HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 



The Parish, or Ecclesiastical Society, of tlie South Clnircli 

 in New Britain, occupies a portion of the original territory of 

 the town of Farmington ; and the Church, as an organized 

 body of believers, derives its existence from the Puritans 

 through the First Church of Hartford, the Farmington Church, 

 the Kensington Church, and the First Church of New Britain. 

 The First Church of Hartfoi^d was organized at Newtown, 

 (Cambridge,) Mass., about 1632, and Rev. Thomas Hooker was 

 ordained its pastor soon after his arrival from England, on 

 October 11, 1633. This Church was composed principally of 

 Puritans, who came from England between 1628 and 1632. In 

 June, 1636, the Church, with its pastor, made the journey 

 through the wilderness from Newtown to Hartford, where it 

 was permanently established. Four years later a number of 

 persons from this Church, with others from Wethersfield, com- 

 menced a settlement at Tunxis, afterwards named Farmington. 

 In 1645 the town of Farmington was incorporated by the Gen- 

 eral Court, and included the territory now occupied by New 

 Britain. 



In 1652 the Church in Farmington was organized, with 

 Rev. Roger Newton, Stephen Hart, Thomas Judd, John Bron- 

 son, John Cole, Thomas Thompson, and Robert Porter, consti- 

 tuting the seven pillars. Rev. Roger Newton was pastor, and 

 Stephen Hart and Thomas Judd were chosen deacons. 



The growth of the town and Church were remarkable for 

 that age. In 1655, three years after the Church was organized, 

 and ten years after the town was incorporated, there were but 

 forty-six ratable persons in the town, indicating a population 

 not far from two hundred. In 1756, about a hundred years 

 later, Farmington had a population of 3,707, and in 1774, of 



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