and the second war with England in 1812, emigrants from Connecticut had begun to come into the northern portion of the state, while hardy Virginians were establishing settlements along the Ohio River and its tributaries.
After the war of 1812 the tide of emigration from New England, particularly from Connecticut, became so great that many villages and towns in the home state were almost depopulated. At this time the pulpit of Christ Church, Hartford, was occupied by a man who later became famous in the history of Ohio and Illinois. His name was Philander Chase, a native of New Hampshire and a graduate of Dartmouth College. Born of Congregational parents, while at Dartmouth he somehow got hold of an Episcopal Prayer Book, an unusual book to be found in a strictly Congregational college of those days. Young Chase was so profoundly impressed by his study of the Prayer Book that he then and there decided to become an Episcopal minister. At that time there were no theological seminaries in the country so that aspirants to the ministry placed themselves under some established divine and pursued their studies under his direction.
Young Chase was ordained a deacon in 1798 and the first year and a half of his ministry was spent as a missionary in western New York where he came in close contact with the tide of emigration to the West and gained that knowledge of
frontier conditions which proved so invaluable to him in his later work in Ohio and Illinois. From 1799 to 1805 he was rector of Christ Church, Poughkeepsie, where he also taught school to eke out an all too meagre salary. In 1806 he was called to New Orleans where he founded Christ Church and again combined the professions of minister and teacher by establishing a successful school in that city. In 1811 he returned to New England to become rector of Christ Church, Hartford, where he occupied a position of prominence and social importance. He remained in Hartford until 1817 and saw daily the caravans moving toward the alluring West. The sight of hundreds of vigorous young people going into the wilderness to establish homes and rear families of sturdy young Americans deeply stirred the soul of a man so imaginative as Chase. It recalled to him the days of his early youth among the pioneers of New Hampshire and his later experiences in the wilds of western New York.
In 1893 an Episcopal deacon, James Kilbourne, founded the village of Worthington in Franklin County, Ohio, not far from Columbus, the future capital of the state, but not then in existence. Almost the entire population of this village was made up of Connecticut churchmen. These people were clamorous for ordained ministers of their church and having come from Connecticut their special appeal was made to the clergy of their
CROMWELL COTTAGE, THE PRESIDENT’S HOUSE, KENYON COLLEGE—ALFRED GRANGER, ARCHITECT
After the war of 1812 the tide of emigration from New England, particularly from Connecticut, became so great that many villages and towns in the home state were almost depopulated. At this time the pulpit of Christ Church, Hartford, was occupied by a man who later became famous in the history of Ohio and Illinois. His name was Philander Chase, a native of New Hampshire and a graduate of Dartmouth College. Born of Congregational parents, while at Dartmouth he somehow got hold of an Episcopal Prayer Book, an unusual book to be found in a strictly Congregational college of those days. Young Chase was so profoundly impressed by his study of the Prayer Book that he then and there decided to become an Episcopal minister. At that time there were no theological seminaries in the country so that aspirants to the ministry placed themselves under some established divine and pursued their studies under his direction.
Young Chase was ordained a deacon in 1798 and the first year and a half of his ministry was spent as a missionary in western New York where he came in close contact with the tide of emigration to the West and gained that knowledge of
frontier conditions which proved so invaluable to him in his later work in Ohio and Illinois. From 1799 to 1805 he was rector of Christ Church, Poughkeepsie, where he also taught school to eke out an all too meagre salary. In 1806 he was called to New Orleans where he founded Christ Church and again combined the professions of minister and teacher by establishing a successful school in that city. In 1811 he returned to New England to become rector of Christ Church, Hartford, where he occupied a position of prominence and social importance. He remained in Hartford until 1817 and saw daily the caravans moving toward the alluring West. The sight of hundreds of vigorous young people going into the wilderness to establish homes and rear families of sturdy young Americans deeply stirred the soul of a man so imaginative as Chase. It recalled to him the days of his early youth among the pioneers of New Hampshire and his later experiences in the wilds of western New York.
In 1893 an Episcopal deacon, James Kilbourne, founded the village of Worthington in Franklin County, Ohio, not far from Columbus, the future capital of the state, but not then in existence. Almost the entire population of this village was made up of Connecticut churchmen. These people were clamorous for ordained ministers of their church and having come from Connecticut their special appeal was made to the clergy of their
CROMWELL COTTAGE, THE PRESIDENT’S HOUSE, KENYON COLLEGE—ALFRED GRANGER, ARCHITECT