The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-08-21


shares there were in this Corporation,
the story does not relate,
April II, 1865 the shareholders or
as they are called, the proprietors of
Dorset, met at Great Darlington con
corning the laying out Of lots of 100
acres TO each right
The first settlement of Dorset was
made in 1868 by Felix Powell from
Massachusetts, Isaac Lacy from Con
necticut and Benjamin Baldwin Abra-
ham Underhill, John Manley Jr., and
George Page from New York.
John Marley Jr., one of these first
settlers was soon followed by his faith
er, Deacon John Manley and one of
the fathers of this church.
Dr. William Jackson in the Quarter
ly Register of November 1912, giving
sketch of the history of this church
Iup to December 1871. says, Deacon
Marley, immigrating a little the earl
lest, nad succeeded at times in gather
| ing the few scattered settlers for
worship on the Sabbath, and when
Deacon Kent arrived with his numer-
GUS gospel-trained family, which was
but the twelfth family in The town,
these two holy pioneers on the sue
ceeding Sabbath established that SER
les of Sabbath meetings which has
continued unbroken for more than 70
years
Hence it appears that public or
social Christian worship commenced
in Dorset very soon after its first set
Element in 1868, and that as early as
l770 or 1873 and thenceforward such
worship was maintained every Sab
bath day
Deacon Cephas Kent, whose resi-
dence and tavern was on tne West
Road where Mrs. Humphrey now re-
sides, came in 1773 from Suhield,
Connecticut, with his six sons and two
daughters
Little is known of the town of Dor
set until 1874 but rs DR.. Pratt wrote
| in his centennial address, business
enough at home and abroad for the
| irst fifteen years of DOrset-1hey
made more history than they wrote,
they handled axe. noe and gun more
than the pen
The Congregational church of Dor
set was organized September %, 1884
and the church made choice of Rev
elijah Sill, who had been settled at
New Fairfield, Conn, for their pastor
and moderator for the time being.
| find no record for his installation
Or for his dismissal. He seems to
have remained with the church about
five years. At the end of Mr.. Sil's
service. one of their own number. Rev
Dan Kent, having been licensed to
preach. served the church as pastor
for thirteen months, so it is said
After the removal from the town,
Rev. Dan Kent was settled at Benson,
IN this state for many years. After
the dismission of Rev Dan Kent there
IS no record of preaching except as
The pastors of neighboring churches
came occasionally to preach or to ad-
minister the sacraments.
On November II, 1884 at a regular
ly called meeting of tne church, Mes
Sis John Manley and Cephas Kent
were elected deacons, and Nathan
Wheeler, Lieut.. Seth Smith and Israel
Bostwick, committee for the year.
The church then seems to have chan
ged the date for their annual meeting
for on March 31st, 1885 Joan Manley
was chosen first deacon and Cephas
Kent for their second deacon.
There is record of a meeting held
in May, 1889 when it was voted that
the church should have no committee
On April 30, 1889 a meeting of the
church was neld at the residence of
Moses Kent, at which time Rev. Mr.
Sill, was possibly absent for Captain
Seth Smith was chosen moderator
and it was voted that Mr.. Sill should
have a recommend. Perhaps he was
absent looking for another field of la
Dor. He seems, however, to have
been present at a meeting held Feb
ruary l3, 1891.
From tnis date, February, 1871,
there seems to be no record of a set
lied pastor for several years. During
1893 and into 1894 many of the meet
ings were taken up by cases of disci-
pine of Capt Seth Smith, who during
IN absence in New York state, view
ing land or timber was forgetful of
his Sabbath duty and continued his
Iabors on Sunday. Capt Smith who
was an officer of the church, was tried
md called upon by a committee, rep
rimarded. confessed his error and was
received back into the church.
While We are reviewing the discip-
line of the church, we desire to call
attention to one more case, though
there were recorded several such ca
SEES.
Seth Collins. of no connection with
our esteemed infrm elderly towns
man, Thomas NJ. Collins, became eth
9r republican or a federalist Pres
ldent, appointed a Fast day, carried
ais politics so far that he plOughed
his field within sight of the church
Soers. For this he was disciplined
and accommodated. He left the
town and years afterward asked par
don from the church for his derelic-
ton.
We come now in its history to a
new period of the life of the cnurch,
June II, 1896. when the church met
at the meeting house and voted that
| it was their wish that Rev. William
Jackson should take the pastoral
charge of the CHURCH and congrega-
ton.
Sprague's Annals of the Congrega-
tional Pulpit 1886 says that Mr.. Jack
son had been licensed to preach by
the Brandon association of Massachu-
sets on the 4th of June. 1898 and
came to Vermont to visit friends at
Dorset, then a vacant parish. His
preaching awakened a great interest
and the result was that a call to the
pastorate was offered to MIN, but he
at that time declined and preached
for a while in New Jersey. DR.. Jack
sons letters, some of which are eX-
tant relating to the church, show him
to have been a man Of strong charac-