{"page_4": " 4/16,29\nREV. BENATAN ROOTS\nBy Rev. Aldace Walker, D.D.\nRev. Benajah\none of the first settled pastors in\nVoronts oI\nhis early\nI can ascertain\npraduated in 1751\nat Princeton College,\nwith nineteen\nTestudied divinity with\nBethlohem,\nhe was\nemployed to\nAugust 10,\n1757 and remained\naifricuteg\nDuring his last few years\nwas called by\nmutual desire,\ngive their sentimonts\nexceptions said menbers had to make to sone of Mr.\nRoots' doctrines and also to some instances of his conduct\nto Church discipline.\nNo formal charges were made\nagainst the pastor,\ngrounds\ncouncil and \" a few brio? Renaris\"\nCona in one By 11, 10015\nwere published that year.\npoints of difference in doctrine,\nclusion is forced upon us,\nthat according\nthe principle\nof orthodoxy\nas now understood in\nhigh above\nacne certainy does 10\ncomprehensive-\nand command of language,\nhardly read the pamhlets referred to without however it may be with the vaunted Ecumen-\nical Council,\nCongregational councils may err.\nThe council does not intimate that there is any occasion for\ndissolution of the\nwill study the things that make for peace\nedification.\"\nHe was dismissed the next summer after this Consociation\nand\nsoon aiter came to\nThe early settlers\nRutland were most of them from Simsbury\nand neighboring towns.\nway was open to emigrate\nsome of his flock and\ntheir pastor.\nHere hegathered the West\nOctober\nthough it was organized near\n1773;-\nthe Center ( C.\nnorto do in the stato.\nthe first Congregational Church orgenized the second on the west side of the\nThe sermon which Mr. Roots preached was\nsays he\nknows of\nbut one settled Congregational\nwhole region of country between\nMassachusetts,\nthe Hudson and\nConnecticut rivers.\nAs near as can\nascertained he engaged\npreach for five years and take\nthe lot of land reserved for the first settled minister for\ncompensation,\nthe land according to\ndesignation becane his\ntime of his install-\nation.\nlatter part of\ntime his health was poor.\neously stated in the history of congragational ministers and\n( Roots 2)\nhurches of Rutland county\npublished in the Quarterly\nherLSuer uau be\nsettlement\nright,\ncoming\ninto his hands\nin consequence of his installment,\nbecame property\nof very\nconsiderable value\npresumed,\nto his family.\nThis statement was made,\napprehension that\nment right\"\nwas the lot of land upon which\nwhich is one of the most valuable farms in the town.\nBut an examination\nthe true record shows\nthat this lot\nanother of 100 acres on the opposite side of Otter\nand 400 acres\nof uncultivated land, in the tonship were\nnircnased or au.\nand deeded to him, before he moved to Rutland\nfor L195 paid in hand.\nThe \" Ministers lot\" was located near the N.E. corner of the\ntown among lands which,\nuntil within 20 years,\nregarded as having little more than a nominal value.\nArter five years, some feeling is said to have arisen among the people,\nbecause\ntheir pastor was unwilling to preach\nlonger without further\ncompensation and other ministers\nto some extent; but he is supposed to have officiated\nnost of the time, when he was able, till his death in about fourteen years.\nThe church first consisted of fourteen members for twelve years there were put six added.\nThis embraces\nthe Revolution-\nary War period; not a time of prosperity to any of our churches.\nIn 1784-5 there was a revival which brought in 49 new members.\nAbout four years\nthe colony had left to establish the\nchurch and society in the\nthe pastor's residence\nwas two or three miles distant fron\nthe church and frequently\non account of poor health,\nhe was unable to attend.\nSabbath when thus known to be ill, and not expected,\nWhen some of the brethren expressed surprise at\nhim out, he replied,\nthat he\nnot stay at home, for it\nwas strongly impressed upon his mind that the Lord would be\nthey never heard their pastor\npreach as he did that Sabbath:\nthus cormenced that refreshing\nron the presence of the Lord which\nchanged the whole aspect of\nthe cormunity and gave strength and stability to the church.\nMr. Roots labored with all his heart,\nassisted part of the\ntime by Rev. Asa Burton of Thetford and Rev. Joel aiter settled in Bennington;\nSwift,\nbut he was doing his last\nConsumption had marked him; rest to sleep with the generation\ngravestone informs us that he died March 15, 1787 in his\nFrom the little left & Mr.\nRoots writings it may be gathered\nhe was a man of\nHe received streeted the desert\ncomprenensive\npra200\nfrom his\nAlma Mater and also from Yale and\nIn Rutland he\nacquired the reputation of a strict disciplinarian in church matters offence having been given to some\nDy\nthe excommun-\nication of a prominent member.\nAs a preacher he is said not ", "page_4a": " ( Roots 3)\nto have been elequent in manner but he gave plain utterance to important and well\narranged\ntruth; and he spoke in earnest.\nThe aged man in Sinsbury- before referred to, says,\" After he had been settled some years in Rutlana, he came back\na visit and preached from Luke IV: 16-20.\nThis discourse\nwas very appropriate and excited much interest.\"\nThe\nsermon preached at the organization of the church in Rutland may be taken\nas a speciman of his sbyle.\nof it as having been prepared in the wilderness\nwithout the\nordinary helps which ministers have and he consents to publication\nbecause he expects many of them will be scattered\nin the wilderness where books are scarce and he continues\n\" if they may be of service to form in the minds of any first sentiments of the true church of Christ and awake in them an\nernest\nsolicitude\nto belong to this church my ends in some\nmeasure will be accomolished.\"\nThe sermon is certainly not such an one as we are sometimes\noften to understand are needed\n\" interest\" the people in\nour new settlements of the west.\nBut I have no doubt\nthose\nstrong sinewed, strong minded men who have turned aside for a\nday from the rugged labors of the field to establish institution for themselves and their\ndescendants\n15h2501l\nfollow\nout its\nreasonings\nand appreciate its truths and thus doing\nwere both interested and profited.\nRef: \" Vermont Historical Magazine\" Vol. III by Abby Maria Henenway, pub. 1877 "}