CHAPTER XVIII—RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. CONNECTICUT LAW.-FIRST MISSIONARIES.-FIRST CHURCH IN OLD TRUMBULL COUNTY.-FIRST PREACHING.-BAPTIST CHURCH. -PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.-CHRIST'S CHURCH (EPISCO- PAL) .-CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH.-FIRST METH- ODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.-ST. MARY'S CHURCH ( ROMAN CATHOLIC) .-GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH.-ZION REFORMED CHURCH.- TOD AVENUE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.-CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH.-GRACE UNITED EVANGELICAL CHURCH. -SECOND CHRIS- TIAN CHURCH. When the Connecticut fathers loaded their wagons for their new homes in Ohio they brought with them their crowns and scepters, for each was monarch of his family, but, he it to their credit, they left the whipping post and ducking stool behind. After a time they wore the crown less often and the scepter was seldom seen. Those of us who have lived the New England life in Ohio know that most of our great-grandfathers never smiled, that few of our grandfathers caressed their wives or kissed their children, but we rejoice that the real change came before our time, for to be snuggled to sleep in our mother's arms, or kissed awake by our father's lips, is worth all else in the world. The children of our Connecticut ancestry had desire for religious liberty, as had the Pilgrim fathers and mothers, as had the Connecticut pioneer or the first inhabitant of the Western Reserve. They kept quiet on Sunday because it was more comfortable than being beaten; they committed chapters of the Bible by heart for the same reason. But when the father and mother, with such of the grown people and children whose turn it was, - 236 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 237 had driven off to church and were safely out of sight, pandemonium reigned. And it continued till the child stationed at the upper window as sentinel sighted the returning carriage on the further hill. Then was the house tidied, then did the children take up their Bibles, and received the look of approval for their supposed good conduct. Some good came out of these Sunday disobeyances, for several men, who afterwards became orators and trial lawyers, first learned to speak before these home audiences, while one woman, a noted advocate in the temperance cause, dates her ability to talk with ease to the days when she played church on Sunday morning, and insisted on preaching a sermon with the haircloth chair as a pulpit. Both men and women have said that these meetings were always ended by riot, but the haircloth chairs were made by hand, of seasoned wood, with the best of glue and varnish, and could stand any kind of use. Old men and women living today in Trumbull County, who have endured all kinds of hardships and seen grievous sorrows, look back upon the Sundays of their childhood with horror. The Sabbath began Saturday at sundown and closed Sunday at sundown. With the twilight a gloom settled upon the children (the older folks enjoyed a few hours of rest) which seemed intolerable. Bible reading by one of the family was had, and long meaningless audible prayers were made. As the children knelt either on the bare floor or thin carpet, their knees ached, and it was impossible to be still. As a recreation they were allowed to read the Bible by the tallow dip or the flaming log, or go to bed. A man, at this writing aged eighty-six, as a child had a number of brothers, and he says that, when lads, so forlorn and depressed were they all on Sunday that they used to say they wished they were dead. In order that they might surely know just when the day was really done, they climbed onto the huge woodpile, which was in their dooryard, to watch the setting sun, and when at last it disappeared the shout which went up from the stack of logs and sticks was never surpassed by the whoop of the Indians who formerly occupied the territory. They jumped or rolled from the pile, chasing each other, fought and played; outside in summer, by the huge logs in winter, till the parents, exhausted with the tempest, sent them early to bed. Yes, the desire for religious liberty in the heart of the Puritan is finally realized by us, through our fathers and mothers. In October, 1793, the general assembly of Connecticut, as we 238 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY have seen, authorized the sale of the land in what is northeastern Ohio, and at the same time enacted "that the moneys arising from the sale * * * * * be established a perpetual fund, the interest whereof is granted and shall be appropriated to the use and benefit of several ecclesiastical societies, churches, or congregations in all denominations in the state, to be by them applied to the support of their respective ministers, or preachers of the gospel, and schools of education, under such rules and regulations as shall be adopted by this or some future session of the general assembly." As this provision really amounted towards the establishment of a fund for the supporting of the church, it created a great deal of discussion and hard feeling. As is always the case, people saw great dangers ahead in attaching the church to the state. In some localities public meetings were held, and for two years a great deal of anxious thought was given to the matter, all for naught, because the lands were not sold. When, in 1795, the assembly passed a new act in regard to this western land, the provision for the ministers was left out, and when, a few months later, this land was bought by the Connecticut Land Company, the money which was to be applied to the ministers, as well as to the schools, was applied to the schools only. Who the first missionary was in the district of Old Trumbull County, or where the first sermon was preached, will probably never be known, because traveling priests visited the Indians and traders, while the Moravians devoted their energies to the Indians in particular. Little or no mention is made by the surveyors of any religious services, except those of burial. The Connecticut Land Company, as we have seen, offered land to the first "gospel minister" who should take up residence in the county. We always think of Massachusetts in the olden time as religious be- cause of the Puritans, and of Connecticut the same because of the Blue Laws. Dr. B. A. Hinsdale, in the Magazine of Western History, says : "The settlement of the Reserve was opened at a time when New England was at a low ebb. Old Connecticut did not at first send, as a rule, what she considered her best elements to New Connecticut. At a later day, the character of the emigration improved in respect to religion and HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 239 morals, but the first emigration was largely made up of men who desired to throw off the heavy trammels of an old and strongly conservative community, where church and state were closely connected and where society was dominated by political and religious castes. Still further, the east was at this time swept by an epidemic of land speculation, while the laxative moral influence of a removal from an old and well-ordered society to the woods produced its usual effect." At first thought we considered this statement of Mr. Hinsdale almost an exaggeration, but, as we studied history further, we find that it was not the first emigrants who were devoted to the religion of their fathers, but those who came later—our grandfathers, not our great-grandfathers. So far as we actually know, William C. Wick preached the first sermon within the limits of old Trumbull County, in September, 1799. He came from Washington, Pennsylvania. Records show he was ordained to preach in August. It may be he thought it wise to practice on the frontiersmen. Anyway, they gathered to hear him, and later, when he came to Youngstown and established a church, he had the support of the people. Youngstown has always been a church-going place. The best known of the early preachers was Rev. Joseph Badger. He was born in Massachusetts, was in the Revolutionary war, was a college graduate, and licensed to preach in 1786. He occupied a pulpit in Massachusetts, and accepted a call to the missionary field of the Western Reserve in 1800. The cold weather set in before he crossed the Pennsylvania mountains. He came slowly from Pittsburg and reached Youngstown December 14th. The following day, Sunday, he preached to the inhabitants, who were glad to vary the monotony of their hard lives by any sort of service. He soon visited other townships on the Reserve, and Harvey Rice is the authority for saying that in the following year (1801) he visited every settlement; and nearly-every family, in old Trumbull County. He, and the ministers who followed him, as well as the lawyers, spent much of their time in the saddle, crossing streams by wading or swimming, and on the whole their lives were hard. However, the ministers were well received by the residents, even if they were not much in sympathy with what they taught, and the best that the pioneers had in the way of food, or any kind of comforts, was theirs. What records the early missionaries left agree with 240 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY Prof. Hinsdale's statement that the first people who came to this Reserve were not so religious, so service-loving, as we have alwayq, supposed them to have been. Leonard Case is authority for the statement that Rev. Henry Speers, from Washington county, Pennsylvania, in June; 1800, preached the first sermon at the county seat, Warren. This service was held below the Lane homestead, on what is now South Main street. About fifty persons were present, and Lewis Morris Iddings says : "Probably at no time since has so large a proportion of the inhabitants of Warren attended church on any one Sunday." Mr. Speers belonged to the Baptist denomination. In the fall of 1801 Rev. Mr. Badger returned to Connecticut, and in 1802 brought his household effects and his family to northeastern Ohio. He took up his residence in Austinburg, built a log cabin, and resumed his labors. In 1809 he went east, severed his connection with the Missionary Society, and returned to the Reserve to continue his work. He had received seven dollars a week in the beginning from the Connecticut Society, but later this was reduced to six dollars. He was a Presbyterian in creed, impulsive of nature, but had the ability of controlling himself, so that he was supposed to be much more patient than he really was. Like all successful ministers, he was fond of telling and hearing stories. He was chaplain in the war of 1812 under Harrison, and died at Perrysburg, 1846, aged 89. The first church built in old Trumbull County was at Austinburg. There is a tale oft told that this church was dedicated by breaking a bottle of whiskey over its spire, but if this was done, it was not done with the consent of the church people, but by a wag of a sailor, who climbed the steeple to do it for a joke. This church association was organized October 21st, 1801, and the building was of logs. There were sixteen charter members. It was thought that the second church was organized in Hudson in 1802. It is known that in Mr. Badger's riding in 1801, when he noted the irreligious tendency of the people, he said Hudson was the only spot where he found any deep, hearty religion. Here he organized a church of ten men and six women. It is strange that these two first churches had the same number of charter members. The exact date of the organization of the third church is not known. Most writers give Warren the credit for the third church, but, after careful investigation, the author of this work HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 241 thinks the third church was in Youngstown, organized in 1801, with Rev. William Wick as pastor. The fourth church (Baptist) was established in Warren in 1803. The Baptists were very strong in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio at this time. Baptist Church. As stated above, Rev. Henry Speers, a Baptist, preached the first sermon in Warren on June 8, 1800. In 1801 Rev. Thomas G. Jones, of Shenango, Pennsylvania, began preaching every other Sunday in Warren. He is supposed to be the first minister who had a charge in the limit of present Trumbull County. Space will not permit the naming of the formation of the churches through old Trumbull County. Those given here are within the limits of the present boundaries. In 1803 Isaac Daily, Effie Dally, Jane Dally, Samuel Burnett, Nancy Burnett, John Leavitt Jr., Caleb Jones, Mary Jones, Samuel Fortner and Henry Fortner organized a church, with the Rev. Charles B. Smith presiding. It was called "The Concord Baptist Church," and the Philadelphia Confession of Faith was adopted. Harry, Nellie, Winifred and George Ewalt are descendants of Isaac Dally. During that year (1803) the following five persons were added to membership : Samuel Quinby, Samuel Hayden, Sophia Hayden, William and Martha Jackman. For two years after the organization meetings for prayer and for conference were held in the houses of the members. In 1805 Elder Parkhurst, of the Mill Creek church (Youngstown ) preached here "and received into the church by baptism and the laying on of hands" John Reeves, John Daily and wife. William J. Kerr, in "One Hundred Years of Baptist History in Warren, Ohio," says : "John Reeves; at whose home in Howland many church meetings and preaching services were held in the years to follow, proved to be one of the most valuable members the church ever had. He was a member until his death, 1851. He was one of the six who refused to leave the church and faith in the schism of 1828. In the year 1805 he represented the Concord Baptist church as a delegate to the Mahoning Baptist Association, held in Mill Creek (Youngstown). He presented the letter and the credentials of the church, upon which the Concord church was received into the Mahoning Association." Vol. 1-16 242 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY In 1810 Adamson Bentley became the regular pastor, and the congregation grew under his teachings so that in 1821-'22 a church was built on High street where the Christian church now stands. The land upon which this church stood was deeded "by Ephraim Quinby to the trustees of the Baptist church, called Concord, their heirs and assigns, to be used for Baptist church purposes only." (Kerr.) At this time there were twenty-six members, fourteen of whom were men. "A portion of the church membership was in Youngstown and vicinity, and for three or four years the church met half the time at that place." In 1815 thirteen members formed a new church at Austin. town. The early sessions of the Baptists were held in the groves when the weather permitted, in the house, and sometimes in the court house. In summer many services were held at John Reeves', but in inclement weather in the house of Jeremiah Brooks. The largest number of meetings were held here. This house stood about where the Mahoning Branch (Erie) railroad station now stands. In 1828 Walter Scott and J. C. Mitchell, "devout followers of Alexander Campbell, came to Warren `to besiege and take the place.' " At first they were rather coldly received, but soon the Rev. Mr. Bentley, of the Baptist church, allowed them the use of his edifice, and the congregation soon taxed the capacity of the church. Among the converts made were almost the entire membership of the Baptist church. In fact, this first Warren church, the Baptist, was taken possession of by the new congregation. At this time there was a great controversy among church people as to the right form of baptism, and different matters of doctrine. So much so that sometimes ill feeling was engendered between members of the same family, and between neighbors and former friends. This was true in regard to the Baptists and the Disciples, although no more so in these two churches of Warren than in all churches of that time, By this effort of the two Disciples, the Baptist society was almost lost for fifteen. years. The six people who. clung to the Baptist faith were John Reeves and wife (Sarah Quinby), Ephraim Quinby and wife, and two daughters. In 1834 seven persons met at the home of Ephraim Quinby, and the Baptist church was reorganized, Elder Jacob Morris being the presiding officer. John Reeves was their elected clerk, and held that office for many years. Immediately after this HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 243 organization four persons were received into the church by letter. The Rev. Mr. Morris became the pastor, serving until 1836. In 1835 a resolution was passed withdrawing the hand of fellowship from all who had departed from the faith of the regular Baptist church in Warren, called "Concord." In this same year the church was incorporated. In 1836 the Concord church united with the Beaver Baptist Association, of Beaver, Pennsylvania, and three years later, when the Trumbull Baptist Association was formed, it united with that. On the first of June the same year a Sunday school was organized, but its meetings were not always regular. Rev. Morris was followed by Rev. Rolla J. Smith. Rev. John Winters connected himself with the church in 1838. His daughter, Eliza, married a son of John. Reeves Sr., Lewis R. Reeves. They moved to Iowa, where Mr. Reeves became a law partner of S. T. Miller, in Keokuk. Mr. Reeves died there, as did also Mrs. Miller. After a time Eliza Winters Reeves married Mr. Miller, and later Abraham Lincoln appointed him as one of the justices of the supreme court. Mrs. Miller, because of her official position and mental attainments, was one of the leaders of Washington society. She never forgot her old associates in the Baptist churches of this vicinity, and when meeting Warren people always inquired about them. During Mr. Winters' administration four thousand dollars was raised for the building of a church, Mr. John Reeves having given the land. It stood on the west side of Pine street, between High street and Market street. At this writing it is still standing, but it is in a very dilapidated condition, and suggests nothing of its early appearance. It has been used as a shop, a laundry, and a second-hand store. During Mr. Winters' administration Nancy, the daughter of John Reeves, afterwards Mrs. I. N. Dawson, united with the church and continued to be a member for more than fifty-six years. She was one of Warren's most respected and beloved citizens, sweet and gentle of manner, a devoted wife, a loving mother. She absolutely refused to take any part in any differings or dissensions which came into the church, and stood as a living example of her Master's teaching, "that ye love one another." The Chronicle of September 5, 1843, gives notice that the Baptist Association of Trumbull County will meet in the Methodist Episcopal church the following day, Elder Hall to preach. 244 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY Rev. Lewis Ranstead became pastor in 1849, and remained four years. He was popular and energetic, and many people brought into the church through his effort were long thereafter conscientious and faithful workers. Only one of this number is now living, Mrs. Abbie Haymaker. Rev. John D. Meeson served from 1852-'56. Rev. E. T. Brown began his work in 1856, and in 1859 he and Elder Knapp conducted gospel meetings and fifty-seven people were baptized. At this time the Baptist church was the finest church in the city, and the largest number of young men were members of the congregation. This church has sent out but one missionary, Miss Sarah A. Fuller, who married Rev. Mr. Satterly, going with him to India. Mr. Satterly died two years later of cholera, and Mrs. Satterly died on her homeward trip and was buried at sea. Allen O. Fuller and John T. Wilson followed the Rev. Mr. Brown. Rev. George Pierce served the congregation for three years. He was succeeded in 1869 by Rev. Robt. Telford. During Mr. Telford's administration, in 187O, Rev. George Balcomb, an evangelist, held special meetings. At this time forty-five people were converted and baptized. The services created great excitement, and the evangelist did not have the approval of conservative church men or of liberal citizens. Rev. J. P. Stevenson, who served about three years, was very popular with his church and with Warren people generally. He married Nellie Brooks, who was a grand-niece of Jeremiah Brooks, at whose house the early church services were held. Her grandfather was Oliver. Brooks, whose house on South street is still standing back of the first site. Her father was James Brooks, who did business on Market street fifty-six years. She was a fine scholar, graduating in the class of 1873. Mr. Stevenson married for his second wife Miss Florence Tyler, daughter of. N. B. Tyler, and they now reside in Des Moines, he being dean of the college there. Mr. Stevenson's place was supplied temporarily by Rev. A. G. Kirk, of New Castle, Pennsylvania. He was followed by Rev. W. T. Whitmarsh, who served until 1879, and soon thereafter became an Episcopalian. Rev. J. S. Hutson, who served from 1879 to 1885, was one of the most popular men in the church's history. He interested men, and under his leadership the church grew in every way. Rev. J. S. Rightnour, D. D., served from 1885 to 189O. During these years preparations were made for the building of HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 245 a new church. A lot was purchased from Dr. Lyman near the corner of Park avenue on High street. Rev. William Codville followed Mr. Rightnour in 1890, and in 1891, August 31st, ground was broken for a new church. Here, for the first time, so far as is known, women, who through all ages since the time of Christ have aided in every way His Church, were recognized in the preliminary services of the building of a church. The first shovel of dirt taken up was passed to Mrs. Uriah Hutchins, who, in turn, passed it to Mrs. Phoebe Sutliff, then to Elizabeth Quinby Stiles, and so on down the line." The name of the church was changed in 1893 from Concord to the First Baptist. On this date the Baptist church of Mecca united with the Warren church. The First Baptist church was dedicated in September, 1894, and the total cost was $23,000, and, as late as 1898, $9,500 was still due on it. In January, 1900, this debt was paid. Since that time $1,000 has been spent in improvements. The house which had been occupied by Dr. Lyman was moved to the west of the lot, and now serves as the home of the minister. Rev. Chester F. Ralston succeed Dr. Codville. He was a man of liberal views, and was successful in his work. Rev. F. G. Boughton followed Mr. Ralston, and Rev. W. E. Barker is the present pastor. Among some of the old and prominent families connected with the Baptist church we find the names Quinby, Reeves, Tyler, Sutliff, Haymaker, Fuller, Park, Stiles, Griswold, Dawson, Tuttle, Hoyt, Gillmer and Harmon. Facts in regard to these families are to be found elsewhere. The church is now in a prosperous condition. About two years ago Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Ward presented the congregation with a beautiful organ. This is not the place to make personal mention of late members of the church, but we make an exception in the case of Mr. George Day, who was one of the stanchest supporters of the church for many years, and who was likewise a faithful citizen. He has but lately passed away; we cannot but think of him as we write the facts connected with the church where he so long served as officer and instructor. Among the prominent men who have been superintendents of the Sunday school are I. N. Dawson, U. H. Hutchins, R. S. 246 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY Parks, G. O. Griswold, J. C. Barney, E. A. Parmer, George E. Day and G. W. Byard. The present officers of the church are : Clerk, W. J. Kerr. Financial Secretary, R. F. McCoy. Treasurer, Al. G. Ward Board of Deacons: M. J. Sloan. W. J. Kerr, W. A. Heald, Charles Miller, K. T. Mead A. G. Judd. Trustees: W. A. Heald, Grant W. Byard, A. G. Judd, G. R. Batcheller, J. B. Phillips Finance Board; J. C. Oriole, W. G. Hurlburt, A. O. Ward, W. J. Kerr, A. D. Griffith. Presbyterian Church. The Missionary Society of Connecticut instructed Rev. Joseph Badger, the missionary elsewhere referred to, a Presbyterian, to preach in Warren. This he did in the homes of the different settlers, as did also Rev. William Wick of Youngstown and the Rev. Mr. Tait of western Pennsylvania. A Congregational church under the Union plan was organized on the 19th of November, 18O3, under the name, "The Church of Christ in Warren, Ohio." The following six persons were the organizing members : Thomas Prior, Betsey Prior, Thomas Ross, Rosalinda Ross, Polly Land and Elizabeth Davison. So far as we know no descendants of these early Presbyterians are now living in Warren except Mrs. H. C. Baldwin, Miss Mary and Mr. S. C. Iddings. Elizabeth Davison was their great-aunt. In the organization of churches at that early day, what was called a "plan of union" was frequently adopted, and churches consisted of members from both the Presbyterian and Congregational bodies. The original document said that they were solemnly charged to "keep the covenant with each other, looking for Divine assistance to the great Head of the Church, to whose grace they were committed." From 1803 to -1808 Rev. Jonathan Leslie was an occasional supply for the Church of Christ, Warren. In 1804 Thomas Robbins was chosen moderator. The Rev. James Duncan acted as stated supply for two years. In 1817 the Hampshire Missionary Society of Massachusetts sent as missionary Rev. Joseph Curtis, and he was reguarly installed in 1820. He was a faithful pastor, and the church prospered under his ministry. He ceased his service because of failing health. It was not until October, 1808, HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 247 that they had a regular pastor, and even then he, the Rev. James Boyd, alternated between Newton and Warren. During the years from 1836-1869 there was a division in the Presbyterian denomination known as the "old" school and the "new." (This same division occurred under other names in other denominations.) The Warren church in those years belonged to the Presbytery of Trumbull, and the Synod of the Western Reserve was affiliated with the "new" school. The Warren church has lived to see not only the union of the "old" and the "new" school in 1870, but the healing of the Cumberland division in 1906 and the drawing together of all denominations. March 1, 1830, the lot on which the Presbyterian church now stands was sold to Simon Perkins, Zalmon Fitch, Asael Adams, possibly others, by Charlotte Smith, for $600. The deed states that for the purpose of preventing obstructions to the view and preventing destruction by fire, no building should be south of or near the proposed church building. Josiah Soule, the grandfather of Mrs. Howard Weir, helped to build this structure. The church was dedicated in 1832, Rev. Charles B. Storrs preaching the sermon, and the Congregational form of government was changed to Presbyterian in 1838. In 1845 it was incorporated under the name of "The First Presbyterian Church." In 1849 the church was repaired and improved and the next year the lecture room, which was used for Sunday school and for many church meetings, was erected north of the church. This house, at the time the new church was built, was moved, and it now stands on the west side of Mahoning avenue, just north of the water works station. It is used as a dwelling for two families. The old church edifice served its purpose until 1875, when it was torn down to make room for the present building. The church organization, a strong one in the beginning, has at times stood still as far as membership was concerned, but of late years has grown phenomenally, and is now one of the strongest in the city. In the early days of the Presbyterian church Mr. Simon Perkins and Frederick Kinsman purchased for use in that church a violoncello. Mr. Ide, a partner of W. M. Porter, then a bookseller with a store where Masters Bros. now is, played this instrument. A goodly number of people in the church dis- 248 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY approved of this kind of music, and Mr. Thomas Pew, an uncle of H. S. and John A. Pew, with a number of followers, went to the Methodist church. They said they did not have to have a fiddle to help worship God. During the '50s this instrument was played by Junius Dana. The bell in the present Presbyterian church is the oldest church bell in the city. It was bought in 1832 by George Mygatt, and was the only bell Warren had for many years. It announced the joys and the sorrows ; it called out people in case of danger, fire, etc.; it was employed to wake people at six o'clock in the morning and to tell them that it was nine o'clock at night ; it was rung when the people were called together in the interests of the Ashtabula-Warren turnpike ; when the question of the academy was to be discussed, and when the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal question was agitated. In case of death this bell used to toll slowly the number of strokes announcing the age of the person dead. It was used for the last time in a general public way to ring in the Fourth of July of Centennial year, and in a local public way when the voters in 19O8 decided to permit no saloons in Trumbull County. The old church edifice stood very high. There was a long flight of steps leading up to it. The pulpit was high and the ceiling was high. To childish eyes the latter seemed quite near the sky. The pews had doors which swung open and shut with more or less noise ; in fact, the watching of these doors and the listening to the music was about all the attraction the old church offered to children. The aisles were decidedly inclined—so much so as to make the elderly and the fat breathe hard as they climbed them. Two huge cannon-stoves stood by the doors, but the heat from them made little impression on the air of the large room. Foot-stoves were used there within the recollection of many residents of Trumbull County. Miss Anne Brown, of North Bloomfield, as a little child was a visitor in the family of Leicester King. She says she used to tease to prepare Mrs. King's foot-stove for her use in church. Mr. Whittlesey Adams, the oldest living member of this church, who, when quite young, accompanied his mother to church each Sunday, remembers that he always carried the foot-stove, and that when his mother's feet were warm so that she could spare it, she lifted it over the pews to the people near her who had driven some distance to church and who had no foot-stove. Mr. Adams says he remembers well HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 249 the people attending that early church, and no picture is any more vivid to him than that of General Simon Perkins, who wore a military cape lined with scarlet, and on cold days, in church, wrapped one end of it around his head. Among the early influential families attending this church we find the names : Kinsman, Adams, Perkins, Iddings, Dickeys, Dana, Estabrook, Stiles, McLain, Stratton, Fitch, Abell, Spear, Harmon, Howard, Woodrow, Harrington, Davisons, and Porter. Churches are somewhat like families in that they have serious squabbles and differences, important only to the members, and which are kept from the world so far as possible. Most families, most churches have them, so none of us need feel disgraced when ours are referred to. Rev. Nathan Purinton, who was pastor of the church from 184O-1848, was a progressive man, and built up the church rapidly. At one time, November, 1841, seventy-seven people joined the church, among whom was Mr. Whittlesey Adams. After a time Mr. Purinton ceased to please his people. This is not so recorded in the church record, but members of the church today whose fathers and mothers were then active remember distinctly the trouble, and letters and papers which have come into the possession of the writer substantiate the tales of today. One of the early mothers in the Presbyterian church, writing back east to her family, says : "I presume you have heard from some other letters of the great conflict we have had for several months past with Mr. Purinton, our minister. Nothing could be done with him but to starve him out. He is gone at last, very reluctantly, to St. Louis. A rich son-in-law has established themselves in mercantile business. He will not be likely to trouble us any more." Because there is nothing officially recorded, reports vary as to the cause of Mr. Purinton's impeachment. Opinion is divided. Some informants say it was because he was a Mason, or sympathized with the Masons ; others that he chewed tobacco. Neither of these offenses is serious enough to produce a like result today. Therefore, whichever it was is immaterial ; probably it was something doctrinal, since "the letter of the law" has created more discomfort to others than Masonry or tobacco.