Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1891-01-21
NORTH HAVEN ANNALS.

Rev. Samuel Andrews-His Useful
ness and Estimable Character
Founder OF -Four Parishes.
NUMBER 81.
prepared BY the Rev william Lrsk, jr., rector Of
Valuable contribution to North Haven history
could not have been secured. The reader II re- |
ferred to numbers 20 and 80 in this series.l
After the Rev. Ebenszer Punderson had
succeeded in organizing st. Johns parish
in 1760 and bull ding the church dedicated
on st. Johns day, December ~, 1851, he
was soon transferred on account Of troub-
lous times in New Haven to the mission in
Rye, N. Y, made vacant by tho death Of
that "worthy, learned and faithful" cler-
gyman, tho Rev. James Wetmore. In the
meantime there had been transpiring a
series of events, which, in their culmina-
ton, were destined to have far reaching
results in North Haven, Wallingford,
Cheshire and what is now Meriden.
q, In the records of st. Johns parish is the
following significant entry written in the
clear and beautiful penmanship of Oliver
Blakeslee, clerk:
"The Rev. Mr.. Samuel Andrews return
ed from England Jan. 23rd, 1893, Mission
airy for 3 Parishes, viz: North Haven,
Wallingford and Cheshire, and delivered
his first discourse February 18th at st.
Johns church in North Haven to an au
dience of One Hundred People"
The influence of this man accounts for
much of the religious history Of North
Haven, Wallingford, Meriden and Cheshire
| between the year 1862 and the close of
the revolutionary war. He WAS really
the establisher of episcopacy in all the
| above named region. He was a man of
| spect and an interchangeable worker. He
was native of the colony, graduate of
Yale college and a very prudent man. The
way he became Church of England cler-
gyman, as the account is given in the
records of St. PauTs parish, Wallingford,
is interesting. Laban Andrews, fourth son
of Samuel Andrews of Meriden, came to
live with Captain Mecock Ward in Wal
lingford. There he contracted matrimo-
Her parents objected and the marriage
devout Church of England girl, brought
Laban into the Church of England-the
Andrews family being Congregationalists.
Laban had seven brothers, and he brought
them all into the Church of England. All
the sons, eight, were then churchmen; and
they united their means and sent Samuel,
who was tho youngest, to Yale college.
There he was graduated with high honor.
They then sent him to England for ordina-
ton. He returned, as stated above, and
from 1859 to 1885, twenty-three years,
he was the greatly beloved Episcopal cler-
gyman in the field above named and every
where Familiarity known as "Parson An
drews."
He resided in Wallingford. When he
| began his work he received as his salary
ESQ sterling from the Society for the Prop
agation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,
ESQ from his congregation here, glebe of
! fourteen acres and house in Wallingford.
| The house is still standing. Afterward
| the North Haven parish consented to give
three Sundays a year to Northford. He
| also to some extent officiated gratuitously
| in Niddletown. Yet, notwithstanding all
he had to do in his wide field here, in 1867
/ in response to earnest appeals he travelled
I north as far as Abingdon, N. H., $50
miles from his home, holding services in
the houses of scattered Church of England
families every day, baptizing and admins
tering the holy communion and officiating
| several times every Sunday for gathered
| congregation, for which he everywhere
| received the warmest thanks. This illus
trates the industry and devotion of the
man. Page after page of the records Of
St. Johns church are filed with the names
of persons baptized by him two hundred
or more) and the names of parents, witness
sonal and family work. His teaching
was simple, practical, free from
anything distinctly Calvinistic, un-
like the teaching of Jonathan Edwards,
or Whitefeld, or Dr. Trumbull He took
the ground of institutional Christianity
instead of doctrinal or theological Chris
tianity, and confined himself to the Chris
tian faith as presented in the apostles
creed, the faith in which all members Of
the Church of England were baptized, and
earnestly inculcated the observance of thu
Christian year. Such a man, at that par
ticular time, keeping himself free from the
discussions and troubles of others, was ex
actly the man needed by the Church Of
England here and by all inclined in that
| direction.
The four parishes of to-day, St. Johns
| North Haven; st. Pauls, Wallingford; St
| Andrews, Neriden; St. Peters, Cheshire
are the evidence of wisely and thoroughly
laid foundations by "Parson Andrews.
But the revolutionary war brought serious
] trouble. The Rev. Mr.. Andrews, as wal
natural in the circumstances, was sincere
loyalist He was specially honored by
King George, who presented him beauti
full coat of arms. Yet, in the midst of al
the trouble during that exciting period
Mr.. Andrews was always the courteous
gentleman and sympathetic friend. H.
remained the faithful and devoted mis-
sionary, SO far as possible, Throughout
! the war. He was not molested in North
Haven, but for awhile he was put under
heavy bonds in Wallingford and not al
lowed to visit any of his people without
the consent of the selectmen. The feeling
toward him there is well illustrated by an
incident preserved in the records of St.
Paul's parish, Wallingford. When Gen
erals Washington and Lee passed through
Wallingford public dinner was given
them. Rev. Mr.. Waterman, pastor Of the
"Wells society,"" was invited to task 6
blessing" The very patriotic man made
very long prayer, and Lee, being very
hungry, got tired and went to eating. AT
ter the banquet, in compliment to the re-.
igious preferences of Generals Washington
and Lee, "Parson Andrews" was called up
on "to return thanks" which he did very
briefly, beginning with the words:-''Thou
O Lord art in heaven, and we upon earth
day he was arrested by the vigilance com.
mittee and was not permitted to go any.
where, except to and from his church,
without their consent.
For time, with one or two exceptions,
the ministrations of the twenty Church Of
England clergymen serving the forty
parishes in Connecticut were silenced.
In North Haven St. Johns
church people being devotedly
attached to "Parson Andrews, " and having
been we'll instructed and Thoroughly
grounded in their churchmanship, stood
by their church regardless of the unpopu-
larity of their course and regardless of all
difficulties. Most all of them made the DO
litical mistake of being loyalists Some
were neutral; a few sympathized with the
patriots. However, they were not serious
ly molested, again showing the remarkable
state of things in the early history of this
community. The.counsellor and guide in
the affairs of St. Johns parish at this time
was the educated and influential layman,
Joseph Pierpont, esq.,, man highly hon
ored by the town and state and for fifty
nine years parish clerk. He was a sincere
| friend and great admirer of the Rev. Mr..
| Andrews,
| In 1884, the year after the declaration of
peace, begin the records of what was at
| first called ''The Prudential Committee of
st. Johns Parish, in distinction from the
vestry of the parish. This prudential COM
| mittee consisted each year of a moderator,
a clerk "sworn according to law" and an
| executive committee of three, all elected
| annually by the society. The vote at the
| first recorded meeting was: Abraham
Blakeslee, moderator; OliverB lakeslee, clerk;
Samuel Sackett, Seth Todd, Joel Blakeslee.
| committee. It was also voted: "That a
! tax of two pence on the Pound should be
| collected of the members of said Society