct interposition
of Providence to save His heritage from destruction.
With the augmented force derived from the new acquisition of members, and the increased interest in religious matters awakened as the result of the revival,
the Sabbath School took a new departure and was quite
successful for the two years during Mr. Biddle's time as
pastor of the Church, and until the Church Yoted in
January, 1838, that the Sunday School held during the
interval of ,yorship give place to the prayer -meeting .
At this time only one session of the school was h8ld, it
is ·very plain, as a resolution passed on the 20th of
March following, reads : "That we recommend to the
friends engaged in the Sabbath School that the same be
resumed."
At the resumption in the spring of 1839, a
complete re -organization took place. The officers elected were: Elder Stickney, President, who had just commenced his labors as pastor of the Church ; Henry Little, Joseph B . Hoyt and Warren Little, Vice Presidents;
Joel Hurlbutt, Secretary and Treasurer, Warren Little,
Collector.
Fourteen
teachers were also appointed
This record is taken
whose names are yet preserved.
from a memorandum of Mr. Little's in which he also
gives the memberR of each of the twelve classes. Among
the names arc to be found those who now hold honorable positionR in Stamforrl and elRewhere. but a great
proportion of the entire list are Rlecping in the silent
tomb.

60
The school under this new organization, still retaining Bro. Little as the Superintendent,
enjoyed much
prosperity for several years, but yet there is no written
record of any particular incident till 1848, when an unhappy controversy separated the Church and Sabbath
School, and two Sabbath Schools of our denomination
were in existence for ten years in town tog ether.
The
Bethesda Sunday School, under the superintendence of
Mr.Thomas Playford, for the greater part of this period,
appeared to prosper and had a large membership, while
the regular Sunday School, with unabated energy, kept
on the even tenor of its way. In 1851, Mr. Little, who
in 183~, was called to ordination, as a preacher, removed from town and therefore resigned his position as supcrinteudent, and was succeeded by Mr. John Scott,
uow of South Norwalk, who serYed till 1856 , when Mr.
J. B. Taylor, who had just come from New York, was
elected. Mr. Taylor, served till 1860 , and was suer.ceded by Mr. J.B. Hoyt, who held the position till 1868,
when .Mr. M. S. Frost was elected, iu deference to Mr.
Hoyt's suggestion and earnest desire. In the early part
of 1869 , Mr. Frost, having to remove from Stamford ,
Mr. F. vr. Ballard was elected in his stead and served
till July of the same year. In the following October ,
Mr. Hoyt was again elected and held the position during
'70, '71 and '72. In 1873, the present superintendent, Mr .. J. G. Snelling, was chosen, but on a,ccount of

61
his being obliged to return to New York, he resigned
the position in May, '74, and Mr. A. W . Paradise succeeded him. In October of the same year , Mr. Snelling
having returned to Stamford he was again elected , and
is to-night our efficient Superintendent.
During the later years of Mr. Hoyt's Superintendency,
there were appointed at his request, Acting Superintendents or Assistants, who performed the functions of
the higher officer with great acceptance to the school.
Among these were Bros. Derbrow, Snelling, Playford
and Paradise, the latter serving in this capacity for five
years in succession, with marked faithfulness and ability.
Very soon after the Sunday School was first organized the brethren thought it time to finish the house of
worship and provide a more fitting place for the Sunday
School ; accordingly a subscription was taken to erect
galleries and plaster the Meeting House, and in the gallery thus erected the sessions of the Sunday School were
held till 1854. At this time a new house of worship
was erected in close proximity to the old one, but of
more modern design. In this house the Sunday School
convened until the happy reuniting of the Churches and
Sunday Schools in 1858 , when possession was taken of
the present commodious and beautiful apartment immediately in rear of this Church.
It was soon after its
occupancy here that I, myself , became a teacher of one
of its classes and I have remained with it ever since ,

62

and, (pardon the personal allusion,) this makes thirty
years that I have been in the Runday Rchool either as
scholar or teacher.
All along the School's pathway. especially since 1858 ,
there have been strewn incidents and experiences of the
Rev. Mr. Rvans while pastor
most plensant character.
of the Church took a great deal of interest in its suc~ess. In 1860 the first Christmas festirnl was held , and
so marked was its influence on the prmiperity of the
school that ever since, each returning anniversary of the
Saviour 's birth has been hailed with appropriate celebration. An annual pic-nic, at which the children are
feasted under the shade of some neighboring grove or
at the sea-side; a system of rewar<ls for punctuality ,
good conduct and studiousness ; the introduction, from
time to time , of the latest and best Sun<lay School music; the gratuitous distribution of the standard Sunday
School papers, all contribute to intensify the interest of
both teachers and scholars in the work , while in the
meantime the young minds thus fascinated by the anticipation of material delights are having almost unconsciously written upon the tablets of their memory the
abiding truths which are able to make them wise unto
salvation.
It does not appear that up to 1861 any systematic
effort was made to collect money for the purpose of assisting in sending abroad the Gospel message to those

63

who wer ·e deprived, by reason of their circumstances, of
its delightful sound, but on the 27th of October, of that
year, the " Briggs' Missionary Society" was fully organized and officered , and its constitution declares that its
object "shall be to foster a missionary spirit among its
members and to aicl in the general cause of Christian
benevolence, and :my child contributing one cent per
week is eligible to membership."
Of this institntion at
its first meeting, Bro .. J. B. Hoyt was elected President,
and Bro. Benj. F. Lyon, Treasurer, both of whom ha-ve
been annually re-elected ever since.
The amount of
money collected and distributed in various ways, including the partial support of a Missionary in the West has
averaged over $280 per annum ; in all, nearly $4,000.
In 1861, when the rebellion broke out and wicked
hands had attempted the overthrow of the government,
several of our teachers volunteered to defend the 11ation's life and to protect the honor of the flag of the
Union. One of these teachers being promoted for good
conduct was presented by the school with a sword, sash
and belt, as a mark of approbation for his heroic devotion to his country. Three of the number thus engaged ,
died in the service. Ten years ago, on the 19th of November next, the Sabbath School met in the afternoon
to do honor to their memory.
A tablet of white marble was placed permanently on the East wall of the
school-room, and on it was engraved this simple in-

64

scription.
" In memoriam, John M. Simms, Chas. W.
Miller, Lewis A. Cook, teachers of this school who died
for their country."
And who shall say to-day that their memories are
not blessed?
Who shall rob them of the honor which
encircles the name of every soldier of the American
Union?
With the light of the· past decade, with peace
and victory crowning the efforts of our volunteer soldiery, where is the man enjoying the blessings which
their lives have preserved, who has a desire to pluck one
laurel from their brow ? Whatever some may have
thought on the very day this tablet was dedicated,
whatever of unsettled conviction, as to the justness of
the nation's plan to preserve its own life may then have
been honestly held by some, certainly to-day, on this
99th anniversary of its existence, on the very eve of its
centennial year, there can be no man claiming to love
his country, who could be justified for a moment in dishonoring a soldier's name or withholding the honor they
have so nobly earned.
And now my duty is performed.
I have added to
this imperfect address, (through the kindness of the Secretary,) a complete list of the present officers, teachers and scholars, whose names are on our records today. In all, 222 souls. I am aware of the delicacy of
eulogizing those who are yet living and active among
us, for the interest, generous support and faithfulness

65
with which their whole connection with the School has
been characterized,
I know their disposition so well ,
and feel so fully assured that they seek not the praise
of men ' that I would forbear to even mention ...their
names did not this centennial occasion demand that it
should be done. A record of the Stamford Baptist
Sunday School , written up to this day without particular mention of Mr. Snelling and Mr. Paradise, as Superintendents would be incomplete, but last and above all
of Mr. J. B. Hoyt , who has been so firmly and faithfully
its friend for these last seventeen years.
It cannot be expected that I could even name the
list of devoted teachers, both male and female, who
have incessantly labored in this vineyard, and strengthened the hamls of the Superintendents continually ; but
have they not the assurance that their names are written in Heaven, and that their works will follow them.
and shall the crown of glory given them at the last day
not indicate by its shining stars the number of souls that
through their faithfulness have been redeemed from
everlasting destruction and made partakers of the grace
of life?
In view, then , of the prosperity of the past, with hopefulness for the future , let us lift our hearts in gratitude
to the great almoner of blessings and magnify the Holy
Name of Him who has preserved our School these fifty
raisyears-through
all its trials and vicissitudes-and.

66
ing our Ebenezer, mark this epoch in our history, gather strength from the experiences of the past, look forward to still grander achievements, and, humbly rely ing upon the God of our fathers, take courage for the
time to come.

ROLL
OFTHE
STAMFORD
BAPTIST
SUNDAY
SCHOOL,
JULY

4th,

1875.

,/. GREENTYOOJJ SSELLLSG,
Superintendent.
,TOSEP 1I B. TIO YT, Assistcrnt 8npe1·i11/endent.
rVILLIAJ[ POSJJ, Trerlsu1·e1·.
EJfilfETT

S. l-J'ATERBuRY,
Sec1·elcwy,
LA lrRE.YGE, Libra1'ian,
li'H , I.YK D. ORJ81VOLJJ, .Assistant

ZOPHAR

C'LASS

NO.

1.

<.:LASS

NO.

2.

MR. WARREN B. STETSON,
Miss Melissa Jennings.
Miss Julia Hoyt.
Miss Fanny June.
Miss Bella Unckles.

:i\'Irs. E. Thomas.
Mrs. A. F. Philp.
:Miss Victoria Fox.
Miss Fanny Ells.
Mrs. E. S. Waterbury.

Jennie Weed.
Mary A. Nichols,

Sarah L. Hoyt.
Lillie Buttrey.
Altana Birchett.

Hannie lVI. Hendrie.
Emma L. Lyon.

Juliette Prior.
Mary H. Miller.
Carrie G. Hurlbutt.

Teacher.
Miss Laura Kirk.
Miss Debora Merritt.

:\1RS. E. LATHROP, Teacher.'
Mrs. Chas. E. Nichols.
Miss
:Miss Clara Fox.
Miss
::\1iss Lizzie Renaml.
Miss
Miss E. Foster.
Miss
1\Iiss E. A. Bald" in.
Miss
CLASS

NO.

3.

CLASS

NO.

4.

CLASS

NO.

5.

CLASS

NO.

6.

Librarian.

Maggie Sammis.
Fanny Gray.
N. Brownell.
Nellie Burt.
Eva Purdy.

MRS. L. H. W AKElVIAN, Teacher,
Louisa Erickson.
Elizabeth Smith.
Emma J. Jorclnn.
Mary Fisher.
11RS. J. B. HOYT, Teacher.
Agnes G. Paradise.
Addie Tagliabne.
H. Louise Paradise.
Lrtura L. Burke.
:MISS ANNIE MILLER,
.Jennie M. Hoyt.
Carrie Whitney.

MISS MARY A. PALMER,
Carrie ,v. Merritt.
Helen G. Powelson.
Lizzie Palmer.

Teacher .
Alice L. Self.
Olivia Ford.
Teacher.
Emma A. Brown.
Minnie Allen.

68
CLASS

NO. 7.

CLASS

NO.

CLASS

NO. 9.

CLASS

NO. 10.

CLASS

NO.

CLASS

NO. 12,

CLASS

NO.

MISS AUGUSTA SCOFIELD,
Anna Ballard.
Sarah Scott.
Carrie Buttrey.
Alice Louise Snelling.
Anna E. Searles.
Caroline P. Waterbury.
Libbie E. Searles.

Ella G. Weed.
Mary C. Ford.

Teacher.
Jennie Griffen.
Anna P. Scott.

8.

MRS. G. GAYLOR, Teacher.
Fannie T. Arnold.
Stella M. Finch.
Emma Ford.

MRS. C. M. WATERBURY,
Bella B. Ford.
Ellrt Ford.

MISS LAURA M. KETCHUM,
David D. Scofield.
Lorenzo Stottler.
William A. Wilson.
Albert W. Dunbrtr.

Teacher.
Sarah E. Self.

Teacher.
Benj. E. Lyon.

11.

MISS GERTRUDE A. SCOFIELD, Teacher.
Edward Prior.
Charles A. Kirk.
William Lockwood.
Albert Lynch.
Clifford W. Lawrence.
Frank H. Ballard.
Edward F. W. Gillespie.
MR. WILLIAM W. GILLESPIE, Teacher.
Arthur M. Waterbury.
John Cunningham.
Harry C. Royce.
·walter S. Waterbury.
William E. Self.

Edward S. Kennedy.
William H. Dudley.

13, _

MR. BENJ. U. LYON, Teacher.
'John A. Hicks.
Reuben A. Dudley.
CLASS

NO. 15.

CLASS

NO. 16.

MR. CHARLES E. NICHOLS, Teacher.
William A. Pratt.
Frank Weed.
Gardner B. Knapp.
Wilbur E. Lewis.
William M. Ballard.
Henry D. Lockwood.
E. H. Waterbury.
Frank P. Allen.
MR. FRANK W. BALLARD, Teacher.
Charles W. Ballard.
Frederick Walker.
CLASS

,John F. Alexander.
W. A. Gibbins.

CLASS

Mrs. Wm. Pond.

NO. 17.

MR. WILLIAM POND, Teacher.
W. F. Waterbury.
Frank W. Nichols.
William H. Buttrey.
Andrew J. Kirk.
NO. 18.

MR. JAMES J. WOOLSEY, Teacher.
Mrs. E. F. Mead.
Mrs. S. M. Lockwood.

69
Mrs.
Mrs.
Miss
Mrs.

Mrs.
Mrs.
Mr.
Mrs.

Wm. Self.
C. Card.
L. Beavers.
Lockwood.

S. Finch.
G. E. Browne.
Sylvester Finch.
Sarah Lockwood,
CLASS

NO.

19.

CLASS

NO.

21.

CLASS

NO.

22.

CLASS

NO.

23.

MRS. J. J. WOOLSEY,
Jessie Darling.
Emily Brown.

Susie N. Paradise.
Hattie Olmstead.

Mrs. S. Miller.
Mrs. N. Knapp.
Miss Cox.
Mr. S. Searles.

Teacher.
Katie A. Jones.
Annie Lewis.

MR. JOSEPH B. HOYT, Teacher.
Reuben R. Brooks.
John K. Lawrence.
Harry G. Snelling.
Thomas F. P. Paradise.
Sumner Ballard.
Edward T. Buttrey.
MR. S. D. BARNES,
W. E. Provost.
Charles W. Card.

Andrew B. Allen.
Zachariah B. Nichols.
A. L. Lockwood.

R. H. Gillespie.
Mr. L. H.

MR.

·wakeman.

Teacher.
Charles F. Fish.
G. H. Provost.

ANDREW W. PARADISE,
W. R. Fiske.
RESERVE TEACHERS.
Mr. James Philp.

Primary

Department.

MRS. A. W. PARADISE,

Agnes L. Lockwood.
May L. Gillespie.
Alice L. Miller.
Jessie Jones.

Teacher.

MRS. R.H.
Laura
Minnie
Lillian

Superintendent.
CLASS

A.

CLASS

B.

CLASS

C'.

GILLESPIE,
Teacher.
Scofield.
Jennie J. Jones.
A. Lockwood.
Lulu F. Mead.
M. Gillespie.
Lillie Lockwood.

MISS IDELLA HURLBUTT,
Mary Metrass.
Estella L. Lockwood.
Capitola Smith.
Anna B. Rider.
Emma J. Card.
Nellie M. Scofield.
FannyJ. Warren.

Teacher.
Carrie E. Arnold.
• Lillie JVI.Buttrey.
Emma L. Scofield.

MRS. JULIA G. SI1\'IPSON, Teacher.
George C. Lawrence.
William B. Fish.
Frank L. Card.
John H . Palmer.
Frank L. :Miller.
Willard E. Hoyt.
Charles Gaylor.
Wilbur L. Snelling.
William Goff.
Frederick Miller.
George R. Gillespie.
Freel. T. Young.
Thomas Scofield.

70
Ernest A. Palmer.
Stephen Brown .
George M . Griffen.
Susie H. Lawrence.

Lettie Ford.
Lida S. Webb.
Clara Smith.

CLASS

D.

CLASS

E.

MRS. Z. LA WREN OE, Teacher.
George Kirk.
Joseph B. Hoyt, ,Tr.
Gilbert L. Arnold.
Elmer DeCamp.
Oscar H. Prior.
Willie Kellis.
MISS LILIAN ALLEN,
Mabel W. Scofield.
Bessie DeCamp .
Jennie Barton.

Teacher.
Sarah Curtis.
Alida Ford.

I

~\)~G ISLANtJ

HISTORICAL

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