Wolcott History – Founding Members of the Congregational Church

On page 30ff of Orcutt’s History of the Town of Wolcott is a significant item. In June 1772 the members of the Ecclesiastical Society of Farmingbury had voted to have Mr. Jackson be called as a probationer for their newly forming congregation. He refused this position although he agreed to preach for several months. In January 1773, the congregation voted to “apply to some man to preach with on probation a few Sabbaths,” because they were all “at sea” concerning a minister. Finally, in August 1773, after hearing Mr. Alexander Gillet for a few Sundays, they “Voted to improve Mr. Gillet ten Sabbaths more, and on probation.” By the end of October, the agreed to call him, to schedule his ordination for the end of that year, and to have their first membership roll. On November 18^th, there was a special ceremony for the signing of “The Covenant of Confederation”. The introduction in these records states:

THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH AT FARMINGBURY

Their Covenant of confederation, assented to at Farmingbury, November 18^th, 1773.

We, who are members of several churches, desiring to be built up a spiritual house on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone, in order to offer spiritual gifts and sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ, and being united in the bonds of Christian love, and in the faith of the gospel of Christ, do this renewedly dedicate ourselves to God, acknowledging out great obligation to walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless, -- and in the presence or God, angels, and men, do enter into covenant obligation with each other, as members in particular of one distinct and entire church, for all the purposes of Christian edification; promising, by the grace of God, to treat each other with all the tenderness, faithfulness, and watchfulness, which become members of the same body of Christ, humbly depending on, and begging grace from God, that we may find so much favor in His sight as to be faithful to these our solemn obligations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. In confirmation of which we here subscribe our names. November, &ct

Following this long and complicated sentence are listed the names of the 41 members who joined the church on that day. In addition, in order to not penalize anyone who was not able to attend, the initial “membership roll” was held open until the end of January. An additional 4 members joined in December, and 7 more in January.

This list of individuals is significant, not only because these people are the founding members of the new church, but this is one of the earliest lists of the inhabitants of Farmingbury, albeit a partial one. From the earliest settlers just 40 or so years earlier, they represent 36 family units in the quickly growing community. I have reproduced this list of individuals below and put a + sign next to each family unit with whom I have a documented relationship.

+Aaron Harrison, Deacon, and Jerusha his wife

+Josiah Rogers, Deacon, and Sarah his wife

Isaac Hopkins, and Mary his wife

+Joseph Atkins, and Abigail his wife

+Thomas Upson

Joseph Sutliff

Amos Steward, and Ruth his wife

+David Norton

+John Alcox, and Mary his wife

+Samuel Upson

+Wait Hotchkiss, and Lydia his wife

Nathaniel Butler, and Rebecca his wife

Elizabeth Porter

+Daniel Alcox, and Elizabeth his wife

+Joseph Hotchkiss and Hannah his wife

+Judah Frisbie

Israel Clark, and Mahetable his wife

Daniel Lane and Jemima his wife

Stephen Miles

Stephen Barnes, and Sarah his wife

+Zadoc Bronson, and Eunice his wife

Lucy Peck, the wife of Justus Peck

+Rebecca, wife of Nathaniel Hitchcock

Esther Barrett

Joseph Benham, and Elizabeth his wife

Josiah Barnes

William Smith *1

+Anne, wife of James Bailey *1

+John Bronson *1

David Frost *1

+Samuel Bradley *2

Ephraim Pratt and his wife *2

+Elizabeth, wife of Ebenezer Wakelee *2

Sarah, wife of Isaac Clark *2

Martha, wife of Aaron Howe *2

Daniel Byington *2

*1 – admitted in December 1773

*2 – admitted in January 1774

Note that this list is not a census of the town. There were other families living there already such as the Hall and Beecher families. And there are a few individuals such as Elizabeth Wakelee who had joined the church without their husbands. Also, with the start of the Revolutionary War just a few years away, there will be other lists of individuals who enlisted in that war. Finally, the Wolcott Training Band (now the Mattatuck Drum Band) predates this list of church members by seven years as they started in 1767. But since the primary governance of the town was at that time through the Ecclesiastical Society and the Congregational Church, this is still a significant list of individuals.

Orcutt notes just a few pages further on that the “parish” at that time contained some 75 families, most of whom had moved there during the prior twenty years. Many still resided in log houses and a haystack with a fence around it was the only “barn” that some of them possessed. Most of these families lived either in the western (Waterbury) side and some in the southeast (Farmington) side. Judah Frisbie was the first to live in the Woodtick area and he had only purchased land there in the fall of 1773. Pastor Gillet himself was an unmarried man of 24 at the time, having been licensed to preach only a few months earlier.

But from this humble beginning of having their own parish, pastor, and church, the newly formed town had a nucleus to build upon. The first petition to the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut to allow them to be separate town was presented in 1787. That failed as did subsequent petitions over the next several years until the town was finally incorporated in 1796.