Ebenezer Baldwin
Encyclopedia
Chaplain Ebenezer Baldwin (July 3, 1745 – October 1, 1776) was a noted religious leader in Connecticut in the years preceding the American Revolution. He was the eldest son of Captain Ebenezer Baldwin of Norwich, Connecticut
; and grandson of Thomas and Abigail (Lay) Baldwin, of that part of Norwich which is now Bozrah
. His mother was Bethiah, sister of the Rev. Nehemiah Barker (Yale 1742), under whose direction he was prepared for Yale College
.
The records of the first Church of Christ
in Danbury
were "begun September 19, 1770, kept by Ebenezer. Baldwin Pastor of said church." "Sept. 19, Ebenezer Baldwin from Norwich was ordained Pastor of the First Church in Danbury, by the Consociation of the Eastern District of Fairfield County
."
The pastorate of Mr. Baldwin covered those exciting years in the national history that preceded and marked the commencement of the American Revolution
. At that day no class of citizens was more conspicuous for patriotism than the Congregational clergy of New England
, and among them Mr. Baldwin was noted for his zeal and signal ability. Almost all the writing for the public prints at that time was done by the clergy. In 1774 Mr. Baldwin prepared and published a spirited address to the people of the western part of the colony to arouse them to a sense of the danger in which their liberties were involved. In November, 1775, on the day set apart for Thanksgiving
in the Colony of Connecticut, at a period which he regarded as the most calamitous the British
colonies ever beheld, he preached a sermon designed to wake up the spirits of the people in the important struggle in which they were engaged. So excellent, encouraging, and appropriate was this sermon, that it was called for and printed at the expense of a leading member of the Episcopal Church. A copy is preserved in the archives of the New York Historical Society. Mr. Baldwin, with other ministers of the Association, arranged a series of circular fasts in the churches of Fairfield County in the spring of 1776 on "account of the threatening aspect of public affairs."
Mr. Baldwin's brother Simeon and James Kent
, afterward Chancellor Kent of New York
, and author of Kent's Commentaries, were members of a class of young men who studied under the direction of Mr. Baldwin while pastor of this church. Chancellor Kent, in a Phi Beta Kappa oration given at Yale in 1831, paid a beautiful tribute to the memory of Mr. Baldwin. Speaking of the tutors in that college, he said:
"Suffer me for a moment to bring to recollection from among this class of men the Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin, of Danbury, for it is to that great and excellent man that the individual who has now the honor to address you stands indebted for the best part of his early classical education. Mr. Baldwin was tutor in this college for the period of four years, and he settled as a minister in the First Congregational Church of Danbury in the year 1770. He was a scholar and a gentleman of the fairest and brightest hopes. He was accustomed to read daily a portion of the Hebrew Scriptures, and he was extensively acquainted with Greek
and Roman
literature. His style of preaching was simple, earnest, and forcible, with the most commanding and graceful dignity of manner. His zeal for learning was ardent, and his acquisitions and reputation rapidly increasing, when he was doomed to fall prematurely in the flower of his age, and while engaged in his country's service. Though his career was painfully short, he had lived long enough to attract general notice and the highest respect by his piety, his learning, his judgment, and his patriotism. He took an enlightened and active interest in the rise and early progress of the American Revolution
. In the gloomy campaign of 1776 he was incessant in his efforts to cheer and animate his townsmen to join the militia which were called out for the defense of New York. To give weight to his eloquent exhortations, he added that of heroic example. He went voluntarily as a chaplain to one of the militia regiments, composed mostly of his own parishioners. His office was pacific, but he nevertheless arrayed himself in military armor.
"I was present when he firmly but affectionately bade adieu to his devoted parishioners and affectionate pupils. This was about August 1st, 1776, and what a moment in the annals of this country! There never was a period more awful and portentous. it was the very crisis of our destiny. The defense of New York had become desperate. An enemy's army of thirty thousand men, well disciplined and well equipped, was in its vicinity ready to overwhelm it. General George Washington
had, to oppose them, less than eighteen thousand men, and part of them extremely sickly. Nothing could have afforded better proof of patriotic zeal than Mr. Baldwin's voluntary enlistment at this critical juncture. The militia, much reduced by sickness, after two months' service were discharged. Mr. Baldwin fell a victim to the sickness that prevailed in the army, having only strength sufficient to reach home, where he died October 1st, ' honored by the deepest sympathies of his own people, and with the public veneration and sorrow.' "
The inscription upon his tombstone was prepared by President Stiles, of Yale College
, and is as follows:
"In memory of Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin, A.M., late pastor of the First Church in Danbury, who was born at Norwich, July 13th, 1745; received his education at Yale College, where he was graduated in 1763, and officiated several years with singular reputation as a tutor
in that university; ordained a minister of the Gospel, September 19th, 1770, and died October 1st, 1776. He was eminent for literature and piety, an enlightened divine, an instructive preacher. Distinguished for dignity of manners and public usefulness; a true and faithful patriot, an ornament to the church, to the ministry and to his country. In grateful remembrance of this worthy pastor and generous benefactor, the First Society of Danbury have erected this monument."
He was the brother of US Representative and Judge Simeon Baldwin
.
History of Danbury, Conn. 1684 - 1896, 1896
Norwich, Connecticut
Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...
; and grandson of Thomas and Abigail (Lay) Baldwin, of that part of Norwich which is now Bozrah
Bozrah, Connecticut
Bozrah is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,357 at the 2000 census. Bozrah contains three villages: Fitchville, the town center; Leffingwell, a crossroads on Route 82; and Gilman, a mill village along Fitchville Road....
. His mother was Bethiah, sister of the Rev. Nehemiah Barker (Yale 1742), under whose direction he was prepared for Yale College
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
.
The records of the first Church of Christ
Church of Christ
Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, and seek to be New Testament congregations as originally established by the authority of Christ. Historically,...
in Danbury
Danbury
Danbury is a city in Connecticut, U.S.Danbury may also refer to:*Danbury, Saskatchewan, Canada*Danbury, Essex, UK*Danbury, Iowa, U.S.*Danbury, Nebraska, U.S.*Danbury, New Hampshire, U.S.*Danbury, North Carolina, U.S.*Danbury, Texas, U.S....
were "begun September 19, 1770, kept by Ebenezer. Baldwin Pastor of said church." "Sept. 19, Ebenezer Baldwin from Norwich was ordained Pastor of the First Church in Danbury, by the Consociation of the Eastern District of Fairfield County
Fairfield County, Connecticut
Fairfield County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The county population is 916,829 according to the 2010 Census. There are currently 1,465 people per square mile in the county. It is the most populous county in the State of Connecticut and contains...
."
The pastorate of Mr. Baldwin covered those exciting years in the national history that preceded and marked the commencement of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. At that day no class of citizens was more conspicuous for patriotism than the Congregational clergy of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, and among them Mr. Baldwin was noted for his zeal and signal ability. Almost all the writing for the public prints at that time was done by the clergy. In 1774 Mr. Baldwin prepared and published a spirited address to the people of the western part of the colony to arouse them to a sense of the danger in which their liberties were involved. In November, 1775, on the day set apart for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
in the Colony of Connecticut, at a period which he regarded as the most calamitous the British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
colonies ever beheld, he preached a sermon designed to wake up the spirits of the people in the important struggle in which they were engaged. So excellent, encouraging, and appropriate was this sermon, that it was called for and printed at the expense of a leading member of the Episcopal Church. A copy is preserved in the archives of the New York Historical Society. Mr. Baldwin, with other ministers of the Association, arranged a series of circular fasts in the churches of Fairfield County in the spring of 1776 on "account of the threatening aspect of public affairs."
Mr. Baldwin's brother Simeon and James Kent
James Kent
James Kent was an American jurist and legal scholar.-Life:...
, afterward Chancellor Kent of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and author of Kent's Commentaries, were members of a class of young men who studied under the direction of Mr. Baldwin while pastor of this church. Chancellor Kent, in a Phi Beta Kappa oration given at Yale in 1831, paid a beautiful tribute to the memory of Mr. Baldwin. Speaking of the tutors in that college, he said:
"Suffer me for a moment to bring to recollection from among this class of men the Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin, of Danbury, for it is to that great and excellent man that the individual who has now the honor to address you stands indebted for the best part of his early classical education. Mr. Baldwin was tutor in this college for the period of four years, and he settled as a minister in the First Congregational Church of Danbury in the year 1770. He was a scholar and a gentleman of the fairest and brightest hopes. He was accustomed to read daily a portion of the Hebrew Scriptures, and he was extensively acquainted with Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
and Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
literature. His style of preaching was simple, earnest, and forcible, with the most commanding and graceful dignity of manner. His zeal for learning was ardent, and his acquisitions and reputation rapidly increasing, when he was doomed to fall prematurely in the flower of his age, and while engaged in his country's service. Though his career was painfully short, he had lived long enough to attract general notice and the highest respect by his piety, his learning, his judgment, and his patriotism. He took an enlightened and active interest in the rise and early progress of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. In the gloomy campaign of 1776 he was incessant in his efforts to cheer and animate his townsmen to join the militia which were called out for the defense of New York. To give weight to his eloquent exhortations, he added that of heroic example. He went voluntarily as a chaplain to one of the militia regiments, composed mostly of his own parishioners. His office was pacific, but he nevertheless arrayed himself in military armor.
"I was present when he firmly but affectionately bade adieu to his devoted parishioners and affectionate pupils. This was about August 1st, 1776, and what a moment in the annals of this country! There never was a period more awful and portentous. it was the very crisis of our destiny. The defense of New York had become desperate. An enemy's army of thirty thousand men, well disciplined and well equipped, was in its vicinity ready to overwhelm it. General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
had, to oppose them, less than eighteen thousand men, and part of them extremely sickly. Nothing could have afforded better proof of patriotic zeal than Mr. Baldwin's voluntary enlistment at this critical juncture. The militia, much reduced by sickness, after two months' service were discharged. Mr. Baldwin fell a victim to the sickness that prevailed in the army, having only strength sufficient to reach home, where he died October 1st, ' honored by the deepest sympathies of his own people, and with the public veneration and sorrow.' "
The inscription upon his tombstone was prepared by President Stiles, of Yale College
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
, and is as follows:
"In memory of Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin, A.M., late pastor of the First Church in Danbury, who was born at Norwich, July 13th, 1745; received his education at Yale College, where he was graduated in 1763, and officiated several years with singular reputation as a tutor
Tutor
A tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups. To tutor is to perform the functions of a tutor.-Teaching assistance:...
in that university; ordained a minister of the Gospel, September 19th, 1770, and died October 1st, 1776. He was eminent for literature and piety, an enlightened divine, an instructive preacher. Distinguished for dignity of manners and public usefulness; a true and faithful patriot, an ornament to the church, to the ministry and to his country. In grateful remembrance of this worthy pastor and generous benefactor, the First Society of Danbury have erected this monument."
He was the brother of US Representative and Judge Simeon Baldwin
Simeon Baldwin
Simeon Baldwin was son-in-law of Roger Sherman, father of Connecticut Governor Roger Sherman Baldwin and the grandfather of Connecticut Governor Simeon Eben Baldwin. He was born in Norwich, Connecticut. He completed preparatory studies Simeon Baldwin (December 14, 1761 – May 26, 1851) was...
.
Sources
Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College, Vol. 3, 1903History of Danbury, Conn. 1684 - 1896, 1896