| III. Building the Nation, 1800-1860 |
As the new republic gained a sure footing, the nation turned its energies to expansion. The frontier moved west, and here in Stratford the sailing men once again set out to trade with foreign lands. Due to strained relationships with Great Britain and France, the merchants looked as far as China for a profitable trade in porcelain and tea.
Successful merchant captains from Christ Church included Captain Samuel Nicoll, who was a privateer in the War of 1812. During that war he captured a Spanish ship and brought back to Christ Church an elaborate chandelier meant for a Mexican cathedral. It graced our second church. His son-in-law Captain George Dowdall commanded four ships engaged in the China trade. Sadly, he died in Canton in 1829 where he was buried. There is a memorial stone to him in our cemetery.
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Perhaps the most colorful of these skippers was Captain Pulaski Benjamin. After returning from a China voyage, Christ Church rector, Rev. George Shepherd greeted him with the sad news that his wife, Susan had died. In an attempt to comfort him, Rev. Shepherd said that she had died loving the Lord. Supposedly, Captain Benjamin replied, “The hell she did! She never loved anyone but me!”
The China trade and an expanding market economy brought wealth to the young nation, Stratford, and Christ Church. By 1830 the rectory was more than a hundred years old and dilapidated. At a cost of $867 for the land and $2,000 for the house, a new (and our current) rectory was built in 1831. Twenty-two families have lived in this home over the past 176 years.
Our third (and present) church was built in 1858 in the Carpenter Gothic Style at a cost of $16,000. We carefully installed the rooster weathervane and bell. Sadly, the elaborate chandelier didn’t survive the transition. Supposedly, it was cut from the ceiling and allowed to crash to the floor. Only a few prisms remain today.
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