Morning journal and courier., 1889-09-06
OLD STAMFORD AWAKE.

 The Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anni- versary ofthe eCongregational church Appropriately Celebrated Yesterday -Intoresting Exercises - pr. Ivec
 Historical Address - The Church Beautifully Decoratcd-Many Visit- ors In the old Town-Greesingsi I'm the l Afternoon From Sister Churches.
 STAMFORD, Sept. 5.-The pealing or the Congregational bell at sunrise this morning announced the arrival of the day set apart to celebrate the two hundred and fftieth anniversary of the establishment of tho first ecclesiastical society in Stratford. The old town is alive with strangers, many of whom spent some time in driving or walking about visiting the attractions of the place. The beautiful decorations of the First Con- gregational church also excited admiration. The ediHCe was beautifully decorated with flowers and flags.
 At the morning session the church was we'll filled and the exercises were conducted as announced in the programme, and were very impressive. The galleries and chandel- iers were draped with flags and bunting, trimmed with cedar boughs, golden rod and clematis. Each panel of the galleries and organ front, sixteen in all, contained the name of one of the ofshoots of the stratford church, with the date of organization, as fol- Iowa: Woodbury, 1st, 1870; Bridgeport, 1st, 1895; Newtown, 1915; Trumbull, 1780; Bethlehem, 1739; Southbury, 1T33; Rox- bury, 1744; Monroe, 1764; Huntington, 1724; Washington, 1742; South Britain, 1759; Woodbury, 2nd, 1S16; Bridgeport, Fad, 1880; Olivet, 1870; West End, 1887. In the rear of the organ are the dates l6S9-lss9.
 There are no tablets shown as was desir- able, for the reason that the records of the church were burned in the meeting house when 1t was struck by lightning in 17s5, and all the records previous to 1775, were also burned. Thus, the succession of clergymen in charge of the parish could not be accurate. ly traced and hence the absence of the tab let's. Three services were arranged. The first began at 10 o'clock embracing histori- cal address by the Rev. Joel s. Ives, the Revs. who read iron the Scriptures, George F. Prentiss who made the Invocation, Joseph A. Freeman and O. Ray Palmer who offered prayer, taking part in the services.
 Rev. MT. Ives oration wac an eloquent effort and in 1t the orator made an exhaustive recital of the history of the church from It's foundation to the present day. In speaking of the earlier days of the church, MT. Ives said:
 Since the beginning of the world there never was time when history was made so rapidly as during the lifetime of the present generation; and in all the world no other country has equalled ours in this respect. | This fact makes 1t difficult for us to sppre- | ciate the condition of things two hundred and | fifty years ago; while 1t also gives a special interest and value to every effort to bring down into the present the events of the long past and transcribe them for future refer enoe. It is with just pride to-day that we | contemplate the long record of the Church of | Jesus Christ.
 The Mohicans appear to have come from the region of the Hudson river to the valley of the Housatonic, which they named Poota- | tuck, meaning "falls river," from the falls near Kent, where they made their first camp. Sailing down the river in their ca- noes they established camps till they reached the Sound, and here there was found by the | first Englishmen who came to Stratford @ | clan called Cupheage, which means literally "a place shut in." Their records, though as early as 1887, men had visited these shores is shown by the testimony of Thomas | Stanton, who was for many years the Indian interpreter at Hartford.
 There Is no documentary evidence of the | organization of this church, as the records to the year 1875 have been lost. But there is abundant oircumstantial evidence that the | church began It's existence as early as 1889. I And probably during the summer of that gear Rev. Adam Blakeman and his company arrived from Weathersfeld, and there is sufficient reason to put the date or organiza- ton in that year, for the sentiment of the | Father was well expressed by John Daven- port when he said: eff we should build the Lords house, the Lord will build our house." Mir. Blakeman's ministry continued till his death, in 1865, at the age of sixty seven years. Of his writings only his will remains, but from brief notice by Cotton Mather we may be confident of his leaving prudence and piety. h 1851 by the town in | public meeting 1t was agreed that "Mr. Blakemsn shall have 63 pounds and pay part of his own rate," which would indicate date. For six years afterwards the church
 was without settled pastor.
 Israel Chauncey was prominent and hon
 ored nsme in the colony. His ministry ol
 thirty years included times of war with the
 Indians. Ecclesiastical differences resulting in the division of the church, the building oi | new meeting house with it's change of loca- ton prove his reputation for scholarship. There are two letters written in 1865 signed by eight mon, in which they tell theirl "lov. | ing brethren and friends that there hath been difference about the calling of Mir. Chauncey and several of us have declared our objeo. tions against his settling amongstus till those objections were answered." and we judge that they never were unto eatisfaction.
 Early in 1868 the minority engaged Mir
 Zschariah Walker, and the two appeared to
 have been recognized upon an equality befor'
 the law. Till the spring of 1672 the Second
 church of Stratford maintained it's existenc,
 at which time fifteen of Mir. Walkers con
 gregation started with their families for tn
 wilderness of Pomperaug, and formed ther the first church of Woodbury. Rev. Timo thy Cutler was ordained the third pastor o |, the church soon after his settlement in Sep
 tember, 1709. After a pastorate of tel years ho was electsd to the Presi
 densy of Yale college. For three year following Dr. Cutters dismission Rev
 Samuel Russell supplied the pulpit. Mir
 Hexskiah Gold was ordained upon the frs
 Wednesday in June, 1722, and bis pastoral
 continued thirty years. Rev. Isaiah Wetmor
 of Stratford succeeded Mir. Gold, and hi
 pastorate of twenty seven years was closed b his resignation in 17S0. But from 17S5 t, | his death in 179S in Trumbull he was settle,
 over the church in Trumbull He breaches the election sermon before the legislature il
 1773. Mir. Stephen Stebbins was ordained il
 17S4, after the church had been without pastor for over four years. He was dismisse,
 in August, 1913. To him belongs the credi
 of stopping the vandalism which cut away 8
 much from Academy Hill and spoiled 1t
 symmetry. There Is . tradition that Rev
 Jesse Lee preached here July 4, 1789, and
 is on record that the first Methodist class wa
 formed May 10, which in tho following yea
 numbered twenty members.
 Dr. Ives then spoke of the successive pas
 tors: Rev. Matthew Dutton, 1S14-1s9l, wh
 In 1891 became professor of natural philoso phy at Yale; of Rev. Thomas Robbins, 1880
 Rev. F. w. Chapman, Rev. William E
 Ward, Rev. Joseph R. Page, 1857 -1S5S Rev. B. l.. Swan, Rev. Louis E. Char
 plot, Rev. w. K. Hall, 1S66- 1872, Gin 1S6 the church had 226 members, 43 being add
 cd that year), Rev. F. s. Fitch, 1873.187s
 Rev. s. H. Doane, '78 to '81; Rev. Dr. W
 Ladd, supply; and then from 1883 till nov
 MT. Ives. Present membership 350, with 8 l added sidce 1884.
 The first house of worship was on tn
 shore of the creek at Sandy Hollow, where
 now the barn belonging to Captain Wiliiar Barrymore. The second meeting house wa on Academy Hill, then known as Wiatc House Hill. The third meeting house locate
 near the site of the old academy. It was de stroysd by lightning June II, 1765. Tn ! fourth meeting house was erected on tn , present site in 1786 and the present buildin was dedicated in 1859.
 Rev. Mr. Ives in closing said: "Our free dom of worship, our liberty of thought, eu protest against hierarchy, our equality befor , God, the common priesthood of believers our seal of the Kingdom of Rlghteousnss and Truth-these are the truths which ou : Fathers gave us and they are the thing , which we would bear onward to the churc ot Christ universal.
 The Doxology to "Old Hundred" wa
 sung, Maynard T. Smith acting as organist Nu T. y---- -s.-s-