The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-01-19

In l742 Philemon Robbins preached by
invitation to the Baptist church il
Q Wallingford. In 1745 he was called be
fore the New Haven association which
demanded that he should confess tina
he broke the law of God in preaching tc
the Baptists against their consent. TC
the credit of the church, they stood by
him, maintaining his position that he
had violated no law of God. One of the
presidents of Yale college spoke openly
in the defense Of religious liberty
1.-TWO students. brothers, were expelled
from Yale college, the record says
because the said Clevelands, with sun
dry others belonging to Canterbury and
Plainfield, did so and attend upon a
private separate meeting in private
house for divine worship; carried on
principally by one Solomon Paine, a lay
exhorter on several Sabbaths in Sep
TENDER and October last"
Another influence which did great
service to the Baptist cause was the So
called great awakening, which occurred
about 1740, and in which Whitefield and
Edwards were two leading preachers.
This great movement was called the
| Separation, and it's adherents were
called Saparatists.
The state church tried to resist the
tide, preaching earnestly and some
times prosecuting. Nathan Jewett, of
Lyme, was expelled from the legisla-
ture because he dared to differ reli-
giously from his political associates.
Still the movement spread; many of
the Separates became independent
/ Congregationalists; many others were
somewhat at sea as to future plans, and
as the Baptists had definite convictions
simple church government, and APP
pealed to an open Bible, quite natural
/ ly many people gravitated to the Bap-
fist position. We now find a marked
! interest in the number of churches.
In the next few years they were formed
as follows: First North Stonington, at
"Pendleton HILL" 1743; Colchester, 1743;
Saybrook, 1744; Stratfield 175l; Second
Groton (Which later joined with the
Third Groton, to form the Mystic I'm
| ion), 1864; Second North Stonington,
1865; Salem, 1867; East Lyme and First
Sufied, 1863; Stamford, 1773; First
Stonington, 1775. As is readily seen,
the largest harvest was where the seed
was first sown. There We're so many
that the Stonington association was
formed in 1772 and included what is
now the territory of the New London
association.
MANY CHURCHES FORMED.
Between 1880 and 1900 the following
churches were organized 1890, Scott
Hill; 1882, Wethersfield; 17s5, First
Danbury; 1856, First Meriden and
Bloomfield; 1887, Warren (now College
street, CornwelD 1900, First Hartford
and Second Danbury; 1871, Bristol; 1882
Plainfield; 1894, Eastford, First and
Second Woodstock, and North Cole
brook; 1895, Middletown; 1897, Clinton;
1900, Norwich, First. The first pastor
of the Norwich church was one of
Washington's body-guard, Major Peter
Rogers.
The statistics for the close of the |
eighteenth century may be summed up |
as sixty churches forty ministers,
about four thousand members, and two |
associations.
During the century since that date
there has been gradual and substantial
progress AT the beginning we find |
them using every energy to obtain re-
ligious equality before the law. They |
passed resolutions, wrote articles and |
sent petitions, until the "Baptst petit
ton" came to be a by-word among the
state officers.
From the time 1856, systematic
course of agitation was carried on for
sixty-two years by petitions and reso-
lutions to the legislatures, resulting in
a radical reformation all over the state,
iyV1 ,la |
1t Is true that the Baptists were fore
most in presenting these petitions from
TIA to 1918, but these were misunder-
Stood for they were strongly opposed to
any personal or special legislation.
Representatives from all the Baptist
churches in the state were at the con-
vention to form state constitution.
Deacon Dewey Bromley, Of Norwich,
was one of the leaders, and when the
chairman of the convention called him
to express what the Baptists wished
replied:
FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.
Nothing for us. We desire to have :
religion stand on it's own divine basis,
where God has placed it, and all denom-
Congregationalists, Presbyte-
rians, Episcopalians, Methodists, Uni
tarians, Universalists, Catholics Qua
lers, Baptists and all others to have
secured to them equal rights and priv
leges to worship God according to the ,
dictates of their own conscience as en- !,
ightened by the Bible
And such has been the action of the 7
3aptists from the beginning, support \
ng a doctrine that his triumphed n
throughout the state and all over the \
and At last their iabors were reward r
d by the adoption of the new consttu- r
ion, which secured religious freedom q
o every citizen of Connecticut from
hat time forward. Article seventh on +
eligion was not only to their liking n
nut Rev Asahel Morse, a Baptist min v
ster at Suffield, delegate to the con- o
ention, had the honor of drawing it in liza
is present form f,
In 1911 an organization was formed il
rhich grew into the present state con- e.
ention. The year 1874 marked the W
uxiliary of the Baptist board of for g
ign missions. In 1919 the Connecticut S,
BAPTIST Education society was estab-
shed. 1t has aided in the education of re
ne hundred and eighty-nine young h,
len preparing for the gospel ministry M
ring the past eighty years, raising CT
nd expanding over one hundred and
yenty thousand dollars G