Connecticut western news., 1876-07-28
The Cornwall Celebration.

MIR. EDITOR :-On Wednesday the 18th, North and West Cornwall held their Ceten- nial and semi-C Centennial anniversary at North Cornwall It was centennial with regard to their revolutionary and other old time history, and semi-centennial to that of the erection of their present church edi- flee, which was built in 1926. The deco rations in the church were tasteful in their character and appropriate to the occasion. Around the pulpit were large photographs of five of the pastors that have been settled here since 1915. T. s. Gold was president of the day. The exercises of the forenoon were held in the church, and of the after noon in grove near by. There was vocal music by the choir and instrumental by the cornet band.
 Chas. F. Sedgwick, Esq. of Sharon. who was born in this town and lived here until the years of his early manhood, gave an in- terestlng address upon it's early ecclesiasti- cal and civil history, and of the North Cornwall church society after their separa- ton.
 Nathan Hart talked about the building of the new church in 1926; Rev. Samuel Scoville about the practical lessons which the present should learn from the past and the use to be made of them for the future. R. R. Pratt upon the revolutionary bheroes of this town. B. D. Pratt upon the moth CTS of the olden time. Rev. M. Beach up on the ancient choir. Rev. F. Lobdell up- on cooperative work among the different denominations. Rev. MT. Tomlinson upon the homes. of New England. F. Miner, Esq, of Texas, upon the ties that bind the states together, and upon. yarioas points suggested by the occasion. There were re- marks by A. s. Rogers of New Milford, T, l.. Hart of Sharon, Harry Sedgwick, Albert Wadhams and others. There were original hymns by Mrs. 0. E. Baldwin and Mrs. A. s. Rogers, poem by Dwight M. Pratt, centennial parade around and in front of the audience in the old time COS. tune by the young folks, etc., etc., and thus the exercises went on until near 6 | o'clock before the people were willing to give it up and go home. -. ,
 From what was said we learned the fol lowing facts: Cornwall was first settled in TAO. So many families came in at once that they were able to support a minister from the commencement of the settlement. Rev. Solomon. Palmer was ordained as theil first minister in 1s4l. They erected 6 church edifce near where John R. Hsrri son now lives. The second or North socie ty was separated from the first in l7s0. The first society removed their church to Corn wall Plain. and the second built their church near where the first had stood, and which was quite on the south side of the new so ciety. When some members were asked why they put their church there, the reply was that Ga fort should always be on the line."
 Notwithstanding their place of meeting was so far south of the natural center oi the society,yet there they worshipped unti 1926, when the new church was built on { 1 new site about one mile north of where tho old one stood. The removal was accom- plished only after much trouble. trial ant tribulation. Fifty-one names were on thu subscription for the new church. But tiv, of them are now living, viz: Julius Hart Jacob Scoville, Edward R. White, Isaac Marsh and Ephraim Fellows. These wer, all present on this occasion excepting MT Hart, who was detained by illness.
 The first stick of timber for the new church, a ifty-feet white oak, was draw on to the ground by Ambrose 5. Rogers then ten years old, with four heavy yoke o oxen that belonged to his father.
 T. l.. Hart said he hewed stick of tha kind one hot June day, ,and he thought tha he probably had more sweaty time of than Rogers did in drawing it. When th, building was completed all looked upon as a '.thing of beauty" and hither for one half century the tribes have gone up |, worship, and the blessing of the Grea Head of the Church has seemed to atten, the work there done. Those present wh' attended the dedication of the new churcl fifty years ago, were asked to rise, when out of the three hundred or four hundre' present on this occasion, twenty-five wer found who responded to the reduest.
 Of the revolutionary war we learned tha there went from Cornwall Heman Swift Colonel of the Eth New England regiment A full and complete history of this regl ment, as kept by Col. Swift, is in the pos session of Fred Kellogg, Esq. Its rank were filled from this and surroundin, towns. Its total number was 576, of whom 37l enlisted for the war, and 205 for thret years. From this town there were in thi regiment Ensign John Hart, Sergeant Wm Bierce, Wm. Cook, Allen Fox, Elish, Bradford, Reuben Dean, Eliphalet Russ Josiah Tanner, Wm. Chidister, Ebeneze Young, John Jeffers, Samuel Scoville, Johr Carter. Matthew Steele, Asa Sprague, silal Clark, lack Freedom.
 In other regiments we find Major Johr Sedgwick. Capt. Edward Rogers, Olive Burnham, Jasper Pratt, Elias Hart, Jacol Scoville, Henry Baldwin, David Cole, Dan iel Harrison, William Cramer and Israe Dibble, who was the first white child borl in Cornwall.
 The descendants of the above Captail Rogers have lieutenant's commission which was given him at Norwall, Conn. in March l759 by Thomas Fitch, Captain General and Governo .in-Chief over his Ma jesty's (King George II. colony of Con. nect:cut. As said lieutenant he was {, serve in his Majcsty's forces for the reduc ition of the French in Canada, and he wen on that expedition. In the war of the rev olution, he was one of his country's bray l dnfnndoro uaa nantain nf hin nnrnnanu