THE SOUTH ClIUKCJir. 1 ;{ 



The new church thus founded by the advice and action of 

 sister churches, as represented in the Hartford South Consocia- 

 tion, consisted of one hundred and twenty nienibers, some of 

 whom were direct descendants of those wlio constituted tlie pil- 

 lars of the Church in Farmington, organized nearly two liun- 

 dred years before. 



Four days after the action of the Consociation, or July \), 



1842, tlie first business meeting of the Church was held, when 

 Romeo Francis was appointed clerk, and Horatio Waldo super- 

 intendent of the Sunday-school. Six days later, July loth, 

 another Church meeting was held, and Elijah Francis was ap- 

 pointed first deacon, and Chauncey Cornwell second deacon. 

 Both had been deacons of the First Church before the division. 

 During the summer and early autumn of 1842, the pulpit was 

 supplied chiefly, by professors from the Theological Seminaries at 

 New Haven and East Windsor; but in October, Rev. Samuel 

 Rockwell was invited to preach. His services were so accei)t- 

 able that on November 18th, or less than five months after the 

 Church was organized, a call was extended to him, which was 

 accepted in a letter dated December 5, 1842, and on January 4, 



1843, he was installed pastor of the Church. Rev. Horace 

 Bushnell, D.D., of Hartford, preached the sermon, Rev. Joab 

 Brace, D.D., of Newington, made the ordaining prayer. The 

 charge to the pastor was given by Rev. Noah Porter, D.D., of 

 Farmington, and the right hand of fellowship by Rev. E. C. 

 Jones of Southington. 



The Church deemed itself fortunate in securing, at this criti- 

 cal period in its history, a pastor whose experience and good 

 judgment guided it wisely in its earlier years, and whose kindly 

 sympathy united it in strong bonds of fellowship. Mr. Rock- 

 well, in a communication made to .the Church the year before 

 his death, says, " When I came I found a united Church, a 

 praying Church, a Church waiting for the ministrations of the 

 gospel . . . . On my first survey of the field, I felt that 

 my work was more than half accomplished because that public 

 sentiment among all the business and influential men of the 

 place was so strongly in favor of good order, temperance, Sab- 

 bath-schools, and vital religion." 



