years to large audiences.[10] It is said that at Torrington a
leading citizen was much displeased that the church should have "a
nigger minister," and, to show his disrespect, this man went to church
and sat with his hat on his head. "He hadn't preached far," said he,
"when I thought I saw the whitest man I ever knew in that pulpit, and
I tossed my hat under the pew."

The number of communicants increased during the term of his residence
in Torrington. Some of the most respectable families from adjoining
towns, particularly from Goshen, became his warmest friends, who
constantly attended on his ministry. His biographer says: "The aged
refer to his ministry with many delightful recollections. He was held
in high estimation, especially by the church, and was esteemed by all
classes as "an apt and very ready man in the pulpit." The mere mention
of his name even now, after the lapse of half a century, seems to
renew in their minds interesting associations. The church and society
were strengthened by his labors, and many wished to retain him as
their permanent pastor. The sensibility of a few individuals
prevented, it is said, the accomplishment of their desires.

His eloquence and Christian nobility won him much attention and led to
his being called to the pastorate of the Congregational Church in West
Rutland, Vermont. The town was a country seat, and the church was one
of importance. Then in the meridian of life, rich with the spirit and
devoted to his calling, he was singularly successful; and while there
were those who saw in him "that colored minister," all knew his pure
white soul. The first year of his pastorate he received forty-two
members by profession. In 1803 there came a great revival, and there
were one hundred and three conversions, together with one hundred and
fifty in the adjoining town of Pittsfield. Five years later there was
another revival and Haynes received one hundred and nine. Naturally he
was in demand by other churches as a revival preacher.

At this time New England was in a very backward state. The genial
influence of science and religion had not been generally felt. There
was no college in Vermont and its only academy was the one at Norwich,
near Dartmouth College. There were not more than four or five
Congregational ministers on the west side of the Green Mountains. A
religious revival of considerable extent, under the preaching of
Reverend Jacob Wood and others, had resulted in the formati