Englander. It is a pleasure to recall the story of
this man's useful life, and realize that besides the
reverence almost invariably accorded to "the
minister" in those days, he must have held the
everyday affection and wholesome trust of his
people. Year by year he proved himself not only
their pastor, but a friend full of all kindly sympathies,
never above a hearty laugh when mirth
was rampant, or a sympathetic tear for hearts
wrung with anguish.

He was born in Windham, Connecticut, in 1735.
His ancestors came from. England about 1640 and
the family ultimately settled in Windham. His
father, a man of somewhat arbitrary character,
had determined that Joseph should be a clothier,
and forced him to remain in that business until
he was twenty-one. His intellectual ability was
thought to be somewhat remarkable, and his moral
character so good that his pastor advised him to
begin a course of study for the ministry. He completed
his preparation for Yale College in an
unusually short time, and was graduated there in
the year 1762.

His call to be settled over the First Church in
Coventry was received so soon after his graduation
that we are forced to believe that his theological
course must have been brief. The parish in Coven-

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v?