Papers Of The General Conference Of The Congregational Churches Connecticut 1877

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ISBN 13 : 9781331863007
Total Pages : 38 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (63 download)

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Download or read book Papers of the General Conference written by and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-20 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Papers of the General Conference: Of the Congregational Churches in Connecticut, 1877 Samuel Nott was pastor of the church in Franklin, Conn., for a period of seventy years, ending in 1852. The story of his early life strikingly illustrates the providence of God in training men for his work. Something of that early history must be noted, if we would know the man. In 1756 the Rev. Abraham Nott, of Saybrook, on his death-bed expressed the wish that his grandson, then two years of age, might be educated for the ministry, and bequeathed to him his library. The parents of the little boy purposed to fulfill this wish, but in a few years financial misfortunes reduced the family to extreme poverty, and made it impossible to carry out this intention. All must work for a living. Between the ages of eight and twenty the life of Samuel was one of almost constant manual labor. He tried his hand at many things; and it proved a hand that could do many things well. Before he attained his majority he might have called himself a blacksmith, a farmer, a shoemaker, a tanner, or a mason; and proved his right to each title by creditable work. With a mind naturally quick and versatile, he had also an industry, and perseverance, and an ambition to excel, which made him a favorite with his employers. In homes of poverty and toil like his have been reared many of the noblest and most useful sons of New England. His parents were of Puritan stock and Puritan principles. The mother, really the mainstay of the family, was a woman of superior mind and education; sound in judgment, fertile in resources; firm, yet gentle in discipline; and ardently fond of knowledge. To her, in a great degree, Union College owed its renowned president, and Connecticut one of its most useful and honored pastors. She sought to inspire Samuel with her own love of knowledge, and would often say, "learning and good conduct make a man." Yet at the age of eighteen he had attended school but eleven months in all. At home there were no books but the Bible, the Catechism, the New England Primer, and an old volume of sermons. The deceased minister's library had perished in the destruction of his father's house by fire. But the love of learning which was born in him, and had been kept alive by his mother's influence, was suddenly to be fanned into a flame. He was invited to teach a school. Trembling in view of his slender knowledge, - but with a spirit ready for anything, - he undertook it, and succeeded in giving general satisfaction, - at four dollars a month! How he studied to prevent his scholars from finding out that they knew more than he did! That winter's work kindled in him the purpose to obtain a collegiate education. He returned home, gave his wages to his parents, and asked their permission to fit for college. He did not tell them that he had it also in mind to become a minister, and a missionary to the Indians. They thought him mad. They needed his help; they reminded him that five dollars and an old gnu were all his wealth; but they could not quench his zeal. They then advised him to consult the Rev. Mr. Welch, of Mansfield, confident that he would discourage so wild a project. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.