Rev. Benjamin Chapman next supplied the pulpit of our church.  He began preaching in December 0f 1755; however; he was not officially the pastor until March 17, 1756.  Rev. Chapman came to the church, as had been stated earlier, with much dissension among the membership of the church.  Very little business could be conducted or unity expected from the various factions; however; the call of Rev. Chapman almost miraculously united the congregation.  He was a man who was approved by both the conservative and the revivalist factions of the congregation, and was described as "a more conservative type of revivalist."  Because his natural traits and his close association with both Dr. Bellamy, who had recommended him for this valist, and also because of his association with the active revivalist, Mr. Whitfield, he met the needs of both sides of the parish.  With a kind understanding nature and the members weariness over dissension, which had lasted for about 15 years, the congregation was brought back together.

In January of 1756 Rev. Chapman married Abigail Riggs of Derby.  She was a woman who had considerable means of her own, as her family in Derby was said to have owned a large amount of property.  Mrs. Chapman was to bear Rev. Chapman’s eight children, six of whom survived both their parents.

Little is known of Mr. Chapman’s life before he began to supply the pulpit here in Southington; but it is known that he had been called first in January, 1755, to the newly formed ecclesiastical society of New Preston, Connecticut.  How long the Rev. Chapman supplied them is not known, but in September of 1756 a classmate of Rev. Chapman was next called by the New Preston Church to preach on probation.  Little was ever told even to his own family by Rev. Chapman about his early life.  They knew nothing of their ancestors or even of their grandparents.  It is believed, however, that he originally came from Saybrook, Connecticut.  He graduated from the College of New Jersy in Newark, September 25, 1754.  He then applied to the Litchfield Association of Connecticut for licensure.  Following examination by this body, he was considered qualified to preach the Gospel.

Rev. Chapman was voted a lot consisting of six acres, as was the custom.  It was on this property that he built his home, which is said to have been plain and commodious, much like that of his predecessor, Rev. Curtiss.  Rev. Chapman was also given another piece of land of about four acres to be farmed.  This piece was around the area of Curtis and North Main Streets up toward Oak Hill Cemetery.

The second of our churches, built nearly across the town green from our present church, was completed in 1757.  Rev. Chapman was its' first preacher.  There seems to be no record of the dedication, nor do we have much knowledge of the building itself.  It is said to have resembled most other New England churches of the period.  The pulpit was at the west, and galleries extended around on every side.  The pulpit was quite high in the air, said to have been high enough to gratify the loftiest of aspirations, being 10 or 12 steps above the pews.

Several years passed in relative harmony with the radical preaching of Rev. Chapman, filling the desires of the less conservative of the congregation, but also appealing to these who so violently opposed the more active revivalists.

As years passed, the colonies were engaged in the Spanish and Indian War, and the entire population of New England was becoming more stirred by talk of revolution.  The unrest of the area was reflected in the membership of our own church.  Many of the congregation still asked for more radical changes in the order of worship, and again there were those who considered the change from the old ways to be un-Christian and blasphemous.  Attendance at the church was compulsory, and this, too, agitated many people.  Many attempted to stay away from church but were compelled by law to resume attending.  This brought further dissension.  As more and more revivalists preached and published books of their own deep theological thoughts, Rev. Chapman did not change his own preaching, and was considered "pale" in comparison to the likes of Dr. Smalley of New Britain.  Rev. Chapman seemed to lack the quality of leadership necessary to quiet the discontented parishioners.  He would argue with none of them, nor could he direct them in the proper paths to regain spiritual unity once more.

Adding to the difficulties of the day, was the long practiced tradition of dignifying the seats, much done in the early churches.  Your particular seat in the church was determined by your age, wealth, or military service.  Should you be able to increase your wealth, you were placed higher in the seating arrangement.  This practice, you can imagine, caused much hard feeling and bitterness.  The system perpetuated a belief that the church put undue prominence on the accident of birth or wealth.

A truly fine man and one of unquestioning love of God, Rev. Chapman was just not a leader, and in September of 1774 ceased to be pastor at the church.

Although Rev. Chapman was no longer officially the pastor of the congregation, he still continued to preach frequently and, conscientiously looked after the needs of the congregation.  Many of the townspeople had gone off to the army, and Rev. Chapman was a trusted friend to those left behind.  After the dissolution of the pastoral relationship, many of the people of the church could see the injustice they had done to this fine man.  Through all the trouble in the church, Abigail, wife of Rev. Chapman, had been suffering and grieving fully as much as her husband, and abouth the time of Rev. Chapman’s dismissal, she became ill with a very painful disorder, which lasted for years, and eventually she was threatened with insanity.  Mrs. Chapman died in October 1782.

Rev. Chapman depended on income sources other than his occasional preaching in vacant pulpits.  As was mentioned before, his wife owned considerable property, and this, added to his own, gave the family a comfortable living.  A very congenial and hospitable person, Rev. Chapman was said to set a better table than any of his people, and liberally shared his comfort with others.

An incident related to us in Rev. Heman Timlow’s history shows us the humor and kindness of heart Rev. Chapman possessed.  One night he heard someone in his cellar.  Going down the stairs with a candle, Rev. Chapman saw a man tying a bag which held all of the pork that had been stored in the barrel.  He said to him, "Friend, it isn’t fair that your take all the pork~you should at least leave me half.  Here now, I’ll divide it , and you take half and leave half for me."

The man was ashamed of being caught and refused to take the pork, but Rev. Chapman good-naturedly insisted, and the man went off with his share.  Rev. Chapman knew who the man was but refused to tell or have him punished.

A story told about two Negro slaves of Rev. Chapmans showed the great respect they had for their master.  After one Thanksgiving dinner, they were seated outdoors at the south end of the house, when one exclaimed, "Pete, how big is God?"  "Don’t know, nobody knows dat."  "I know dat."  "Well, den how big?"  "Why he is as big as Massa Chapman."

With the beginning of the Revolutionary War came the decline of Rev. Chapman’s property.  He found himself supplying more vacant pulpits, and also ministering to a group of Baptists in the northwesterly corner of the town to supplement his income.  His wife was ill, and with his large family, he found it difficult to make a living for them.

For five years the church had no pastor, and when Rev. Robinson was called to supply the church, a tax was laid on all the church members, including Rev. Chapman.  Unable to pay his tax, Rev. Chapman appealed to the General Assembly for an abatement of his taxes, as it would cause further hardship to his family which they were financially unable to assume.  The memorial was granted by the General Assembly, and Rev. Chapman was abated of his taxes.

Continuing to preach in empty pulpits, hold mid-week services, and also to preach with some regularity in New Haven and Litchfield counties, Rev. Chapman was able to make a meager living.  In his later years, Rev. Chapman became part of another revival, alternating the pulpit with Mr. Pitkin of Farmington.  At these meetings they converted many people, and Rev. Chapman concluded his preaching, as he had started it.  He was again fired with enthusiasm, and when finished with this work, he retired to his home, where he gradually declined in health and died June 22, 1786.

As was mentioned earlier, the pulpit of the church did not have an official pastor for five years, following the resignation of Rev. Chapman.  These were years of division, coldness, and decline.  The effects of the Revolutionary War were plainly visible, but sadder still, was the spiritual condition of the church.  Many were saddened by the state of affairs and lack of brotherly love to be found in the church.