Judah Champion's life began on the 20th of August 1729 in East Haddam, Colony of Connecticut. He was the fourth child born to Lieutenant Henry and Mehitable Rowley Champion. After local schooling he attended Yale college from which he graduated with the class of 1751.

At the young age of 24 he was solicited by the town of Litchfield and offered a relocation fee of 200 pounds, plus 800 pounds per year salary and a small 20 acre farm if he would accept the position of minister to their frontier Congregation.

He immediately accepted and on the 4th of July in 1753 he was ordained Pastor of the First Congregational Church of Litchfield. Much needed to be done, the meetinghouse itself was on East Green where the Beecher monument stands today. The congregation was spread over what is now several communities. His youth and vigor worked to his advantage and over time he proved to be an able minister.

On the 4th of January 1758 he married Elizabeth Welch of New Milford and in September of the following year they had their first daughter Elizabeth. Two additional daughters, Irene and Anna completed their family.

These were turbulent times in Litchfield as it truly was on the frontier. Local Indians were resisting the influx of settlers, Litchfield was expanding in leaps and bounds, emotions were kept in a heightened state by the French and Indian Wars and the availability of imported goods were inconsistent and expensive due to England's fiscal policies.

In a society where you hung on to your dignity and freedom by your labors and worked from dawn to dusk, your only consistent contact with the outside world was the Sunday gathering with sermons from the pulpit of the meetinghouse. There was little in the way of communications or outside events in those early days of Litchfield county.

Litchfield's meetinghouse had long served the community as its center for all things collective. The storage of gunpowder, the posting of public notices, town meetings, recruitment and even the punishment of wayward citizens. It's where you went in times of need.

Into this situation stepped the Reverend Judah Champion whose disdain for all kinds of oppression coupled with his eloquent tongue immediately began unifying the congregation.

When the news of Burgoyne's invasion was received, this patriotic pastor could no longer remain at home. He offered his services as a chaplain in the Continental Army. His standing in the community and education earned him a commission but it was to the care of the wounded and those in need that he gravitated to.
He served as a chaplain in the retreat from Ticonderoga, July 5-6, 1777, and at the battle of Saratoga, September 19-October 7, 1777. His service with General James Clinton during the terrible retreat from Fort Ticonderoga galvanized his resolve that victory over England was the only just answer for his congregation.
His sermons became more inspired and his references to the revolt more supportive. His involvement in community actions in support of the Revolution are well documented and one might surmise he became a cheerleader for victory.

In the year 1798 after forty-five years of service to his congregation The Reverend Judah Champion was awarded 100 pounds annual income and retired to his home in Litchfield. On the 5th of October 1810 at the age of 83 Judah was taken from his family and community. He was survived by his wife Elizabeth and daughters Elizabeth, Anna and Irene. He is interned in the family plot in Litchfield's East cemetery.

Researched and written by American Legion Post 44's Commander John Lilley.