Litchfield enquirer., 1877-10-25
T Obituary. FC Ul

kertown. passed tO his rest in Paradise on Tuesday tIen ad of October On Friday afternD0n his body vas iosiugiy and rever- enEly Iaid in the beantifai Esergreea eem- eteFy, as he had wished. s-4 s.eas. ei
 The deceased was we'll known and much bel0vi in Ehis vicinity and kin Jthe church sgif0ughout the country He. was born SR Litchfeld, Conn, Dec. 22d, 1803 His grandfather. Ozias Lewis, and his fashsk 0zias Lewis. ir:. were bofh !il La7fch6sId. and passed their lives there, honosed and respected. His mother was MaTy. daughter of Wn 1ones of New Ha. vanS q woman of sweet countenance and lovely temper, . devout communicant of the church for ever twenty of the slatter yean Of her life eOzias ,sEeWis. pnce a deacon in the OOngrega gationAl .cbukchy joined the Episcopal church end becams awaEden of Sk Micnaefs. Litchfeld. 0M- as Lewis IT,, became a communicant of St. NIchael's in early life, and was eyer much attached to the church, aiding great ly in the erecting of the edlfce which was afterwards taken down and replaced by the present building. He was often war den and vestryman of the parish during the more than half century of his con- nectiOn with it, and frequently acted as lay header. For many years he served in his native town as selectmau, justice of the peace, deputy sheriff. and was much employed in c0uaty surveying. He fitted for .Yale college fn his youth, but finally chose farmers life in his native town He wan man of perfect integrity and of pose and action. These qualities which all recognized in the father were inherited by the son; of whom. wenow write, and in the latter, they were unitedsswith refined perceptions. dellcate tastes, and @ tender. senazkSve heart Though active and live ly in childhood, he had a slight frame, and he evinoed such thoughtfuiness and relig-s iOus feeling together with passionate love of books that he was early destined for ths ministry by his parents, and received all the advantages of education which the means and circumstances of his father aL loved He never went to college, but he eaeeriy avaiIed himself of all the teaching hs coald -abtain at Chesire academy, and from tutors in Litchheid. reading and studying all the books which came in his waY, and co, sometimes tending country ssose, or teaching district school, he pre- pared himself for the General Theological Seminary of New, York city, and entered these m 1894 In dsnnary, 1927, he was ordained deacon by Bishop Brownwell in Christ church, Hartford. In July of the sane year he married Emiline J., daugh- ter of Robert s Barrow, merchant of New York, whose pleasant, then. semi-rn- raI hone Cn 23d street. was a favorite and and fneQmGnk resort of the seminary stu deass of fhAt time On the same day the Rev. Win. A. Curtiss married Susan Row land, aa elder daughter of Mir. Bartow, and the double wedding was attended by BSshop Hosatio Potter, Df. Samuel G. FaIlsE, Rev. Wm. Peet, and George Bar t0w @ groomsmen- July 3d, 1877, was the 6fkleth anniversary of the wedding, the golden wedding day. It was celebfa. ted In the sick room by the administration OE the Lords Supper for the last time to Dr. Lewis. his wife and children partici-a pakzng. 1.~
 The young deacon first served as assist mnt to xhs Rev. Mir. Judah of Bridgeport, then t0uk charge of the parish at Walden, NJ. and thea of tlikt at Huntington, C0@a-, being ordained priest m 1928 by BSaAep BgOWnwell In 1929, he became rsrAor of Sk Georges. Flushing, l.. l., whess kk kemaiaed- four years and then ws1Eto Mafblshead for seven years. Then he w@s called tO Calvary church. Brook lya, and was rector these until invited to sake rhazwe of thea Church of the Holy < besaG wen a Cavalry church. at that fired. the cousin of his wife, Edgar John RaxSow A large part of the congregation gE C@lEmxy church followed Dr. Lewis to the asE home. Calvary church had al, rs@Aay been enlarged and 1t would have been nscessAxy to enlarge or build again If the removal to Holy Trinity had not be@a mn1e- At this time. Holy Trinity w&z the only ghuEch on Brooklyn Heights. Re@sHn street was not then cut through, mnd there were but three dwellings, on M0aAAgue street. beside the rectary, but therw was . large congregatien. often a thrOaglag one from the very first to- the Ixsa of his ministry there. How he pre1ched, and prayed and labored in that parSsh, kOw much of its present prosperi- ty Is 0wIng to him, its first rector, how he wzxded uM financial disaster and struggled thr0aeA trying and dangerous period in the nistOEy of tlHe parish, how he lived in Ehe hearts of his people. how through mingled prosperity and tr1al he grew to the faEl strength of noble Christian man. hood ard used it all for the service of his Mazt&r-sOme of ms know in measure, bat God alone knows it all. When, at I&sk. aaruRgling with bodily infrmity, he
 
 enk taleaks could better enter into the work of which he had laid the foundation, hs resigned his charge.
 Deshing a quiet country parish he promptly accepted a call in the spring of the gear of 1850, to Christ church, Water. town Hs was much pressed to take charge of a fiourishing Western parish, bat hs ssIs that the vigor of his physical strength had been given to Holy Trinity, and thas he could work longer and better m retirement. His health improved in the homs of his choice and for some years he labOrsd faathfaily and acceptably. If his chAractergrew and expanded in Brook lyn, h npsned and -mellowed in Water tOwn. and the zeal and fervor of his mid de hfe were only. excelled by the purity, charity and peace of his later years.
 The frat manifestation of the disease of the brain from which he died was about seven years agO. Some premonitory symp. toms were followed by fit of urcon seriousness. From this he, soon rallied and had no return of the special symptoms until January, 1876. He never forgot it, however, and lived with his heart more sntirsly in another, world than before. His mInd Was very clear and fruitful at this tims. and he wrote much for the press and mR4 &49 W0xpAks 10 W8S lS0OAo anu b0at- tered in body and was obliged to ask for an assistant in parish work The Rev. Win LL Peek became his assistant, but after time. DE. Lewis, feeling that there was no prospect of improvement in his he<ItA, and that the interests of the par ish demanded a change. decided finally to retire irnm psrish uwurk and meekiy and sOlemaly sssiened Alsl last chaFge.- a-A
 Relieved for a time by the change he seemed to grow little stronger and was able to supply the services at Bethlehem for nearly. a year and a half longer. In January. 1876. he had q. seizure Fof his disease. which was Che precursor oflmany severe attacks occurring at intervals of a month toe six weeks, occasionally two months. until his death. At first he would saIly from these attacks. but he gradually failed m mind and body. His mind was never wholly obscured, except fora very short time, and he had 5clear flashes of kh0uwhk nawinU raon0niki0sa. of hia kindrod