In the 1730s, residents in the rural outskirts of Stamford's east end joined with neighbors in Norwalk near Five Mile River to seek a new parish because their population had grown, the area had its own school, and the nearly 10-mile trip to Sunday services in Stamford had become a serious hardship. After a hard winter in 1737 brought many deaths attributed to that arduous walk, neighbors met in John Bates's home to discuss raising taxes to support their own parish, and Middlesex Society was officially established in 1741. As the First Great Awakening began to unsettle older religious authority, the congregation in 1744 chose the conservative "Old Light" Yale graduate Moses Mather, then 25 years old, as its minister. Mather became the dominant figure in Middlesex Parish, serving for 62 years until his death in 1806, supporting American independence, and being imprisoned twice during the Revolutionary War. In 1779, he and his four sons were kidnapped from his Brookside Road home, and his 19-year-old son Moses Jr. died in prison. In July 1781, Loyalists led by Captain William Frost entered Middlesex Meetinghouse during a Sunday afternoon service, seized Mather and 47 male parishioners, and carried them to British-controlled Long Island. Mather, Thaddeus Bell Jr., and 40 other men and boys eventually returned home, but six parishioners died in British custody. The creation of Middlesex Parish, together with these Revolutionary War ordeals, helped bind the community and paved the way for Darien to become an independent town in 1820. In later centuries, the church became a leading voice against slavery and an advocate for a more diverse local community, while continuing its mission through service to the hungry, homeless, and elderly.