THE WOOSTER PLACE CHURCH.--GROWTH OF THE DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS IN NEW
HAVEN.
In order to have my history complete I must give my reason for building
the Wooster Place Church, as my motives have been misconstrued by many
persons, I will make a short statement of what I know to be true. It is
well known that with the exception of one, all the Congregational
churches in New Haven, were located west of the centre of the city. The
majority of the inhabitants lived in the eastern section. Meeting after
meeting was called by the different churches to consider the importance
of building a church in the eastern part. It was strongly advocated by
the ministers and many others, that this part of the city was rapidly
filling up, a great deal of manufacturing was carried on there, and the
strangers who were constantly coming in would fall into other
denominations. I heard their speeches advocating this course with great
pleasure, as I lived in the eastern part of the city, had a long
distance to go to attend church, and nearly all the workmen in my employ
lived in the same section. The church which I have mentioned as the only
one located east of the centre, was in a very prosperous condition. By
the talent, popularity and piety of its minister, as his church and
congregation believed, he had filled the church to overflowing. There
were no slips to be bought in that church. We heard this minister say
that he could spare thirty families from his congregation to build up a
new church. In view of all the facts, I started a subscription paper, in
as good faith as I ever did anything in my life, for the raising of
funds to build an edifice. The subscription was headed by myself with
five thousand dollars and many large sums were added to it. A number of
wealthy men lived near the contemplated place of building the new
church, who belonged to other churches. It was supposed, by what their
ministers had said in public and in private, that they would use their
influence in advancing this good work, and to have some of their members
join in it; but for some reason they changed their minds. I heard that
the minister of the church located in the eastern section (which I
mentioned before,) had got up a subscription paper to raise ten or
twelve thousand dollars to beautify the front of his church, raise a
higher steeple, and make some other alterations that he thought
important. I was told that he called on the men who lived in the
locality where we proposed erecting the new church, with his
subscription, and that they subscribed to carry out his plans. Some of
those who had subscribed to build the new church, after he had made
these calls, wrote me that they wished their names crossed off from my
paper--Others came and told me the same thing, and wished their names
erased. I began at this time to understand that there were influences
working against our enterprise and that this way of building a church
must be given up. I however, went forward myself, as is very well known,
and built a church second to none in New England. I should have built
one that would not have cost one half of the money, had I acted on my
own judgement, but I was influenced by a few others differently. I paid
more than twenty thousand dollars out of my own pocket into this church.
Public opinion in the community was, that if the several ministers had
given their influence in favor of this matter, a church would have been
built by subscription. They could very easily have influenced their
friends in that part of the city to unite in this enterprise without
detriment to their own congregation. Had this course been taken, it is
evident that by this time it would have been a large and prosperous
church.
A correspondent of the Independent in writing upon the growth of
Congregationalism, in New Haven, had a great deal to say about the
Wooster Place church--calling the man that built it, "a sagacious
mechanic, who built it on speculation etc." Yet; added "if they had
called a young man for its Pastor from New England, it might have
succeeded after all."
It is well known that the Congregational denomination has made but very
small advancement compared with others for the last twenty years. It is
supposed that the inhabitants of New Haven have doubled in number during
that time; but only one small Mission church has been added to the
Congregational churches. Four Episcopal churches have been built, and
filled with worshipers, many of whom formerly belonged to Congregational
families. The Methodists have built two large churches, and more than
trebled in number. The Baptists have more than doubled, and now own and
occupy the Wooster Place church. And to have kept pace with the others,
the Congregational denomination should now have as many as three more
large churches.