New Britain herald., 1915-02-08

president of this country was Thomas J Jefferson and the governor of the old Nutmeg state was Johnathan Trum- bull The minister of the New Brit ain parish was Rev. John Smallcy. With this historical setting the First Baptist church in New Britain de- veloped and grew with the country, state and city. In 1908 the parish of New Britain had only about 9S0 souls and the total fortune of the wealthiest citizen stood on the tax lists for but S505.S9, There were no factories, no railroads no libraries, l theaters or newspapers, not even any telephones of telegraph systems. At that time the total number Of ] Raptists in the United States was less l than 15OOOO and Connecticut had 1 only about thirty churches and few ! of these had paid or educated min 1 ister.
 Oldest Church at GrOtOn.
 The oldest Baptist church in Con- , necticut is at Groton, across the river from New London. It was founded in 1705 by a Rhode Islander named Valentine Wightman. The second church was organized at Waterbury. which was then part of New Lon 1 don, the third was at Wallingford and , Southington had the fourth. Bap- lists were first heard of in New 1 Britain when Jeremiah H. Osgood, the first member of the church here, was baptized by Father Shepard in a small brook next to the old Samuel Smith 1 farm in Stanley Quarter. year later several more members were
 jet hali irf
 1 Church meetings were held in Ali jath smiths old house in the fourth i district school and in the old Hins- dale house at the corner of East and ] Smalley streets. The preachers were itinerant and sometimes the New Britain Baptists visited neighborins towns to attend the Sunday services
 First Pastor In 1928.
 The council meeting at which the present Baptist church was born was held in the Hinsdale house, owned ny Elijah Hinsdale who was the ma ternal grandfather of Elihu Burritt and who died in 1797. The first
 score of years of the new church saw much turnult in the nation but all storms were weathered and in 1928 Seth Higby came here as the first
 T..
 was erected in 1928 at the head of
 Main street just at the foot of Dub lin Hill. It measured twenty by thirty feet and was built by the mem bers who numbered only twenty
 four The next year a church society
 was formed and the Sunday schoo
 department established. Nathan E
 Sha iler was the pastor from then until
 1892 and two years later another pas
 tor was secured, Amos D. Watrcus
 When he took hold the church was ir
 a bad way, but under his regime il
 again f1ourished and was more firmly
 esta blished than ever when he left in 1886 In 1888 Matthew Bolles took the pastorate but died the next year
 and was succeeded by Herman $
 Havens.
 Second Church Is Built.
 In 1s41 the need of a larger church
 was imperative and on February l. 1 of that year. which will be seventy four years ago next Saturday, it wa decided to build a new church, ant : on January 13 of the next year the
 lot at the corner of Main and Yves Main streets, where now stands th' National bank, was bought by thu Widow Hart for $500. Ground wa broken on April 1, 1S42. The struc ture was of wood, and painted white forty by sixty feet in size, with a tow \ CT and bell, and was dedicated on thu twelfth of the following August Forty four new members were taken in il '1S43 but the following year scvera