THE TOWISf OF LEWISBORO. 44 1 



"September 29, 1763. At a meeting of the Church of Christ in 

 Salem, at the the meeting house,* considered whether this church would 

 adopt the Presbyterian form of church government. Voted in the 

 affirmative. 



2. " Agreed to choose five ruling Elders. 



3. " That those should stand but for one year. 



4. "Vote the following persons for the above time: 1. Deacon 

 Solomon Close; 2. Deacon John Bouton; 3. Josiah Gilburd, Esq.; 

 4. Joseph Osborne ; 5. Thadeus Crane." 



"April 10, 1765. At a meeting of church in Salem voted to con- 

 tinue the same elders as were above voted. Nemine contradicante : 

 Joseph Benedict was chosen elder in room of Joseph Osburn, de- 

 ceased." 



"September 30th, 1778, was elected to be deacon, Nathan Wicks in 

 the room of Deacon Close deceased; the same Mr. Wicks elected elder." 



"May 28, 1782, elected two elders, Nathan Rockwell, Esq., and 

 Capt. Gold Bouton," 



"April 27, 1786, Capt. Samuel Lawrence was chosen an elder in the 

 room of Col. Joseph Benedict, deceased."' 5 



From the western association of Fairfield County, Connecticut, the 

 congregation came under the care of " The Presbytery of Dutchess 

 County in the Province of New York upon the organization of that 

 ecclesiastical body, October 27^,1762." "The Reverend Messieurs 

 Elisha Kent, pastor of the first church in Phillip's Precinct, Solomon 

 Mead, pastor of the church in Salem, and Joseph Peck, pastor of the 

 second church in Philip's Precinct," were the original members. The 

 second session of the Presbytery was held at Salem on the first Tuesday 

 in January following (4th of January, 1763). During the thirty-three 

 years of its existence, Mr. Mead was almost invariably present at the 

 meetings of the Presbytery, which was dissolved in 1795. Salem church 

 then came under the care of the newly erected Presbytery of Hudson. 

 In 18 19 that Presbytery was divided, and Salem was connected with the 

 Presbytery of North River. By subsequent ecclesiastical arrangements 



a This must have been the old log house that once stood on the west side of the road opposite 

 to the present meeting house near the site of the late Gould Hawley's residence and which 

 Mr. Mead is pleased to call here "the meeting-house,'' Capt. Moses Bouton remembers to 

 have worshipped there at an early day ; but it never was designed originally as a place of 

 worship— for the Rev. Epenetus Towsend, rector of the parish, writing to the Venerable Prop- 

 agation Society from 8alem, March 25th, 1771) distinctly says : " There are some church people, 

 Presbyterians, Baptists and Quakers scattered among them, and great numbers who don't 

 belong to any particular denomination of Christians. It has been proposed by some to build 

 a church or Presbyterian meeting-house, but nothing is pet concluded, <fcc." The parochial 

 Church of St. James had been erected at upper Salem in 1763 and opened 31st of August, 1766. 

 The upper Presbyterian meeting-house which was the first constructed in Salem of that de- 

 nomination, was erected in upper Salem, 1764. 



b Rec. of Presbyterian church, South Salem, vol. I. entitled " Doings of the church of 

 Salem," p. 5. 



