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 PR/% 
 
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 A iftHtoriral ^rotton 
 
 PREACHED IN 
 
 Christ Church 
 
 HARTFORD, CONN. 
 
 February 9, 1902. 
 
 2U&. flprmatm ICUmtiljal, ULA- 
 
CHRIST CHURCH PARISH— A Century of its History, 
 and a Look into the Future. 
 
 A Sjtfiinrirai ii^rmnn 
 
 PREACHED IN 
 
 Christ Church, Hartford 
 
 gmn&ap Jflorntng;, JFcbrttarp 9, 1902 
 
 By the Rev. Hermann Lilienthal, M.A. 
 
 fffil 
 
 PRINTED BY REQUEST 
 
The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company, Printers 
 
HISTORICAL SERMON. 
 
 "Walk about Zion, and go round about her, and tell the 
 towers thereof; mark well her bulwarks, set up her houses, 
 that ye may tell them that come after." — Psalm xlviii: ii, 12. 
 
 In Dr. Hoadly's "Annals of the Episcopal 
 Church in Hartford " it is recorded that 
 "on the 12th of July, 1801, it was voted that 
 the Rev. Menzies Rayner of Elizabethtown, 
 N. J., be requested to take charge of the 
 church at a salary of $600 a year, to com- 
 mence from the 20th of August then next, 
 an invitation which was accepted ; and thus 
 after struggling for nearly forty years the 
 parish became completely organized." The 
 " Episcopal Society " was now ecclesiastic- 
 ally as well as legally complete by having 
 a rector. The beginnings of Christ Church 
 parish date back to 1762, when the Rev. 
 Thomas Davies, a graduate of Yale, and a 
 missionary of the S. P. G., was invited to 
 hold a service in Hartford. This he did 
 some time between January and April, and 
 in October of this same year certain adher- 
 ents of the Church of England associated 
 themselves together, and for ^80 bought a 
 piece of land on what is now the north- 
 
east corner of Church street. Stones were 
 purchased, and a foundation was laid for 
 a church, but a period of depression set 
 in, and the few Episcopalians found them- 
 selves unable to raise money sufficient to 
 erect a church. Further, they had to con- 
 tend with the bitter prejudice of Congre- 
 gationalists and Presbyterians, who were 
 strongly opposed to what they deemed 
 "prelatical" churches, and hindered their 
 establishment by all means possible. To 
 add to the distress of this little band, one 
 of them illegally sold the lot that had been 
 bought, and the purchaser, relying on his 
 legal rights, entered the property, " broke up 
 the foundations of the church, and carried 
 away the stones, which he used for the foun- 
 dation of a house he was then building." 
 The land eventually was restored in 1785 to 
 the "professors of the Episcopal Church," 
 but not until they had paid /60 additional 
 for renewed possession. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Revolutionary War came 
 on, when the Episcopal Church and clergy 
 were viewed with a "jealous eye as danger- 
 ous to the civil and ecclesiastical liberties 
 of the country." During the trying years of 
 the war it is doubtful whether any services 
 of our church were maintained in Hartford. 
 But after the Revolution was successfully 
 ended, and peace once more prevailed, on 
 
November 13, 1786, fifteen men came to- 
 gether, signed an article of association, and 
 formed an Episcopal society. Let me give 
 you the very words of the agreement, and 
 the names of the signers : — 
 
 Hartford, Nov r 13 th 1786. 
 We the underwritten do, by these Presents Associate 
 ourselves into a Religious Society, by the Style and Title 
 of The Episcopal Society of the City of Hartford, under 
 the Direction and Government of the Rt. Rev d Bis p Sea- 
 bury, & the Episcopal Clergy of the State of Connecticut 
 
 William Adams Stacy Stackhouse 
 
 Jno° Morgan Cotton Murray 
 
 John Thomas Isaac Tucker 
 
 Jacob Ogden W m Burr 
 
 Sam 1 Cutler Elisha Wadsworth 
 
 Thomas Hilldrup John Avery 
 
 Jn° Jeffery Aaron Bradley 
 George Burr 
 
 Thus was reorganized the initial effort of 
 1762, and these associates became the found- 
 ers of the present parish of Christ Church. 
 The article of association and names of these 
 fifteen men deserve to be commemorated by 
 a mural tablet set in the wall of the vesti- 
 bule of this church, where the worshipers 
 and visitors daily and weekly as they pass 
 in and out may for unnumbered generations 
 know who the men of faith and courage 
 were who laid the foundations of this 
 parish. 
 
 And here it may be observed that a parish 
 
is often what it is because of the character 
 of its founders. A parish is an organism, 
 manifesting its own individual development, 
 characteristics, and spirit. It displays in its 
 histor}^ some dominant character or trait 
 impressed upon it by some of its strong and 
 leading original members; and so parishes 
 may manifest faith or loyalty, generosity or 
 gentleness, justice or integrity, vigor or im- 
 partiality; or, on the other hand, they may 
 manifest opposite characteristics of coldness, 
 unkindness, quarrelsomeness, restlessness, 
 inactivity, or penuriousness. It becomes, 
 therefore, a matter of vital importance in 
 the life, growth, and future of an}^ parish 
 that it should start right, be built upon the 
 eternal principles of loyalty to God and 
 charity to man, and not on the unstable 
 foundations of opinion, pride, or dissension. 
 Schisms produce chasms, and controversies 
 catastrophes. 
 
 These new associates of 1786 at once 
 bestirred themselves for the building of a 
 church on the recovered land, and by sub- 
 scriptions, mostly in building material and 
 labor, and even in spirits, the new church, 
 after many delays, was at length finished, 
 and in all probability opened for use in the 
 latter part of 1795, when Mr. Calvin Whi- 
 ting, a candidate for orders, was acting as 
 lay-reader. Thus the hope of many years 
 
was at last realized, and though it was a 
 little band gathered together, it was a com- 
 pany in which were found indomitable cour- 
 age, generous self-sacrifice, large liberality, 
 and loyal faith. Could we but enter into 
 the experience and feelings of some of those 
 hearts, — that now at length in their own 
 house of worship they could praise God after 
 the manner of their fathers, and in accord- 
 ance with their deep convictions, — we might 
 find our own convictions deepened and our 
 devotion strengthened. The church stood 
 on the northeast corner of Church street, 
 was built of wood, and when completed was 
 considered the handsomest church in the 
 place. Mr. Whiting, who officiated in 1 795, 
 died the same year, and the parish found 
 itself without any officiant. March 4, 1797, 
 the Rev. Ashbel Baldwin of Stratford was 
 invited to become rector of the parish at a 
 salary of $500 a year. But he declined the 
 call, deeming the salary insufficient. A few 
 years elapsed when on July 12, 1801, the Rev. 
 Menzies Rayner of New Jersey was elected 
 to and accepted the rectorship of the parish, 
 and entered upon his duties the same year. 
 Thus in 1801 the organization of this parish 
 was completed, the centennial anniversary 
 of which occurred last year, but passing un- 
 noticed then, I wish now to recall to your 
 mind, and note as briefly as possible, the 
 
8 
 
 century of history of this parish since that 
 date. My effort is made easy because of the 
 abundant material furnished by the "History 
 of Christ Church Parish," a book written 
 and compiled by a member of this parish, 
 honored and revered by you all, one whose 
 life has overlapped the lives of every one of 
 the rectors of this parish, and who has seen 
 and known nearly all of them, and whose 
 devotion and fidelity to this parish, whose 
 unselfish service and many benefactions and 
 gifts have given their crowning expression 
 in the preparation of a history such as no 
 one else living could so well do, because 
 of long and intimate experience of parish 
 affairs and personal intercourse with the 
 many departed worthies whom his pages 
 so nobly commemorate. That this history 
 might be permanently preserved in printed 
 form for reference for all time is due to the 
 well-known generosity of another member of 
 this parish. Those who would like to know 
 more details than I can attempt to tell }^ou 
 this morning are referred to this " History 
 of Christ Church Parish." 
 
 To return, the Rev. Mr. Rayner, the first 
 rector, was settled in 1801, and his settle- 
 ment was marked by the consecration of the 
 church by Bishop Jarvis on November 11, 
 1801, "a very rainy day." The comment of 
 the Courant regarding the service was, "the 
 
solemnity of the performance was highly 
 gratifying, manifested by a decent audience, 
 considering the inclemency of the day." It 
 must have been a great day of rejoicing in 
 the parish, the members of which at this time 
 numbered but a faithful few. The attempt 
 to maintain their organization taxed to the 
 utmost these early churchmen. Rates were 
 occasionally laid on the taxable property of 
 the members of the society which could be 
 legally collected, but this taxing — obnoxious 
 even to members of the standing order and 
 most objectionable to those not of this order — 
 was early discontinued by the parish, which 
 then depended for its income chiefly on the 
 rent of pews and slips and voluntary offer- 
 ings of its members. When this resource 
 failed to meet the expenses a subscription 
 would be started to make up the deficit. 
 Hence, with a prescience worth} 7 a better 
 outcome, the then senior warden, Mr. John 
 Morgan, in April, 1807, moved to secure an 
 endowment fund. He went to New York, 
 and with the approval and assistance of its 
 diocesan, Bishop Moore, raised among the 
 churchmen of that city the sum of $445. To 
 this was added a sum derived from the sale 
 of a piece of land, and a few other contribu- 
 tions, so that by December, 1807, the amount 
 was brought up to $800, and formed the 
 nucleus of the parish endowment known as 
 
io 
 
 the " Episcopal Church Fund," the history of 
 which has its dark as well as bright side. 
 
 Mr. Rayner ministered to the parish from 
 1 80 1 until October 14, 181 1, when he resigned. 
 He was a man good-natured and affable, and 
 of considerable controversial ability. But 
 towards the end of his stay his teachings 
 became less acceptable. In 181 1 he accepted 
 a call to another parish, but after some years 
 resigned from the ministry of our church to 
 join the Universalists, though in his letter of 
 resignation to the bishop he states, " I shall 
 still humbly claim to be considered as a 
 member of the church, entitled to all its com- 
 mon privileges." Bishop Brownell's words 
 referring to Mr. Rayner's suspension are full 
 of tender charity. Said he, " We may regret 
 the cause which has led to [this withdrawal]. 
 We are not to be judges of other men's con- 
 sciences. To his own Master he standeth or 
 falleth." Mr. Rayner died in New York 
 November 22, 1850. 
 
 After Mr. Rayner resigned the parish, the 
 Rev. Philander Chase — later bishop success- 
 ively of Ohio and Illinois — was called to 
 the rectorship. Mr. Chase was a man of 
 unusual ability and of a masterful nature. 
 In his " Reminiscences," Bishop Chase thus 
 recalls his Hartford life : — " During this 
 period (his rectorship) the number of the 
 faithful greatly increased. I rejoiced to see 
 
T I 
 
 the blessed effects of the gospel of peace and 
 the many examples of a faithful and holy 
 life. In the bosom of an enlightened society, 
 softened by the hand of urbanity and gentle- 
 ness, my enjoyments crowned with abund- 
 ance of temporal blessings were as numerous 
 and refined as fall to the lot of man. Of the 
 time I spent in this lovely city I can never 
 speak in ordinary terms. It is to my remem- 
 brance as a dream of more than terrestrial 
 delight." Mr. Chase resigned the parish in 
 February, 1817. The reason for his leaving 
 was due entirely to diocesan and not paro- 
 chial causes. This is made evident in a 
 letter of his to the standing committee of the 
 diocese. He writes, " My reasons for leaving 
 are couched in this one sentence — I am 
 persuaded that I can be more useful to the 
 Church of Christ, and more happy in my 
 own person, elsewhere than in the diocese of 
 Connecticut." Mr. Chase's removal to Ohio 
 was greatly regretted by the parish, which 
 had prospered under him. During his rec- 
 torship a bell, the third in the city, was 
 bought and hung in the church tower. A 
 parish library was started, a new organ was 
 bought and put in, and in the winter of 181 5 
 the church was for the first time warmed, 
 when chimneys were built and stoves set up 
 in the church. 
 
 But the parish could not indulge in re- 
 
12 
 
 grets, and its attention was soon directed to 
 Mr. Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, an in- 
 structor in rhetoric in Harvard, but as yet 
 unordained. Mr. Wainwright accepted the 
 call extended to him, was ordained deacon 
 in Rhode Island, and advanced to the priest- 
 hood in his own church, August 16, 1817, 
 after which he was settled as rector. His 
 recommendation was, " he is a young gentle- 
 man of respectability, of the most unexcep- 
 tionable character, ardent and sincere in the 
 performance of his duties, is much beloved 
 as a man, and reads to great satisfaction." 
 Mr. Wainwright remained only two years in 
 the parish when he was called to fill the 
 place vacated in Trinity parish, New York, 
 by Bishop Brownell, who had become bishop 
 of Connecticut. Years afterward Mr. Wain- 
 wright became the provisional bishop of 
 New York. 
 
 After Mr. Wainwright's removal, Bishop 
 Brownell — nomen et clartim et venerabile — 
 long the revered bishop of Connecticut, and 
 the presiding bishop of the church, was 
 asked, December 16, 18 19, to become the 
 rector of the parish. He accepted on condi- 
 tion of being provided with an assistant. 
 But the bishop's duties to the church at 
 large and diocese made it inexpedient for 
 him to continue as rector of any parish, and 
 November 11, 1820, he resigned, when the 
 
13 
 
 Rev. N. S. Wheaton, the assistant rector, 
 was elected to full charge. I may perhaps 
 here rather than later indicate the esteem in 
 which Dr. Wheaton was held by a vote 
 passed at the time of his resignation, Octo- 
 ber 13, 1831. "When we look back for a 
 series of more than twelve years, when we 
 bring to mind how great has been the acces- 
 sion of parish members, how many have 
 been added to our communion, what har- 
 mony has prevailed and prosperity attended 
 our parish in all respects, by the blessing of 
 God through the unceasing labors and pious 
 administration of him who, during that pe- 
 riod, has served at our altar, mingled in our 
 affections, and secured our approbation and 
 esteem, his loss to us collectively and indi- 
 vidually can be duly appreciated only by a 
 just estimate of the blessings we have thus 
 enjoyed." This vote indicates the prosper- 
 ity which was attending the labors of Dr. 
 Wheaton. 
 
 The parish was still worshiping in the 
 wooden church on the corner opposite to us. 
 Changes in the arrangement of the church 
 were needed to accommodate the growing 
 congregation. The old square pews, includ- 
 ing the so-called governor's pew, which had 
 a canopy over it, were removed and slips 
 substituted, but even these changes were in- 
 sufficient to meet the need of increased sit- 
 
H 
 
 tings. This demand, together " with that 
 pride in appearances which affects saints 
 as well as sinners," created a desire for a 
 " larger, more convenient, and ecclesiastical 
 structure." Hence in 1825 began an agita- 
 tion for a new church. Dr. Wheaton, while 
 abroad in 1824 on business for the college 
 which had been newly established in this 
 city, had paid much attention to church ar- 
 chitecture, and it is more than likely he 
 would favor a new church in which he 
 might embody some of his new architectu- 
 ral knowledge. How well he builded we 
 can today testify. After many meetings for 
 considering the subject, a lot for the new 
 church on Market street, between Temple 
 and Kinsley, was bought March 20, 1827. It 
 may seem strange that this site was selected, 
 " but in 1827 the population was more homo- 
 geneous than now, and lay east of Trumbull 
 street almost entirely." This location, how- 
 ever, did not give general satisfaction and 
 was sold, and the present site of the church 
 was bought. Ground was broken for the 
 new church in the summer of 1827, the cor- 
 ner-stone laid by Bishop Brownell, May 13, 
 1828, and the building operations pushed 
 with so much energy that the church — the 
 tower excepted — was finished and ready for 
 consecration December 23, 1829. In the ab- 
 sence of Bishop Brownell, Bishop Hobart of 
 
i5 
 
 New York officiated at the consecration. 
 One who was present on this occasion wrote 
 to a friend : " We had a noble consecration 
 Wednesday, as fine a one as could be wished 
 for, the weather was fine, and every nook 
 in the church was filled to overflowing. 
 Bishop Hobart, who does all his Episcopal 
 duties well, never performed a service more 
 admirably. I never witnessed a service 
 more impressive from beginning to end ; " 
 and so great was the demand for pews in 
 this new church that the same writer states : 
 " from present appearances I should think 
 the church will be filled to crowding in a 
 year or two." This was gratifying, but it is 
 yet to be asked : " How was the building 
 paid for ? " The cost up to this point for the 
 land, church without the tower, and organ 
 was in round numbers $43,700. The limit 
 the parish had first placed for this new pro- 
 ject was $28,000, but as generally happens the 
 cost went far in excess of this first proposed 
 sum. To raise this sum the parish proposed 
 to borrow by the issue of stock upon which 
 interest was paid. The first issue of stock 
 was for $28,000, of which $20,000 was sub- 
 scribed by individuals, but the other $8,000 
 had to be obtained somehow. 
 
 In its need the parish bethought itself of 
 the " Episcopal Church Fund," an endow- 
 ment which has been mentioned. The nu- 
 
i6 
 
 cleus of this fund had been secured in 1807, 
 and the parish by vote then, and later in 
 i8iobya constitution determined "that no 
 part of the principal or interest arising from 
 same [fund] should be applied to any pur- 
 poses of this parish save only to establish a 
 fund until the income from same should 
 amount to $500 ; " and it was also ordained 
 that this vote should be irrevocable. So 
 careful was the parish in 18 10 to keep intact 
 this fund until it should have reached such 
 a sum as to produce an annual income of 
 $500, that it repeats in its constitution : " It 
 is ordained that this parish shall not ever 
 thereafter expend anything more than the 
 interest or income arising from this fund, 
 and that the principal shall not under any 
 pretense whatever ever be expended either 
 wholly or in part ; " and the parish explic- 
 itly declared its purpose was to " adopt all 
 prudent precautions to guard against the in- 
 judicious expenditure or misappropriation 
 of this fund, or any part of it, by any per- 
 sons who may hereafter in the vicissitudes 
 of human affairs belong to this parish, and 
 be in a situation to direct or misemploy the 
 income of this fund." By such definite 
 terms did the parish endeavor to guard this 
 fund from being diverted or misappropri- 
 ated. Under Mr. Charles Sigourney's care- 
 ful nursing the $800 of 1807 had in 1830 m- 
 
i7 
 
 creased to $8,500, and was earning an income 
 of $500. The need of money to build the 
 new church caused the parish to turn to this 
 fund, and in order to gain possession of it a 
 vote was passed "that immediate measures 
 be taken to procure trustees of the Episcopal 
 Church Fund with a view to its more certain 
 preservation." The grim humor of this vote 
 must have been evident when later, by vote, 
 the amount of the fund, $8,500, was with- 
 drawn from the bank and invested in the 
 parish scrip issued for the building of the 
 present church. This proposed step of the 
 parish was vainly opposed by Mr. Charles 
 Sigourney, who resisted any diversion of the 
 fund from the original intent for which it was 
 established, and who foresaw — should such 
 diversion occur — what the event proved, 
 that the fund would vanish. Mr. Sigourney 
 had subscribed towards the new church but 
 on the condition that the Episcopal Church 
 Fund should not be invested in church scrip. 
 When his conditions were broken he would 
 not pay his subscription, thus publicly testi- 
 fying to his convictions as to the sacredness 
 of trust funds. The parish historian com- 
 ments on this diversion of the fund thus : 
 "To us at this day it seems rather queer, 
 and certainly it appears as if the original 
 intent of the fund had been diverted and 
 put to a use not originally contemplated." 
 
It is not asserted that this diversion was 
 strictly illegal, for legislative enactment had 
 been obtained for the purpose, but our histo- 
 rian well remarks : " If the example should 
 be generally followed, it would probably dis- 
 courage many gifts for the establishment of 
 specific funds, gifts made for a certain object 
 and with the expectation of a long continu- 
 ance." Thus the Episcopal Church Fund so 
 carefully nursed, the product of much sacri- 
 fice, the hopeful source of strength and bene- 
 fit to the parish for ages to come, was lost in 
 the walls of this church. I have dwelt at 
 length on this matter because of the import- 
 ance of the subject. For it must be remem- 
 bered that the parish today holds trust 
 funds the application and the preservation 
 of which, according to the donor's intent, 
 call for serious and sacred guardianship. 
 Some of these funds "are composed of the 
 last earthly gifts of men and women who 
 can no longer watch or control them ; they 
 become the pious offerings of hearts soft- 
 ened by a contemplation of death, or affected 
 by a desire to help the sick and the poor who 
 may live after them. All the funds of this 
 character should be placed beyond the line 
 of speculative investment or temptation of 
 extraordinary interest The watchful- 
 ness which is due to our moneyed corpora- 
 tions is equally due — yes, more due — to 
 
19 
 
 the trusts of our religious societies," so 
 writes our historian. In our parish organi 
 zations in which the official generations 
 quickly change, it does seem as if the se- 
 cure guarantee of trust funds is possible 
 only when placed in the hands of some cor- 
 poration other than the parish itself. The 
 temptation in some emergency to help itself 
 to trust funds in its own possession is often 
 too strong for a parish to resist. Thus par- 
 ishes have lost their endowments, or have 
 impaired them seriously, and have proved 
 unfaithful to the conditions under which 
 such trusts were accepted. It seems there- 
 fore far safer could the endowment of our 
 parishes be placed under the care of a char- 
 tered corporation such as that of the Trust- 
 ees of Donations and Bequests of our dio- 
 cese, or trust company, as is the case with 
 some of the trust funds of this parish. 
 
 But I must pass on from this most import- 
 ant aspect of parish integrity. 
 
 The completion of the new church in 1829 
 may be said to mark the close of the first 
 period of the history of this parish, extend- 
 ing from 1786 to 1829, when it was emerging 
 from the shadow of colonial and revolution- 
 ary experiences ; and to mark the beginning 
 *of the second period of its history from 1829- 
 1879, when it manifested its larger life by 
 changing its local habitation. It may not be 
 
20 
 
 inappropriate, therefore, to recall here once 
 for all some of the honored names of the 
 parish of both these periods, who by their 
 labors and benefactions have made this par- 
 ish what it was and is. In the words of the 
 Son of Sirach : " Let us now praise famous 
 men and our fathers that begat us. The 
 Lord hath wrought great glory by them. 
 Such as were leaders of the people by their 
 counsels, and by their knowledge of learning 
 meet for the people — men furnished with 
 ability living peaceably in their habitations. 
 These men were honored in their genera- 
 tions, and were the glory of their times. 
 There be of them that have left a name be- 
 hind them that their praises might be re- 
 ported. These were merciful men whose 
 righteousness hath not been forgotten." And 
 the name that stands out distinguished above 
 all others is that of Mr. John Morgan. He 
 was one of the associates of 1786 who re- 
 vived the Episcopal church in this commu- 
 nity after the Revolution, and from that 
 date until 1820 — a period of thirty-four 
 years — he faithfully served this parish as 
 junior warden for fourteen and senior war- 
 den for twenty years. Mr. Hoadly says, in 
 his "Annals," of Mr. John Morgan, "that to 
 his zealous labors and liberal contributions* 
 the parish was indebted for its temporal 
 prosperity more than those of any other in- 
 
21 
 
 dividual." One has only to read the history 
 of the parish of this first period to realize 
 the truth of this statement There was 
 scarcely a parish subscription in those days 
 — and they were frequent, for the needs of 
 the young parish were many — which Mr. 
 John Morgan did not head with a generous 
 sum, generally the largest on the list. It 
 was he who, with a foresight worthy a better 
 outcome, raised the first $445 for the parish 
 endowment. He was a native of Killingly 
 and a graduate of Yale. He came to this 
 city about 1781, became one of its leading 
 merchants, and was connected with many 
 undertakings. The old bridge across the 
 Connecticut was projected by him, and the 
 street leading to it was called by his name. 
 He was a foremost leader, capable and will- 
 ing. One who remembered him in his later 
 years after financial disaster befell him says 
 of Mr. Morgan: "As seen upon the streets, 
 tall and thin, supported by a long gold- 
 headed cane, he was sure to attract atten- 
 tion by his venerable appearance, dignified, 
 courteous, and sometimes brusque manner. 
 If he had any prejudices he did not attempt 
 to conceal them. He was bold and bluff, 
 but warm at heart. He was ardent as a sup- 
 porter, generous, dogmatic, well fitted to 
 command. Authority became him well, and 
 when irritated he never failed to assert it. 
 
22 
 
 He was a churchman because he believed in 
 the church, and possibly also because he did 
 not believe in Congregationalism." He gave 
 to the church not only his money but also 
 what was more valuable, his time and loy- 
 alty. Perhaps we scarcely realize today the 
 value of such service and attachment to the 
 church when it was poor, despised, and re- 
 garded with suspicion, as our church was 
 after the Revolution. The value, therefore, 
 of a man's services and attachment — bold, 
 loyal, constant, and generous — in that day 
 is beyond estimation today. It is easy to 
 attach oneself to prosperous undertakings 
 and popular religious organizations. Most 
 people can shout for and desire to ally them- 
 selves with a successful cause ; but it de- 
 mands character to side with the weak, the 
 despised, the poor, hence, attachment under 
 these latter circumstances is of far greater 
 value than attachment in prosperous and 
 successful times. I cannot but regard Mr. 
 John Morgan as the great dominant charac- 
 ter of this parish. The printed page which 
 records his deeds and words has made him a 
 real personage to me. I seem to know him, 
 and I say it with truth, I revere his memory. 
 He is a founder of whom any parish may be 
 proud. It was a fitting act of courtesy for 
 the parish, when financial difficulties had 
 beset him, to vote unanimously its thanks to 
 
23 
 
 him for his thirty-four years of long and 
 faithful services as a warden of the parish, 
 and later vote " that S. Tudor and C. Sigour- 
 ney call on John Morgan, Esq., request him 
 to designate where he would prefer to be 
 seated in the church, and that two seats be 
 reserved for him and Mrs. Morgan where he 
 may select." One thing is still lacking com- 
 pletely to mark the gratitude of the parish. 
 There should be some visible and lasting 
 memorial of him somewhere in this church. 
 And what shall I more say of other departed 
 worthies? I would like to recall for you 
 some of the characteristics of other honored 
 names and benefactors of this parish, but 
 time would fail me, and your patience would 
 also fail. I can only mention some — all de- 
 parted — as they occur most readily to my 
 mind. There were the Sigourneys, the 
 Morgans, Elias, the brother of John, Nathan 
 and Denison, and later Junius S., James 
 Ward and Roswell Bartholomew, the Ol- 
 cotts, Daniel and Michael, Cyprian Nichols 
 and Stedman, Jeremy Hoadley and Isaac 
 Perkins, the Beachs, father and sons, Sam- 
 uel Tudor and Isaac Toucey, the Imlays 
 and Goodwins, Dudley Buck and Zephaniah 
 Preston, the Tuttles and Huntingtons, Sam- 
 uel H., Hezekiah, and Francis J., Ebenezer 
 Flower and Chester Adams, the Beresfords 
 and Sumners, the Northams and Keneys, 
 
24 
 
 and many others whose names I would 
 gladly record, and whom you would gladly 
 hear, but time forbids me to continue. But 
 they all — recorded and unrecorded — are 
 names that thrill us with emotion for all 
 their possessors did to make this parish 
 strong and honored in our community. It 
 could not help be so when " it was custom- 
 ary to find whole families in their pews ; the 
 father and mother with all their children 
 who were able to attend." Our historian 
 tells us that in Mr. Burgess's days " the 
 church was filled regularly Sundays on the 
 floor and in the galleries ; and from the 
 chancel to the eastern door there was a 
 crowd of men, women, and children." A 
 noble sight indeed. 
 
 The congregation had become so great 
 that the need of a new church building, if 
 not separate parish, was strongly urged. As 
 a result of this pressure in 1841 the new par- 
 ish of St. John's was formed. Many of the 
 parishioners thought the mother parish 
 would be weakened by this separation, but 
 before migration ceased two other parishes 
 were destined to be formed, viz., Trinity, 
 which was organized in 1859, an d took from 
 Christ Church some of its oldest and most 
 valued members ; and St. Thomas, organized 
 in 1870, which withdrew many more from 
 the parent parish. 
 
25 
 
 Whether it was due to the large congrega- 
 tions which used to assemble in the church, 
 or whether decorum in God's house was lax, 
 it is interesting to note that so late as No- 
 vember, 1836, the vestry appointed "a com- 
 mittee to see that tything men be appointed 
 by the town for the ensuing year who will 
 perform their duties in the galleries." There 
 are also votes passed that the wardens and 
 vestry be a committee to preserve order in 
 the church, particularly on Christmas eve 
 when service used to be held. For in the 
 middle of the last century the churches other 
 than Episcopal did not observe Christmas 
 with religious services, and except in the 
 case of Episcopalians business went on as 
 usual, workmen followed their trades, and 
 merchants opened their stores. 
 
 One feature of interest in the history of 
 the parish would be to trace the develop- 
 ment of the music in our church service 
 from its beginnings. In 1801, the year in 
 which the first church was consecrated, an 
 organ was put in, the first in Hartford. It 
 was a small affair, not more than five or six 
 feet wide. For the use of this organ, and 
 for an organist to play on " each whole Sun- 
 day and on publick days," the vestry agreed 
 to pay $2 a week. From this small begin- 
 ning to the vested choir, which was perma- 
 nently established in 1886 under Mr. (now 
 
26 
 
 Bishop) Nichols, meant many changes and 
 many differences of opinion. The first or- 
 gan owned by the church was purchased by 
 subscription in 1817, another was put in in 
 the new church in 1829, while the last one 
 purchased is that now in use, and was set up 
 so late as 1889. There were times when the 
 singing was far from satisfactory, and on 
 one occasion a very strong report on the 
 subject of the music was brought in by a 
 committee, of which Mr. Samuel Tudor was 
 chairman. He disliked innovation or florid 
 music, and urged that " the old familiar 
 tunes are to be preferred, both because they 
 are good and because we are generally ac- 
 quainted with them." Congregational sing- 
 ing was what he desired. He urged that 
 there was no more need of novelty and fre- 
 quent change in tunes than there was need 
 of change in our service — the prayers, the 
 litany, and the communion office. But there 
 was one long period of general satisfaction 
 and calm when Mr. Henry Wilson for 
 twenty-two years had charge of the music 
 and organ. 
 
 But music, the support of public worship, 
 and the outlay incident to the maintenance 
 of any parochial organization, involves con- 
 siderable expense, which it has been ob- 
 served is generally met by a comparative 
 few. So, too, in the case of debts, the bur- 
 
27 
 
 den has fallen as a rule on the generous few. 
 Some system of equitable distribution of the 
 burdens and obligations of a parish is yet to 
 be discovered. " In the much abused sys- 
 tem of freedom in this country men often 
 resort to presumptions and evasions which 
 cannot be justified by any proper sense of 
 morals, or by their duty to support public re- 
 ligious worship, which is one of the safe- 
 guards of the state. Respectable persons 
 and pecuniarily prosperous have wished for 
 that kind of liberty which made them free, 
 free to come and free to go, free to remain 
 and enjoy, and free not to contribute." 
 When at length, after long years of debt, 
 this parish was at last free, it passed a vote 
 declaring against the creation of any future 
 debt, and affirming it a Christian duty so to 
 economize expenditures that they should not 
 exceed the annual income. Nothing is so 
 vital to the well-being and success of a par- 
 ish as living within its income, and no pains 
 should be spared by parochial authorities to 
 keep within such limits. The wreck of 
 numberless parishes is due to parochial ex- 
 travagance. Competition in attractions ex- 
 ists among parishes as among individuals. 
 And ruin is certainly in sight when expenses 
 are maintained without income sufficient to 
 meet these expenses. 
 
 The second period of this parish's life may 
 
28 
 
 be said to extend from 1829 to 1879, when 
 the semi-centennial of the consecration of 
 this present church was celebrated. This 
 occasion marks the completion of the church 
 in its architectural features. The tower had 
 been added in 1839, an d forty years later the 
 memorial recess chancel, as it now exists in 
 all its beauty, was completed. The celebra- 
 tion in 1879 i s relatively so recent that I 
 need do nothing more than refer to it as be- 
 ing one of the most successful parish cele- 
 brations ever attempted. 
 
 No history would be complete were not 
 reference made to the many memorials and 
 gifts wmich beautify and adorn this noble 
 fane of worship. The chancel, chapel, and 
 parish buildings, the reredos and alms ba- 
 sins, the chancel window, the vases, the cre- 
 dence and part of the communion vessels, 
 the chancel rail and bishop's chair, the fonts 
 in both church and chapel, the stained glass 
 windows, the paintings on either side of the 
 chancel arch, the new organ, and the rectory, 
 all are memorials or gifts from devoted and 
 loyal members or friends of this parish. 
 Reference should also be made to the va- 
 rious funds for various purposes which have 
 been left to the parish. Some of these gifts 
 have been large, some small, but all alike 
 testify to the devotion of those who, now 
 worshiping no more in earthly courts of the 
 
2 9 
 
 church militant, made provision so far as 
 they could that prayer and praise should 
 never cease in this beloved church below, 
 and that here the poor might find refresh- 
 ment, and the weary rest. 
 
 Of the rectors of the first period I have 
 already spoken. Of those since 1 829 I can but 
 briefly recall their names, Smith and Burgess 
 and Chauncey. The first and last stayed each 
 but a year or two, but the name of Bishop 
 Burgess of sainted memory is still a benedic- 
 tion in some of the families of this city. Then 
 there was Dr. Clark, still alive and now the 
 venerable and revered presiding bishop of our 
 church, noted while here for his eloquence 
 and attractiveness. After him came Aber- 
 crombie and George Clark, brother to the 
 bishop, and Meech, the latter two still living. 
 Of the remaining rectors who still live in 
 what I venture to call the third period of this 
 parish, from 1879 and - on > wnen begins what 
 [ may call the institutional phase of parish 
 work, and the era of organization made pos- 
 sible by the facilities offered by the parish 
 buildings, the memory of them is still so 
 fresh that I need only mention their names, 
 Nichols, Tomkins, Saltonstall. But during 
 the hundred years in which this parish has 
 been fully organized for the work of Christ 
 among men and for the preaching of the 
 gospel of redemption, it has been loyally 
 
3o 
 
 served by faithful priests, as rectors and 
 assistant ministers, some of them men of 
 exceptionable ability. 
 
 The worth of their service and teaching is 
 evident in the churchmanship of the parish, 
 which has adhered loyally to the " doctrine, 
 discipline, and worship " of this church, has 
 carefully avoided extremes and eccentricities 
 in ceremony, and "has pursued its middle 
 way in peace and quietness," in the mainte- 
 nance of a service orderly, rubrical, and dig- 
 nified. 
 
 Such is in brief the history of the parish 
 during the last one hundred years as regards 
 its organization, its edifices, its worthies, its 
 rectors, its beneficences, its churchmanship, 
 and ere we close let us take a quick look into 
 the future to see what hope we may find for 
 it from this survey of the past. 
 
 Think first what changes this parish has 
 seen in our land since in 1786 those few 
 churchmen associated themselves to form 
 an Episcopal society in Hartford. In na- 
 tional life, these thirteen struggling colonies 
 have passed through two wars with England, 
 and become a nation which has survived a 
 civil strife that threatened its existence ; has 
 waged successful war with Spain, and now 
 stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
 and from the lakes to the gulf, reaching still 
 further east to the islands of the Atlantic, 
 
3i 
 
 and west to the islands of the Pacific, the 
 parish has seen these thirteen colonies con- 
 solidated into a Union of forty-five States, 
 and admitted today one of the great powers 
 of the world. 
 
 In home affairs the parish since its origin 
 has seen the colony become a state marked 
 by the enterprise of its citizens, and noted 
 for the " steady habits " of its people ; a state 
 which has grown marvelously in wealth and 
 culture, which in 1818 made a resettlement 
 of its political and religious relations, and 
 which today once more in a constitutional 
 convention in our city is endeavoring to re- 
 adjust its political relations to its changed 
 conditions. 
 
 In civic affairs the parish has seen the 
 small settlement of Hartford expand into a 
 large city, until its limits have become co- 
 terminous with the former town limits ; its 
 population, which was homogeneous and 
 about 5,500 in numbers, confined mostly be- 
 tween Main street and the river, become a 
 heterogeneous population of over 80,000 
 souls, spreading for miles north, west, and 
 south of its former boundaries. It has seen 
 the small settlement become the sole capital 
 of the State, a city noted for its higher insti- 
 tutions of learning, its schools, hospitals, 
 charities, libraries, museums, and parks ; a 
 city noted for its insurance, industrial, and 
 
32 
 
 commercial interests, and, relatively to its 
 population, one of the richest cities in the 
 United States ; a city distinguished for its 
 citizens who have achieved eminence in na- 
 tional and state administrations, for its men 
 and women renowned in literature and art, 
 in science and theology. 
 
 In its individual life the parish has had 
 a large development. The small wooden 
 church on the northeast corner of our street 
 has been replaced on the present site by 
 this solid and noble structure in which 
 we worship today, beautifully adorned and 
 equipped, rich in memorials in stone and 
 tile, in painted wall, and painted glass, 
 
 " Of storied windows richly dight, 
 Casting a dim religious light; " 
 
 fragrant with the memory of a long succes- 
 sion of noble men and women who during 
 these one hundred years made up the con- 
 gregation — some of them well known and 
 prominent in this community, others hum- 
 ble, perhaps little known or altogether un- 
 noticed, yet God-fearing and God-loving, 
 whose prayers have risen like holy incense 
 to the Divine throne, and whose lives have 
 been a benediction to the parish and their 
 fellow-men. 
 
 How changed seems the picture as we look 
 on things as they are today. The circum- 
 
33 
 
 stances as they existed fifty years ago have 
 greatly altered. This church is now far 
 away from the residential center. Further, 
 the organization of other parishes has drawn 
 from this parish. But should these changed 
 conditions depress us, or should this not fill 
 us with determination and zeal to make the 
 future of this parish more glorious even than 
 its glorious past ? Have you not much more 
 than what your early predecessors possessed? 
 These walls seemingly built for centuries to 
 come should be the type of the parish itself, 
 — strong, unshaken, large, and inviting — 
 calling to the thousands that throng b} r its 
 doors, enfolding them in its arms, and bring- 
 ing to them the consolations and hopes, the 
 strength and the joy of the Gospel ; a parish 
 preaching and testifying to the one gospel of 
 Christ for all men, for the poor as well as for 
 the rich, a gospel unchanged and unchang- 
 ing despite the vagaries of thought ; a parish 
 holding firmly and staunchly to evangelic 
 truth and apostolic order, holding fast to the 
 moorings of the ancient faith, while others 
 are perhaps swept awa}^ from the standards 
 of their faith and go drifting into the cheer- 
 less regions of vague speculation or uncer- 
 tainty. What we need if we are still to 
 minister to men is a gospel of certainty not 
 doubt, of affirmations not negations, a firm 
 faith, not inconstant opinion : we need a 
 
34 
 
 certain grasp of the promises of God and 
 hope of life in His Son for the hopelessness 
 prevailing as to any future, for the disbelief 
 which says " There is no God." 
 
 Further, we must be hopeful and consider 
 that if in the fourth decade of the last 
 century, when the population of Hartford 
 ranged from 10,000 to 13,000, this church was 
 crowded, surely in the larger Hartford with 
 its 80,000 it should still be possible to fill this 
 church. To do this, however, hope and con- 
 fidence are needed in you, the members, to 
 say it can be done and will be done. This 
 calls for loyalty, zeal, constant attendance, 
 and constant labor. It calls for warm invita- 
 tions to your friends and acquaintances, and 
 your courtesy and hospitality to strangers 
 who may happen in your midst. Your 
 eyes need to look for the light and the suc- 
 cesses before you, not on the victories behind 
 you, but with heart and will and strength 
 rejoicing in what you have, you may make 
 others appreciate and rejoice in what you 
 have to offer. This means that the services 
 must be made helpful and attractive, that 
 your methods must be adapted to your con- 
 ditions ; that opportunities to minister to the 
 needs of the people of this city must always 
 be accepted. Thus will you stimulate and 
 perpetuate the life of this parish. 
 
 To do all this we must not blind ourselves 
 
35 
 
 to the need of larger endowment, in order 
 that the work may be carried on vigorously ; 
 and more insistent still is the need of a parish 
 house fully equipped and adapted to meet 
 the conditions of our present life, with its 
 temptations, hurr} r , thoughtlessness, crimes, 
 loneliness, and friendlessness; a house placed 
 in the very tide of the rushing life of our 
 city, which may and shall mould or correct 
 and control the careers and destinies of 
 men and women who would otherwise be 
 but the flotsam and jetsam of life, hurled 
 and dashed about by its swift tides and 
 left at last stranded and shattered. "With 
 its endowments and a faithful band of intel- 
 ligent and zealous members, the parish can 
 still be successful^ sustained and enabled to 
 do its full share of duty." 
 
 But all this is conditioned on the absolute 
 need of anchoring the church just where it 
 is. It must adapt itself to its environment, 
 it should by no means move. In many places 
 the old churches have followed their congre- 
 gregations and sold the old building and site. 
 But all the past of this parish seems to me to 
 be a pledge that it will not be moved, as it 
 ought not to be. As Bishop Clark said of 
 this church here in 1879 : "Such a landmark 
 as this ought never to be removed. Let it 
 stand in the very midst of all the turmoil 
 of traffic, to remind men that their life con- 
 
36 
 
 sisteth not in the abundance of the things 
 
 which they here possess. The very walls 
 
 of the building where we have so often 
 
 prayed together, where we have welcomed 
 
 the new-born immortal to the fold of 
 
 Jesus, at the baptismal font, where we 
 
 have knelt at the altar and taken the 
 
 eucharistic bread, and where we have sung 
 
 the funeral anthem over the cold remains 
 
 of our fathers, our brethren, and our 
 
 children, these very walls seem to press 
 
 upon us as though they would not let us 
 
 leave them. The graves of the dead 
 
 whisper to us, 'Abide in your place till 
 
 you are called to join us here." 
 
 May then this church, so richly provided 
 with "all the accessories for worship in the 
 beauty of holiness, continually find mani- 
 fested here the beauty of holy worship, and 
 may it ever stand here on this corner in these 
 busy haunts of men as the unchanging sym- 
 bol of the divine presence and the divine 
 power in this erring, restless, and sorrowing 
 human life of ours, to endow and bless it 
 with comfort, strength, and peace. May it 
 one hundred years hence, when we all here 
 today shall be gathered to our fathers, be 
 found filled with its worshipers offering the 
 same prayers and singing the same hymns, 
 and may they hand down to generations 
 after them for their inspiration the same 
 
37 
 
 words, of the Psalmist we have here used 
 today: "Walk about Zion and go round 
 about her, and tell the towers thereof, mark 
 well her bulwarks, set up her houses, that 
 ye may tell them that come after." 
 
PHOTOMOUNT 
 PAMPHLET BINDER 
 
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 Stockton, Calif. 
 
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