and the theory of human rights existed more in name than in reality. The people were compelled to support the Congregational order, which was the order of faith established by the civil government. Nor was this all. None had liberty to worship publicly in any way, nor could men vote or hold civil office, except in the original Colony of Connecticut, unless they were members of some Congregational Church," Beardsley notes.
    It was not until 1708 that the "Act of Toleration," was passed by the Connecticut General Assembly. Under this act, those who soberly dissented from the Congregational order were free from punishment for non-conformity to the church but were not exempt from taxes to pay for the support of the Congregational Churches and the Congregational clergy.
    It is against this background which the development of the Episcopal Church, the daughter of the Church of England, must be viewed. The Puritan descendants did not look with favor on the development of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut.
    Mansfield's original appointment was a circuit from Waterbury to West Haven, with the center of the circuit in Derby, where he resided.
    Mansfield was paid 20 pounds annually for his services to the Derby Church. Other parishes, which were smaller, contributed lesser amounts.
    On October 10,1751, Mansfield married Anna Hull, who was then only fifteen years old. The couple lived on Jewett Street, Derby, and in this house the Mansfield's fifteen children were born, a reflection of the early custom of having large families.
    It is interesting to note that in those days slaves were kept in this region, and it has been said that the Rev. Mansfield was a slave owner. The Rev. Israel P. Warren wrote in 1874 that Mansfield had a woman named Hagar, who had two sons. One of the sons, Tobiah, was sold by the Rev. Mansfield to Captain Wooster of the area now included in Oxford. Tobiah was a grown man in the service of Wooster at the time of the American Revolution, so it would appear that slaves were owned by Mansfield not too long after his marriage.
    Mary Mitchell wrote in 1934 for the New Haven Historical