Among noticeable young men in the Colony of Connecticut, previous to 1640, is James Rogers.[27] His name first appears on record at New Haven, but shortly after, in 1637, he is a soldier from Saybrook in the Pequot war.[28] He is next at Stratford, where he acquires considerable real estate and marries Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Rowland, a landed proprietor of that place, who eventually leaves a valuable estate to his grandson, Samuel Rogers, and presumably other property to his daughter, who seems to have been an only child. A few years later, James Rogers appears at Milford. His wife joins the Congregational church there in 1645, and he himself joins this church in 1652.
He has evidently been a baker on a large scale for some time previous to 1655, at which date complaint is made to the General Court in regard to a quantity of biscuit furnished by him, which was exported to Virginia and the Barbadoes, upon which occasion he states that the flour furnished by the miller for this bread was not properly ground. The miller substantially admits that he did not at that time understand the correct manner of grinding.
In the course of ten years, Milford proves too small a port for the operations of this enterprising and energetic man, whose business includes supplies to seamen and troops. Governor Winthrop is holding out inducements for him to settle at New London. In 1656 he is empowered by the General Court to sell his warehouse at Milford, with his other property, provided said building be used only as a warehouse. He now begins to purchase valuable lands and houses at New London, and so continues for many years, frequently adding some choice house-lot, Indian clearing, meadowland, pasture or woodland to his possessions. In 1659 he sells to Francis Hall, an attorney of Fairfield, “all” his “lands, commons and houses in Stratford, Milford and New Haven.”—(History of Stratford.)
At New London, in addition to his large baking business, he has charge of the town mill, by lease from Governor Winthrop, at the head of an inlet called Winthrop’s Cove and forming Winthrop’s Neck, which neck comprises the home lot of the governor. That James Rogers may build his house near the mill,[29] the Governor conveys to him a piece of his own land adjoining, upon which Mr. Rogers builds a stone dwelling. He also builds a stone bakery by the cove and has a wharf at this point.[30]
The long Main street of the town takes a sharp turn around the head of the cove, past the mill and to the house of the Governor, the latter standing on the east side of the cove, within a stone’s throw of the mill.
The native forest is all around, broken here and there by a patch of pasture or planting ground. One of the main roads leading into the neighboring country runs southerly five miles to the Great Neck, a large, level tract of land bordering Long Island Sound. Another principal country road runs northerly from the mill, rises a long hill, and, after the first two or three miles, is scarcely more than an Indian trail, extending five miles to Mohegan, the headquarters of Uncas and his tribe. Upon this road are occasional glimpses, through the trees, of the “Great River” (later the Thames).
James Rogers is soon not only the principal business man of this port, but, next to the Governor, the richest man in the colony. His property in the colony much exceeds that of the Governor. He is prominent in town and church affairs, he and his wife having joined the New London church; also frequently an assistant at the Superior Court and deputy at the General Court. His children are receiving a superior education for the time, as becomes their father’s means and station. Life and activity are all about these growing youth, at the bakery, at the mill, at the wharf. Many are the social comings and goings, not only to and from the Governor’s house,[31] just beside them, but to and from their own house. His extensive business dealings and his attendance at court have brought James Rogers in contact with intelligent and prosperous men all over the colony, among whom he is a peer. His education is good, if not superior, for the time. He numbers among his personal friends some of the principal planters in this colony and neighboring colonies.
In 1666 James Rogers retires from active business. His sons Samuel and Joseph are capable young men past their majority. Samuel is well fitted to take charge of the bakery. Joseph inclines to the life of a country gentleman. John, an active youth of eighteen, is the scholar of the family. He writes his father’s deeds and other business documents, which indicates some knowledge of the law. Besides being sons of a rich man, these are exceptionally capable young men. That there is no stain upon their reputations is indicated by the favor with which they are regarded by certain parents of marriageable daughters. In this year occurs the marriage of Samuel to the daughter of Thomas Stanton, who is a prominent man in the colony and interpreter between the General Court and the Indians. The parents of each make a handsome settlement upon the young people, James Rogers giving his son the stone dwelling-house and the bakery. This young man has recently sold the farm received from his grandfather, Samuel Rowland. Having also grants from the town and lands from his father (to say nothing of gifts from Owaneco), together with a flourishing business, Samuel Rogers is a rich man at an early age.
Somewhat before the marriage of Samuel, his father, in anticipation of this event, established himself upon the Great Neck, on a farm bought in 1660, of a prominent settler named Obadiah Bruen. This is one of the old Indian planting grounds so valuable in these forest days. Yet James Rogers does not reside long on the beautiful bank of Robin Hood’s Bay (now Jordan Cove), for in this same year his son Joseph, not yet twenty-one years of age, receives this place, “the farm where I now dwell” and also “all my other lands on the Great Neck,” as a gift from his father. All the “other lands” being valuable, this is a large settlement. (It appears to mark the year of Joseph’s marriage, although the exact date and also the name of the bride are unknown. The residence of James Rogers for the next few years is uncertain; it is not unlikely that he takes up his abode in one of his houses in town, or possibly at the Mamacock farm, on the Mohegan road and the “Great River,” which place was formerly granted by the town to the Rev. Mr. Blinman, and, upon the latter’s removal from New London, was purchased by Mr. Rogers.)
The next marriage in this family is that of Bathsheba, a beloved daughter. She marries a young man named Richard Smith. A prominent feature in the character of this daughter is her fidelity to her parents and brothers, and especially to her brother John.
1670.
Matthew Griswold is a leading member in the church of Saybrook. He resides close by the Sound, at Lyme, on a broad sweep of low-lying meadows called Blackhall, which is but a small portion of his landed estate. His wife is a daughter of Henry Wolcott, one of the founders and principal men of Windsor, and a prominent man in the colony. Matthew Griswold is, like James Rogers, a frequent assistant and deputy. There are many proofs that he and his wife are persons of much family pride, and not without good reasons for the same. When, in 1670, they enter into an agreement with James Rogers for the marriage of their daughter Elizabeth to his son John, it is doubtless with the knowledge that this is a very promising young man, as well as the son of a wealthy and generous father.
How far from the mind of the young lover, when, on the night before the happy day when he is to call Elizabeth his bride, he pens the writing[32] which is to give her the Mamacock farm, recently presented to him by his father, is a thought of anything that can part them until death itself. To this writing he adds: “I do here farther engage not to carry her out of the colony of Connecticut.” This sentence goes to prove the great fondness of the parents for this daughter, her own loving desire to live always near them, and the ready compliance of the young lover with their wishes. He marries her at Blackhall, October 17, and takes her to the beautiful river farm which upon that day becomes her own. He does not take her to the farmhouse built by Mr. Blinman, but to a new and commodious dwelling, close by the Mohegan road, whose front room is 20 by 20, and whose big fireplaces, in every room, below and above, will rob the wintry blasts of their terror. The marriage settlement upon the young couple, by James Rogers and Matthew Griswold, includes provisions, furniture, horses, sheep, and kine.[33]
In 1673, James Rogers, Jr., is of age. No large gift of land to this young man is recorded; for which reason it seems probable that his principal portion in the lifetime of his father is the good ship of which he is master. His ability to navigate and command a foreign bound vessel at such an age is sufficient guarantee of the skill and enterprise of this youth. In 1674, the young shipmaster has (according to tradition in that branch of the family—Caulkins) among his passengers to Connecticut a family emigrating from Ireland, one member of which is an attractive young woman twenty years of age. Before the vessel touches port, the young captain and his fair passenger are betrothed, and the marriage takes place soon after.[34]
Although John Rogers resides at Mamacock farm, he is by no means wholly occupied in the care of that place; a young man of his means has capable servants. As for years past, he is actively interested in business, both for his father and himself. At Newport, in the year 1674, he meets with members of the little Sabbatarian church of that place, recently started by a few devout and earnest students of the Bible, who having, some years before, perceived that certain customs of the Congregational churches have no precedent or authority in Scripture, resolved to follow these customs no longer, but to be guided solely by the example and precepts of Christ and his apostles. In attempting to carry out this resolve, they renounced and denounced sprinkling and infant baptism and attached themselves to the First Baptist Church of Newport. About 1665, they were led, by the teachings of Stephen Mumford, a Sabbatarian from England, to discern in the first day Sabbath the authority of man and not of God. Under this persuasion, the little company came out of the First Baptist Church, of Newport, and formed the Sabbatarian Church of that place. Mr. Thomas Hiscox is pastor of this little church, and Mr. Samuel Hubbard and his wife (formerly among the founders of the First Congregational Church of Springfield, Mass.) are among its chief members. During this year, under the preaching and teachings of this church, John Rogers is converted.
Hitherto this young man and his wife Elizabeth have been members of the regular church, as ordinary membership is accounted, and their two children have been baptized in that church, at New London. If children of professed Christians, baptized in childhood, lead an outwardly moral life, attend the stated worship and otherwise conform to the various church usages, this is sufficient to constitute them, as young men and young women, members in good and regular standing. The daughter of Elder Matthew Griswold has been as ignorant of the work of regeneration as has been the son of James Rogers.
The conversion of John Rogers was directly preceded by one of those sudden and powerful convictions of sin so frequently exemplified in all ages of the Christian church, and so well agreeing with Scriptural statements regarding the new birth. Although leading a prominently active business life, in a seaport town, from early youth, and thus thrown among all classes of men and subjected to many temptations, this young man has given no outward sign of any lack of entire probity. Whatever his lapses from exact virtue, they have occasioned him no serious thought, until, by the power of this conversion, he perceives himself a sinner. Under this deep conviction the memory of a certain youthful error weighs heavily upon his conscience.
He has at this time one confidant, his loving, sympathetic and deeply interested young wife, who cordially welcomes the new light from Newport. In the candid fervor of his soul, he tells her all, even the worst he knows of himself, and that he feels in his heart that, by God’s free grace, through the purifying blood of Jesus Christ, even his greatest sin is washed away and forgiven.
Does this young woman turn, with horror and aversion, from the portrayal of this young man’s secret sin? By no means.[35] She is not only filled with sympathy for his deep sorrow and contrition, but rejoices with him in his change of heart and quickened conscience. More than this, understanding that even one as pure as herself may be thus convicted of sin and thus forgiven and reborn, she joins with him in prayer that such may be her experience also. They study the New Testament together, and she finds, as he has said, that there is here no mention of a change from a seventh to a first day Sabbath, and no apparent warrant for infant baptism, but the contrary; the command being first to believe and then to be baptized. Other things they find quite contrary to the Congregational way. In her ardor, she joins with him to openly declare these errors in the prevailing belief and customs.
Little is the wonder that to Elder Matthew Griswold and his wife the news that their daughter and her husband are openly condemning the usages of the powerful church of which they, and all their relatives, are such prominent members, comes like a thunderbolt. Their own daughter is condemning even the grand Puritan Sabbath and proposes to work hereafter upon that sacred day and to worship upon Saturday. They find that her husband has led Elizabeth into this madness. They accuse and upbraid him, they reason and plead with him. But all in vain. He declares to them his full conviction that this is the call and enlightenment of the Lord himself. Moreover, was it not the leading resolve of the first Puritans to be guided and ruled only by the Word of God and of His Son, Jesus Christ? Did they not warn their followers to maintain a jealous watchfulness against any belief, decree or form of worship not founded upon the Scriptures? Did they not urge each to search these Scriptures for himself? He has searched these Scriptures, and Elizabeth with him, and they have found a most astonishing difference between the precepts and example of Christ and the practice and teachings of the Congregational church.
Elder Matthew Griswold is ready with counter arguments on the Presbyterian side. But “the main instrument” by which Elizabeth is restored to her former church allegiance is her mother, the daughter of Henry Wolcott. This lady is sister of Simon Wolcott, who is considered one of the handsomest, most accomplished and most attractive gentlemen of his day. Although she may have similar charms and be a mother whose judgment a daughter would highly respect, yet she is evidently one of the last from whom could be expected any deviation, in belief or practice, from the teachings and customs of her father’s house. That her daughter has been led to adopt the notions of these erratic Baptists is, to her mind, a disgrace unspeakable. She soon succeeds in convincing Elizabeth that this is no influence of the Holy Spirit, as declared by John Rogers, but a device of the Evil One himself. Under such powerful counter representations, on the part of her relatives and acquaintances, as well as by later consideration of the social disgrace attendant upon her singular course, Elizabeth is finally led to publicly recant her recently avowed belief, despite the pleadings of her husband. At the same time, she passionately beseeches him to recant also, declaring that unless he will renounce the evil spirit by which he has been led, she cannot continue to live with him. He, fully persuaded that he has been influenced by the very Spirit of God, declares that he cannot disobey the divine voice within his soul.
One sad day, after such a scene as imagination can well picture, this young wife prepares herself, her little girl of two years and her baby boy, for the journey to Blackhall, with the friends who have come to accompany her. Even as she rides away, hope must be hers that, after the happy home is left desolate, her husband will yield to her entreaties. Not so with him as he sees depart the light and joy of Mamacock, aye, Mamacock itself which he has given her. He drinks the very dregs of this cup without recoil. He parts with wife and children and lands, for His name’s sake. Well he knows in his heart, that for him can be no turning. And what can he now expect of the Griswolds?
Although his own home is deserted and he will no more go cheerily to Blackhall, there is still a place where dear faces light at his coming. It is his father’s house. Here are appreciative listeners to the story of his recent experiences and convictions; father and mother, brothers and sisters, are for his sake reading the Bible anew. They find exact Scripture warrant for his sudden, deep conviction of sin and for his certainty that God has heard his fervent prayers, forgiven his sins and bestowed upon him a new heart. They find no Scripture warrant for a Sabbath upon the first day of the week, nor for baptism of other than believers, nor for a specially learned and aristocratic ministry. They, moreover, see no authority for the use of civil power to compel persons to religious observances, and such as were unknown to the early church, and no good excuse for the inculcating of doctrines and practices contrary to the teachings of Christ and his apostles. Shortly, James, the young shipmaster, has an experience similar to that of his brother, as has also an Indian by the name of Japhet. This Indian is an intelligent and esteemed servant in the family of James Rogers, Sr.
At this time, the home of James Rogers is upon the Great Neck. By some business agreement, his son Joseph resigned to his father, in 1670, the lands upon this Neck which had been given him in 1666. In this year (1674), his father reconfirms to him the property bought of Obadiah Bruen, by Robin Hood’s Bay. The younger children, Jonathan and Elizabeth, are still at home with their parents. Bathsheba and her family are living near, on the Great Neck, as are also Captain James and his family.
Although John may still lay some claim to Mamacock farm, while awaiting legal action on the part of the Griswolds, it can be no home to him in these days of bitter bereavement. Warm hearts welcome him to his father’s house, by the wide blue Sound, and here he takes up his abode. Never a man of his temperament but loved the sea and the wind, the sun and the storm, the field and the wood. All of these are here. Here, too, is his “boat,” evidently as much a part of the man as his horse. No man but has a horse for these primitive distances, and in this family will be none but the best of steeds and boats in plenty.
Near the close of this eventful year, Mr. James Rogers sends for Mr. John Crandall to visit at his house. Mr. Crandall has, for some time, been elder of the Baptist church at Westerly, an offshoot of the Baptist church of Newport. He has recently gone over with his flock to the Sabbatarian church of Newport. If the subject of possible persecution in Connecticut is brought up, who can better inspire the new converts with courage for such an ordeal than he who has been imprisoned and whipped in Boston for daring to avow his disbelief in infant baptism and his adherence to the primitive mode by immersion? The conference is so satisfactory, that Mr. Crandall baptizes John Rogers, his brother James, and the servant Japhet.—(Letter of Mr. Hubbard.)
News of the baptism of these young men into the Anabaptist faith by Mr. Crandall, at their father’s house, increases the comment and excitement already started in the town. The minister, Mr. Simon Bradstreet, expresses a hope that the church will “take a course” with the Rogers family. The Congregational churches at large are greatly alarmed at this startling innovation in Connecticut. The tidings travel fast to Blackhall, dispelling any lingering hope that John Rogers may repent of his erratic course. Immediately after this occurrence, his wife, by the aid of her friends, takes steps towards securing a divorce and the guardianship of her children. From her present standpoint, her feelings and action are simply human, even, in a sense, womanly. He who is to suffer will be the last to upbraid her, his blame will be for those who won her from his view to theirs, from the simple word of Scripture to the iron dictates of popular ecclesiasticism.
If John Rogers and his friends know anything as yet of the plot on the part of the Griswolds to make the very depth of his repentance for an error of his unregenerate youth an instrument for his utter disgrace and bereavement, their minds are not absorbed at this time with matters of such worldly moment.
1675.
In March, 1675, James Rogers, Sr., and his family send for Elder Hiscox, Mr. Samuel Hubbard and his son Clarke, of the Sabbatarian church of Newport, to visit them. Before the completion of this visit, Jonathan Rogers (twenty years of age) is baptized. Following this baptism, John, James, Japhet and Jonathan are received as members of the Sabbatarian church of Newport, by prayer and laying on of hands.—(Letter of Mr. Hubbard.)
This consummation of John’s resolves brings matters to a hasty issue on the part of the Griswolds, in lines already planned. There is no law by which a divorce can be granted on account of difference in religious views. In some way this young man’s character must be impugned, and so seriously as to afford plausible grounds for divorcement. How fortunate that, at the time of his conversion, he made so entire a confidant of his wife. Fortunate, also, that his confession was a blot that may easily be darkened, with no hindrance to swearing to the blot. At this time, the young woman’s excited imagination can easily magnify that which did not appear so serious in the calm and loving days at Mamacock, even as with tear-wet eyes he told the sorrowful story of his contrition. Thus are laid before the judges of the General Court, representations to the effect that this is no fit man to be the husband of Elizabeth, daughter of Matthew Griswold. The judges, lawmakers and magistrates of Connecticut belong to the Congregational order—the only elite and powerful circle of the time; this, taken in connection with the unfavorable light in which the Rogerses are now regarded in such quarters, is greatly to the Griswold advantage.
Yet, despite aversion and alarm on the part of the ruling dignitaries regarding the new departure and the highly colored petition that has been presented to the court by the daughter of Matthew Griswold, there is such evident proof that the petitioner is indulging an intensity of bitterness bordering upon hatred towards the man who has refused, even for her sake, to conform to popular belief and usages, that the judges hesitate to take her testimony, even under oath. Moreover, the only serious charge in this document rests solely upon the alleged declaration of John Rogers against himself, in a private conference with his wife. This charge, however, being represented in the character of a crime[36] (under the early laws), is sufficient for his arrest. Very soon after his reception into the Sabbatarian church, the young man is seized and sent to Hartford for imprisonment, pending the decision of the grand jury.
Although John Rogers has been a member of the Sabbatarian church but a few weeks, he is already pastor of a little church on the Great Neck (under the Newport church) of which his father, mother, brothers and sisters are devout attendants, together with servants of the family and neighbors who have become interested in the new departure. Who will preach to this little congregation, while its young pastor is in Hartford awaiting the issue of the Griswold vengeance? Of those who have received baptism, James is upon the “high seas,” in pursuance of his calling, and Jonathan is but a youth of twenty. Yet Mr. James Rogers does not permit the Seventh Day Sabbath of Christ and His disciples to pass unobserved. The little congregation gather at his house, as usual, and sit in reverent silence, as in the presence of the Lord.[37] Perchance the Holy Spirit will inspire some among them to speak or to pray. They are not thus gathered because this is the Quaker custom, for they are not Quakers; they are simply following a distinct command of the Master and awaiting the fulfilment of one of His promises.
William Edmundson, the Quaker preacher, driven by a storm into New London harbor on a Saturday in May, 1675, goes ashore there and endeavors to gather a meeting, but is prevented by the authorities. Hearing there are some Baptists five miles from town, who hold their meetings upon that day, he feels impressed with a desire to visit them. Meeting with two men of friendly inclinations, who are willing to accompany him, he goes to the Great Neck and finds there this little congregation, assembled as described, “with their servants and negroes,”[38] sitting in silence. At first (according to his account) they appear disturbed at the arrival of such unexpected guests; but, upon finding this stranger only a friendly Quaker, they welcome them cordially.
After sitting with them a short time in silence, the Quaker begins to question them in regard to their belief and to expound to them some of the Quaker doctrines. He sees they are desirous of a knowledge of God and finds them very “ready” in the Scriptures. He endeavors to convince them that after the coming of Christ a Sabbath was no longer enjoined, Christ having ended the law and being the rest of His people; also that the ordinance of water baptism should long ago have ended, being superseded by the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Although in no way convinced (as is afterwards fully demonstrated), they listen courteously to his arguments and to the prayer that follows. Not only so, but, by his declaration, they are “very tender and loving.” The next day, this zealous Quaker, having obtained leave of a man in New London, who is well inclined towards the Quakers, to hold a meeting at his house, finds among his audience several of the little congregation on the Great Neck. In the midst of this meeting, the constable and other officers appear, and break it up forcibly, with rough handling and abuse, much to the indignation of those who have been anxious to give Mr. Edmundson a fair hearing.
The week after his visit to New London, Mr. Edmundson is at an inn in Hartford, where he improves an opportunity to present certain Quaker doctrines to some of those stopping there, and judges that he has offered unanswerable arguments in proof that every man has a measure of the Spirit of Christ. Suddenly, a young man in the audience rises and argues so ably upon the other side as to destroy the effect of Mr. Edmundson’s discourse. This leads the latter to a private interview with his opponent, whose name he finds to be John Rogers, and who proves to be “pastor” of the people whose meeting he had attended at New London, on the Great Neck. He also learns from this pastor that he was summoned to Hartford, to appear before the Assembly, for the reason that, since he became a Baptist, the father of his wife, who is of the ruling church, had been violently set against him and was endeavoring to secure a divorce for his daughter on plea of a confession made to her by himself regarding “an ill fact” in his past life, “before he was her husband and while he was one of their church,” with which, “under sorrow and trouble of mind,” he “had acquainted her” and “which she had divulged to her father.”
Mr. Edmundson informs the young man that he has been with his people at New London and “found them loving and tender.”—(Journal of Mr. Edmundson.)
Since John Rogers remains at the inn for the night, he is evidently just released from custody. So interwoven were truth and misrepresentation in this case, that either admission or denial of the main charge must have been difficult, if not impossible, on the part of the accused. Moreover, there is for this young man, now and henceforth, no law, precedent or example, save such as he finds in the New Testament, through his Lord and Master. That Master, being asked to declare whether he was or was not the King of the Jews, a question of many possible phases and requiring such answer as his judges neither could nor would comprehend, answered only by silence. Ought this young man to repeat before these judges the exact statement made to his wife, in the sacred precincts of his own home, even if they would take the word of a despised Anabaptist like himself? It is not difficult to see the young man’s position and respect his entire silence, despite all efforts to make him speak out in regard to the accusation made by his wife in her petition.[39]
The case before the grand jury having depended solely upon the word of a woman resolved upon divorce and seeking ground for it, they returned that they “find not the bill,” and John Rogers was discharged from custody. Yet, in view of the representations of Elizabeth in her petition regarding her unwillingness, for the alleged reasons, to remain this young man’s wife, backed by powerful influence in her favor, the court gave her permission to remain with her children at her father’s for the present, “for comfort and preservation” until a decision be rendered regarding the divorce, by the General Court in October. No pains will be spared by the friends of Elizabeth to secure a favorable decision from this court.
The Rev. Mr. Bradstreet, bitter in his prejudice against the young man by whose influence has occurred such a departure from the Congregational church as that of James Rogers and his family and such precedent for the spread of anti-presbyterian views outside of Rhode Island, writes in his journal at this date: “He is now at liberty, but I believe he will not escape God’s judgment, though he has man’s.”
Mr. Bradstreet reveals in his journal knowledge that the charge advanced against this young man related to a period previous to his marriage and conversion, and rested upon a confession that he had made to his wife under conviction of sin and belief in the saving power of Christ, which cleanses the vilest sinner.[40] Yet knowing this, he says: “I believe he will not escape God’s judgment.” Truly New England Puritan theology and the theology of the New Testament are strangely at variance in these days.
Week by week, the little band of Bible students on the Great Neck are becoming more and more familiar with the contents of the New Testament. Heretofore they have, like the majority, accepted religion as it has been prepared for them, as naturally as they have accepted other customs, fashions and beliefs. Now that they have begun to search and examine for themselves, it is in no half-way fashion. Doubtless to a bold, direct, enterprising mode of thought and action James Rogers owed his worldly success. It is evident that his children, by inheritance and example, possess like characteristics. Through the mystic power of conversion they have come “to see and to know”[41] the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They believe that the Scriptures were inspired by God himself, in the consciousness of holy men, and by His providence written and preserved for the instruction of succeeding generations; that, accordingly, what is herein written, by way of precept or example, is binding upon the regenerate man, and no command or example of men contrary to this Word should be obeyed, whatever the worldly menace or action may be.
John Rogers has already begun to work on the first day of the week. Moreover, in order to conform with exactness to the New Testament command and example relating to preachers of the Gospel, he has taken up a handicraft, that of shoemaking. At this date, all handicrafts are held in esteem, some of the most prominent men in a community having one or more; yet the large dealings of Mr. James Rogers have called for an active business life on the part of this son, who appears to have been his “right-hand man.” In taking up this handicraft, John Rogers appears not to neglect other business (in 1678 we shall find him fulfilling a contract to build a ship costing £4,640[42]), but to be busily employed at the bench in what might otherwise be his leisure hours, and especially upon that day which has been declared “holy” by man and not by God.
How closely this movement is watched by the Connecticut authorities appears by a law enacted in May of this year, in which it is ordered that no servile work shall be done on the Sabbath, save that of piety, charity or necessity, upon penalty of 10s. fine for each offense, and “in case the offence be circumstanced with high-handed presumption as well as profaneness the penalty to be augmented at the discretion of the judges.” What “high-handed presumption” and “profaneness” consist of, in this case, will soon be evident.
The hesitation of the New London church in dealing with the Rogerses can readily be understood. Mr. James Rogers is the principal taxpayer, his rates for church and ministry are largest of all, to say nothing of those of his sons. Not only this, but the family has been one of the most respected in the town. Perchance they may yet see the error of their ways, especially when they have decisive proof of what is likely to proceed from the civil arm, if this foolhardiness is continued.
Despite the ominous law aimed at themselves and their followers, James Rogers, his wife and their daughter Bathsheba Smith, are preparing for a final consecration to the unpopular cause. In September, 1676, John, Capt. James, Japhet and Jonathan, the four New London members of the Newport church, visit that church, and on their return, September 19, bring with them Elder Hiscox and Mr. Hubbard.—(Letter of Mr. Hubbard.)
The Great Neck is still in midsummer beauty, with delicate touches of autumnal brightness, when the hospitable mansion of James Rogers is reopened to the friends who were here on a like mission in the chilly days of winter. Grave and earnest must be the discourse of those gathered on this occasion. That Connecticut is resolved to withstand any inroad of new sects from Rhode Island, appears certain. But James Rogers and his sons are men not to be cowed or driven, especially when they judge their leadership to be from on High. This little family group is resolving to brave the power and opprobrium of Connecticut backed by Massachusetts.
If there is a hesitating voice in this assembly, it is probably that of Samuel Rogers, whose wife’s sister is the wife of Rev. James Noyes of Stonington, and who is similarly allied to other prominent members of the Congregational order. Yet his sympathies are with the cause he hesitates to fully espouse. (We shall find the next meeting of this kind at his house.) As for Bathsheba, surely nothing but the waiting for father and mother could so long have kept her from following the example of her brother John.
In front of the house lies the wide, blue Sound. It is easy to picture the scene, as the earnest, gray-haired man and his wife and daughter accompany Elder Hiscox down the white slope of the beach to the emblem of cleansing that comes to meet them. No event in the past busy career of James Rogers can have seemed half so momentous as the present undertaking. There are doubtless here present not a few spectators, some of them from the church he has renounced, to whom this baptism is as novel as it is questionable; but they must confess to its solemnity and a consciousness that the rite in Christ’s day was of a similar character. Those who came to smile have surely forgotten that purpose, as the waters close over the man who has been so honorable and honored a citizen, and who, despite the ridicule and the censure, has only been seeking to obey the commands of the Master, and, through much study, pious consideration and fervent prayer, has decided upon so serious a departure from the New England practice.
A summons for James Rogers and his wife and daughter to appear before the magistrate is not long in coming. But they are soon released. It cannot be an easy, pleasant or popular undertaking to use violent measures against citizens of such good repute as James Rogers and his family, whose earnest words in defense of their course must have more genuine force than any the reverend minister can bring to bear against it.
There is another Bible precedent wholly at variance with the Congregational custom that this little church zealously advocates. The apostles and teachers in the early church exacted no payment for preaching the gospel, receiving—with the exception of the travelling ministry—only such assistance as might any needy brother or sister in the church. This practice was eminently suitable for the promulgation of a religion that was to be “without money and without price,” and well calculated to keep out false teachers actuated by mercenary motives. So great a religion having been instituted, among antagonistic peoples, by men who gave to that purpose only such time as they could snatch from constant struggles for a livelihood, and all its doctrines and code having been fully written out by these very men, could not the teachers and pastors of successive ages so, and with such dignity, maintain themselves and their families, giving undeniable proof that their calling was of God and not of mammon?
We have seen the young man, John Rogers, preparing himself for such a life as this. He has laid aside the worldly dignity and ease that might be his as the son of a rich man, to work at the humble trade of shoemaking; that he may place himself fully with the common people and give of the earnings of his own hands to the poor, as did the brethren of old.
The General Court has heretofore discovered no sufficient reason for granting the petition of Elizabeth Griswold for a divorce. It is probable that, up to this date, it has looked for some relenting on the part of the young nonconformist, rather than movements so distinctly straightforward in the line of dissent. But now that James Rogers and family have openly followed his lead to the extent of engaging in manual labor upon the first day of the week, and certain others on the Great Neck, who are members of the Congregational church, are regarding the movement with favor, the sympathy of this practically ecclesiastical body is fully enlisted for the Griswolds.
This Court, which, for nearly a year beyond the time appointed for its decision, has hesitated to grant the divorce to Elizabeth, now, with no further ground than that first advanced, except this evidently fixed determination of John Rogers and his relatives to persist in their nonconformity, “doe find just cause to grant her desire and doe” (Oct. 12, 1676) “free her from her conjugal bond to John Rogers.”
Among the documents kept on file relating to trials and decisions, the petition of Elizabeth does not appear in evidence, that the public may examine it and discover the nature of the charge put forward for the divorce. This petition and other evidence are kept state and family secrets. There is a law by which particulars of any trial which it is desired to keep secret must not be divulged by speech or otherwise, under penalty of a heavy fine for each such offense. Well may John Rogers and his son by Elizabeth Griswold ever declare that this divorce was desired and obtained for no other cause than “because John Rogers had renounced his religion.”
At the meeting of the County Court in January of this year, John Rogers, Capt. James Rogers, Joseph Rogers, Richard Smith (husband of Bathsheba), and one Joseph Horton are fined 15s. each for non-attendance at church. All except John and Capt. James Rogers offer excuse for this offense.
1677.
In the following February, James Rogers, Sr., and his wife Elizabeth, Capt. James and his wife, Joseph and his wife, John, Bathsheba and Jonathan, are each fined 15s. at the County Court for non-attendance at church.
At the next County Court, in June, besides non-attendance at church, John Rogers is charged with attending to his work on the first day of the week, in May last, and with having upon that day brought “a burthen of shoes into the town.” Upon this occasion, he owns to these facts in court, and further declares before that assembly that if his shop had stood under the window of Mr. Wetherell (magistrate) or next to the meeting-house, he would thus have worked upon the first day of the week. Capt. James and his brother Jonathan being arraigned at the same court for non-attendance at church and for work upon the first day of the week, assert that they have worked upon that day and will so work for the future. James Rogers, Sr., being examined upon a like charge, owns that he has not refrained from servile work upon the first day of the week “and in particular his plowing.” “He had,” says the record, “been taken of plowing the 6th day of May,” by which it appears that he has been imprisoned from that time until this June court, as has John also, since his apprehension with the load of shoes. To have secured bail they must have promised “good behavior”—viz. cessation of work on the first day—until this session of the court, which they could not do, being resolved upon this same regular course.
Mary, wife of Capt. James Rogers, herself a member of the Newport church, is presented at the same court for absenting herself for the last six months from public worship. Bathsheba Smith is presented for the same, and also for a “lying, scandalous paper against the church and one of its elders” set up “upon the meeting house.” This paper was evidently occasioned by the abovementioned imprisonment of her father and brother on account of their having substituted the Scriptural Sabbath for that instituted centuries later by ecclesiastical law.
The court “sees cause to bear witness against such pride, presumption and horrible profaneness in all the said persons, appearing to be practiced and resolved in the future,” and order that “a fine of £5 apiece be taken from each of them and that they remain in prison at their own charge until they put in sufficient bond or security to no more violate any of the laws respecting the due observance of the first day of the week,” or “shall forthwith upon their releasement depart and remain out of the colony.” Bathsheba is fined £5 for non-attendance at church and the “scandalous paper,” and Mary and Elizabeth 10s. each for non-attendance at church.
It is evident that a crisis has now arrived; the sacred Puritan Sabbath has been ignored in an amazingly bold manner by this little band of dissenters, who openly declare, in court, their intention of keeping a seventh day Sabbath, and that alone, whatever be the menace or the punishment.
In these early days, £5 is so large a sum as to be of the nature of an extreme penalty. Truly, the “discretion of the judges” is beginning to work. How James Rogers and his two sons escaped from prison at all, after this sentence, does not appear; certainly they did not give any bonds not to repeat their offenses nor any promise to remove from the colony. Proof of their release is in the fact that they are all again before the court at its very next meeting, in September, together with Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph and his wife, all for non-attendance at church; and upon this occasion, John declares that he neither does nor will attend the Congregational church, nor will he refrain from servile work on the first day of the week, upon which the court repeats the fine of £5 “for what is past” and recommends to the commissioners that the delinquent be called to account by a £5 fine “if not once a week yet once a month.” This, if strictly carried out, means almost constant imprisonment for John at his own charge, since it is against his principles to pay any such fines, or to give any of the required promises. Even could he be at large, £60 a year would seem to be more than he could earn by shoemaking. (At this period, £60 would buy a good farm “with mansion house thereon.”)
Besides the arraignment of the Rogers family at the June court, as previously described, a suit is brought by Matthew Griswold for damages to the amount of £300. A part of this sum is for the Mamacock farm, which John Rogers very naturally declined to deliver up to the marshal on demand of the divorced wife, which refusal is denominated by Mr. Griswold in this suit a “breach of covenant.” Another part is for the Griswold share of articles comprised in the marriage settlement of the fathers upon the couple. In this sum of £300 is also included a considerable charge for the maintenance of Elizabeth and her children at her father’s, during the time between her leaving her husband’s house and the date of the divorcement by the General Court; also board for her and her first child three months at her father’s house, during an illness following birth of said child (see Chapter XIV, “Dragon’s Teeth”).
Thus the divorced husband is asked to deliver up the farm he gave Elizabeth in full expectation of her remaining his wife, to repay all that her father gave them during the four years of their happy married life, to pay her board during a visit to her father’s house by solicitation of her parents,[43] and also to recompense her father for the maintenance of herself and children at the same place after she had deserted her husband and forcibly taken away his children.
It is to the credit of this County Court that, although incensed at the audacity of John Rogers in bringing a load of shoes into town on the first day of the week, together with his other “offenses,” it decides this case wholly in favor of the defendant.
An appeal is taken by Mr. Griswold. In the following October his suit comes before the Superior Court at Hartford. This court reverses the decision of the County Court as regards the farm, which is to “stand firm” to Elizabeth “during her natural life.”
At the October session of the General Court, Elizabeth Griswold petitions that her children may be continued with her and brought up by her, their father “being so hettridox in his opinions and practice.”
The court, “having considered the petition, and John Rogers having in open court declared that he did utterly renounce all the visible worship of New England and professedly declare against the Christian Sabbath as a mere invention,” grants her petition “for the present and during the pleasure of the court.” John Rogers is to pay a certain amount towards the support of his children at Matthew Griswold’s, for which the Mamacock farm is to stand as security.[44]
The various forms of stringency lately in operation are so little deterrent to the new movement that on Saturday, Nov. 23, Elder Hiscox and Mr. Hubbard are again at New London, holding worship with the Rogerses.[45] The next day, Joseph’s wife, having given a satisfactory account of her experience, is to be baptized. In this instance, John Rogers proposes that they perform the baptism openly in the town. This earnest and zealous young man overcomes the objections of the saintly but more cautious Mr. Hubbard. Moreover, his father, mother, Joseph and Bathsheba are on his side, and there is evident readiness on the part of the person to be baptized. If they have, at much peril and loss, begun a good work in this region, by setting aside inventions of men and substituting the teaching and practice of Christ and his apostles, it is no true following of the Master to hide their light under a bushel.
No mention is made of objection on the part of Elder Hiscox to going into town on this occasion, and he is found preaching there before the baptism, out of doors by the mill cove, with an alarming number of hearers. He is soon arrested and brought before a magistrate and the minister, Mr. Bradstreet. The latter has “much to say about the good way their fathers set up in the colony,” upon which Mr. Hubbard replies that, whereas Mr. Bradstreet is a young man, he himself is an old planter of Connecticut and well knows that the beginners of this colony were not for persecution, but that they had liberty at first to worship according to their consciences, while in later times he himself has been persecuted, to the extent of being driven out of this Colony, because he differed from the Congregational church.
Some impression appears to be made upon the magistrate; since he asks them if they cannot perform this obnoxious baptism by immersion elsewhere, to which Mr. Hubbard assents. They are then released and proceed to the house of Samuel Rogers, by the mill cove.
The time consumed in going from the presence of the magistrate to the house of his brother is sufficient to fix the resolve of John Rogers that no man, or men, shall stand between him and a command of his Master. For more than two years he has been an acknowledged pastor of the New London Seventh Day Baptist Church, under the church at Newport. If the older pastor from Newport cannot perform a scriptural baptism in the name of the Master, for fear of what men can do, in the way of persecution, then that duty devolves upon himself. Upon reaching his brother’s house, he offers an earnest prayer; then, taking his sister by the hand, he leads her down the green slope before his brother’s door, to the water, and himself immerses her, in the name of Father, Son and Holy Ghost, in the glistening water of the cove.
Doubtless the crowd that gathered during Mr. Hiscox’s discourse and the after-disturbance has not yet dispersed, for the magistrate is directly informed of what has taken place. Supposing Mr. Hiscox to be the daring offender, he is straightway apprehended. But John Rogers appears before the magistrate, to state that he himself is the author of this terrible act, upon which Mr. Hiscox is released and the younger pastor is held in custody.
This new action on the part of the fearless and uncompromising youth, increases the excitement and comment. If the majority of the townspeople condemn him, there are yet some, even of Mr. Bradstreet’s congregation, to wonder and admire. James Rogers, Sr., and his family undoubtedly rejoice that John is not to be turned aside by the hesitation of others, or for fear of what men can do to him. As for Jonathan, who is engaged to Naomi Burdick, granddaughter of Mr. Hubbard, it is not strange if he has hesitated to approve of a move made contrary to Mr. Hubbard’s judgment.
It soon further appears that the New London church is not studying to conform to that at Newport, but to know the very doctrines and will of Christ himself, as revealed by His own words and acts and by those of His disciples.
In the course of their study of the New Testament, the Rogerses find distinct command against long and formal prayers like those of the prescribed church, so evidently constructed to be heard and considered of men, and of a length that would probably have appalled even the Pharisee in the temple.[46]
They also carefully consider the command given by Christ to the disciples, and to believers in general, in regard to healing the sick, and the explicit directions given by James, the brother of Christ in the flesh, to the church at large: “Is any sick among you,” etc. They see that other directions in this same chapter are held by the churches as thoroughly binding upon Christians of to-day; yet here is one, which, although perfectly agreeing with the teachings and practice of Christ and of the other apostles, is now commonly ignored. Indeed, should anyone attempt to exactly follow this direction of James, he would be considered a lunatic or a fool. Carefully does James Rogers, Sr., consider this matter, with his two sons, the one his logical young pastor and the other his practical, level-headed young shipmaster. Turn it as they may, they cannot escape the conclusion that if any of the New Testament injunctions are binding upon the church, all of them must be, so far as human knowledge can determine.
Whether Mr. Hiscox or Mr. Hubbard agrees with them in the above conclusions does not concern these conscientious students of Scripture. Not so with Jonathan, the young lover. He is ready to believe that a religion good enough for so conscientious and godly a man as Mr. Samuel Hubbard is good enough for him. He judges that his father and brothers are going too far, not only in this, but in braving constant fines and imprisonments by so openly working upon the first day of the week.
Evidently, Jonathan cannot remain with the little church of which John is the pastor. Yet in dropping him, by his own desire, from their devoted band, they merely leave him in the church of Newport, of which they themselves are yet members (and will be for years to come), although they have made their own church a somewhat distinct and peculiar branch.[47] There is no sign of any break with the beloved son and brother, in friendliness or affection (now or afterwards), on account of this difference of opinion.
In March, 1678, Jonathan is married to Naomi; he brings her to the Great Neck, to a handsome farm by the shore, provided for them by his father, close bordering the home farms of his father and brothers.[48] This is an affectionate family group, despite some few differences in religious belief. It is evident enough to these logicians that He who commanded men to love even their enemies, allowed no lack of affection on the part of relatives, for any cause.
When the church at Newport learns that the name of Jonathan Rogers has been erased from the roll of the Connecticut church, because of his more conservative views, representatives are sent to New London to inquire into the matter. Here they learn of still another departure of this church from their own, in that this church have omitted the custom of oral family worship, because they find no command for any prayers except those directly inspired by the occasion and the Spirit, but direct condemnation of all formal prayer, as tending to lip service rather than heart service, and to be heard of men rather than of God.
What can the Newport church offer in protest, from scriptural sources? To excommunicate persons for not following the teaching of Christ is one thing; to excommunicate them for obeying such teaching is another. The Newport church takes no action in these matters, although evidently much perplexed by this conscientiously independent branch of their denomination.
Accounts of the intolerance towards the Seventh Day sect in Connecticut having led Peter Chamberlain[49] to write a letter regarding this matter to Governor Leete of Connecticut, the latter replies, in a studiously plausible manner, that the “authority” has shown “all condescension imaginable to us” towards the New London church (“Rogers and his of New London”), having given them permission to worship on the seventh day, “provided they would forbear to offend our conscience.”
The letter of Governor Leete contains also the following ingenious sophistry:—