Abraham Pierson's Notebook

Abraham Pierson served as a Deacon in the Killingworth Second Society from 1794 to 1823. The Deacons served as “chairman of the board” for the Society. The Congregational Societies, and thus the Deacons, set the tone for much of what went on in their communities. The Society was responsible for raising the necessary funds to meet the needs of the congregation. A salary and housing for the minister, funds to build and maintain chapels, schools, cemeteries and any number of other enterprises all needed funding. Consequently the Society was involved in the collection of tithing money among other revenue sources. In essence they were concerned with all matters pertaining to the maintenance of the religious life of the community. In all of this they were subject to some scrutiny by the state religious boards whose approval was required to establish a new Society. These boards were also responsible for the formal aspects of establishing a new Society, providing a stamp of authority, presiding over the inauguration of the new congregation and providing a quorum of ministers to ordain the new minister. But by in large, once established, individual Societies exercised a great deal of autonomy. With the Deacons acting as chairman key decisions were put to a vote by the membership who owned the covenant. A key aspect of their duties was the selection of a minister to meet the ecclesiastical needs of the members. The Ministers were all trained in the theological seminaries that were a major part of the leading universities. Choosing the right man was very important. But even though it may strike us as odd Societies had the power and were not hesitant to dismiss their Ministers if they found them wanting. During his tenure Killingworth had three Pastors. The first was the Reverend Henry Ely who served from 1782 to 1801 when he was forced to resign after a period of unrest that started with his request for additional living funds. He was replaced by the Reverend Josiah B. Andrews. The Rev. Andrews himself was eventually dismissed by the Society. The members took offence at his emphasis on their sinful nature. He was very much a minister in the vein of the “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” school of thought. He was followed by the Reverend Asa King in 1811. Reverend King became one of the most successful of all of the Pastors who served in Killingworth. While the Pastors, by the nature of their position as holders of God’s authority, were the dominant voice in the Society the Deacons enjoyed a great deal of influence and respect. In Abraham Pierson we have one of the most dynamic Deacons who served in any of the Societies I have studied. Abraham came from one of the most prominent families in Connecticut. His namesake had served as the Minister in the early days of Killingworth and went on to become the first President of Yale. Abraham, unlike many in his family, did not become a minister finding his own success in other avenues. He served as Justice of the Peace in Killingworth for thirty-two years. For a good portion of that time he also represented Killingworth in the Connecticut General Assembly. As a reflection of his own worldview he took offence at being referred to as Judge or Assemblyman instead he preferred the title of the “good Deacon Abraham” a circumstance that provides us with an insight into the importance of religion in Killingworth. He is buried in the Union Cemetery next to the Griffin Home Lot. In his role as Deacon he kept his own set of records in his personal notebook. The volume we have covers the years from 1794 to 1802 and contains 95 pages. It’s my guess that there was a second volume that covered the years up to 1823. What he chose to record also provides a commentary on the religious mindset of the people who lived in Killingworth. Since the notebook was his property on his death it remained in his family rather than becoming a formal part of the church records. It left his family’s hands finally to reappear a few years ago. The new buyer, recognizing its significance, donated it to the state library thus giving us access. Abraham’s notebook mirrored much of what was kept in official church records. This is important for us since some of the church records for that time period have been lost. He recorded births, marriages and deaths for which he added the note “In North Killingworth”. One of the baptisms is for Jeremiah Griffin Buell named by his grandmother, Thankfull Griffin Buell, in honor of her brother who died young. In his notebook he records of the death of his father Dodo. While most of the notations are cryptic the notation for his father contains quite a bit of detail including the time of day. In a death record for a child he added the note “never baptized” which to him was significant. He also kept an ecclesiastical record. He noted who was accepted into the all-important Full Communion and he had a section he labeled “Covenanters” although I am unsure about his distinction between the two. He also had a section that he labeled as “Acknowledgements” which were in essence public admissions of sin as an act of repentance. The most common acknowledgement was for the sin of fornication by a married couple. This was not about “adultery”. The issue was a desire to avoid being numbered among the sinners in God’s eyes. Fornication occurred when a couple found themselves deriving too much of the pleasures of the flesh in their intimate life together. Among the acknowledgements we also find drunkenness, quarreling, and breach of the peace. Abraham even kept a week-by-week record of the scriptural texts chosen by the Pastor as the subject for the week’s sermon. On January 3, 1802 the text came from Ecclesiastes 5:1 “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil”. Can you picture the good Deacon nodding his head in approval? During his time as a Deacon the Griffin family was represented in the Second Society by the families of Worden and Azuba Griffin, the wife of Henry Davis, and for a short time Charlotte Griffin and her husband Ancel Jones. His notebook also records the marriage of Mercy Griffin to Itamar Pelton. It is Abraham Pierson’s gift to us that we find a record of their families in his notebook. His notebook also gives us a wonderful view of the life of our Congregational ancestors.