This christening
basin, which belongs to the 1st Congregational Church
of Guilford,Conn., was crafted out of silver by
Samuel.
The widow Deborah
(Chittenden) Spinning, who later married John Pitkin,
left 10 pounds to the church for a communion cup. The
deacons decided that since they already had three,
they'd use the money for a baptismal basin instead.
The basin is
inscribed: "The Gift of Mrs. Deborah Spinning to
the First Church in Guilford 1768." At the
bottom of the bowl is "S. Parmele." The
basin has been used for more than 200 years by the
church to baptize hundreds of children -- some of
them Parmelees. An older family baptismal
bowl has been found.