Morning journal and courier., 1883-12-03
Center Church.

1 It's Crypt-1nefdents fn the History Oi the Church.
 'fC. D." writes in the New York Evening
 Post concerning matters of interest connect | ed with Center church:
 In the crypt rests the dust of hundred 1 and thirty eight old settlers, a small frac-
 tion of those who lay in the town burying ground on the Green, which in 1923 was lev slled off, the stones being removed to new city cemetery. The oldest lettered stone in the crypt is that of Sarah Trowbridge, wife of Thomas Trowbridge," who died June IS, 1887, but there are other slabs much older, the dates on which have been effaced by time. Te descendant of that Trowbridge, Mir. Thomas R. TroWbridge, jr., of New Ha- ven, the church, the city, and all lovers of the antique and curious, owe large debt of gratitude for restoring the crypt and opening it to visitors.
 
 Many curious incidents of local history have been brought down to us by the Center church and it's predecessors. While the present structure was building during the war of 1872 the Sound was blockaded by Commodore Hardy and his British fleet, which intercepted several craft laden with materials for the new church. The commo- dore partly, no doubt, from chivarous i'm pulse, but more largely by way of sympa- thetic recognition of New Haven's "blue light' Federalism, let the vessels go, bidding their captains tell the burehers of the Elm City that "he made no war on religion" Mir. Jeremiah Atwater, of New Haven, was in 1787 the contractor for the meeting house that preceded the Center church. Most of his materials had to come from Boston, but nails were imported from England in bags. Singularly enough MT. Atwater found that one of these bags enclosed, instead of nails, hundred Spanish silver dollars, probably stored away during Europe's troublous wars Sy sono shEifty but absent minded trader No claimant ever was found for the treasure trove and Mir. Atwater had it melted up and cast into massive bapttsmal bowl, eighteen inches in diameter, which is still used at the christening services of the society Mir. John Hodson, who died in 1890, and who by the very poetry of chance lies under the present pulpit left to the meeting house of those days five pounds sterling to buy 8 piece of plate. The money WAS exchanged for silver tsnkard with the date and donor name inscribed. The antique vessel is to this day filled with the wine at every communion service. Other pieces of church plate are dated before 1750. The old church itself, l during it's two centuries and half of life, has seen troublous eras and veathered many B theological and civil storm. At the out l break of the revolution New Haven senti- | ment was strongly Tory, and at rancorous | town meeting held in the building after the | battle of Lexington, the younger and more 1 ardent patriots of the town only succeeded | by majority of one in voting 8 contingent | for the American army; while, during the trying years of bloodshed that followed, Par son Chauncey Whittlesey needed all his worldly sagacity to keep his Aighty and er- rant flock intact. But, through heresy and schism, religious and political, the old church las preserved not merely it's place as a bea- ,on of it's faith, but much of it's traditional l character as 8 sanctified town hall. There he celebrations of peace took place at the close of the revolution. and of the war of 1872; there public receptions have been Ziven to Jackson, Webster and many another historical parsonage; there seventy one classes of Yale have been graduated, and ten thousand students have received diplomas here meetings of public commemoration, rom the first town gathering two hundred md forty y-fve years ago down to the mourn ,uI RarHicea for Garfield have haan held