"During the American Constitutional Convention, just before the convention, there was in Hartford, Conn., one day a storm which overcast the United States, and in that religious day men fell on their knees and begged a final blessing before the end came. The Connecticut House of Representatives was in session and many of the members clamored for immediate adjournment. The speaker of the house, one Colonel Davenport, came to his feet and he silenced the din with these words: "The day of judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish, therefore, that candles may be brought." I hope in a dark and uncertain period in our own country that we, too, may bring candles to help light our country's way."
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Military leaders from the United StatesPeople from ConnecticutState legislators of the United States
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Abraham Davenport
Abraham Davenport (1715 – 20 November 1789) was an American politician who served in the Connecticut legislature during the American Revolution, and as a Colonel, in the Connecticut State Militia. He is famous for his response to New England's Dark Day, which many feared was a sign that the Last Judgment was approaching.
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