New Britain herald., 1924-10-13
viz "To seat the Meeting House.


 to dignity the pews as well as to seat the Meeting House. The for mer to arbitrarily determine the relative importance Of the various pews and the latter to seat the par ish to conform to their standing in the community To accomplish this the society took the following ac- ton previous to using the building, At a Meeting of the inhabitants of Kensington Parish on Friday the l1th day Of November 1774 Legally Warnd." It was voted to proceed 10 seat the new Meeting House now in Kensington." Messrs. Thomas Gridley. Elijah Hooker, Asahel Cowles, Noah Cowles, Amos Peck, Roger Norton. Matthew Cole, Oliver Peck, stephen Cole, Jr,. were chosen committee to seat the Meeting House. At the same Meeting Voted that there shall be one head and no more Consider'd and Allowed to Every person that bears List in , the Society in Seating the Meeting House. At the Same Meeting Voted that 5 pounds on the Grand Levy Shall be Consider'd Equal to One Year of Age In Seating the Meeting House. At the Same Meeting Voted that the List Given in the Year A. D. 1T73 be a Rule and Standard to go , by and act upon in Seating the Meet ing House. At the Same Meeting Voted that Elderly Gentlemen which are above Seventy Years Shall be Seated According to their Age in the highest parts or Seats in the Meeting House. At the Same Meet ing Voted that the Above Named Seating Com'tee Shall Dignify the Meeting House. At the Same Meet ing Voted that Men and Women Shall be Seated in pews and Seats together with each other. At the Same Meeting Voted that it be the Mind of this society that there Should be Dedication Sermon preach'd In Our New Meeting House on Thursday the first Day of De- cemb'r.1 Next at 1 o'clock After noon. At the Same Meeting Voted to Meet in the New Meeting House on the Sabbath Next after the Dedica- ton Sermon be preach'd and thence 1 forward to Continue to Meet there Stedly on Days of publik worship. At the Same Meeting Voted that l Lieut.. Matthew Cole and Mir. Stephen Cole, Jr., be a Com'tee to Make Ap- plication to the Rev'r. Mir. Samuel Clark to preach Dedication Ser mon In the New Meeting House and Likewise to Supply the pulpit in the New Meeting House after that till we shall have our Annual Meeting in this society. At the Same Meeting Voted that the Building Com'tee in Our Society be Impower'd to take Down and Bring away what part of the Old Meeting House they Shall think proper be it more or less. At the same Meeting Voted to give 10 the Heirs of Deac. Ehenezer Heart Late of Pennington |, -eas'd the Sum Of twenty-four Shillings it being for Sweeping the Meeting House in the year A. D. 17T3."
 pr. Clark did not accept the in- vitation to preach and l believed never did preach in either this or the Worthington Meeting House. The Rev. James Dana, D.D. of Walling- ford accepted an invitation to de- liver the dedication sermon and used as his text Thou that nearest pray CT unto Thee shall all flesh come" Gen. Selah Hart was moderator and chosen to head the Committee both for dtgHifyng the pews and seating the Meeting House. It was at this meeting iu 1TS1 of "The 1n- habitants of Kensington Parish that resolution was introduced ap- pointing Gen. Selah Hart and Capt. Matthew Cole committee in behalf of the society to act with the Parish es of New Britain and Worthington to have the territory in the three parishes lying wihin the limits of the town of Pennington set off as a separate New Township" It was not until 1918 that the sale of pews was suggested and the plan was put into operation in the year 1S19 From the beginning Of the cectury fhprn toHIon1,. fA Sr-itr Hro VI from the support of the church un- der laws which made 1t possible upon proper notice of belief in other creeds. Time had been when the levy of the society on the grand list had to be paid. (There is record o' one man in this parish being jailed for non paymenD. But now in tho first quarter of the 18th century evi dences appear that agreat many peo pie are making an ntrospection O. their beliefs and differ enough tC avoid their tax. This probably ac counts for the new way of sellinf seats which later developed into th' method Of auctioning them off which in the records is referred tt as bidding"
 As the years went on from Revo lutionary times there were som' changes and additions for the com fort and convenience of the parish
 toners and later some changes fl construction Of the interior and ont addition. and il may be in order t' make hasty note of some of then in their chronological order.
 While this Meeting House wa
 dedicated December I, 1174 an, used from that time if was not real lE finished until nine years later. I : was painted or the outside in 17S and in 179S the Society voted "ths