New Britain herald., 1924-10-13
Kensington Congregdtionahsts
 Celebrate I5Oh Anniversary

elapsed since our ancestors began that first of the inland settlements In what Is now the State of Con- necticut. Pennington grew rapidly and soon began to reach out to the east while Wethersfield was begin ming the cultivation Of lands to her west and the wilderness between the two towns was disappearing. The main road between Hartford and New Haven passed through the val ley now traversed by the steam rail- road bearing the name Of the two towns. This settlement of the east ern part of Pennington began in 1GS6 or almost half a century after that of Pennington proper. The story of the early years of the Great Swamp settlement. the Fort, the fear of the Indians, the arduous and dan- gerons trips on foot and horseback over the mountain to Pennington to church you are familiar with. In less than twenty years after the settlement of the Great Swamp re- zion we find the inhabitants peti- tioning the general assembly "to grant unto your humble petitioners settlement and confirmation of a society at a place called the Great Swamp within Pennington bounds. having obtained liberty from said Pennington for that. Then follow the reasons for the petition signed by twenty-nine men whose names loom large in our local history. The petition was granted and in 1707 (the town having in 1705 given its consent) the new society was organ ized. From the records it would ap- pear that the Rev. William Burn. ham began his ministrations late in 1707. While during the years 1707 until 1712 Mir. Burnham acted as pastor of the parish which in 170s the general assembly had again con- firmed and approved by granting permission to tax all the inhabitants of the Great Swamp setting up and maintaining public worship of God there," the formal organization of the church was in 1712 with ten members. A few years later some of the territory belonging to both Middlefown and Wethersfeld was added to the Great Swamp society,"" F. Although. the Meeting House had probably been used since 1709 the building was not finished until 1720 as the following vote attests, March ?, 1719: Provided ye aforesaid Judd and Hart shall at their own proper charge provide all suitable matter for and procure workmanlike ye finishing of our Meeting House gall leries in manner according to the galleries in Pennington Meeting House or ye same sort of work fin- ishing them from ye undersde of theyer girts unto ye underside of ye beams and plates of ye house in- cluding suitable frames for ye wind dows and ye putting, them up and all this to be done by the first of June in ye yare 172o they having ye privlledge of ye lose bords and tim Der that is now in the Meeting l House."
 In retrospect 1t seems as though the church were not fairly settled in the Meeting House which was final ly finished in 1721 before the mem- bers began sowing the seeds of con tention that lasted almost half a century. When was a young man teaching school I lived with a fine old lady who had spent her 7S years in the house next to the Congrega- tional church. She often said that when Christians tried to build a church or schoolhouse the devil got in his best work. The society had grown very fast and in 1730 the Meeting House, begun IS years and finished hardly 10 years before, had become inadequate. The first Meet ing House was located well toward the north and east of the Kensing- ton parish. Its southern boundary reached to Wallingford, now Meri- den, and the population of the cen tral portion along and around the Mattabessett river had increased. Those who settled in "Blow Noun tain" region near Wallingford, now Meriden. had the longest journey to the Meeting House and naturally could hardly believe 1t was their duty to vote for the old Christian Lane location If a new Meeting House were to be built. It is fair to observe that the desire for a new meeting house in 17So, ten years after. the completion Of the first one may have been somewhat influenced by the fact that, the central and south portions of the parish had a majority of the votes. At this time with our meagre facts it is not for us to judge of the unfortunate cir cumstances that existed in the so- ciety for so many years. The mem- bers of the society were as whole God-fearing, upright Christian men desirous of following Christ's exam pie and especially the precepts Of the Bible. In fact their daily lives