I’ve known the basic story of my grandfather’s birth, how his mother died as result of complications of childbirth, and how he was raised by a family in the next town. So when I found his baptism certificate in the box of papers that my mother had kept and then passed on to me, it did not originally seem like it added much to the story. But then I thought I put it in context with all the other facts that I knew or could find out and see if it all hung together.
[Baptism
Certificate]
Just a
bunch of names and a date on a pre-printed certificate. But whose names? And what
date? And does even the form itself help to tell a story?
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My
grandfather’s uncle, Charles Somers Miller, kept a very detailed diary for his
entire life. Let’s also look at his entries for three days in March of 1898.
3/3/1898
“When
my wife got home from the Grange, she was greatly excited because her brother Wilson
L. Pierpont (who is Master of the Grange) and his wife Annie (who is Secretary
of the Grange) were in their respective
places when she got there, after a time recess was declared and she did not see
Wilson or Annie again, but just before the Grange closed a note was received by
the acting Secretary which stated that the Master and Secretary had a new ten
pound son.”
3/17/1898
“This
noon Mr. Tucker asked me if Wilson
Pierpont’s wife was dead. He said that Mrs. Dickinson heard the little French
girls ask Austin B. Pierpont how she was and he only said a few words and they
replied oh isn’t it too bad, so she judged that she was dead. I went and asked
Paul Hesphalt and he said that she was. It seems that she died at about 8 o’clock
this morning. She was 39 years old, the same age as myself. She leaves an
infant child and six children.”
3/20/1898
“…
This I think was the largest funeral ever held in the Chapel, all the seats
being filled as well as all of the standing room being taken and a great crowd
outside who could not get it. Rev. Mr. Buckley of Trinity Church officiated. …
There must have been over 400 people present.”
Don’t seem
to be any inconsistencies with the information from the baptism certificate. But
there are a few specifics in the wording that are much more important than they
first seem. Let’s do some detailed research, not specifically on my
grandfather, but on the practice of baptism and of the history of the churches
in Waterbury where this takes place.
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While it’s
not true in churches which practice believer’s baptism (such as the one which I
belong to) those which practice infant baptism may feel that there is much more
to it than just a ceremony. A simple search notes that “In a baptism ceremony,
naming an infant is a significant part of the ritual…” That is often the first
time that the infant’s name is actually given. The church named on this baptism
certificate, Trinity Church in Waterbury, was an Episcopal church which
practiced this. Note carefully the wording for the diary entry of 3/17/1898, “She
leaves an infant child and six children.” Harold was called an “infant child”
and he was NOT counted among the “six children.” Even his name, Harold Granger,
was not given to him until he was baptized at age four months.
Next, let’s
look at the location where this baptism took place. While the form has
pre-printed on it “in Trinity Church, Waterbury,” did it take place there? The
answer is, surprisingly, “no.” I found an interesting book on the history of
the Waterbury Episcopal church.
[Episcopal
Church]
On page
171, it gives the officers of the Trinity Parish, including the Rector, Rev.
Frederick D. Buckley, M.A. Also, the first vestryman is named as C. J. Pierpont.
But this is not Charles J. Pierpont, Wilson’s father, as he passed away in
1884. Rather, it’s Wilson’s brother, Charles J. Pierpont, Jr. Trinity Parish/Church
is located at 25 Prospect St. where the back side of the Immaculata Basilica is
located today (it was built on that site in the 1920’s – see https://www.waterburybasilica.org/parish-history).
But it doesn’t make sense that the Pierpont
family would travel all the way downtown from where they lived in East Farms
just for a baptism. Also, look at Charles Miller’s diary for 3/20/1898 where
the funeral for Annie Pierpont was held at the “Chapel” on a Sunday afternoon
with Rev. Buckley conducting the service.
To resolve
this situation, one must understand that the “Chapel” being referred to is the
Mill Plain Chapel – which is still there with the larger Mill Plain Church having
been built next door during the 1920’s. Mill Plain was/is a “union” chapel/church.
They did not have a pastor of their own. Rather, they were served by a number
of pastors from downtown who traveled out each Sunday afternoon from other
churches. One of these visiting pastors was Rev. Buckley from Trinity Parish/Church.
Since these visiting individuals were sometimes Rectors (like Rev. Buckley),
but other times pastors or ministers, Mill Plain did not have their own
stationary, relying on the visitor to bring their own – hence the wording “IN”
on this baptism certificate.
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This also
gives the rationale for the list of names on the baptism certificate.
·
Harold
Granger Pierpont is receiving his official name for the first time
·
Wilson
L. Pierpont is the father
·
Annie
E. Pierpont is the mother – even though she died four months prior
·
Edith
L. Pierpont is Harold’s older sister – she’s 17, but is no longer attending
school and has been taking care of all her younger siblings (all male),
including Harold
·
F.
D. Buckley from Trinity Parish is the visiting rector for the day (it’s a
Sunday afternoon) and who has supplied the certificate
·
Nellie
A. Buckley is the rector’s wife and is signing as a witness (sponsor)
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The
only remaining question is when did Harold move to Prospect where he was raised
by Samuel and Hattie Nichols. We know that it was some time after July 1898
when he was baptized in the presence of his father and sister and before June
1900 when he appears in the 1900 census in Prospect living with Sam and Hattie
as a “boarder”. (Interestingly, the census taker for the Nichols household was
Stephen Talmadge, the grandfather of Sara Blackman whom Harold went to school
with in Prospect and eventually married!)
This
has been a fun bit of research!
