Morning journal and courier., 1891-10-23
ssTHE HOLY KISS.o
"reminiscences of the Sandermantan
 Church by Judge Brewster.

CnIfcn Dy JuOSe nreWSteTs
 Hartford JournaL]
 Judge Brewster of the old town of Dan bury was at the Allen House one night last week and talked for an hour or more concerning the center of the hat industry in this state. The judge was born and bred protectionist and had good deal to say about tbe advantages of that policy. Finally he was switched off from that track and began one of the most interest ing stories heard in good while concern ing an old church in Danbury that was founded in 17S4 by that quaint religionist, Rob ert Sandeman,' the son-in-law of John Glass, founder of the Scottish sect of Classics, Sande- man set up sect of his and founded the original Sandemanian church in the world at Danbury. At one time the sect enrolled 0 mem- bership of 5000 throughout the land. At present the order is practically extinct It held peculiar
 Three times in the history of the Danbury church schiSmS threatened the destruction of the order. In all of them the Danbury women figured successfully. In the first place it
 th the that at s; der It happened that three young elders became widowers in the church about the same time. It seemed too bad that they should be compelled to live in single bessedness during the rest of life, and new vision was seen, interpreting the passage that an elder shall be the husband or one wife as meaning that he shall have but one wife at time. It has always been supposed that the women shrewdly suggested this interpreta- tion, The result was that the church was split ill hopeless manner for the time being. Another tenet was that the members of the church should salute one another with holy kiss This went on gracefully and satisfactorily until black smith was inducted into the communion. Then trouble began again. The Danbury danes and maidens declared that they must draw the kiss ing line somewhere and decided on the black smith as the point of division. This split the church more completely than the first Schism nearly obliterating Sandeman's work.
 There was another tenet that all the members should live in humble circumstances, no one hav ing better house than his neighbor in the church. But when old Timothy Benedict began to get rich by selling groceries it occurred to him that he ought to have as good house as body in town, the women folks being at the bottom Of the agitation: This brought about the third and last split. For years after that the Sandemani- ans struggled along, making but the merest progress In the end the people for the most part were disbanded.
 A few years ago the handful remaining was brought under the control of the disciples, which have their head organization in Ohio, known as the Campbeites. President Garfield was a member and preacher in the order. The Disci- ples have increased in numbers and wealth and will build this year new church in the city, be- ing the first Campbelite society in the state to emphasize it's foothold by the erection of house of worship. When the judge had concluded his story of the strange church people he bade his hearers good night and proceeded to got ready for the supreme court hearing in the morning, in the interest of which he was visiting the capitol.