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LIBRARY OF COiNGRESS.# 
 
 
 
 ^UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. | 
 
I 
 
miW. 
 
 MR. STRONG'S 
 
 
iaism©5i?9 
 
 DELIVERED LORD'S DAY, JANUARY 6, 1828, 
 
 SOOX AFTER THE 
 
 ONE IIUxNDREDTII ANNIVERSARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH IN SOMERS. 
 
 SKETCH 
 
 OF SOME LEADING EVENTS 
 
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH AND CONGREGATION. 
 
 BY WILLIAM L. S I RONG, A. M. 
 
 PASTOK OF THE CHURCH IN SOM£US. 
 
 PDBLISHEI) BY REaUEST. 
 
 HARTFORD : 
 
 rRI.VTED BT PETKK B GLEASOS & CO. 
 
 1828. 
 C/5 
 
fl Of 
 
A SERMON, &c. 
 
 Deuteronomy 32 : 7. 
 
 " Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations : ask thy 
 
 father, and he will show thee, thy elders, and they will tell thee." 
 
 The history of the children of Israel, is replete with 
 instruction. From the first calling of their progenitor, 
 down to the removal of the sceptre from Judah, and 
 their dispersion among the nations, their faith was mark- 
 ed with tokens of the Divine presence and guardianship. 
 There is no period of their existence as a people, in 
 which we may not select a variety of facts designed for 
 the encouragement or warning of succeeding genera- 
 tions. This is true, peculiarly, of that part of their his- 
 tory recorded in the books of Moses, embracing their 
 continuance in Egypt, their wanderings in the wilder- 
 ness, and their miraculous entrance upon the promised 
 land : a period more distinguished by Divine wonders, 
 than even a much longer period in the history of any 
 other people. For this reason, it is, that the period al- 
 luded to, is so often mentioned by the inspired penman, 
 and the children of Israel are so abundantly encouraged 
 to make it a subject of their serious attention and inqui- 
 ry. To this employment, the Jewish lawgiver invites 
 his people, at the very moment when nothing but the 
 swellings of Jordan, separates them from the object of 
 their hopes and toils. " Remember the days of old, 
 consider the years of many generations : ask thy father, 
 and he will show thee, thy elders, and they will tell 
 thee." Very few of those addressed by Moses on this 
 occasion, were old enough to have witnessed the plagues 
 of Egypt, or to understand, fully, the providences, which 
 marked the earlier period of their deliverance. A i^ew 
 of the fathers and elders remembered the wormwood 
 and the gall, and. if inquired of, could tell of the scenes 
 which they witnessed. From their fathers they had 
 learned many things respecting several generations ; and 
 they were hence prepared to hand down many interest- 
 ing facts of their history, for the instruction of others. 
 
4 
 
 The generation who then listened to the last counsels of 
 Moses, might derive many advantages from inquiring 
 after these facts. 
 
 The history of other nations, though not exhibiting, 
 so immediately, the hand of an over-ruling Providence, 
 is not without its interest, and may be examined with 
 signal advantage, by succeeding generations. Hence 
 it has been ever so much of an object with the wise and 
 good to induce mankind, and particularly the young, to 
 study the history of their ancestors. The early history 
 of this country, has awakened the liveliest interest of 
 the childrej] of the Puritans, in every succeeding gene- 
 ration. And there is no people, whose existence has 
 been perpetuated during a century, or for several gene- 
 rations, whose history is so devoid of incidents, and facts, 
 ilhistrative of the principles of the Divine government, 
 and of the connection of human actions, thai it may not 
 be studied with gratification and advantage. 
 
 It will be my object in this discourse, to inquire what 
 things we should remember in respect to former genera- 
 tions : a!jd then to suggest some facts in the history of 
 this church and people. 
 
 First, I shall suggest some things which we should re- 
 -member, in respect to former generations. 
 
 The inquiry would be interesting, should we apply it 
 to all the past generations of men. It is, however, adapt- 
 ed to awaken a deeper interest in a more particular ap- 
 plication to the country to which we belong, or to the 
 smaller communities with which we are associated. 
 
 1. We should remember in respect to former genera- 
 tions, tiiat ihey have passed away. 
 
 " One generation passeth away and another genera- 
 tion Cometh." The earth remains without essential 
 change, during every successive period of our mortal ex- 
 istence, but its inhabitants, are, in their turn, passing 
 away. " Our fathers, where are they, and the prophets, 
 do they live for ever?" Where are the generations of 
 men that lived and acted before the tlood, those fathers, 
 who resisted the encroachments of the great destroyer, 
 for almost a thousand years? Alas, not one of them' re- 
 mains to tell us the story of their times. Where are the 
 
patriarchs, those venerable men, "vvho were so long the 
 depositaries of. the church of God ? Where are Saul, 
 and David, and Solomon, and all the kinijs that sat 
 upon tlie throne of Israel and Judiih : and where are 
 Samuel, and that long line of prophets, whose names are 
 associated with the penmen of the sacred records ? And 
 where shall we look for the associates of our Saviour, 
 the apostles and fathers of the christian church ? They 
 have passed away : their work was finished, and they 
 have been hurried, off the stage, to make room for the 
 crowding generations that have Ibllowed them. Nor 
 need we look so far back. Where are the many gene- 
 rations of the fathers of this country, the first emigrants 
 that set their feet on these distant shores. They left 
 their country and their homes, to escape the persecu- 
 tions to which their religion subjected them, and to en- 
 joy, in this new world, the religious liberty which was 
 deni(>d them in the old. Where are the Winthrops, 
 the Bradfords, the Winslows, the Eatons, the Hopkinses, 
 those pious and distinguished civilians, that adorned the 
 chair of state, when our fathers first established a gov- 
 ernment in New-England ? And where are those ve- 
 nerable Divines, the Aliens, the Cottons, the Mathers, 
 the Davenports, and a great variety of others, who were 
 the fathers of the church ? They lived and labored 
 for Christ, but the generation to which they belonged, 
 has passed away. None of them have lived to witness 
 the changes which two centuries have produced, and to 
 rejoice, or mourn, as those changes have been friendly, 
 or hostile to the cause of the Redeemer. Every succes- 
 sive generation, from that period to the present, except 
 that which is now performing its part on the busy stage, 
 has come forward, and spent its day, and has then reti- 
 red behind the curtain, to make room for others, who 
 have, in their turn, passed to the land of forgetfulness. 
 
 But we are more interested to inquire after the gene- 
 rations of our fathers, who have, before us, walked these 
 streets, and cultivated these fields. Including those 
 who first settled this town, and those who are now on 
 the stage, four generations have already taken their part 
 in the important concerns of the community. With the 
 
exception of here and there an individual, who has out- 
 lived his early associates, and stands as a connecting 
 link between one generation and another, three of them 
 have already passed away, and form the great assem- 
 blage in our cemeteries. We learn the names of those 
 who were the first settlers of this town, on the monu- 
 ments which record the time when they lived, and the 
 places where their bodies were laid. The names of 
 Jones, of Sexton, of Root, of Pease, of Parsons, of Mor- 
 ton, of Felt, of Kibbe, of Purchase, and of Chapin, are 
 familiar in the early history of this society. But where 
 are the persons whom they represented r They live only 
 in their posterity : tiiemselves have ceased to be interest- 
 ed in the affairs of mortals. The seconcf generation, 
 some of them within the remembrance of my audience, 
 have also, without exception, been numbered with the 
 dead. A few of the third, are still tottering on the verge 
 of their mortal existence. How many, my hearers, with- 
 in our own remembrance, have passed away ! How 
 many that, but yesterday occupied these seats, are seen 
 no more among the living! Where are those fathers 
 and mothers that, at the time of my ordination, occupied 
 the advance seats, in this sacred temple ! A small num- 
 ber are still with us : but by far the largest proportion 
 have ceased to be found in our assemblies. Tiieir 
 places are occupied by others. Since my residence in 
 this place, almost four hundred and a quarter of its in- 
 habitants, about one third of the whole population, have 
 died. What amazing ravages has death made in the 
 families of this people, even within the compass of a 
 little more than twenty years. Cast your eyes at the 
 commencement of almost any of our streets, and trace 
 it from house to house, and mark the changes which a 
 few years have made in the occupants, and what will be 
 the result ? In how many instances will it be found, 
 that the former tenants have passed away ; another ge- 
 neration has taken possession. 
 
 2. In remembering the days of old, we should consider 
 the dealings of God with past generations, as a ground 
 of gratitude. 
 
 In the 107th Psalm, the writer rehearses manystriking 
 
instances of the Divine goodness, to the former genera- 
 tions of Israel, particularly during tlieir march through 
 the wilderness, and calls upon their posterity to cherish 
 feelings of gratitude. " O that men would praise the 
 Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the 
 children of men." Many were the interpositions of God 
 in their favor. He delivered them from their bondage 
 in Egypt : fed them with food from heaven, in the wil- 
 derness : defended them from their enemies, and, by a 
 series of miracles, drove out the heathen before them, 
 gave them cities to dwell in, and a fruitful country as 
 their inheritance. These distinguished blessings impos- 
 ed obligations of gratitude, not merely upon the imme- 
 diate subjects of them, but upon their posterity. To 
 these blessings they were indebted for the rich inheri- 
 tance which had come into their possession. The same 
 hand that delivered their fathers from the iron grasp of 
 Egyptian oppression, broke the yoke, also, from the 
 necks of their children. 
 
 The same blessings may not have distinguished the 
 early progenitors of every people, still there are others, 
 that should awaken the liveliest gratitude. Every peo- 
 ple may be called to remember many things in the ge- 
 nerations of their fathers, to which they cannot look back 
 without satisfaction, and ought not to look back, without 
 hearts expanded with grateful emotions. Whatever they 
 may be, most unworthily, does any people regard them 
 with indifference. Have our ancestors been christians 
 and not heathen ? Shall we not bless God that we were 
 not born on the banks of the Ganges, that we did not 
 draw in with our first breath, the polluted atmosphere of 
 heathen idolatry, or Mahomedan imposture ? Were our 
 ancestors eminemly holy men, and did they, in the closet, 
 in the family, and in the sacred temple of the Lord, Hft 
 up their fervent and unceasing supplications that their 
 posterity might fear God and work righteousness ? And 
 were they ever intent, in adopting a system of means to 
 secure the object of their desire? Shall we not call up- 
 on our souls to bless that kind Providence that favored us 
 with such a parentage ? 
 
 When we look back upon the generations of our an- 
 
cestors, do we (ind the finger of God directing them to 
 the right way, turning their attention to the best means 
 of securing the happiness of those who shouUl come af- 
 ter them, succeeding the means of their choice, and 
 brino:ing upon themselves, the blessings which they pur- 
 posed to treasure up for their children ? Shall not our 
 hearts instinctively inquire, ''what shall we render unto 
 the Lord for all his benefits r" And especially, should 
 we not bless the God of our fathers, if, in remembering 
 the days of old, we find him inclining them to lay, deep 
 and broad, the foundations of those civil, literary, and 
 religious institutions, which are the glory of any people, 
 where they are establi-jhed, and yield to a community 
 so rich a harvest of blessings ? Base, indeed, must be 
 that people, who, looking back upon such an ancestry, 
 can so far deny, or overlook the providence of God, as 
 not to acknowledge the obligations thereby imposed 
 upon themselves. 
 
 3. In remembering the past generations of their an- 
 cestors, a people should consider them in comparison 
 with the present generation. 
 
 It is an opinion much too prevalent among many, 
 that the present generation is wiser, and, perhaps, better 
 tlian those which have passed away. Hence, former 
 opinions, by this class of persons, are exploded, with 
 scarcely a semblance of investigation, and the decis- 
 ions of the pious, regarded, as little better than the 
 surmises of well-meaning, perhaps, but bigotted men. 
 Few there are, at best, that are disposed to admit the 
 idea that the generation to which they belong, has al- 
 ready taken some steps in a course of degeneracy. To 
 this point, then, should we direct our attention, while 
 we bring into remembrance the years of past genera- 
 tions. What were their principles and characters ? Es- 
 pecially, what was their engrossing object as a commu- 
 nity ; the object to which they looked with a steady and 
 absorbing attention ? Was it their solemn purpose to 
 render every thing subservient to the cause of religion, 
 and their practice to make their houses, houses of prayer, 
 and to inculcate upon their children, the love and fear 
 of God ? And what were their principles, in respect to 
 
9 
 
 the influence which religion on 2;ht to have upon them- 
 selves and othors, as members of civil society? Do we 
 view ihem as laboring to moilel th(!ir forms of govern- 
 ment, their schools, colleges, and religions inslitntions, 
 all, with an ultimate regard to the prosperity of Christ's 
 kingdom? These features, in the principles and cha- 
 racter of former generations, (and they are not merely 
 fancies, especially in reg ud to the first fathers of this 
 country,) should be remembered, in comparison with 
 what may prevail among those that are now upon the 
 stage. Does the present generation stand upon the same 
 eminence in point of moral principles and efforts? A 
 remembrance of what is past, when contrasted with 
 what is now present before us, may lead to the most 
 humiliating conviction of modern degeneracy. What, 
 on examination, will be found to be now the absorbing 
 principle? What if it should be found that the icoiid is 
 the object which occupies and fills the centre of vision? 
 Some, indeed, do still prefer Jerusalem above their chief 
 joy. They would regard every interest in subserviency 
 to the interest of the Redeemer. But are these the feel- 
 ings of the great body of «n?/ community ? Take a 
 people uho may be regarded as possessing the greatest 
 strength of moral feeling. How would the present j^-ene- 
 ration, even in our own country, bear a comparison, in this 
 respect, with their Puritan ancestors ? Has there been no 
 falling away from the stern virtue of these vesierable men ? 
 In what portion of this community can we find a state of 
 things which will bear comparison with that which ex- 
 isted among themf In what single town or parish, can 
 we find a family altar in every house, the church com- 
 prising almost every member of the congregation, and 
 the prosperity of religion entering into the plans of nearly 
 the whole community? 
 
 Were we to look at the standard of 7n orals ^ which ex- 
 isted in the first days of tliis country, and contrast, with 
 it, the tone of feeling which marks the present genera- 
 tion, should we not find, here, also, much cause for hu- 
 miliation ? Where is the universal respect for the holy 
 Sabbath, the general attendance on public worship, and 
 the reverence for the name of God, which distinguished 
 
 2 
 
10 
 
 the character of our fathers ? Though these sacred 
 things are guarded by human statutes, who does not 
 know that the laws of the Sabbath are trampled upon; 
 the public worship of God deserted by a large portion of 
 the community, and his holy name profaned? "How 
 is the gold become dim ! how is the most fine gold 
 changed !" 
 
 4. In looking back to fiprmer generations, we should 
 remember their errors to m:oid them. 
 
 While many are disposed to place an imdue value up- 
 on every thing modern, and to depreciate, in the same 
 proportion, every thing ancient ; there are some w ho 
 fall into the other extreme. Every thing associated with 
 ancient times is esteemed venerable, and not unfrequent- 
 ly adopted witli little to recommend it except its origin. 
 In this way a multitude of errors are covered over which 
 materially subtract from schemes of public improvemenl, 
 in other respects, most wisely conceived. But this is 
 not a judicious consideration of the days of old. Let a 
 wise discrimination be observed on this subject. Every 
 thing is not wise which entered into the plans of past 
 generations, not even the most enlightened. On this 
 principle, every thing belonging to former years would 
 be sanctioned, and the door to improvement be effec- 
 tually closed. To how few things can we turn our eyes 
 which have not been adopted into the early principles 
 and practices of the most enlightened and even christian 
 nations? Shall all these, without discrimination, be 
 adopted into modern systems of civil society ? While 
 we adopt those things which have received the sanction 
 of experience, and are not to exchange them for new ex- 
 periments, we should not imagine that there may not be 
 found, in the best forms of government, in the wisest sys- 
 tems of education, the most enlightened religious institu- 
 tions, some things which ought to be discarded. Human 
 wisdom, developed under the most favorable circumstan- 
 ces, is not so perfect : human nature is not so pure. Let us, 
 then, remember the errors of former generations, — let us 
 hear the voice of their failures, warning us off from those 
 rocks and shoals on which many of their fairest hopes 
 have been shipwrecked. Let us avoid all those princi- 
 
11 
 
 pies and measures, which have involved them in difti- 
 cnhy, or which have been marked with the displeasure 
 of God. By thus avoichng every thing which has been 
 found to be fraught with mischief, and incorpoiatinginto 
 our systems, civil, moral and literary, nothing but the wis- 
 dom of former ages, we shall, as a nation, and as smaller 
 communities, be blessed of God, and become partakers 
 of all that happiness and prosperity which, in his provi- 
 dence, he is pleased to allot to the present state of ex- 
 istence. 
 
 5. In remembering the years of past generations, we 
 should consider the lessons of loisdom which they have 
 left for their posterity. 
 
 Every wise people, in making provision for their own 
 welfare, will have respect to the bearing which the 
 measures they adopt may have upon their unborn de- 
 scendants. This is demanded by that law of benevo- 
 lence which obliges them to consult the happiness of 
 others, and by that natural affection which induces every 
 man to desire the happiness of his own offspring. Hence 
 it generally happens that nations, and even smaller com- 
 munities, partake, to some extent, of the character of 
 their ancestors. The principles which they adopted, and 
 the institutions they established, as well as the habits 
 they formed, are visible in the habits, the character and 
 institutions of distant descendants. May we not say too, 
 that a people owe it to their fathers, to cherish those be- 
 quests which their wisdom and piety have handed down, 
 and still more, if the inheritance has been purchased by 
 privations, toils and blood ? 
 
 Most defective, therefore, must be that view which a 
 people take of the days of old, if it do not lead them to 
 inquire into the principles they adopted, and the means 
 they employed in laying the foundation of their future 
 prosperity. Shall they not inquire on what principles 
 they laid the foundation of their government ; what civil 
 institutions were built upon it ; on what principles they 
 established their religious institutions ; in what manner 
 they guarded them against the undermining influence of 
 worldliness and indifference; and in what manner they 
 regarded schools, and the general diffusion of knowledge 
 
12 
 
 in the community ? Into all these subjects which enter so 
 essentially into the virtue and happiness of society, every 
 people should be anxious to make the most dilio;er)t inqui- 
 ry. Let them ask their fathers, and they will show them, 
 their elders, and they will tell them. Do they find they 
 were blessed with ancestors that commenced their ex- 
 istence, as a people, in the fear of Cjod : ancestors who 
 were careful to make provision for the establishment of 
 all those institutions which they considered as adapted 
 to make themselves and their children, free, enlightened 
 and virtuous? And what do they find was the result of 
 such a beginning ? Have a succession of genemlions af- 
 forded evidence that righteousness exalteth a nation, ind 
 that no people is so wise as that which lays the founda- 
 tion of its institutions on the broad basis of civil freedom, 
 a diffusion of knowledge through the community, and 
 the fear of the Lord ? If these are found to be the con- 
 sequences of such a beginning, how can those who have 
 derived their existence from such a |)eople, regard their 
 history in any other light than as instructing them how 
 to secure their own welfare, and to transmit the greatest 
 amount of good to their posterity, and cautioning them 
 against abandoning a policy which has been so prolific 
 in blessings Jipon their ancestors and themselves. 
 
 VVe proceed, Secondly, to call to remembrance some 
 facts in the history of this church and people, and to ap- 
 ply the subject to ourselves. 
 
 I am led to communicate some facts relative to our 
 history, from the period in our existence, as a church 
 and people, at which we have arrived. 
 
 One hundred years, last March, the fifteenth day, or ac- 
 cording to the reckoning since the establishment ol^ New- 
 Style, the twenty-sixth, this church was first organized. 
 It may be interesting and profitable to the descendants 
 of those men who first associated themselves for the wor- 
 ship of God in this place, and for us all, who at later 
 periods have become connected with them, to look back 
 and, as far as records, and ; uthentic tradition will per- 
 mit, to review their history, and to trace their pro5»ress 
 from their first organization to the stale in which we now 
 behold ihem. 
 
13 
 
 It is a fact well known to most of the audience, that 
 this town oriicinally lorined a part of Knfitld,and lliat both 
 were coni|)rehen(!ed in the limits of the ancient town of 
 Springfield Enfield was first settled by a few families 
 belon2:in2; to S|)rihi:fi('ld. In May, 16o3, these fiimilies, 
 having obtained tl)e ap|»robati(»n of tho town to which 
 they belonged, jielitioned the CJeneral Court of Massa- 
 chusetts to be formed into a separate society, o*- township. 
 In this petition they f)ray that its limits may be extend- 
 ed ten miles from Connecticut river, in order that the 
 town may contain a suitable proportion of good land. 
 This peliiion seems to have been promptly granted, and 
 in conformity to it, a town to have been laiil out, extend- 
 ing from Long Meadow brook, six nnles on the river, and 
 ten miles back to the mountain. This grant included 
 not only Enfield as it now is, but the present town of 
 Somers. There is one fact connected with our early 
 history which I must not omit. The first settlers of En- 
 field were not regardless of the condition and :ights of 
 the Indians, nor dis|K)sed to take possessio»i of their lands, 
 without compensatif)n. To extinguish their title to the 
 land, granted them by the General Court, they stipulat- 
 ed widi the Indians to give them twenty-five pounds 
 sterling. Eor this sum, by no means inconsiderable, the 
 cheapness of land, in those days, being regarded, the 
 Indian Chief Totaps, or Totatuck, alienated all right, 
 except that of hunting and fishing, v\hich the Indians 
 claimed, or possessed, to the whole town. The instru- 
 ment containing this alienation and conveyance is upon 
 record, and bears date March 16, 1688 It must be 
 grateful to the feelings of a christian people to reflect 
 that they occupy lands, not taken from the original 
 proprietors by force, but obtained by fair purchase. 
 
 Although the grant of the whole township extending 
 to the eastern limits of this town, was obtained from the 
 Court and from the Indians, the eastern part was not set- 
 tled, even by a solitary individual, for almost twenty- 
 years. It was too far from the princijtle settlements in 
 Enfield to tempt persons who could procure land much 
 nearer, to come into the wilderness. It is difficult to 
 say how far the few Indians that still hunted over these 
 
14 
 
 grounds, for deer and other game, might have deterred 
 the settlement. The enterprising spirit of our ancestors 
 however at length broke through every difficulty. The 
 first person that made the attempt was Benjamin Jones, 
 from Enfield street. He commenced a summer resi- 
 dence about the year 1706, near the foot of the moun- 
 tain, on the principal road which passes through the 
 town from Enfield to Stafford. In the winter and at 
 other times when he apprehended danger, he returned 
 to his former place of residence. 
 
 The example of Mr. Jones was not followed by any 
 for several years. About the year 1713, he was joined 
 by some others from the older settlements in Enfield. 
 From this time the settlement proceeded with more 
 rapidity, so that within live or six years liberty was 
 granted to build a pound for the convenience of the in- 
 habitants, and about the year 1719, a bridge at conside- 
 rable expense, was reared over Scanlick. Among the 
 persons who resided in town as early as the year 1730, 
 may be mentioned the names of Benjamin Jones, James 
 Pease, Timothy Root, John Mc Gregory, Edward Kib- 
 be, Robert Pease, Nathaniel Horton, James Killam, 
 .Tosiah Wood, Nathaniel Collins, Benjamin Cittron, 
 Ebenezer Jones, James Wood, John Davis, Joseph Sex- 
 ton, Luke Parsons, James Blood, John Parsons, Thomas 
 Purchase, Simuel Rockwood, Samuel Felt, Jonathan 
 Purchase, Israel Kibbe, Jacob Kibbe, Benjamin Tho- 
 mas and Joseph Fisk. Most of these persons came from 
 the old town of Enfield. The rest from Pomfret, North- 
 ampton, Wallingford, Longmeadow, Springfield, Men- 
 don, and other towns. On examination it will be found 
 that a large proportion of the present inhabitants are 
 descendants from these original settlers. 
 
 Soon after the first settlements, the inconvenience of 
 attending public worship in Enfield street, led those 
 who loved the habitations of Zion, to desire the preach- 
 ing of the Gospel among themselves. Accordingly, as 
 early as the year 1721, the town, on their desire proba- 
 bly, voted that the inhabitants of the east part have lib- 
 erty to hire preaching three or four months in the winter, 
 and on condition that they do so, that they be excused 
 
15 
 
 from paying their proportion of (he tax in the to\vn 
 street. The next year the town voted the same privi- 
 lege so soon and so long as they should have an able 
 orthodox minister among them, or settled among them. 
 About this time, it is probable, commenced those efforts 
 which looked to the speedy settlement of a minister. 
 This people did not however exist as a separate society 
 until the year 1 723, when the town voted that there be a 
 precinct in the east part of the town, the line commenc- 
 ing at the mouth of Coronation brook, as the stream was 
 then called, which runs across the main Enfield road, in 
 the south western corner of Somers. From that time 
 the town went under the name of the East Precinct, or 
 East Enfield, and transacted its ecclesiastical affairs in 
 the capacity of a society. The first records to be found 
 are the records of the town existing as a precinct. In 
 1734, it was separated from Enfield, and incorporated 
 into a new ton n Avith the name of Somers. It was not 
 until the year 1749, that the town transacted its business 
 under the government of Connecticut. 
 
 The proprietors of the original town of Enfield made 
 early provision for the establishment of a gospel ministry 
 in this place. As early as 1718, looking forward to the 
 time when this would become a distinct people, they ap- 
 propriated two hundred acres of land, and afterwards 
 sixty acres in addition, for the benefit of the first settled 
 minister. Besides this a few acres of Scantick meadow 
 were given for the permanent support of the gospel. The 
 value of the last mentioned land is still retained by the 
 society. 
 
 The people of this town made early efforts to procure 
 and settle a minister. They did not however succeed in 
 this object until the year 1727. On the loth of March of 
 that year, on the recommendation of the association, they 
 settled Mr. Samuel AUis. Mr. Allis was educated at 
 Cambridge college, and studied divinity under Mr. Stod- 
 ard, of Northampton, the maternal grandfather of the for- 
 mer President Edwards. On the same day the church 
 was gathered and consisted of nine male members ; no 
 females having been of the number of the first church. 
 At the first sacrament, the May following, twelve other 
 
1(5 
 
 persons were added to their nmnber. 'I'he nanri^s of 
 those first gathered into a church were, Samuel Allis, 
 Nathaniel Morion, Josiah Wood, James Wood, Josiah 
 Wood, Jr. Benjamin Thomas, Luke Parsons, Nathaniel 
 Horton, Jr and Joseph Fisk. The persons added at the 
 first sacrament were, Thomas Purchase, John Parsons, 
 Robert Pease, Israel Kibbe, Samuel Rockvvood, Samuel 
 Felt, with their wives, and Edward Kibbe. The next 
 February eight more were received to full communion, 
 making, including three or four received by letter, more 
 than thirty persons. Such was the commencement of 
 the church in this place, when all the inhabitants of the 
 town consisted of less than two hundred. Four years af- 
 ter the first organization of the chinch, in 1 731, a meeting 
 house was built, when, as I have been informed, all the 
 inhabitants of the town could sit at once on its sills. This 
 house was situated a little north of where we now are, 
 and though long unfinished, was occupied more than 
 fifty years, and was not abandoned until September 30, 
 1787, on which day the house where we now are wor- 
 shipping, was first occupied. Mr. Ailis continued in the 
 work of the ministry here about twenty years. In the 
 spring of 1747, he was dismissed. He lived in town af- 
 ter his dismission nearly fitly years, and died December 
 18, 1796, at the advanced age of 91. During his ministry 
 there seem to have been two or three seasons of special 
 attention to religion among the people. The revival 
 that spread over the country in the years 1740 and 1741, 
 reached this church. Of this i\Ir. Allis gave some ac- 
 count to the public in a letter to Rev. Mr. Cooper, of 
 Boston, which was afterwards published in GiUies' His- 
 torical Collection. This season extended over a part 
 of two years. During sixteen months in 1741 and '42, 
 about sixty were received into the church by profession. 
 At a previous period, between the months of June, 1735, 
 and May, 1736, there were admitted twenty-six to full 
 communion. 
 
 On the 6ih of July, 1748, Mr. Fregrace Leavett, from 
 Sufiield, was ordained to the work of the ministry in this 
 church. Mr. Leavett was graduated at Yale college in 
 the year 1 745. He was possessed of a discriminating 
 
17 
 
 sound mind : was a good preacher, and died after a little 
 more than thirteen years service, aged 42, greatly la- 
 mented by his people. From the early part of his min- 
 istry there have been in this place, dissenters from the 
 congregational mode of worship. During a considerable 
 portion of the time which has since elapsed, a meeting 
 has been kept up on the Sabbath, and for a part of it 
 the meeting has been served by a minister particularly 
 ordained for that service. This meeting was discontinu- 
 ed about twenty years ago. For about five years past, 
 meetings more or less stated have been held in the same 
 part of the town. 
 
 After the death of Mr. Leavett, the church made seve- 
 ral unsuccessful attempts to settle a successor. At 
 length serious divisions occurred: the church was divi- 
 ded into two parts, worshipped and attended on ordi- 
 nances at different places for more than four years. An- 
 other meeting house was erected, and there was reason 
 to fear that these divisions would terminate in permanent 
 alienation. But in the good providence of God, every 
 difficulty was happily adjusted, and the church became 
 reunited, Decembers, 1773. 
 
 On the 10th of August, 1774, Mr. Charles Backus took 
 the pastoral charge of the united church. Mr. Backus 
 was educated at Yale College, and studied divinity with 
 the Rev. Doctor Hart, of Preston. The sermon at his 
 ordination was preached by the Rev. John Ellis, of 
 Franklin. His continuance in the ministry was about 
 twenty-nine years. During more than two years, the 
 latter part of his life, he languished under a threatening 
 consumption, occasioned by the rupture of a blood ves- 
 sel, which finally removed him from the world, Decem- 
 ber 30, 1803. Dr. Backus was justly esteemed by his 
 people while living, and lamented at death. Theological 
 seminaries not having then come into existence, nearly 
 fifty persons sought his instruction in Theology, and such 
 of them as are yet among the living, as do many others 
 with whom he was associated, continue to cherish his 
 memory with affection. During the ministry of Dr. 
 Backus, he informs us, in a sermon published near the 
 close of his life, there were four seasons of special revival. 
 
 3 
 
V6 
 
 These occurred in the years 1774, 1783, 1797, and 1800, 
 the second and third seasons brought large numbers into 
 the church. During the twenty-nine years of his minis- 
 try about two hundred and eighty were received into this 
 branch of the christian family. 
 
 Your present pastor was ordained, April 3, 1805. The 
 church then consisted of about two hundred members. 
 Of these many have been recommended to the care of 
 sister churches, and many have gone to their long home. 
 Since my ordination we have been blessed of a merciful 
 God, with several seasons of religious revival. The first 
 occurred during the winter and spring of 1809 ; the se- 
 cond in the summer of 1820; and the third and greatest 
 in the summer and fall of 1822. Besides these revivals 
 there have been two or three other periods, when the 
 church has been refreshed, and a few have been added 
 to the Lord. In the whole, there have been added to 
 the church during my ministry two hundred and eighty- 
 eight. The present number on our records is two hun- 
 dred and forly-two. Of these about eighty are males, 
 and one hundred and sixty-two females. It is worthy of 
 remark that this church has from the beginning been 
 served by those who held the doctrines of the New-Eng- 
 land fathers, who encouraged revivals of religion, and 
 who received none into full communion in the church 
 but upon a profession of piety. The covenant now used 
 in the admission of members is the same that has been 
 used from the first. 
 
 In giving a history of this church we must not omit to 
 speak of those who have sustained the oflice of Deacon. 
 The two first who were chosen were James Wood and 
 Nathaniel Horton, Jr. They were appointed to that 
 office April 20, 1728, one year after the organization of 
 this church. They continued to serve the church, the 
 former forty-five, and the latter forty-six years. Deacon 
 Wood was seized witli a nervous shock about six years 
 before his death; he died February 12, 1779, aged 83. 
 Deacon Horton resigned his ottice in 1774, and died 
 June 6, 1790, aged 94. On the day of his resignation 
 his son, Nathaniel Horton, was chosen to his place. In 
 1777, he removed from this town. June 7, 1775, Joshua 
 
19 
 
 Pomeroy was chosen to the office of Deacon. Two years 
 after, June 18, 1777, the church appomted Joseph Sex- 
 ton, Jr. to that office, and Aaron Horton the son of the 
 first Deacon Horton. Deacon Ilorton, on account of ill 
 health, resigned his office in 1796, and died August 13, 
 1800. in the 67th year of his age. Deacon Pomeroy 
 died September 5, 1 823, aged 86. Deacon Sexton died 
 January 16, 1819, aged 94. September 30, 1796, Jabez 
 Collins was chosed to the office of Deacon. In the 
 sprino; of 1807, in consequence of the age and infirmities 
 of Deacons Pomeroy and Sexton, the church excused 
 them at their request from the active duties of their of- 
 fice, and chose Samuel Reynolds and Solomon Billing. 
 Deacon Reynolds bavins: removed to Longmeadow in 
 1824, the church, November 23, 1826, chose David 
 Cady to supply his place. Four of these ten are still 
 among the living. Of the six who have been called to 
 give an account of their stewardship, we know not but 
 we may speak with decided approbation. They served 
 God and his church faithfully, and we trust have fallen 
 asleep in Jesus. 
 
 When this town was first settled, very small advantages 
 were enjoyed by the young for experiencing the benefit 
 of schools. While it existed as a precint of Enfield, ap- 
 plication was made to the town on the subject of money 
 that had been paid by the precinct, probably, into the 
 town treasury for the support of schools, and in 1731, the 
 town voted to move the town school to the East Precinct, 
 over Scantick. For many years, even within the me- 
 mory of individuals now beibre me, there was but one 
 school in town. The only school house which was 
 erected for years, was situated within a few rods of 
 where I now stand. This school was kept only a few 
 months in the year, and was occasionally moved into 
 various parts of the society. The proprietors of lands 
 in Enfield, seem never to have considered to how great 
 advantage they might employ their power, in making 
 a donation of land for the encourngement of schools. 
 They gave aid to the society in the settlement of a 
 minister ; and the records inform us that they gave fifty 
 acres of land to Thomas Purchase to encourage him to 
 
20 
 
 commence his business as a black-smith, in this place. 
 Still it is to be regretted that nothing was granted for 
 the encouiagement of schools. It is matter of thank- 
 fulness that through the bounty of the State, and the 
 more just estimate in which literary instruction is held 
 by the people, the advantage of schools is more exten- 
 sively enjoyed. 
 
 The common allotments of Providence, bolh merciful 
 and afflictive, have been experienced by this people. 
 Death has in every generation swept away its multitudes, 
 and in several instances fevers and dysentery have pre- 
 vailed, and carried oft" in a single year, in one instance, 
 one in twenty-nine, and in another, about one in tvvenly- 
 six of the inhabitants, and our grave-yards contain more 
 than walk in our streets. Still there have been an un- 
 usual number that have lived to old age. For the last 
 fifty years, not less than one- fifth of the inhabitants of 
 the town have lived to the aiic of seventy, and in one 
 iiistance since I have served here in the ministry, seven 
 persons have been living at one time who were ninety 
 years old. 
 
 In reviewing our past history we find abundant cause 
 for unfeigned gratitude. The days of old with which 
 the fathers and ancient records have made us acquaint- 
 ed, furnish evidence of the wisdom and piety of the 
 men who laid the foundation of our institutions. It is a 
 ground of grateful recollection, that the fathers of this 
 town entertained such just views of what belongs to a 
 wise, virtuous, and prosperous community. They made 
 early provision for the support of the Gospel. A minis- 
 ter was settled before there were two hundred inhabitants 
 in the place. A meeting house was early built for the 
 accommodation of the people. And it is worthy of parti- 
 cular notice, that with very short interruptions* the Gos- 
 pel has been statedly preached here from the beginning. 
 Nor has the dispensation of the Gospel been in vain. God 
 has poured out his Spirit, and the number who have 
 made profession of religion, has been very considerable, 
 larger perhaps than in most places compared with the 
 number of inhabitants. For this we are indebted to God 
 in the first instance, and then to the wisdom and piety 
 
21 
 
 of the first inhabitants of the town. They looked to the 
 generations that shonkl come after, and taught their 
 children by precept and example to prize the institutions 
 of religion. Had it been otherwise, their children would 
 probably have grown up insensible to the value of chris- 
 tian privileges, and would have transmitted to unborn 
 generations, the principles and views which a disregard 
 for the Gospel and its institutions rarely fails to beget. 
 Instead of being now engaged in this consecrated tem- 
 ple, and sitting in heavenly places in Christ .lesus, the 
 members of this church and congregation would, not 
 improbably, have spent these sacred hours in pursuing 
 their own employments and finding their own pleasures. 
 How much is due to God that they were placed on such 
 an eminence at the commencement of their associated 
 existence ! 
 
 Let it be remembered that these facts in the history 
 of this people, not only demand gratitude, but address 
 a language to all succeeding generations. They bid the 
 guardians of the public interests to cherish those princi- 
 ples and institutions which their fathers cherished, and 
 which, during a century, have brought such an amount 
 of good to bo\h the church and town. The same causes 
 may be expected to produce the same edects. An op- 
 posite policy will be attended with different results. — 
 " Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ?" 
 Would you^my brethren, perpetuate the blessings which 
 have been handed down from Ibrmer generations, you 
 must {)erpetuate the moral causes which produced these 
 blessings. In vain will it be for you to expect them 
 without. Shut up the doors of the sanctuary ; neglect 
 to teach your children to read; put out the light of the 
 Gospel; close up the leaves of the Bible ; and obliterate 
 as lar as possible every impression of a future judgment 
 and eternal retribution ; and if there be not a growth of 
 infidelity and open profligacy, which will endanger even 
 the very existence of society, it will be because depravity, 
 abashed by her own deformity, voluntarily stops short of 
 the object toward which her steps are directed. Point 
 me to a place where there is no preaching of the Gospel, 
 
22 
 
 no assembling for the worship of God, no rehgious in- 
 struction of children, and no intellectual cultivation, and 
 I will point you to a place where there is no Sabbath, 
 no moral principle, a general corruption of morals, and 
 every evil work. 
 
 Two classes of persons are deeply interested in the 
 instruction w hich a review of our history presents. 
 
 1. Those who are now on the stage of action. 
 
 The fathers have passed away. But they have left 
 their counsels and their example, and what is more, 
 their principles have been tested by the fruits of a hun- 
 dred years. We have occasion, indeed, to mourn that 
 there exists among us so much over which the early 
 fathers of this people, could they for a moment take 
 their stations in our houses and walk our streets, would 
 weep. Still there are many things which they would 
 regard as testimonials to the value of the institutions 
 which they planted. Upon those who are on the 
 stage of action, it now devolves to carry forward the 
 work of former generations. You owe it to the fathers 
 of this town ; you owe it to their children of distant ge- 
 nerations, to perpetuate the privileges and blessings, 
 which they have transmitted to them, through your 
 hands. liCt them not die in your keeping. If you have 
 any love for the cause of religion, or any regard for fu- 
 ture generations, guard well the trust committed to you, 
 and if it should fail to reach the most distant periods of 
 your history, let it not be through any negligence or un- 
 faithfulness of yours. Cultivate a deeper conviction of 
 the value of all those institutions, which have been for 
 so many generations the glory of New-England, and the 
 Ibundation of the moral and religious prosperity of this 
 people ; and let no labors and no sacrifices be deemed 
 too great to perpetuate them. Should you pass them 
 safely through your hands, future generations will rise up 
 and bless you, and it may be ho[)ed that those to whom 
 you transmit them will continue the transmission, and 
 that they will eventually reach the most distant times. 
 
Then will faith be found amonci: this people, when the 
 Son of man shall make his appearance. " Ev en so come, 
 Lord Jesus, come quickly." 
 
 2. To the youth in this place the subject speaks ii 
 loud and solemn language. 
 
 My dear young friends, your fathers, to whom it now 
 belongs to be active in the concerns of the church and of 
 the town, will soon pass away. Soon their voices will be 
 silent in death. They will no more be able to |)lead on 
 God's behalf, or to give their influence in favor of mo- 
 rality. To you who will soon take their [)laces, we turn 
 with deep solicitude. Can we depend on the youth in 
 this place, when their fathers are dead, to love and cher- 
 ish the inheritance bequeathed to them ? When you 
 occupy their places, and when your voices, your exam- 
 ple and influence, will determine the destinies of this 
 people, will you cherish the same institutions? Will you 
 attend on the worship of God ? Will you contribute your 
 influence and your substance, so far as may be needful, 
 to support public worship, and to perpetuate all those 
 institutions which are connected with the Sabbath, and 
 which have a mighty influence on the habits and moral 
 feeling of the community ? My young friends, you can- 
 not undervalue these institutions innocently. A vast re- 
 sponsibility rests upon those who will soon take the af- 
 fairs of this town, and this society, into their hands. To 
 God you are responsible, and to posterity. Distant ge- 
 nerations demand of you, that you faithfully guard their 
 interests, nay, they entreat you with imploring hands, that 
 you do not rob them of the civil and religious privileges 
 which their fathers have transmitted to you to be sent 
 down to them. May you be a generation eminently de- 
 voted to God. May you love the courts of the Lord, 
 and be partakers of the grace of that Gospel which bring- 
 eth salvation. May God Almighty bless you and keep 
 you, and make you blessings to thousands yet unborn ; 
 and when you have served him and your generation ac- 
 cording to his will, may you go to join the company of 
 the fathers of this people, who loved the Gospel and are 
 now inheriting the promises. 
 
24 
 
 Finally. Brethren and friends of this congregation, let 
 me remind you and myself, that we are rapidly passing 
 toward the eternal world. " Our fathers, where are 
 they r" Like them we shall soon lie down in the dust 
 of death, and our immortal spirits appear before the Son 
 of man. Another year of our mortal existence is fled, all 
 that remains will soon be past. May we yield up our 
 hearts to (jlod. " Blessed are they that do his command- 
 ments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and 
 may enter in through the gates into the city." 
 
r^