April 20, 1781, Lucy, daughter of Philip Nichols, Esq., of
Stratfield (now Bridgeport), [Footnote: The marriage was
undoubtedly solemnized by the Rev. Christopher Newton of Ripton,
the only Church clergyman in the vicinity, and still Mr. Shelton's
rector. He baptized the first child, _Lucy_, born June 27,
1782.] strong churchman and first lay-delegate chosen to represent
the Diocese of Connecticut in the General Convention. In February,
1785, a formal arrangement was made that his services in each of
the three places should be proportioned to the number of churchmen
residing in them respectively, and until he should be in Orders it
was stipulated to pay him twenty shillings lawful money for each
day that he officiated. Ashbel Baldwin, his nearest neighbor in
parochial work, and most intimate friend and associate in efforts
to build up the Church in Connecticut, used to say that the hands
of Bishop Seabury were first laid upon the head of Mr. Shelton on
the 3d of August, 1785, so that his name really begins the long
list of clergy who have had ordination in this country by bishops
of the Protestant Episcopal Church. In the Diocesan Convention,
under an established rule of that body, he invariably outranked
Mr. Baldwin, and so was frequently the presiding officer in the
absence of the Bishop, which is another proof that he was his
senior by ordination as well as in years. At the first convocation
of the clergy after the death of Bishop Jarvis, held in Stratford,
June 1, 1813, Mr. Baldwin, as Secretary, entered the names of
twenty-nine who were present, and then recorded: "The Rev. Doctor
Mansfield desired to be excused from serving as President on
account of his age and infirmities; which excuse was accepted by
the brethren. The Rev. Philo Shelton, being the next oldest
presbyter, took the chair." Should it be said that this does not
refer to the diaconate, it may be answered that the obituary
notice of his widow, who died in 1838, speaks of him as "the
_first_ clergyman ordained by the first American Bishop."
After his admission to Holy Orders, according to his own
statement, Mr. Shelton took full "pastoral charge of the cure of
Fairfield, including Stratfield and Weston, dividing his time
equally between the three churches, with a salary of one hundred
pounds per annum from the congregations and the use of what lands
belonged to the cure." It was a small living for a clergyman who
already had a wife and two children, but the Revolutionary War had
so reduced the people and their resources, that it could not well
be made larger. Five years passed away before the enterprise of
building a new church in Fairfield was really begun, and then it
was erected about a mile west of the site where the old one stood,
and was only inclosed and made fit for occupancy at the time, and
not finished and consecrated till 1798.
The population was drifting from Stratfield toward the borough of
Bridgeport, and in 1801 it was deemed advisable to demolish the
old church and build a new one in a more central situation. Mr.
Shelton saw the wisdom of this movement and encouraged it, though
it was attended very naturally with some painful considerations,
and took away a pleasing picture from the landscape which filled
the vision of Dr. Dwight when he wrote his poem entitled
"Greenfield Hill":
"Here, sky-encircled, Stratford's churches beam, And Stratfield's
turrets greet the roving eye."
The new church in the borough was so far completed as to be used
for public worship in the beginning of Advent, 1801, and two years
later "the ground floor was sold at public vendue for the purpose
of building the pews and seats thereon, and finishing the church;
and the money raised in the sale amounted to between six and seven
hundred dollars." The cost of the building--about thirty-five
hundred dollars--was over and above this, and was met by the
voluntary contributions of the people. Mr. Shelton, in speaking of
the completion of the whole work, said: "It has been conducted in
harmony, with good prudence, strict economy, and a degree of
elegance and taste which does honor to the committee, and adds
respectability to the place."
For nearly forty years the scene of his ministerial labors was
undisturbed, and he dwelt among his people in quietness and
confidence, and had the satisfaction of seeing them attain to a
high degree of worldly prosperity, and St. John's Church in
Bridgeport, especially, to be one of the strongest and most
flourishing in the diocese. The silent influence of a good life
carried him along smoothly, and left its gentle impress wherever
he was known. "A faithful pastor, a guileless and godly man," is a
part of the inscription upon the marble monument erected over his
ashes in the Mountain Grove Cemetery at Bridgeport, a few years
since, by his son William, and these words sum up very appropriately
his ministerial and Christian character.
While he confined himself closely to the duties of his cure, he
shrank not from work put upon him by the diocese, and was for
twenty-four years a member of the standing committee, and a firm
supporter of ecclesiastical authority in seasons of trial and
trouble. He was also several times chosen a deputy to the General
Convention, and never failed to attend its sessions.
There were things that gave him great pain towards the end of his
days, and "put his confidence in the providence of God to a severe
test." He and Mr. Baldwin, so long earnest and friendly workers in
adjoining fields of labor, appear to have reached the same
determination at the same time, and probably they conferred
together before resigning their respective rectorships, which they
both did in 1824. Bishop Brownell, referring to this action in his
address to the annual convention of that year said: "These
clergymen were admitted to their ministry at the first Episcopal
ordination ever held in America, and have served their respective
parishes for more than thirty years. They have labored faithfully
in the Church in this diocese during its darkest periods of
depression, and through the progressive stages of its advancement
they have taken an important part in its councils. They have
'borne the burden and heat of the day,' and are entitled to the
gratitude of all those who enjoy the fruits of their counsels and
labors."
Mr. Shelton confined his services after this wholly to the Church
in Fairfield, but he did not long survive the change. He died on
the 27th of February, 1825, and was buried under the chancel of
the old church in Mill Plain, Fairfield, where he had ministered
so many years, including his time as lay-reader, and a marble
tablet was provided by the congregation to mark his resting-place,
on which among other things were inscribed the date of his birth,
graduation, admission to Holy Orders, and the words: "being the
first clergyman episcopally ordained in the United States."
In 1842 the parishioners of Trinity Church, Fairfield, voted to
remove all the public services to the chapel, which had been built
seven years before in the borough of Southport, about a mile and a
half distant from Mill Plain, and to transfer the site, title, and
rights of the parish to that edifice. The old church was
afterwards taken down and parts of it used to build the rectory in
Southport. The memorial tablet was also transferred, but on the
afternoon of March 11, 1854, the Southport Church was accidentally
burnt, and the tablet destroyed. The remains of Mr. Shelton now
have a final resting-place with his sainted wife and two of his
daughters in the cemetery before mentioned. A monumental tablet in
the wall of St. John's Church, Bridgeport, "bears an affectionate
testimony to his Christian worth and ministerial fidelity." Bishop
Brownell, in his address to the Annual Convention of the Diocese,
said of him very truly: "He has faithfully and successfully
labored for almost forty years in the parish from which his Divine
Master has now called him to his rest. He has taken an important
part in the ecclesiastical concerns of the diocese, from the
period of its first organization, and the moderation and prudence
of his counsels have contributed, in no small degree, to the
welfare of the Church. For simplicity of character, amiable
manners, unaffected piety, and a faithful devotion to the duties
of the ministerial office, he has left an example by which all his
surviving brethren may profit, and which few of them can hope to
surpass."
His widow survived him thirteen years--an intelligent and devout
churchwoman who, as it has been said, "left a name only to be
loved and honored by her friends." Two of his sons entered the
ministry. The younger of them, George Augustus Shelton, a graduate
of Yale College, died in 1863, Rector of St. James's Church,
Newtown, L. I. The other, the late William Shelton, D. D.,
succeeded his father for a time in Fairfield, and then went to
Buffalo, where for more than half a century he was the distinguished
Rector of St. Paul's Church, the oldest parish in that city.
Both died childless, and the name of Shelton has disappeared
from the list of our clergy.
The Bishop then proceeded with the service, being assisted in the
administration by the Rev. Dr. Beardsley and the Rev. Messrs.
Francis Goodwin and S. O. Seymour of Hartford. After the service,
the churchwomen of Middletown entertained the clergy and visitors
at the Berkeley Divinity School.
The following is a list of the clergymen who were present:
The Right Rev. the Bishop; the Rev. Dr. Beardsley of New Haven;
the Rev. Messrs. E. W. Babcock, New Haven; Prof. John Binney,
Middletown; J. W. Bradin, Hartford; Sylvester Clarke, Bridgeport;
Francis Goodwin, Hartford; F. D. Harriman, Middle Haddam; Prof.
Samuel Hart, Hartford; J. W. Hyde, West Hartford; Prof. W. A.
Johnson, Middletown; W. F. Nichols, Hartford; J. L. Parks,
Middletown; Prof. F. T. Russell, Waterbury; B. S. Sanderson,
Wethersfield; S. O. Seymour, Hartford; John Townsend, Middletown;
S. H. Watkins. Bristol; W. W. Webb, Middletown; Charles
Westermann, Middle Haddam; Henry Edwards, Hagerstown, Md.: W. B.
Walker, Augusta, Ga.
APPENDIX.
COMMEMORATION AT ABERDEEN,
OCTOBER 7-8, 1884.
In his address to the Diocesan Convention of 1884, Bishop Williams
said:
"I have received an invitation to be present at Aberdeen,
Scotland, during the first week in October next, and to take part
in the celebration of the centenary of the consecration of our
first Bishop. This invitation I have, after much hesitation,
decided, with your consent, my brethren, to accept. And inasmuch
as the month of August and early September are not very available
for visitations of the parishes, as it is more than forty years
since I was in Great Britain, and as it is very unlikely that I
shall ever visit it again, I have also determined, again with your
consent, to sail for England, if so God wills, on the nineteenth
of July, hoping to be permitted to return hither as soon as the
services of the Commemoration are ended.
"I am to be the bearer of an address to the Episcopate of Scotland
from the House of Bishops in this country; and it would be
peculiarly gratifying to my feelings, as well as most seemly in
itself considered, could I also carry out an Address from our own
Convention. If our whole Church owes a debt of gratitude to the
venerable prelates who laid hands on Seabury, surely this Diocese
has especial cause to acknowledge to their successors the
obligations under which the loving kindness of those prelates has
placed those who have gone before us, ourselves, and those who
shall come after us to the latest generations."
This part of the Bishop's address was referred to a special
committee, on whose recommendation--their report being presented
by their chairman, the Rev. Dr. Harwood--the following resolutions
were unanimously adopted:
_Resolved_, That this Convention has heard with great
satisfaction that the Bishop has received and accepted an
invitation to be present at Aberdeen in October next, to take part
in the centenary commemoration of the Consecration of Bishop
Seabury; and that, in giving its assent to the Bishop's request
for leave of absence, the Convention assures him that the best
wishes and prayers of the Diocese will go with him.
_Resolved_, That the Rev. Dr. E. E. Beardsley, the Rev.
Samuel F. Jarvis, the Rev. Samuel Hart, and the Rev. William F.
Nichols, be and they are hereby commissioned to present to the
Scottish Bishops an Address in the name of this Convention; and
that the Secretary be instructed to furnish them with a
certificate of their appointment.
_Resolved_, That this Committee have permission to sit after
the adjournment of this Convention, to prepare the Address.
At a meeting held after the adjournment of the Convention, the
Rev. Dr. Beardsley being called to the chair, it was resolved, on
motion of the Rev. J. J. McCook, to take measures for procuring a
suitable memorial of the gratitude of the Diocese of Connecticut
to be presented to the Church in Scotland at the approaching
centenary commemoration; and to that end the chairman appointed as
a Committee, with power, the Rev. Messrs. John Townsend, John J.
McCook, and William F. Nichols. The Committee determined that the
memorial should take the form of a Paten and Chalice, and
subscriptions for the same in small amounts were solicited and
received from clergymen and lay persons throughout the Diocese.
THE Bishop of Connecticut and the four Presbyters appointed by the
Convention attended the commemorative service at St. Andrew's
Church, Aberdeen, on the seventh day of October. [Footnote: The
Rev. Howard S. Clapp and the Rev. Gouverneur M. Wilkins were also
present from Connecticut.
Duplicate copies of the special minutes of the Episcopal Synod
recording the proceedings at the Centenary in Aberdeen and of the
official record of the meeting of the Synod on the eighth of
October, have been forwarded to the Bishop of Connecticut for
preservation in the Archives of the Diocese. They are authenticated
by the signatures of five of the Scottish Bishops and attested
by Hugh James Rollo, Esq., W. S., Registrar to the Primus
and Assistant Lay-Clerk to the College of Bishops.] The
Holy Communion was celebrated according to the Scottish rite; and,
in the presence of a large congregation, including Bishops of the
Scottish, English, Irish, American, and Colonial Churches, about
two hundred clergymen, and a large body of the faithful laity,
Bishop Williams preached the following sermon:
ISAIAH 1x. 5.--"Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine
heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the
sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall
come unto thee."
The stirring prophecy which contains these words presents to us,
as does many another prophecy, the Divine ideal of the Church of
God. It shows us what that Church would be, even here in "the
progress of time, while, living by faith, she sojourns" in a world
lying in wickedness, had not man's folly and sin marred that
Divine ideal. It points us forward to the day when "in the
stability of that eternal seat which--now she patiently awaits,
she shall attain the final victory and the perfect peace."
[Footnote: St. Augustine, _De Civitate Dei._, Lib. i., Preface.]
The entire prophecy, as it runs through the several chapters from
the first of which the text is taken, finds its two horizons, so
to speak, in the First and Second Advents of our Lord. Its theme
is the period that lies between them. That period it describes as
one long year of Jubilee, the period of the new creation
redressing the confusions and desolations of the older one, in the
power and abiding presence of the same Holy Spirit That once moved
"upon the face of the waters," and is now, "by the washing of
regeneration" and in His own renewing life, "shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour." As the story of that older
creation began with the fiat "Let there be light," so the prophecy
of this new one begins with the words, "Arise, shine, for thy
light is come." As that creation found its consummation in the
Paradise wherein grew "every tree pleasant to the sight and good
for food," and in which unfallen man was placed, so this finds its
consummation in the new Paradise "in the midst" of which stands
the tree of life whose "leaves are for the healing of the
nations"; the dwellers in which are "trees of righteousness, the
planting of the Lord"; while itself is called "sought out, a city
not forsaken."
So much for the whole prophecy; and time forbids me to say more,
if indeed more were needed. Let us turn to that integral portion
which the text contains; and I venture, for the moment, to reverse
the order of its wording and to speak of its last clause first.
"The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces
of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." Growth is the normal law of
the Church's life. It may not always and at any given time be
growth in numbers, though, if other growth be not lacking, that is
sure to come. But growth there must be; growth "in grace and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ"; growth "into
Him in all things Which is the Head, even Christ"; growth upon and
in "the chief Corner-stone, in Whom all the building fitly framed
together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord." And such growth
does--it must--lead on directly to the gathering in of souls into
the Lord's kingdom; it must arouse that which we call the
missionary spirit in the Church, which was illustrated, as never
before nor since, in the life and example of Him Who came "to seek
and to save that which was lost"; which was inculcated by Him when
He bade the Twelve to "disciple all nations"; which was the burden
of the last words, "unto the uttermost part of the earth," that
fell on the ears of the adoring Apostles as He entered into the
bright cloud of the Ascension; and to which the miracle of
Pentecost had such direct and solemn reference. [Footnote: Baton's
Bampton Lectures, 1872, p. 363.]
When this normal law becomes a living conviction in the minds and
hearts of the Church's members, and, therefore, in the mind and
heart of the Church herself, then those two things follow which
the first part of my text (though, indeed, it is the illation from
the latter portion) brings before us, when it says that because of
the conversion of "the abundance of the sea," and because of the
incoming of "the Gentiles," "thou shalt see, and flow together,
and thine heart shall fear and be enlarged."
First, "thou shalt see, and flow together"; or, as it might better
read, "thou shalt see and be enlightened." As the mind takes in
those latest words of the Lord, "unto the uttermost part of the
earth," as the eye beholds the Church spreading outward from its
one centre in Jerusalem, "the vision and the faculty divine," if
not created, are at least sharpened and strengthened. We learn how
God "hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come He might
show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us
through Christ Jesus." We understand, as never before, "what is
the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of
[Footnote: Eaton's _Bampton Lectures_ 1872, p. 363] the world
hath been hid in God, Who created all things by Jesus Christ."
So it fared with St. Peter, after that vision of the great sheet
coming down from heaven had fully opened to him the universality
of the Church of God. Then his "delusive dream of temporal
deliverance became a real assurance of eternal redemption." Then
his "narrow estimate of the Divine Covenant with his own nation
expanded, under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, into the sublime
conception of the 'Israel of God.'" [Footnote: Lee _On Inspiration_,
p. 249 (American edition).]
"Thine heart shall fear and be enlarged." The fear surely is not
that of shivering dread or slavish terror. But it is that subduing
awe which always accompanies great joyfulness, and enters into it
in such a mysterious and perplexing way; even as God says, by
Jeremiah, that when all the nations of the earth shall hear of the
good which He will do unto Israel, "they shall fear and tremble
for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I procure unto
it." So when Jacob, awaking from the sleep in which he learned of
the new Covenant with God through the Incarnation of Christ,
exclaimed: "How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the
House of God, and this is the gate of Heaven!" And then, as the
unbounded love and mercy of the Father of all spirits comes to be
understood, the heart is in very deed "enlarged," as St. Paul's
heart was toward his Corinthian children; and it goes along, in
loving, active sympathy with the great purpose of God, "that in
the dispensation of the fulness of times, He might gather together
in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which
are on earth, even in Him."
Thus as the "Vision of peace, the blessed city Jerusalem" has
dawned upon our sight; as we have watched, its ever-spreading
walls and rising towers; as we have seen it builded up with living
stones, which are human souls redeemed and sanctified; we have
entered with a keener insight into, we have come to comprehend
more truly and more fully, "the length and breadth and depth and
height" of that "manifold wisdom of God" which is made "known by
the Church" even to "the principalities and powers in heavenly
places"; and our hearts have kindled into that constraining love
of Christ, in which we rejoice, with joy unspeakable, to work
together with Him in bringing men to the knowledge of the one way
of salvation, while, in the same deep love, we also endeavor to
"keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
Fathers and brethren, honored and beloved in the Lord! as I stand
here, this day, with a full heart but with trembling lips, the
unworthy successor of him who, in this city of old renown,
received a century ago the sacred deposit which he bore to the
Western world; as I look on this truly august gathering which
tells, as no words can tell, how God has blessed the vine planted
in early, possibly in Apostolic, days in "Britain divided from the
world," enabling her "to stretch out her branches unto the sea,
and her boughs unto the river"; as I think of all that has come
and gone in those hundred years in the marvellous growth and the
awakened inner life, acting and reacting on each other, of the
mother and the daughter Churches--for we all spring from one and
the same noble stock--I can find no better words in which to sum
up memories, thoughts, forecastings, than those which I have
endeavored somewhat to unfold: "Then thou shalt see, and be
enlightened, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because
the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces
of the Gentiles shall come unto thee."
And yet, one cannot but remember how far beyond all possible
anticipations of those brave hearts that once made such a venture
for Christ and His Church, are the things which our eyes look
upon, and which are a part of our everyday life and experience.