CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE, 8 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 I 
 
 CHICOPEE, SEPT. 26, 1S52. 
 
 By E. B. CLARK, 
 
 Pastor of the Church, which was Organized September 9, 1752. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE PARISHIONERS. 
 
 SPRINGFIELD: 
 
 GEORGE W. WILSON'S STEAM POWER PRESSES. 
 
 1852. 
 
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UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS 
 AT AMHERST 
 
 I 
 
 UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 Special Collections & Rare Books 
 
CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE, 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 irst C0iigri:0ati0niil 00cx^ti| 
 
 IN 
 
 CHICOPEE, SEPT. 26, 1852. 
 
 By E. B. CLARK, 
 
 Pastor of the Clmrch, which was Organized September 9, 1752, 
 
 PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE PARISHIONERS. 
 
 SPRINGFIELD: 
 
 GEORGE W. WILSON'S STEAM POWER PRESSES. 
 
 18 5 2. 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 ISAIAH LIX: 21. 
 
 " As for me, this is my covenant with them saith the Lord : my spirit 
 that is upon them, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, 
 shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, 
 nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from hence- 
 forth and forever.'- 
 
 The great means of perpetuating the institutions of religion 
 are God\ Word and Spirit. These he grants to l.is people in such 
 measures as they are prepared to receive and improve. The 
 pious parent, taking the word of God as his rule of life, regards 
 it as above all price, and he teaches it faithfully to his children, 
 invoking the divine blessing upon his labors. For he knows that 
 without'the aid of the Holy Spirit, the good seed oftiie word will 
 not spring up and grow; he is therefore no less anxious to secure 
 the Spirit's aid, than to sow the seed. And thus through the 
 agency of the Spirit, and faithful parental training, the promises 
 of God are secured and piety is handed down through successive 
 generations. 
 
 It is therefore one of the greatest blessings, to have a pious an- 
 cestry, the influence of whose prayers, and godly life reach down 
 to the latest generations. Thus it is, that God by his Word and 
 Spirit perpetuates the institutions of religion through the line of 
 his people. And it is a remarkably interesting fact, that most of 
 those, who are sincerely and truly pious, had a devoted ancestry. 
 They have been trained up in a christian family by those who 
 themselves were familiar with the family altar in childhood, and 
 were regularly led to the house of God on the Sabbath. We 
 shall find these remarks confirmed by the investigation which we 
 are about to make into the history of this people. 
 
4 
 
 It is always interesting to gather up the relics of the past, and 
 place ourselves for the time, amid the scenes and circumstances 
 in which our fathers lived and died. We thus place the past 
 and present, side hy side, and are qualified to judge of the pro- 
 gress of events, to sympathise with our fathers in their j»rivations 
 and labors, and honor them for their deeds of virtue and valor. 
 
 It was early in the spring of 1036, that ^^m. l*ynchon Esq., 
 Henry Smith, John Burr, and others, came from Roxbury to the 
 Connecticut river, and settled with their families in Agawam, 
 which is now Springfield. The original settlement retained the 
 name of Agawam till April JGth, 1040, when the inhabitants in a 
 general meeting, ordained that thereafter it should be called 
 Springfielil. 
 
 The limits of the town by various ]Mirchases of the Indians, 
 were not very definitely fixfd.but comprised a territory of nrarly 
 twenty-five miles s(]uare, embracing West Springfield, Westfieid, 
 Soutbwick, Suffield, Enfield, Longmeadow, Somers, V\ ilbraham 
 and Ludlow. But the settlement was for many years confined 
 chiefly to the village of Springfield. Those pioneers catne not 
 into the wilderness to escape from the restraints nor the burden of 
 supporting religious institutions, for it was only the next year after 
 the arrival of the first families, that a Christian Church was 
 gathered, and Rev. George Moxon settled over it in tlie ministry. 
 
 With the surrounding Indian tribes our fathers lived on terms 
 of the utmost cordiality and friendship. All the lands that came 
 into their possession, were purchased fairly and honorably, and 
 to the entire satisfnction of the natives, who harbored no feelings 
 of hostility to the English. 
 
 As an evidence of this is the following interesting circumstance. 
 
 In 1637, the next year after the first families ariived and es- 
 tablished themselves on the present site of Springfield, occurred 
 the Pequot war, to defray the expenses of which, this colony, 
 together w ith those at Windsor and Hartford, was very heavily 
 taxed. Consequently the next winter being one of uncommon 
 severity, the three colonies were reduced to a state of alarming 
 distress 
 
 " In this emergency three men were sent among the Indians 
 above, in search of bread stufts ; and their mission was entirely 
 successful. On that occasion, our river exhibited a spectacle, 
 never before, certainly never since, seen upon its waters. A 
 fleet of fifty canoes laden with corn, the product of the rich 
 
meadows of Pocomptuck, was at once launched upon the stream 
 and borne onward by the force of the current, and urged forward 
 by the powerful arm of tlie red man, and carried instant relief to 
 the half starved, sufiering strangers." 
 
 Such was the friendly state of feeling existing between the En- 
 glish and Indians in those early days. Our fathers came among 
 them not to defraud and expel them as enemies, but to live with 
 them on terms of equality, to teach them habits of industry, to 
 traffic with them, and do them good. 
 
 Thus the white man and the red man lived as neighbors and 
 friends for forty years. In 1675 the whole scene was changed, 
 the hour had arrived in which the n'.omentons question was to be 
 settled, whether the whites were to be extirpated from the land 
 of their adoption, or the red men subdued, and scattered and 
 driven from the 'place of their fathers' sepulchers. 
 
 By the agency ()f Pliilip of Pokanoket, the youngest son of 
 Massasoit, a uiiioii. wn's formed for a " general rising of the na- 
 tives to sweep the hated intruders from the ancient hunting 
 grounds of the Indian race." 
 
 Among others the colony at Springfield was marked for the 
 slaughter, and j-o artfully the treacherous plot was laid, that de- 
 struction must have i)een the result, but for a timely Avarningfrom 
 their friends at W^indsor. Aroused by the alarm of impending 
 danger, they fled in consternalion to the forts, and were saved 
 with the exception of two men and (me woman. Tiie savao-es 
 pillaged the town, and committed twenty-nine houses and nearly 
 as many barns to the flames, and destroyed all the mills. It was 
 in the month of October, crops had been gathered in, and the 
 winter stores of the colonists were swept away as in a moment. 
 
 Thus amid the ashes of their dwellings and the destruction of 
 their gathered harvests, the colonists looked with fearful apprehen- 
 sion upon the ap[)roaching winter. But a merciful God who stays 
 his rough wind in the day of the east wind, so ordered that the 
 winter was uncommonly mild, and the stores that escaped the 
 flames supplied the need of the colonists. 
 
 In the midst of these dark and terrific scenes, was the family 
 of Deac. Samuel Chapin,* who died Nov. 11th, 1675, in a single 
 month after the burning of Springfield. Deacon Chapin came 
 from England or Wales, and arrived at Springfield with his f*amily 
 
 * Deacon Chapin. was the ancestor of nearly all the Chapins in this country. 
 
(of four sons and two daughters) at an early period, and became a 
 leading man in the town. Another daughter w as born in Spring- 
 field in 1644, so that his arrival must have been at a previous 
 date. In the year 1664, 28 years after the settlement of Springs 
 field, two of the sons of Dea. Samuel Chapin, Japhet and Henry, 
 married. Henry married Betliia daughter of Benjamin Cooley 
 of Longraeadovv, and Japhet was married the preceding July to 
 Abilene daughter of Samuel Cooley of Milford. After remain- 
 ing a few years in the village of Springfield, the two brothers re- 
 moved to this northern section of the town. I have not been able 
 to ascertain the precise year of their settlement, nor whether they 
 both came m the same year. 
 
 In 1066 two years after tlie marriage of these two sons, Deac. 
 Samuel purchased of Mr. John Pynchona large tract of land, 
 embracing most oi the river flats /lying belwe^ the Chicopee 
 River, and IVillimansett brook or Wallamansick as it was then 
 spelt. • 
 
 In the month of April 1673, Samuel, the fiUher, deeded to his 
 son Japhet, a large jjortion of the tract which h'e had purchased 
 of Major Pynchon And the probability is that about this time, 
 the two brothers removed to this section of the town, as pioneers 
 in the wilderness. 
 
 About 180 years ago our now beautiful and highly cultivated 
 plain, was a howling wilderness. Here was the undisturbed lair 
 of the wild beast, and the savage warrior found a safe retreat 
 from his pursuers in the tangled thicke.h Hither the two broth- 
 ers Japhet and Henry came anchplanted themselves down in the 
 midst of the forest. Except a house on the south side of Chico- 
 pee River, their nearest neighbors lived in the village of Springfield. 
 
 •Taphet built his house at the north end of what is now Chicopee 
 Street, a little north, and west of the house now owned by Mr. 
 Ogden, on the next lower offset, where he had a charming view 
 of the river, and the hills on the opposite shore. Henry located 
 somewhere toward the lower end of the street. They together at 
 that time owned most of the land lying between Chicopee River 
 and Willimansett brook, and extending some distance eastward 
 on to the plain. 
 
 These men had been faithfully trained up from their childhood 
 in the ways of virtue and religion by their pious father, and 
 evinced in their lives that these parental labors were not in vain. 
 For though the house of God was nearly six miles distant, through 
 
a pathless wilderness, and across the unbridged river, the return 
 of each sabbath-day found these men punctually in their places 
 in the house of God. Japhet particularly was distinguished for 
 his devoted piety. And he had need of piety to sustain him amid 
 the heavy trials that awaited him; for a daughter was to be carried 
 captive by the merciless savages. The days of peace and friend- 
 ship with the Indians, which had continued for forty years, were 
 passed away, so that the red man was now a constant source of 
 fear and alarm to our fathers. Their fire-arras for defense were 
 their constant companions in the field and by the way, and they 
 went even to the house of God on the sabbath " as when one go- 
 eth down to the battle." 
 
 Hannah the second daughter of Japhet married John Sheldon 
 of Deerfield, Dec. 3d, 1703, and removed to that frontier town, 
 and lived in the house of his father, Capt. John Sheldon. On 
 the night of the 29th of the next Feburary, in a little less than three 
 months after the ma(friage, occured one of those terrific scenes, 
 which no tonguecan adequately describe. That evening the 
 happy villagers of that town retired to rest with the usual pros- 
 pect of a quiet night, but they were aroused from tiieir midnight 
 slumbers, by the war cry of the savages, to behold their buildings 
 in flames and themselves in captivity. Being unable to force the 
 door of Capt. Sheldon's house, the Indians made a hole with their 
 hatchets, and thrusting in a musket, fired and killed the Captain's 
 wife. The son and wife leaped from the chamber window to 
 make their escape, by which effort she sprained her ancle and 
 was taken captive while he escgiped. 
 
 The prisoners numbering 112, amongst whom were Hannah 
 wife of John Sheldon, and Rev. John Williams pastor of the 
 church, and his family, were taken to Canada, and after about 
 two years were redeemed. 
 
 Religion was a needful antidote to the anguish of a father's 
 heart, as he thought of his daughter in captivity. 
 
 About this time Japhet received a sympathising letter from his 
 brother in Mendon, comforting him under his afllictions, which 
 letter I here present entire — verbatim et literatim. 
 
 mendon, AprelSth, 1704. 
 Deare Brother: 
 
 1 cannot with my pen express the con- 
 
 sernedness of sperit that is in me for you and my deare cusen 
 
that is led captive by the barbarous heathen, god is by such dis- 
 pensations trying' the faith and patience of his children, it is 
 therefore my dayly request that god will support her in body 
 and sperit and her bodely captivity may prove to her speretual 
 enlargment, and that god wil please to give you comfort in hope, 
 knowing thaf god is able to find out a way for escape, tho no 
 way appears to us. as abraham being called to ofler up his Son 
 Isaac, who did it willingly knowing that god was able to rais him 
 from the dead, these afflictions arise not out of the dust, but 
 there is a cause, we are redy to complaine of the french and In- 
 dian enemis, but they are not the cause, but as it was sometine 
 said to Jerusalem, yower wais and yower doings hath procured 
 these things to thyself. So may new england say that our sins 
 have brought the Sword of the wildenness upon us. I do therefore 
 believe there must be a general Reformation before the rod of 
 god will be taken off from us. Brother I long to see you, and 
 did intend to have given you a visit this next month but multitud 
 ofbusnis publik and pirtiquler throngs me so that I have no 
 prospect of coming this spring, though I cannot come to see you 
 yeat I shall be glad to heare from you by all oppertunities 
 thorow the little time that is remaining to us heare, and that our 
 prayers may dayly meet at thethron of grace and that we may so 
 demeane ourselves heare that at last we may have a joyeful me- 
 ting in the kingdom of glorey, so with kind love and Respects to 
 yovverself and my sister, wish my love to all my cusens I Rest 
 
 yower loving brother, 
 
 Josiah Chapin. 
 
 After the death of Japhet Chapin in 1712 the children received 
 a lengthy letter from Rev John Williams of Deerfield, instruct- 
 ing them concerning the improvement which they should make 
 of his death and speaking of him as having been a man of great 
 piety. This letter the record states was in the hands of Deacon 
 Edward Chapin before he died. 
 
 Japhet left six sons, Samuel, Thomas, John, Ebenezer, David, 
 and Jonathan, all of whom were settled along on the s':reet near 
 to each other. Henry Chapin left but two sons, Henry and Ben- 
 jamin. 
 
 I have not been able to ascertain the locality of the house of 
 the father, nor that of either of the sons. I think that Henry built 
 south of the Chicopee, and Benjamin on the north side. 
 
Although a few others came in and settled here from time to 
 lime, still for many years the Chapin families occupied nearly the 
 whole territory. In 1753 there were 27 persons taxed as belong- 
 ing to this parish and 20 out of the whole 27 are Chapins. 
 
 The 8 sons of Japhet and Henry Chapin had each large fami- 
 lies, amounting in all to 87 children. Samuel had 10, Thomas 
 11, John 8, Ebenezer 13, H sons — David 12, 10 sons — Jonathan 
 II, Henry 10 and Benjamin 12, making to Henry Chapin 22 
 grand-children and to Japhet G5, from their sons alone. 
 
 Here these men lived, and trained up theirnumerous families, 
 toiling for their daily bread through the week, and taking those 
 who could go to the distant sanctuary on the sabbath. All but 
 one of these 8 sons of Japhet and Henry lived to be more than 
 three score years and ten, the youngest was 64 and the oldest 95 
 when he died. These all became old men and saw their numerous 
 children settled around them, and their children's children rising 
 up on every side, when all the religious privileges they enjoyed 
 aside from those of the family altar, were obtained by going to 
 the distant center of the town on the sabbath. 
 
 Of course with the greatest exertions on their part, with no 
 means of conveyance but horses on which they rode, but a small 
 portion of this community Cfuild visit the public sanctuary on the 
 sabbath. INIany of the women, the little children and the fee- 
 ble must necessarily spend the long hours of their sabbath days at 
 home. And thus, with no sabbath schools and books of religious 
 instruction but the Bible, unless it might be the New England 
 Primer, and by the reverence for the holy day which prevailed 
 in those early times, and the strictness with which they were accus- 
 tomed to observe it, the sabbath day must have been long and 
 tedious to the young fiimilies of our fathers. And yet, notwith- 
 standing all the disadvantages under which they lived, from the 
 character of the men that were thus trained, we have no question 
 that on every pleasant sabbath morning a large company from 
 the settlement north of the Chicopee were present in the old 
 meeting house in Springfield. 
 
 "For (I quote from an old record bearing date 1743,)it is consid- 
 ered disorderly for persons to be away from home, and absent 
 from the stated worship of tiie families and religious meetings 
 unless it be in very extraordinary cases." 
 
 I seem to see them now, the fathers mothers and children, some 
 on foot and some mounted on their well trained horses, wending 
 2 
 
10 
 
 their way soberly and seriously tluoiigh the tall forests ihnt over- 
 shadow their lone pathway, till they reach the house of God. — 
 There they how in reverence, and offer their ]>rayers and 
 praises, listen to instruction from the oracles of God, and retnjn 
 at evening to ponder the truths they have heard, and reduce them 
 to practice in the daily avocations of life. 
 
 But these godly men were not content to remain with the ri- 
 sing generation around them so far away from the privileiijes of 
 the sanctuary ; hence in the spring of 1750, they applied to the 
 <ieneral Court, and received on the 10th of June, 1751, an act of 
 incorporation as the 5th j)arish of Springfield. The first parish 
 meeting was called on the 13th day of July following. Another 
 n)eeting was held in August, at which time the first steps were 
 taken toward building a meeting house, and another in October 
 following with reference to obtaining a Pastor. And not trusting 
 to their own wisdom they reverently applied to the Association 
 for advice respecting a candidate for settlement. 
 
 This advice was obtained, and accordingly the services of Mr. 
 John Mcl\instry were engaged for a quarter of a year. Hav- 
 ing preached for them the stipulated time, at another parish mee- 
 ting on the 7th January, 1752, iSlr. McKinstry received a unani- 
 mous call tosetile with them in the gospel Ministry, but the nego- 
 tiations respecting the salary continued till the 7ih of the next 
 June, when all those matters were arranged, and the time of the 
 Ordination was voted to be on the 9th day of the next September. 
 The question arises, whether the Church was organized on the 
 day of Ordination, or at a previous day. It would seem that the 
 Church must have been formed at a jirevious day, and from an 
 old diary kept as I suppose by Deac Edward Chapin, this opin- 
 ion might be confirmed, which is the following, " March 15, 1752. 
 This day the Rev. Mr. Breck administered the Lord's supper to us 
 in the 5th parish." 
 
 I also find amonj^st the old papers a Church list, bearing date of 
 June 1752, containing 43 names, and the tax assessed uiion each 
 one for defraying the expenses of the communion. From all this 
 we should naturally infer that the church was organized before this 
 time. And yet in all the parish votes, and in the communication 
 which the parish received from the Association approving their do- 
 intTs in giving Rlr. McKinstry a call, there is no mention of a 
 Church, and no intimation that such a distinct organization existed. 
 Neither is there an intimation of any actio^i of the Church as a 
 
11 
 
 distinct body, till llie dny the pnstor was settled. I tlierelore con- 
 clude ihai tlie Church was (jrirariized on the same day of the ordi- 
 nation, which was the 9ih of Sept., 175"2 : and as nearly as I can 
 ascertain consisted of 43 members Some of these were living on 
 the west side of the Connecticut, as the parish then embraced all 
 the northern part of the town of \V. Springfield. All but eleven of 
 the 43, are Chapins. The Pastor's salary was to be gradually in- 
 creased for four yenrs, from £49 Gs. 8d. to £62 13s. 4d. and thus 
 it was to remain. One half of the salary was to be paid in lawful 
 money, and the other half in grain at the market price. In addition 
 to tills, he was to have, as the parish first voted, 20 cords of good 
 mercliMntiibie wood. Then it wns voted, that they add one cord a 
 yeiir till it reiiched 30 cords, and that was to be ever after the fixed 
 anioinit of wood. Subsequently it was voted, that the worthy Mr. 
 RJcKiiisiry shall be always provided with a sufficiency of firewood. 
 
 According to a pnrisii vote of June 24ih, the 27th of August was 
 observed ms a day of f;istiiig and prayer, to implore the divine bles- 
 sing and assistance in reference to the occasion of settling their 
 minister. 'J'he clergymen convened on the occasion, were Rev. 
 Rlessis. Stephen V\ illiams of Longmeadovv, Samuel Hopkins of W. 
 Spriuiifield, Peter Raynolds of Enfield, Ct., Robert Breck of Spring- 
 field, xNoah Merrick of Will)raham, and John McKinstry of Elling- 
 ton, Ct., the lather of the candidate. 
 
 All hut one of the six simis of J.iphet Chapin and both the sons 
 of !]■ nry, were living at tiiis time, and their names with one excep- 
 tion ( I^lieru zer,) 1 find on the church record. 
 
 At ihe time if the ordination, the meeting house was in an unfin- 
 ished state, li wiis raised " on ihe 5ih of Jt.ne, 1752, through the 
 indulgence of heaven w th great joy and safety." And in Dec. fol- 
 lowing' at a parisli meeting it was 
 
 " Viilcd, to cover the outside of the rneeting house with quarter 
 boards, to glaze ail the windows, to do the jilasieiing overhead, and 
 to finish the lower p:iri of the house." Such being the state of the 
 house, tiiey were ol cour,-e unable to meet In it for the present. 
 
 On the ne.Kt November, I7.">3, all things were ready, the new 
 meeting house was completed, and agreeable to the customs of those 
 early da\s, a committee was chosen in parish meeting to perforin 
 the delicate and respou.-ible duty of sealing the meeting house, with 
 liberiv duly granted by vole, to seat men and women together. The 
 rule of se.iting was the list tax li-l. The usual cii-ioiri at a later 
 day was lo go by the are and list. Tins ciisioiii of sealing a houee 
 
12 
 
 of worship by a committee, has passed away, never to return, 
 I can find no intimation that there was any thing like a [)ul)lic 
 dedication of the house ; but as these old men, beiuJing with nge, 
 the sons of Japhet and Henry assembled at the roll of tiie drum, and 
 entered these courts of the Lord to unite in the solemnities of | ub- 
 lic worship, and felt that at last they had secured a tabernacle for 
 the Lord in their midst, where he might record his name, at d a 
 minister to break unto them and to their posterity the bread of life, 
 their pious hearts were jubilant with praise to God, for his loving 
 kindness to them and to their children; and thus these humble 
 courts were solemnly and sincerely dedicated to the Lord. 
 
 Benjamin son of Henry, and David son of Japhet, each 70 years 
 of age, were elected deacons of the church. After 3 years Dea. 
 Benjamin went to his rest at the age of 73, but Dea. D.ivid lived 
 and served his generation fur 20 years longer, and after an illness of a 
 single week, slept with the fathers at the age of 90 years, in 177'2. 
 He was evidently a man greatly beloved and venerated, and was em- 
 inently devoted and useful to the last, a pillar indeed in the Church 
 of God. It was said of him by a poet of that day, " speaking freely 
 of the patriarch David," 
 
 '' He was an Israelite indeed, 
 
 In whom there was no guile ; 
 His reason and his mental powers 
 
 Did service to him give, 
 And to his friends and kindred near, 
 
 Almost while he did live. 
 Sometime before he left this world, 
 
 It was his good desire, 
 That he no longer should abide, 
 
 Than service would require ; 
 And as this was his holy wish, 
 
 He had his sweet request ; 
 And by an illness very short. 
 
 Went peacefully to rest." 
 
 Dea. Sam'l. Cooper was probably elected to the office to filJ 
 the place of Dea. Bei-jamin Chapin, but all that we know of iiini 
 is that he lived on the west side of the Connecticut River. Though 
 Dea. David Chapin had finished his course and gone to his rest, 
 and the church mourned for him as for a father, yet he had left 
 amongst them a deep and visible impress of his sincere and devo- 
 ted piety. His son Edward was 28 years of age when the fath- 
 
13 
 
 er died ; he was elected Dea., took his father's mantle and bnre 
 it 28 years and died in 1800, at the age of 76. It was during his 
 hfe that the parish was divided, and the portion on the west side 
 of the river became a separate parish in 1786. 
 
 Three years after the division of the parish, by which it was 
 much weakened, and the pastor becomin<j[ old and infirm, a mu- 
 tual council was called, and a new arrangement was made be- 
 tween him and his people. 
 
 By that arrangement Mr, McKinstry was to retain his pastoral 
 relation to the Church and Society, but he was to preach, adnjin- 
 ister the ordinances, solemnize marriages, attenil funerals and 
 visit the sick, as he miglit be invited, and was to receive a salary 
 of <£18 and 15 cords of wood during his life; provided however, 
 another mmister was settled over the parish this sum was to he 
 reduced to £\2 a year. For some cause the salary was not 
 promptly paid, and the pastor had claims on the parish for old 
 arrearages, that ran i)ack for years before the division took place ; 
 and those of the new parish on the west side of the river, felt that 
 by the division, they were released from all obligations to their 
 former Pastor, and refused, or were reluctant to pay their pro- 
 portion of these arrearages. Hence followed a long and bitter 
 controversy, producing alienation, and greatly weakening the 
 parish in numbers and ability. After he relinquished preaching, 
 Mr. McKinstry lived for 24 years and died Nov. 9, IS 13, aged 
 90 years. So long as he was able, he met with the people on the 
 Sabbath, gave out the hymns and led in the devotional services, 
 while a sermon was read by some other person. Dr. Lathrop of 
 West Springfield preached his funeral sermon from Gen. 25, 
 8. " Then Abraham gave up the ghost and died in a good old 
 age, an old man and full of years." 
 
 Of him the Dr. thus speaks : 
 
 " Mr. McKinstry was a man of good natural talents, a respect- 
 able scholar and sound divine. His preaching, though it sufl^ered 
 some disadvantage from the feebleness of his delivery, yet was ed- 
 ifying to his stated hearers. He was a man of exemplary piety, 
 of a candid spirit, of a modest, humble disposition, of great resig- 
 nation under trials, of steady, unwavering patience under long 
 continued infirmities, and of christian fortitude and hope in view 
 of approaching dissolution." 
 
 Thirteen years previous to the tieath of his Pastor, Dea. Ed- 
 ward Chapin fell asleep. From what I can gather of his charac- 
 
14 
 
 ter as n parent, a citizen and a chiistian, T Imve no hesitation in 
 proMouiicinji' liiiri a l)niiiin<i and a siiiiiiui!; Ii<iiit. For many \ eMS 
 lie \\as llie clerk of the parish, was ciiairnian i f couiinittees lor 
 the transaction of their most difficnit and deliciite hnsine-s, froTn 
 lime to time, and was the principal man in the clmrch ; the com- 
 forter of the afflicted, a guide to the en(]uiring, and an example 
 to all in christian zeal, faith, and purity o( hie. 
 
 A letter has fallen into my hands which Dea. I'dward wrote to 
 his son Kdward when in the army, hcirinji date 2«ih Atiij. 1777, 
 which is a most inlcrestiig and valnahle relic ol the man. In 
 grammatical coin^triiction, piiiily ol' diction, in penmanship and 
 the sentiments ol elevated, pure, sinijde piety, and paienltil ten- 
 derness with which it ahoiiiuls, it shous that he was not onlv a 
 christian, a father who was deeply solicitous for the spiritual 
 good of his children, and a true patriot, but a very intelligent 
 man for that day. 
 
 The house in which he lived and wlipre he brought up his fanri- 
 ily, is still standing on the east side of the way, and the first south 
 of the meeting-house. His s(m, the late Dy. Calviii Chap n, grad- 
 uated at Yale College in I78S, w,.s tor a time tutor in Colle^Le, 
 studied theology, and settled in the pari-h id' R(m Uy Hill, Weth- 
 ersfieid, Ct., where he labored the remainder of his life, a very 
 distinguished and valuable minister of the gospel. For many 
 years he was a member of the college corpoiation, and the Re- 
 cording Secretary of the American Board. 
 
 The Rev. Aaron L. Chajiin, now S'resident of i'eloii College, 
 Wis., is the grandson (»f Aai on, who was the eldest son of Deac-. 
 Edward, and who lived in Hartford. JN'one id' the descendants 
 of Deac. Edward's family are remaining here. 'When he died, 
 it was indeed a dark and gloorny day for this church, for its main 
 earthly pillar was then removed, and utter extinction seemed in- 
 evitable. For eleven years they had already been witliuut an 
 officiating pastor, death was making inroads upon the members 
 of the church, the additions were \eiy few, and ruin seemed to 
 be at the door. 
 
 In 1804 the number of male members of the chuich was only 
 7, there were a few more females, bat altogether they were indeed 
 a little band, without a preacher or deacon, without nuleed a 
 leading member to take charge of their meetings, for Wr. Mc 
 Kinstry had now become very old, and very infirm. Bui in the 
 Lt)rd there was still a friend, one i\ ho remembered his Zion, e\ en 
 
15 
 
 in her wealiness, and who in mercy directed hither the feet of one 
 who was willing to take and to hear responsil)ility for liis Lurd 
 and iMastcr. A valuable accession to this little hand of believers 
 ■was made in the person of Dr. Amos Skeele, who being a pro- 
 fessional man anrl a devoted christian, removed from Soniers to 
 this place in 1S04. Mr. Caleb Pendleton moved into the place 
 and nnited with the cluirch about the same time; he was a good 
 reader and aided them mnch. But still this was one of the waste 
 places of Zion. 
 
 The number was so small that were willing to be taxed for the 
 support of the gospel, that after doing all they could, together 
 with the little help they received from the Missionary Society, 
 they could hire preaching but a small portion of the year, and 
 on Dr. Skeele and Mr. I'endleton devolved the responsibility of 
 conducting religious worship the rest of the time. 
 
 Mr. Skeele was chosen to the office of Deac. about 8 years af- 
 ter his removal to this place, so that for 12 years the church was 
 destitute of even so much as an officer. 
 
 What a picture of desolation, poverty and gloom is presented 
 in this pari of our history. It is a cold and winter day — there is 
 no bell to summon the community to the house of worship, and 
 no signal to mark the hour of meeting. The wind howls around 
 the old and shattered temple, playing vvarrtonly with its loose and 
 worn out covering, and forcing its way through crack and crevice 
 and broken pane, as if in mockery at such attempts to resist its 
 power. And there, without a fire, a dozen persons assemble, not 
 to be charmed with the performances of a gifted and eloquent 
 preacher, but to attend a ileacons' meeting. A portion of scrip- 
 ture is read, a hymn given out, but there is no leader and tliey 
 cannot sing; a prayer is oft'ered and a sermon read. The {c\y 
 hearers are scattered over the house shivering with the cold, and 
 listening as devoutly as circumstances will permit. Another pray- 
 er is oti'ered, and the morning service is closed. 
 
 In the P. M. they assend>le again, just enough to make desola- 
 tion desolate, go through with the services and retire. And these 
 meetings thus conducted, were continued, not for two or three 
 Sabbaths only, hut a quarter part of the time for 35 years. For 
 the last 10 years of his life, the burden was on Deac. Kdwarl 
 Chapin. And for nearly a quarter of a century did Dr. Skeele 
 and his associates assemble in their dilapidated teni[)Ie every Sab- 
 bath, and there they conducted the public worship of their cov- 
 
16 
 
 enant keeping God, according to tlie best of their ability. In- 
 deed at that time it yvas necessary for that Utile band to walk by 
 faith, for there were no appearances, not so much as a cloud the 
 bigness of a man's hand, that could afford them hope of better 
 times to come. Yet in those days of weakness, and fear, and 
 much trembhng, these servants of the Lord faltered not, but to 
 the best of their ability discharged the obligations that were laid 
 so heavily upon'them ; and preacher or no preacher, the sanctu- 
 ary was :hro\vn open, and a worshipping assembly was gathered 
 there every Sabbath ; the waiting eyes of these few sheep were 
 turned beseechingly unto tlie great shepherd, and though they 
 waited long, they waited not in vain While these men were 
 waiting, God was for years by his providence and grace, disci- 
 plining and preparing for them an under shepherd, who at the 
 appointed time should come to them in the fullness of christian 
 love, consecrated to his Master's service. 
 
 Mr. Alexander Phoenix was the son of a wealthy merchant in 
 N. Y, graduated at Washington College, and devoted his atten- 
 tion to the legal profession. After a time, he laid aside his law 
 books and engaged in the mercantile business, but in this he was 
 unsuccessful, and domestic afflictions pressed heavily upon him, 
 till feeling thai his way was hedged up on every side, he was led 
 at last like Saul of Tarsus, to enT|4jire what the Lord would have 
 him do ] 
 
 Though late in life his mind was directed to the study of the- 
 ology, tiial he might prepare himself to build up some one of 
 tlie waste places in Zion. He became a preacher, and when in 
 the earjiest of his labors, his feet were directed to Chicopee, he 
 was at once convinced that he had found the waste place in 
 which he was to labor. And when Deac. Skeele and others re- 
 ceived an intimation that Mr. Phoenix might be induced to settle 
 with them, their joy was such as words could not express ; they 
 were so few and feeble and bad been so long destitute of a pastor, 
 that to have an evangelical, devoted minister settled over them, 
 was more than they had even dared to expect, it was rather an 
 object of hope. But it was even so. On the 28th of April, 1824, 
 Mr. Alexander Phoenix was ordained and installed as pastor of 
 this Church, which on that memorable day, received indeed an 
 ascension gift. This was the dawn of brighter days. The peo- 
 ple flocked to the house of God, and listened with joy to the 
 message of grace as the new pastor opened and pressed home the 
 
17 
 
 truth. For thirty-five years the church had been >vithout an ol- 
 ficiatiiig Pastor. In a year and a half from this time, the new 
 meeting house was dedicated to the God of Israel, and the old 
 one in which the fathers 74 years before had bowed and worship- 
 ped the covenant keeping God, was removed and devoted to a 
 secular purpose. 
 
 Five years passed away and then in 1831, that^ear of the right 
 hand of God, that year of revivals beyond all others in modern 
 days, when in all parts of New England such multitudes were 
 brought into the kingdom of Christ, this church was not *' left 
 as a peace not rained upon." For here too the showers of grace 
 descended, the church was revived and greatly strengthened in 
 numbers and graces. A large proportion of the adults came out 
 on the Lord's side, and a great moral change was visible in the 
 whole aspect of society. There were about 40 additions made 
 as the fruits of that revival, and during the whole of Mr. Phoe- 
 nix's ministry of eleven years there were about 76 members 
 added to the church. 
 
 A great debt of gratitude is due to Mr. Phcenix from this peo- 
 ple, for his faithful and self-denying labors here, for he received 
 but a nominal salary, being a man of wealth he lived mostly from 
 his own private means, while the church and parish gained 
 strength and character every year. When he came, though the 
 church was receiving aid from the Missionary Society, with all 
 they could do they could support preaching but a quarter or half 
 the time. But with their new Pastor was added strength, the 
 meeting house was built, and the debt was paid, foreign aid to 
 support the gospel was no longer needed, and the various causes 
 of benevolence have received annually the contributions of this 
 church and people. Thus was their ability increased by their 
 effort to support the gospel ministry. Mr. Phoenix left when he 
 felt that duty called him away, but still in the evening of his days 
 he looks back upon those 11 years of his pastorate here as the 
 happiest and most useful portion of his life. He had been the 
 means of raising this church to a self-sustaining state, and had 
 thus prepared the way for another pastor, and resigned the 
 charge. 
 
 Blessings on his memory ! The reward of a useful man will 
 
 be his. Soon after Mr. Phoenix left, the Rev. E, B. Wright was 
 
 installed as pastor of the church ; but owing to his feeble health 
 
 and often repeated request, the parish yielded to his wish, and he 
 
 3 
 
18 
 
 was dismissed in the spring of 1339, after a pastorale of 6 1-4 
 years. There were 11 additions to the church during his minis- 
 try. In Oct. of the same year the present incunihent was induct- 
 ed into the office of pastor over this flock, whose Iiumhie labors 
 God has seen fit, in a measure, to bless. 
 
 The Lord has allowed us to enjoy frequent seasons of refresh- 
 ing from his convicting and converting Spirit, so that during these 
 thirteen years. 85 members have been added to the churcli, 56 of 
 whom were received on profession, and the rest (29) by letter. 
 
 There are at present 85 members of the church, nearly half of 
 whom are Chapins. Both Japhet and Henry are represented in 
 their descendants, not only in the church, but in its officers. 
 Dea. Orange Chapin, descending from Japhet through Thomas, 
 and Dea. Giles S. Chapin from Henry, througli Dea. Benjamin. 
 And with the exception of about 35 years, between the death of 
 Dea. Edward, when for some 12 years there was no Dea., and 
 the appointment of Dea. Giles S. Chapin, one at least, and some 
 times both of those church officers have borne the name of the 
 honored and worthy fathers of this place, from the time of the 
 organization of the church to the present day. 
 
 Since the organization of the church 100 years ago, great are 
 the changes that have taken place. Then the country was new 
 and the conveniences and comforts of the people few and mea- 
 ger. The houses were unpainted, the yards unfenced, and their 
 furniture and tools of rude construction. They were destitute of 
 carriages of all kinds, but the oxcart, and money was exceedingly 
 scarce.* What a contrast do we now behold in the air of neat- 
 ness and comfort which every where appears around us, and 
 within the humblest dwellings in our midst. 
 
 Then there was no sabbath school to draw the minds of chil- 
 dren and youth to tlie oracles of God, and no religious books 
 adapted to the capacities of children. But -^Ift persons could . -€^f^ 
 even write their names, and for mental improvement the advan- 
 
 * As an evidence of the scarcity of money, I find an old church record con- 
 taining the names of the church members in 1752, in 1753, in 1754, in 1756, 
 and 1757, and a regular tax of sixpence was annually assessed upon each mem- 
 ber to defray the communion expenses, and even this was too heavy for some 
 to pay as it appears from the fact that the names of nine persons are placed by 
 themselves as being behind in their taxes for the year 1756. From 1757 on- 
 ward for more than half a century, I can find no church record and no evidence 
 111 at one was kept. 
 
19 
 
 tages were small indeed, for their public ecliools lacked almost 
 every thing but perseverance that was necessary to make them 
 attractive and useful. Then a bible was so costly, that Japhet 
 Chapin made provision in liis will that a portion of his property 
 should be appropriated to get each of his grand children a bible. 
 Now, the common day laborer may carry home four beautifully 
 bound, clearly printed, elegant bibles in pay for a single day's 
 work. The whole missionary enterprise has risen up since that 
 time. We have frequenily given more in a single year to the 
 cause of benevolence than the wliole of Mr. McKinstry's salary, 
 although the parish is now reduced in its area to less than half 
 its former size. I have no time to speak of the changes that have 
 taken place around us, though the Chicopee and the Connecticut 
 have been pressed into the service of man, and the tramp of the 
 iron horse is hourly heard, dashing across our plain with his 
 mighty train and the lightning tell us the news of the day. 
 
 But one lesson I would have deeply impressed upon our minds, 
 and that is, gratitude, not only to those good men who planted these 
 institutions, but to those who, at a later day in trial, and in deep 
 poverty, clung for years to the sanctuary and the institutions of 
 religion with a death grasp, and thus handed down to us the pre- 
 cious blessings of a living church. To them no sacrifice seemed 
 too great to secure and transmit to their children the blessings of 
 the sanctuary. A view of their toils, sacrifices, and self-denials, 
 should cause our hearts to cluster around the stated means of 
 grace, the institutions of religion with warmer affection, and lead 
 us to strive the more to make them minister to our good. A 
 great debt of gratitude is due to their memory for the precious 
 influence which comes down to us from them — and let their de- 
 scendants ever cherish toward them the deepest emotions of ven- 
 eration and affection. 
 
 From this history we learn how intimately connected is the 
 support of religious institutions w^ith the temporal as well as 
 spiritual good of the people. No community can aftord to live 
 without the sabbath and sanctuary privileges. We see as in 
 letters of light that godliness is profitable unto all things, having 
 promise of this life that now is, and of that which is to come. 
 May God deeply impress this lesson upon our minds, and in emu- 
 lating the virtues of our fathers, may we be able by grace to trans- 
 fer to future generations these same gospel institutions in their 
 purity and moral power. 
 
20 
 
 As we liave thus glanced over the history of the church, many 
 places appear where the members might erect their Ebenezer and 
 say with emphasis, " Hitherto hath the Lord helped us;" while 
 under all the circumstances, the present existence of this churcli 
 is a monument of the faithfulness of God to his covenant with his 
 humble and confiding children, and an illustration of the truth of 
 the text, "My word shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of 
 the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed 
 saith the Lord, from hence forth and forever." 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 The following letter is an exact copy of the original, capital letters, punctua- 
 tion, spelling and all, with the exception of a few paragraphs omitted. This 
 and that of Josiah Chapin together with many other valuable and interesting 
 papers was found by the author of this discourse in an old chest in a neighbor's 
 garret. 
 
 Springfield Thursday 2S Aug. 1777. 
 Dear Son 
 
 After long waiting for intelligence from you to know where 
 to direct a Letter & still receiving none as yet, what has become of the Post 
 we expected we know not, or what part you are ordered to or where stationed, 
 I no longer refrain from writing hoping a few lines may find way to you by 
 some means or other. Part of the Militia being called for ; Capt Ephraim 
 Chapin is preparing to march soon to the Northward, I expect to send this by 
 him or Seba Bemont M'ho goes his waiter, hoping proper care will be taken to 
 know where your Kegnt is & send this to you, for I conclude there is commu- 
 nication open from North to South as yet, but how soon it may be otherwise 
 we know not, for it seems that the Continental officers are expert in Runing to 
 the amazement & confusion of those that trusted in them. You can hardly 
 conceive what a shock it gave us at home when we heard that Ticondaroga 
 with the stores & everything was left to the Enemy without so much as trying 
 to defend it. Such vast expense of labor & cost to build and store it, & all 
 thrown away in an hour ! Confusion on somebody .'* — but this is according to 
 the language & ideas of this vain World. Let us now raise our thoughts to a 
 Divine Superintending Providence, that governs all the afiairs of Men, &: we 
 shall remember that vast armies have been destroyed «& imense treasures lost 
 from time to time in ages past, when a covenant professing people forsook the 
 Law «& broke the just command of a Holy God, — how like to this is our case. 
 It seems that as we have persisted in walking contrary to God, that God is de- 
 lermined to walk contrary to us (as he declared to the Jews of old by the mouth 
 of his prophets) untill we think on our way, & return unto him by penitent 
 confession of & heartily forsaking our sins. This is no discouraging consid- 
 eration neither, for it will remain an ev^erlasting truth (which the prophet of old 
 was directed to proclaim) Say unro the righteous it shall be well with him. Of 
 what importance must it then be to every individual person to secure an inter- 
 est in the Divine favor in such a day of dark and gloomy aspects as the present 
 
 *On the 5th of July preceding the date of this letter Ticonderoga was surrPiulered by 
 the Americaiiij under General St. Clair, to the British commander. General Burgoyne. 
 
22 
 
 day Is. Is it not enough to astonish & even confound any thinking person to 
 see such numbers in_railitary Array for the Defence of our Religion «fc Liber- 
 ties, & at the same time by their Impious Language & practices provoking & 
 even Daring Heaven's wiiole Artillery to Discharge upon this Guilty Land in 
 heaviest vollies. Certainly it may be said to the Wicked It shall go ill wijh 
 him. But notwithstanding all Ihe gloomy aspects we are under there is ground 
 of hope; for the foundation remaineth sure, he thai repenteih fe lorsaketh his 
 sin shall Snd mercy. It would seem as if a merciful God was not only waiting 
 for our rciurn to him, but most earnestly inviting us thereto; by sundry kind 
 interpositions of his Providence in the great plenty of the fruits of the Earth 
 for our sustenance, the successlul Battle at Fort Stauwix & also at Bennington. 
 * * * * * 
 
 Perhaps you may have heard before this that cousin Lieut. Israel Chapin 
 very narrowly escaped Death & Captivity In the Battle near Ti — when Sergt 
 Nathan Chapin & Gideon Chapin were Captivated ; with sundry others belong- 
 ing to Springfield. But Sergt Nathan behaved himself so steaddv and honest 
 amongst them that he embraced a very fair opportunity to bring off nine with 
 him, they did not like to wait (it seems) for an exchange of prisoners they 
 being ordered to go in a boat to Crown Foint to mow their grass for them, & 
 having only one inhabitlant in the boat with them; they entertained him so 
 generously with a bottle of Rum (which they were allowed to carry for their 
 own refreshment while mowing) that he fell into a very sound sleep, upon 
 which they rowed the boat to a port of their own choosing »fc left their pilot to 
 finish his nap in the boat, & advanced with a quick step homeward. The Sergt 
 arrived home this day fortnight in health, tho much fatigued which gave us all 
 great joy, he behaved valiantly in the fight, Discreetly when in captivity and 
 Courageously in the arduous undertaking of making his escape. * * * * 
 As his escape was in answer to fervent prayers I hope it is acknowledged with 
 gratitude to the great Arbitor of all Events. 
 
 My Dear Dear Child I want to tell you something of the trying disappoint- 
 ments which have happened to me relating to your situation & to begin with 
 my meeting you at Worcester in so weak a state if I could have gained the 
 consent of the two gentlemen with whom I was going to court I should have 
 turned about & helped you home, but that was not to be had — then I wrote a 
 letter & sent giving advice for the recovery of your health, but that you did not 
 receive. I made haste homeward with full expectation of hnding you there, 
 but to my great grief found you gone 3 days before my arrival ; «Sc what 
 wounded me very sensibly was that you was so unfit on account of your weak 
 state, & yet could not have time to stay a few days to recruit your health at 
 home. I thought of following after to bring j'ou back, but when I considered 
 how far you migiit have got I dispaired of overtaking you, & then my only 
 relief in that anxiety for your welfare was to recommend you to God & his 
 
 And blessed be God for the consolation affigrded upon the rect of your little 
 Letter of the 24 June, which was much more welcome to us than a thirty Dol- 
 lar Bill could have been. There you express yourself in the most comforiing 
 language when you profess to put your trust in the Lord, & we hope you may 
 not be deceived in so important a matter — & indeed it is the crown of our 
 wishes for you it our daily prayers that you may be enabled by divine grace so 
 
23 
 
 to trust in the Lord as to dwell ssecure from fear of evil. Those & only thosa 
 are safe who do truly trust in the Lord, be sure, take heed you dont deceive 
 yourself in so important a matter I am very sensible of the need you stand in 
 of Divine special Grace to enable you to resist the snares & temptations you are 
 surrounded with, & would therefore charge you again with the most affection- 
 ate tenderness to stand fast in the Faith of Divine Kevelation for the truths 
 therein recorded are firmer than mountains of brass, & will remain forever. 
 My son if sinners entice thee consent thou not. * * You may be sure that 
 you are daily and repeatedly remembered at the Throne of Grace, dont be 
 wanting on your part in working out your salvation. It gives me joy to think 
 & hope that you have engaged in the arduous, necessary joyful work — if you 
 have indeed fixed your trust in the Lord, you are safe, &z we are happy - Fare- 
 well. 
 
 This with the love of your Mama Brothers & Sister comes from your affec- 
 tionate Father Edward Chapin. 
 
 The following is a list of the deacons in this Church. 
 
 Benjamin Chapin, elected in J752 died 1756 aged 
 
 David Chapin, " 1752 " 1772 " 
 
 Samuel Cooper, 
 
 Edward Chapin, 
 
 Amos Skeele, 
 
 Simeon Stedman, 
 
 Joseph Pease, 
 
 Giles S. Chapin, 
 
 Orange Chapin, 
 
 1773 " 1800 
 
 1813 resigned 1825 
 
 1825 " 1837 
 
 1825 died 1839 
 1837 
 1840 
 
 74 
 90 
 
 76