9 Distant view of New Britain from site of Christ Church, 10 The Elizur Deming house, Newington II To the memory of 12 A window from Christ Church 13 Chalice used at Christ Church 14 Churchyard belonging to Christ Church 15 Portrait of Rev. Seth Hart 16 Portrait of Rev. James Kilbourne 17 Portrait of Rev. Samuel Griswold 18 Portrait of Rev. Roger Searle 19 Silhouette, Rev. Roger Searle 20 St. Mark's Church 1906 21 Signatures on paper of organization 22 Seating plan of the church, 1837 23 The Davis family .. 24 St. Mark's Church 1859 25 St. Mark's chancel and choir 26 St. Mark's rectory 27 Parish house and library 28 Portrait of Rev. N. S. Wheaton, D.D. 29 Portrait of Rev. T. J. Davis 30 Portrait of Rev. J. M. Guion, S.T.D. 31 Portrait of Rev. C. R. Fisher, M.A. 32 Portrait of Rev. Abner Jackson, D.D., LL.D. 34 Portrait of Rev. F. T. Russell, M.A., S.T.D. 38 Portrait of Rev. W. E. Snowden 39 Portrait of Rev. J. H. Rogers Page 132 FOREWORD It gives me great satisfaction to introduce this book and its author to various readers, because I can say things which ought not to go unsaid and yet cannot be said by the author himself. The writer of the ensuing pages is a Pilgrim of the Pilgrims and approaches the records of the parish as a matter of local history in which he has been long interested, and in connection with which he has been well known. But as he studied and followed facts to their sources, by sheer force of the interest of the subject and connection of local with larger fields, he was compelled to widen his scope and plan to include the diocesan and the national Church. There is a consequent freshness and vigor which are due to the point of view, and to the novelty of the facts to the author's mind. Matters not hitherto emphasized become salient points and stand out vividly because they aroused peculiar interest in the historian's thought. I venture to cite as examples, his mention of the entire absence of Scripture readings in the public worship of the Standing Order, his consideration of the early Connecticut laws, and the story of the Anti-Episcopal Convention. The author is an expert in patent causes and has developed as such that genius for details without which no man can write history, (and especially local history,) accurately. He has during the last three years consumed numerous days, travelled many miles, spent sundry dollars, perused almost endless periodicals, ransacked various libraries, and consulted reliable authorities in order to make this volume full and accurate. Some may feel that there is an over-abundance of details, but experience seems to prove that these are, in after years, the most valuable and most sought after portions of such a record. Mr. Shepard has done his work for the simple love of it, and because he realizes the necessity of securing at once a correct ensemble of facts which will soon cease to be procurable at all. The living grandchildren of the men and women of 1798 and the children of those of 1836 are very, very few. If the history |