Hello all, I found this mention today on one of Ancestry.com's free databases. I thought some of the Ohio Starrs might find this thought provoking. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Marie History of Norfolk, Litchfield County, Connecticut, 1744-1900 From the Church Record June 12, 1816. "I was ordained as pastor of this church by the North Consociation of Litchfield County. The sermon on the occasion was preached by Rev. Lyman Beecher of Litchfield; consecrating prayer by Rev. Alexander Gillett of Torrington; right hand of fellowship by Rev. Chauncey Lee of Colebrook; charge by Rev. Peter Starr of Warren; address to the people by Rev. James Beach of Winsted. It was a most solemn day to me, and may God give me grace to fulfill my vows and to meet the reasonable expectations of this church and people and to glorify his holy name." - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- History of Norfolk, Litchfield County, Connecticut, 1744-1900 Length of Old Pastorates Rev. Peter Starr, Warren, 1772 to 1829 57 years, - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- History of Norfolk, Litchfield County, Connecticut, 1744-1900 Rev. Thomas Robbins, D. D. AND I have a friend living here whose father, Seymour Watson, born in Norfolk, used to run the old Canaan and Hartford express. He died here some two years ago, aged eighty, and his wife, born Phebe Spalding, died on her birthday last August, eighty-one, just eleven days younger than I. She bought her wedding dress of my Uncle Battell. Uncle Battell was a very shrewd and successful merchant. At one time he had a quantity of cheese that he had bought in all the towns around Norfolk, that had reached New York. He wrote his agent there to ship it to Richmond, Va., in a certain vessel. The letter did not reach the agent in time,--there were no telegraphs then,--so he put it on board the next sailing vessel. The first vessel was wrecked and its cargo lost. The market was bare of cheese, and when Uncle's arrived he realized a handsome advance. He seldom lost, being very sagacious. When the Eagle bank failed in New Haven, he had become suspicious of its management; he was in New York! arranging to dispose of his stock, when the boat came in and announced the failure. He lost a large sum at that time. Uncle owned a vast amount of Ohio land, and every year he used to go by stage from Norfolk to Ohio to look after it. He always took one daughter with him, and would reach our place to spend the Sabbath. Cousin Irene Battell was the beautiful one of the family. I once heard Uncle James tell father that he, who was quite a traveller, had never seen so beautiful a woman as Irene. It was her influence that persuaded her brother Joseph to give that princely donation to Yale College that made Battell Chapel possible. Then, too, she was, as Professor Gustave Stoeckel says in her memorial, 'an unrivalled soprano singer.' It is no wonder her father and the family were so proud of her. . . . Grandpa Robbins had a sister who was the wife of Rev. Peter Starr, who was for more than fifty years the minister in Warren, Conn. My father taught school in Warren once. The Star! rs were a noted family. One of them, Chandler, a cousin of father's, was a merchant in New York. Another one, Philemon, a wealthy bachelor, I met at Aunt Battell's. Grandfather was very fond of music. Mother told me that when on his deathbed the family sang, he noticed a mistake in the tune and corrected it. Uncle Frank was a fine singer and remarkably gifted in prayer. He insisted that all the congregation should stand through the long prayer, and at times it was as long as the sermon.