Full text of "The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884;"

university of
Connecticut

libraries

3 11S3 DlE3fi37S 7

GAYIORORG

THE

MEMORIAL HISTORY

HARTFORD COUNTY

CONNECTICUT

THE

MEMORIAL HISTORY

HARTFORD COUNTY

CONNECTICUT

1633-1884

EDITED

By J. HAMMOND TRUMBULL LL.D.

President of the Connecticut Historical Society

in two volumes
Vol. IL

TOWN HISTORIES

PROJECTED BY CLARENCE P. JEWETT

BOSTON

EDWARD L. OSGOOD PUBLISHER

1886

^antbersttg ^.Srcss :
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge.

CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

The Index to both volumes will be found at the end of Volume I.

CHAPTER I.

Page

Avon. M. H. Bartktt 1

Illustrations : The First Wadsworth Tower (from a drawing by Daniel
Wadsworth), 2; Moute Video, 3; The Congregational Church,?;
The Meadow at Deer Cliff, Entrance to Deer C'liff,"9.

CHAPTER 11.

BERLiJi. The Rev. W. W. Woodivorth 13

Illustration : Portrait of J. G. Percival, 26.

Fac-simile : Extract from Kensington Society Eecords (1731), 16.

CHAPTER III.

Bloomfield. Mrs. Elisabeth G. Warner 29

CHAPTER IV.

Bristol. Epaphroditm Peck 39

Illustrations : Map of Brist<d in 1776, 41 ; a Deacon's Cap, 46 ; House
built by Abel Lewis, 47 ; Relics of Old Times : Inlaid Chest, Parson
Newell's Arm-chair, Carved Powder-horn, Sword, and Canteen, 48 ; a
Roberts Clock, 52 ; Residence of Edward Ingraham, 55.

CHAPTER V.

Burlington. The Hon. Roland Hitchcock 63

CHAPTER VI.

Canton. From Notes 6// D. B. Rale and Levi Case 67

Illustrations: "Satan's Kingdom," 68; the Orijrinal Collins Works,
72; General View of the Collins Company's Works at Collinsville,
Granite Dam, built in 1868, Poli.shing and Packing Department, 73.

vi CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

CHAPTER VII.

Page
East Gran by. Charles Horace, Clarke 77

Illustrations : A Higley Copper, 80 ; Newgate Prison in 1802, 81 ;
Newgate Prison as it now appears, 82.

CHAPTER VIII.

East Hartford. Joscjph 0. Goodwin 85

Illustrations : Dr. AVilliams's House, 92 ; the Hartford Bridge, 90 ;
Mrs. Mary (Lord) Pitkin, 102; the Elisha Pitkin House, 104.

CHAPTER IX.

East Windsor. The Rev. Dr. Increase N. Tarhox 107

Illustration : The Old Theological School of Connecticut (East \\'ind-
sor Hill), 113.

CHAPTER X.

South Windsor. The Rev. Dr. Increase N. Tarhox 129

Illustration : Fitch's Steamboat, 137.

CHAPTER XI.

Enfield. The Rev. George W. Winch 139

Illustrations: Enfield Falls, 140; Map (of 1042), J44; the A. G.
Hazard Residence, 149 ; the North Family of Shakers. 1.53.

Fac-similes : Receipt of Thomas Abbe, 148 ; Protest against Slavery
(1777), 151.

CHAPTER XII.

Farmington. The Re/v. Dr. Noah Porter 163

Illustration : The Present Meeting-House, 178.

Unionville. James L. Coivles 199

CHAPTER XIII.

Glastonbury. William S. Goslee 205

Illustrations : The HoUister House (1675), 208 ; the Talcott House
(1699), 209.

CHAPTER XIV.

Granby. William Scoville Case 229

CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. vii

CHAPTEli XV.

Page
Hartland. From Notes hy Lester Taylor 237

CHAPTER XVI.

Manchester. The Bev. S. W. Bobbins 243

Illustrations : The Cheney Homestead, South Manchester, 245 ; Ruins
of the Glass-factory, 247; Wyllys Falls, 254; a Cheney Clock,
255 ; Manchester Centre (Soldiers' Monnineut, Congregational Church,
Town Hall), 257.

CHAPTEPt XVII.

Marlborough. Miss Mary Hall 267

CHAPTEPt XVIIL

New Britain. David N. Cam2J 277

Illustrations: The South Congregational Church, 287; the State Nor-
mal School, 295 ; the Stanley Works, 299 ; the Works of the Amer-
ican Hosiery Company, 305; the Works of the Stanley Rule and Level
Company, 3L5.

Fac-simile : School Subscription (1784), 294.

CHAPTER XIX.

Newington. Boger Welles 319

Illustration: The Churchill House (1754). 328.
Fac-simile : Receipt of Simon Backus (172G), 326.

CHAPTER XX.

Plainville. Simon ToviUnson 335

Illustration : The " Old Root Place," 336.

CHAPTER XXI.

SiMSBURY. Lueius I. Barber, M.D 341

Illustrations : Tariffville Gorge, 348 ; the Old Bronson House, 359.

Fac-similes : Receipt of Samuel Stebbins (1784), 353 ; Receipt of Ehhu
Humphrey (1775), 358.

CHAPTER XXII.

Southington. Steplien Walkley 363

Illustrations : Southington Centre, 365 ; Map of Southington, 369.
Fac-simile: Society's Record (1726), Samuel Andrns, Clerk, 368.

viii CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Page

SUFFIELD. Hezekiah Spencer Sheldon 383

Illustrations : The Sheldou House, West Suffield, 405 ; the Connec-
ticut Literary Institution, Main Buildings, 409 ; the Judge Gay House,
412 ; Portrait of Sylvester Graham, 413.

CHAPTER XXIV.

West Hartford. The Rev. Franklin S. Hatch 415

Illustrations : Portrait of the Rev. Dr. Nathan Perkins, 419 j the Con-
gregational Church, 419 ; the Noali Webster House, 423.

CHAPTER XXV.

Wethersfield. Sherman W. Adams 425

Illustrations: Marks (if Turramuggus and Mantovvese, 432; Map of
Wethersfield (1634-1044), 433 ; the Congregational Church, fticing
446 ; Portraits of the Rev. Dr. John Marsh, Silas Deane, and Rector
Elisha Williams, 443 ; the Webh House, 478 ; Residence of S. W.
Robbius, 487 ; the State Prison, 492.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Rocky Hill. Sherman W. Adams 493

CHAPTER XXVII.
Windsor.

General History. The Rev. Reuel H. Tattle 497

Churches of Windsor. The Rev. Gowen C. Wilson 534

Early Windsor Families. Jahez H. Hayden ........ 547

Illustrations : Map of Windsor (1633-1650), 501 ; View of Broad
Street, 519 ; Oliver Ellsworth and Wife, 526 ; Portraits of tlie Hon.
Oliver Ellsvvorth and Governor W. W. Ellsworth, 527; the Ellsworth
Homestead, 527 ; Grace Episcopal Church and Parsonage, 532 ; the
Congregational Church, built in 1794, 533 ; Map of the Palisado, 546 ;
the Hayden Homestead, 560.

Fac-Rimiles : The Town Lead weighed (1684), 509 ; Extract fi-om the
Rev. Samuel Matlier's Note-Book, 539; Votes passed by the Church
Society (dignifying the seats and beating the drums, 1735), 541 ;
Poquonnock Parish Records (1724-1727), 543.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Windsor Locks. Jahez H. Hayden 561

Illustrations : Map of Pine Meadow (1776), 563; the Ferry to East
Windsor, 565 ; the Haskell House, 567.

Index ^^^ °^ Volume I.

LIST OF STEEL PORTRAITS.

VOLUME 11.

Page

Ethan A. Andrews, of New Britain To face 280

Charles Boswell, of West Hartford 422

Elihu BuRRiTi', of New Britain 312

David N. Camp, of New Britain 278

Charles H. Dexter, of Windsor Locks 568

Tiie Rev. Jonathan Edwards, of AV'indsor 130

Cornelius B. Erwin, of New Britain 316

Nathaniel Hayden, of Windsor 532

Augustus G. Hazard, of Enfield 160

Eli as Inoraham, of Bristol 58

James C. Loomis, of Windsor 516

RoswELL A. Neal, of Southington 380

Alfred North, of Berlin 20

Seth J. North, of New Britain 296

Elisha M. Pease, of E:nfield 158

Gen. William 8. Pierson, of Windsor 530

^ Major Samuel Pitkin, of East Hartford. (ArtotyjK.) 103

^The Rev. Timothy Pitkin, of Farmington. {Jrtotype.) 176

President Noah Porter, of Yale College 164

1 The Pitkin portraits are from the "Pitkin Genealogy," in preparation by Mr. A. P.
Pitkin, of Hartford.

X LIST OF STEEL PORTRAITS.

Page

The Rev. John Smalley, of New Britain To face 284

W. H. Smith, of New Britain 314

Frederick T. Stanley, of New Britain 310

Henry Stanley, of New Britain 302

John B. Talcott, of New Britain 282

Orrin Thompson, of Tliompsonville 1^6

Gen. Samuel B. Webb, of Wetliersfield 478

E. N. Welch, of Bristol ^^

Samuel Wilcox, of Berlin

Edward Wilcox, of Berlin

Frederick Wolcott, of Litchfield ^36

1 QO

Oliver Wolcott, of Windsor

Oliver Wolcott, Jr., of Litchfield 134

Dr. William Wood, of East Windsor ^^^

MEMORIAL HISTORY

OF THE

COUNTY OF HARTFORD, CONN.

Cotun i^i0torie0*

AVON.

BY M. n. BARTLETT.

AVON was incorporated in 1830. Previously it was the north parish
in the town of Farmington, and went by the name of Northing-
ton. On the north it is bounded by Canton and Simsbury, and
on the south by Farmington, wliile on the east and west it has as
natural boundaries the Talcott ^Mountain range and the Farmington
River respectively. Until 1845 the western boundary was somewhat to
the east of the river ; but in that year the portion of Burlington which
lay east of Farmhigton River was annexed to Avon, excepting a block
of about eiglity rods square, which was at the same time annexed to
Canton.

The area of Avon is about thirty-three square miles. A consider-
able portion is level fertile land in the valley of the Farmington River.
This river passes through the town twice, first flowing south along its
western boundary, and then, after describing a semicircle in Farm-
ington, re-entering Avon on its eastern side near the base of Talcott
Mountain, and passing to the north into the town of Simsbury.

The northeastern corner of the town is remarkable for the beauty
of its natural scenery. Here is the highest ridge, south of Mount Tom,
Massachusetts, of that trap formation which intersects the State from
north to south. On its highest point, and within the boundary of Avon,
which follows the top of the ridge for five miles, stands the observatory
known as Bartlctt's Tower, built in 1867, a short distance from the site
of the towers erected by Daniel Wadsworth in 1810 and 1840, whicli
were successively destroyed, one by wind and the other by fire. Near
by, too, is Mr. Wadsworth's former summer residence, called ]\Ionte
Video.i Professor Benjamin Silliman, in his "Tour from Hartford to
Quebec," published in 1824, speaks of " the beautiful and grand scenery

i Now the summer residence of Jlr. H. C. Judd, of Hartford.
VOL. II. — 1.

2 MEMOKIAL HISTORY OF 'HARTFORD COUNTY.

of Monte Video, which makes this villa, with its surrounding objects,
quite without a parallel in America, and probably with few in the
world."

The view from the top of the tower looks out and down eastward
upon a vast plain of a thousand square miles, — the Connecticut val-
ley, — stretching from Mounts Tom and Holyoke to the Haddam Hills,
a distance of sixty miles, bounded on the east by the Wilbraham and
Bolton ranges, and dotted with fifty cities, towns, and villages. In the
dim northern outline stand perched upon their summits the houses of
Mounts Tom and Holyoke, on cither side of the Connecticut River, as if
guarding its entrance to the beautiful valley below ; while above and
beyond appears the white tower of Mount Toby, more than fifty miles
away in an air-line. In a clear atmosphere and good light the rocky

f^r-s'-W^ --71'-

«vl-

»^

THE FIRST TOWER (fROM A DRAWING BY DANIEL WADS WORTH).

summit of Mount Monadnock, in New Hampshire (tlie first land to be
seen on entering Boston Harbor), stands out distinctly, although eighty-
three miles distant. Nearer appear the cities of Holyoke and Spring-
field, while nearer still, and more prominent to the view, stands
Hartford, its towers and graceful spires, and, above all, the gilded dome
of the Capitol, rising from the elms and maples which shade its streets.
Farther to the south, the cities of Middletown, New Britain, and Meri-
den appear ; and all through the broad valley, here and there, villages,
towns, and farms make up the i)anorama.

Turnino: to the west, a narrower but still lonirer vallev is in view,
reachino- from New Haven to Deerfield in jNIassachusetts, a distance of
ninety miles, througli which ])asses the New Haven and ISorthampton
Railroad. In the extreme north, at the apparent head of the valley,
appears the white house on the summit of Sugar Loaf Mountain, not
far from the confines of Vermont and New Hampshire. Immediately to

»J" -'^aaaJ

AVON. 5

the west, and almost beneath, lies spread the pictnresqne Farmington
valley. All these make up a picture of quiet beauty, of peace and
loveliness, rarely seen ; and on every side are exhibited the neatness
and order and thrift so characteristic of New England. Beyond this
pleasant valley rises range after range of hills ; and over all tops Mount
Everett, away among the Berkshire Hills, whose western base lies in
the State of Xew York. Apart from the magnificent view thus ob-
tained from the tower, one chief object of interest in this remarkable
region is the beautifal lake, about one mile in circumference, which
lies in a shallow basin almost at the very top of the ridge, and only a
sliort Avalk from the tower, being fully eight hundred feet above the
Connecticut River.

The history of the community subsequently forming the town of
Avon begins with the formation of the parish of Northington (a name
contracted from North Farmington). In May, 1746, Preserved Mar-
shall, Daniel Wilcox, Joseph Woodford, Joseph Woodford, Jr., John
Woodford, and William Woodford petitioned the General Assembly, rep-
resenting that they lived in the northern part of Farmington, near the
boundary line of Simsbury, and that they attended worship in Simsbury,
and wished to be annexed to that society, so that they might ])ay their
taxes where they worshipped. This petition was opposed by Farming-
ton, on the ground that it would be l)etter to form a society among
themselves, as there were thirty-one families, embracing more than one
hundred and sixty souls. This remonstrance was accompanied by a
petition for "winter privileges," — that is, the right to hire a minister
four months in a year, from December 1 to March 31, with exemption
from a like proportion of taxes for the support of preaching in the
Farmington society. Neither petition was granted at this time, but at
the October session in the same year the petition for winter privileges
was renewed and granted. After four winters of these privileges, en-
joyed from house to house, it was felt that time had come for a sepa-
rate religious organization. Accordingly a [)etition to that effect was
addressed to the General Assembly at the May session, 1750. The
Farmington society declaring its free consent, the petition was granted,
and on the 20tli of November of the next year the church was organ-
ized. One week later the Rev. Ebenezer Booge was ordained the pas-
tor, and continued in the office

until his death, Feb. 2, 1767. The O^ . A^ yiu.r>^^p

new society, named in the act of (jefC/^llti^yr /MnrQO
incorporation Northington Parish, ^r

worshipped in the house of Mr. ^

Benjamin Lewis until the completion of the meeting-house in 1754.
This house was located on the east side of Farmington River, near the
old burying-ground. No relics of it now remain.

Mr. Booge was succeeded by the Rev. Rufus Hawley, whose pastorate
continued fifty-six years. During this time occurred the wars of the
Revolution and of 1812, which made large drafts on this parish ; yet
the number of families had increased to one hundred in 1800, and in
1826 it was one hundred and seventy-five, the population of the parish
being about one thousand.

Dissensions which had long existed in the society as to the location

6 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

of a new meeting-liouse led to its division, in 1818, on the passing of a
vote by a small majority (44 to 37) to locate the new house on the
spot now occupied, in West Avon. This decision was hastened by the
burning of the old meeting-house in December, 1817, as Avas supposed
by an incendiary. On the passage of this vote the minority seceded,
and in the same year organized the parish now known as East Avon,
under the name of the United Religious Association of Farmington.
The separation was finally made with kind expressions of Christian
love and fellowship, and the new church was constituted by the Hart-
ford North Consociation, the Rev. Abel Flint, Moderator, as the third
church in Farmington. Besides erecting their meeting-house, the new
society raised by subscription more than 85,000 for a permanent fund
to support preaching. Upwards of $15,000 was raised for church pur-
poses, in this population of less than a thousand, within a year after the
secession of the new church.

By the addition to the parish of Northington in May, 1817, of the
"new lots" known as Lovely Street and Whortleberry Hill, the centre
of population had been moved westward, and the division just recorded
became inevitable. But by this removal of the old society to the west-
ward, and its loss of nearly half of its eastern members, it was placed in
a position of comparative hardship and trial. About sixteen years later
a church was organized in Collinsville, and in 1841 anotlior in Union-
ville ; so that the old parish, now become the first church of Avon,
lost, in the twenty-five years following the burning of its first house of
worship in 1817, fully two thirds of its territory and more than one
half of its financial strength. And yet it has had a large measure of
prosperity, and liberally maintained church privileges.

In 1820 the Rev. Ludovicus Robbins became Mr. Hawlev's colleasfue.
He was succeeded in 1824 by the Rev. Harvey Buslmell, who became
pastor of the church on Mr. Hawlev's death in 182(5, remainino: till
1834. He was followed by the Rev. John Bartlett (1835-1847), wliose
successors have been as follows : Rev's Joel Grant, 1848-1852 ; William
S. Wright, 1853-1859; J. M. Smith, 1859-1864; William M. Gay,
1864-1866; William M. Atwater, 1866-1868; A. Goldsmith, 1868-
1876 ; William Howard, 1877-1880, and S. D. Gaylord. Of the last
five only Mi-. Atwater was regularly settled. The present membership
of the church is about one hundred and forty, or four times the number
after the separation in 1818.

The pastors of the East Avon (originallv Farmington third) church
have been Rev's Bela Kellogg, 1819-1829; Francis H. Case, 1830-

1840 ; Stephen Hubbell, 1840-1853 ;
Vi^ ^ J. S. Whittlesey (acting), 1853-1854;

^^A^ M^J^jP Henry M. Colton (acting), 1855-1857 ;
c^^e^>^.^^ ^^-^ E. D. Murphv, 1859-1864 ; George Cur-

tis, 1866-1868; H. G. Marshall (act-
ing), 1869-1871; C. P. Croft (acting), 1873-1875, and N. J. Seeley.
The number of members at the formation of this church was thirty-one.
About four hundred and fifty have been added since that time, and the
present membership is one hundred and ten.

The Union Baptist Society of Northington was organized Sept. 9,
1817, and built a house of worship in the following year. No church
was organized till 1831, when one of twelve members was constituted.

AVON.

It was always a feeble organization, and in 1855 services were discon-
tinued and the house sold for other uses.

Professor Silliman, in his " Tour," gives a charming picture of Avon,
describing especially a service in the Congregational church.

'^W^'^'*^^^^^^^^ '' ^^

THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.

The incorporation of the town of Avon in 1830 followed upon the
opening of the New Haven and Northampton Canal in 1828, and the
consequent prospect of largely increased iDusiness interests. The old
turnijilce was the thoroughfare of a large amount of travel and traffic,
whicli the canal was expected greatly to develop and increase. To the
East Avon people in particular did the canal ])romiso to bring growth
of business and population, as at that point it crossed another great
thoroughfare, — the Albany turnpike from Hartford. CoUinsville, too,
had grown into importance as a manufacturing village, and this was its
nearest point of access to the canal. In 1830 a large three-story hotel
was built near the canal and turnpike, by Francis Woodford ; and soon
after several other buildings were erected, among them one long store
where a large stock of dry goods and groceries was kept, and on the
other side of the church-green another three-story building f<jr commer-
cial purposes. The village then had three hotels, harness, carriage, and
blacksmith shops, beside several stores, but no manufactories. It was
at this time of stir and hopefulness in the community that the prominent
men moved successfully for the incorporation of the town.

A few years later the canal proved a failure, the turnpikes gave
place to railroads, and Avon, having no manufacturing interests, made

b MEMUiUAL HISTOKV OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

but slow progress as a town. A cotton-factory with a capital of
120,000 was incorporated in 1846, but did not prove a success.
Other minor manufactures have l>een carried on at times, among them
those of spokes and hubs, of pedlers' wagons, and of safety-fuse. In
1878 a creamery was incorporated, with a capital of -$4,000, and is now
in successful o]>eration. During the summer season over three thou-
sand quarts of milk are daily received; this is mostly made into butter,
though some cream is sent to Hartford and New Haven. For twenty
years there have been two or three tobacco warehouses, buying annually
from twenty to twenty-five thousand dollars worth of tobacco from the
surrounding farmers. In January, 1884, the Climax Fuse Company
was formed, to manufacture safety-fuse, and it is now in operation, with
a capacity of one hundred thousand feet a day.

Agriculture has been the leading pursuit of the inhabitants of this
town, which is favored by the fertility of most of its soil and by its
proximity to good markets. Until recently the principal crops were
corn, potatoes, rye, oats, buckwheat, and hay, much attention being
also given to the making of butter for the Hartford market. Tobacco
has now come to the front rank of agricultural products, the soil of
this valley producing a very fine quality of leaf, which is used for mak-
ing the wrappers of cigars. The crop from single farms brings from
five hundred to fifteen hundred dollars in a season.

Avon has generally maintained good roads. In 1866 and 1867 a
causeway two thousand feet long and fifteen or twenty feet in height
was built on the old turnpike as it crosses the Farmington River, carry-
ing the road above high water. Its town affairs have been managed
with good judgment and economy, and it is now entirely free from debt.
The population has nut increased appreciably, standing as follows at
each census since the town was incorporated: 1830, 1,025; 1840,1,001;
1850, 995; 1860, 1,059; 1870, 987; 1880, 1,058. The number of
school-children in town is at present two hundred and fifty-eight, and
has probably not been much less at any time since the town was formed.
Under the old law there were four schools in the town, managed by as
many school societies. Since the passage of the new law abolishing
these societies, the number of schools has increased to seven, one being
added with new territory set off from Burlington, and two by divi-
sion of districts. Literary societies and debating clubs have existed
at various times, and during the war tliere was a flourishing Union
League.

The military history of Avon is necessarily brief, and refers almost
wholly to the War of the Rebellion, though for a few years following
the Mexican War a volunteer company of seventy-five or eighty men
was maintained in the town, and a similar one had an existence for
some years after the Rebellion. During the war Avon furnished ninety
six men to the army, being seventeen more than her quota, and paid
in bounties 1 15,000. At least twelve of her soldiers were killed or died
in the service.

The Rev. Rufus Hawley, the second minister of Avon (then North-
ington Parish), was a graduate of Yale College in 1767, and was
ordained pastor of the Northington church, Dec. 20, 1769. His min-
istry continued for fifty-six years, until his death in 1826. He was

■*4

i'.'i!ill'll'i|:n|'.!;^ii|iiWiii'r'''i,.l,.

THE MEADOW AT DEERCLIFF.

'„A,

s^vOiUftH €<^^sb5 -

ENTKANCE TO DEEKCLIFF^ SUMMER RESIDENCE OF MR. RICHARD S. ELY.

AVON.

Az^ n^^A^^y^^^T^

was
Warren,
1815 to
over the

not a man of brilliant parts, but a useful minister, of whom Professor
Silliman o-ave a graphic description
in his "Tour."

The Rev. John Bartlett was born
in Lebanon, August IG, 1784, the
son of Deacon John and Desire

(Loomis) Bartlett. He was a descendant, on his mother's side, of John
Carver, the first Governor of Plymouth Colony. He pursued his theo-
logical studies under the direc-
tion of Dr. Dwight, and
ordained in 1811 at
New York. From
1830 he was settled
church in Wintonbury (now
Bloomfield), in this county. Resigning this charge on account of ill
health, he acted as agent of the American Bible Society till 1885,
when he was installed in West Avon. In 1847 he retired from the
active work of the ministry, and resided in East Avon until his death
in 186G, at the age of eighty-one. He married at Warren, New York,
September, 1812, Jane, daughter of Judge David Golden, and had
eleven children.

David W. Bartlett, son of the preceding, was born in Wintonbury
April 1(3, 1828. He has been an extensive traveller, and has written
several books ; among them, " What I saAv in London,"' " Life of Lady
Jane Grey," " Paris Avith Pen and Pencil," and " Pen-Portraits of
Modern Agitators." For twenty years

he was the Washington correspond- ^^ ^ YV ' f^^'-at.^^^tzt^ j
ent of the New York " Independent,"

Springfield " Republican," andT New York " Evening Post," and for ten
years clerk of the committee on elections, of the National House of
Representatives. He is now American Secretary of the Chinese Lega-
tion to this country, residing in Washington.

Yung Wing, the distinguished Chinaman, a graduate of Yale College
in 1854, Doctor of Laws of the same institution in 1876, founder of the

Chinese educational mis-

^«^ / / ^__^ sion to the United States,

f \ J // U^ and at one time Chinese

^«e»A^/^ /f^%^ ^ Minister to this country,

^*// ' ^"^^1 M ^ y*"*""™"^ ^'^'^ been a resident of

y /^ l/f' /J /I/ ■* » Avon. His wife is a

native of Avon, being a
grand-daughter by her
father of the Rev. Bela
Kellogg, first pastor of
the East Avon church,
and by her mother of the Rev. John Bartlett, pastor (as stated above)
of the first church of Avon.

The Rev. Bela Kellogg, just mentioned, was the son of Martin
Kellogg, of Amherst, Mass., and was born in 1781. He was a graduate
in 1800 in the sixth class of Williams College, studied theology with
the Rev. N. Emmons, D.D., and was ordained in 1813 over the Congre-
gational Church in Brookfield, Conn. He removed to the church in

12 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

East Avon in 1819, and was dismissed on account of ill health in 1830.
He died April 30, 1831. He married, June 6, 1805, Lydia, daughter of
Samuel Candee, of New Haven, and had six children.

John Brocklesby, born in England in 1811, came with his father's
family to Avon in 1820, was graduated at Yale College in 1835, and

received the degree of
y- LL. D, from Hobart Col-

^^r^L^ /^-^-O C^/J^sl^^ pmfessor^ofiLhematic''

etc., in Trinitv College,
Hartford, from 1842 to
1881, and has written several scientific treatises of high merit and
reputation, among them the following: "Elements of Meteorology,"
" Views of the Microscopic World," " Elements of Astronomy," " Com-
mon-School Astronomy." He resides in Hartford.

General Stewart L. Woodford, the distinguished statesman and
orator, is of the family of that name which has been so prominent in
the annals of Avon. He was born in New York City, but his father
and grandfather were natives and residents of Avon while it existed as
Northington Parish.

David W. and Edward Kilbourn removed to the West from Avon.
They became the most prominent and wealtliy men of Keokuk, Iowa,
David being at one time mayor of the city and president of one of its
railroads ; both filled with ability various offices of responsibility and
honor.

" Deercliff," the summer residence of Mr. Richard S. Ely, of New
York, occupies one of the most picturesque sites in the State, on the
crest of the mountain, some distance south of the tower. Mr. Ely,
a native of Hartford, son of the late William Ely, was formerly a mer-
chant in Eno-land and in France, and has since retired from active
business. At his farm at " Deercliff " he was one of the earliest
breeders of Jersey cattle in the United States, and was influential in
introducing them into this country.

11.

BERLIN.

BY THE REV. W. W. WOODWORTH.

BERLIN is bounded on the north by New Britain and Newing-
ton ; on the east by Rocky Hill, Cromwell, and Middletown ; on
the south by Middletown and Meriden; and on the west by
Southington. Its average length is not far from six miles, and its
average breadth about five miles and a half. It is divided into the
two parishes of Kensington on the west and Worthington on the
east. In the southeast part of the parish of Worthington is the small
but flourishing village of East Berlin. The scenery is remarkable for
varied beauties. The geological formation is the red sandstone, the
graceful slope of its hills interspersed here and there witli bold, pre-
cipitous ridges of trap. On the south, partly in Berlin and partly in
Meriden, rises Mount Lamentation. The Mattabesett River, the head-
waters of which are in Berlin and New Britain, flows through the town,
and unites with the Connecticut at Middletown.

In January, 168G, the General Court of the Colony of Connecticut
granted to the towns of '^ Middletown, Wethersfield, and Farmington all
the vacant lands between their bounds and the bounds of Wallingford"
(which then included what is now the township of Meriden), for the
purpose of establishing a new plantation. The grant covered the tract
of land now belonging to Berlin and Ne^v Britain.

The first settler was Richard Beckley. He appears to have been one
of the early planters of New Haven, and to have removed to Wethers-
field in 1668. The records of the colony of Connecticut show that in
that year the General Court granted to Sergeant Richard Beckley three
hundred acres of land lying by Mat-
tabesitt River. The records of
lands for Wetlicrsfield inform us
also that he i)urchased his grounds
of " Terramoogus [Indian], with
the consent of the Court and the town of Wethersfield." This tract
of land, thus granted to Richard Beckley, on which he probably settled
in 1668 or soon after, is in the northeast part of the town of Berlin,
in what from time immemorial has been called "• Beckley Quarter."
The Indian of whom he purchased the land belonged to the Mattabesitt
tribe, and this was a part of their hunting-ground. Other settlers soon
gathered about Beckley, and so the settlement of the Wethersfield part
of this toM'U began.

About the year 1686, seventeen or eigliteen years after Richard
Beckley settled on the Mattabesitt River, Richard Seymour and others

^S-f,^^

14 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

began a settlement in ^Yhat has for many years been known as Chris-
tian Lane, in the northwest part of Worthington Parish, then in " the
southeastern bounds of Farmington." For protection against the In-
dians these settlers built a fort or enclosure of palisades, within which
they erected their cabins, and to which they resorted at nightfall for
safety. The well which they dug, and from Avhich they drank, is still
in use, furnishing a supi)l\ oi good water. Richard Seymour was the
first white person buried within the limits of Berlin, in a lot of ground
which tradition tells us he had himself given for a burial-] )lace. He
was killed by the fall of a tree. The first settlers in Christian Lane
attended church for several years in Farmington village ; and tradition
says that families walked the whole distance. — not less than eight
miles, — over hills and through forests, carrying their children in their
arms, the men going before and behind with loaded guns.

This I'ich basin to which the settlers had come received from them
the name of Great Swamp, on account of its low situation. An Eccle-
siastical Society was organized in Great Swamj) in 1705. The new
society, including in its territorial limits the greater part of the present
towns of New Britain and Berlin, was called the Second Society of
Farmington. It received the name Kensington by act of the General
Assemljly, on the petition of its inhabitants, in May, 1722. Beckley
Quarter, which in 1712 was assigned to the new West Society in Weth-
ersfield, since called Newington, was in 1715 annexed to the Great
Swamp Society ; and so Beckley Quarter became a part of the Second
Society of Farmington.

In May, 1718, a petition was presented to the General Assembly,
signed by Samuel Peck, Samuel Hubbard, Samuel Gal])in, John Gil-
bord, Joseph Harris, and George Hubbard, in whicli they "■ request

that the several inhabitants now

^OfA-V^ ^<CJ

fafn,

dwelling, or that hereafter shall
dwell, towards the northwest corner
of said township of Middletown with-
in one mile and a half S(piare of said
^ ^ItX /V<^^ '^ corner, and also all the ratable
^O-C^dC^^ay estate within the said compass, be
<J<^-^^r^ ^/Zy released from ministerial or parish

^^^^^ytCi charge in ]\Iiddletown, and be an-
/T' f) ^ nexed to the Great Swamp Socie-

/rjOf) Yl n^ D ^-^ ^^^'-^ 'J'^ie petition was oranted.

t y il- J ^^; ^ \^Q ^J other families — Wilcoxes, Savages,

fi ^ Sages, Johnsons, and others — came

//C> A^nn V ^^^ '^^^*-^ ^^ ^''° Middletown portion

'J ^ { ^^^T 'Y^fS of the parish of Kensington was

''d^CYCi^ ifv^OC^^f^ The Second Society of Farming-

f ^ , J ton was organized, as stated above, in

1705. The church — then the Sec-
ond Church in Farmington — was formed December 10, 1712, with ten
members, seven males and three females. Their names were William
Burnham, Stephen Lee, Thomas Hart, Anthony Judd, Samuel Seymour,
Thomas North, Caleb Cowles : these were the seven pillars. With
the wives of Stephen Lee, Samuel Seymour, and Thomas Hart, they

BERLIN. 15

constituted the church, to which others were soon added. There were
then but fourteen families within the limits of the society, which,
however, did not as yet include the settlement in Beckley Quarter.
]\Ir, William Burnham, a native of Wetherslield, and a graduate of
Harvard College, who had already preached to them for five years,
was ordained the day the church was organized, and acted as their
pastor till his death, in 1750.

The society, " by way of settlement," built him a house, he " finding
glass and nails ; " and on condition that he continued their pastor for
nine years, secured to him, and to his heirs and assigns forever, " three
parcels of land," one of which, however, consisting of fifty acres, was
given bv the town of Farmington. Tlie house is still standing and
occupied, though removed from its original site. His salary was fixed
at £50 a year, supplemented by £o worth of labor for four years ;
then to be raised to c£G5. Pie was, besides, to have " a sufficient
supply of firewood for family use brought home and made ready for
the fire." The salary was increased fi'om time to time, until in 1728
it was made XIOO. Mr. Burnham had a large family, and is said to
have " accumulated a large estate." He is described as n sound
preacher, accustomed to refer much to Scripture in support of his
doctrine.

The meeting-house In which he first preached was on a knoll a few
rods southwest of where the Middletown railroad crosses Christian
Lane. As the population increased, the house was found to be too
small and the location inconvenient ; and it was voted, in January,
17-30 (42 in the affirmative and 36 in tlie negative), to build a new
meeting-house " on Sergeant John Norton's lot, on the north side of
Mill River," more than a mile southwest of the old house. The
seeds of forty years of strife were in that vote. Serious difficulties
arose respecting the location. Recourse was had in the most solemn
manner to the lot, to decide the question. An advisory council was
called to decide what the lot did not settle. The council advised that
the site indicated by the lot was " the place pointed out by Providence
to build the meeting-house upon ; " but the people would not build it
there. The General Assembly of the colony was next apj)ealcd to.^
In May, 1732, that body aj^pointed a committee to repair to the parish,
view the circumstances, and fix the place for building the meeting-
house. The committee fulfilled their trust, and "■ pitched down a
stake in Deacon Thomas Hart's home-lot," about forty rods south-
west of the spot pointed out by the lot. The society would take no
measures for building there ; and in October, 1732, the General Court
" ordered, directed, and empowered the constable of the town of Farm-
ington to assess and gather of the inhabitants of Kensington ninepence
on the pound of the polls and ratable estate of said society, and deliver
it to the treasurer of the colony ; who was ordered, on the receipt thereof,
to pay out the same to Captain John Marsh, Captain Thomas Sey-
mour, and Mr. James Church, all of Hartford, who were appointed and
empowered to be a committee, or any two of them, to erect and finish
a meeting-house, at the place aforesaid, for the society aforesaid." This
Hartford committee " speedily and effectually " did their work. They
erected a house " 60 feet in length and 45 in breadth, containing in the

1 For a fac-simile of the indorsement on this petition see page 16.

MEMORIAL HISTOKY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

1500 persons,
of Berlin depot,

This house was
on the road

not

leading-

far from the first
to Worthinuton

it rather increased.

whole about

corner east

village.

But the bitterness of feeling was not allayed ;

Petitions to the General Assembly of the colony, praying for relief,

came from distant parts
of the parish. But no
means of relief were at
hand, and the confusion
and dissension contin-
ued till 1745, when the
first division of Ken-
sington Parish was
made liy the organi-
zation of tlie 8ocietv
of New Britain. The
church in New Britain
— the Second Church
in Kensiuii'ton — was
formed April 19, 1758,
with sixty-eight mem-
bers. On the same day
John Smalley — a name
destined to be famous
in the history of New
England theology —
was ordained. His
character and work be-
long rather to the his-
tory of New Britain
than to that of Berlin.
The church in New
Britain received fifty of
its original members
from the mother
clnuch ; but there were
one hundred and sev-
enty-four members left
in a church which forty-
two years before had
been organized with ten
members in a settle-
ment of but fourteen
families. This shows
a rapid growth of popu-
lation.

After Mr. Burnham's
death, six years elapsed
before the Kensington

church secured another pastor. At length, on the 14th of July, 1756,

1 So says the record. Thoughtful men of this generatiou cannot easily see how fifteen
hundred persons could be accommodated in a house of that size.

BERLIX. 17

Mr. Samuel Clark, a graduate in 1751 of the College of New Jersey,
was ordained, and remained pastor of the church till his death, in
1775. His tombstone records tliat " in the gifts of preaching he was
excellent, laborious, and pathetic." The division of the parish did not
end the strife between the remaining sections. The controversy waxed
fiercer and hotter, until, in June, 1771, one hundred and thirty-seven
men signed a paper, which sets forth in its preamble that •' the society
has long been in a very unhap])y, broken, and divided state, and that
various means have been unsuccessfully used to reconcile the subsisting
difficulties ; " and then goes on to propose that the wIkjIc matter be
submitted to the arbitration of Colonel John Worthington, of .Spring-
field, Colonel Oliver Partridge, of Hatfield, and Mr. Eldad Taylor, of

Westfield, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. In conclusion, the
subscribers solemnly pledge themselves, "laying aside all former preju-
dices and prepossessions, and all party and selfish views and designs,
to abide by the decision of the arljitrators, and not directly or indirectly
to oppose it." The pledge was made, and kept in good faith. The arbi-
trators did their ])art wisely. They decided that it was best to divide
the society again, drew the boundary Ime, and fixed the sites of the two
new meeting-houses. A memorial was presented to the General Assem-
bly in October, 1772, asking for this division, which was granted. The
West Society retained the name of Kensington, and the East Society
took the name of Worthington, as a memorial of the judicious efforts
of Colonel Worthington in settling these long-standing difficulties.

Thus ended this bitter controversy. The two societies at once
began ])reparations for Ituilding meeting-houses on the sites indicated
by the arbitrators. That in Kensington was dedicated Dec. 1, 1774. It
has undergone repairs, alterations, and improvements, and is still the
attractive and comfortable house
of worship of the First Church

and Societv of Berlin. In March, / /v- 'AjC^ .^^^^k^ ^

1779, Mr. Benoni Upson (born in ^ y o^^-^^^^^-^ /^^/tyrD-^ty^

Waterbury, 1750, graduated at
Yale College, 1776) was settled as the third pastor of the church in
Kensington, the first after tlie division of the parish. j\Ir. Upson was
in every sense a Christian gentleman, a lover kA ])eace, and a peace-
maker. He was highly esteemed among the ministers of his day. He
was a fellow of Yale College, which conferred on him the degree of
Doctor of Divinity in 1817. He died Nov. 13, 1826, aged seventy-six
years, after a pastorate of forty-seven years, for the last ten of which
he had a colleatrue.

Mr. Royal Robbins (born in Wethersfield, Oct. 21, 1787, graduated
at Yale in 1806) was ordained as Dr. Ujjson's colleague June 26, 1816,
and resigned his charge June 26, 1859. He studied theology with
Dr. Porter, of Catskill,"New York, and Dr. Yates, of East Hartford.

VOL. II. — 2.

18 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

To eke out an insufficient salary, he wrote much for the press ; and
some of his numerous publications were of a high order of literary

worth. His

a^^ U<^^i^^^ ci''^^^^ work is his

"Outlines
of Ancient

and Modern History," which has passed through many editions, and
been extensively used as a text-book in schools and colleges. After
Dr. Upson's death Mr. Robbins was the pastor of the Kensington church
for thirty-three years. He was a judicious and faithful minister, a wise
counsellor; as a preacher, less a "son of thunder'' than a "son of
consolation," speaking the truth which he lived, in winning forms and
in winning tones. His ministry was eminently successful. He died
March 26, 1861, aged seventy-three years. Among his children are
Royal E. Robbins and Henry A. Robbius, of the firm of Robbins &
Appleton, New York, and Edward W. Robbins, of Kensington.

The Rev. Elias B. Hillard, a native of Preston and a graduate of
Yale, was installed over this church May 16, 1860, and dismissed
Feb. 27, 1867. He had previously Iteen settled in Hadlyme. He re-
moved from Kensington to Glastonbury, and thence to Plymouth, where
he now labors as jjastor of the Congregational Church.

He was succeeded by the Rev. Alfred T. Waterman, a native of
Providence, Rhode Island, and a graduate of Yale, installed June 23,
1869, dismissed June 15, 1874. He is now a minister in Michigan. The
Rev. A. C. Baldwin, now resident in Yonkers, New York, the Rev. J.
B. Cleaveland, and Mr. C. W. Morrow have since acted each for a time
as pastor. The Rev. A. J. Benedict was installed May 3, 1883.

The Worthington society held its first meeting Nov. 23, 1772.
Its first meeting-liouse was opened for worship on Thursday, Oct. 13,
1774. It stood for sixteen years without steeple or bell. A vote,
passed by the society Nov. 1, 1791, is worth transcribing: —

" Voted, That the thanks of this society be given to our friend, Mr. Jedidiah
Norton, for so distinguished a mark of his good-will in giving us an elegant
organ, and erecting it in the meeting-house at his expense."

Was not this the first instance in Avhich an organ was used as an
aid to the worship of God in song in ih^ Congregational churches in
New England ? This was a sweet-toned organ, and was played with
very vanous skill, till it was destroyed when the meeting-house was
fired by some incendiary in 1848. the liouse was not l)urned down,
but afterwards repaired', and is now used for a school-house and town-
hall. A new church

was dedicated in ^_^ -,-,*s_ <^ '

1851. The church ^f^^^^::^ tX^^^T>-X
in Worthino'ton was ^"^ ^^-^^^rr^M.

§>.

orQ;anized Feb. 9,

1775, with ninety- {J^ lyO-yn £ €^hl-f^
five members. Its
first pastor, the Rev.

Nathan Fenn, was ordained May 3, 1780. Mr. Fenn was born in Mil-
ford in 1750, graduated at Yale in 1775, and studied theology with

BERLIN. 19

Dr. Smallev in New Britain. He died, after a ministry of nineteen vears,
April 21, 1799. His tombstone records that '' in his pastoral ofiice he
was faithfnl ; in the duties of piety constant ; in every relation kind
and affectionate ; and to all men hospitable and l^enevolent."

In December, 1801, the society voted to call the Rev. Evan Johns,
a native of "Wales, and for some time minister in Bury St. Edmunds,
England, and to pay him an annual salary of $5 500 and fifteen cords
of wood. Mr. Johns was installed June 9, 1802. He was a very
different man from Mr. Fenn. With much the stronger intellect, and
much the greater eloquence and power in the pulpit, he had also a
more irasciljle temper and quicker impulses, and lacked that mildness
of demeanor and that judiciousness of counsel and of conduct which
had given his predecessor so strong a hold on his people. After a
ministry of nine years, he was dismissed Feb. 13, 1811. Mr. Johns
subsequently preached in various places, and at length retired to Canan-
daigna, New York, where he died in 181:9, at the age of eighty-six.

He was succeeded. May 29, 1811, by the Rev. Samuel Goodrich, a
son of Dr. Elizur Goodrich, of Durham, and father of Mr. Samuel G.
Goodrich — known as Peter Parley — and the Rev. Charles A. Goodrich.
He graduated at Yale in 1783, and was pastor of the church in Ridge-
field from 1786 to 1811. He found the piety of the Worthington church
in a very low state, from which the revivals enjoyed under his ministry
did much to restore it. He
was its sole pastor until ^__z:>

1831, when the Rev. Am- ""IT J /? ^ / * /

brose Edson was installed y.^a/^T7yU.C</ <^ O C oCt^c^ry\
as colleague pastor. About
three years and a half la-
ter both pastors were dis-
missed on account of failing
health. Mr. Goodrich died Sabbath evening, April 19, 1835, in the
seventy-third year of his age. He was a man of sound judgment,
solid understanding, and extensive knowledge. His preaching was
plain and practical, cordial and affectionate, and delivered with " a pecu-
liarly full and solemn utterance."

Mr. Edson was born at Brimfield, Mass., in 1797. His first pastor-
ate was at Brooklyn. He was a man of great zeal, and when on his-
favorite themes of God's government and man's responsibility, of great
power as a preacher. Alter his dismission in 1831 he removed with
his family to Somers. While there he published a book of some merit
entitled " Letters to the Conscience," which reached a second edition.
He died at Somers, Aug. 17, 1835.

James M. Macdonald, a native of Limerick, Maine, was the next
pastor. He was ordained, when not yet twenty-three years of age,
April 1, 1835. He was dismissed, against the remonstrance and
greatly to the grief of his jjcojAe, Nov. 27, 1837, and soon after was
installed over the Second Congregational Church in New London.
From there he was called to Jamaica, Long Island ; thence to the city
of New York ; and thence, in 1853, to the First Presbyterian Church
in Princeton, New Jersey, where ho continued for twenty-three years,
until his death, April 20, 1876. He had many rare qualities as a
preacher. A form and face of manly beauty, a voice combining

20 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

melody and power, an intellect of robust vigor, a habit of study and
research, a heart, full of sympathy, an unyielding loyalty to truth and
to God, — these gave him nmch attractiveness and power. Wliile at
Jamaica he was invited to become Professor of Moral Philosophy in
Hamilton College, but declined. He published several works of much
merit, the last and most important of which was his " Life of the
Apostle John."

The Rev. Joseph Whittlesey was installed May 8,1838, and dismissed,
on account of failing' health, Aug. 9, 1841. He still lives in Berlin.

W. W. Woodworth was ordained July G, 1842, and dismissed May,
1852. He was succeeded by the Rev. William DeLoss Love, installed
Oct. 5, 1853, and dismissed Nov. 23, 1857, now of Soutli Hadley, Mass.
During the first year of his ministry here one hundred and fifty-five
were added to the church by profession.

The next pastor was the Rev. Robert C. Learned, installed here
Dec. 1, 1858, dismissed April 1, 1861. He went from here to Plymouth,
where he died in April, 18G7, at the age of forty -nine. He was a good
man, lovable and loving, with a well-balanced and well-rounded char-
acter ; a man, too, of no small intellectual power, lucid in his thinking
and in the expression of his thoughts. His son, the Rev. Dwight
W. Learned, is now a missionary of the American Board of Commis-
sioners for Foreign Missions in Japan.

The next pastor was the Rev. Wilder Smith, afterwards of Rock-
ford, Illinois, now residing in Hartford ; the next, the Rev. Leavitt
H. Hallock, afterward of West Winsted, now a pastor in Portland,
Maine ; the next, the Rev. Jesse Brush, now rector of an Episcopal
church in Saybrook. After an absence of nearly twenty-four years
the Rev. W. W. Woodworth returned to the pastorate of this church
in December, 1875.

The history of a country town in New England must, to a very
large extent, be the history of its churches and ecclesiastical societies.
They are its most important and most lasting and influential institu-
tions. In Berlin, as in other Connecticut towns, the Congregational
churches and societies were at first, and for a long time, the only ones.
But about the year 1815 the Rev. William R. Jewett, a Methodist
preacher, began to hold services here. A class composed of twelve
or more members was soon formed, and class-meetings and regular
preaching services were held. Oliver Weldcn was the first class4eader.
Amono- the early preachers were Rev's Smith Dayton, David Miller,
and John R. Jewett; and of those that followed these there were
several ministers quite noted in their day. At the first ordinance of
baptism seventeen were baptized by immersion. The first Methodist
house of worship in Berlin was erected in the south part of Worthing-
ton village in 1830. In 1871 the society bought the house formerly
used by the Universalists, remodelled it, and now worships in it.

The corner-stone of the INIethodist church in Kensington was laid
in 1865. The house was built and the ])arsonage procured by means
of the gifts of Mr. Moses Peck and Miss Louisa Loveland.

In March, 1864, religious services began to be held regularly in a
hall in East Berlin, and in the following May a Methodist class was
formed there. A neat chapel was dedicated in the spring of 1876.

In 1829 " The First Societv of United Brethren in the town of

Cr^^^L^

BERLIN. 21

Berlin" was formed. In 1832 the name was changed to "The First
Universalist Society in Berhn." In 1831 the society began build-
ing, and in 1832 met for the first time in the new church. The first
pastor was the Rev. John Boyden, who was followed in 1836 by the
Rev. William A. Stickney. He was succeeded in 1840 by the Rev.
Horace G. Smith. In 1843 Mr. Daniel H. Plumb was ordained, who
served the society till 1845. After that, preaching services were irreg-
ular, and in 1870 the house was sold to School District No. 5, and the
money paid to " the treasurer of the Universalist State Convention of
the State of Connecticut, to be used for the benefit of the Universalist
denomination in this State."

In May, 1781, a petition was presented to the General Assembly then
sitting in Hartford, for a new town, to be called Kensington. The peti-
tion was not granted ; but the subject was agitated until in the spring
of 1785 the new town of Berlin was formed of parts of the three
towns of Wethersfield, Farmington, and Middletown. The town then
included nearly all the territory now in the towns of New Britain
and Berlin. Towm-meetings were held for sixty-five years in turn in
each of the three parishes into which the town was divided. In 1850
the citizens of Kensington and Worthington, seeing themselves out-
voted by the increasing population of New Britain, and perceiving, as
they thought, a disposition in that thriving village to centre all the
town business there, joined in petitioning the General Assembly to be
separated from New Britain. The petition was granted. Berlin became
a new town with the old name, but with only one representative in the
State legislature ; while New Britain has two representatives and the
records of the old town. Immediately after the division, the population
of tiie new town of Berlin was 1,869 ; by the census of 1880, it was
2,385. Berlin has two town-halls, — one in each of its two societies, —
and town-meetings are
held the even years in
Kensino'ton and the odd

^O"

Worthington. %y fl^f^c^^^C^^t^ J^ Ct'J^'^C^ftJ

years m

It is noteworthy that

since the division of the (^^^

town (and for six years (U eUcrj^ /W^jeyy^-fty

before) one man, Deacon

Alfred North, of Worthington, has until now (1884) held the offices of

town clerk and treasurer, having been voted for by men of all parties.

From the beginning the people of Great Swamp turned their
attention to the education of the young, and made provision for the
employment of teachers. At first, a teacher was hired for the whole
society, to go from one neighborhood to another, teaching in such places
as were designated by the committee. Not long after, scliool " sections,"
or districts, were formed. After the division of tlie society in 1774,
education was one of the chief subjects of consideration by the in-
habitants of both societies. Berlin Academy was incorporated by the
legislature in 1802, and was for many years flourishing and useful.
Miss Emma Hart, afterward Mrs. Willard, of Troy, was for a time one
of its teachers. In 1831 tlie Worthington Academical Company was
formed, and soon after erected a school buildnig. Among the teachers

22 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

in that building were Ariel Parish, since distinguished as an educator
in Westfield and Springfield, Mass., and in New Haven ; and Edward L.
Hart, who after a few years removed to Farinington, and in company
with his uncle, Simeon Hart, conducted there an excellent boys' school.
In 1876 he closed an honored and useful life. The town has now
nine school districts, Avith nine common schools, in which instruction
of about the average quality is given in the ordinary English branches.
There is no high school nor academy. Advanced scholars are sent
out of town — mostly to New Britain, Hartford, and Middletown —
to complete their school studies.

The manufacture of tin-ware in this country probably began in
Berlin. About the year 1740, William Pattison, a native of Ireland,
came to this place. Soon after, he began the manufacture of tin-ware,
and continued in this business till it was suspended by the Revo-
lutionary War. After the war, the business was resumed in this and
in a number of the neighboring towns, by persons who had learned the
trade of Pattison. At lirst, the products of the art Avere carried about
the country for sale by means of a horse with two baskets balanced on
his back. After the war, pedlers began to use carts and wagons, and
went with their wares to every part of the United States.

The author of D wight's Travels tells us that immediately after the
war with Great Britain, which closed in 1815, " ten thousand boxes of
tinned plates were manufactured into culinary vessels in the town of
Berlin in one year." A few years later, the business in this place began
to decline. Now there are two shops, in each of which two or three
hands are employed, — one in the village of Worthington, and the other
in East Berlin.

There are other manufacturing interests of some importance in the
town, — two carriage-shops, one in East Berlin and one in Kensington;
three grist-mills, two saw-mills, six blacksmith-shops. W. W. Mildrum
is doing a considerable business in East Berlin as watch and clock re-
pairer, and in cutting and polishing agates as jewels for ship-surveyors'
compasses, etc. The agates are mostly found in the trap ledges of Ber-
lin. On Belcher's Brook the Blair Manufacturing Company formerly
made planters' hoes, garden-rakes, etc. The building is now occupied
by Hart, Burt, & Co., wood-turners, who employ seven hands. The
Mattabesitt River, where it runs through East Berlin, was utilized more
than eighty years ago by Shubael Patterson and Benjamin Wilcox for

spinning cotton yarn, which was
put out to women to be woven
on hand-looms. Afterward Eli-
shama Brandegee engaged in
the same business. The build-
ings next passed into the hands of a joint-stock corporation which
made tinners' tools and machines. The Roys & Wilcox Company
took the business in 1845. The establishment was burned in 1846,
and not loug after rebuilt. In 1870 the premises passed to the Peck,
Stow, & Wilcox Company, which employs in this factory one hun-
dred and twenty-five hands. The corporation has now a capital of a
million and a half, and employs fifteen hundred hands in its factories in
eight towns. Mr. Samuel C. Wilcox, of this company, is a native and a
resident of Berlin, a good business man and a public-spirited citizen.

<^l<^^^ >^^^<:^Z^

5^.^.'^^o^

!:5'£t::s Scis.sy

BERLIN. 23

The Berlin Iron Bridge Company, formerly the Corrugated Metal
Company, also doing business on the Mattabesett River, in East Berlin,
was founded bv Franklin Rovs for the manufacture of corrugated
shino-les and afterward made fire-proof shutters, doors, and roofs.
It now makes parabolic truss bridges. S. C. Wilcox is president of
the company, an* C. M. Jarvis cliief engineer and superintendent. It
is doino- a thriving business, employing from fifty to seventy-five hands,
and tuniino- out from ^00,000 to $200,000 worth of iron-work in a year.

In Kensington, Mill River— a branch of the Mattabesett— furnishes
power for manufacturing purposes, which has long been used. Forty or
fifty years ago the Moo're Company began to make steelyards, garden-
tools etc. In 1812, J. T. Hart began the manufacture of shovels, tongs,
and 'a few brass goods. In 1879 the Peck, Stow, & Wilcox Company
bought the establishment, and also that of the Moore Company, and
now^does the greater part of the manufacturing that is done in Kensing-
ton. It employs from two hundred and fifty to three lumdred hands.

In former times there w^as a great deal of " trade " in Worthington.
People came from neighboring towns for this purpose. Some of the
stores, especially that'^of Elishama Brandegee, enjoyed a high repu-
tation in these parts. But iHisiness of this kind has sought other cen-
tres. There are now two stores in Kensington, two in the village of
Worthino'ton, and one in East Berlin. This is largely an agricultural
town. It is well suited for grazing and for the production of hay, large
quantities of which, as w^ell as of milk and butter, are carried for sale
to neighboring markets. Garden vegetables and small fruits are also
raised^ to supply other places. Many fine orchards are scattered over
the town. The soil is capable of producing in abundance any kinds of
fruit or grain that can be grown in New England.

During the War of Independence what is now the town of Berlin was
but a parTsh lying witliiii the limits of three towns, and therefore all
military proceedings within this parish were credited to these towns.
But the citizens of the parish took an active part in the war. The
church records of Kensington and Worthington bear the names of
several who died in camp or were killed in battle. Almost every able-
bodied man in the parish was in the service during some part of the
war. After the affair at Lexington, Lieutenant Amos Hosford, after-
ward a deacon of Worthington church, went with sixteen mc_n,_ prob-
ably volunteers from the Middletown part of this parish, to join the
army at Boston. In the active
and patriotic measures taken by
Wethersfield and Farmington,
men belonging to this parish
took a prominent part. In 1775, _ j i .u

Colonel Selah Hart, a citizen of Kensington, was appointed by the
General Court as one of a committee "to provide stores of lead as
they shall judge necessary for the use of the colony, to contract for
and take lead" ore that shall be raised out of the mine of Matthew
Hart, of Farmington, and to dig and raise ore in said mine if profit-
able and necessary for the use of the colony." How many bullets
were made from the lead of that mine does not now appear. Ihe
mine is in Kensinoton, on the Mill River. It does not seem to

24 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

yield lead enough to be profitable to work. Colonel Selah Hart com-
manded a regiment in 1776, and when Washington evacuated New
York he was cut off and captured by the British, and was held a pris-
oner for two years, during most of which time his wife knew not
whether he was dead or alive. He was afterward promoted to the
command of a brigade, which he held till the close of the war.

Major Jonathan Hart, a gallant and distinguished officer, was a
native of Kensington. He joined the army at the beginning of the
Revolutionary War, and continued in service till the war closed and
afterward, until ho and tlie greater part of liis command were slain in
attempting to center the retreat of the shattered remains of the army,
when General St. Clair was defeated on the banks of the Wabash,
Nov. 4, 1791.

When, in April, 1861, President Lincoln sent out his call for troops,
men here, as everywhere throughout the Northern States, showed them-
selves ready to respond to the call. In the course of the war there
were one hundred and seventy-one volunteers from this town ; and the
town appropriated for bounties -t 22,307.17, and for the support of the
families of volunteers, $6,959.58, making a total of -f 29,266.75. Twelve
were killed in battle, and twenty-two died while in the army. In Com-
pany G of the Sixteenth Regiment there were twenty-seven Berlin men,
of whom two were killed and six were wounded at the battle of Antie-
tam, and six died in Rebel prisons at Andcrsonville, Charleston, and
Florence. More than thirty of the soldiers of the late war are buried
in the cemeteries of this town. The soldiers' monument in Kensintrton,
"believed to be the first erected to the memory of Union soldiers in
this State," commemorates the loss of fifteen volunteers from Kensing-
ton. The monument in East Berlin bears the names of thirty -five men ;
some of whom, however, were from neighboring districts in Cromwell
and Westfield.

The Rev. John Hooker, who succeeded President Edwards as pastor
of the church in Northampton, Mass., was born in Kensington in 1729,
graduated at Yale in 1751, and was ordained in 1753. He was a de-
scendant, in the fourth generation, of the renowned Rev. Thomas
Hooker, of Hartford. His wife was a daughter of Colonel Worthington,
of Springfield, who gave the name to Worthington Parish, in Berlin.
He died of the small-pox at Northampton in 1777, in the forty-ninth
year of his age.

Emma Hart Willard was the sixteenth child of Captain Samuel
Heart (so the name is spelled in the old records). Captain Hart was a
remarkable man. He was descended on his father's side from Stephen
Heart, one of the most influential of the first settlers of Farmington ;
and on his mother's side from the Rev. Thomas Hooker, of Hartford.
Captain Hart was prominent in all the affairs of the town, and the first
clerk of the Ecclesiastical Society of Wortliington. His daughter
Emma was born in Worthington in 1787. Her childhood and youth
were full of 1)rilliant promise. At seventeen she was teaching a com-
mon school, and at nineteen an academy in Berlin. At twenty she was
preceptress of Westfield Academy, and not long after she was placed
at the head of the Female Academy at Middlebury, Vermont. At twenty-
two she was married to Dr. John Willard, and opened a boarding-school.

BERLIN. 25

Her thoughts and plans were devoted to the education of the young of
her sex. In 1818 she sent to Governor CHnton, of New York, her plan
for a female seminary, which he recommended to the legislature in his
next annual message. The legislature incorporated an academy, to be
established at Waterford. She took the charge of it, but after a few
years removed to Troy, and, aided by that city, established there her
famous school. As the years passed, her school increased in popularity
and excellence, until it furnished for four hundred pupils access to
nearly all the literature and science taught in the colleges of this coun-
try. Dr. Willard aided her in 'all her plans; but after his death, in
1825, she took into her own hands the entire responsibility of the school,
and its popularity continued to increase. In 1838 she left this work
and devoted herself to literary labors. She published during her life
several school-books, " Poems," a " History of the United States," " Jour-
nal and Letters from France and Great Britain," " On the Circulation
of the Blood," " Respiration and its Effects," " Morals for the Young,"
and other Avorks. She died in Troy in 1870, in the eighty-fourth year
of her ao-e. Her life has been written bv John Lord.

Her sister, Almira Hart, better known as Mrs. Almira Lincoln
Phelps, Avas the seventeenth child of Captain Hart, and was born in
Worthington in 1793. She received her education in part in her sister's
schools. At the age of nineteen she taught a school in her father's
house, and not long after took charge of an academy at Sandy Hill,
New York. In 1817 she was married to Simeon Lincoln, of New Britain,
then editor of a literary paper published in Hartford. He died in 1823,
and in 1831 she was married to the Hon. John Phelps, of Vermont,
an eminent jurist and statesman, and went to reside in Guilford, and
afterward in Brattleboro', Vermont. In 1838 she took charge of a
seminary at West Chester, Penn., and afterward one in Rah way. New
Jersey. In 1841 she was invited by the Bishop of Maryland and the
trustees of the Patapsco Institute to " found a Church school for girls."
Here she continued fifteen years, doing, as her sister says, " her great
and crowning educational work." Her husband died in 1849. She
died in Baltimore in 1884, at the age of ninety-one. From 1816 she
was a devoted member of the Episcopal Church. She published many
books for students in the various departments of natural science ; the
best known of which is her work on Botany, published in 1829, while
she was vice-principal of the Troy Seminary,

James Gates Percival, second son of Dr. James Percival, a physician
of great merit, was born in Kensington, Sept. 15, 1795. He received
his early education in the district school and in his father's library,
and perhaps more still from the beauties of Nature, with which he was
familiar. He graduated at Yale in 1815. While in college he distin-
guished himself as a poet, and not less for his mathematical tastes and
abilities. He is commonly spoken of as Percival the poet ; but he was
also, and not less, eminent as a geologist, a philologist and linguist, a
chemist, a botanist, a geographer, and a mathematician. After leaving
college he taught school for a time, and then studied medicine, and
began to practise it, but soon left it. He was for a time Professor of
Chemistry at West Point, but finding his duties irksome, soon resigned.
He was at one time employed in connection with Professor Shepherd
to make a geological survey of Connecticut, and his work was a marvel

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUXTY.

for thoroughness, and his report of five hundred ]jag'es so profoundly
scientific that it is said " even scientific men could hardly understand
it." He also rendered very valuable assistance to Dr. Webster in pre-
paring and revising his great dictionary. His last work was done as
a geologist in Wisconsin ; first in tlie employment of the American
Mining Company, surveying their lead-mining regions, and then in the
service of the State. He published his first report as State Geologist
in 1855, and was i)reparing his second when he died at Hazel Green,
May 2, 1856. A complete edition of his poems, with a biographical

sketch, was published by
Ticknor & Fields, Boston,
in 1859, and his life has
been Arritten by the Rev.
Julius H. Ward. Mr. Ed-
ward W. Rol)bins, of Ken-
sington, also, in an article
published in the " New
Englandcr," in May, 1859,
gave an account of Per-
cival, derived from origi-
nal and authentic sources
and from personal recol-
lections. Two other Ber-
lin bovs were classmates
of Percival in Yale. One
was Horace Hooker, a
descendant in the sixth
generation from Thomas
Hooker. He was settled
as pastor at Watertown,
and afterward preached
at Middletown and in
other places. He was for
several years the secre-
tary of the Domestic Mis-
He spent the last years of his life in

sionary Society of Connecticut.
Hartford, wher6 he died in 1864

Horatio Gridley, a native of Kensington, was another member of the
class of 1815. He practised as a physician for many years in Woj'thing-
ton, ranking high in his profession. He was a fellow of Yale College,
and at one time State senator. He died in Hartford in 1864.

Dr. Charles Hooker, another descendant of Thomas Hooker, was
born in Kensington in 1799, graduated at Yale in 1820, and received
his degree of M.D. in 1823. He became Professor of Anatomy and
Physiology in Yale College. He died in New Haven in 1863. One^
who knew him well says of him : " He was an eminent physician and
surgeon, and was distinguished not less for his professional skill than
for his active piety and benevolence."

The Rev. Charles A. Goodrich was not a native of Berlin, but he was
a son of one of the pastors of the Worthington church, and he spent a

^ Mr. Edward W. RoLbins, of Kensington, to whose manuscript "History of Kensing-
ton " the writer of this sketch acknowledcres his great indebtedness.

(p^a^^^L-t^^ ^^/>^^

^ //^^ ^>C^Jcr^

jLTiQ^l-^ zlB SjiJXs Scm

BERLIN. 27

large part of the most active portion of his life in Berlin. He was
born in Riclgefield in 1790, graduated at Yale in 1812, and was or-
dained pastor of the South Church in Worcester, Mass., in 1818. After
a few years he resigned his charge on account of failing health, and

r^>^^<— » O? • d--^ ^y-^i^C ^^-^ ^

removed to Kensington, where he taught a school for boys. After
his father's death he removed to Worthington, where he was eno-ao-ed
mainly in Avriting books for publication. He was the author of a num-
ber of Avorks which enjoyed a high degree of popularity. His "History
of the United States," for schools, went through many editions, and is
still in use. His " Bible History of Prayer" was one of the latest and
most useful of his books. He was at one time State senator, and
always a public-spirited citizen and a fervid Christian. In 1847 he
removed to Hartford, where he died in 1862.

Another native of Berlin was the Hon. Richard I). Hubbard, after-
ward a resident of Hartford, eminent as a lawyer and statesman,
at one time a memljcr of the national House of Representatives, and
more recently Governor of the State of Connecticut. He died in
Hartford in 1884.

The Rev. Andrew T. Pratt was born at Black Rock, New York, in
1826, but came to Berlin to reside in childhood, and united with the church
in Worthington in 1838. He graduated at Yale in 1848, studied both
medicine and theology, and was ordained missionary of the American
Board in 1852. His field of labor was in Asiatic Turkey, at Aintab,
Aleppo, Antioch, and Marash, where he was instructor in the Theo-
logical Seminary. In 1868 "his fine literary taste and thorough ac-
(juaintance with the Turkish language led to his call to take part in
the revision of the Scriptures, and in other literary labors at Constanti-
nople. His success in this new field of lal)or was all that had been
anticipated;" and his death in
1872, in the midst of his useful-
ness, at the early age of forty- /'^y^r^^^y
six, was a loss which was deeply <>v^2=^ ^

Simeon North, D.I)., LL.D., 'tA •^^/V/^S^v

was born in Berlin in 1802, but \. J

removed to Middletown when he — — ^

was twelve years of age. He

graduated at Yale, with tlie first honors of his class, in 1825. He was
tutor at Yale from 1827 to 1829 ; then for ten years Professor of Latin
and Greek in Hamilton College, at Clinton, New York ; and from 1839
for eighteen years president of that college. He retired from the presi-
dency of the college in 1857, and until liis death, in January, 1884, he
resided at CUinton.

His nephew, Edward North, also a native of Berlin, was cho-
sen Professor of Ancient Lano-uages in Hamilton Collcffe when he
was only twenty-four years of age, and has filled that office, greatly

28 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

beloved and eminently successful as an instructor, for thirty-nine
years.

Deacon A.lfred North, Edward's brother, was born in Berlin, Oct. 3,
1811. With the exception of a few months, he has always lived in his

native town. For more than forty years he has been the town clerk
and treasurer of the town of Berlin, clerk and treasurer of Worthiug-
ton Ecclesiastical Society, and treasurer of the Second Church in Berlin.
He has been a deacon of that church for forty-seven years, and was for
twenty years the superintendent of its Sunday school. He is esteemed
by all as a man of sound judgment and incorruptible integrity.

Samuel C. Wilcox was born in Berliu, December, 1811, son of Ben-
jamin Wilcox and grandson of Samuel Wilcox. In early life he taught
school, and after that was in business in North Carolina as a mer-
chant and a planter. He has been largely interested in manufacturing.
From 1842 to 1870 he was one of the ]">rincipal managers and stock-
holders of the firm of Roys & Wilcox. Since 1870 he has been a direc-
tor and vice-president of the Peck, Stow, & Wilcox Company. He is
president of the J. 0. Smith Manufacturing Company, and of the Berlin
Iron Bridge Company ; a director in the Southington National Bank,
and the Phoenix National Bank of Hartford. He was first selectman
of the town of Berlin for seven consecutive years, and represented the
town in the State legislature in 1884. He is a public-spirited citizen
and successful business man.

Edward Wilcox, his brother, was born in Berlin, April 22, 1815.
He spent the greater part of his life in his native town, on the ances-
tral farm, and engaged with his brother in various enterprises. In
1850 he was chosen one of the deacons of the church in Worthington ;
and he continued in that office a faithful and earnest worker until his
death, Aug. 13, 1862, at the age of forty-seven.

The name of Dr. Elishama Brandegee should not be omitted. He
was for more than forty years the loved and trusted jjhysician of a

large part of the

^y/ yt y4-) families of the

OzJ^rn/l^^^P^M^ /fp :r^^ty^ town. He was a

A native of Berlin,

where he died in

1884. His father, Elisha Brandegee, was a merchant, and otherwise for

many years an active l)usiness man of true public spirit, who did much

for the prosperity of the place.

BLOOMFIELD.

BY MES. ELISABETH G. WARNER.

BLOO^IFIELD was incorporated in 1835, and consisted of Winton-
biiry Parish and a portion of Poquonnock Society in Windsor. In
1840 the town received an addition of a part of Simsburv known
as Scotland Parish. As now constituted, it is bounded on the north
and east by Windsor, on the south by Hartford, and on the west by
Simsbury and Avon, and averages four miles in length and in breadth.
On the cast border a forest a mile and a half broad extends the whole
length of the township from north to south, and on the west is the
range of hills called Talcott Mountain. Tlirough this broad, gently
undulating valley run three large brooks, which unite in the south
part to form Woods River ; and this, meeting another small river in
the southwest part of Hartford, forms Park River, which flows through
the city and empties into the Connecticut. These three Bloomfield
streams are all of slow current, and overflow their banks several times
a year, thus greatly enriching the soil.

Another fact favorable to Bloomfield as an agricultural town is that
the climate is naturally warm for so high a latitude. Beyond the moun-
tain there is often snow, when only rain falls here. Between these
streams lie cultivated fields and orchards, with large intervals of excel-
lent mowing-ground. It is a singular fact that on the opposite sides of
these brooks in many places there is an entire difference of soil.

The east part of the town is quite level land, with a warm, sandy soil;
the middle, from north to south, is principally a clay soil, covered with
rich, deep loam, especially good f(jr mowing-land ; and as the ground
grows higher, even to rolling hills toward the west, the soil is chiefly
red loam, particularly well adapted to fruit culture, and has always
produced the finest apples and pears. Formerly it yielded also cherries
and plums, and, at certain periods, peaches in the greatest perfection.
Appearances indicate the approach of anotiier of these peach-cycles, as
they have been aptly called, and many farmers are once more setting out
peach-orchards. All this fertile region aljounds in birds. A former
resident of the town remembers counting forty-six kinds about her
home, among them the scarlet tanager, cuckoo, rose-breasted grosbeak,
kildeer, and indigo-bird. It was always the home of the fringed gentian,
and of almost every other wild flower of southern New England. Here
and there are woods of oak and chestnut, with alluring walks and bridle-
paths, and roads intersecting each other in every direction, like Indian
trails or cow-paths, as they doul)tless once were; so that the saying
came about that every farmer had a road of his own to Hartford.
With all this natural Ijeauty the little town seems fitly named. And

30 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

now, since it wisely chose to accept the Connecticut Western Raih'oad,
which Farmington rejected, the number of its admirers must have greatly
increased. By this means the Tower in Avon, lying only four miles
from the railroad station, has been brought within easy distance for
excursionists from Hartford. Not far from the Tower are two moun-
tain points, — one to the north and one to the east, both in Bloomfield,
— called Big Philip and Little Philip. A tradition that on the latter
of these King Philip was buried is still believed by many, and some
have professed to be able even to locate the grave.

In 1801, as recorded by the Rev. William Miller, wood and hay were
the chief marketable productions ; " some hundreds of cords of wood
being annually taken to Hartford market, and about two hundred tons
of hay." He adds that " cyder, cyder-brandy, and apples are considered
market articles ; and that fifteen hundred meat-casks, consisting of
hogsheads, barrels, and tierces, were made and marketed in that year,
[1801]." It is within the memory of a few^ still living, when corn was
raised there to send to the West Indies. A great change has occurred
in the last forty years in the productions of Bloomfield, — tobacco hav-
ing largely taken the place of grass and grain in its fields. Although
a crop involving continual risk and anxiety from its sowing to its
selling, and requiring an immense amount of skill and care, its much
larger profits lla^•e been the compensation.

It is not known when the first settlements were made in this part of
Windsor. A deed of an Indian purchase in 1660 mentions this section
as "the wilderness." It is reported that at the period of the first settle-
ment on the river an expedition sent hither to explore returned with
the report that " there was good land sufficient for the maintenance of
three families." In 1738 there were sixty-five families in Wintonbury,
numbering three hundred and fifty souls. So it may be supposed that
there were some settlers here as early as 1675. There was probably a
period of fifty or sixty years during which Windsor was the political,
religious, and social centre of this little colony of Messenger's Farms.
It was a long way to go to church across the plains and through the
thick pine woods, before the days of carriages, and very difficult in
winter, with the snow often three and four feet deep lying on the ground
from November to March. There is a tradition of the time when
Wintonbury families must go the whole way to Windsor, six miles, even
to "get fire," when they were so unfortunate as to be out of it in those
days before friction matches. A native of the west part of Bloomfield
remembers her grandfather pointing out to her an ap])le-tree that he
had seen his father bring on his back all the way from Windsor.

This zealous little people came at last to feel that they must have
some life of their own, and in May, 1734, " Peter jMills and [twenty-
six] others, inhabitants of the southwest part of Windsor, known by the
name of Messenger's Farms," petitioned for " winter privileges." They
were granted liberty to conduct a separate worship from November to
March. It went hard with the old town, liowever, to lose their pecu-
niary assistance in church matters, and they won their cause in the face
of much opposition. Two years more made their independence com-
plete, when the thirty -one persons in Windsor, twelve in Simsbury, and
eight in Farmington received, in answer to their petition for " parish

BLOOMFIELD. 31

privileges," a grant of a parish set off from these three towns. It was
about four miles square, and its name was taken, according to Connecti-
cut custom, from the towns from which it was composed, — a fragment
of each, Win-ton-bury.

At the first society meeting, Nov. 16, 1736, it was unanimously voted
to build a meeting-house and settle a preacher.
The Rev. Hezekiah Bissell, who was ordained in J2l h ^ */!/ JjL
February, 1738, so well justified their choice that :i^'^' <V^-«^
his rare excellence of character should be recorded
here ; and it could not be done more forcibly than in the simple words
on his monument in the old graveyard : —

" Sacred to the Memory of the Reverend Hezekiah Bissell. His birth was at
Windsor, of pious and reputable Parents. Yale College was the place of his
Liberal Accomplishments, and the Scene of his. usefulness was extended. He
was alike unmoved by all the Vices and Errors of the late Times ; Secure against
both, his doctrines k, his Life were Exemplary. Remarkable Peace and good
order that reigned among the People of his Charge During his Ministry bear
Witness to the Prudence and Greatness of his Mind. In domestic connections
he was truly a Consort & a Father, and in Social Life a Friend indeed. After
the faithful Labors of 45 years in Sacred Offices, his last and best Daye arrived,
which was January 28th, a. d. 1783, ?etat. 72."

The simplicity and liberality of his religious teachings are well illus-
trated by the fact that baptism was allowed to the children of those
who were not " church members," as that term is used, by means of the
"half-way covenant," which "admitted all baptized people of civil be-
havior to the watch of the church, and to the privilege of presenting
their children for baptism without attending the Lord's Supper ; " and
by the lack of requirement of any creed in joining the church, this brief
and tender covenant — probably of his own composing — being used
instead : —

" We do solemnly avouch the Eternal Father, Son, and Holy Ghost to be our
God, and do devote and dedicate ourselves and children to Him, promising, as
He shall enable us by His Grace, to believe His truths, obey His will, run the
race of His commandments, walking before Him and being upright, exercising
ourselves in y*^ duties of Sobriety, Justice, & Charity, watching over one an-
other in the Lord ; and because Christ hath appointed spiritual administration in
his home, as censures for offenders, consolations for the penitent, Teachings and
Quickenings for all, such as the Word and Sacraments, we will truly countenance
and faithfully submit to the regular administration of them in this place, and
carefully perform our respective and enjoyned duties that we may all be saved in
the daye of the Lord."

The meeting-house was a plain, barn-like structure, forty-five by
thirty-five feet, unpainted, with no steeple or the slightest mark to
distinguish it as a church. Swallows made their homes in the rafters,
and squirrels so abounded that it soon became necessary for the safety
of the pulpit cushions to keep them over at the tavern between Sundays.
A hewn log lay along the middle aisle for the little children, who gen-
erally came barefoot in the summer-time ; and from this they would
rise reverentially and "make their manners" as the minister walked
among them to the pulpit. The pews, straight-backed and high, were

32 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

annually assigned to the attendants according to tlieir age and rank.
In the gallery there was a high pew set apart for colored persons. The
traditional tithing-man, from his post in the singers' seat, kept watch
over the demeanor of old and joiuig, and not seldom some playful or
weary urchin was rapped at with his long stick, or pointed out to notice,
or even treated with harsher measures. All the men sat on one side
of the church, and all the women on the other. East of the church a
great horse-block of hewn logs stood ready to receive from their saddles
and pillions those who had come mounted.

To this simple worshipping-place in the woods, called by no bell, nor
even drum-beat as in Windsor, the people came, — only about sixty
families of them to begin with, — on foot or on horseback, from their
equally simple homes. And the shepherd of this little flock received
for salary three hundred dollars and thirty-eight cords of wood. In
the latter years of Mr. Bissell's ministry several members of his church
went over to the Separates, sometimes called Separatists, a sect that
dated from the Revival of 1740, and had already made considerable
headway in Connecticut. What had gained proselytes to this sect in
Bloomfield more than anything else, it is said, was a quarrel between
Abel Gillet, a deacon of the church, and John Hubbard. This happened
about 1760. Mr. Bissell, being a peaceable man, refused to take either
side ; and this, construed by Abel Gillet to show favor to his opponent,
so angered him that he withdrew from the church and " turned sepa-
rate." They were presently called Separatists, and subsequently many
of them became Baptists. " As this sect derived its first strength in
this society from a quarrel in a family of some note, so they have, from
that day to this," bemoans the good Parson Miller, in 1801, "always
gained proselytes, more or less, as a spirit of contention has revived
or subsided." He admits a small number to have been conscientious
Baptists.

They are first noticed in the public votes of the society in 1782,
and in 1786 settled over their society Ashbel Gillet, a son of the
above-named Abel. They steadily increased in number, and in 1795
built a small meeting-house, since repeatedly repaired. Elder Gillet
was considered one of the best of men, even by those outside of his
church. His prayers were believed to have special power with the
Most High, so that he was much sent for to pray by the sick ; and if
rain Avas needed, especially during haying-season, the remark would be
made that there was no use praying for rain until the parson's hay was
in. Sometimes the people would turn out and help him when there
was an unusual drought, and then send up their prayers. It is told that
he once found a sheep astray after shearing, and likely to perish ; he
took off his overcoat, wrapped it about the shivering creature, and went
to find its owner. And another story of him has come down, — how Par-
son Miller, who had often ridiculed the Baptists for their mode of baptism,
at last, during a period of partial insanity shortly before his death, left
his home on Whirlwind Hill one winter night, and made his way, with
bare feet, through the sharp crust, to Elder Gillet's window, a mile
and a half away ; of course the good man arose and took him in and
devoted the rest of the nia-ht to warming and comforting him.

This Mr. Miller, a man of strong powers of mind and ardent piety,
as well as of noble countenance and bearing, was the third pastor of

BLOOMFIELD. 33

the Congregational Church, and he succeeded in restoring the harmony
broken by disagreement on the choice of his predecessor, and by dis-
satisfaction with the Half-way Covenant. It was during his pastorate
that a new meeting-house was built. The first one must have been
sadly dila])idated and the people slow to realize it: for the Simsbury
preacher, Mr. Stebbins, " a man intelligent, shrewd, and sarcastic," was
sent for to stir them up on the subject. His text was, " Surely the
fear of God is not in this place ;" and this was one sentence in his dis-
course : " When you pass through a village, and see the clapboards on
the meeting-house hanging dingle-dangle by one nail, you may be sure
the love of God is not in that people."

The new church was dedicated Dec. G, 1801. '•' A joyous day," said
the happy pastor in his sermon, — •' not a pew empty, above or below."

During the summer, while the new church was building, the Sun-
day services had been held under a group of four great oaks close by,
one of which still stands by the

third and present house, dedicated ^ /J Jl/^^ /

in 1858. Mr. George B. Newcomb, ^^<i , '^^' ^'' <^^^^c/l-^'^ -
now a professor in the College of

the City of New York, was the pastor of this church for five years,
between 1861 and 1866, — a preacher of great ability.

A Methodist society was organized in 1817, its first class consisting
of only tiiree persons ; but it grew to a tolerable number, and sixteen
years later built a church on the top of Wliirlwind Hill, which in
1854 was rebuilt in the centre of the town.

An Episcopal society, growing out of controversies in the Simsbury
Congregational Church, was formed in 1740, and built a small, plain
church in Scotland, — a ])art of Simsbury that was annexed to Bloom-
field in 1843. A new church was built in 1806, two miles south of the
first ; but this was afterward taken down and removed to the old site,
where it was rebuilt in 1830, and is the present church.

The public schools of the ])arish were for a long time under the care
and control of the Ecclesiastical Society. Great deference was paid
to the periodical visits of tlie parish pastors. When they entered the
school-room, all the scholars were compelled to rise and make obeisance.
And here also sliould be mentioned other regular visits remembered
by an old resident as '' such stimulants to our ])ride and ambition,"
but in tliese days too rare, — visits of the fathers and mothers. But
little was taught in the country schools in the early days ; it is some-
times summed up Yis " the three R's." But the reading, 'riting, and
'rithmetic, with the never-omitted spelling, and, for thegirls, sewing
on sheets, shirts, and often bedquilts, were taught with a thorouglniess
that laid a good foundation for the substantial education of many a
youth and maiden.

The teaching of the little children, in the early part of this cen-
tury, began with a series of questions as to their names and those of
their parents, their age, what town they lived in, what i)arish, what
county, what State, and what country ; the name of each pastor of their
town, the Governor of their State, and the President of the United
States. Great attention was given to spelling; and one of the excite-
ments of those days was the strife in the evening spelling-schools.

VOL. II. — 3.

34 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

The society was divided into seven school-districts, in which were
built, in or near the year 1800, five school-houses, two of which were
quite large and convenient. " One of these two," says Mr. Miller, " is
an elegant brick building, and both are provided with a good bell."
The upper story of the old school-house on Whirlwind Hill was an-
ciently used as a Freemasons' lodge, but was abandoned full seventy-five
years ago ; when the outer stairway leading to it was removed, it lie-
came thenceforth a habitation for rats, bats, and owls. Early in the
century this school had a remarkable teacher, Mr. Lucas, who roused the
greatest enthusiasm in his pupils, and who closed his one winter with a
brilliant exhibition in the church of the play of Pizarro, " Priest" Miller
reluctantly consenting. The schools were generally kept by male in-
structors in winter and Ijy female in summer. One of the teachers —
an old gray-haired man, and college-bred, which was a rare thing in
those days — had the habit of getting liis queue done over during " noon
spell " by one of the girls of his "fore class." An interesting old lady,
Mrs. Wealthy Gillet Latimer Thrall, who lived all of her nearly one hun-
dred years in Bloomfield, used to tell her grandchildren how frightened
she was the morning she was promoted to this class, when the mas-
ter rapped with his ruler on the desk, and announced before the
school that henceforth she was to take her turn at that august task.
Her fingers trembled so that she could scarcely tie the 1i)lack ribljon. as
she stood behind the master, sitting by the big, open fire, keeping order
during " noon-spell." This same little girl had such a good memory
for grammar, — all the grammar they had in those days was in the
" fore i)art" of tlie spelling-book, — that her teacher delighted in taking
her about the streets and into the houses, of evenings, to show off ;
when her listeners would exclaim, " What a pity she is n't a boy ! " In
her last days, after her strong mind had begun to give way, in wander-
ing back to childhood she would repeat sentence after sentence from
those old spelling-book pages. After she was grown and mari'ied, she
and her husband kept Thrall Tavern, in the Old Farms district, for
forty years, and in her old age she never wearied of telling how they
once entertained Lafayette at dinner with a hundred other guests ;
delighting her eager grandchildren with all the particulars as to looks
and dress and bill of fare. Her husband had the fii'st chaise ever used
in Bloomfield.

When the Revolutionary War broke out, nearly every man in the
town was drafted; and this brave woman — then a young girl — was
left by her father and lover, so that when one night her little brother
died, taken suddenly with the disease then called hoarse canker, she
and a very old man together made the coffin, — " rough, but lined with
something soft," she said, — and with her own hands she dug the grave.
The night before he died, as she was going up-stairs she " saw a vision
in the window, and knew that something was about to happen."

A great many years ago two Ijrothers named Brown made drums,
including small ones for toys ; and once tin-ware was made in Bloom-
field by Captain Filley, and sent by pedlers into Vermont. There
were two sash-and-blind factories, short-lived, and an oil-mill, now
gone to pieces. The making of wagons and carriages has for some
time been an important industry of Bloomfield.

BLOOMFIELD. 35

Among the Wintonbury records are instances of slavery. One reads
of 1754, " Died Fortune, a negro servant, who belonged to John Hub-
bard, Jr., and but a little before his death was Jon'* Smith's." The Rev.
Mr. Bissell records the baptism of Csesar, " a negro servant of mine,"
in 1772. There were a few more, probably not a dozen in all, and their
bondage must have been of the lightest type.

hi the early days Indians often went roving through the town, sell-
ing their baskets and other usual wares, and in the very early times
they made their home there, generally harmless and peaceably dis-
posed. Traces of an Indian reservation still exist in the Old Farms dis-
trict. A native of Bloomlield remembers how a family of Mohegans
used to come and settle down to their basket-making by Old Farms
Brook, under the hill, on his father's farm. They would say to the
little boys that all the land belonged to them, and they could get their
basket-stuff wherever they liked. This was as late as 1820; and, as
they fished in the stream where many kinds of excellent fish still
abounded, they would tell how in the days of their fathers the salmon
and lamprey-eels used to run up there from the Connecticut.

The old graveyard has the usual interest of bearing some curious
epitaphs, and of testifying, by the manifold Scripture names recorded
on its moss-grown and weather-worn stones, to the Bible-loving spirit
of our ancestors. A smnll clearing was made in the beginning in the
north end of the forest, which continued back a long way from the
original church ; and there, in what is now the extreme north corner
of the large yard, a low, brown stone tells how soon sorrow came into
the little parish.

" Here hes ye

Body of Luce the

Dauo-h*-- of Sem"'

Isaac Skinner who

Died Fel/y ye 23'^'^

1739-40 ageil 18 year

this was ye first Perso"

that was Buried Here."

New England retained for many years the custom of putting both
the years to a date from January 1st to ^larch 25th, after which only
the current year was written.

"When I was young I did die,
Why not you as well as I '? "

What, for startling brevity, could equal this ? And this, for biographi-
cal conciseiiess ? —

"Sixteen years I lived a maid,

Two years I was a wife,
Five hours I was a mother,

And so I lost my life.
My babe lies by me, as you see,
To .show no age from Death is free."

Deidamia, Mahala, Lodesca, Lovicy, and Climena are a few of the
quaint feminine names; and Reuol, Abi, Amaziah, Zemiah, and Defer,
some of the masculine.

A rather showy monument among the simple stones, standing near
the highway, marks the grave of Pelatiah Allen, who, dying young and

36 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

leaving no near heirs, bequeathed his property as appears from the
following inscription on his monument : —

"This monument to tlie memory of Pelatiali Allen, who died Feb. 5th, 1821,
in the twenty-fourth year of liis age, was erected by the Congregational Society of
Wintoubury, of which he was a member. Mr. Allen early arrived at maturity in
the powers of his mind, and was possessed of more than ordinary energy and
decision of character. In the testamentary disposal of his estate good judgment
and benevolence were happily united. After several legacies to individuals, he
gave ,£200 for foreign missions, £100 annually forever for the relief of the indus-
trious poor of Wintonbury, £30 annually for the support of religious psalmody in
the Congregational Society, and £200 to £270 annually forever for the support
of the gospel in the same society."

The whole property of his father had fallen to him in rather a singular
manner. He was tha only son by a second marriage which was so
offensive to the children of the first, that they in turn offended their
father, and were turned off, each and all, witliout a shilling.

The state and town poor-house was kept for many years early in
the century by Captain David W. Grant, who found it lucrative, and
^ , /? 1^^^ ^ handsome property to his only son,

CL^^ ^"--tSs-.***^"**^ Wadswortli, who built the house of rough
■=^ """"■" ""■"--^^*'^ stone in the western part of the town,

and w^as one of Bloomlield's most liberal-
minded citizens as long as he lived.

Hiram Roberts, belonging to one of the oldest families in the place,
which settled there before 1700, was for many years the merchant of
the town and a lead-
ing citizen, and was
twice sent to the '^/// V
State Legislature. ^(l//4^^/?9Z/
He w^as a man of un- '^ ^j^ ^ '

usual judgment and integrity ; and when he died, at only forty-eight
years of age, he w^as widely mourned.

Some others of the leading men of the place — several of them cap-
tains in the War of 1812, some of them representatives of the town in the
State Legislature, and nearly all substantial farmers who died at a good
old age — were: Elihu Mills, who is remembered as never having failed
to be in his seat at church twenty minutes too early, and who was the
last man to give up the custom of standing during prayer ; Elijah Oris-
wold, a noted singing-master, and one of the two publishers of an
early singing-book, " Connecticut Harmony" (printed about 1800), the
engraved copper-plates and little press for which are still in existeiice ;
the three Bidwell brothers, the Hitchcocks and BroAvns, and cajjtains
Lord, Goodwin, Filley, Loomis, and Rowley. The last named outlived
all i\\G, rest of the old soldiers. These captains drilled the old militia
company, which mustered from one hundred and twenty to one hundred
and fifty men, and was disbanded just long enough before our Civil War
for it to find only ra^v recruits ; but of these Bloomfield sent her share.
The wdiole number who went to the war was one hundred and ninety-
two, and this was thirteen above her quota.

Another name to be remembered in connection with this town is
that of Francis Gillette, the son of Elder Aslibel Gillet. The son was
led to change the spelling of his name by a request received when in

BLOOMFIELD. 37

college from a distant relative, who had ascertained tlie original spell-
ing of the name, whicli is French. His Bloomficld life was interrupted
for several years by the death of his father when he was only six
years old. His mother, at her second marriage, two or three years
after, removed the family to Ashfield, Mass. There, in the face of
many obstacles, he fitted
himself for Yale College. ^^^^^
After graduating (1829), .^X^-^^:^^^

and being thwarted by
weak lungs in his at-
tempt to study law, he took up life again in his first home as a farmer,
and in 1834 built his house of unhewn stone brought from the near
mountain-side. It is still a striking feature of the town, s-et far back
from the street, and entered from two directions through winding:
avenues of trees.

This is the west half of his father's farm, of two hundred acres or
more, lying a mile and a half from the Centre, on the Hartford road.
Here for eighteen years he lived, his health entirely re-established by
much out-of-door life, and his mind deeply devoted to the interests of
Bloomfield. At the incorporation of the town he suggested the new
name, which was at once adopted. He did all that lay in his power for
its educational improvement, bringing about the building of the neat
brick school-house in his district in the place of the ancient little
wooden one in the hollow, with its knife-hacked desks and awkward
benches, where he had learned his first lessons. More than once when
in his possession \\\q old stone house welcomed and gave shelter for
a night to the Hying slave, whose stories and songs, as he warmed and
cheered himself by the fire, made a lifelong impression upon his young
listeners. Mr. Gillette's earnest advocacy of the Antislavery cause
showed itself first in a fearless speech on striking the word "white"
from the State Constitution. This was in the legislature, where he had
been sent by Bloomiield in 1838. He had been sent there once before,
in 1832, at the age of twenty-four, by Windsor, before "Wintonbury had
become an incorporated town. In 1841, against his will, he was nomi-
nated for governor by the Liberty party ; and during the next twelve
years the Liberty and Free-Soil parties frequently rej)eated the nomi-
nation. In 1851 he was elected United States Senator for the remain-
der of the term of the Hon. Truman Smith, who had resigned. Mr.
Gillette's election was just in time for him to cast his vote against the
Nebraska Bill, which was })assed at midnight of the day of his arrival
in Washington. He was also active all his life in the cause of temper-
ance and in the promotion of education. Hartford had been his home
for thirty years, when he died there, on the 30th of September, 1879,
at the age of seventy-two. He was l;)uried in Farmington.

Of other natives of Bloomfield who have recently died, a most ex-
cellent and Widely loved man was Jay Filley, a son of Caj^tain Oliver
Filley. He spent his last years in Hartford. Other sons took more or
less prominent positions in the West, one of them having been mayor
of St. Louis.

Samuel R. Wells, the well-known phrenologist, lecturer, and author,
was born in Bloomfield.

3S MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Of those still living, James G. Batterson is one of the leading citi-
zens of Hartford and a prominent business man of New England, the
head of the New England Granite Company, president of the Travellers'
Insurance Company, and one of the pioneers of Accident Insurance in
the United States, — a man of great energy and public spirit.

Lester A. Roberts, a man of unusually wide intelligence and some
literary note, is now a resident of Brooklyn, but still makes Bloomfield
his summer home.

The population of the town, by the census of 1880, was 1,346.

(SiuaJtd Q: ^hu-ict^

IV.
BRISTOL,

BY EPAPHRODITUS PECK.

THE town of Bristol lies in the soutliAvestern part of Hartford
County, touching Litchfield County on the west and New Haven
on the southwest ; it is bounded north by Burlington, east by Farm-
ington and Plainville, south by Southington and Wolcott, west by Plym-
outh. From 1806, when the Burlington parish w^as set off from this
town, till 1875, when its symmetry was destroyed by the annexation to
its territory of a single farm, formerly a part of Southington, it was
exactly five miles square. In surface hilly, in soil rocky and somewhat
unfertile, it has of necessity become a manufacturing rather than a
farming town. With Fall Mountain for its southern boundary. Chip-
pins (modernized form of Cochipianee's) Hill on the northwest, and
Federal Hill occupying all the centre, there is left but a narrow valley,
sloping down from the higlier land in Terryville to the eastward
plains. Through this runs the Pequabuck River, furnishing power
for most of tlie larger factories. On the plains, at the east side of
the town, lies the village of Forestville, which has come to furnish an
important part both of the population and of the business of the
town.

The history of the town began with its settlement by white people
in 1727. To the Indians, as to the early settlers of Farmington, it had
been the Great Forest, — too thiclvly covered with woods, and too valua-
ble as a hunting-ground, to become a place of residence. It is probable
that no considerable number of Indians ever lived within the present
limits of the town. They inhabited the more level regions to the east-
ward, and came hither for their supplies of game and fish. The rich-
ness of these woods in game, large and small, was very soon discovered
by the settlers in Fai'mington, and "• there are men now living," wrote
Dr. Noah Porter in 1841, " who remember when venison was sold in
our streets at twopence the pound."

The earliest mention of any ownership of the land now included in
this town is on the Farmington records of 1663 ; and then jirobably
for the first time had the people of that town become so numerous
as to extend their farms to the border of the Great Forest.

" Att a towne meeting held att ffixrmington, their was graunted to John Wads-
worth, Richard Bnuupson, and Thomas barns, Moosis Veutruss, flForty acors of
meddow Land Lying att the pla(;e we commonly Call Poland, beginning att the
Brook att the hither end of it and so up the Eiuer on both sides ; which was
giuen upon Consideration of thirty acors that was taken out of their farm at
Paquabuck."

40 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

This district of Poland was probably in tlie northeastern part of the
present town of Bristol, and this record indicates a much greater an-
tiquity to the name of Poland than has been generally ascribed to it.
Popular tradition has supposed that the name, which now belongs to
a little stream, Poland Brook, in East Bristol, was derived from the
name of an Indian who lived upon its bank sixty years later than the
date of this record. It may be sui)posed that " their farm at Paqua-
buck " lay within the present town of Plainville ; with the lapse oi
time the name has been moved seven miles toward the west.

" Jenewary, 16G4, their was giueu to John Langton and Georg Oruis twenty
acors a piece at poland, after John Wadsworth haue taken out his forty acors,
if it be Not their to be had to Looke out other Wheer they may find it, and so
to Repay er the town for the graunt of it."

Evidently the " meddow land " at Poland was not very abundant, if
there Avas danger of its being exhansted by the ai)proj)riation of " fforty
acors." For many years after this the people of Farmington extended
their farms in other directions, and the Great Forest was undisturbed
except by the hunters, who found in it still an inexhaustible supply
of game.

In 1721 the eighty-four original proprietors of Farmington made
partition among themselves of the undivided lands lying to the west
of their settlements. The land was surveyed into six divisions, each a
mile wide and five miles long, running from north to south. The last
five of these divisions constitute the present limits of Bristol. For
six years more no settlements were made ; but in 1727, by a deed
bearing date November 22, Daniel Brownson, of Farmington, bought a
farm lying near the present corner of West and South streets, known
as (toosc Corner; and there, in the same year, the first house was built.
This house has not been standing for many years.

The next year, 1728, Ebenezer Barnes, from Farmington, and Nehe-
miah Manross, from Lebanon, bought lands, built houses, and moved

hither their families. Mr. Barnes's house
P C? /yr !^ ^^''^^ never been removed, and now forms the

<^Qf y^:2e:^' b^i^^f^S' central part of Julius E. Pierce's residence

in East Bristol ; this was undoubtedly the
earliest house of which any part now remains. Mr. Barnes's descend-
ants have always remained here, and have been among our best-known
families. Mr. Manross's house stood a short distance south of the pres-
ent dwelling-house

and^'^ar'irng'ao-li Q/4JiJLArU ^i^fi^ "fjiaJLA^O^^
destroyed. Captain ^

Newton Manross, whose death at Antietam was so much lamented, was
one of his descendants, and others still reside here. It is probable that
a house was built on the east Fall Mountain road in this year (1728)
by Abner Matthews, a little south of the one now occupied by Munson
Wilcox. This house was afterward bought by Elias Wilcox, but for
many years no part of it has been standing. In 1729 Nathaniel Mes-
senger, from Hartford, and Benjamin Buck, from Farmington, built
houses near Neliemiah Manross, — Messenger on the east side of the
road and Buck farther north, near the site of J. C. Kurd's present

BRISTOL,

residence. Neither of their houses is now standing, nor do any of
their descendants remain in Bristol. The next year John Brown, from
Colchester, bought land and built a house' north of Ebenezer Barnes,
on the east side of the road. The land bought by Mr. Brown included
the site of the Bristol
Brass and Clock Com-
pany's rolling-mill, and
the house he then built
remained till 1878, when
it was pulled down. It
is not known that any other settlers came here till 1736, when Moses
Lyman, of Wallingford, bought land and built a residence on Fall
Mountain, on the place now occupied by A. C. Bailey.

In 1738, or thereabout, Ebenezer Hamblin, of Barnstable, Mass., built
a house on the road to Farmington, near Poland Brook, farther to the
east than any house had yet been built. The cellar-place may still be
seen. Three years late/ he built another house, between Nehemiah
Manross and 'Benjamin Buck. This man was somewhat prominent
among the early settlers, but has left no descendants in town, and no
part of either of his houses is standing.

Two Gaylord families came to Bristol in 1741 or 1742. Joseph

Gaylord settled on Chippins
Hill on the place which has
been owned by his descend-
ants until lately ; and David
Gaylord, afterward one of
the first deacons, built a
house on the lot where Henry A. Pond now lives, on East Street, near
the railroad.

Benjamin Hungerford, who, through his daughter, was an ancestor
of another Gaylord family of Bristol, settled upon Fall Mountain,
near the site of Hiram Gillis's

^C^M^

Cr^

f^exk

house, in 1746. About 1747,
Zebulon Peck, from whom most of
those here bearing that name are
descended, built a house near Daniel Brownson, and nearly back of
G. S. Hull's present tenement house, and very soon began to keep a

tavern there. Ben-

4»j> jamin Brooks, Ger-

/^ /lyij^^J^ jt^f'7 t.yf shorn Tuttle, and

X^'' ^JTI/UtTU <^ /^^'^ZCe^ Caleb Matthews set-

J •"■^--% ^jgfl Q^ Chippins

^ _ Hill at about the

same time as Joseph Gaylord, and that corner of the parish played
for many years quite an important part in local history.

The men whose names and the dates of whose settlement are still
preserved were probably the more ]>romincnt of the inhabitants, but
others before this date had come hither, and had erected houses, of
which nothing is now known. Several houses were built very early,
perhaps before the middle of the century, on the road which runs east
from N. P. Bucll's house. An early settlement was also made in what
is called the Stafford District, and houses still standing there show

44 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

great age in their materials and workmanship. The houses in the
eastern and central part of the town were framed, built with the mas-
sive timbers of that age. Log houses were built on Fall Mountain, and
it is said that when the heavy doors were ojjen during the day the
women used to pin up blankets across the doorway, that it might not
be entirely open to the bears and the Indians. It was still not an
uncommon event for the more isolated families to see bears proAvling
about near their housi3s; and so late as 1750 a huge bear was killed
near her father's house by Abigail Peck, a sturdy girl of fourteen, who
had been left at home from meeting by her parents.

The Indians, who had found these woods a fruitful hunting-ground
for many generations, were greatly enraged at the white men, who had
driven away their game and were levelling the forest ; and the set-
tlers whose houses were remote from neighbors were in constant fear
of injury from the savages. Gideon Ives, of Middletown, was on a
hunting-tour on Fall Mountain at one time with a Mr. Gaylord, when
they discovered an Indian trying to shoot them. They separated, and
the Indian, following Mr. Gaylord, was shot by Mr. Ives. The two
men buried his body, not daring even to keep the valuable weapons
which he wore. The locality was named from this Indian, and is still
called Morgan's Swamp. Early in the history of the town a Mr. Scott,
who had begun to clear a piece of land on Fall Mountain, intending
to move hither from Farmington, was seized by a party of Indians and
horribly tortured. His screams were heard a long way ; but the In-
dians were so many that no one dared to go to the rescue, and a consid-
erable number of the settlers, fearino: an attack from the infuriated
Indians, hid themselves all day in the bushes near the river.

These early families were all Congregationalists. Every Sunday a
little procession went through the woods eight miles to the old church
at Farmington. A few families had two-horse carts, in which all rode
together ; but more often the father rode on horseback and the mother
behind him on a pillion, while the young people walked, taking great
care not to break the Sabbath by any undue levity.

In 1742 the hamlet had become so numerous that the people felt
able to maintain preaching for themselves during a part of the year ;
and in October of that year a memorial was presented to the General
Assembly reciting the distance from the place where " publick Worship
of God is sett up," and asking the " Liberty of hireing an Authordox
and suitably quallifyed person to preach y** Gospel " for six montlis of
each year. This petition was granted, and the desired jjermission was
given. The first meeting of the inhabitants was held Nov. 8, 1742,
to organize, and take necessary action in compliance with the Assem-
bly's resolution. This meeting voted to have preaching, so long as
the Court had given them liberty, and to hold the meetings at John
Brown's house. Edward Gaylord, Nehemiah Manross, and Ebenezer
Hamblin were elected the society's committee.

At a meeting a month later they voted to hire Mr. Thomas Canfield
to preach during the winter. This clergyman, the first to preach the
gospel in this town, was born in 1720, graduated at Yale College in
1739, was settled at Roxbury in 1744, and died there in 1794. He
preached here only one winter ; the next fall (1743) the society

BRISTOL. 45

empowered the committee to choose a preacher for the coming winter,
and it is not known who was hired. This same fall of 1743 the people
began to consider the subject of asking for incorporation as a regular
ecclesiastical society, and appointed a committee to seek an act of incor-
poration from the General Assembly. In 1744 the consent of the first
society in Farmington was obtained, and another petition was sent to
the Assembly with the same request.

Among the signatures to this petition are several which did not
appear on the former one ; those which probably denote the settlement
in the parish of new families are Hezekiah Ifew,
Joseph Graves, Caleb Abernethy, Ezekiel Palmer, ^fo ^

Zebulon Frisbe, Thomas Hart. Of these, Heze- if^Z: VC^^
kiah Rew, afterward one of the first deacons of

the Cono-reo-ational Church, lived on the corner where Elias Ingraham's
residence now^ stands. Caleb Abernethy, in 1742, built a house near

Nehomiah Manross and Nathan-

^ /} , iel Messenger, on the south

•» ^ ff n f J^ A corner, opposite N. P. Buell's

(aa^ J\J^^^m^^J^ present house; Thomas Hart

V- ^ ^^ was one of tlie first settlers

in Stafford District, so called.
The General Assembly granted the petition, and gave the society the
name of New Cambridge. The first society meeting was holden June 4,
1744, and at this meeting it was "Voted,

That we would apply ourselues to the next ^-^l^p dC-,^ -^

Assosiation for aduice in order to the bring- (Al^ WUX) jtXM^
ing in a minister amongst us as soon as Con-

uenontly may be." Three days after this the society voted to apply to
Mr. Joseph Adams as a candidate for settlement in the ministry. He
graduated at Yale College in 1740, and died in 1782. Apparently he
was not acceptable to the people, for his name is not mentioned again.

In September the society voted to invite Mr. Samuel Newell to
preach with them until December 1. Mr. Newell was a stanch
defender of the Calvinistic doctrines, and on this account he was
strongly opposed by some of the society. In December of the same
year a resolution to liire Mr. Newell, in case it should be the advice
of the Association, received seven opposing votes, and the council which
was summoned advised the calling of some other minister, in hopes
that the society might be more united. Accordingly, in 1746 Messrs.
Ichabod Camp and Christopher Newton, men whose doctrinal views
agreed with those of the opposition to Mr. NcAvell, were successively
invited to preacli. They appear to have had no better success ; and in
March, 1747, another call was given to Mr, Newell, subject to the advice
of the council, the vote standing thirty-six to ten. This council advised
the settlement of Mr. Newell, and he was ordained Aug. 12, 1747.

" And here it must be noted," says the record, " that Caleb mathews,
Stephen Brooks, John hikox, Caleb Abernathy, Abner mathews, Abel
Royce, Daniel Roe k Simon tuttel jjublikly declared themselves of tiie
Church of England and under the bishop of london." Nehemiah Royce
and Benjamin Brooks followed in a few months, and these ten men
formed the first Episcopal society in New Cambridge. Abner Matthews
afterward returned to the Congregational Church, and again became

ir's salary ^ as good

dred pounds is now." ^n ^ ^^/y i^ i fflPl

, him a bouse (the ^J/ / /// 1/ / /- / ^> V"^^^

known as the " Dr. "^

46 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

a leading member. These seceders were among the prominent men
of the society, and tlieir secession must liave been a severe loss.

The society contracted with Mr.
Newell to pay him a sum grad-
ually increasing from <£1-1:0 in
1747 to ^300 ill 1758, and there-
after. This sum was to be ])aid in
bills of credit of the colony or in grain, and the society agreed to
make each year's salary ^ as good
to him as 3 hundi
They also built
old house now k

Pardee place '') and furnished him with firewood. The extent to which
our local currency had depreciated is shown by the fact that in 1759 a
committee arbitration agreed on ^£55 a year in silver as a full equiva-
lent for the £300 salary due to Mr. Newell in bills of credit.

Hitherto the meetings had been held at private houses : the houses
of Ebenezer Barnes, John Brown, Stephen Barnes, Abner Matthews,

and John Hickox having each been

^*^ _^ « used for that purpose. In Mav, 1745,

Ol^^p^LC^ JirJ^,fZS the society voted by a more than

two-thirds majority to build a meeting-
house " as soon as with Convenience may be." In October, 1746,
a committee of the General Assembly, which was at that time the
general director of Congregational churches, selected a site about
sixty feet northeast of tlie present church building, and drove there a
stake to mark the centre of the building. Here the society " with all
convenient speed " built the first meeting-liouse, forty feet by thirty.
It was northeast of where the meeting-house now stands, and almost
directly in the present line of Maple Street. It was furnished with
the great square pews then in vogue, the best one of wliich was re-
served for the deacons and the poorest for the negroes. The church
expenses were then paid by general taxation, and each year a committee
assigned the pews among the members of the congregation according
to their wealth. In order, however, to ])ay
proper respect to age and official rank,
it was provided that every person should
be allowed fiftv shillino-s for each vear of
his age, and that a captain should be al-
lowed in addition twenty pounds, a lieu-
tenant ten, and an ensign five. This
custom was called "■ diffuifvinsi' the meet-
ing-house." It furnished a convenient
official designation of the social status of
the different persons and families of a
community. After the gallery was put into the meeting-house the
negroes were directed to sit there ; and so when the theatres established
their gallery regulations they were really borrowing an old rule of the
church. The children were seated on benches in the aisles ; the old men
ill front, each one with a white starched cap uj)on his head. In 1752 it
was voted that the men and women sit together in the pews ; seeming
to indicate th;it tlie sexes had liitherto been seiiarated. In 1753 it was

DEACONS CAP.

BRISTOL.

voted that the young people should be seated in the meeting-house (that
is, in the pews instead of on Itenches), " meukind at sixteen \-ears of
age, and female at fourteen.'' \Mien the church was gathered for the
fast preparatory to the ordination of Parson Xewell, it included about
twenty families. These, with the eight or ten families who had de-
clared themselves Episcopalians, probably constituted almost or quite
the entire population of the parish. Parson Xewell is said to have been
an able preacher. His fame spread through the neighboring towns,
and many families moved hither to listen to his preaching. He
remained pastor of the church till his death in 1789.

The second Congregational meeting-house was completed in ITTO,
sixty-five feet by forty-five in size, nearly upon the site of the old one ;
and in 1831 the third building was erected, which, having been twice
remodelled inside, is still in use.

For some time after the withdrawal of the ten members to the Church

'i. \.>.

/r!

"^^ ^-?~ L»\^?' ,_-^;J=*

-,,i,iiffi)'i'i'

m.j^

HOUSE BUILT BY ABEL LEWIS. ^

of England they seem to have had no rector and no regular place of
meeting. They protested against the payment of the ecclesiastical taxes,
and in 1749 the society compromised with them, the Churchmen agree-
ing to pay half their tax until they should have a pastor of their own to
support. Most of the Churchmen, as they were called, lived on Chippins
Hill, near the borders of Xorthljury (now Plymouth), and attended
service in that town. In 1758 they hired Mr. Scovel to preach for them
a part of the time. The charge of this clergyman included the parishes
of Waterbury, TTestbury (now Watertown), Northbury. and New
Cambridge: and in 1762 his time was further di^^ded by the addition
of Farmington to his charge. A small Episcopal church building had
been completed in 1754, opposite the Congregational meeting-house,

1 The arched windows were taken from the old Episcopal Church.

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

north or northwest of the present First District school-house. In
1774 Mr. Scovel was succeeded by the Rev. James Nichols, who acted
as rector until the outbreak of the Revolution. The Episcopalians were
nearly or quite all fierce Tories, and bitter hatred was felt toward

them by their more loyal neighbors. The excitement was

so great

that attempts are said to have been made upon the life of the rector
and of one at least t)f the laymen. Some of them went to New York,
others stayed very quietly at home, and public services were abandoned
until 1783. Attempts were made in that year, l)ut without success, to
build a new church, and services were again held in the old building,
Revs. James Nichols, Samnel Andrews, James Scovel, and Ashbel Bald-
win successively acting as rectors. In 1790 the Episcopalians of North-
bury, Harwinton, and Bristol united, and built a house for worship
which is still standing, known as Plymouth East Church, and for forty-
four years no Episcopal services were held in Bristol. It has been a

^f^ ."^- ;fh

INLAID CHEST BROUGHT TO KEW CAMBRIDGE, 1744-47.
— PARSON XEWELL'S ARM-CHAIR.— CARVED POWDER-
HORN, 1755. —SWORD AM) CANTEEN, USED BY LIEU-
TENANT ROGER LEWIS IN THE REVOLrTION. CANTEEN
PIERCED BY A BULLET AT MONMOUTH COURT-HOUSE.

RELICS OF OLD TIMES.

local tradition that the church property was confiscated as belonging to
the Bishop of London, and therefore forfeited by the war ; but this is a
mistake. The church building and land were sold (after the removal of
the church) to Abel LcAvis, who used the building as a barn. The win-
dows are still used in the tenement-house of Mrs. Theodore Stearns.

In the two wars which took ])lace during the latter half of the cen-
tury the peo]^le of New Cambridge took such jiart as their numbers
allowed. At the outbreak of the French and Indian war of 1755 Parson
Newell vigorously defended from the puli)it the claims of the British

BRISTOL. 49

Crown, and several of liis people entered his Majesty's army. A militia
company had already been organized, of which Zelnilon Peck was
captain. He and his son Justus were among the New Cambrido-e
members of the British army. These volunteers were stationed in the
nortliern part of Vermont.

At the onthreak of the Revolution a strong division existed in the
community. Parson Newell sujjported the colonial cause, and his
parishioners were strong Wliigs. The Einscopalian settlers, on the
other hand, were Tories, and meetings of the friends of King George
throughout tlie State were often held secretly ou Chippins Hill. At
one time the Whigs heard that such a meeting was to Ijc held, and
stationed sentinels on all the roads leading to the rendezvous. One
party of these sentries arrested a well-known Tory, Chauncey Jerome
by name, and after a summary trial found him guilty of treason and
sentenced him to be hanged. They accordingly brought him down to
the whipping-post, which stood across the road from the meeting-house,
and hanged him to the branches of a tree which stood by the post. It
was now daylight, and the executioners rode away. A few minutes
later an early traveller found Jerome lianging nearly dead, cut the rope,
and brought him back to consciousness.

Another of the Tories, Moses Dunl)ar, was more regularly and com-
pletely hanged. He was arrested in 1776, charged with secretly enlist-
ing soldiers for King George's army, tried by the Superior Court at
Hartford, found guilty of treason, and hanged there March 19, 1777.
The great majority of the society, however, were standi Whigs, and
a considerable number of men enlisted in the colonial army. It is
impossible to tell how many, l)ut it is said that nearly all tlie men of
proper age either volunteered or were drafted. It is known that some
of the New Cambridge soldiers were with Washington on Long Island,
during his retreat to New York and New Jersey, the attacks on Tren-
ton and Princeton, and through the dreary winter at Valley Forge.

No steps toward the establishment of a separate town organization
are recorded till Dec. 24, 1781, when it was voted '' that we wish to
be incorporated into a town in connection with West Britain." Com-
mittees were ap|jointed to confei' with the West Britain society and with
the town of Farmington. The town opposed the separation ; but, arrange-
ments satisfactory to the two societies liaving been made, a petition was
sent to the General Assembly in May, 1785, praying for a separate town
organization. This petition states
the grand list of the two societies
at £17,218 17.S. 2d.

The request was granted, and an
act passed the same month incor-
porating the town of Bristol. This name appears for the lirst time in
the act of incorporation, and was apparently selected by the Assembly.

The first town-meetino; was

^^^^^ ^/S'j^^^^^^T^

<^^y / /^ ^ '^^^^^ ^* ^^^° ^^^^' Cambridge

^yj::,-d^X(»X r^' "^^-^ meeting-house June 13,

*"y 1785. Joseph Bymgton,

Deacon Elisha Manross,
Zebulon Peck, Esq., Simeon Hart, Esq., and Zebulon Frisbie, Jr., were
chosen the first board of selectmen; of these, Manross, Peck, and

VOL. II. — 4.

50 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Byington represented the New Cambridge society, and Frisbie and
Hart, West Britain. Thereafter, town-meetings were held alternately
in the two parishes, and the town officers were divided nearly equally

between them. The union seems
never to have been very harmonious,
A '^'^ COf (/^ cf ^^^^ ill ^^ay, 1806, the West Britain
Oy parish was made a separate town by

the name of Burlington.
The year after the removal to East Church of the Episcopal society,
another ecclesiastical body was organized, taking a part of its member-
ship from this town. April 13, 1791, a small number of Baptist believers
from Northbury, Farmingbury (now Wolcott), and Bristol, met in
Northbury, at a house belonging to Edmond Todd, near the corner of
the three towns, and organized the Second Watcrtown Baptist Church.
This building is still standing, now an old barn. Meetings were held
alternately in Northbury, Farmingbury, and Bristol. In 1793 Elder
Isaac Root became the pastor of this church ; it is not now known
whether or not they had any earlier pastor. At first the Northbury
members were in a majority, afterward Wolcott and Bristol. In 1800
the allotment of services, one half to be held in Bristol, one third in
Wolcott, and one sixth in Plymouth, shoAvs that the Bristol part of the
church had become the strongest. About 1795 Elder Daniel Wildman
began to act as jjastor, and # —

to his zealous labors the ^^ * . ^^^/^

prosperity and rapid growth ^x^ ^S^z-z^o^^ ^^^.^ah'^i/l^Xyyi^
of the early church Avere

largely due. In 1798 the membership of the church was sixty-six,
and in 1817 it was considerably over one hundred. In 1800 the
erection of a meeting-house was determined upon, and the work Avas
begun the folloAving year. Tliis building Avas forty-tAvo by thirty-tAVO
feet in size, and stood upon land Avhich had l^een giA^en to the society
for that purpose by Elder AVildman. In 1830 a larger building upon
the same site took its place. The old church became the case-shop of
the Atkins Clock Company, and is still used for that purpose by its
successors in business. This second building Avas used till 1880, when
the society buil^ the handsome brick church AAdiich they now use.

At the beginning of this century the toAvn of Bristol Avas a consid-
erable farming hamlet. The population, by the census of 1800, Avas
2,723. The New Cambridge society was a very little stronger than
West Britain, and had probably a population of about fourteen hun-
dred. Upon the hill stood the Congregational meeting-house confronted
by a row of " Sabba'-day houses." Some of these Avere built about
1754, and were still standing in the first decade of the century. Hither,
at noon, Avent each family that lived at a distance from the meeting-
house, to eat their lunch, replenish their foot-sto\'es, and indulge in
such decorous conversation as Avas suited to the sacred day. Near
these houses of public comfort stood the majesty of the law in the
shape of stocks and Avhipping-post. The former of these Avas occa-
sionally used, the latter almost never. In 1828 a negro boy Avas sen-
tenced by a village justice to receiA^e ten lashes on his bare back at this
post, and the punishment was administered in presence of a large

BRISTOL. 51

crowd. This was certainly the last, and perhaps the first, use of the
post. A mile distant, in the valley, stood the Baptist meeting-house,
and between Elder Wildman and Parson Cowles the battle often waxed
hot in discussion of the merits of baptism by sprinkling and of the
necessity and expediency of infant baptism.

New Cambridge, like every other New England parish, had very
early supplied itself with schools. In 1754 liberty was given by the
Farmington town-meeting to build two school-houses in this parish, —
one on the hill, near the site of the present Eonian Catholic parson-
age, the other on Chippins Hill. Before this there had been a school,
probably meeting at some private house. In December, 1747, the
society voted that a lawful school should be kept, and three months
later it was "Voted, That we would have a school kept in this society
six months ; namely, 3 months by a ]\Iaster and 3 months by a Dame."
In 1768 the parish was divided into five districts; and, not long after,
school4iouses were standing, one north of Parson Ncwell's residence,
one near the south graveyard, one on West Street not very far north
from Goose Corner, one on Chippins Hill, and one in the northeastern
part of the parish. Here were taught the elementary branches of
education, always including the Westminster Catechism ; once a week
Parson Newell called upon the school and examined the children in
the Catechism.

A few of the farms in town were cultivated by slave labor. The
Jerome family, living in the northeastern part of the town, in the
house still owned by their descendants, kept three slaves ; and one
Isaac Slielton, who lived on Chippins Hill, near the west line of the
town, OAvned a larger number. Their condition was certainly a very
mild form of bondage. The negroes went to church and their children
went to school. Early in the century a gradual emancipation act was
passed, which put an end to slavery here, as elsewhere in the State.
About this time witchcraft caused much excitement in Bristol, and
greatly frightened some of the good people. One young girl, Norton
by name, on the mountain, declared that she was bewitched by her
aunt, Avho, she said, had often put a bridle upon her and driven her
through the air to Albany, where great witch-meetings were held.
Elder Wildman became interested in this girl, and had her brought to
his own house that he might exorcise her. She stayed overnight, and
after midnight the Elder, thoroughly frightened by the awful sights
and sounds whicli had appeared to him, begged some of the neighbors
to come and stay with him. One bold unbeliever, who offered to go
with him, was frightened into convulsions by what he saw and heard,
and was sick a long time in consequence. Deacon Dutton, of the Bap-
tist Churcli, incurred the enmity of the witches, and an ox which he
was driving one day was suddenly torn apart by some invisible power.
Other people were tormented by unseen hands pinching them, sticking
red-hot pins into their flesh, and bringing strange maladies upon them.

"So the old chronicles say, that were writ in tlie days of the fathers."

Before 1800, Bristol people had no way of receiving mail except
through the Farmington post-office. About that year a post-rider
began to go through the town weekly, carrying papers and letters in
saddle-bags. In 1805 the stage-route was built, and thereafter Bristol

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

J^U^ J$J^r/^

had easier communication with the outside world. A militia company
was organized in 1747, of which Caleb Matthews was the first captain.
Judah Barnes was afterward captain for several years, and the annual
training was held on the level ground east of the Barnes tavern ; after-
ward an artillei-y company Avas organized, and trainings were held for
many years on the green near the Congregational meeting-house. The
first tavern kept in New Cambridge was at the Ebenezer Barnes house.
In 1745 we find this mentioned on the town records as a then exist-
ing institution. This tavern was kept by the Barnes family till their
removal in 1795, and afterward by the Pierce family. Soon after the
settlement of Parson Newell, Zebulon Peck came here, attracted by
the fame of his preaching, and began to keep a tavern back of the
Daniel Brownson house at Goose Corner. Both these men were
prominent in town and church, the latter being a deacon. In the
early part of this century there were in the New Cambridge society,
besides the Pierce tavern, one on Fall Mountain, kept by Joel Norton ;
one on West Street, kept by Deacon Austin Bishop ; one near the Con-
gregational meeting-house, kept by
Abel Lewis ; one kept by widow
Thompson, in the house now owned
by Carlos Lewis ; one at Parson
Newell's former residence (the Dr.
Pardee place), kept by his son's widow ; one on Chippins Hill, kept
by Lemuel Carrington ; and one near the south line of the West
Britain parish, kept by Asa Bartholomew.

The Barnes family, before 1745, established a saw-mill and grist-
mill near their tavern, taking their power from the Pequabuck River,
about where the present dam of the Bristol Brass
and Clock Company stands. A distillery, saw-
mill, and grist-mill were also running in Polk-
ville, in the early part of this century, on the
present G. W. k H. S. Bartholomew site, but
they were probably started half a century later
than the Barnes mill. Of the other industries
carried on at this early time very little can be

said. Mention is
frequently made
of " shops " in
different parts
of the town.
These were prob-
ably small black-
smith, tin-ware, or cobbler's shops, manufacturing
no goods for market. A very small beginning
was made about 1800 in the clock business by
one Gideon Roberts, who lived on Fall Mountain.
He made the columns and pinions on a small
foot-lathe, cut out the wheels with his jack-knife
and hand-saw, and painted the dial-face on a
piece of wliite paper wliich he afterward pasted
upon the clock. When he had finished a few,
he mounted his horse, with the clocks fastened about him, and started

A ROBERTS CLOCK.

BRISTOL. 53

out to peddle them. Many clocks made by him are known to have
done good service for many years. He made clocks in this rude way
several years, and handed down the business to his sons. Very little
is known as to the number of clocks made by this family or the leno-th
of time they continued in the business.

In the second decade other clock-makers began business and con-
ducted it on a much larger scale. Joseph Ives made wood movements
as early as 1811, in a small building a little way north of the present
site of Laporte Hubbell's shop. It is said that Chauncey Boardman
began the next year to make clock movements in a shop south of the
Burner shop site. It is certain that he was established here a few
years later, doing a considerable business. In 1838 he began to make
brass clocks, and continued this until his failure in 1850. Charles
G. Ives also made wooden clocks during this decade in the small shop
still standing on Peaceable Street. The Ives Brothers, five in number,
began in 1815, or thereabout, to manufacture clocks a few hundred
feet north of the present Noah Pomeroy shop, on the same brook ;
and, still fartlier up the stream, Butler Dunbar and Dr. Titus Merriman
carried on the same business. In 1818 Joseph Ives invented a metal
clock, with iron plates and brass wheels, and began its manufacture
in a shop near the present Dunbar spring-shop. This clock was large
and clumsy, and never became very successful. Al)out the amount
of business done by these early makers little information is now avail-
able. They made the old-fashioned clock, which hung up on the wall,
with the long pendulum swinging beneath. In 1814 Eli Terry, of
Plymouth, invented and Ijegan to make a shelf-clock. This very soon
drove the old hang-up clocks out of market, and the manufacture of
clocks in Bristol entirely ceased about 1820.

Lack of space forbids a detailed account of the many firms which
afterward carried on the clock business with greater or less success.
Soon after the cessation of the business in 1820 it was revived by
Chauncey Jerome, the most prominent of our early manufacturers.
In 1822, he built a factory at the old Pierce mill site, where the Bris-

'^/^

tol Brass and Clock Company's dam now stands ; and in 1825, another
small factory near the present spoon-shop site. The next year Main
Street was laid out, and a bridge built across the river to accom-
modate travel to this factory. Mr. Jerome's business was thought
to be very great, as he made nearly ten thousand clocks .a year.
Duriiig the next fifteen years Samuel Terry, the Ives Brothers, Rollin
and Irenus Atkins, Bartholomew k Brown, Elisha Manross, George
Mitchell, Ephraim Downs, Charles Kii-k, and possibly others, began
making clocks or clock parts ; but all of these, except Jerome and
Terry, were either ruined or severely crippled by the panic of 1837.
In 1838 Mr. Jerome invented the one-day brass clock, which made
an epoch in the clock business. Hitherto one-day clocks had been
made only of wood, and were therefore much less durable and much

54 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

more expensive than the brass clocks invented bv Mr. Jerome, and
were also incapable of transportation by water. The success of the
new clocks was so great that in 1843 Mr. Jerome built two large fac-
tories, one on each side of Main Street, just below the river. In 1842
he sent Epaphroditus Peck to England to introduce there the Yankee
brass clock. Mr. Peck found the cheapness and small size of his
clocks the greatest obstacle to their sale, dealers thinking these a suf-
ficient proof of their worthlessness. The British Government, sus-
pecting the low valuation which was put upon them at the custom-house
to be fraudulent, confiscated the first cargo, paying therefor, in accord-
ance with the custom-house regulations, the importer's valuation with
ten per cent addition. Mr. Jerome, well pleased to sell his clocks by
the cargo, sent another load, which was seized on the same terms. A
third cargo was allowed to pass, and after much trouble was sold in
small quantities. A good English market was finally made for the
clocks, and Mr. Peck stayed in England, selling for Mr. Jerome and
other Bristol makers, till his death, in 1857. In 1845 these two fac-
tories, and also a large factory of Samuel Terry, which had replaced
Jerome's first one on the Pierce site, were burned. Mr. Jerome moved
to New Haven at once, and the town seemed to have received a crush-
ing blow. His one-day brass clock, however, had revived the business
of all the clock-makers, and a new succession of small manufacturers
entered the field, nearly every one of whom failed in 1857.

The settlement of the village of Forestville was begun in 1833 by
the firm of Bartholomew, Hills, & Brown. They built a factory at
what is now the centre of the village, on the south side of the river,
and made wooden clocks there. Mr. Hills and Eli Barnes, one of the
workmen, built there, in 1835, the first dwelling-houses. The name
of Forestville was selected as appropriate to the little opening in
the woods. This factory, after passing through several intermediate
hands, became the nucleus of the present business of the E. N. Welch
Manufacturing Company. This company was formed in 1864, and has
since added to its plant the factories originally built by the Forestville
Hardware Company and by the Forestville Machine Company. It has
been for several years the leading clock manufactory in Bristol.

The firm of Welch, Spring, & Co. was formed in 1868, and has
since been engaged in the clock business, making a very high grade
of goods. Its business has been done in the Manross shop at Forest-
ville, which was burned down and rebuilt in 1873, and in the old sash-
factory at Bristol, which had been occupied for thirty years by Ives
& Birge, Case & Birge, and by John Birge alone, in the same business.
Mr. Elias Ingraham began manufacturing clocks in 1843 in partner-
ship with Deacon Elislia Brewster. Mr. Ingraham originally came to
Bristol in 1827, having been hired by Mr. George Mitchell to design and
make clock-cases. He was then twenty-two years old, and a cabinet-
maker by trade. Brewster & Ingraham made cases in a shop ])uilt by
Ira Ives, and movements in the old " Burwell shop," built by Charles
Kirk. This firm was succeeded by E. & A. Ingraham, and the latter,
in 1856, by E. Ingraham & Co. The last-named company, having lost
the Ira Ives shop by fire, bought and moved ui:)on its site the Bristol
Hardware Company's factory, which it still occupies as a movement-
shop. It afterward bought for a case-shop the old building which,

BRISTOL. 57

originally the meeting-house of the West Britain society, had been
early moved to Bristol and used as a cotton-mill, and afterward by
George Mitchell as a clock-case factory. Having reorganized in 1880 as
a joint-stock corporation, it is still conducting a prosperous business.

Bristol capital was, until the panic of 1837, almost exclusively de-
voted to the clock business ; but during the latter half of this century
other branches of manufacture have come to be of almost equal local
importance. The largest manufacturing company in town is the Bristol
Brass and Clock Company, which was oi'ganized in 1850 with 8100,000
capital. The next year it built its rolling-mill and began the brass-
foundry business. In 1857 it bought the spoon-shop which had been
built in 1846 by the Bristol Screw Company, and afterward occupied
for the manufacture of German-silver spoons, forks, and similar
articles by Holmes, Tuttle, & Co. In 1868 its capital was increased
to $230,000, and it bought the toy-shop of George W. Brown & Co.,
in which it began making lamp-burners. This shop was burned in
January, 1881, and was replaced by the new three-story building, whicli
is now the largest and finest factory building in Bristol. The com-
pany still owns these three shops, and carries on very successfully its
three distinct lines of business.

The Bristol Manufacturing Company was formed in 1837, with a
capital stock of 875,000, to make satinet cloth. It built in the
same year the factory building on Water Street. When satinet went
out of use, it began making stockinet underwear, and has continued
this business there prosperously ever since.

In 1850 the Bristol Knitting Company was organized, which bought
the Benjamin Ray shop at the north side, and began the knit under-
wear business. At the end of fifteen years this company dissolved,
having sold its business to Xathan L. Birge, who still continues it.

The trunk hardware factories of J. H. Sessions & Son were built by
Mr. Sessions in 1869. He had before that manufactured wooden-clock-
trimmings, in the northern part of the town, on a much smaller scale.
After his removal to Bristol centre he carried on the manufacture of
small hardware goods in his new shop. Mr. Albert J. Sessions was
then making trunk hardware in the old North Main Street shop, which
had been built for an iron-foundry by Deacon George Welch, and after-
ward occupied by Welch & Gray for the same purpose. It was here
that Elisha N. Welch began his manufacturing career. After the death
of his brother in 1870, J. H. Sessions united the two establishments,
and for a few months occupied both shops. During that year, however,
the National Water-Wheel Company was organized, and it bought from
him the old shop, which it occupies in the manufacture of turbine
water-wheels. In 1878 Mr. Sessions organized the Sessions Foundry
Company, which bought and enlarged the Terry Foundry on Laurel
Street, and began the iron-casting business in the autumn of that year.

There are now about thirty factories in Bristol, nearly one half of
which are occupied for the manufacture of clocks and parts of clocks.
Among the many classes of goods which have at different times been
made here for market are candles, wire and horn combs, hoop-skirts,
cutlery, melodeons, ivory goods, musical clocks, mechanical toys, and
raw-hide belting. The list of unsuccessful ventures, of bankrupt firms,
of broken corporations, would fill a long roll.

58 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

A rich vein of copper ore underlies the soil of the town, and at two
places mines have been sunk and attempts made to realize a profit
from this metal. Neither attempt was successful ; but there are many
who believe that the failures were due to bad management, and that
copper-mining might be carried on with success. The North copper-
mine was opened by the Bristol Mining Company, a corporation organ-
ized in 1837, with a capital of $60,000. The company soon spent its
capital and stopped business. In 1851 the stockholders reorganized,
and tried again to make the mine successful ; but their expenses were so
great that they were forced to abandon it to mortgagees in New York.
Still another attempt was made to work the mine by its new owners,
and Professor Silliman, of Yale College, for a while superintended its
operations ; but the plan was finally abandoned, and the mine property,
having a long time lain unused, was finally sold out in 1870. The old
buildings still give an appearance of ruin and desolation to the land-
scape. The history of the South mine was very similar. So much
capital was required in opening the mine, and the machinery used
was so expensive, that the operators were ruined before they had really
begun to take out any metal.

At the outbreak of the Rebellion the people of Bristol were quick
to take their part in the great contest. On the 11th of May, 1861,
at a special town-meeting called for that purpose, a committee was
appointed, to see that the volunteers from this town were supplied with
necessary comforts, and that their families were not allowed to suffer,
and five thousand dollars were appropriated to be used for these pur-
poses. In July, twenty Bristol men were mustered into Company B of
the Fifth Regiment, and in October another little body of Bristol volun-
teers entered Company C of the Fifteenth. Almost every regiment
which left the State had some of our citizens in its ranks, and within
a year over one hundred men had entered the army. When, in July,
1862, the President issued his call for three hundred thousand three-
years men, it was thought that Bristol ought to send a company filled
and officered by our own citizens. The town voted a bounty of one
hundred dollars to every volunteer, and stirring war-meetings were
held in Crinoline Hall. Newton S. Manross, at that time Professor
of Mineralogy in Amherst College, took the lead in this movement, and

he was elected Captain of the
Bristol company, — K, of the
^a^^i-^U^^ Sixteenth. All the officers of
this company and seventy-four
of its members were from Bristol. In about a month another call
was made for three hundred thousand men to serve nine months, and
Bristol again took lier part in the response which followed. Com-
pany I of the Twenty-fifth was entirely officered by Bristol men, and
forty-nine of its eighty-five original members were from this town.
Bounties of three hundred dollars were paid from the town treasury
to all who entered this company, or who at any time thereafter
enlisted or furnished substitutes.

_ The whole number of men credited to the quota of this town by the
adjutant-general was three hundred and eighty-seven. The enlistments
and re-enlistments from our own citizens numbered two hundred and

f^'^ ^^//^

^^M^.^ J^"^ ^

i^-

<hv ES.Ba:is Sons.?^u-Jirk.

BRISTOL. 59

seventy ; of this number about twenty were re-enlistments, leaving
the total number of Bristol men who were in the service very nearly
two hundred and fifty. The services of the different regiments are
a matter of state and national rather than of local history. The Six-
teenth was hurried to Washington, furnished there with arms, and
rushed into battle at Antietam almost entirely ignorant of military
discipline. In this battle fell Captain Manross, killed instantly at the
head of his company. A young man of high character, an earnest
and successful student, having just been appointed to a seat in the
faculty of Amherst College, he gave up the brilliant prospects before
him to enter the army, only to fall in his first meeting with the enemy.
His body was brought home and buried witli military honors, attended
to the grave by the newly enlisted soldiers of the Twenty-fifth, who
had not yet left Bristol. A monument has been erected to his memory
in the Forestville cemetery by the students of Amherst College. Com-
pany K, with the rest of this regiment, spent the following year in hard
campaign work, marching, and building fortifications, rather than in
sharp fighting. April 20, 1864, they were captured at Plymouth, N. C,
and sent to Andersonville prison. Of the seventy-four Bristol men
who went out in this company, twenty-four died in Rebel prisons, most
of them at Andersonville ; and those who came back came as from
the brink of the grave, shattered in body and mind, shadows of the
robust men who had gone out three years before. Captain T. B. Robin-
son, with two companions, escaped from Andersonville and made his
way to the North, hiding by day, travelling by night, depending on the
negroes for guidance and for food.

The Bristol company of the Twenty-fifth went with its regiment
to Louisiana, took part in the battles of Irish Bend and Port Hudson,
and was mustered out of service Aug. 23, 1863, a part of the men
re-enlisting in other regiments. Our volunteers in the Fifth and Tenth
went through much of the hardest fighting of the war, were with Sher-
man in his famous march through Georgia, with Grant at Ap])omattox
Court House, and took part in the victorious occupation of Richmond.
Our soldiers' monument bears upon its side the names of Antietam,
Fredericksburg, Newbern, Gettysburg, Plymouth, Fort Wagner, and
Irish Bend, — battles in which Bristol soldiers were killed. Of our
two hundred and fifty volunteers, fifty-four died in the service. Of
these, sixteen were killed or mortally wounded in battle, twelve died
of disease, two were lost at sea, and twenty-four starved in Rebel
prisons. Of the entire number, only thirteen are buried in Bristol ;
the rest sleep, most of them in unknown graves, at the South.

During the last year of the war the building of a monument to our
dead soldiers began to be discussed, and in May, 1865, immediately
after the fall of Richmond, a meeting was held and a Monument Asso-
ciation organized. Subscriptions were at first limited to one dollar,
that the sorrow and gratitude of the whole people might find expression,
but afterward larger sums were taken. During the autumn the work
was finished, and on the 20th of January, 1866, our soldiers' monument
was dedicated. It is of brown Portland stone, twenty-five feet high,
bearing upon its sides the names of those to whose memory it was raised,
and the battles in which they fell. This was the first soldiers' monu-
ment raised in Connecticut, and, it is said, the first in the country.

60 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

The mercantile and general prosperity of the town has, of course,
kept pace with the development of its manufactures. Most of the
early settlers built on what is now called King Street, in East Bristol,
and the tavern there became the centre of what business and social life
existed. Later, the building of the stage-route transferred the business
centre to the north side, and the few stores were grouped about the
post-office and tavern on the turnpike road. In the middle of this
century the stage-road was succeeded by the railroad, and business
again shifted itself to the neighborhood of the railway station, where
it has ever since remained. The block of old wooden stores near
the station, in which most of our merchants were then located, was
burned to the ground in January, 1870. It was immediately replaced
by a substantial brick block, but this too was burned in April, 1873.
In February of the same year Laporte Hubbell's shop was burned, and
in April, only two days after the burning of Nott & Seymour's block, the
Forestville Welch & Spring shop was entirely destroyed. The burn-
ing of H. A. & A. H. Warner's small shop in May completed a disas-
trous list of fires. Nott & Seymour's block was rebuilt in the autumn
of 1873. It has ceased, however, to be the only or the principal busi-
ness building, and the centre of the town is now Avell filled with
substantial and handsome stores.

In 1870 the Bristol Savings Bank was incorporated, and in 1875 the
Bristol National Bank, both of which have been very valuable agents
ill promoting the general prosperity. In 1871 our first permanent
newspaper was started, — the "Bristol Press," — which has thus far
maintained its position as a reliable local journal. At various times
prior to this there had been irregular publications of small sheets,
but little deserving the name of newspaper. The population of the
town has increased gradually during the century of its existence, a
considerable gain having been made in every decade since 1820. In
1790 the total number of inhabitants was 2,462, and in 1800, 2,723.
In 1810 the number fell to 1,428, the town having been lately divided,
and in 1820 a further loss to 1,362 was reported bv the census. Since
that time the figures have been as follows: 1830,"l,707 ; 1840, 2,109;
1850, 2,884 ; 1860, 3,436 ; 1870, 3,788 ; 1880, 5,347. It will be noticed
that during the last ten years the increase was over forty per cent,
a much greater gain than in any former decade, and a gain equalled by
very few towns in the State.

The history of the Congregational and Baptist churches has been
sketched, and that of the early Episcopal Church. After the long sus-
pension of Episcopal services which followed the removal to East
Church, the society reorganized in 1834. They immediately built a
small church building on Maple Street, north of Daniel S. Lardner's
house. The Rev. George C. V. Eastman was their first rector, and
they continued to hold services there till 1862. In that year they built
the church building which they have since occupied on Main Street,
and soon after sold their old liuildiiig to the Forestville Methodist
society.

During the great Methodist revival period in the early part of this
century several itinerant preachers came here and taught the doc-
trines of that then novel sect. A few converts to their preaching
organized the Methodist Church iu 1834. A '• class '' had already been

t *■ u-f

BRISTOL. 61

formed, including at first only four members. So great was the hos-
tility to Methodism in the other denommations, that the land tor a
church building could be bought only by concealing the tact that it was
to be used foi^ a Methodist Church. The building was completed in
1837, and was occupied by the society until they built their new church
in 1880 This church has grown continually and rapidly, ihe tirst
relio-ious services that were held in Forestville were led by itinerant
Methodist preachers about 1850, and in 1855 fourteen members organ-
ized a church there. They held services irregularly for_ several years
at private houses, and in 1864 bought the chuix;h building winch he
Episcopal society had lately vacated, and moved it to Forestville. ihis

building they still occupy. -u i^ „v,-...f isao <,i-

The first Roman Catholic services m town were held about 1840, at
the North copper-mine, by priests from New Britain and Waterbury
When mining^operations stopped, and the building of the railroad
th ough the town began, many of the Roman Cathoics moved to Bristo
cLtri and mass wis said for several years , m a bm ding below John
Moran's house on Queen Street, and m Gndleys Hall In 1855 t e
Roman Catholic residents, still constituting a mission attached to the
New Sritain parish, built their churcli building. E even years Mer
Bristol was made an independent parish, and the Rev M. B. Rod dan
became the first pastor. He was afterward ahsent a few yeais, but
returned, and is still in charge of the parish. ■ . • a

In 1S58 a Second Advent Church organized; they maintained
services several years in private houses and m public halls and in
1880 ha'Tn- united with a body of seceders from the Methodist ^
& bouoht the old meeting-house from which that church had
1;!^ moved; and have since had a settled pastor and a regular place

""^ Li'adJhtion to the regular services of these seven Christi^an churches,
occaibiral meetings are^held by the SpirituaUsts, a considerable num-

bpr of whom live here. , , , i • •

In Jlosino- this sketch the writer wishes to ackn.wledge his in-
debtedness, fTiid the public indebtedness, to previous workers in the
sal held The writings of Tracy Peck, Esq. are ot eyecial value,
r man of great accuracy, and deeply interested m everything pertam-
hig to our local history, he had the advantage of living a a time wh n
thS memorv of old residents went back nearly to he settlement of the
wir Li writing of the first fifty years, one can hardly do more than
repeat the details that he collected. Assistance has also been receive
from Mr. Roswell Atkins's History of the Bristol Baptist Church, and
from a series of sketches published by the '' Bristol Press during it.

^"'Vre^'hiftolSn 'of Bristol has no thrilling events to record, no famous
names to euh.o-ize. He has to deal with the commonplace acts ot com-
nSace people. But while none of our citizens have attained to more
Si^rcal fame, we have been remarkably free from that dense igno-
nnce and squalid povertv often to be found in a manufacturing town.
Britol has been fortunate, in that the clock business, in which i has
been so largely engaged, is one which reqmres a high degree of intel-
ligence and^skill in the operatives. Until very late y there has been
nS distinctively "factory settlement" in town, and our pleasante.t

62 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

streets have been lined by comfortable and handsome residences owned
by our skilled mechanics.

The intellectual and moral growth of the community, the most
interesting and most valuable part of every history, can hardly be
touched upon in such a paper as this. The organization and disso-
lution of business firms, the building of factories, the establishment of
churches, — these make up the tangible details of a history whose reaL
interest lies in the constant growth from the quaint farming hamlet of
1742 to the brisk manufacturing town of the present time, preserving
continually those characteristics which have made the political and
social life of New England remarkable and unique.

Two well-known Bristol citizens who have done much to build
up the place are Messrs. Elias Ingraham and Elisha N. Welch.

Elias Ingraham was born in 1805, and came to Bristol in 1826,
in the employ of Mitchell & Hinman. He died at Martha's Vineyard,
Aug. 16, 1885, He had been for thirty years at the head of the Elias
Ingraham Company, and was the originator of many valuable designs
and methods, a man of fine business capacity and of high Christian
character.

Elisha Niles Welch was born in East Hampton, Feb. 7, 1809. He
removed in 1826 to Bristol, and has since been extensively engaged in
manufacturing and also in farming. He is now president of the E. N.
Welch Manufacturing Company, Bristol Brass and Clock Company, and
Bristol Manufacturing Company, and is also a director in several other
important concerns. He was representative in the State legislature
for two terms and State senator for one term.

BUELINGTON.

BY THE HON. ROLAND HITCHCOCK,

Ex- Judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut.

THE territory of which this town and Bristol were formed, belonged,
many years ago, to Farmington, and was called Farmington
West Woods. It was part of the land purchased of the Tunxis
Indians by the original proprietors of that town, and was by them sur-
veyed, and divided into tiers of lots ; the interest of each proprietor
therein being determined by the amount of his interest in the whole
purchase.

For many years after the " reserved lands " of Farmington were
settled, this territory remained a wild, unbroken forest. Hartford and
Windsor, by colonial grant in the time of Sir Edmund Andros's at-
tempted usurpation, were the proprietors of Litchfield and Harwinton,
which were settled earlier tlian Farmington West Woods. Credible
tradition relates that the path of such proprietors to those towns was
through West Woods, and it is possible (as some have claimed) that
along this wild path settlers might have been found as early as 1740 ;
but they were very few and widely scattered. It is certain, however,
that several permanent settlers were in this territory between 1740
and 1755. Among these were, in the western part, Enos Lewis, Asa
Yale, Seth Wiard, Joseph Bacon, and Joseph Lankton, Sr., though
the last named afterward lived at the Centre ; Abraham and Theodore
Pettibone, extensive landholders, and men of much influence, in the
northern part ; Nathaniel Bunnel and one Brooks in the southern
part ; and John and Simeon Strong

in the eastern part. But the settle- /^ ^ /7

ment was slow ; the land was infested off /C^ ^^^ /?^
by Indians as they retired westward y/

from the settlement of the white man

along the natural meadows of the Farmington valley, and it was not until
about 1750 that the permanent settlement to any considerable extent
began. In 1774 the General Court, by separate enactments, established
in Farmington West Woods the ecclesiastical societies of West Britain
and New Cambridge, each having well-defined limits. In 1775 these were
incorporated as the town of Bristol, and thereupon ceased to belong
to Farmington. In 1806 Bristol was divided ; the part of it within the
limits of West Britain was incorporated as the town of Burlington, and
the part of it embraced in the limits of New Cambridge I'emained, and
was constituted the town of Bristol.

64 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Parsuant to the act of incorporation, the first town-meeting of Bur-
lington was held June 16, 1806. Abraham Pettibone was moderator,
and the town was duly organized by the election of the ordinary town
ofticers. Since its incorporation part of the township has been annexed
to Canton and part to Avon ; its population, as well as its assessment
list, has thereby been much reduced, and it is believed that its eastern
boundary has been thrown back to the Farmington River.

The first religious society organized in what is now Burlington was
a society of Seventh-Day Baptists ; the Ecclesiastical Society of West
Britain was established (as has been remarked) in 1774, but no reli-
gious society was formed under it till 1783, when the Consxregational
Church was formed. It appears from " Clark's History of the Seventh-
Day Baptist Church in America," tliat '•'• a church of that denomination
was organized on the 18th of September, 1780, at Farmington West
Woods "[afterwards (1785) called West Britain ; afterwards still (180G)
incorporated as the toAvn of Burlington], l)y the Rev. Jonathan Burdick
and Deacon Elisha Stillman, consisting of nineteen members." They
came — about twenty families — from the town of Westerly, Rhode
Island, and their settlement and meeting-house were about two miles
north from the village now called Burlington Centre. They were ex-
emplary and industrious people, ardently attached to their faith, and
had much influence in the affairs of the town in its early history ;
many of its influential members ultimately removed with their families
to the State of New York, and there joined a church of their faith.
This weakened the old pioneer church to its ruin, and after a precarious
existence of forty or fifty years it became extinct. ]\fany of the dwell-
ings built by these people are still standing, though none of the well-
remembered builders, none of their descendants, none of the faith so
dear to tliem, and for which they endured so much, remain to care for
the graves of the many they left in the silent city of their dead.

The Congregational Church was formed July 3, 1783, with twenty-
six members, and still worships harmoniously in the faith of the
fathers. The Rev. Jonathan Miller, from Torrington, the first minis-
ter, was ordained Nov. 26, 1783, and continued his ministrations until
a few years prior to his death (July 21, 1831). The first meeting-
house was located at the foot of what is called Meeting-house Hill, on
the northern slope of a hill nearly opposite the corner of the roads
where stood tlie old tavern of Zebulon Cole, and about twenty rods
across the road, in a southeasterly direction from it ; the locality is
now overgrown with wood. The second meeting-house Avas located
about thirty rods northeast from the first, one ; the heavy bank wall

which constituted its northern foundation
' y V* yO^ ^"^^ stands, a lasting monument to the
f/^e^^^t^ /^^^ sturdy, earnest men who more than seventy

years ago erected it. This meeting-house
was dedicated Dec. 25, 1808, and stood, with its long row of horse-sheds
on either side of the road and its steeple high among the clouds, until
1836, when it was removed to where it now stands, remodelled, and
on the 14th of December of that year re-dedicated.

The Methodist meeting-house was built in 1814; it was located in
the southerly part of the town, on the elevated ground a few rods

BURLINGTON. 65

northeasterly from the south cemetery, and was removed to its present
location in 1835. Nathan Bangs (afterward president of Wesleyan
University), Laban Clark, and Daniel Coe (pioneers of Methodism in
the State) were among the early pastors of tlie church of that faith in
the town.

The township is eighteen
miles west from Hartford, is
bounded on the north by New
Hartford, east by Farmington
River, south by Bristol, and
west by Harwinton, and is about six miles long and five in breadth.
In most parts it is well supplied witli streams and s})rings of excellent
water ; it has hills and valleys, and in many parts is rugged with stones

and rocks. The soil is not unlike
that of the other granitic parts of
the State, produces substantially
the same kinds of fruits and ce-
reals, and with proper cultivation
yields to the farmer a good return for his industry. The natural
"growth of timber is walnut, oak, birch, maple, and chestnut, which
were quite evenly mingled in the primitive forests.

The inhabitants are generally engaged in agricultural pursuits, and
are intelligent, industrious, thriving, and happy, in their quiet homes.
The affairs of the town have been managed generally with ability and
goiid judgment, and it is now free from debt, after having paid all its
expenses and met all its burdens growing out of the late Civil War and
the depreciation of property consequent upon it.

Convenient access to the town is furnished by a branch of the New
Haven and Northampton Railroad, which runs through its eastern
part. At the census of 1880 its population was 1,224.

West Britain from its small and sparse population furnished several
soldiers for the country in the War of the Revolution. After its incor-
poration as Burlington the town furnished many in the War of 1812 ;
and though the pensioners of those wars who belonged to the town
have passed, with their honorable scars upon them, to " the undiscov-
ered country," they are held in respectful remembrance by all who
knew them. In the late Civil War the town furnished its full quota of
soldiers, many of whom will return no more.

" The leaf to the tree, the flower to the plain,
But the young and the brave they come not again."

The narrow limits to which this sketch must be confined forbid
extended reference to the noble men and women who were the early
inhabitants of the town. Much of pleasant reminiscence and merited
respect might properly be said of them. Their personal appearance,
their characteristics, and their many virtues awaken in one who knew
many of them feelings of mingled pleasure and sadness as they return
in memory. The names Alderman, Barnes, Beach, Beckwith, Belden,
Bronson, Brooks, Brown, Bull, Bunnel, Butler, Cleaveland, Cornwall,
Covey, Crandal, Culver, Curtis, Elton, French, Frisbie, Fuller, Gillett,
Griswold, Hale, Hart, Hitchcock, Hotchkiss, Hum|)hrey, Lowry, Marks,
Mathews, Moses, Norton, Palmiter, Peck, Pettibone, Phelps, Pond,

VOL. II. —5.

66 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Richards, Roberts, Session, Smith, Webster, West, Wiard, Woodruff,
and many others not less worthy belonged to inhabitants honorably
identified with the early history of the town, and whose energy in their
respective spheres contributed much to its first prosperity.

Dr. Peres Mann, the first physician of the town, was a native of
Shrewsbury, Mass. He acquired his profession in Boston, and settled

in West Britain about 1780. Dr. Aaron
^, Hitchcock was his professional successor ;

I^^^^^Tf*^ he settled in his profession in Burlington

about 1806.

The Rev. Romeo Elton, D.D., was a native of the town, and received
his rudimental education in its common schools. He graduated at
Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, in the class of 1813.
Much might be said of him to encourage young men in their struggle
against repelling circum-
stances, did the space per- ^^^
mit. He was a modest, y^r^^ ^ya^

retiring man. His chief ^C?^^'^'^'^^^'^^^
delight was the study of the
ancient and modern languages, to which his unobtrusive life was unre-
mittingly devoted, both in this and foreign countries. It is believed the
country has produced few if any more thorough linguists, few of purer
literary taste. His fine personal appearance, cultivated diction, and
musical voice placed him among the most agreeable of public speakers.
He died at Boston, Feb. 5, 1870, at the age of eighty years. His pub-
lished works, besides occasional sermons, are an edition of J. Callcn-
der's " Historical Discourse " (on the early history of Rhode Island)
with a memoir of the author, notes, and a valuable appendix ; the
" Literary Remains of the Rev. Jonathan Maxcy,D.D., with a memoir of
his life ; and a " Life of Roger Williams," printed in London in 1852.

Simeon Hart, for many years principal of the celebrated Farming-
ton Academy, was a native of Burlington, and received his common-
school education there. He graduated at Yale College in the class of
1823, and soon after became principal of the academy above referred
to, to which he gave much celebrity, and in the management of which
he gained for himself high reputation as a teacher. His useful life
closed at Farmington, where for the most part it had been spent, and
where his students have erected a fitting monument to his memory.

Dr. Willinm Elton, a native of the town, has been for several years
the resident physician. He is a gentleman of good literary taste, and
well qualified in his profession.

VI.
CANTON.

FKOM NOTES BY D. B. HALE AND LEVI CASE.

CANTON! measures eight miles north and south, with a breadth
east and west varying from one and a half miles at the north to
three miles at the south. It is bounded north by Barkhamsted
and Granby ; east, by Simsbury ; south, by Avon, Burlington, and New
Hartford ; and west by New Hartford and Barkhamsted. It has in its
territory four post-offices, seven churches, eight school-houses, hfty-five
miles of puljlic highway, and about four hundred dwelling-houses. The
Hartford and Connecticut Western Railroad, and a branch of the New
Haven and Northampton Railroad, commonly called the Canal Road,
pass through the town.

The surface of the territory is much broken by hills. There are
Rocky, Rattlesnake, Onion, Crump's, and Wildcat mountains. The
valley of the Farmington River in the southwest part of the town is
fertile, and Cherry Brook valley, where Canton Centre lies, is noted for
its fine farms, though the most valuable agricultural land in the town
limits is said to be in the low plain near the eastern boundary. The
great "Jefferson flood" of 1801, which made many changes along the
Farmington valley, washed away much of a very valuable tract, called
the Hop Yard, that lay between Cherry Brook and Farmington River,
and the river at that time took permanent possession of the channel of
the stream.

Rattlesnake Mountain derives its name from the fact, or tradition,
that an early settler, Mrs, Wilcox, while driving home her cows, met
near there a very large number of rattlesnakes. She killed forty of
them (all full grown) and came unharmed out of the conflict ; but the
mountain, by a curious freak of history, takes its title from the defeated
forces. Crump's Mountain, one and a half miles north of Canton Centre,
is named from Crumpus, a noted Indian who had his wigwam on its
summit for many years after the whites came. Indian Hill, near the
New Hartford line, was for some time the home of a band of Indians, —
a peaceful set who were much troubled by other Indians, that lived in
and gave the name to that part of ^ew Hartford known as Satan's

1 Canton, originally West Simsbury, includes Canton Centre and Collinsville, and has a
territory of about twenty-three square miles. Settled, 1737 ; made a parish, 1750 ; incorporated
as the town of Canton, 1806. Changes of area have been : the early acquisition of a mile tier
from New Hartford on the west, and the setting off in 1873 of about one eighth of the town,
to Simsbury on the northeast. In 1758 there were 64 tax-payers ; in 1880 there were 2,299
inhabitants. Principal industries, the niauufacture of edge tools at Collinsville, aud agri-
culture.

MEMOKIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Kingdom. Cherry Brook and Cherry Pond — the latter a considerable
body of water a mile south of Canton village, extending into Avon —
were named from an Indian called Cherry, who, it is said, acquired
that name from his fondness for cherry-rum. He was finally horse-
whipped and driven from the place, because when intoxicated he
threatened to scalj) Oliver Humphrey, keeper of the public-house, for
refusing to sell him more rum. He lived on the bank of the brook.
Indian relics are frequent in the town and Indian traditions abound.
One is that Silas Case, of East Hill, received from a dying Indian in-
struction in the nature of herbs and diseases that made him for years
a famous healer of the sick.

''Satan's kingdom."

The first permanent white settler in West Simsbury was Richard
Case, who in 1737 took possession of land on East Hill, granted to his
father, Richard Case, of Weatogue (Simsbury). A part of this grant
has remained ever since by direct inheritance in the possession of
his descendants, and so has never been deeded.

The following historical sketches of the first settlers were prepared
by the late Ephraim Mills, Esq., and they were published in Phelps's
" History of Simsbury, Granby, and Canton," in 1845. They are now
revised for this work.

Richard Case removed from the old parish to West Simsbury in 1737, and
is supposed to have been the first settler, and to have erected the first dwelling-
house. His son, Sylvanus, has ever been reputed to be the first English child
born within the limits of West Simsbury. He had ten sons and two daughters.
His descendants are numerous in Canton, Granby, and Barkhamsted.

There were four brothers of the Barber family, who removed from the old
parish in 1738, — Samuel, Thomas, Jonathan, and John, — all of whom settled
on lands contiguous to each other, within the limits of the old Centre school
district in Canton. Dr. Samuel Barber had eleven sons and three daughters,
all of whom lived to adult years. Some of his descendants are now living in
this town.

Sergeant Thomas Barber had five sons and five daughters, all of whom lived
to adult years. Some of his descendants now reside in the town.

CANTON. 69

Jonathan Barber had two sons and one daughter. He died in early life
(1745), at tlie siege and capture of Louisburg. None of his descendants reside
ill tliis town.

John Barber had five sons and one daughter. He died in 1797, aged seventy-
seven years. His sou Eeuben died in 1825, and was the first person buried in the
new cemetery in Canton Centre.

Deacon Abraham Case removed from the old parish to West Simsbury about
1740, and died in 1800, aged eighty years. He had two sons and five daugh-
ters. He settled on the East Hill.

Amos Case, brother of Abraham, settled on the East Hill about 1740. He
had five sons and four daughters, all of wliom lived to adult years. He died in
1798, aged eighty-six.

Benjamin Dyer, a schoolmate of Dr. Franklin, came from Boston to West
Simsbury about 1741. He had five sons and two daughters. He resided one
mile northeasterly from Collinsville. The house built by him is said to be the
oldest in town.

Samuel Humphrey came here about 1741. He settled in Canton village.
He had three sons and three daughters, all of wliom lived to marry and leave
children.

Joseph Mills, aged thirty, married Hannah Adams, aged fifteen, and came
here in 1742 or 1743, and settled in Canton Centre. He had ten sons and four
daughters, all of whom he lived to see married and have children. He died in
1783, aged eighty-nine.

Ezra Wilcox came here about 1740, and settled on the west side of the
Farmington Eiver, opposite the mouth of Cherry Brook. He had five sons and
four daughters.

Dudley Case was a brother of Daniel, Zaccheus, and Ezekiel. He came here
in 1742, and built a public-house in Canton village, afterward long known as
the Hosford House. He had seven children. He died in 1792.

Oliver Humphrey, Esq., came here about 1 742, and settled in Canton village,
and was the first magistrate in West Simsbury. He had eleven children, all of
whom lived to adult years. He died in 1792.

Nathaniel Alford came here in 1742, and settled on the East Hill. He had
one son and five daughters, all of whom were married and left children.

Lieutenant David Adams came here about 1743, and settled in North Canton.
He had four sons and five daughters. He died in 1801.

Sergeant Daniel Case came here in 1743, and settled in Canton Centre. He
had four sons and five daughters. He built the first grist-mill in the place. He
died in 1801, aged eighty-one.

Captain Ezekiel Humphrey came here about 1744, and settled in Canton
village. He had five sons and five daughters. He died in 1795.

Captain Josiah Case came here about 1743, and settled on the East Hill.
He had two sons and four daughters. He died in 1789, aged seventy-one.

Isaac Messenger came here about 1743 or 1744, and settled in Canton Centre.
He had ten sons and three daughters, all of whom were married and left children.
He died in 1801, aged eighty-two.

Ensign Isaac Tuller canie here in 1744 or 1745, and settled near Cherry
Brook. He had three sons and eight daughters. He died in 1806, aged eighty-six.

Captain Zaccheus Case came here about 1749, and settled in Canton Centre.
He had one son and six daughters, all of whom married and had children. He
died in 1812.

Deacon Hosea Case came here about 1752, and settled on the East Hill. He
had four sons and seven daughters. He died in 1793, aged sixty-two.

Captain John Foot came here in 1753, and settled in Canton Centre. He
had two sons and four daughters, all of whom had children. He died in 1812,
aged eighty-two.

70 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Captain Joliii Brown came here from Windsor in 1756, and settled in Can-
ton Centre. He liad four sons and seven daughters, all of whom had children.
He died in 1776 in the American army, at New York.

Solomon Humphrey came liere about 1755, and settled near Canton village.
He had three sons and two daughters, all of whom had children.

Among people born in Canton who have made their mark in the
country are judges, college presidents, members of Congress, mayors of
cities, lawyers, doctors, and clergymen, teachers, and successful men
of business. The father and mother of the famous John Brown were
natives of Canton.

Canton has never been lacking in patriotism. In the French and
Indian War tw^enty soldiers went from tliere (West Simsbury), and
only ten came back ; in the Revolution there were between seventy and
eighty soldiers from the place ; in the War of 1812, about fifty ; and in
the recent Civil War, two hundred and fifty-seven, • — a large number of
whom w^ent never to return, or came home to die from injuries received
in the service.

The people of West Simsbury began holding Sunday services in
private houses about 1741. In September, 1746, at the house of Richard
Case, they organized an ecclesiastical society ; and at the May session,
1750, the legislature created West Simsbury a distinct parish and the
First Congregational Church was formed. Between 1747 and 1750
there was preaching liy the Rev's Adonijah Bidwell and Timothy
Pitkin. When the church was formed, the Rev. Evander Morrison
was called, at a salary of <£250, "old tenor," and thirty cords of
wood, — the church to build him a house if he would furnish nails and
glass. As the result of a quarrel he was dismissed in eleven months,
and the house was not built. Succeeding pastors have been the Rev's
Gideon Mills, 1759 to 1772, when he died ; Seth Sage, 1774, to his dis-
missal in 1778 ; Jeremiah Hallock, 1785, to his death, after forty-one
years' pastorate, in 1826 ; Jairus Burt, 1826, to his death in 1857 ; and
since then, the Rev's W. C. Fisk, Charles N. Lyman, A. Gardner, and
David B. Hubbard. There was a secession from the church in 1778,
led by the Rev. Mr. Sage. Meetings were held in private houses in the
north part of the town for some years, and in 1783 a meeting-house
was built on the Granby road, half a mile north of the present North
Canton Methodist church. The organization was scattered at Mr.
Sage's death. In 1783 another schism occurred, when the " Separat-
ists " left the church ; and in 1785 these again separated, and the Bap-
tist society was then established. Their first pastor was Elder Jared
Mills. Their church was moved and rebuilt in 1839. A Methodist
church was built in North Canton in 1871, and one in Collins ville in
1868 ; but this was closed in 1878. As early as 1751 there was a
movement into the Episcopal church, but the withdrawing members
joined the church in Scotland (Bloomfield). It was not until 1875 that
a society was organized here. The Episcopal church was built in 1876.
The Roman Catholic church in Collinsville was built in 1852.

Congregational service in Collinsville began in 1831, with preaching
in Collins & Co's hall by the Rev. George Beecher, who died in Ohio

from the effects of a gunshot. He was a son of Lyman Beecher. The
church was organized in 1832 by the Rev's Dr. Joel Hawes, of Hart-
ford, Allen Mc- ^ ^ ,

Lean, of Sims- ^ ^^/^C- , <X>-a--t..»-t^<:^-VM..--^V-^^
bury, Jairus '

Burt, of Canton Centre, and H. N. Brinsmade, who had been preaching

there since 1831. The Col-

Q?. (^. T'T^o.^.^'CiAtA^aj^JL.--^ J^'^' Company built the first

Congregational churcli ni
1836. Among its pastors have been the Rev's Cornelius C. Van Ars-
dalen, Frederick A, Barton, ^ ^^

Charles Backus McLean, Alex- c::p^ ^ ^^ /^^
ander Hall, and E. L. Lamb.
The Cherry Brook meeting-house was built in 1763, and the present
^ house of worship took its place

W^^<^ //, ^CA^ otcuA.^^%^ Canton was incorporated by

the legislature as a town in 1806, because of the inconvenience that its
inhabitants suffered in having to go to Simsbury to vote. James Hum-
phrey was town clerk until 1829 ; William H. Hallock succeeded him.
In 1837 Hallock's house was burned, and all the town records destroyed.
As Collinsville grew in size, its inhabitants, like those of West Sims-
bury at an earlier date, objected to going to Canton to vote. In 1860
the people of both villages agreed to hold their meetings alternately at
one and the other place. In 1866 Collinsville was made a separate
voting place for " electors' meetings," that is, general elections ; but the
old New England town-meeting is still held alternately at Canton and
at Collinsville.

As in all Connecticut towns, schools have formed from the beginning
an important feature of life in Canton. Until 1796 the Ecclesiastical
Society managed them, appointing the school committees yearly. Then
the School Society was created, and appointed committees, inspectors,
and even district committees. In 1839 the districts were allowed to
choose their own committees, and in 1856 the general supervision of
school matters was given to the town. The school question has been at
the bottom of many of the most exciting controversies that the town has
known, and the interest in it has been constant. The early school-
houses, with their huge fireplaces for burning four-foot wood, are yet
remembered by some of their surviving scholars, who recall how, before
matches were introduced, great endeavors were made to keep the coals
alive over night ; for if there were none there in the morning, some one
must go to the nearest house for " fire." Not only in school-houses,
but in all houses, the fire had to be kept burning, or else new fire must
be got outside. The town of Canton appropriates about '|5,000 a year
for schools, including the allowance from the State. Careful of their
schools, the people have always been orderly and law-a])iding. There
has never been a murder in the town, nor was there one in the parish
before it became a town. Agriculture was the early occupation. Every
farm had its flock of sheep, and every farm raised flax, and everybody
wore and used woollen and linen that were made at home by the women
of the household. The usual cereals were cultivated. There were many

MEMOKIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

apple orchards. Immense quantities of cider were made and everybody
drank it. What was left was converted into cider-brandy, and this was
sufficient to maintain a large number of distilleries, — at one time, about
forty. The cider-brandy business was an important source of income
to the farmers ; but it has been practically discontinued, and the cul-
tivation of tobacco takes its place. To the moralist, who mourns the
spread of tobacco-culture, this fact is not insignificant. From cider-
brandy to tobacco is certainly no descent in morals.

With the facilities that its ample water-power has furnished. Canton
has always had manufactures of more or less importance, — at first

THE ORIGINAL COLLINS WORKS.

to meet the few wants of the local population, and later to supply the
growing demands from outside ; until now. with the vast development
of the works at Collinsville, it has come to be one of the great manufac-
turing centres of the State, whose products are known and used all over
the world. The first forge for the manufacture of iron was started in
1774 by Colonel Talcott and Messrs. Forbes & Smith. It was just
below the present covered bridge, near the house of Julius E. Case.
This forge, and that set up in the south part of the town in 1792 by
the brothers Captain Frederick and Colonel George Humijhrey, were
carried off by the flood of 1801. There have been grist-mills of
Daniel Case, on Cherry Brook ; of Ambrose Case, in the north part
of the parish ; of Joseph Segur, near the present Collinsville covered
bridge (he crossed daily to his mill by canoe) ; and of Orville Case,
near the junction of Albany turnpike and Cherry Brook road. At
one time there were seven saw-mills in Canton. The blacksmith's
trade, of course, and wood-working and wagon-making were among
the local industries. There was a flax-mill about sixty years ago on a
stream south of the present residence of G. Woodford Mills. There
have been several carding-mills in the town. Of the industries that have

t?3
O

o
W

!»
;>

CANTON. 75

disappeared, the most important were the manufacture of those two great
forces, gunpowder and brandy, wliicli have had so much influence upon
society and human history. In 1825 there were not less than forty
distilleries in Canton ; now, with double the population, there are less
than half a dozen. The first powder-mills were built by Jared Mills
and Edmund Fowler, on the Nepaug stream, near its junction with the
Farmington. Here the manufacture was carried on for sixty years, and
not less than thirty people were killed in its successive explosions. In
183-1 another powder-mill was built on Cherry Brook, near the North
Canton cemetery, by Swett & Humphrey. This ran about twenty years.
The whole business of powder-making was abandoned in the town
about 1865.

The great body of the population of Canton is now gathered in
Collinsville, about the extensive works of the Collins Company, which is
practically the source and centre of all the activities of the place. The
company directly or indirectly supports 2,500 of the inhabitants of the
towns of Canton, Avon, and Burlington. Nearly all of Collinsville lies
in the town of Canton, but the boundary lines of Avon and Burlington
pass through its southern part.

The Collins axes, of which no less than fifteen million have been
manufactured, are known and used all over the world. Before 1826
every axe was the hand-work of the common blacksmith. It was ham-
mered out on the anvil and sold without an edge, so that half a day's
grinding was needed to make it useful. This circumstance is the cause
of the notion which still prevails on many farms, that an axe must be
ground before use. The fact is, that no one can improve upon the edge
which the skilled workman puts upon the finished tool. A blacksmith
of Somers, in this State, named Morgan, whose axes had an excellent
reputation, bought the steel for them from David Watkinson & Co., of
Hartford. This attracted to axe-making the attention of David C.
Collins, a nephew of Mr. Watkinson, and a clerk in his store, and he
experimented in making some all ready for use, ground and polished,
when sold. He soon determined to undertake the business, and formed
the firm of Collins & Co., with his brother Samuel W. Collins and their
cousin William Wells. This was in 1826. They bought the Humphrey
grist-mill privilege, in the south part of Canton, on Farmington River.
In December 1831 the post-office of Collinsville was established at what
had been South Canton. Wages in the new factory, which were paid
once a year, ranged from il2 to $16 a month, with board, and eight
forged axes were a day's work. Now, one man with a helper forges
from one hundred and fifty to two hundred.

In 1829 the use of Lehigh coal was introduced, these being the first
edge-tool works in the world to use the fuel. In 1832 the factory was
very much enlarged, and in that year Mr. E. K. Root, from Chicopee,
Mass., was made the superintendent. He was a man of peculiar mechan-
ical skill, and several of his many inventions, though made forty years
ago or more, have never been supplanted or improved. One of these is
the very essential machine for punching the heads of solid axe-polls.
Mr. Root remained at Collinsville seventeen years. In 1834 Collins &
Co. were succeeded by a corporation, the Collins Company, with a
capital then of -$150,000. Its capital has been increased by cash con-

76 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

tributions to $1,000,000, and it has paid a dividend every year of its
existence since 1835. In 1867-1868 the company built a number of
important works, inchiding one of the most remarkable and finest dams
in the country. It is three hundred feet long and eighteen feet high,
and is made of massive blocks of native granite, fastened togetlier
and set into a groove cut in the solid rock-bed of the river bottom.
The daily product of the works exceeds three thousand tools. More
than five hundred tons of steel and two thousand tons of iron, a large
part of which is manufactured by the company, are every year made
into tools there, and, in grinding an edge upon these, over six hundred
tons of grindstones are worn to dusto

The success of the company is very largely due to the ability of the
two remarkable brothers whose name it bears. Samuel Watkinson
Collins and David C. Collins were the sons of Alexander Collins and
Elizabeth Watkinson, of Middletown, where the father practised law.
He died in 1815, and his widow and family moved' to Hartford.

David C. Collins was born in 1805. Upon the removal to Hartford

as a boy he was taken into the family and the store of his uncle, David

^^ ...^ ^ ^ Watkinson, in the iron busi-

OO^Cc-^xjLc^ ^5 (^i^ m} "f^"^^-*^ -^ M- ness. His energy and keen

business judgment are evi-
dent in the manner in which, when only twenty -one years old, he pro-
jected the axe manufacture and organized the firm of Collins k Co.
Both brothers devoted their lives to this company.

Samuel W. Collins was born in September. 1802, at Middletown.
He went to live with Edward Watkinson, for whom he became clerk.
Here he developed such capa-
city for business, and so much
executive ability, that before
he was of age he was taken into partnership, the firm being Wat-
kinson & Collins. In 1826 he became one of the new firm of Collins
& Co., and from that time devoted his great energies to the axe
business. Mr. Collins, as the resident manager and head of the com-
pany for so many years, occupied a most important part in shaping
its course, and also the affairs of the community. He was singularly
correct in his estimates of men, an admirable judge of character, and
quick to recognize talent and to encourage it. In all his intercourse
with his employes he commanded their respect and secured their affec-
tion. He was always interested in their welfare, and was such an
earnest opponent of strong drink, that he bought out at least two hotels
and one drug-store to stop their liquor-selling, and paid one man to
sign a promise never to live within ten miles of the town. In all the
deeds under which he sold land to employes or others he inserted a
clause prohibiting the manufacture or sale of liquor there, under penalty
of forfeiture of the land. Mr. Collins died in 1871, in the beautiful
home which he had built upon the west side of Farmington River. He
had the satisfaction of seeing the work which he began in so small a
way reach its great dimensions, and of having the name of Collins
known round the world, and recognized as a synonym for honest work.

VII.
EAST GRANBY.

BY CHAELES HOKACE CLAEKE.

EAST GRANBY was incorporated in 1858, out of Granby and
Windsor Locks. Granby was set off from Simsbury in 1786,
and Windsor Locks from Windsor in 1854. The individual
history of East Granby is chiefly that of the Turkey Hills Parish
Society, which was the Northeast Society of Simsbury. This society
was created in 1736, and in 1737 a part of the Northwest Society of
Windsor was added to it ; this part was taken from Windsor Locks
and incorporated into East Granby when the town was established.

As early as 1793 an effort was made to have East Granby set off as
a separate town, because Granby at that time reconsidered the vote
under which the town-meeting was held once in three years at Turkey
Hills. The limits then asked for the proposed town were practically
those which were at last fixed upon.

The town embraces about eighteen square miles ; being four and
a half miles east and west, and averaging four miles north and
south. Its population in 1860 was 833 ; in 1870, 853 ; in 1880, 754 ;
showing a decrease in the last decade of more than twelve per cent.
This decrease was due almost wholly to the decline in value of agri-
cultural products, especially tobacco, which followed the close of the
War of the Rebellion, and the extended culture of that product in
Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin. A more economical production
was necessary, and there was consequently a limited employment of
farm laborers. The Talcott range of mountains divides the town from
north to south into nearly equal parts. That west of the moimtain is
rolling and somewhat hilly ; that east of the mountain slopes gradually
down to a plain, and is of peculiar natural beauty.

As early as 1710 iron was manufactured at a mill on Stony Brook,
in the extreme nortlieast part of the town, close by the Suffield line, and
this is believed to have been the first manufacture of iron from ore
procured in the colony. About 1728 a furnace called the " new works"
was set up a mile farther south, on land now owned by Oliver M.
Holcomb. The ore was from surface stone gathered in that part of
Windsor which still retains the name of Ore Marsh. The manufac-
ture of wire-cards began about 1820, on the Farmington River, and
other industries followed. In 1846 the Cowles Manufacturing Company
made spoons, and it is claimed was the first to make a practical success
of electric plating. Its works gave the name of Spoonville to the
site, and that remains, although spoon-making ceased there about thirty
years ago.

78 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

The town is free from debt, and an average annual tax of seven
mills has been sufficient to support all public burdens during the last
ten years. Tlie town has two ecclesiastical societies, — the Congrega-
tional, having its church edifice in the Centre, just at the foot of the
eastern slope of the mountain ; and the Methodist Episcopal church,
situated about a mile north of the old Newgate prison, on the west side
of the mountain. The former was established in October, 1736, after a
long and bitter controversy extending through many years. The final
result was the division of Simsbury into four parish societies, of which
Turkey Hills was one, — each to have independent ecclesiastical privi-
leges. June 16, 1737, the parish of Turkey Hills voted to build a
church, and applied to the legislature for a committee to locate its po-
sition. John Edwards, James Church, and Joseph Talcott, Jr., having
been appointed such committee, selected the site for the church at an
" oak staddle," on land of Samuel Clark, upon the west side of the
north and south highway, some ten rods south of the present dwelling-
house of Charles P. Clarke, and about the same distance north of the
intersecting highway leading eastward. Out of the bitter church con-
troversy referred to there grew a topographical map of ancient Sims-
bury. ^ This map shows that about 1730 there were living in the parish
twenty-eight families, — twenty-three east and five west of the moun-
tain. In 1709 there were but two families, — those of John Griffin and
Joshua Holcomb, — both of whom lived near the Falls.

The church building was begun in 1738. It was taken down in 1831
by George Burleigh Holcomb, who used some of its timbers in the build-
ings on the place where he now resides. The present edifice was begun
in 1830 and completed in 1831. The first clergyman employed in the
parish was a Mr. Wolcott, who preached in 1737. The Rev. Ebenezer
Mills was settled in 1741. From 1754 to 1760 there was preaching by
candidates. The Rev. Nehemiah Strong, afterward professor in Yale
College, was settled as pastor, Jan. 21, 1761, and dismissed in 1767.
The next settled pastor was the Rev. Aaron Booge, November, 1776.
The society appointed seventeen tavern-keepers for the day of his
ordination ! He was dismissed in 1785, but supplied the pulpit four
years longer. The Rev. Whitfield Cowles was ordained in 1794; but
dissensions arose, he was tried for heresy, and the society fell into
discord, and for a while lost its legal existence. The next regular
ministers were the Rev's Hervey Wilbur, 1815-1816, and Eber L. Clark,
1816-1820, who were also chaplains at Newgate prison. There have
been frequent changes of ministers since then. The Rev. Joel H.
Lindsley, who found tlie church in 1865 in a very reduced condition,
owing to quarrels and dissensions arising from the questions of the
war, did much to revive it and to endear himself to the people. At
that time the church building was renovated and improved. The pulpit
is now supplied by the Rev. D. A. Strong.

The Methodist church at Copper Hill was built in 1839, and in 1859
was thoroughly repaired, and moved about five rods westward. Like
all Methodist churches, it has had regular changes of pastor. In the

1 This curious and very interesting map is now in the State Library in the Capitol in Hart-
ford, and would be reproduced here in fac-simile but that its peculiar proportions make that
impossible. It is a topographical and genealogical chart for a considerable part of Simsbury as
then settled.

EAST GRANBY. 79

ministry of Lemuel Richardson, in 1871, there was an extensive revival
of religion, attended with remarkable manifestations. The writer, at a
single evening meeting in the church, which lasted from seven o'clock
until midnight, witnessed as many as fifteen persons who became appar-
ently unconscious. Some were stretched upon the floor; others were
lying or being supported upon the seats. This visitation of "the Spirit"
was regarded as a great blessing, and it certainly did strengthen the
church in numbers. Mr. Richardson was a large, powerful man, full
of strength, zeal, and boldness, and possessed of a strong, loud voice,
which he used in singing as well as in preaching and prayer.

The celebrated Simsbury copper-mine, where afterward was located
for fifty-four years the Connecticut State prison called Newgate, was
first known to the inhabitants of Simsbury in 1705. Two years later
there was an association of such proprietors of the town as chose to
subscribe to articles of agreement for the purpose of opening and work-
ing it. The location of the mine was about a hundred rods from the
west ledge of the Talcott Mountain, at its highest point in East Granby,
which is a point nearly as high as any in the same ridge in the State.
The position is one of much picturesqueness and beauty. The period
of greatest mining activity was from 1715 to 1737 ; during these years
it was carried on in face of great dangers and greater discourage-
ments arising from the newness of the country and the want of proper
facilities of every nature pertaining to the business. The articles of
agreement under which the subscribing proprietors, in 1707, under-
took to work the mine, provided that, after deducting the expenses of
the work, there be allowed to the town ten shillings on each ton of
copper produced, and the residue be divided among the proprietors in
proportion to their subscriptions. The company only dug the ore ;
they did not undertake to smelt and refine it. In the same year they
entered into a contract with Messrs. John Woodbridge, of Springfield,
Dudley Woodbridge, of Simsbury, and Timothy Woodbridge, Jr., of
Hartford, all clergymen, who agreed to run and refine the ore, and
cast the metal into bars fit for transportation or a market ; and,
after deducting the tenth part belonging to the town (of which two
thirds was to be given for the maintenance of an able schoolmaster in
Simsbury, and the other third to the collegiate school of Yale College),
the residue was to be equally divided between them and the proprie-
tors, or workers of the mine. The legislature, in 1709, passed an act
vesting the right to control all matters relating to tlie mine in the
major part of the proprietors, according to the interests of each ; and
it was under arrangement with this organization that mining opera-
tions were carried on until the State began to use the mine as a prison.
The act also provided for the adjudication of all matters in controversy
between any and all persons connected with the mines, by a board of
commissioners. During the mining excitement companies, organized in
Boston, in London, and in Holland, expended large sums at Copper
Hill. Governor Belcher, of Massachusetts, said in 1735 that he had
spent £15,000 there. The mine most improved, and where the great-
est excavation was made, was the one purchased for a prison. The
most extensive workings, aside from those on Copper Hill, Avere known
as Higley's mine, situated a little more than a mile southward, on

80 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

land now owned by Hilton Griffin, and nearly west of the old vine-
yard gap in the mountain, where upon the map of ancient Simsbury
Mr. Higley's house is seen to have been located. Mr. Edmund Quincy,
of Boston, had a company of miners working here at the outbreak of the
Revolutionary War ; soon afterward the works were abandoned. About
1737 Samuel Higley, here referred to, manufactured a rude copper coin
which to some extent circulated as a representative of value in the

vicinity, and has since been
known as the Higley Copper.
The coins are said to have
passed current for " two and
sixpence ; " presumably in pa-
per, because their intrinsic value
was only a penny. They were
not all of one device ; but one
now in the Connecticut His-
A HIGLEY COPPER. torical Socicty, at Hartford, is

here represented by engravings,
showing both sides. Such a coin has now a cabinet value of perhaps
a hundred dollars. The interest in the mines was very much abated
after 1737. Of the ore dug, a considerable part Avas shipped to Europe ;
some of it arrived safely, and was smelted. One cargo was reported
lost in the English Channel, and one captured by the French. About
1721 smelting and refining works were built and secretly operated (to
what extent is unknown) at a place in West Simsbury called Hanover
by the Germans, who were then conducting the business. The locality
has since retained the name.

At the May session of the General Assembly, in 1778, William
Pitkin, Erastus Ellsworth, and Jonathan Humphreys were appointed a
committee to " view and explore the copper-mines at Simsbury " with
regard to the fitness of that place for a prison, and after their favor-
able report they were authorized to obtain possession of the property.
Tliey bought up a mining lease that had nineteen years to run, and
prepared the place to receive prisoners. The legislature gave it the
name of Newgate. Burglars, horse-thieves, and counterfeiters were
liable to be sent there to work in the mines. John Viets was the first
master, or keeper, of the prison. The first convict, John Henson, was
received Dec. 22, 1773, and escaped on the 9th of the next month.
The history of the prison is a long record of escapes, uprisings,
fires, and other troubles, although it early acquired the reputation
of a very secure place, as appears by General Washington's refer-
ence to it.i In 1777 the prisoners were all taken to the Hartford
jail, and probably the prison was not used again until 1780, when it

1 Letter from General Washington to the Committee of Safety, Simsbury.

Cambridge, Dec. 11, 1775.
Gentlemen, — The prisoners which will be delivered you with this, having been tried
by a court-martial, and deemed to be such flagrant and atrocious villains that they cannot by
any means be set at large or confined in any place near this camp, were sentenced to be sent
to Symsbury in Connecticut. You will therelbre be pleased to have them secured in your jail,
or in such other manner as to you shall seem necessar}', so that they cannot possibly make
their escape. The charges of their imprisonment will be at the Continental expense.

I am, etc.,

George Washington.

EAST GRANBY.

was rebuilt, and the prisoners were set at other work than mining.
Previously they had mined ore, which was sold by order of the legis-
lature. There was another sweeping fire in 1782, and the place was
then abandoned until 1790. A new prison was completed in October,
1790, and ]\Iajor Peter Curtiss was appointed keeper. Tiie heavy wall
about the premises was built in 1802. The prisoners were confined

NEWGATE PRISON IN 1802.

below ground ; many of them wore iron fetters, and tradition has it
that some were chained to rings in the wall. There was a treadmill
under one of the buildings, which the convicts operated.

All the prisoners were finally removed to Wcthersfield, on the 1st
of October, 1827, and the prison buildings and land were sold shortly
afterward to persons interested in mining operations. The history
of Newgate has been written out with great detail by Noah A. Phelps.
After the abandonment of the property by the State for prison pur-
poses several efforts were made, without success, to carry on the min-
ing of copper. No considerable amount of ore was reduced, and the
experiments were abandoned in 1859. Since then the mines have
served only to afford a curious interest to those who visit the place
on account of its associations as the former prison of the State. Its
buildings are now far gone to decay, and soon nothing but crumbling
walls of stone will mark the place, once famous alike for its hidden
treasures of copper and for being the first substantial stronghold for
the criminals of the colony.

Few communities have been less subject to change of inhabitants
than East Granby. Its lands are excellent, and those who are engaged
in agricultural pursuits have very much to encourage them to remain.
Of the families shown upon the map of ancient Simsbury to have
been first settlers in the place, those of Clark, Phelps, Holcomb,

VOL. II. — 6.

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

)%U ?

'4\

K^'

■Bll

"!//'

NEWGATE PRISOlSr AS IT NOW APPEARS.

Griffin, Stephens, Alderman, and Owen have always had successors of
their respective names living in the town ; and of Thomas Stephens,
Samuel Clark, Joseph PheljJS, and John Plolcomb, their lineal descend-
ants, Frederick F. Stephens, Charles P. Clarke, Richard H. Phelps,
and Morton Cornish, are each respectively occupying the homestead
estate of his ancestor.

Elmore Clark, now seventy-eight years of age, has been the clerk of
the town since its organization, and occupies the same house built by
his ancestor, Joel Clark, in 1746. Isaac P. Owen, recently deceased,
was the last representative by name of that family in the town ; he, too,
occupied the homestead of his first ancestor in East Granby, and while
living in the same house represented the towns of Windsor, Windsor
Locks, and East Granby, in the legislature of the State. The families
of Moore, Clark, Owen, and Forward came directly from Windsor to
settle in East Granby ; while tliose of Higley, Pliclps, Holcomb, Viets,
and Cornish came to the place from Lower Simsbury, where there was
a settlement, mostly by Windsor people, more than forty years earlier
than in the parish of Turkey Hills. In the death of Alfred Winchel, in
1879, that family name ceased to have a representative in East Granby.
Dr. John Viets, the ancestor of one of the now most numerous families
in the town, is said to have come to Simsbury in 1710, being physician
to a mining expedition from Germany. Tliere seems to be some reason
to question the accuracy of this date, because at that time the copper-
mines had hardly begun to attract attention from abroad ; and further,
because his name does not appear upon the ancient map made about
1730. His grave is in the cemetery at Hop Meadow, in Simsbury.
His son John was the first keeper at Newgate, and was probably the first
of the family who lived within the limits of East Granby. The family
names of Viets and Cornisli do not appear upon the parish record of

EAST GEANBY. 83

Turkey Hills until 1743 and 1744 respectively ; those of Gay and
Thrall in 1751 and 1754. The first representative in town of the Gays,
was Richard, who came from Dedliam, Mass., and ever since there
have l)eon here lineal representatives of that name. The name of
Bates is one prominently associated with the town since 1747, when
Lemuel 13ates came from Long Island, learned the saddler's trade, and
built the house now occupied by his grandson, William H. Bates. The
names of Hillyer and Skinner are not found upon the parish register
until 1779. Colonel Andrew Hillyer, the father of Charles T. Hillyer,
of Hartford, was probably settled in Turkey Hills about 1774. He was
then a young man, a graduate of Yale College, — had served imder
Colonel Lyman, in the English campaign of 1760, against the French
in Canada, and was also a soldier in the expedition of Lord Albemarle
against Havana. Such was the fatality by sickness in that ex})edition,
that he was, with one exception, the sole survivor of fourteen persons
enlisted from Simsbury. He was one of the first to respond to the
patriotic call to arms in the War for Independence ; a lieutenant at
Bunker Hill, he served throughout the war, holding successively the
commissions of lieutenant, captain, and adjutant. His grave is in
the old cemetery at East Granlw. After the removal to Hartford of
General Charles T. Hillyer in 1853, no representative of that family
remained in town.

Of the many persons born in East Granby who have obtained dis-
tinction in ))usiness and professional life, perhaps no other has merited
and attained to the renown of Walter Forward. He was the fourth, in
order of birth, of ten children born to Samuel Forward and Susannah
Plolcomb. The place of his birth (which occurred Jan. 24, 1783) is
shown upon the map of ancient Simsbury. He lived in Turkey Hills,
receiving only the advantages of a common-school education, until in
1803 he removed with his father to Aurora, Ohio. Walter immediately
went to Pittsburg, Penn., attended for a short time an academic school,
studied law with Judge Young, and was admitted to })ractice at the age
of twenty-four. While engaged in his law studies, in 1805, he also
edited the " Tree of Liberty," a Jeffcrsonian paper, at Pittsburg. His
success as a lawyer was immediate, and he soon ranked high in his
profession. In 1822 he Avas elected to Congress, where he served
three terms in succession. In 1837 ho Avas a valuable member of the
Constitutional Convention of the State. In 1841 he was appointed by
President Harrison first Comptroller of the Treasury ; and by John
Tyler made Secretary of the same.. After retiring from the secretary-
ship of the Treasury he resumed the practice of the law, in which he
continued until appointed by President Taylor Charge d' Affaires to
Denmark, a position which he resigned to accept that of Presiding
Judge of Allcffhany County. This latter he held at the time of his
death, in 1852.''

He was a man of most kind and generous nature, and interested
himself to aid his younger brothers to education and position. His
brother Chauncey,born in 1793, studied law in his office, and settled in
Somerset, Penn. He was a member of both houses of the legislature
of Pennsylvania, and three terms, from 1825 to 1831, a member of Con-
gress. The daughter of Chauncey Forward became the wife of the
Hon. Jeremiah Black, who also studied law in the office of Walter

84 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Forward, at Pittsburg. Two sisters, Hannah Forward Clark and Betsey
Forward Fowler, lived to the advanced ages of ninety-eight and ninety-
seven years respectively.

Of those born within the limits of East Granby, who have achieved
great wealth and prominence in business affairs, may properly be men-
tioned Anson G. Phelps and George Robbins, of New York City, Allyn
Robbins, of Chicago, and General Charles T. Hillyer, of Hartford.

The following persons, residents of the town, were soldiers in the
War for Independence : —

Colonel Andrew Hillyer, Hon. Samuel Woodruffe, Isaac Owen, Lemuel Bates,
Mathew Griswold, Eoswell Pheljjs, Richard Gay, Joel Clark, Reuben Clark,
Zoplier Bates, John Forward, Hezekiah Holcomb, John Cornish, Asahel Holcomb,
Thomas Stevens, Jesse Clark, Joseph Clark, John Thrall, Luke Thrall, David
Euo, Reuben Phelps, and Samuel Clark.

Soldiers in the War of 1812 were : —

Dan. Forward, Joseph Cornish, AppoUos Gay, Orson P. Phelps, Calvin
Holcomb, Alexander Hoskins, William K. Thrall, Erastus Holcomb, Gurdon
Gould, Peultha Clark, Uiiah Holcomb, Elihu Andrus, John G. Munner, Alexan-
der Clark, Abiel Clark, Chandler Owen, Sardius Thrall, Charles Buck, Elihu
Phelps, Ephraim Shaylor, William Rockwell, Joseph Dyer, Jesse Clark.

The widows of Joseph Cornish and Gurdon Gould, aged respectively
eighty-five and ninety-four years, are now living in town, and are
pensioners of the Government.

Citizens of the town who enlisted as soldiers in the War of the
Rebellion were : —

Colonel Richard E. Holcomb, Leeds BroAvn, Oliver K. Abels, Francis V.
Brown, AYesley J. Fox, William W. Morgan, Lafayette F. Johnson, Henry H.
Davis, Corporal Sidney II. Hayden, Robert Holmes, James Odey, Lewis S.
Porter, Delos R. Pinney, Daniel W. Griffin, Homer Russel, Edward W. Pierce,
Nelson W. Pierce, Newton P. Johnson, Lieutenant Edward Pinney, Sergeant
Eugene C. Alderman, Corporal Henry W. Davis, C'orporal Emery M. Griffin,
"Wagoner John 0. Holcomb, Lyman J. Barden, Luther W. Eno, Henry E.
Griffin, James Bo}de, Tryon Holcomb, Webster B. Latham, Alexander Patter-
son, Alfred A. Phelps, Lewis C. Talmadge, Charles W. Talmadge, and James
Jackson, — 31.

The town furnished more than one hundred men to the service ; but
the above list is believed to include all who were residents at the time
of their enlistment.

NMAJn-U^^^^ KqJ^£uM^

VIII.
EAST HARTFOED.

BY JOSEPH 0. GOODWIN.

THE town of East Hartford has a population of 3,500. It covers an
area of about five miles in extent north and south, and about
three and one half miles east and west. Fertile meadows lie
along the Connecticut River from the northern boundary of the town
to the Hockanum, and half a mile below this stream the land again
descends to the meadow level. On the eastern edge of the meadow the
ground rises fifteen feet or more to the upland. The town as a whole
is quite level. It is crossed from east to west by the Hockanum River,
running tortuously, and, below Burnside, through a shallow valley of
pasture-lands. The surface of the town is further seamed by the
courses of several brooks, crossing the town in the same general direc-
tion with the Hockanum. Spencer Hill, a fine rounded knoll south-
east of the village of Burnside, and Great Hill, covered with foi-est, just
north of it, are among the most prominent elevations. There are sev-
eral other moderate undulations, affording a gentle relief from the
general level. The soil is a sandy loam, easily tilled. A hidden ledge
of sandstone underlies the falls at Burnside and extends southerly sev-
eral miles. It is said that the first settlers found the town, excepting
its meadows, covered by a forest of white and yellow pine. The eastern
half of the town is now partly covered by wood.

The principal aboriginal occupants of this town were the Podunks,
a small clan numbering from sixty to two hundred bowmen, — the
lower estimate probably being nearer the truth. Their principal ])lace
of habitation was along the Podunk River at the northern boundary of
the town. Certain rights of territory reserved to them in the meadows
here were recognized by the General Court, which ordered a fence about
it in 1(350, at the cost of adjacent proprietors. Here they spent their
summers beside the well-stocked river, cultivating their slender crops,
— passing their winters in sheltered lodges by the inland streams.
The valley of the Hockanum and the adjacent uplands were also favor-
ite haunts of the Indians, their abundant fish and game affording an
easy sustenance, while the skins and furs of animals provided a ready
means of barter with the Dutch or English. Fort Hill, a promontory
})rojecting southerly into the valley about a quarter of a mile east from
Main Street, was once a stronghold of the Podunks. It had a ditch
and palisades across its northern side, cutting off approach except
through the swam]>. Several of their burial-places have been discov-
ered in South Windsor, one lying near Main Street a little north of the
East Hartford town line, from which numerous relics have been taken.

86 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Skeletons have been dug up near Colt's Ferry, and many stone relics
have been found in the fields adjacent to their haunts. The Indians
in peaceful times shifted their lodging-])laces as the presence of game
or spots fit for their rude tillage invited them. The meadows, kept
partly cleared by their autumnal fires, attracted the deer and perhaps
other large game, and afforded rich interval-lands for their maize and
beans. They "drove" the woods in the fall for their winter's supply
of provisions ; and their quests for grapes, nuts, acorns, herbs and
roots, and their still-hunts and trapping-circuits, made them familiar
with this whole region.

One of the first among the Indians to invite the Enalish here was
Wahginnacut, a Podunk, who went to Boston, and afterward to Plym-
outh, in 1(331, desiring their aid against the Pcquots, who had driven
the Podunks from their lands. The Indians freely gave up their lands
here to the English, expecting nothing but good from the presence
of such shrewd and powerful allies ; nnd the young colony early as-
sumed a sort of tutelary care of the savages, which their lawless natures
soon found rather irksome ; but the courts protected their rights, and
arbitrated in their continual differences. The most famous of their
troubles was their quarrel with Uncas, the Mohegan, and Sequassen,
chief of the Hartford Indians, concerning the killing of a sagamore
by a young Podunk. By request of Uncas the parties came jjcfore tlie
magistrates at Hartford. The blood of the murderer and that of his
friends was demanded ; but the Podunks offered wampum in rej)ara-
tion, claiming that the slain sachem had murdered the young man's
uncle. After much persuasion by the English, Tantonimo, the one-
eyed chief of the Podunks, agreed to deliver up the murderer, but
instead stole away to Podunk Fort, at Fort Hill. Upon this the Eng-
lish gave them over to their own devices. Uncas assembled his war-
riors, but was met near the Hockanum River by Tantonimo with a
nearly equal force. He threatened to Ijring the dreadful Mohawks upon
the Podunks, and left without hazarding a battle. He afterward em-
ployed a crafty warrior to fire a Podunk wigwam and to leave Mohawk
weapons upon his trail. These the Podunks found, and in alarm gave
up the murderer and sued for peace. The quarrel was brought to the
notice of the Commissioners of the United Colonies of New England,
who, in September, 1657, ordered that " Uncas bee required to j/mit
the Podunk Indians to returne to their dwellings & there abide in })eace
and safety w*out molestation from him or his."

The English were also solicitous for the spiritual interests of their
savage wards. According to De Forest, the Podunks " were the first
Indians of Connecticut Avho had an opportunity of hearing the preach-
ing of the gospel." In 1657, John Eliot spoke to their assembled
chiefs and great men in their own language, in the meeting-house in
Hartford. At the close he asked them whether they would accept
Christ or not. They scornfully replied, "No; you have taken away
our lands, and now want to make us y(jur servants ! " The Rev. Mr.
Woodbridge, the first minister here, says, with a strong inter])rcta-
tion of Divine justice, that these scoffers all died soon after, and that
in his day (1683-1746) not one remained. The reserved rights of the
Indians to certain lands in Podunk, part of which Tantonimo had bar-
gained or leased to Thomas Burnham and Jacob ]\Iygatt in 1658, were

EAST HARTFORD. 87

the subject of numerous orders by the Court. There Avere conflicting
claimants among the whites to these lands. The looseness and munifi-
cence with which the tatterdemalion sons of the forest gave away their
airy title to vast tracts of land is shown by the will of Joshua, third son
of tineas. His wife was Sowgonosk, daughter of Arramamet, a Podunk
chieftain. To the wedded pair the latter gave all his lands in Podunk,
entailing them to his daughter s children, or to her nearest heirs by
English law. This laud Joshua, at his death in 1675, willed to his two
sons, with remainder to his two squaws. His administrators, in con-
sequence of a prior agreement of his, in 1682 deeded the '^ five-miles
tract," now Manchester, to the town of Hartford.

The Podunks, mainly friendly to the English, became disaffected in
1675, and joined Philip in his hopeless attempt to exterminate the
white men, and few of them ever returned to this neighborhood. At
this time grim dangers surrounded the young colony. The people
were ordered into garrisons, — in our borders at Thomas Burnham's in
Podunk, and at Mr. John Crow's on the meadow hill near the south-
meadow road The enemy came into Hockanum and sorely wounded
William Hills, and scouting-parties were sent out to find the enemy.
Some of our residents were engaged in the Narragansett war, Obadiah
Wood receiving a wound. A few only of the Podunks remained upon
their reservation in 1677, and the Court divided the land between them.
These after a time sold out their interests, which appear to have been
wholly in the meadows, and in 1723 the record speaks of the last claim-
ant to their lands De Forest says a fragment of the tribe was living
on the Hockanum in 1745, but in 1760 had disappeared, merging into
the Pequots or the tribes in the western part of the State. Stories of
later visits from Indian families, returning for a time to camp in this
neighborhood, however, remain. The assault on Deerfield in 1704 led
to renewed precautions against the Indians. Four forts were ordered
to be built on this side the Great River. Of these, one was erected
near Mr. William Pitkin's on the meadow hill, looking toward Hart-
ford ; but it was the subject of no assault.

The town of Hartford once included in its l)oundaries the territory
of the present towns of East Hartford and Manchester. Deeds from
the Indians of all its land have been preserved, excepting of the terri-
tory now covered by East Hartford. A deed of this was probably given,
as allusions to its purchase occur in the records of early lay-outs and
distributions of the land. The history of this territory (long known as
the " three miles " tract), and of the " five miles " purchase, made later,
is included in that of Hartford until 1783, when these two sections were
made a separate town, Avith bounds extending from the Great River
to the Bolton town line, and known as East Hartford. The original
boundary of the town of Plartford on this side the river on the south waj5
" att the' mouth of Pewter pott Brooke att the lower side of Hoccano,
and there to run due east into the Country 3 miles;" and on the north,
at " the Riverett's mouth [l)y the Indians called Podanke] that falls
into the saide greate River of" Conectecott, and there the said Hartford
is to runn due east into the Countrey."

The lands on this side were at first owned in common, the proprie-
tors' interests being proportioned by their share in the expenses of the

88 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

purchase from the Indians, and by other considerations. In 1672 the
bounds of the town of Hartford were extended eastward five miles to
include the tract bought from " Joshua Sachem." It was voted to divide
this tract among the inhabitants, " according to the disbursements of
ech person paid in list of 1682 ; " but a general division was not made
until 1731, the lands lying mostly in common until that time. Early
use was made of the meadow and the three-mile purchase on this side
the river, and the hay and grain were carried across in boats, or in
carts at times of low water. The meadow-lands were divided ])rior
to 1640, for meadow and plough lots, and the owners were ordered
to set bounds in them in July of that year. The land was divided into
two sections, known as the north and the south sides, by a line drawn
east and west near the present Hockanum Bridge. The land south
of this line was reckoned Avorth more than that north of it by a ratio
of 105 to 100. The southern ])art of the town was generally known
as Hockanum, the northern as Podunk. Those in Hartford who
lived north of the Little River shared in the northern division, and
those who lived south of it in the southern division ; although some
of the latter, owing to the smaller quantity of meadow in Hocka-
num, took meadow in the northern division. Special grants were
given to poor men and others, not propi-ietors ; and large grants of
timber-lands w^erc made, to encourage the building of mills upon the
streams.

Pounds were established here prior to 1641, and hogs were re-
stricted from running at large on this side the river. A fence was
appointed along the meadow swamp next the woodland in 1644.
A vote dated Jan. 11, 1640, ordered a division of the three-mile
tract, extending from the meadow hill eastward ; but it was not for-
mally divided until June 12, 1666. The order of the division Avas
determined by lot, the first lot lying next to Windsor bounds, and so
successively. The numlier of north-side distributees was sixty-six, —
their shares ranging from five hundred and ninety acres doAvn to twelve
acres, their division going " to the divident lyne between the north
and south side of the river." The land south of the river, before
division, was owned by sixty-five proprietors, their proportions ranging
from two hundred acres down to four. After the allotment, many of
the proprietors sold their shares ; a number, probably, to those Avho
had already settled on the land.

One of the first roads laid out through the toAvn ran along the edge
of the meadow hill, fording the Hockanum at a convenient point not
far from the mouth of the present Gulf. Part only of this road is
in use to-day. The meadow hill commands a view of Hartford, and
was the site of most of the earlier houses. A road from the Connecti-
cut River crossed the meadows to the above-described road, and is
the present north-meadow road. From the earliest settlement a road
extended northward through the meadows to Podunk and Windsor.
Main Street was laid out in 1670. It had no bridge over the Hocka-
num until the year 1700. Others of our principal roads were not for-
mally made town roads until a later date, though many of them were
early used. The road eastward to the mills (now Burnside Avenue)
was not laid out until 1722, but was used from the first settlement.
Silver Lane was laid out in 1728, but was a thoroughfare earlier. The

EAST HARTFORD. 89

Connecticut River was crossed by a ferry, leased in 1681 to Thomas
Cadwell, and a scale of prices established.

The dates of the earliest houses upon this side the Connecticut River
are uncertain. Among the most prominent of the early settlers were
the following; : —

Richard Risley, of Hockanum, who died in 1648. The inventory of
his property appears in the records of the colony.

William Hills, of Hockanum. He was assaulted and wounded by
the Indians in Hockanum in 1675.

Edward Andrews settled in Hockanum, near the mouth of the river
of that name, about 1657.

Thomas Spencer built on the north corner of Main and Mill streets.
He died in 1687.

Mr. John Crow, one of the largest land-owners, and one of the few
who had " Mr." attached to his name, lived on the meadow hill, near
the south-meadow road. He was one of the settlers of Hadley in 1686,

William Pitkin, progenitor of tlie Pitkin family — so i)rominent in
tlie affairs of the colony — settled on the meadow hill, north of the
present railroad, about 1659.

Thomas Buridiam was made a freeman in 1657. He practised before
t\iQ courts as an attornev. He settled in Podunk.

John Bidwell, a partner of Joseph Bull, and with him owner of a
saw-mill at Burnsidc, probably settled here about 1669.

William Warren, who lived on Main Street, below the Hockanum,
was made a freeman in 1665.

Sergeant Samuel Gaines appears on the rec(Hxls in 1667.

Lieutenant John Meakins came here before 1669.

Richard (-ase was made a freeman in 1671. The last three persons
bought land of the original grantees.

Thomas Trill, a soldier of the Narragansett war, was tlie first person
buried in our Centre Burying-^^round.

Obadiah Wood was also a soldier of 1675. His is the first stone set
in the Centre Burying-Ground (1712).

William Buckland came here before 1678. When the north-meadow
road was made puldic

he lived on it, close a ^ J ^^r ^ y^ /)

by the site of the old y}^/i^2(^^7 ^f^C^PU^^^

James Forbes lived
in Burnside in 1688. This section was until 1865 known as Scotland,
deriving that name from the Forbes family, which was of Scotcli origin.

WilHam Roberts married the dauo-hter of James Forbes, and added
land to liis wife's property in 1688. He lived on the meadow hill mid-
way between the bridge road and
^^-T — - j/ . . the south-meadow road.

J I In cylj^ ^ ^)-72/ \jr\ Deacon Timothy Cowles appears

t/ on the records in 1695. He lived

just south of Gilman's Brook,
on the east side of Main Street.

^ixrn:!

7 r-=^ ^ on tne east sme oi Mam istreet.

^ v^^'^^AZ^f-^t-^ Deacon John Goodwin lived

^^Z *" npnr flip ripnfrp Rnrvincr-Grnnnd

near the Centre Burying-Ground
about 1703.

90 MEMOEIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Lieutenant Thomas Olcott, Jr., settled at Hop Brook (now in Man-
chester), and kept a hostelry there (1711). The Olcotts bought land
in the three-mile tract shortly after 16G6.

Deacon Joseph Olmsted (1699)

J^Pn n ^J^€ t /- r\ f<xrL ^^^'^^l on the meadow hill at
q^<rW'H. QJUi^t^Ji^ the northwest angle of Prospect
* Street.

Jonathan Pratt, a tanner (1730),

/J lived on the west side of Main

C^C^^iAA h 'IZ^C^ Street, north of the old meeting-

Hezekiah Porter, selectman for
the east side of Hartford in 1707, lived in Hockanum.

Nathaniel Stanley (1720) resided in the north part of the town.
A full list of settlers and early inhab-
itants would comprise many other names .v^Cs^ ^ Y
than these, most of them honorably perpet- *^ ^\^ MCnC'iHy^
iiated in our town to-day.

Tlie inhabitants on this side the Great River had a share in the
offices and government of the town of Hartford, and some of our citi-
zens conspicuously served the colony and
the State. Local officers were early ap-
pointed on this side as haywards, fence-
viewers, surveyors, listers, etc., and from
about the year 1707 they were alloAvcd a
selectman of their own. In 1749 sign-posts were ordered in the
towns ; tlie one placed in the Centre was popularly known as the
whipping-post, its use for the legal application of the lash being
remembered by persons now living.

The town bounds with Windsor (now South Windsor) were in dis-
pute from 1675 to 1719, when the line was settled, and the heirs of
Thomas Burnham and William Williams were given three hundred
acres in the northwest corner of the Five Miles to make good to them
" what Windsor line had cut off their upland lots."

No burial-place was established on this

side the Great Eiver until Jan. 1, 1710,

z-^^yrs /c* . when John Pantry deeded one acre in

^4J\ Sbi^L^j

what is now the Centre Burvino;-Ground

to the town of Hartford for that purpose.
The two burying-grounds in Hockanum date from about 1776.

The petition of the inhal)itants asking for the " liberty of a minister"
among them was dated May, 1694, and in October of that year per-
mission was given. The society was known as the Third Ecclesiastical
Society of Hartford, and included all of the town of Hartford on this
side the Great River, — now the towns of East Hartford and Manches-
ter. All persons living on this side were to pay their rates toward its
maintenance. The earliest preserved record of a meeting is of one
held Dec. 29, 1699, wdien a committee was appointed " to see about the
meeting-house" — probably already begun. A rate of threepence in the
pound was laid, — one penny payalde in corn, the rest in work if any
chose. The meetinii-house was built on a little hill which once hlled the

EAST HARTFORD. 91

triangle formed by the roads at the north end of the Hockanum cause-
way. It was not fully completed for several years. In 1707 a rate of
<£45 was voted for •' seating- and sealing- " the meeting-house, two thirds
payable in timber delivered at the water side of the meeting-house. In
1713 galleries were built, and in 1718 four green casements ordered for
the south windows. The structure was very plain, and was used until
about 1740. A minister's house was begun in 1699, and a rate of
£200 was laid to com]:)leto it. It was built on the west side of Main
Street, not far from the meeting-house.

A committee was early ai)pointcd to " dignify the meeting-house "
by assigning seats to each family according to dignity, age, or impor-
tance in tlie rate-bill. A rate of three halfpennies in the pound was
laid in 1*399, " to satisfy the Rev. John Reed for his pains in the min-
istry auKjng us, and to defray charges about providing for him." The
following year an invitation to settle was extended to him. This he
did not accept. He afterward preached at Stratford, and later prac-
tised law in Boston, and was comited the most celebrated lawver in
New England before the Revolution.

The Rev. Samuel Woodbridge, a graduate of Harvard, was ordained
here JVIarch 30, 1705. His salary was X60 a year ; and the society gave
him the minister's house and =£25 with which to complete it after the
walls were "' filled up," on condition that he '' continue with us during
his life, or that it be not his
fault if he remove out of the -^ .

place." He was a man of abil- ^ J ^^^

ity, and was honored and be- \^0ATU. .'
loved b}' his people. A rate of
<£9 in addition to his salary
was voted, payable in firewood delivered at his door. He preached the
Election Sermon in 1734. His health became uncertain about the year
1736, and the society declined to pay his salary. This, however, the
General Assembly directed them to do. He died June 9, 1746, aged
sixty-three years. During Mr. Woodbridge's pastorate the first meeting-
house was replaced by a new one. It occui)ied nearly the exact site of
tlie old l)uilding, and had horse-sheds built near it on the north, east, and
southwest sides. Like its predecessor, it was a plain building with green
blinds, and had neither belfry nor chimney. Stoves (save foot-stoves)
were not introduced until 1817, when the pipes were run out at the
windows. The stoves at first gave great annoyance, complaint being
made of headaches, and of the warping of the back combs of the
women, until it was discovered that no fire had yet been kindled in
them. The new meeting-house had galleries around three sides. At
the west end was the high antique pulpit, with its dome-like sounding-
board overhead. The fioor and gallery were provided with square,
box-like pews, — the corner ones over the stairs for the colored slaves
or servants. The singers sat in front, all around the gallery. The fre-
quent high water in the Hockanum valley near the old meeting-house
made the maintenance of a ferry there on Sundays and lecture-days
necessary, and the society made annual appropriations for its supjDort
for many years.

Mr. Woodbridge was succeeded in the ministry by Mr. Eliphalet
Williams (afterward D.D.). Mr. Williams's pastorate was a long and

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

useful one, extending through fifty-five years (1748-1803). He was
a typical old-time divine, — reverenced by the old and regarded with
something like awe by the young. A printed sermon on " the late
terrible earthquake " (1755), and other literary work of his, have been

preserved. He preached the Elec-

p. y A AAP ff ' \A'^r\. Sermon in 1769, and in Octo-

^^,^2;^^- "fK C^Ci-'/'^'rv.-^ ber of that year the funeral sermon

^ of r4overnor Pitkin, before the

assembled dignitaries of the colony. His house, — large, unpaiiited,

gambrel-roofed, — near the site of the old mceting-liouse, still stands, a

fine example of the better class of houses of a hundred and thirty years

^¥^m'ma0f^::"'- ■ ■■■■%

DR. WILLIAMS S HOUSE.

ago. Mr. Andrew Yates was ordained as colleague of Dr. Williams in
1801. He was " a man of wide learning, of strong sense, of simple,
loving heart." ' He was a warm friend of the children, who in his day
were gathered once a year and reviewed upon the Westminster Cats-

Cy/:rZy6^^z-

-zx^^-i^^^X^^c^

chism, then taught in tlie schools. Mr. Yates was a sturdy opponent
of the use of intoxicating liquors at a time when most ministers were
habitually tolerant of them. At a ministers' meeting at his house
he set out decanters as usual, saying, " Brethren, here is rum, gin.

EAST HARTFORD. 93

brand3% laudanum, — all poison. Help yourselves ! " He was dis-
missed in 1814, to return to the professorship which he had previously
held in Union College.

Various " supi)lies " filled the pulpit until the settlement of Mr.
Joy H. Fairchild in 1816. He was dismissed in 1827. Mr. Asa Mead,
a graduate of Dartmouth College, was settled here in August, 1830.
He died in October, 1831.

The Rev. Samuel Spring, D.D., came here in January, 1833, and min-
istered faithfully until December, 1860, when his ill health led him to
resign. Afterward the society voted him an annual sum for a num-
ber of years, and held him closely in ^ — .
tlieir affection with a regard wliich his fcp^ /> f^^ '
death, in 1877, did not annul. Dr. Bur- 'Ju^M^C^ d^^ThyT^^
ton said of him, " A model i)reacher, //

whom to have heard was a pleasant and ^

abiding remembrance." Early in Dr. Spring's ministry the society built
their present meeting-house at the head of the Bridge Road. In 1876
it was injured by fire, and the interior was remodelled. A tower clock
and new bell were presented to the society in 1878 by Mr. Albert C.
Raymond.

Mr. Theodore J. Holmes succeeded Dr. Spring in the ministry in
1861, and served until 1872. From 1863 to 1865 he was absent as
chaplain of the First Regiment Connecticut Cavalry, Mr. Walker
preaching during his absence. Mr. Holmes was dismissed, to accept
a call to a church in Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Frank H. Buft'um
was settled here in 1873 and dismissed in 1876. After liim the
Rev. Theodore T. Munger filled the pulpit for a little more than
a year. Mr. Richard Meredith was installed in April, 1878, and
resigned in 1883.

The inhal)itants of the Five Miles (now Manchester) were released
in 1748 from so much of their minister's rate as would procure them
preaching at home for the winter season. In 1763 they petitioned to
be made a separate society ; but owing to disagreements the petition
was not granted till nine years later. Their further history is con-
nected with that of Manchester.

Toward the close of the last century the Baptists and the Method-
ists began to obtain footing here, and drew some away from the Con-
gregational churches. Meetings were lield at Esquire Elisha Pitkin's
house, — called for its hospitality the ministers' hotel, — at Benjamin
Roberts's, and elsewhere. Inhabitants living in the old societies became
exempt from their rates by presenting certificates showing that they
helped support the gospel among the new sects. The defection of the
old church-members, caused partly by the hard theology of Dr. Wil-
liams, aroused a feeling of deep solicitude in his mind, and he pub-
lished, with honest faith in its efficacy, a |)amphlet dialogue, " Sophro-
nistes : persuading people to reverence the ordinances of God in the
teachings of their own Pastors. Hartford : 1795."

The Hockanum Methodist Episco])al Church ol)tained land for
its present meeting-house in 1837. Its people became a separate
charge in 1816. The church edifice has lately been enlarged and
improved.

The first meeting-house for the Methodist Episcopal Church in

94 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Scotland, now Burnside,^ was a plain unpainted structure, built prior to
1834. It stood just east of Mr. William Hanmer's house. The present
meeting-house occupies a site given by Mr. George Goodwin.

The Baptists held meetings for a time in the old school-house in
South Burnside. There is now no church of this order in town.

Grace Church was organized in Burnside in 1854 as a Protestant
Episcopal Society. A little chapel south of Mr. Agis Easton's house
was fitted up and used. Meetings were afterward held in Elm Hall,
on Main Street, and the society was reorganized as St. John's Parish.
The stone church on Main Street was begun in 1867, and completed
under the fostering care of Mr. John J. McCook, its present rector.

St. Mary's Church includes all the Roman Catholics in this town
and a part of South Windsor. It became a separate parish in 1873,
and its first service was held in Elm Hall. Its church edifice on Main
Street was completed in 1877.

The Hockanum Ecclesiastical Society (Congregational) is a recent
organization. Part of its members were once connected with the old
First Society. Its meeting-house was completed in 1877.

Memorial Hall, a commodious chapel built by Mr. W^illiam G. Com-
stock, on Locust Hill, north of his residence, is freely open to public
use for religious purposes without regard to sect or class.

The inhabitants living on the east side of the Great River, in tlie
town of Hartford, unsuccessfully petitioned the General Assembly to
set them off as a separate town as early as 1726. The petition was
renewed from time to time until January, 1783. In October of tliat
year it was granted. The reasons given for asking for town jjrivileges
were the six, eight, and ten miles of travel necessary to many of the
people, and the difficulty of crossing the Great River at some seasons
in order to exercise their privileges as freemen, and the very respecta-
ble number of their population, — 2,000 in 1774, with a property list of
X19,000. The total population of Hartford at tliat time was 5,031.
The area incorporated was bounded west on the Connecticut River,
east by Bolton town line, north by East Windsor town line, and south
by Glastenbury town line. The new town was to share Avith Hartford
in all moneys due, stock on hand, if any, and in debts owing, and in the
poor belonging to the old town. To it also was granted the privilege
of keeping one half the ferry across the river, subject to the jjleasure
of the General Assembly. The officers of the old town, dwelling in
the new, Avere to continue in their respective offices until others were
chosen. The two selectmen then living on this side (Daniel and Rich-
ard Pitkin), with an assistant, or a justice of the peace, were to warn
the inhabitants to meet on the second Tuesday of December, 1783, at ten
o'clock, A.M., in the meeting-house in the First Society, to choose town
officers, and to transact any other business proper to the toAvn-rnecting.

The Hon. Colonel William Pitkin Avas chosen moderator of the meet-
ing. Daniel Pitkin, Richard Pitkin, and Captain Samuel Smith Avere

1 The name of Scotland was changed to Burnside in 1862, when it was made a post-station,
there being ah-eady one Scotland in the State. The name was chosen because of its perti-
nence, signifying in Scotch a huriis side, and was suggested by Miss Susan Goodwin, after-
wai'd Mrs. Henry L. Goodwin. The earlier name was given to it l)y tlie Forbes settlers, who
were of Scotch descent.

EAST HARTFORD. 95

chosen selectmen ; and Jonathan Stanley, town clerk and treasurer, —
offices which he held for eighteen years.

This first town-meeting was held in the old meeting-house which
stood near the north end of the Hockanum causeway, and town-meet-
ings have been held in the meeting-houses of the First Society ever
since. In 1813, and afterward, they alternated here with the meeting-

^a^^^y^tH^tX^ifCit/h. ^^^^fe^-Z-^ Q*^^ ^ti.

to%\.

house in Orford Parish (now Manchester Centre). When the present
meeting-house was built, the town gave the society one thousand dol-
lars for the permanent use of the basement for town and electors'
meetings. The manner of voting in the early meetings was by a ris-
ing vote upon all questions. Representatives were separately chosen by
ballot in 1787. From 1837 both were voted for on one ballot.

The number of paupers in our town has always been comparatively
small; still, there has constantly existed the inevitable necessity of
providing for the incompetent and the unfortunate. In 1787 the town
voted to build a house for its poor on land bought of Daniel Pitkin.
Thirteen years later this house was sold, and the poor ordered "let out"
to the persons " that will keep them cheapest where they will be com-
fortably provided for." In 1823 the present town-farm in Hockanum
was purchased for a work-house and poor-house combined. A fire origi-
nated in the " tramps' room " in 1877, destroying the house. A com-
modious building has since been erected on its site. A pest-house Avas
built on this side the Great River in 1761, on land of John Goodwin,
three fourths of a mile east of Main Street, on what is now known as
Pock-House Hill. Later a hospital was built upon the same site by
Dr. Hall and Dr. Flagg, who had the town's permission (September,
1791) to " set up inoculation for [with] the small-pox."

The town's share in the ferry over the Connecticut has been to it a
source of litigation and trouble. In the early days it was often some-
thing of a tax to the people to maintain it. Afterward it became a
source of revenue, the town selling the privilege at vendue. In 1839
it was voted to loan at interest the surplus received. In 1805 there
were two ferries, one probably crossing to Ferry Street and one to
State Street, in Hartford. The boats were run by horses working in
treadmills on board the boats.

The Hartford Bridge Company was incorporated in 1808, its charter
stipulating that " nothing in said act shall now or hereafter injure said
[ferry] franchise." Its unsuccessful efforts to buy the privilege of the
towns, however, were followed by its procuring the passage of an act
suppressing it in 1818. The town persisted in urging its claims until,
in 1836, the right to keep the ferry was restored to it. The Bridge
Company secured its suppression again in 1841. The town oljtained a
fresh grant of it in 1842, when the C(unpany carried the matter to the
courts. The decision was that the new grant of the ferry to the town
was in violation of the State's contract with the Bridge Company in
1818, which abolished the ferry ; and the amount of damages awarded

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

was Ji<12,3(33.36, whicli the town had to pay. Acts have since been
passed to provide for the purchase of the bridge and causeway by the
neighboring towns, but as yet with small result.

THE HARTFOKD BRIDGE.

Prior to 1708 there were no public schools on the east side of the
Great River in Hartford. In that year the Ecclesiastical Society peti-
tioned the General Court to allow them to improve their part of the
school rate among themselves for a writing and a reading school.
Two years later the Rev. Samuel Woodbridge, Mr. Samuel Wells, and
Mr. William Pitkin were appointed to hire a schoolmaster and to im-
prove the school money. A school-house was ordered " built and set
up in y® most convenient place between y® meeting-house and y® house
of David Forbes," — a little way north.

Two school-houses were established in 1718, — the north one on
Main Street, a little south of the lane that led to Deacon Joseph Olm-
sted's, now Prospect Street. It was sixteen by eighteen feet, " besides
the chimney space." The one south of the Hockanum was sixteen by
sixteen feet. The master's time was divided between the two schools,
" according to the inhabitants from an east and west line from the
bridge on Hockanum River," and but one teacher was employed for
many years, even when the number of places for schools was increased.
In 1721 the schools cost the society £9 12s. M. A master was hired
for five months, a dame for the other six months of the school year.
For a time the parents of the children i)aid a share of their tuition and
furnished the wood ; in 1730 the society assumed all the expenses,
voting for that purpose .£22 bs. 6c?. in 1731.

A school was first allowed in Scotland (now Burnside) in 1735, and
in 1751 its school-house was ordered set up " in the Centre between
the house of John Bidwell and Timothy Spencer on the country road."

EAST HARTFORD. 97

The second school-house, in what is now the Centre District, was
built near the meeting-house in 1748. This year it was also voted that
the schools on Main Street be divided into three parts as nearly as
miffht be. A school was granted at the north end of tlie town between
Giiman s Brook and John Gilnian's house in 1750 ; and the following
year one near the Olcotts and Simonses on Hop Brook, in the Five
Miles. On this last date (1751) changes were made in the sites of the
schools heretofore established, and four were ordered on Main Street,
as follows: one at Hockanum, north of Pewter-Pot Brook on the west
road (Hockanum District) ; one near Silver Lane (Second South Dis-
trict) ; one near Bidwell's Lane (now Burnside Avenue) ; one north of
Gilman's Brook. The two divisions north of the river were each to
take one half of the old school-house on that side, and the two divi-
sions south of the river Avere to divide the old school-house there
between them. At the same meeting four additional places for schools
w^ere designated in the eastern part of the town and in the Five Miles.
The society was divided under the new law of 1766 into districts, —
four on Main Street and one in Burnside, — which, under a commit-
tee appointed by the society, managed their own affairs. A distinct
district was formed of the southeast part of the present town in 1768.
This was divided into the Southeast and South Middle Districts in
1857. In 1779 the society divided the two districts north of the Hock-
anum into three districts, — now the North, Second North, and Centre,
— the latter until 1795 including the present Meadow District. Long
Hill District, in the northeast corner of the town, was set off in 1819.
In 1837 it was made a union district with District No. 6 of South
Windsor.

The schools were first supervised by the School Society in 1796. It
was identical with the old Ecclesiastical Society, except in name, but
was formed for the purjiose of receiving the income of our jiresent
State school fund, and its records were kept separate from those of
the old society. It yearly appointed the school committee, as the old
society had done, until 1839, when the districts Avere made corpora-
tions, and chose tlieir own officers. Then it had a general supervision of
the schools and their funds until 185(3, when the school societies were
dissolved through the State and the towns assumed their functions.

An English and Classical School Association was formed about the
year 1833, and erected the academy building on Main Street, a little
south of Burnside Avenue. The school obtained a good patronage at
first, but prior to 1858 the enterprise was abandoned. Among its
pupils were the Hon. Richard D. Hubbard, since Governor of the
State, and the Rev. I. N. Tarbox, D.D., who has won reputation as a
writer and poet.

The Hockanum and its tributaries, and several smaller streams in
the present towns of East Hartford and Manchester, furnished a number
of good water-powers, and these were early made use of by the settlers
in preparing their abundant timber for building, and in grinding their
grain for food and flax-seed for oil. Large grants of timber were made
to those who established mills. William Goodwin and John Crow set
up the first saw and grist mill on the north side of the lower fall
at Burnside, in 1639. This mill was afterward owned by the Pitkins,

VOL. II. — 7.

98 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

who also acquired the contiguous sites, and the locality became known
as Pitkin's Falls. The Pitkins used a part of the lower fall for a
fulling-mill, the old grist-mill there having been constantly maintained
until within a few years. Opposite the grist-mill, on the south end of
the dam, a mill used first for nail-cutting, but soon afterward as a
saw-mill, stood from 1808 to 1869. The title of these mills passed to
George Goodwin & Co. in 1826. They used part of the power for paper-
making. It is now owned by the Hanmer & Forbes Company, who
manufacture manila paper.

On the middle fall, just east of the above, John Bidwell and Joseph
Bull erected a saw-mill before 1669. They had a large land-grant, with
liberty to take timber out of the next commons for the improvement of
their mill. This site was used for one or more mills from that date,
there having been a fulling-mill (owned by the Pitkins) next the bridge
in 1690. In 1784 it was a paper and fulling mill, with a saw-mill just
below. It passed through several hands, and was wholly given to the
manufacture of paper before 1851. It is now used for making fine
writing-papers by the East Hartford Manufacturing Company.

The site above the Burnside bridge was leased by William Pitkin to
Thomas Bidwell and others in 1690. They built a saw-mill on the south
side of the river. This was burned, and the Pitkins erected a saw and
corn mill in its place. Hudson and Goodwin used it for a paper-mill
in 1789, an oil-mill standing opposite on the north side of the river.
The latter had been made into a paper-mill before George Goodwin pur-
chased both mills in 1815. The south mill has been enlarged, and the
manufacture of book-paper is now carried on by F. R. Walker & Son.

Prior to 1671 Secretary John Allyn had a saw-mill on the fall, a
mile east of Burnside, and was granted one hundred acres about it, with
the privilege of taking timber from the commons. Iron-slitting was
undertaken here in 1747 by Colonel Joseph Pitkin, who had the sole
privilege in the colony for fourteen years, and the site was known
as The Forge. Parliament suppressed iron-working in the colonies
three years later. By a grim sort of justice the power was turned
to the manufacture of gunpowder, to be used against the home govern-
ment in 1775 and in 1812, and was used at different times for that
purpose until the close of the late Rebellion. After the Revolution,
William Pitkin, having suffered losses in the manufacture of powder for
the public use, was given the sole privilege of making snuff' in the State
for fourteen years without taxation. A forging-mill was again estab-
lished here for a time, and anchors, mill-screws, nail-rods, etc., were
made. The two guns of the old artillery company were cast and bored
at this mill, — the gift of Elisha Pitkin, Esq., to the company. The site
is now owned by the Hartford Manilla Company, who have erected
a large mill for paper-making.

A saw-mill was set up on Hop Brook (South Manchester) in 1673,
by Corporal John Gilljert ; and other industries arose on the streams in
the eastern part of the town, now Manchester.

Frog Brook, at the south end of the town, has been used for several
mills.

Pewter-Pot Brook, north of Frog Brook, was early used for a saw-
mill, whose site on Main Street was improved for a grist-mill in 1802,
and is still used for that purpose. On this brook, north of Brewer Lane,

EAST HARTFORD. 99

was an oil-mill in 1802. Willow Brook was once used in nail-making.
A tannery stood just south of this brook on the east side of Main Street.
Other tanneries have been operated in this town ; one of the largest was
establislicd by Asahel Olmsted near the meadow hill north of the rail-
road. This was operated, until about 1831, by Selah Webster. Ashbel
Warren and Isaac Lester had a tannery on the north side of Silver Lane
in 1820. Many shoes were then made in this neighborhood, and agents
were sent to the South to sell them.

The culture of the Morus midticauUs trees, and the raising of silk-
worms, assumed a considerable importance in this town about fifty years
ago, and a number of breeding-houses were built. Some silk was pro-
duced, reeled off by hand, and sent to the mills in Mansfield or South
Manchester and manufactured. The worms, however, died in great
numbers ; and while some who sold their trees before failure became
apparent made comfortable fortunes, the venture proved ruinous to
most who had engaged in it.

Hat-making once afforded some business to our townspeoi)le. A
factory was situated on Main Street, east of the old meeting-house site,
and obtained its power from the Hockanum, then dammed east of this
place. Here hats were made by processes patented by the Pitkins,
mostly for the Southern market. Close to this factory there was once
a mill for grinding grain and plaster and for carding wool.

Seventy-five years ago several clothiers' sliops existed in town, the
fulling of the goods being done at the Burnside mills.

Bricks have from the early days been made at various- localities.
A manufactory of watches and silver-ware was built by the Pitkins
about the year 183-1 on the west side of Main Street, south of the
railroad-crossing. Tn it was made the first watch manufactured in
America. It was burned in 1880.

Steam, grain, and saw mills once stood on Mill Street, a little way
from Main. During the Rebellion a stone steam " shoddy " mill was
erected on Main Street, north of the railroad-crossing. Twice burned
out, it was finally abandoned and removed.

In the old days, horses, mules, hats, shoes, and produce were shipped
from landings along the river to the West Indies and coastwise ports,
and sugar, molasses, rum, coffee, and spices brought back. At that
time many of our citizens followed the seas as captains and traders, and
brought back breezy tales of far-off lands to our firesides. Through
them most of our shopmen obtained their stores.

The city of Hartford now affords a good market for fruit, vegetables,
etc., and its tobacco warehouses, together with those on this side the
river, furnish a ready market for the excellent tobacco that is grown
in town.

The town has three post-offices. That of East Hartford was estab-
lished in 1806, with Lemuel White, Esq., as postmaster ; his office
stood on the site of the present post-office. Hockanum was made a
post-station in 1851, Burnside in 1862.

It has been the fortune of our inland town not to have any of the
dreadful scenes of war enacted within its borders. Although its early
people shared in the frequent Indian alarms, and maintained garrisons
and forts for fear of the savages, there is but one recorded instance of

100 MEMOKIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

bloodshed on its territory, — that of the wounding of William Hills at
Hockanum by an Indian in 1675. Stories of the killing of prowling
Indians are celebrated in the traditions of some of our old families, but
nothing rising to the dignity of a border skirmish has a claim upon our
historian's pen. Yet oui" citizens did not sit apart from the momentous
contests of their time ; they organized efficient military companies, and
on distant fields obtained a lively taste of war. The early necessities re-
quired every man to be a soldier, and compulsory training was promptly
enforced. In 1653 the inhabitants on the east side of the Great River
were required to meet there as William Hill should ai)point, and train
together on their training-days. This was the first of the annual or
semi-annual training-days on this side the river ; the succession of
wdiich continued until the adoption of the commutation system in later
years. At times the musters showed a disorderly gathering of military
subjects, indifferent to everything except escaping their fine, and given
often to burlesquing soldiery in shabby clothing, with brooms or corn-
stalks for muskets, — often barefooted, and with bandaged toes, thus
winning the name of East Hartford Rag-toes. Again a better spirit
prevailed, and the companies uniformed themselves and marched with
shining weapons and showy uniforms to the muster-field. The remem-
brance of many brilliant field-days on our meadows and on Upper-quag
plains, and on the field back of Phelps's tavern, are treasured in the
memory of our older citizens. The military sj)irit evidenced by the
local organizations frequently displayed itself on fields of danger. For
the expedition against Crown Point, in April, 1755, a company was
organized under Lieutenant-Colonel John Pitkin, comprising eighty-
three officers and men. It w^as in the service twenty-eight weeks ; and
although the fort was not reduced, the expedition resulted in the
sanguinary defeat of the French and Indians in the battle of Lake
George.

In the events which led to the Revolution our people took an active
interest; and when they heard of the outbreak at Lexington, in April,
1775, they speedily organized a company of forty-nine officers and men
under Lieutenant-Colonel George Pitkin, which that month marched to
Roxbury. Some of tliese volunteers served with ardor later in the war,
as did many of our citizens. Of these, a number lost their lives in battle
or by disease contracted in the service or upon the pestilent prison-
ships at New York ; others served upon the sea. Captain Gideon
Olmsted, captain of a French privateer, was ca])tured and taken to
Jamaica. There he was sent aboard the sloop " Active " with a valuable
cargo for New York, to aid in working the vessel to that port ; but with.
three fellow-prisoners lie rose and captured the vessel, and claimed it
as a prize of war. Count Rochambeau, with his troops, rested here
when on his way from Newport to join General Washington on the
Hudson, in June, 1781. His army, 15,000 strong, camped on the field
north of Silver Lane. Their stay was marked with much good feeling,
and was a memorable event for our townspeople, — the " hard money "
of the French giving the name to Silver Lane. The Count lodged at
the hospitable mansion of Elisha Pitkin, Esq., wlnle other officers were
received in other houses. The meeting-house was used as a hospital.
The French encamped here again on their return across the State in
the fall of 1782 ; this time on the meadows north of the north-meadow

EAST HAETFORD. 101

road. Scows were impressed by the State for their passage over the
Connecticut River, and the selectmen of the towns were ordered to
make all necessary jH'ovisions for them.

The War of 1812 called a number of our citizens away from their
homes. The artillery company (Captain Amherst Reynolds and thirty-
one men and officers) went to New London and served in the forts from
August 3 to Sept. 16, 1813. Some of our seafaring citizens assisted
the Government by ])rivateering enterprises during this war. Captain
Ozias Roberts and Dr. William Cooley embarked under Captain Josiah
Griswold, of Wethersfield, in the " Blockade." It met with little
success, and was captured by a brig-of-war, and the crew confined
in a prison-ship at the Rermudas. Dr. Samuel Spring, prior to his
beginning the ministry, was a merchant and sea-captain, and was cap-
tured by the British off Chesapeake Bay, and his vessel burned.

To the calls for troops in the War of the Rebellion (18G1-1865) our
citizens responded with alacrity, two thirds of the three hundred and
eleven men furnished going as volunteers, and receiving generous boun-
ties and assistance for their families from the town. The town also
freely assisted the drafted men to procure substitutes to take the field
in their places. It expended over -^70,000 to fill its quotas under the
different calls from the President for troojjs, and issued bonds to the
amount of -$41,750, most of which are now paid. A fine freestone
monument stands in the Centre Burying-Ground, erected in 1868 to
the memory of those killed in the war.

This town has few societies. Orient Lodge No. 62, of Free and
Accepted Masons, was first chartered Sept. 8, 1822. It holds its
meetings in Bigelow Hall, the use of this hall having been given by the
late William Bigelow.

The Village Improvement Society was chartered in January, 1879.
It holds in trust the ground known as Raymond Park, until such time
as the Raymond Library Association shall be organized, as provided in
Mr. Albert C. Raymond's will, when the trust is to be transferred to
that association, to which Mr. Raymond has given $17,000 for the
establishment of a public library upon the Park.

To the list of distinguished citizens which our town may claim by
virtue of their residence upon its soil the Pitkin family has given an
unusual number of names.

William Pitkin, ]u-ogenitor of all of the name of Pitkin in this
country, was born in Marylebone, near London, England, in 1635. He
came to Hartford in 1659, and a year >'^ ^

later began school teaching, — being ^jl)'C^O' C^' Li/ "^

thereto encouraged by votcs'and grants {^^t^O/l^ l/i p^-m
of money by the town. He was ap-
pointed attorney for the colony in 1664. He bought land on the east
side of the river in 1661, and was one of the most prominent planters.
He filled many public offices with ability, and was conspicuous and in-
fluential in the affairs of the colony. He was a member of tlie General
Court from 1675 to 1690, except for a short period. His wife was
Hannah, daughter of Ozias Goodwin. His sister Martha married
Simon Wolcott, and was ancestress of seven governors.

His son, the Hon. William Pitkin, a lawyer by profession, like

102

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

his father, held important offices, and was one of the Council of
the colony from 1697 until his death, a period of twenty-six years.

He was judge of the
probate court and of
the county court ; and
in 1711 was made a
judge of the Supe-
rior Court, and in
1713 its chief justice.
He owned mill-seats
on the Hockanum,
and carried on an
extensive business,
transferring it final-
ly to his sons Wil-
liam and Joseph.
Ilis wife was Eliza-
beth Stanley.

The Hon. Ozias
Pitkin, brother of
the above, was often
elected to the legis-
lature. He was a
member of the Coun-
cil nineteen years.

(rovernor William
Pitkin, son of Wil-
liam Pitkin (2d),
was brought up in
business by his fa-
ther, who also gave
him the benefit of
his knowledge of
public affairs. He rose, by force of demonstrated capacity, from the
office of town collector (1715) to the chief magistracy of the colony
(1766), holding that office until his death, in 1769. Captain of the
trainband in 1730, he
became colonel of the
First Regiment in 1739.
A writer says, " Gov-
ernor Pitkin was tall, of

commanding appearance, and highly affable and pleasant in his man-
ner." He was a strong ad-
of colonial rights, and
;'m stand against the
unpopular measures of Great
Britain secured for him a majority over Governor Fitch, so great, says
the " Connecticut Gazette,"
that the votes were not count-
ed. In the administration of
justice he began as justice of
the peace and of the quorum in 1730. He presided as judge of the

MRS. MARY LORD PITKIN.

(FROM A PADJTI>G IN WADSWORTH ATHEN.EUM GALLERY.)

/^^^_p^i^ o^m

, ner."

MAJOR SAMUEL PITKIN

EAST HARTFORD.

103

county court from 1735 to 1752 ; was chosen judge of the Superior
Court in 1741, and cliief justice and deputy-governor in 1754. His
wife was Mary Woodbridge.

Pitkin,

(iovernor,

lAZ^irL^

Colonel John
brother of the
was lieutenant-colonel of
the First Regiment, raised
for the expedition against
Crown Point and Canada
in 1755.

Colonel William Pitkin, son of Governor Pitkin, was major of the

First Regiment of colonial forces raised for the expedition against

^^ Canada under General Abercrombie in

J g/^ j^^y^^t^— 1758. He was a member of tlie Council

/Xy ^^^'^/^XHy^^^^ ^^ Safety during the greater part of the

Revolutionary War. In 1784 he was
elected to the Congress of the United States. A determined and ener-
getic patriot, he took part in a very interesting period of our history,
and as a business man was largely connected with manufacturing
enterprises in East Hartford.

Colonel George Pit-
kin, son of Governor Pit-
kin, was prominent in

the militia of the State. y^ (

In 1775 he was com- /f ^^

mandant of the Fourth

Regiment of minute-men, and marched with his command to Roxbury
during the siege of Boston.

Major Samuel Pitkin was town clerk
and treasurer for thirty-five years, and
represented his town in the legislature thirteen times.

^^^ General Samuel L. Pitkin, son of

/"^/y / Major Samuel Pitkin, was a graduate

/^ J^ L^jC^^O^ of West Point ; he rose from the local

^^^l/^Tlr^^^ t^^^^^f^/^t/ military company to the office of

major-general (First Division, 1837),
and two years later was Adjutant-General of the State.

The Hon. Colonel Joseph Pitkin, brother and partner of Governor
Pitkin, held many important offices, and showed unusual ability in
promoting and extending the manufacturing enterprises of the town.
Captain of the trainband in 1738, he was raised to the colonelcy of the
First Regiment in 1751. He ^— .

was a justice of the peace and y fy^ ' yX'^

a judge of the county court, V^^^^ oCCU^^i^?Z~

and representative m the co- p'Cy\y^

the co-
lonial legislature for twenty
years. His first wife was Miss
Mary Lord, daughter of Richard Lord, Esq., and great-granddaughter of
John Haynes, the first governor of the colony. His second wife was
Miss Eunice Chester, daughter of the Hon. Colonel John Chester, of
Wethersfield. His third wife was Madam Eunice Law, widow and fifth
wife of His Excellency Jonathan Law, of Milford, once governor of

104

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Connecticut. This third marriage of Colonel Pitkin was also the third
marriage of Madam Law, her first husband having been Samuel An-
drew, Esq., of Milford. She was the only daughter of the Hon. John
Hall, of Wallingford. Colonel Pitkin's house, built about 1724, still
stands on Main Street, just north of the railroad-crossing, in a some-
what altered condition. He died Nov. 3, 1762, aged sixty-seven years.

Elisha Pitkin, Esq., son of Colonel Joseph and Mary Lord Pitkin,
was largely engaged in trade and manufacturing, and had a store beside
his residence, near the old meet-
ing-house. He was graduated at
Yale in 1753, and married Han-
nah Pitkin, daughter of Samuel
and Hannah Buel Pitkin, and niece of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Buel, of
East Hampton, Long Island. They had eleven children. His house
was noted for its hospitality, and known not only as the " ministers

:'^i^#
^^«|il

^^^^s^^^^

' '^^ ^'Zr'j.^^^ ?

THE ELISHA PITKIN HOUSE.

hotel," but as one of the popular places where the people passed their
gossipy Sunday noonings, and replenished their foot-stoves at its ample
kitchen hearth. Under its spacious roof Count de Rochambeau lodged
during the stay of the French army here. For many years Mr. Pitkin
was prominent as a trial justice, and his judgments were firm and
usually unquestioned. But he was not above a bit of humor now and
then. A family named Evans became so notorious for petty crimes
that their neighborhood was dubbed Pirate Hill. A fresh culprit was
brought one day before 'Squire Pitkin, and, as a preliminary, told to
give his name. He answered, "• Evans." " Guilty, then ! " said the
justice. In East Hartford they still say of an offender with a bad name
and small chance of acquittal, " His name is Evans, and he has got to
go." Mr. Pitkin died in 1819, aged eighty-six years.

EAST HARTFORD. 105

General Shubael Griswold, a merchant of this town, was a man
of much natural ability, and well fitted to take a leading part in public
affairs. He was town repre-
sentative twenty-four times be-
tween 1794 and 1824, and ^ ,. , . -^

honorably active in military C^^y^^„c„c^^i-£M^ J^t^t^c^c
matters.

Colonel Jonathan Wells, of Hockanum, was usefully employed in
the militia during the Revolution. He was appointed to committees

of supply and inquiry, and in 1776
x<^_ ■'•JJ- — ^/^^y^ was o-iven the command at New
Q^iTTtu^^^^:^^ ^iC^^ LondSn, Groton, and Stonington.

yy The late Hon. Richard D. Hub-

Cr bard, of Hartford, was once a resi-

dent of this town, and a student at its academy. He represented the
town in the legislature in 1842 and 1843.

Henry Howard Brownell, distinguished as a poet, and especially for
his stirring " War Lyrics," written while serving as ensign under
Admiral Farragut in his famous naval fights during the late war, was
a resident of this town. His brother, Clarence M. Brownell, M.D.,
died in 1862, while exploring the source of the White Nile.

Anthony Dumond Stanley, son of Martin and Catharine Van Gars-
beck Stanley, of this town, was graduated at Yale College in 1830.
He was a tutor in that college for four years, and filled with signal
ability the Professorship of Mathematics for seventeen years. A man
of many brilliant qualities, he won the love and esteem of all who knew
him. He died March 16, 1853, at the age of forty-three years.

Denison Olmsted, son of Nathaniel Olmsted, and a native of this
town, was also a graduate of Yale College (1813), and was afterward
Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in that institution.
The text-books of which he was the author were widely used. He died
May 13, 1859.

The public-houses of a town are closely connected with its history.
They furnish a meeting-place for the dignitaries, and for the populace
upon occasions of common interest. In them were held the festive
gatherings, the political conferences and primary meetings, and in front
of them usually assembled the military subjects to be put through their
annual training. The halting-place of stages and of travellers, they
were the centres of gossip and intelligence from the outer world, and
here the villagers gathered to absorb and carry away the latest informa-
tion. Here too, perchance, they paid homage to the occasional distin-
guished guest who tarried for the night.

The General Court early recognized the necessities of strangers who
"■ are straightened for want of entertainment," and ordered " ordina-
ries " to be kept in the towns by some " sufficient inhabitant."

The first ordinary mentioned (1648) on this side of the river was
kept by John Sadler, in Hocka-
num, on the country road toward
New London.

In 1710 Philip Smith was
given liberty to keep a public-house, and probably its site was on the

f^^i^f, s^i IL

106 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

meadow hill near the south-ferry road, where storm-bouud or flood-
delayed passengers would be grateful for its shelter.

Mr. Thomas Olcott was licensed a year later to keep a house of
entertainment at Hop Brook, in Manchester.

Benjamin's Tavern was a noted and " newsy " stage-post during the
Revolution. It stood on the north corner of Main and Orchard streets.

Later, Woodbridge's (afterward Well's) Tavern, on the east side of
Main Street, became the chief hostelry. In 1817 President Monroe
lodged here. The President was called upon by General Griswold and
most of our first citizens, while outside the drum-and-fife corps of the
artillery company made the air throb and thrill with a lively serenade.
To his callers the President was very gracious, declaring, among other
things, that our street elms were the finest he had seen.

The Phelps Tavern (first established by Richard Goodwin), once
standing on the south corner of Mill and Main streets, came into vogue
a little later. Here General Lafayette halted with his escort in 1824,
and passed through its portal, upon his crutches, for a short rest.

Pitkin's Tavern was maintained for many years on the bank of
the Connecticut, near the ferry, where belated travellers might find
shelter.

The present hotel in the meadow was once kept by Joseph Pantry
Jones, an old captain of our infantry company, and was a popular resort
during the field-days of the militia upon the meadows.

Tripp's Tavern, midway on the Bridge Road, with its once famous
punches, and the Jacksonian vigor of its politics, is still well remem-
iDcred, though in other hands its ancient character is lost.

Many other public-houses have afforded entertainment to the passing
stranger, and places of evening resort to the bibulous or gossipy citizen.
Among these was one by Levi Goodwin (about 1800), at the junction
of the main streets, south of Gilman's Brook, — all the scenes of old-time
gatherings, of stirring interest at the time, but now as remote as the
glow of the tavern hearth-fires, which no longer, as of old, warm the
genial flip-iron to dissipate the late comer's chill.

£^. ^

IX.

EAST WINDSOR.

BY THE REV. INCREASE N. TARBOX, D.D.

EAST WINDSOR was not incorporated as a separate township until
the year 1768 ; but for more than one hundred and thirty years
before tliat date events had been shaping themselves toward its
existence. The town of East Windsor existed in embryo from 1630,
when a company of people, one hundred and forty in number, organized
into a church at Plymouth, England, under the pastoral care of
Mr. John Warham and Mr. John Maverick, set sail for the Xew World.
Settling first in Dorchester, Mass., and remaining there six years, the
major part of them then removed and planted the town of Windsor,
Conn. The territory embraced in this ancient township was some twelve
miles square, divided nearly equally by the Connecticut River. The first
settlers located themselves on the west bank of the river. But the
fields on the eastern side were fair and fertile, and were destined ere
long to be occupied ; and so, in due time, the town of East Windsor
came into existence.

According to ancient tradition, the first man in Windsor who ven-
tured to go over and build his house upon the eastern shore was John
Bissell, who is believed to be the ancestor of all persons in this coun-
try bearing his family name. Years passed on, and the settlements
on the easterly side of the river advanced slowly. Indians abounded
in all that region ; and though these river Indians were generally
friendly and peaceful, yet there were warning signs and tokens which
made families fearful about taking up their residence at points remote
from the main settlement. Indeed, it was not until after King Philip's
War (1675-1676), when the Indian pride was thoroughly humbled, that
there was any general movement to occupy the fertile meadows and
uplands skirting the eastern banks of the river.

In the year 1680 there went over a family from the western to the
eastern side of the river, that proved, in after years, to be one of the
utmost importance. This was the household of Simon Wolcott, con-
sisting of himself and wife and nine children, of whom the youngest
was Roger, then an infant a year old. Simon Wolcott was himself
the youngest son of Henry Wolcott, the founder of the Wolcott family
upon these shores. There was no man connected with the Windsor
plantation of higher family rank and social standing, according to the
current English ideas, than Henry Wolcott ; and as all the people of
the plantation were then fresh over from England, the English ideas
of honor were in full force. Simon Wolcott was only five years old at
the time of his father's coming to this country, in 1630. He was left

108 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

behind in En,i»land with his two sisters, and these three joined their
kindred in Windsor about the year 1640, when Simon must have been
fifteen years old. He was first married to Joanna Cook, in March,
1657. She died in the month of April following. The facts connected
Avith his second marriage were romantic and peculiar. In the year
1659 a gentleman of standing and character came over from England
and settled in Hartford. His name was William Pitkin. Two years
later his sister, Miss Martha Pitkin, came from England to make him
a visit, expecting, after a little stay, to return to her ow^n country. She
was then twenty-two years of age, attractive in her person, of accom-
plished manners and fine culture. The wise men and women of the
Connecticut plantations put their heads together to contrive a plan by
which she might be permanently detained upon these shores. In the
superb volume recently published, entitled the " Wolcott Memorial,"
there are a few sentences on page 53 from the pen of Dr. Thomas
Robbins the antiquarian, which tell the story thus : —

> " This girl put tlie colony in commotion. If possible she must be detained ;
the stock was too valuable to be parted with. It was a matter of general consul-
tation, what young man was good enough to be presented to Miss Pitkin. Simon
Wolcott, of Windsor, was fixed upon, and, beyond expectation, succeeded in
obtaining her hand."

The youngest of the nine children who were the fruit of this marriage
was, as already stated, Roger Wolcott, born Jan. 4, 1679, of whom more
W'ill be said later.

By the year 1694 the people living on the east side had become so
numerous that they had prevailed (after some previous ineffectual at-
tempts) in obtaining leave of the General Court to establish separate
worship. This liberty was granted May 10, 1694, in answer to a peti-
tion signed by forty-four men,
ryi" f .^ A i^ inhabitants upon the eastern

2io^yi}^U Qv^iff-fS^^y^ side of the river. Some of the

leading names upon this peti-
tion were Nathaniel Bissell, Samuel Grant, Samuel Rockwell, Thomas
Stoughton, John Stoughton, Simon Wolcott. Permission being thus
given for the establishment of a

separate religious society on the ^^^^-^^Icc^JVUrfA^ biiCt^A
east side of the river, which ter- ^^S--"^^^^ u^ ^1/%.^

ritory then went under the gen-
eral name of Windsor Farme, the services of the Rev. Timothy Edwards
were secured in the November following, and he commenced his labors
yf, M among this scattered people. Before bcgin-

rh^Mt P>L // i^i"g ^^is ministerial work he had been united

J'^^^d "^MiyfU in marriage, Nov. 6, 1694, to Esther Stod-
^^ dard, daughter of the Rev. Solomon Stoddard,

of Northampton, and granddaughter of the Rev, John Warham, the
first minister of Windsor. Thus began a ministry which in many
respects was one of the most notable in the whole liistory of New
England.

Timothy Edwards was the son of Richard Edwards, of Hartford.
He was born May 14, 1669, and was graduated at Harvard College in
the class of 1691, witli a very high rank as a scholar. His father built

EAST WINDSOR. 109

for him a dwelling-house which was unusually costly and substantial for
that period, and which was standing in the early years of the present
century. This house stood less than a mile south of what is known as
East Windsor Hill. The families to which ^,^--^- ^^
Mr. Edwards ministered were scattered upon ^J^^tYLr' ri^tJo^j'^
one long winding path a little way back ' *~^

from the Connecticut meadows, which reached from the Hartford town
line, four miles below his home, to a nearly equal distance above. This
road, which at the first was only a rude bridle-path, was gradually
enlarged and improved, as the years passed on, until it came to be
known as The Street, — a name which still continues in common use,
and which distinguishes this from all other roads in the vicinity.

In times past it has been commonly supposed that a church was
organized here in 1694, and that Mr. Edwards was at that time or-
dained and set over it as its minister. But later investigations show
that Mr. Edwards preached here some years before the organization of
the church, and before his own ordination. In the colonial records of
Connecticut it is made plain that no church existed here May 14, 1696,
two years after Mr. Edwards began to preach, as leave was then given
to " the inhabitants of Windsor living upon the east side of the great
river . . . with the consent of neighbor churches to embody themselves
into church estate." Though the liberty to organize was thus given by
the General Court, still there were long delays before the work could
be effected. John Alden Stoughton, Esq., in his recent volume entitled
" Windsor Farmes," has shown conclusively that Mr. Edwards was not
ordained until near the close of May, 1698. Under date of May 28,
1698, he finds in the account-book of Captain Thomas Stoughton
" An account of provition laide in at the house of Mr. Edwards for his
ordination."

At length the inhabitants of Windsor on the east side of the great
river secured the'ir separate parish and church, and the first organic
steps were taken looking toward the future existence of a separate
town.

The space allotted will not admit of lingering here upon the mi-
nute details of Mr. Edwards's ministry, which was extended to more
than sixty-three years. That parish developed some remarkable men
and many notable events. Some examples in illustration of this fact
will more naturally, perhaps, be presented in the historical sketch of
South Windsor.

The next movement looking towards separate organization on the
east side was the formation of the parish and church in what is now
Ellington, in Tolland County. This district constituted the northeast
portion of the town of Windsor, and was known as the Great Marsh.
The name was probably given in the days of ignorance ; for the terri-
tory covered by the town of Ellington is exceedingly fair and grace-
ful, spreading out in agreeable curves and attractive landscapes. The
earliest settlement upon this territory was not until 1717 ; but a few
years later there was a considerable population gathered there, so far
away from Mr. Edwards's church that it was altogether reasonable they
should seek to establish separate worship among themselves. This sec-
tion of the town was also called Windsor Goshen. As early as 1725
the following vote was passed by Mr. Edwards's parish : " That the

110

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

inhabitants at the Great Marsh shall be freed from their parts of Mr.
Edwards's salary for the year past, provided they do on their own cost
provide themselves a minister to preach the gospel to them from this
present time till the first day of April next." By the year 1732 this
matter came before the General Court. A period of several years inter-
vened between the beginning and the end of the movement looking
towards the formation of a separate society in Windsor Goshen. The
records, if copied in full, might be tedious ; but the result was at last
reached. At the October session of the General Court in 1735 the
committee reported in favor of the memorialists, and action was taken
accordingly.

A few years later there was still another earnest call for division
and the creation of a new parish. The territory between the Scantic
River on the south and Enfield on the north had so filled with inhab-
itants as to make a parish north of the Scantic River quite needful.
Accordingly, at the May session of the General Court in 1752, after a
full presentation of the case, the following action was taken : —

" Resolved by this Assembly, that the aforesaid Second Society of Windsor
[Eev. Mr. Edwards's parish] be, and it is hereby, divided into two distinct ecclesi-
astical societies."

Already we have three ecclesiastical parishes on the east side of the
river in Windsor, but as yet the ancient town of Windsor is one and

unbroken. Moreover, before the
town of East Windsor shall be or-
ganized there is to be still another
formation, of a somewhat peculiar
type, — not a parish in full, and
destined not to endure as a per-
manent organization. The follow-
ing extract from the records of the
will show the nature of this move-

(^^M^^^^^T*^ ^

General Court for October, 1761,
ment : " Upon tlie memori-
al of Thomas Grant, Joseph
Stedman, John Grant, Daniel
Rockwell, Daniel Skinner,
Thomas Sadd, Jr., Samuel
Smith, and other subscribers
thereunto, inhabitants of a
place called Wapping, on the
east side of the Second Society

^a^L.

'Oi^'

^o^n^^ jfcrt^^^

in Windsor," leave was granted, in
consequence of their
distance from the
place of worship, that
they might be a half-
way ecclesiastical par-
ish, and for five months in the year might procure preaching among
themselves and be exempt from
taxation in the old parish during
that portion of each year. This
peculiar organization long ago
ceased to exist, but may be regarded as a kind of forerunner of the

EAST WINDSOR. Ill

present Congregational Church in Wapping, which was organized
in 1830.

We have, then, the somewhat remarkable fact of four ecclesiastical
parishes (or, more strictly, three and a half) existing upon the east
side of the Connecticut River within
the limits of the ancient town of ^^ p- l^^

Windsor, before the town of East C^0^^ "^^^fV^'^"'^''^^^

Windsor itself came into being. The

long ministry of Mr. Edwards, lasting more than sixty-three years, had
ended by his death in 1758. More than one hundred and thirty years
had passed since the Dorchester colony took up its abode at Wind-
sor, and nearly one hundred and twenty since John Bissell went
over and built the first house upon the east side of the Connecticut
River. Events moved slowly in that early period.

At length, however, the time was fully ripe, by the consent of all
parties, for the division of the ancient town and the formation of a
new township embracing all the Windsor territory upon the east side
of the river. In the years just before this event there were voters in
the town of Windsor who had to make a journey of ten or twelve miles,
over the roughest roads, and across a broad river often swollen with
floods, to reach the place of voting. Wlien it was fully decided that
the town should be divided, the river itself constituted the natural line
of separation, and there was no occasion for disputes about boundaries.
The following extract from the Colony records shows the action whereby
the town of East Windsor was constituted, in 1768 : —

" At a General Assembly of the Governor and Company of the Colony of
Connecticut, holden at Hartford on the second Thursday of May, a. d. 1768,

" On the memorial of the inhabitants of the town of Windsor, showing to
this Assembly that the memorialists, at their legal town-meeting in December
last, agreed to divide the town, and praying that the part of the town on the
west side of Connecticut Kiver be and remain the town of Windsor, with ancient
privileges of said town; and that the part of said. town that is on the east side
of said river be made and constituted a town ; and that their common stock,
money, and poor be divided, etc., according to their agreement at their publick
meeting on the third Monday of April, 1768, as per memorial on file,

" It is enacted by the Governor, Council, and Representatives in General
Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, that that part of said town
that is on the east side of Connecticut River be, and they are hereby, made,
erected, and constituted within the limits and bounds thereof a distinct town,
with all the liberties, privileges, and immunities that other towns by law have
and do enjoy, and that said new erected and constituted town be called and
known by the name of East Windsor."

The first town-meeting in East Windsor was held July 6, 1768, when
Erastus Wolcott was cliosen moderator, and Aaron Bissell was chosen
town clerk and treasurer.

The new township, though only the fragment of an older one, was
itself of large proportions. The towns of Enfield and Somers bounded
it upon tiie north. The eastern boundary line was quite irregular, in
some places reaching bade from ten to twelve miles eastward from the
river. It was bounded on the south by Hartford, which then included
the present East Hartford and Manchester. The river was the western

112

MEMORIAL HISTOEY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

boundary. The distance from the Enfield line on the north to the

Hartford line on the south was not far from ten miles. The people at

the Great Marsh found their journey to town-meeting easier than when

y — % they had to cross the

jn^^ ^^ /"''^ Connecticut River ;

y^ 5*^:^-— ^ yy/^^^^^i^ but it was still a long

y^^^fDT^^^ /C/^^"^^^^^^ and toilsome way of

seven or eight miles
which they had to
travel to reach the
first parish meeting-
house, where the town-meetings were then held. In the year 1786 that
part of the new town was set off and organized into a new township,
by the name of
Ellington. The
rest of the terri-
tory remained un- . , _ ^ y^ i
broken, as the ^ ^ ( /
town of East \^
Windsor, until the year 1845, when it was divided into the present
towns of East Windsor and South Windsor.

Since the organization of the town, in 1768, down to the present
time, one hundred and thirteen years, only nine persons have filled

;;- ^(l^^ynrrL^^^^J^^

the office of town clerk : Aaron Bissell, 1768-1786 ; Frederick Ells-
worth, 1786-1799 ; Aaron Bissell, Jr., 1799-1825 ; Abner Reed, 1825-

^^i^72J(^^il^S^^ ^yK.

1834 ; James Moore, 1834-1845 ; David Osborn, 2d, 1845-1854 ; Phineas
L. Blodgett, 1854-1867 ; Elbridge K. Leonard, 1867-1874 ; Mahlon H.
Bancroft, 1874- .

This record shows an excellent degree of stability in respect to an
office which in its very nature ought not to be passing frequently from
hand to hand. It will be noticed that the two Aaron Bissells, father
and son, filled this office for the long period of forty-four years. .

One hundred years ago all public offices, whether town, state, or
national, were far more fixed and enduring than at present. The law
of rotation did not then prevail as now. It was expected that men,
having become thoroughly acquainted with the duties of certain offices,
should continue therein from year to year. In old times, in two adjoin-
ing towns of Massachusetts, two men who had long represented their
respective towns in the General Court happening to meet, the follow-
ing conversation ensued. "What is this I hear?" said one of them.

EAST WINDSOR.

113

" They say that you arc planning to retire, and not go as representative
to the General Court any more." " Yes," was the answer ; " I am get-
ting old, and I think some younger man had better take the office now."
" Old ! " was the rejoinder ; " I am ten years older than you, and I feel
just as well able to represent my town at the General Court as ever I
did." " Well," said the other, " I am afraid, if I should go ten years
more, I should feel just so."

Before entering upon tJie details of the religious and ecclesiastical
history of the town, it may be well to try and recall the condition of
things in those years when what is now the First Congregational Church
in East Windsor came into being. This carries us back to the middle

THE OLD THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL OF CONNECTICUT,

AT EAST WINDSOR HILL.

of the last century, about one hundred and thirty years. At that
time the strength of the population on the east side of the river was in
what is now South Windsor. There the settlements began ; there
society had become strong and established, while the more northern
portions were yet in a half-wild state. The Street, that chief road lying
near the banks of the river, had been built upon more or less com-
pactly all the way from the Hartford to the Enfield line. Above the
Scantic River this street was by no means so fully occupied with dwell-
ings as below, though it was far more thickly populated than any other
part of the Scantic parish. From this street out to the eastern line of
the parish was a distance of six miles or more, and all this territory
was as yet but very sparsely popidated. When the Scantic meeting-
house was built, near where it now stands, it was only a mile and a
half from The Street, and yet the dwellers along that thorouglifare
complained that it was too far off in the woods. Azel S. Roe, Esq., in
his " History of the First Ecclesiastical Society of East Windsor," has
given us some graphic pictures showing the primitive state of things in

VOL. II.

114 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

that region about the middle of the last century. Rev. Thomas Potwine
was to be ordained in 1754. Mr. Roe says (p. 19) : —

"No building had yet been erected for public worship, but the people,
anxious to have the ministration of the ordinances, and a servant of God as
their leader and teaclier, procured the use of a private house for that purpose,
and the one most appropriate then, on account of its size and capacity for accom-
modating a number of people, was that which is now in possession of Mr. Joel
Prior, situated in Main Street. The ordination of Mr. Potwine was celebrated
under the roof of a barn then newly erected and never as yet used. Of course
none are now living (1857) who witnessed that scene, but the account of it the
writer has received from an old lady, who very distinctly remembers what her
mother told her about it, who was present, and with her babe in her arms. The
ceremony was performed upon the barn floor. A table answered for a desk, and
benches made of rough boards, with a few chairs for the more distinguished min-
isters, were their seats. Boards were laid aci'oss tlie bays as standing-places for
the women and other people, while upon the beams above perched the younger
and most elastic."

Until this Scantic parish was organized, all the people in that part
of the town attended church at Mr. Edwards's, and buried their dead in
the graveyard near his ancient meeting-house. Mr. Roe says (p. 11) :

" One of our oldest inhabitants remembers that at the death of a young
lady, whose relatives had been buried in the old cemetery on East Windsor Hill,
the corpse was carried from the house he now occupies in Ireland Street, upon
the shoulders of the bearers to the place of interment, a distance of seven miles,
several sets of bearers relieving each other."

The new parish was organized in 1752, and its first pastor, the Rev.
Thomas Potwine, ordained and placed in office, as we have seen, May 1,
1754. In the antique and stately language of that day he stands on
the records as Sir Thomas Potwine, the Sir not being intended as a
J title of nobility, but having much

n /"^ y the same significance in the popu-

^^' \/YYLc4y'^i'T*^>^ ^^^' mind as had the title Mr. in the

earliest New England generations.
In those days a man must be of considerable character and standing to
be addressed as Mr. This title was at that time given chiefly to minis-
ters and magistrates. Mr. Potwine is said to have been of Huguenot
extraction, "it is likely that his ancestors came to this country by the
way of England, and not directly from France. A large Huguenot
population had planted itself in England before that time, and there
are many persons in this country of Huguenot origin whose earliest
American ancestors came from England.

In the action of the parish calling Mr. Potwine he is spoken of as
from Coventry ; that is, Coventry, Conn.

" Voted, To give Mr. Thomas Potwine, of Coventry, a call to preach with us
on probation, in order to settle with us, with the advice of the association."

Yet Mr. Potwine was a native of Boston. Turning to the Boston
record of births a hundred and fifty years ago, we find the following
entries : —

"Ann, daughter of John and Mary Potwine, born Dec. 20, 1729.
Thomas, son of " " " " Oct. 3, I73I.

Mary, daughter of « " " " March 26, 1734."

EAST WINDSOR. 115

Until very recently it has been supposed that John Potwine, the
father of the East Windsor pastor, was the earliest American ancestor
of this name ; but a more careful examination of the Boston records
shows that this Jolm Potwine was himself born in Boston, and was the
son of a John Potwine, physician, who died in Boston in the year
1700, soon after coming to this country, leaving his wife and this one
child. His will bears date July 17, 1700. His wife was a native of
this country. The fact that Thomas Potwine was educated at Yale
College rather than Harvard would seem to imply that in 1747, when
young Potwine entered college, being then sixteen years old, the
family had already removed from Boston to Coventry. Mr. Potwine
remained in office till his death, Nov. 15, 1802, leaving behind him
an honorable record of service and a substantial family.

The Rev. Shubael Bartlett, the second minister of the Scantic par-
ish, was born in the town of Lebanon, April 2, 1778. His father was
John Bartlett, one of the deacons of tiie church. He was graduated at
Yale College in the year 1800. His college life was cast in that period
of the Yale College
history when the in-
stitution was reli- /'ij^ / j/f,^ a/ f / /^ /J /} y/^~
giously at its lowest {^/^^/^l^^M^t/l/ ^<^ fy/4^/^'//.^j>
ebb. He was or
dained to the pastoral office in this parish Feb. 15, 1804, and remained
here fifty years, till his death, June 6, 1854. A year or two before
his ordination he had been united in marriage with Miss Fanny Leffing-
well, of Hartford. The two ministries of Mr. Potwine and IVIr. Bartlett
filled out almost exactly a century. The ministry of Mr. Bartlett Avas
an exceedingly fruitful one ; not hj reason of great intellectual powers
or high pulpit eloquence, but from his faithfulness and patience, his
truly Christian walk and conversation. He was thoroughly acquainted
with every household of his widely scattered flock. The little children
knew him and were not afraid of him. His home was an open and
hospitable one, and his gentle-hearted wife was a thorough helpmeet in
her kind and winning words and ways. Together they lived, and labored
to draw the people of their charge to walk in the ways of wisdom and
in the paths of peace.

The third pastor of this church was the Rev. Samuel J. Andrews, D.D.
He was a son of the Rev. William Andrews, and was born in Dan-
bury, where from 1813 to 1827 his father was pastor of the First
Congregational Church. Mr. Andrews was a graduate of Williams
College in the class of 1839. He was settled as colleague pastor with
Mr. Bartlett, Sept. 20, 1848, and remained sole pastor about one year
after Mr. Bartlett's death. He was dismissed May 9, 1855.

The fourth pastor was the Rev. Frederick Munson, a native of Bethle-
hem, born April 25, 1818. He was graduated at Yale College in 1843,
and remained pastor at East Windsor from Sept. 3, 1856, to July 19, 1865.

The fifth pastor was the Rev. David Haven Thayer, who was born
at Nunda, New York, and was graduated at Union College in the class
of 1849. He was pastor from May 22, 1866, to Dec. 20, 1878.

The sixth pastor was the Rev. Austin S. Chase. He was graduated
at Dartmouth College in 1869, was installed here April 23, 1879, and
dismissed Dec. 31, 1880, because of failing health.

116

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY,

%lc^n-y^^^ afo^-Y'^^^^^

signed
agreement

The present pastor of this church is the Rev. Howard Billman, who
was installed April 26, 1882.

The Rev. Edward Goodridge, formerly rector of St. John's Church,
Warehouse Point, has kindly compiled the following brief history of
it, with its succession of rectors : —

" For a few years previous to the present century occasional sex'vices were
held by clergymen of the Protestant Episcopal CJhurch, in the town of East
Windsor. On the 25th day of September, 1802, seventy persons, residents

of the towns
of East Wind-
sor, Windsor,
Enfield, and
Ellington,
an
to
ask the pasto-
ral care of the
Rev. Menzies
Rayner, rector

of Christ Church, Hartford. At a meeting held Sept. 27, 1802, it was voted
to summon a meeting two weeks later, — Oct. 11, 1802, — to organize a parish
of the Protestant Episcopal Church ; which was accordingly done. James
Chamberlain and Solomon Ellsworth were elected wardens.

" The frame of the present and only church edifice was raised Jan. 6, 1809,
on the public 'green,' or common, where the building remained until May,
1844, when it was removed to its present site on the east side of the Maiu
Street. The building was consecrated
by Bishop Brownell, Oct. 10, 1832. The
first organ was purchased in 1835 ; it
was replaced \)y a larger one in 1859. The rectors have been as follows :
Rev's Menzies Ravner, 1802-1809 ; B. Judd, 1819-1821 ; N. B. Burgess, 1822-
1823; I. Bulkeley, 182.3-1825 ; George W. Doane, D.D., 1825-1827; Horatio

Potter, D.D., 1827-1828 ; Ransom War-
ner, 1835-1838 ; Z. Mansfield, 1838-
1841; Joseph Scott, 1843-1844; Henry
H. Bates, 1844-1852; Charles S. Put-
nam, 1852-1853; William K. Douglass,
1853-1855 ; H. McClory, 1855-1860 ;
C. R. Fisher, 1861-1862 ; Henry Olmstead, D.D., 1862-1867; William W.
Niles, D.D., 1867-1870; Edward Goodridge, 1871-1882.

" There are at present one hundred and thirty communicants. The Rev.
Albert IT. Stanley is the present acting rector of the church."

The Rev. E. S. Fletcher, pastor in 1882 of the Methodist Church
at Warehouse Point, sends the following outline of its history : —

" The first Methodist preaching services in this place were held in private
houses by the Rev. Mr. Fifield, in 1822. They were held afterward in a citi-
zens' meeting-house, controlled by the Episcopalians, and now occupied exclu-
sively by them. The Methodists began to increase, and quite an interest was
felt in the community in their behalf. Soon they were compelled to leave the
meeting-house, and quietly resorted to the school-house. Again thev worshipped
for a time in private houses. Afterward they rented a hall, which they occu-
pied for a considerable time. After this the}' again secured the meeting-house,
which they continued to occupy on alternate Sabbaths until 1831. In the

' — ^

EAST WINDSOR.

117

latter part of that year they resolved to erect a meeting-house for themselves.
It was built and dedicated in 1833.

" The full list of preachers contains thirty-eight names of those who have
been assigned to this church, and who
have successively ministered here, some
for a period of three years, a larger
number for two years, and a few for
only one year.

" The Rev. William H. Turkington
is the present minister."

^lioAu.^ X^a^<=^

The Rev. William H. Turkington, who

occupied the pulpit of the
Methodist Church at
Windsorville in 1882, has
kindly furnished tlie fol-
lowing brief record of its
history : —

" The following sketch concerning the church in this place is taken from the
minutes of the Methodist Episcopal Conference. The church was built in 1829 ;
the name of East Windsor first appears in 1829 ; the name of Ketch Mills in
1839; the name of Windsorville, in 1850. In 1876 the church was destroyed
by fire. In 1878 the present church edifice was dedicated."

A complete list of the men who in rotation have filled the pulpit of
this church since its foundation in 1829 includes more than forty names.
The present pastor is the Rev. H. M. Cole.

The Rev. Edward Goodridge, formerly rector of St. John's Church,
Warehouse Point, has furnished the following record of Grace Church,
at Broad Brook : —

"This parish was duly organized April 13, 1847. The church building, a
substantial edifice of brown freestone, was finished and consecrated in the same
year. The following is a list of its rectors : Rev's Francis J. Clerc, D.D., 1847-
1849 ; Henry Fitch, 1849-1850 ; Abel Nichols, 1850-1852 ; Enoch Huntington,
1852-1857; John F. Mines, 1857-1859; Thomas V. Finch, 1859-1861 ; David
H. Short, D.D., 1861-1866 ; J. E. Pratt, 1866-1867 ; B. F. Cooley, 1869-
1871; Clayton Eddy, 1871-1872; David P. Sanford, D.D., 1879-1882. The
present number of communicants is fifty-three."

The Congregational Church in Broad Brook was organized May 4,
1851. The Rev. Charles N. Seymour served as acting pastor from the
time of the organization until May, 1853. The first house of public wor-
ship was dedicated in December, 1853. The Rev. William M. Birchard
was pastor from September, 1851, to December, 1858. His successors
have been: Rev's Timothy Hazen, acting pastor, 1859-1868 ; Merrick
Knight, acting pastor, 1863-1868 ; Edward Trumbull Hooker, pastor,
1868-1869 ; Lysander Tower Spaulding, acting past'ir, 1869-1877 ;
Joseph A. Freeman, acting pastor, 1877-1881 ; and Robert C. Bell, who
began his labors here Aug. 11, 1881.

The first mention of a school supported by public money on the east
side of the river belongs to the year 1698. On the west side of the
river schools had been kept for almost half a century before one was
established upon the east side. In April, 1698, the tow^n agreed to hire
a schoolmaster who was to teach nine months of the year upon the

118 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

west side and tliree months upon the east side. At that time Samuel
Wolcott, great-grandson of Henry Wolcott, the American founder of the

Wolcott family, was in Harvard College,

/y^ ^ ^ yp ftv and was to be graduated in the coming

Ci^Ctrn l /^t^cr-arC^/fr' summer. He was hired to begin upon

V^ this work of instruction as soon as he

liad i-eceived his degree at Cambridge.
By the agreement of the town with Mr. Wolcott he was " to keep a read-
mg, writing, and cyphering and grammar school," and he was - to take
none but such as are entered in spelling." This last clause seems to
imply that either in private schools or in families the children should be
sp far broug-ht forward as to be masters of the earliest elements of educa-
tion before they were admitted to this school kept and supported by the
town. By the laws of Connecticut, from an early date every town con-
taining seventy families was obliged to keep a school eleven months of
the year. In the year 1717 the same requirement was made of an eccle-
siastical parish as had before been made of a town. This was a verv
important law ; for in the large towns of Connecticut there were some-
times two, three, four or more separate ecclesiastical parishes. In that
part oi the town of Windsor lying upon the east side of the river there
were as we have seen, four parishes before the town was divided into
Windsor and East Windsor.

Though the above law relating to parishes did not go into operation
until 1717, yet from the time when Mr. Edwards's church and parish
had become fully established (that is, about 1700), the work of educa-
tion on the east side of the river passed by a kind of natural law to
the care of this parish. Mr. Edwards was a man by all his habits of
mmd amoiig the foremost of that generation in promoting public edu-
cation. His own liouse was a kind of seminary for the promotion of
the higher education. His own children were thoroughly instructed bv
him and young men from the families of his own parish, and from
neighboring parishes, were constantly resorting to him for classical edu-
cation. It IS difficult to determine exactly how many young men Mr
Edwards fitted for Yale College during his long ministry, but not less!
probably, than tliirty or forty. His house was a kind" of educational
workshop. In December, 1712, it was determined that the money
raised for schools should be divided into three parts, one part to main-
tain a school above Scantic River, another part to cover the reoion
reaching from Scantic River down to Sergeant Newberry's Brook Ind
the third from there to tlie Hartford line. The size of this northern
school district maybe understood by remembering that it included
more than all the territory now embraced in the present towns of East
Windsor and Ellington. The population, however, above Scantic at
that time was chiefly along the one road, near tlie meadows, up and
down the river. ^

For a number of years the rule would alternate between two and
three schools ; and later, as population increased, and was more widely
spread over tlie broad territory of the town, four, five, and six schools
came to be needed, and provision was made for them. In 1724 there
were schools m six places: one below Podunk, one at a "place called
Bissell s Farms, one at the Great Marsh, which is Ellington now, and
the other three to be on territories equally divided, measuring from

EAST WINDSOR. 119

Podunk Brook north to the upper limits of the town. In 1740 it
was voted to "• employ masters in the winter and school-dames in the
summer."

After the North or Scantic Parish was organized, in 1752, the care
of education specially devolved upon this parish throughout the terri-
tory embraced in it. In 1753 twenty pounds were appropriated by the
parish for education. It was in 1766 that this territory was divided
systematically and made into four school districts. In 1768, two years
later. East Windsor was constituted a separate township, but the care
of education in the north part of the town was still vested in the par-
ish. In 1781 the territory of the North Parish was divided into six
districts. So matters went on, the parish taking care of the schools,
until 1795, when this business passed to the jurisdiction of the town.

There has never been an incorporated academy either in East Wind-
sor or Soutli \Vindsor. Witliin the limits of these towns there have,
however, been unincorporated academies which have done much for
education. Such an institution existed at East Windsor Hill for many
years, where the higher English branches were taught and where
young men were fitted for college. Dr. Samuel Wolcott, now of Long-
meadow, was fitted for college in this school, having for his teacher no
less a man than William Strong, LL.D., initil lately one of the hon-
ored judges of the Supreme Court at Washington. This school lived
on until the founding of the Connecticut Theological Institute at East
Windsor Hill, which by its varied instructions absorbed the academy
into itself ; and since the removal of the institute to Hartford the
academy has not been revived.

There was a still humbler academy which existed for many years
in the Scantic Parish near the meeting-house. It provided education
during the winter in the higher English studies, and also to some
extent in the classics. Students from Yale College were usually em-
ployed as teachers. In this school not a few (the writer among the
number) obtained the rudiments of classical instruction. It has now
for many years been discontinued.

The chief business of East Windsor has always been agricultural.
This town, occupying the fertile lands lying along the Connecticut
River, is pointed out by Nature as agricultural rather than manufactur-
ing. The style of agriculture, however, has passed through many
changes since the early days. From fifty to seventy -five years ago, rye,
corn, and hay were the staple crops raised upon these lands. Now, for
many years, the chief crop in East Windsor, and in most of the towns
far up and down the river, is tobacco. When rye was one of the pre-
vailing crops in East Windsor, fifty years ago, and before the temper-
ance cause had well begun, there were several large gin-distilleries
within the limits of the town, which made an easy market for this
product of the farms. Osborn's mill, in Scantic, and other grist-mills
were kept busy in preparing this rye for distillation.

At present there are within the limits of East Windsor the follow-
ing manufacturing establishments : At Broad Brook there is the Broad
Brook Company, engaged in the manufacture of cassimeres. At Wind-
sorville there is a woollen manufactory. At Warehouse Point there is
the Leonard Silk Manufacturing Company.

120 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Through all the years from 1765 on to the actual outbreak of war
in 1775, society throughout New England, and especially in the older
and more advanced portions, was thorouglily agitated. Upon the
East Windsor soil, during the Revolutionary struggle, there were few
persons of Tory proclivities. We are not aware that there was more
than one, and he will be spoken of elsewhere. In general, the hearts
of the people were as the heart of one man in the strong and deter-
mined purpose to resist British aggression. Nowhere in the land did
the fires of patriotism burn more brightly than among the towns of
Connecticut ; and when the great day of decision came, nowhere did
men go forth more freely, and even eagerly, to join the patriotic army,
than from the rough hills and rich valleys of the little Commonwealth.
Jonathan Trumbull was her governor, the man of her own choice, the
only governor in the thirteen colonies heartily on the side of the peo-
ple. His name was a tower of confidence and strength through all
those trying years.

Six years after the incorporation of East Windsor the spirit of her
people began to make itself distinctly manifest upon the public records
of the town. At a meeting held on the first Monday of August, 1774,
a long, able, and specific paper was prepared and recorded, showing the
wrongs wiiich the nation was suffering at the hands of England, and
the firm purpose of the people to resist these wrongs.

There can be no doubt that East Windsor acted a large and noble
part in the War of the Revolution. It would be very easy to give many
names of officers and soldiers that went into the army from that town;
but it would be almost impossible at this late day, and with such
sources of information as we liave, to give a complete list of these men.
With such data as are afforded, it is evident that three Imndred or four
hundred men were furnished by the town during the eight years of the
war. The country was then so sparsely settled, and the war continued
so long, that a very large part of all the men in New England of military
age and condition were drawn into the army for longer or shorter
periods. From returns made from the various towns during the Revo-
lution, we have the means of giving the exact' condition of the popula-
tion of East Windsor in 1782. There were then in the town 197 white
males over fifty years of age, 626 males between sixteen and fifty, and
737 males under sixteen; of females, there were 1,650 ; of blacks, 27 :
total, 3,237. In wealth and population East Windsor stood among the
prominent towns of Hartford County. Of the twenty towns of tlie
county in 1778 there were only six having more wealth ; the valuation
at that time was £28,332 18s. The total population of the State of
Connecticut in 1782 was 208,870.

We will omit all detailed reference to the War of 1812 ; for though
that war sorely taxed New England, and created great suffering in all
business circles, yet the interest now centring about it is greatly over-
shadowed by that of the Revolutionary struggle which preceded, and
the War of the Rebellion so near our own times.

In this recent war East Windsor acted her part faithfully and well.
To go over her whole record step by step would make the narrative
tedious. In respect to the giving of bounties she followed the general
course of the New England towns, beginning with small sums, and
rising as the exigencies increased, up to #300.

EAST WINDSOR. 121

From the " Catalogue of Connecticut Volunteers," a bulky volume
published by the State, we count the names of two hundred and thirty-
six men, officers and privates, furnished by the town of East Windsor
for the War of the Rebellion.

Tliat part of the old territory of East Windsor which is now South
Windsor has produced more eminent men than the other part of the
territory ; and yet men who were in active life while East Windsor
was still an unbroken town, whether they originated in one part of the
territory or the other, seem naturally to come under the head of East
Windsor.

Captain Ebenezer Grant was for many years one of the principal
citizens of East Windsor. He was the son of Samuel and Hannah
(Fillcy) Grant, and was born Oct. 3, 1706. He was graduated at Yale
College in 1726. He came back to his native place and established
himself as a merchant. He was also ^

a ship-owner, and a builder of vessels / / <J0 ^ 4

of small size. In his day the mouth ^^^u^P^^^ ''^y^P^P'^'^^^J^
of Scantic River was a ship-yard. jy

Captain Grant took a large share in ^

the interests of the town, civil, social, and military. As selectman,
moderator in town-meetings, representative to the General Court, his
time was largely occupied in public affairs. He was in the full vigor of
life when the town of East Windsor was organized, in 1768. He lived
to great age, dying in 1797 at the age of ninety -one. He was the grand-
father of the present Major Frederick W. Grant, of South Windsor.

Matthew Rockwell was the son of Deacon Samuel and Elizabeth
(Gaylord) Rockwell, and was born Jan. 30, 1707. He was doubtless
one of the boys that the Rev. Timothy Edwards fitted for Yale College,
where he was graduated in the year 1728. He studied for the ministry,
and bore in after-life the threefold title of " physician, clergyman,
and deacon." Mr. Rockwell seems never to have been a settled min-
ister, but was from time to time called to preach. In 1741, when there
was some difficulty in Mr. Edwards's church, and when Mr. Edwards
himself seems to have been ill, there stands upon the parish books the
following entry. "To Mr. Matthew Rockwell X8 for preaching 4 Sab-
baths to this Society in M)\ Edwards confinement^ He was for many
years one of the deacons of the church, and served also as one of the
physicians of the place. He married, Jan. 19, 1743, Jemima Cook.
He died in 1782, at the age of seventy-five.

Doctor Primus was, in his way, one of the East Windsor celebrities.
Stiles, in his " History of Windsor," gives us the substance of the
story that follows. Primus was an African slave, the property of Dr.
Alexander Wolcott, son of Governor Roger, who was a distinguished
physician on the west side of the river. Primus was a large and fine-
looking negro, and was employed by Dr. Wolcott to prepare and mix
liis medicines, and to attend him on his journeys day by day. Primus
proved himself able, faithful, and trustworthy, and in grateful remem-
brance of his services Dr. Wolcott gave him his liberty. Primus
had been so long among drugs, and had journeyed so much with
Dr. Wolcott, that he had amassed considerable medical knowledge and
experience. So, after he had his liberty he went over upon the east

122 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

side of the river and set up in medical practice for himself. He was
respected and trusted, and obtained considerable business. One day he
was sent for to go and see a sick child in Poquonnock, whicli Avas on
the west side of the river, and some way beyond where his old master
lived. He made the visit, and on his return thought he would call on
Dr. Wolcott. He was graciously received, and the Doctor inquired what
business brought him across the river. " Oh," said Primus, " I was
sent for to see the child of our old neighbor at Poquonnock ; but I told
the mother that there was nothing very serious the matter, and that
she did not need to send so far for a physician, — that you would have
answered just as well."

Erastus Wolcott, Esq., son of Roger and Sarah (Drake) Wolcott,
was born Sept. 21, 1722. He was married, Feb. 10, 1746, to Jerusha,
daughter of John Wolcott. Though he did not have a collegiate educa-
tion, as did several of his brothers, yet he became a man of great dis-
tinction, not only in the affairs of his native town, but in matters State

r^//^

and National. He was in middle life when East Windsor was set off as
a separate township. For many years, at different times he represented
the new town at the General Court. He was moderator of the first
town-meeting in East Windsor. He was Speaker of the Connecticut
House of Representatives, justice of the peace, judge of probate, judge
and chief judge of the County Court, representative in Congress, and
judge of the Superior Court. He held the rank of brigadier-general of
the Connecticut troops in the Revolutionary War.^ Like his brothers,
he was a tall man, and of commanding presence. He was of a strongly
religious nature, like his father. He died Sept. 14, 1793, at the age of
seventy.

Benoni Olcott was a prominent man upon the east side of the river,
both before the town of East Windsor was organized and afterward.
The Olcott family was not one of the old Windsor families ; it be-
longed rather to Hartford. Benoni Olcott appears to have come when

a young man
from Bolton to
Windsor before
the middle of
the last centu-
ry. He mar-
ried Eunice Wolcott, daughter of Lieutenant Charles Wolcott. It
is quite likely that this marriage determined his settlement in Wind-
sor. Mr. Olcott filled manv important offices. He was in middle life
when the town of East Windsor was organized, and his name is con-
spicuous in all the early records of the town. He was on the board
of selectmen : he was moderator of town-meetings ; he was deacon
of the old Edwards Church. Though not so prominent a man in
public affairs as General Erastus Wolcott, yet he was largely trusted,

1 The Wolcott Memorial, pp. 142, 143.

EAST WINDSOR. 123

and seemed for many years to divide public responsibilities with Mr.
Wolcott. He left his full name, as a given name, to quite a number of
persons who came after him. It continues to this day.

Elihu Tudor, M.D., was the son of the Rev. Samuel Tudor, and
was born in Windsor, Feb. S, 1732. He was graduated at Yale College
in 1750, at the age of eighteen. He studied medicine with Dr. Ben-
jamin Gale, of Killing-worth. During a portion of the French War
he was emplojed in the army as surgeon's mate. He spent two years
in London, from 1762 to 1764, employed in the hospitals and perfecting
himself especially in surgery. He then returned, and establislied him-
self in East Windsor in practice both as a physician and a surgeon. In
the latter capacity he was thought to have no superioi' in the State.
At the breaking out of the Revolutionary War his sympathies were
with the British, and this greatly injured, though it did not destroy, his
practice. Dr. Stiles says of him : " In person he was of medium height
and upright form, near-sighted, always very neat in his dress, wearing
ruffles, fine silver buckles, and a nosegay in his buttonhole." He lived
to the age of ninety-three, dying in 1826. He lived seventy-six years
after his college graduation, — a fact not often paralleled. In conse-
quence of his Tory proclivities during the Revolutionary struggle he
received a pension from the British Government. His life held on
to such an unusual length that an English agent, it is said, was sent
over to find out if he was still alive, or whether some one was shamming
in his name.

Captain Hezekiah Bissell was born in Windsor, east side of the
river. May 20, 1737. He lived in what is now East Windsor, on the
high land^ east of Scantic River, about a mile from Scantic meeting-
house. He was a soldier in the French and Indian W^ir, as also in
the Revolution-
ary War, and /^ ^""'^ '
suffered severe- /</ <^^
ly from cold and ^
hardships in the »-^ /- -u^^^ /
northern winter
campaigns. He
lived to great
age, dying Nov.
14, 1831, in his

ninety-fifth year. The writer well remembers him as he appeared from
1825 to 1830. He was a man of iron frame and of great resolution.
He was also possessed of a native dignity, good judgment, and large
intelligence. In the closing years of the last and the early years of tlie
present century no man was so frequently chosen moderator of the
parish meetings in the Scantic Parish as he.

The name Mather was brought to Windsor by the Rev. Samuel
Mather, son of Timothy, of Dorchester, and grandson of Richard, the
honored founder of the family on these shores. The Rev. Samuel
Mather was graduated at Harvard College in 1671. He was settled
in Branford in 1680, and was called thence and settled in Windsor in
1684. His son, Dr. Samuel Mather, a physician, was born in 1677, and
was graduated at Harvard College in 1698. In the absence of medical
schools and medical societies he was approbated as a physician, and

124 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

licensed to practice " Physick and Chyrurgy " by the General Assembly
of Connecticut, May 14, 1702. A grandson of Dr. Samuel was Charles,
born Sept. 26, 1742. He was son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Allyn)
Mather, and was graduated at Yale College in 1763. He established
himself in the practice of medicine in East Windsor, and obtained a
high reputation. lii 1795 he had gained such a name that he removed
to Hartford, and became distinguished as a specialist. He died June 3,
1822, at the age of eighty. A son of the last, also named Charles,
born Nov. 30, 1764, was graduated at Yale College in 1785, and estab-
lished himself as a physician in New York City. He died in 1853, at
the age of seventy-nine.

Samuel Wolcott, Esq., son of Gideon and Abigail (Mather) Wolcott,
was born April 4, 1751. He married, Dec. 29, 1774, Jerusha, daughter
of General Erastus Wolcott. He was a man of very fine personal ap-
pearance, and during the time of tlie Revolutionary War served as
commissary in the army. He was an active man of business, and, for
his day, was possessed of large wealth. He died June 7, 1813.

The Rev. Chauncey Booth was born in East Windsor, March 15,
1783. He was the son of Captain Caleb and Anne (Bartlett) Booth.
He was educated at Yale College, and was graduated there m 1810.
He went directly from college to Andover Theological Seminary, where
he was graduated in 1813. He accepted a call to the ministry from
Coventry, where he was ordained Sept. 20, 1815. He remained in this
pastoral charge from 1815 to 1844, when he retired from the active
duties of his office. He still lived in Coventry until his death, which
took place May 24, 1851.

Dr. Elijah Fitch Reed was the son of Ebenezer and Mary (Fitch)
Reed, and was born May 11, 1767. Without a collegiate education,
he gave himself to the study of medicine, and became a physician in
East Windsor, with an extensive practice. He had a large fund of
information and of instructive and amusing anecdotes. He was a
physician trusted and beloved. He received the honorary degree of
Doctor of Medicine from Yale College in the year 1822. He died in
1847, at the age of eighty.

John Bliss Watson was graduated at Yale College in the class of
1814. He was a prominent man of business in East Windsor, living
upon a rich farm just north of the Scantic River. He and his brother
Henry were very enterprising in introducing into the country improved
breeds of horses, cattle, and sheep. He died in 1843.

Azel Stevens Roe, Esq., was born in New York in the year 1798.
He enjoyed advantages for early culture, and though not a college

graduate, he re-
ceived in his youth
an excellent edu-
cation. While yet
a young man, he became a merchant in New York City. After some
disasters in business, and after the early death of his first wife, he
was united in marriage, Nov. 12, 1828, with Miss Fanny Leffingwell
Bartlett, eldest daughter of the Rev. Shubael Bartlett, of East Windsor.
After this marriage Mr. Roe bought a farm in the North Parish of East
Windsor, and has since made this the place of his permanent residence.
Being a good student and a graceful writer, he soon entered upon plans

EAST WIXDSOR. 125

for social and literary culture among the young people of the place.
For many years his influence in this respect was most beneficent.
About the year 1850 he began to prepare for the press that series of
books which has since been remarkably popular and successful. These
volumes were republished in England, and have found a multitude of
readei'S in both countries. They are moral tales, designed to inculcate
useful and practical lessons on the conduct of life. As long ago as
1866 more than 110,000 volumes of this series of books had been pub-
lished and sold in this country, and the circulation in England was also
large. Soon after his coming to East Windsor he was chosen deacon
of the East Windsor Church, which office he has retained nearly half a
century.

The Rev. Eldad Barber was born in the North Parish of East Wind-
sor, Sept. 24, 1801, and was graduated at Yale College in 1826, and from
the Yale Divinity School in 1829. He and five other members of tlie
Seminary were ordained Aug. 26, 1829, as evangelists, to go forth as
workers in the West. From 1829 to 1832 he was pastor of the Pres-
byterian Churcli in Marion, Ohio, and afterwards for three years the
principal of the Hui'on Institute, Milan, Ohio. His longest pastorate
was over the Presbyterian Cliurch at Florence, Ohio, where he was set-
tled from 1837 till his death, March 27, 1870. His first wife, who died
soon after marriage, Avas Miss Mary Ballantine. His second wife, and
the mother of his children, was Mrs. Hannah E. Crosby, whose maiden
name was Osborn, and who was a native of East Windsor, daughter of
Mr. Moses Osborn.

Judge William Barnes was not a native of East Windsor. He came
from the town of Tolland, while a young man, and established himself
in the practice of law at Warehouse Point. He was active in public
and semi-public life for a long course of years. He represented the
town in the General Assembly, and was a man whose judgment was
hiu'hlv valued.

Tlie Rev. Samuel Robbins Brown, D.D., was a native of East Wind-
sor (Scantic Parish), and was born June 16, 1810. He married the
younger daughter of the Rev. Shubael
Bartlett, — Miss Elizabeth Goodwin Bart- v^^^^^ ^y<?

lett. She was born July 19, 1813, and -<^ -^C (^^^r^^-:^.
the marriage took place in October, 1838.

Dr. Brown was for many years head of the Morrison School in China,
and has been most honorably known and esteemed for his missionary
labors in China and Japan. While he was yet young (eight years old),

his family removed from East Windsor to
jP, // ' iiO'2-^*''W^v-v_ Monson. Mrs. Pliojbe Hinsdale BroAvn, his

mother, though deprived of the advantages
of early education, having lived in her youth among the wilds of the
State of New York, was yet a woman of rare genius, and an authoress.
Tlie favorite hymn,

" I love to steal awhile away
From every cumbering care,"

was from her pen. Her son was fitted for college at Monson Academy,
and was graduated at Yale College in the class of 1832. He pursued
his theological studies at Union Theological Seminary, in New York
City, graduating in 1838. The first Chinese and the first Japanese

126 MEMOEIAL HISTORY OF HARTFOKD COUNTY.

students, if we mistake not, that were sent to this country for their
education, were sent by Dr. Brown. They were placed under the care
of Dr. Charles Hammond, for a long course of years principal of
Monson Academy. Dr. Brown died suddenly at Monson, while on a
visit, June 20, 1880. His wife and four children survive.

The Rev. Julius Alexander Reed was a son of Dr. Elijah Fitch and
Hannah (McLean) Reed, and was born Jan. 16, 1809. He was edu-
cated at Yale College, graduating in the class of 1829. He was united
in marriage, Dec. 1, 1835, with Miss Caroline Blood. After finishing
his studies, Mr. Reed gave himself earnestly to the home missionary
work in the far West. He was prominently connected with the build-
ing and growth of Iowa College, and was for many years secretary of
the American Home Missionary Society, having his residence in Daven-
port, Iowa. His present residence is Columbus, Nebraska.

Professor David Ely Bartlett was the son of the Rev. Shubael and
Fanny (Leffingwell) IBartlett, of the North Parish in East Windsor.
He was born Sept. 29, 1805. He was graduated at Yale College in
1828, and at once became a teacher in the Deaf and Dumb Asylum
at Hartford. With but slight interruptions this was his occupation
in different institutions until his death at Hartford, Nov. 30, 1879.
At the time of his death he was said to be the oldest teacher of the
deaf and dumb in this country. This circumstance is explained
in part by the fact that he had been so eminently successful in this
department of instruction that he could not be spared from it. He
had to a remarkable degree the qualities which would fit a man to
excel in this voiceless teaching. Of a most gentle nature, he had,
first of all, a lively sympathy with these children of misfortune. He
was a natural actor, and Avlicn using the sign language before his classes
his Avhole body was full of this silent speech. His life was marked
by Christian simplicity and beauty, and when he died he was greatly
mourned. Professor Bartlett studied theologv at the Union Theo-
logical Seminary in New York City, and was a preacher to the deaf
and dumb, as well as a week-day teacher.

The Rev, Samuel Wolcott, D.D., was the son of Elihu and Rachel
McClintock (McClure) Wolcott, and was born July 2, 1813. He was
graduated from Yale College in the class of 1833, and from Andover
Theological Seminary in 1837. He went, soon after finishing his course
at Andover, upon a mission to Syria ; but the war between Turkey and
England in 1840 so disturbed the missionary work in that part of the
world that he returned to this country. He has been pastor of several
important churches, his last settlement being in Cleveland, Ohio. He
received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Marietta College in
1863. He was the compiler of the magnificent book which has recently
made its appearance, entitled " The Wolcott Memorial." The expense
of this rich volume has been borne by J. Huntington Wolcott, of Boston,
Frederick H. Wolcott, of New York City, and Charles M. Wolcott, of
Fishkill, New York, sons of Judge Frederick Wolcott, late of Litchfield.
The book is not for sale. Only three hundred copies were published,
and these were designed as presentation copies to public libraries and
to individuals of the family kindred. Dr. Wolcott was for several
years secretary of the Ohio Home Missionary Society, but has retired,
and is liviug at Longmeadow, Mass.

%-.^

EAST WINDSOR. 127

Sydney Williams Rockwell, M.D., was the son of Nathaniel and
Sarah (Charlton) Rockwell, and was born in East Windsor, June 4,
1814. He studied medicine, and was licensed to practice in 1843, since
which time he has had an extensive range of business, chiefly in South
Windsor and East Windsor, but to some extent in other towns. He
received the honorarv degree of Doctor of Medicine from Yale College
in 1855.

The Rev. Henry Newton Bissell was born in East Windsor, June 2,
1816. After graduating at Yale College in the class of 1839, he first
engaged in teaching in Ohio, and was for several years the principal
of the Huron Institute, at Milan. He then entered the ministry, being
settled at Lyme, Ohio, from 1846 to 1854. He was then called to the
Presbyterian Church at Mt. Clemens, Mich., where he was still in
cliarge at a very recent date. He married. May 5, 1846, Miss Elizabeth
Hale Hul)bard, born in Vernon.

Among the great-grandsons of the Scantic minister, Thomas
Potwine, there are tAvo who have received a pul)lic education. The
Rev. Thomas Stoughton Potwin was the son of Thomas and Sarah
(Stoughton) Potwine, and was born in East Windsor, April 4, 1829.
He was graduated at Yale College in 1851, was tutor at Beloit College,
Wisconsin, from 1851 to 1853, and was tutor at Yale from 1854 to
1857. He studied theology at the Theological Institute of Connecti-
cut. The Rev. Lemuel Stoughton Potwin is brother of the above,
and was born at East Windsor, Feb. 4, 1832. He was graduated at
Yale College in 1 854, taught two years at Norwalk, studied theology
for two years in the Theological Institute of Connecticut, and was
tutor at Yale College from 1858 to 1860. He was united in marriage,
Sept. 12, 1860, to Miss Julia Hedges Crane, of Caldwell, New Jersey.
For many years he has been Professor of Latin in Western Reserve
College, which office he still holds, though the college is now known as
Adelbert College, Western Reserve University.

Louis Watson, M.D., son of Henry and Julia (Reed) Watson, of
East Windsor Hill, was born Oct. 29, 1817. He fitted for college at
the East Hartford Academy, and entered Trinity College in 1835. In
1838 he became a private pupil in medicine under the learned and
famous Professor William Tully, of New Haven, and was graduated at
the Yale Medical School in 1840. He then became a pupil of the emi-
nent surgeon. Dr. Alden March, at Albany, New York. He removed
West, and was prominent in the organization of the Adams County
Medical Society, Illinois. He had a long and prominent connection
with the army as surgeon and medical director. In 1871 he removed
to Ellis, Kansas, where he now lives.

Sereno Watson, Ph. D., brother of the above, was born in Decem-
ber, 1826, and was graduated at Yale College in 1847. He is now
connected with Harvard College in the department of Botany, having
charge of the College Herbarium, and ranking among the very first
scholars of the country in this branch of study. He is the author of
" A Bibliographical Index to North American Botany, Part I.," pub-
lished by the Smithsonian Institution, and the " Botany of California,"
in two volumes.

William Wood, M.D., was born in Waterbury, July 7, 1822. He
was the son of the Rev. Luke and Anna (Pease) Wood. He received

128 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of the City of
New York in 1846. In 1847 he established himself in his profession
at East Windsor Hill, where he remained mitil his death. In addition
to his wide medical practice in East and Sonth Windsor, he gave
special attention to the science of ornithology, nntil he was regarded
as an authority in that department. He was distinguished as a natu-
ralist in other branches also. He was united in marriage, Nov. 9, 1848,
with Marv L., daughter of the Hon. Erastus Ellsworth, of East Windsor
Hill. He died Aug. 9, 1885.

Hezekiah Bissell, the youngest son of John and Elizabeth (Thomp-
son) Bissell, was a graduate of the Sheffield Scientific School, of Yale
College, in the class of 1861. After serving as assistant engineer in
the construction of railroads at the West, and also in the building of
the Great South American Railway across the mountains, he was some
years since made engineer and superintendent of bridges on the East-
ern Railroad in Massachusetts, which position he now holds.

There are many more who have borne an honorable part in the
business and government of the town at home, or have gone out to
act Avell their parts in other communities, and who would deserve hon-
orable mention in this connection, did our space permit. We have
selected a few representative names in the different periods of the town
history.

C'Ui

SOUTH WINDSOR.

BY THE REV. INCREASE N. TARBOX, D.D.

IN" the sketch of East Windsor, preceding this, it has been shown that
the town was organized in 1768, and that the northeast portion of
it was taken off in 1786, to form the town of Ellington. After that
division the territory of the town remained unbroken for about sixty
years. But as its population increased it was generally thought that
the area of the town was too large for the convenience of the inhabi-
tants. From the northern to the southern line the distance was about
ten miles, and there was necessarily much travelling on the part of the
people to attend town-meetings. For a long course of years these
meetings were held alternately in the meeting-houses of the north and
south parishes. When the gathering was in the south parish, the
voters who lived near the Enfield line had to make a journey of seven
or eight miles ; and when it was in the north, or Scantic, house, those
living near the East Hartford line had to make a journey of about the
same length. As the town grew large its business also increased, and
the voters had to bo more frequently called together, until the burden
of attending to the town affaii's, under such conditions, became quite
heavy. There was population enough to make tAvo townships of re-
spectable size, and there was a general readiness among the dwellers,
both north and south, for a division. This will appear from the result
of a special town-meeting held April 1, 1815. Tiiough the attendance
was small, the majority vote shows that there was a wide-spread un-
derstanding how the question at issue would be decided. Without
giving the details of the meeting, it is sufficient to state that resolutions
were passed (132 to 33), expressing a strong desire to have the town
divided ; and Mr. Joseph M. Newberry was appointed an " Agent to
attend to the forwarding s'' petition."

At the meeting of the General Assembly of Connecticut in May,
184.5, upon the petition of Harvey Elmer and others the town was
divided into East Windsor and South Windsor, the boundaries fixed,
and rules and conditions usual in such cases made and established.
According to the provisions thus made, the first town-meeting of
South Windsor was called upon the first Monday of August, 1845,
Theodore Elmer calling the meetins;, and acting as moderator of the
same. The first representative from the new town to the General
Assembly was Benoni 0. King.

The first pastor of the First Congregational Church of South Wind-
sor was the Rev, Timothy Edwards, a native of Hartford, born in 1669,
and son of Mr. Richard Edwards. He was graduated at Harvard

VOL. II, — 9.

130 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

College in 1691. He began preaching at this place, then called
" Windsor Farme," in 169-1, though his ordination, as shown in the
history of East Windsor, did not take place until the church was organ-
ized, in 1698. About the time Avhcn he began his labors here he was
united in marriage to Esther Stoddard, daughter of the Rev. Solomon
Stoddard, of Northampton.

In this connection it may be well to recall the fact pointed out by
J. A. Stoughton Esq., in his recently published volume entitled
" Windsor Farmes," that the public services of ordination were followed
by an ordination ball. Mr. Stoughton (page 51) says : —

" Those who derisively point the finger of scorn at the staid manners and
wholesome plainness of the ministers of the gospel during the infancy of the
Church in New England will scarcely credit the fact that ]\Ir. Edwards's ordina-
tion was followed by a ball in honor of the event. Such, however, is the truth ;
and not long since there was found in the young pastor's handwriting the original
invitation sent to Captain Thomas Stoughton and wife, urging their attendance
at an ' Ordination Bali' given at his own house, and signed Timothy Edwards."

Mr. Edwards continued the sole minister upon this spot from the
commencement of his preaching in 1694 to 1755, and was senior pastor
for three years more, until his death, in 1758.

The second pastor was the Rev. Joseph Perry, who was a native of
Sherborn, Mass., born in 1733. He was graduated at Harvard College
in the class of 1752, was ordained colleague pastor with Mr. Edwards
June 11, 1755, and continued in office till his death, in 1783.

The third pastor was the Rev. David McClure, D.D., who was born
in Newport, Rhode Island, Nov. 18, 1748, though the customary

-v,^ residence of the

'Q— «^ ^^y^/^.^ J family was in Bos-

'/^a^^ ^^^^^t^^-^^^^.,.,—^ ton, Mass. He was

-^ of Scotch ancestry,
as his name implies. He was graduated at Yale College in 1769.
He was installed pastor, June 11, 1786. He remained sole pastor
until 1809, and continued as senior pastor until his death, June 25,
1820, in his seventy-second year.

The fourth pastor was the Rev. Thomas Robbins, D.D., son of the
Rev. Ammi Ruhamah Robbins, of Norfolk, in which town he was
born Aug. 11,^1777. He was graduated
at Yale College in 1796, was settled as
colleao-ue with the Rev. Dr. McClure in
the month of May, 1809, and continued in office until 1827. He died

Sept. 13, 1856.

The fifth pastor was the Rev. Samuel W. Whelpley. He received
the decree of Master of Arts from Vermont University in 1818, and
from Middleburv College in 1823. He was the son of the Rev. Saniuel
Whelpley, a somewhat copious writer on theological and general topics,
and, among other works, author of " The Triangle." He was installed
April 17, 1828, and dismissed in 1830. He died in 1847.

The sixth pastor was the Rev. Chauncey Graham Lee, son of the
Rev. Chauncey Lee, D.D., of Colebrook. He was a graduate of Mid-
dlebury College in the class of 1817, was installed in August, 1832, and
dismissed in 1836. He died in 1871.

D /I cL

fficin CfU^rir^j

SOUTH WINDSOR. • 131

The seventh pastor was the Rev. Levi Smith, a native of Bridge-
water, and a graduate of Yale College in the class of 1818. He was
installed in May, 1840, and dismissed in 1849. He died in 1854.

The Rev. Edward W. Hooker, D.D., became the eighth pastor of this
church. Dr. Hooker Avas born in the town of Goshen, Nov. 24, 1794,
was graduated at Middlebury College in 1814, was settled over this
church of South Windsor from 1849 to 1856, and died March 3,1875.

Tlie next pastor, the ninth in order, was the Rev. Judson Burr
Stoddard. He was born at Pawlet, Vermont, in 1813, was graduated
at Union College in 1840, and remained pastor of this church from
1855 to 1863.

The tentli pastor was the Rev. George A. Bowman. Mr. Bowman
was from Augusta, Maine, and was graduated at Bowdoin College in
1843, and at "Bangor Seminary in 1867. He was settled over this
church in 1866, and was dismissed Nov. 30, 1879.

The present pastor is the Rev. Frederick E. Snow, a graduate of the
Yale Theological School, who began his labors here in 1883.

The Second Congregational Church in South Windsor, known as
the Wapping Church, was organized Feb. 2, 1830. A preaching ser-
vice had been maintained for some years previous. The Rev. Henry
Morris went there in 1829, and remained till 1832. The Rev. David
L. Hunn, a graduate of Yale College and Andover Theological Semi-
nary, supplied the pulpit from 1832 to 1835. The first regularly set-
tled pastor was the Rev. Marvin Root, a graduate of Williams College
and Yale Theological Seminary. He began his work Aug. 29, 1836,
and was dismissed April 29, 1840. The Rev. Augustus Pomery sup-
plied for a time, and the Rev. Oscar F. Parker, after serving as acting
pastor for two years, was ordained in 1844, and continued till 1848.
The Rev. William Wright was settled in 1854, and continued in office
until 1865. The Rev. Winfield S. Hawkes began his ministry Nov. 12,
1868, and was dismissed March 22, 1871, when the Rev. Charles W.
Drake supplied the pulpit until 1875. The Rev. Henry Elmer Hart fol-
lowed, and supplied the pulpit from 1875 to 1878 The Rev Charles
N. Flanders, a graduate of Dartmouth College and Andover Theological
Seminary, has been in charge of the pulpit since 1878,

Mr. Henry Holman, clerk of the Baptist Church m South Windsor,
has given the following outline of its history : —

" The organization of the Baptist Church took place Jan. 14, 1823. There
had been Baptist preaching by the Rev. John Hastings and others since 1790.
In 1820 the Rev. William Bently began his labors here, and continued until 1824.
After this the church was suppKed by different persons, including, in 1826, the
Eev. John Hunt. In 1827 the Rev. Gurdon Robbins began to preach. He was
ordained June, 1829, remaining till 1832. The Rev. E. Doty, the Rev. William
Bently, and others preached until 1835. In April, 1838, the Rev. Wilhara Reid
began to preach. He was ordained June 10, 1838, and remained till October,
1839. The Rev. F. Bestor and others preached here until 1842, when the Rev.
William C. Walker began to preach, and continued until 1844. After this the
Rev. Ralph Bowles and others preached until 1846, when the house was occu-
pied by our Congregational brethren while they were building a new house.
After this the Baptists and Congregationalists united, and attended the Congre-
gational Church. Aug. 10, 1851, the Rev. Gurdon Robbins supplied the pulpit,

132 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

and aunounced that the house would be open for lay meetings. In the summer
of 1864 the Episcopalians began to occupy the house, and held meetings for about
two years. From I8G6 to 1870 the house was closed most of the time. Then
the Rev. Russell Jennings, of Deep River, repaired the house, and the Rev. R. E.
Whittemore began his labors, and remained until November, 1871. Since that
time the Rev. E. S. Towne, the Rev. Warren Mason, and others have occupied the
pulpit. The present minister is the Rev. H. E. Morgan."

The Rev. W. A. Taylor, pastor of the Methodist Church in Wapping,
sends a brief notice of its history : —

"The church was organized about the year 1827 by the Rev. V. Osborn,
with a membership of eight persons. The house of Avorship was built in 1833,
and dedicated by the Rev. Mr. Osborn. The present membership is seventy.
The present pastor is the Rev. Jacob Betts."

After the town was fully launched upon its course of separate ex-
istence, nothing of an unusual nature occurred until the breaking out
of the War of the Rebellion, in 18G1. Of course, in the years inter-
vening between 1845 and 18G1 events were constantly taking place in
the town which would be worthy of record if our space permitted us
to dwell much upon details. By the conditions under which we write,
w^e must touch only the main outlines of the story ; and so we come
down to the action of the town in 1861.

At a town-meeting held in South Windsor Oct. 2, 1861, clear and
manly action was taken for the raising of troops to aid in the sup-
pression of the Rebellion. South Windsor, during the war, passed
through the same essential experiences as did the other towns in the
State, and, indeed, the towns in all the Northern States. There was
first the free volunteering for three months, then a system of small
bounties as new calls were made, then larger bounties, town, state,
national, as the pressure for men became greater. In the " Cata-
logue of Connecticut Volunteers," a volume published by the State,
and showing the enrolment of men during the War of the Rebellion,
we find the names of one hundred and one men, officers and privates,
from South Windsor.

Leaving aside the recent items of town history, in which South
Windsor would not probably differ materially from other towns, it will be
more profitable if we turn back to years long gone, and show the great
tilings which were enacted upon this territory in former generations.
In some respects, no parish or town in New England can show^ facts of
greater magnitude than those which belong to this particular spot.
From the time when Mr. Timothy Edwards began his ministry here in
1694, onward for nearly a century, that which now constitutes the town
of South Windsor witnessed the growth of some remarkable men.

Captain Thomas Stoughton was one of the chief men of the early
•?/; ^ days. His father was Thomas

^^^fCoiTULi -JtO L^-^^^I^P2 Stoughton, one of the five men

<^ appointed to have special care of

the infant colony settling at Windsor in 1636. Thomas Stoughton the
son, known as Captain Thomas, having received his military commis-
sion from Governor John Winthrop, was the chief man of affairs on
the east side of the river when the Rev. Mr. Edwards began his

Iji^aJreiiT' -tL»ip™*:"^ i-pamtoi^ 1 , iaile ml^oi

SOUTH WINDSOR. 133

ministry there. He was born Nov. 21, 1662, son of Thomas and Mary
(Wadsworth) Stoug'hton, and died Jan. 14, 1749, in the eighty-seventh
year of his age. In the history of East Windsor and South Windsor, as
also in Windsor proper, the name Stoughton has continued to hold a
prominent place from generation to generation. The Hon. John W.
Stoughton, a descendant of Thomas, was State senator from the Second
District in 1845, while living in East Windsor, and again in 1860 from
the same district, living then in South Windsor. His son is John Alden
Stoughton, Esq., referred to in this sketch as the author of the volume
entitled " Windsor Farmcs."

In the history of East Windsor we made reference to the parentage
and early life of Roger Wolcott. This was in connection with an
account of " the settlements " on the east side of the river. It was in

the year 1699, when he was twenty years of age, that he took up his
permanent residence in what was afterward East Windsor and is now
South Windsor. He was a rare and remarkable man, who would, of
himself, make the glory of any township. We will first leave him to
tell the outline story of his own life in extracts from his brief Auto-
biography as published in " The Wolcott Memorial."

" I was the youngest child of my hon*^ father Mr. Simon Wolcott, tender and
beloved in the sight of my mother, Mrs. Martha Wolcott, and was born Jan. 4,
1679, at a time when my father's outward estate was at the lowest ebb. . . .

" lu the year 1680 my father settled on his own land on the east side of the
river in Windsor. Everything was to begin ; few families were settled there.
We had neither Minister nor School, by which it hath come to pass that I never
was a scholar in any School a day in my life. My parents took care and pains to
learn their children, and were successful with the rest, but not with me, by rea-
son of my extreme dulness to learn. ... On Sept. 11, 1687, dyed my honl
father, in the sixty-second year of his age. . . . We were now a widow and six
fatherless children ; the buildings unfinished, the land uncleared, the estate much
in debt, but we never wanted. In the year 1689 my mother marryed with
Daniel Clark, Esq. ; I went witli her to live on the west side of the river. . . •
In the year 1690 my mind turned to learning, and I soon learned to read English
and to write. [He was tlien eleven years old]. ... In 1694 I went an appren-
tice to a cloathier. ... On Jan. 2, 1699, I went into my own business. My
hands were enabled to perform their enterprise, and my labor was crowned with
success.

"Dec. 3, 1702, I marryed Mrs. Sarah Drake, and went to live on my own
land, on the east side of the river in Windsor. My settlement here was all to
begin, yet we lived joyfully together. Our mutual affection made everything
easie and delightfull ; in a few years my buildings Avere up and my farm made
profitable. In 1707 I took my first step to preferment, being this year chosen
selectman for the town of Windsor.

" In the year 1709 I was chosen a representative for that town in the General
Assembly. In the year 1710 I was put on the Bench of Justices. . . .

"In 1711 I went in the expedition against Canada, commissary of the Con-
necticut stores. . . . In 1714 I was chosen into the Council. ... In the year

134 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

1721 I was appointed Judge of the County Court. In the year 1732 I was ap-
pointed one of the Judges of the Superior Court. ... In the year 1 741 I was choseu
Ueputj'^-Govr of this colony and appointed Chief Judge of the Superior Court.

"In the year 1745 I led forth the Connecticut troops in the expedition
against Cape Breton, and rec"? a Commission from Govf Shirley and Gov^ Law
for major-general of the army. I was now in the sixty-seventh year of my age,
and the oldest man in the army except Revi Mr. Moody [Eev. Samuel Moody, of
York, Maine]. . . .

" In the year 1750 I was chosen Governor of the Colony of Connecticut."

We copy also from " The Wolcott Memorial " a description of his
personal appearance when in official dress, as given by Miss Marsh, of
Wethersfield. He was a visitor at her father's, and the costume of an
officer under the regal Government was too imposing to pass unnoticed.
Several times a week he rode out on horseback, and never appeared
abroad but in full dress : —

" He wore a suit of scarlet broadcloth. The coat was made long, with wide
skirts, and trimmed down the whole length in front with gilt buttons, and broad
gilt-vellum buttonholes two or three inches in length. The cuffs were large and
deep, reacliing nearly to the elbows, and were ornamented, like tlie sides of the
coat, as were also the pocket-lids, with gilt-vellum buttonholes and buttons.
The waistcoat had skirts, and was richly embroidered. EufBes at the bosom
and over the hands were of lace. He had a flowing wig, and a three-cornered
hat with a cockade, and rode slowly and stately a large black horse whose tail
swept the ground."

After Governor Wolcott's retirement from itublic life in 1754, being
then seventy-five years of age, he gave himself much to religions medi-
tation and study. Through his life he was a devoutly religious man,
and in his old age he thoroughly enjoyed the leisure and freedom from
pu1)lic cares Avhich enabled him to give himself more to the study of
the Bible and to private meditation.

Governor Wolcott wrote a poem, covering twenty-nine pages, in the
fourth volume, first series, of the Massachusetts Historical Collections,
where it is preserved. His subject was Governor John Winthrop, of
Connecticut, and his agency in securing a charter for the colony from
Charles II.

The reader may fancy that this is a very unpoetic theme. But if he
thinks so, he does not know what this charter meant to a Connecticut
man of a hundred and fifty years ago. No other colony in America had
a charter like that of Connecticut. Hear what Bancroft says of it, and
of the condition of Connecticut under it, in the thirteenth chapter of the
first volume of his history : —

" Could Charles II. have looked back upon earth and seen what security his
gift of a charter had conferred, he might have gloried in an act which redeemed
his life from tlie cliarge of having been unproductive of public felicity. The con-
tentment of Connecticut Avas full to the brim. In a proclamation under the great
seal of the colony, it told the world that its days under the charter were ' halcyon
days of peace.' Those days never will return. Time, as it advances, unfolds new
scenes in the great drama of human existence, scenes of more glory, of more
wealth, of more action, but not of more tranquillity and purity."

It is a noticeable fact that on this territory of ancient Windsor the
Wolcott family on the east side of the river, and the Ellsworth family

En)5'' iy ChSL' Burt aftei a. Ciayim Sketdi by FiBinliiaiilTaali

SOUTH WINDSOR. ]35

on the west, are not unlike in dignity and in the number of eminent
men which tliey furnished for the public service. Chief Justice Oliver
Ellsworth, of Windsor, Minister to France, and one of the very ablest
men of the convention which shaped the Federal Constitution, may stand
over against Governor Roger Wolcott. The names Wolcott aiid Ells-
worth were common on both sides of the river ; but the name Ellsworth
rose to its highest dignity on the west side, and that of Wolcott on the
east side.

The Rev. Daniel Elmer seems to have been the earliest college grad-
uate from that part of the territory of Windsor lying upon the east
side of the river. His name stands upoii the Triennial Catalogue of
Yale College for the year 1T13. His wife, according to Stiles, was
Margaret Parsons, sister of the Rev. Jonathan Parsons, of Newbury-
port, Mass., at whoso house Whitefield died. Mr. Elmer preached at
Brookfield and Westborough, Mass., and spent his later years in New
Jersey. He died in 1755.

The Rev. Henry Willes, son of Joshua Willcs, was the next graduate
upon what is now the South Windsor soil. Pie was born in 1690, and
was graduated at Yale College in 1715. He was the first minister
of the town of Franklin, beginning his labors in 1718 and continuing
until his death, in 1755. Without much doubt, both these men were
fitted for college by the Rev. Timothy Edwards.

The Rev. Samuel Tudor was the son of Samuel and Abigail (Filley)
Tudor, and was born in Windsor, east side of the river, March 8, 1705.
He was probably fitted for college by his pastor, the Rev. Timothy
Edwards. He was graduated at Yale
College in 1728, and was of the same
class with Matthew Rockwell, described
in the East Windsor history as " deacon,
minister, and physician." Mr. Tudor was settled in Poquonnock Parish,
Windsor, about the year 1737, and remained there till his death, in
1757.

Here, too, was born, Oct. 5, 1703, Jonathan Edwards, that remark-
able man whose name has long since become illustrious throughout the
civilized world. Seldom has a greater impression been made in the
intellectual circles of the world than when the published writings of

President Edwards, a hundred

>y^^^ ^^^^^ readby\L'^Sin|\Tnkers'of

^^ Europe. That such a voice should

come sounding to them out of the wilderness of the West was something
so wonderful that they could hardly find words to express their astonish-
ment and admiration. The very greatness of the themes which Edwards
chose, not ambitiously, but as one born to this high vocation, served in
themselves to suggest and illustrate the reach and grasp of his mind.
It has been generally agreed among the leading scholars and men of
thought, both in the Old World and the New, that Jonathan Edwards,
by the power of his intellect, as also by the moral purity and beauty of
his life, stands as one of the elect among the children of men.

The Hon. Roger Wolcott, son of Governor Roger and Sarah (Drake)
Wolcott, was born Sept. 14, 1704. He married Mary Newberry, Oct. 10,
1728. He died Oct. 10, 1754. " He represented the town of Windsor -

136 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

^cJe/^^(^ u/aL.tGn^'<^ .A^^'^^

in the General Court, was a major of the Connecticut troops, a member
of the Council, judge of the Superior Court, and one of the revisers

of the laws
of the colo-
ny." Stiles,
V.^^ jV ~ // from whose

^ ^ ^ history of

Windsor
the above sentence is copied, suggests that nothing but his early death
(he died at the age of fifty) prevented his election to the office of
Colonial Governor.

Alexander Wolcott, M.D., was the son of Roger and Sarah (Drake)
Wolcott, and was born Jan. 7, 1712. He was fitted for college, without
doubt, by the Rev. Timothy Edwards, who has an item in his account-
book against Roger Wolcott as follows : " To teaching his son, Alexan-
der, besides what he paid in March, 1730, as I remember, 000-04-01."

Alexander Wolcott was graduated from Yale in 1731. He was married
to Lydia, daughter of Jeremiah Atwater, of New Haven, Dec. 4, 1732.
He lived for several years in New Haven, and went with his father as
surgeon in the Louisburg expedition. After that he returned to his
native town and became a prominent physician, practising upon the
west side of the river. He was a bold defender of the rights of the
people against the usurpations of England, and in the time of the Revo-
lution was the chairman of the Windsor Committee of Inspection. He
was a man of noble person, commanding aspect, and great abilities.
Dr. Samuel Wolcott, in " The Wolcott Memorial," says his father told
him " that Dr. Alexander Wolcott, whom he saw, when a child, far
advanced in years, was very tall, and erect as a plane-tree, with hair
hanging down his shoulders, of silvery whiteness, and with an eye and
eyebrow and complexion of a dark hue ; his appearance was exceeding
noble." Dr. Wolcott lived to old age, dying in 1795, at the age of
eighty-three.

Oliver Wolcott was born in Windsor, east side of the river, Nov. 20,
1726. He was the son of Roger and Sarah (Drake) Wolcott. He was
graduated at Yale College in 1747. He received the degree Doctor of
Laws from Yale College in 1792. He was married, Jan. 21, 1755,
to Lorraine, or Laira, daughter of Captain Daniel Collins, of Guil-
ford. The French and Indian W^ar coming on just then, he received
a captain's commission from Governor George Clinton, of New York,
raised a company of men, and led them to the defence of the Northern
Frontiers. After this military episode he returned to Connecticut and
began the study of medicine under the direction of his elder brother,
Alexander. This brother liad been graduated at Yale in 1731, and was
now in middle life, and liad attained an established reputation as an
able physician. Oliver Wolcott expected to make the practice of medi-
cine his life work ; but about this time he was appointed high sheriff

iBiarvBilj/ i R.±i-f,m Irom 3, l- aiatmg irr VVa J .lo , - iSii ,

<^i €^t>

fy^ c,^

SOUTH WINDSOR.

137

^^r

of Litclifield County. He removed to the town of Litchfield, and ever
after made that his home. He soon became one of the most prominent
men in tlie State,
and was constant-
ly in the public
service. He often
represented the
town of Litchfield
in the General As-
sembl}'. He was
one of the Grov-

ernor's Council. He was chief judge of the Court of Common Pleas.
He was an ardent patriot, and at the breaking out of the War of the
Revolution he became a member of the Continental Congress and a
signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was also an army
leader, and was at one time in charge of fourteen regiments of troops
about New York. He was Lieutenant-Governor of Connecticut from
1786 until 1796. In this last-named year he was chosen Governor, and
died in office in the month of December, 1797. He was a man naturally
adapted to greatness. Intellectually, morally, and physically he was of
large and commanding proportions.

By his removal to Litchfield his son Oliver, the second Governor of
Connecticut of that name, had his birthplace in Litchfield, and not in
Windsor, the home of his ancestors. A large number of distinguished
men have come from the Litchfield branch of tlie family, whose names
would be out of place in our record.

John Fitch was born in tlie town of Windsor, east side of the river,
Jan. 21, 1743. In addition to a common-school education, such as the
times afforded, he studied surveying, which he afterward turned to
practical account. He also in early life learned the trade of clock-

fitch's steamboat.

138 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

making. He was a man of a remarkably inventive genius. In 1784 he
entered upon the project of propelling vessels upon the water by the
power of steam. It is claimed, with a good show of reason, that he was
the first to conceive this jjlan and to put it in operation. He was deeply
interested and engaged in this enterprise some fifteen or twenty years
before Fulton's experiments were made. In the month of May, 1787,
his steamboat was propelled by steam at the rate of three miles an hour
on the DelaAvare River. The next year he increased this speed ; but he
wanted money to perfect liis plans. People were unsympathetic and
unbelieving. He was baffled in his endeavors, and died an utterly dis-
appointed man, probably by his own hand, in 1798, at Bardstown, Ken-
tucky, at the age of fifty-five. He is very generally regarded as the real
inventor of the steamboat. In 1798 a committee of the New York Legis-
lature made a report on steamboats, in which they say : " The boats of
Livingston and Fulton were in substance the invention patented by John
Fitch in 1791, and Fitch during the time of his patent had the exclusive
right to use the same in the United States."

Ursula Wolcott, tlic youngest of the thirteen children of Governor
Roger Wolcott, by her marriage with Matthew Griswold, of Lyme,
brought fresh honors to her father's house. Like her father, Mat-
thew Griswold had no advantages for early education, but by liis
native strength, and breadth of understanding, he rose to high dis-
tinction in the legal profession, both as lawyer and judge, and was
Lieutenant-Governor and Governor of the State. He was born in
1716, was married in 1743, and died in 1799. His wife was born
in 1724, and died in 1788.

Governor Roger Griswold was one of the children of the above
marriage. He was born in 1762, and died in 1812. He was Governor
of Connecticut in 1811 and 1812. Like his father, he was eminent in

the legal profession, and

y was judge of the Superior

/^ y/ZfT/^ C^^^K Court. He "was regarded

the nation in talents, polit-
ical knowledge, force of
eloquence, and profound legal ability." There were other rich fruits
of the marriage of Matthew Griswold and Ursula Wolcott, but we
cannot now trace them out.

Upon the territory covered by the towns of East Windsor and South
Windsor, since the settlements on the east side of the river in Windsor
began, it is found that eighty-eight men have received college honors, —
sixty-three from Yale, nine from Amherst, and the rest from Dart-
mouth, Williams, Western Reserve, and Trinity Colleges, and from
Weslcyan University. Of the eighty-eight, thirty entered the profession
of the ministry, and the rest were lawyers, physicians, and men of pub-
lic offices, while a few of them became men of business. Of these men
of college education the Wolcott family furnished seven, — a number
larger than came from any other one family.

C^Ui

XL
ENFIELD.

BY GEORGE W. WINCH.

ENFIELD is situated in the northeast corner of Hartford County.
Orio-inallv the town extended " from the mouth of Lonoineadow
Broolv to the south, six miles," and " from the Great River, to
the east, ten miles, or to the foot of the mountain." Fi'oni this terri-
tory a large tract has been surrendered on the east, and a smaller
portion in the northwest corner, so that the township now is hardly
six miles in either of its dimensions. The present boundaries of the
town are on the north, Longmoadow, Mass.; on the east, Somers; on
the south, Ellington and East Windsor ; on the west, the Connecticut
River,

The surface of the township is somewhat diversified. Eastward
from the Connecticut River, for half a mile, the land rises in a gentle
slope, and then it descends again, so that a ridge is formed which over-
looks the river and the country to the east. This ridge extends through
the town. Along its top the first street was laid, and here the first
settlers built their homes. The soil on these slopes is quite productive.
To the east the surface sinks into a low i)lain of two or three miles in
width. This is either sandy or swampy, and much of it is useless for
agricultural purposes. Beyond the plain, upon the eastern border of
the town, the ground rises again, in many places very abruptly, and
spreads out into a large beautiful tract which offers rich advantages for
cultivation. No large streams of water flow through the town. The
most important arc the Scantic River, which by a serpentine course
winds through the eastern part of the town, and Freshwater Brook,
which passes through the northern part in a westerly direction. These
both empty into the Connecticut River, and furnish power privileges
which liave been improved to some extent.

In the year 1642 the boundary line between the Massachusetts Bay
Colony and Connecticut was run by order of the General Court of Mas-
sachusetts Bav. ThrouQ-h some error the survevors struck the Con-
necticut River several miles too far south, so that all the territory now
included in Enfield fell within the limits of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony. Though Connecticut never admitted the accuracy of this
survey, and even protested against it, yet the matter was suffered to
remain unsettled for many years. In 1048 the General Court of Massa-
chusetts ordered that all the land on the cast side of the Connecticut
River, from the town of Springfield down to the warehouse, which
they had formerly built, and twenty poles below the warehouse, should
belong to the town of Springfield. As a consequence, nearly a ceii-

140

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

turj of the history of Enfield belongs to Massachusetts rather than to
Connecticut.

For thirty years Springfield did nothing toward occupying its newly
acquired territory. Finally, in August, 1679, a committee, consisting
of John Pynchon, Samuel Marshfield, Thomas Stebbins, Sr,, Jonathan
Burt, and Benjamin Parsons, was appointed to grant out the land
against the falls at or about Freshwater Brook " unto persons there to
inhabit, and to order and act all matters so as that the place may be-
come a town of itself." This committee held its first meeting Dec. 31,
1679, at which a plan for granting out the lands was agreed upon.

ENFIELD FALLS, DAM OF THE COXNECTICUT RIVER COMPANY.

All proprietors were required to settle and erect buildings within three
years, and to remain seven years before they could dispose of their
allotments or hold two home-lots. The grants were to be of four sorts.
The first sort was to contain thirty acres of field land and a home-lot ;
the second, forty acres and a home-lot ; the third and fourth, fifty
and sixty acres respectively, with home-lots. Highways were to be laid
through these lots if needed, and all trees standing in the streets were
to be left for shade and ornament.

At a meeting of the committee in March, 1680, " it was considered
about making a purchase of the lands from the Indians." Major
Pynchon was directed to effect this purchase, and .£30 was allowed
as the price. To refund this amount to the committee, each proprie-
tor was to be charged threejieuce for every acre received by him.
The purchase was effected for <£25 instead of X30, and a deed was
afterward given by Totaps,i alias Nottattuck, the Indian chief who
owned the land. This deed conveyed " all that tract of land on

^ These Indian names are 'copied from the deed as recorded at Enfield.

ENFIELD. 141

the east side of Connecticut River which is against the falls, from
Asnuiituck, alias Freshwater River, on tlie north, down southward
alons: bv Connecticut River side, about three or four miles, to the brook
below the heap of stones, which brook is called by the Indians Pog-
gotossur, and by the English .Saltonstall's Brook, and so from the
mouth of said Haltonstall's alias Poggotossur to run from the great
river Connecticut directly east, eight full and complete miles to the
mountains."

That part of Enfield which lies north of Freshwater River had pre-
viously been purchased of another tribe of Indiaus and conveyed to
William Pynchon by a deed given in 1678 ; so that all the territory of
Enfield was obtained from the Indians by honorable purchase, and is
covered by duly recorded deeds. The inhabitants of Enfield never had
any serious difficulty with the Indians. Everything favored harmony.
King Philip's War had just closed when the first attempt at a settle-
ment was made, so that general peace with the Indians prevailed.
Tlie Indians did not live within the territory, and for the land they
received what they considered a just equivalent. For these reasons
the early settlers of Enfield escaped those hardships and sufferings
which came upon the first settlers of many of the towns in Con-
necticut.

Previous to the appointment of the committee for Freshwater a few
individuals had received grants of land near Freshwater River from
the town of Springfield ; but these grants were never occupied. The
appointment of that committee may be taken, therefore, as the first
effectual attempt to plant a settlement within the present limits of
Enfield. In the autumn of the same year John and Robert Pease are
said to have gone to Freshwater and "to have spent the following Avinter
there, living in an excavation in the side of a hill, about forty rods from
where the first meeting-house stood." The truth of this old and com-
mon tradition there is some reason to doubt, for at the first meeting of
the committee for Enfield, Dec. 31, 1(379, several grants of land were
made, but none to the Peases. Their allotment was not made until
July 23, 1680, and after the committee had held several meetings. If
they spent a winter here in making prejjarations for the coming of their
families, it was proljably the winter of 1680-1681. In the season of
1681 John Pease and his two sons, John

and Robert, probably came with their ^^^-j-^VVt, K^i^r/i/o
families and settled upon their allot- ^^ ' #^^'^^'^3"^

ments, about one mile south of Fresh- ^"""^

water River. They were the first settlers of Enfield. In recognition of
this fact the committee records, Dec. 16, 1681, that the lots of John
Pease and his sons were made " two or three rods wider than others."

The lots upon the main street Avere fast taken up, for " the planters
came on with numbers and strength." During the year about twenty-
five families from Salem and vicinity followed the Peases, though some
of them remained for only a short time. These first inhabitants were
men of the Puritan mould, who brought with them their strict habits
and fixed ideas, in accordance with which they laid the foundations of
tlie new plantation, and established its institutions, and infused into
its life a vigor that has not yet been quenched. In April, 1683, the
number of inhabitants was such that a movement was made toward the

142 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

organization of the settlement into a distinct town. This movement
being secoiidecl by Springfiehl, a petition was drawn up and presented
to the General Court of Massachusetts at its session May 16, 1683,
praying for permission to become " a distinct society." To this petition
the General Court gave a favorable answer, and ordered that " the
town be called Enfield,'' ^ and that the committee who had had charge
of granting out the lands " be empowered to manage all the affairs of
the tow^nship till this Court take further order."

Because of this arrangement little was gained by the proprietors.
The boundaries of the plantation were more deiinitely fixed, but the
people still had no voice in the administration of affairs. A committee
living in another town, ten miles away, was still the source of all
authority. Matters could not long remain in this condition, however,
and as a partial remedy for the difficulty the committee called together
the proprietors July 15, 1683, for the purpose of electing a constable.
John Pease, Jr., was elected, and so had the honor of being the first
office-holder within the town. At the same meeting the following
peculiar arrangement was devised for filling the office thereafter :
"■ The old constable whose office expires shall at a public meeting nomi-
nate three such men of the inhabitants as he shall judge meet to suc-
ceed him, which three shall be put to the vote at that meeting, and that
man of them who hath the greatest number of votes of the inhabitants
present shall be constable." Still further to satisfy the wishes and
convenience of the inhabitants, the committee in the following February
appointed John Pease, Sr., Isaac Meacham, Jr., and Isaac Morgan, " to
officiate as selectmen, and to manage and carry on the prudential
affairs of the place so far as they are capable of, who are to act for the
welfare of the place according to their best judgment or as we shall
order and direct them." This board of selectmen was authorized to
call meetings of the inhabitants when necessary, to prepare matters for
the action of the committee, and was specially directed to take care of
the widows and their children, so that " charge might not unnecessarily
arise upon the place."

This action of the committee was highly acceptable to the people,
and paved the way for the conferring of larger political privileges
upon them. Questions that concerned the welfare of the town were
often referred to the inhabitants for decision. They Avere also permitted
to express to the committee their wishes upon matters of public policy,
and soon were allowed to nominate the board of selectmen. With this
condition of things there seems to have been general satisfaction.

In 1684 the charter of Massachusetts was revoked by James IL,
and soon after the General Court was dissolved. The committee,
however, were permitted to continue their work till Andros assumed
authority as Governor of all New England. Then, because of his " not
allowing of committees, the said committee for Enfield, who were firstly
authorized by the General Court of the Massachusetts, forbore or
declined, and acted nothing after March 15, 1687."

1 The reason for this name is doubtful. Trumbull says the town was named for a town
in Enjrland. As none of the early settlers appear to have come from that place, there seems to
be little ground for this theory. A more reasonable conjecture is that the name was a con-
traction of Endtield, as we know Sufheld was of Southfield. The territory was the eiid of the
grant to Springfield, on the east side of the river.

ENFIELD. ]^43

The town immediately assumed the direction of its own affairs, and
so, strangely enough, first ol)tained its rights as an organized town
during tliat period when the most arbitrary power was exercised
tliroughout all New England. During this time, on the 21st of May,
1688, the first town-meeting for independent action was held, \yith
the fall of James the government of Andros Avent down. The General
Court of Massachusetts at once assembled, and restored to power the
committee for Enfield, which met June 27, 1689, and proceeded in the
places and trust according to former usage.

The committee remained in power three years after restoration, but
never fully recovered their influence. The inhabitants took the lead
in nearly every movement, and looked to the committee only to sanc-
tion their acts. The last meeting of the committee was held March 16,
1692. Before the close of the year " the committee, being for the most
part dead, only Major Pynchon and Jonathan Burt remaining, deliv-
ered up to the town their Ijook of records and left their work,"

No essential change in the conduct of affairs was made upon the
retirement of the committee. The town continued to admit new inhabi-
tants upon the conditions which the committee had fixed, laid out new
roads as they were needed, and attended to the improvement of the
lands already granted. This last matter required frequent attention,
as the grantees of lots often failed to build and settle according to
agreement. So serious had the case become, even before the committee
laid down their work, that " the place was oppressed for w\ant of inhabi-
tants." The solution of the difficulty was found in the forfeiture of
several grants and the allotment of the same to others, who were willing
to become inhabitants and to improve the land. The increase of popu-
lation led to the settlement of other parts of the township. About
1692 the land in the south part of the town began to be taken up. In
1706 a settlement was made in the east part of the town (now Somers)
by families from the Centre. About the year 1713 settlements were
made in those parts of the plantation now known as Scitico and Wallop.
By the year 1720, only forty years after John Pease and his two sons
reached Freshwater, the whole township was thinly settled.

The settlement of the lands upon the southern border of the town
occasioned a long and bitter controversy. The location of the dividing
line between the two colonies had never been satisfactorily fixed.
Massachusetts asserted the correctness of the survey of 1642, while
Connecticut claimed that that line was too far south. Each colony
fixed the limits of its border towns according to its own idea of the
correctness of the Woodward and Saffeiy survey. As a result, a strip
of land nearly two miles in width was claimed by both Windsor and
Enfield. Numerous lawsuits and several arrests resulted from this con-
troversy. At every town-meeting for many years the subject was dis-
cussed and committees a])pointed '• to meet"^ similar committees from
Windsor to fix the bounds between the two towns." Failing to settle
the difficulty between themselves, the towns appealed to the legislative
bodies of their respective colonies for protection. The two governments
had already had the matter under consideration for a long time, but
were no nearer a satisfactory settlement than the towns themselves.
Massachusetts insisted upon the survey of 1642 ; Connecticut demanded
a new survey according to the provisions of the charters of the two

144

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

colonies. In 1718, after twenty years of controversy, the matter was
settled by compromise. It was agreed that each colony sliould retain
jurisdiction over the towns it had settled, and that for the determination
of the boundary between the towns the line should be run due west from
the Woodward and Saffery station, and " as many acres as sliould appear
to be gained by one colony from the other should be conveyed out of
other unimproved land as a satisfaction or equivalent." It was found

Off

4id.52mi

HillS

M endows

\^H8.rford

'••'"..

Fcrq p]b:c(i ^nd bound

^CrDPino, •#

HlUs. p»&irv5 (TThisle
5vyAmps

The fa.lls

pUins Hfffh Hills

i70ronoto

. •• •"

FROM THE WOODWARD AND SAFFERY MAP OF 1642.^

that Massachusetts had encroached upon Connecticut to the extent of
105,793 acres, of which 7,259 acres lay in the disputed tract between
Windsor and the towns of Suffield and Enfield. Windsor surrendered
her claim to this tract, and as an equivalent for her loss received the
same number of acres in unoccupied lands elsewhere.

Durino- this struggle the o-eneral affairs of the town Avere not neg-
lected, and the population steadily increased. To deepen the interest of
the inhabitants in all public affairs, it was voted in 1694 " that persons
neglecting or refusing to attend town-meeting shall be fined five shillings
a day for such neglect or refusal." In 1701 the qualifications for voting
in town-meeting were prescribed. All persons holding houses and land

1 Contrary to modern order, this map is drawn with the south at the top.

ENFIELD. 145

of their own in town were allowed the privilege. Enfield seems to have
been without any representation in the General Court until 1705. In
that year it was " Voted, To empower Joseph Parsons, Esq., of Spring-
held, to represent us in a general court at Boston." This office Mr.
Parsons accepted. After this, however, the town was represented only
irregularly until its annexation to Connecticut.

The spirit oi the town in its early history was hardly so liberal as it
has become since, for in 1722 it was " Voted, That no person in the
town shall give nor sell any land to any stranger or foreigner, without
having first obtained liberty from the town, or selectmen for the time
being,' for the same, on penalty of paying <£20 into the town treasury,
for the use of the town, for every breach of this act." By 1721 the
number of inhabitants in the eastern part of the town had so increased
that special religious and political privileges were demanded by them.
In response to this demand another precinct was established, known as
the East Precinct. But this did not long satisfy the people of the new
settlement. They were so far removed from the Centre, where church
and school were located, and where all business must be transacted,
that great inconvenience was caused. In 1733 the question of dividing
the town was submitted to the people ; but they were not yet willing
to surrender so important a part of their territory and so large a pro-
portion of their population. The following year, however, the mat-
ter was brought up again in town-meeting and the division assented
to. By this act nearly one half of the territory of the township was
given up.

Meantime the people were becoming restive under the jurisdiction of
Massachusetts. The greater liberty which the people of Connecticut
enjoyed under their charter was very attractive, and the fact that a
proper location of the boundary line between Massachusetts and Con-
necticut would put Enfield under the government of the latter, made
the hardships of royal authority in the former province seem all the
more severe. In March, 1716, hardly three years after the boundary
dispute was settled by the joint commission, it was voted in town-meet-
ing " to make a trial to be joined to Connecticut." Nothing, however,
resulted except the deepening of the desire in the hearts of the people
to secure their charter i-ights. After eight years another fruitless effort
was made. The difficulties in the way were so many and so great that
the desired end was to be gained only by the most determined and
persistent endeavor. In 1740 the people again roused themselves to
action, but only to be again ^^

defeated. They waited un- ^ ^\ • y\^

til 1747, in which year the ^^/^^f^^Jf^j^.^^^^^
step was taken which finally ^^ *^''*^ "-"^^ •" "^
led to the correction of this j^

wrong of a century. Captain ^

Samuel Dwight was appointed a committee, to join with committees
from Woodstock, Somers, and Suffield, to make application to the legis-
lative bodies of Massachusetts and Connecticut to be set off from the
former province and allowed to belong to the colony of Connecticut.
By this committee a memorial was preferred to the Assemblies of both
colonies, representing that these towns were situated within the bounds
of the royal charter of Connecticut, and that without their consent

VOL. II. — 10.

146 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

they had been put under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts ; for these
reasons they prayed that a committee be appointed by both Assemblies
to consider the matter and furnish relief.

To this petition the General Court of Connecticut gave a favorable
response at its session in May, 1747, and appointed Jonathan Trumbull,
John Bulkley, Benjamin Hall, and Roger Wolcott, commissioners " to
meet and confer with such gentlemen as may be appointed by the prov-
ince of Massachusetts Bay." But Massachusetts declined to take any
action. Therefore, in October, 1747, the four towns repeated their griev-
ances to the General Assembly of Connecticut, and prayed that it
would acknowledge them to be in the colony and " allow them the liber-
ties and privileges thereof." For two years the General Assembly of
Connecticut endeavored to reach an amicable settlement of the case ;
but it was in vain. Massachusetts insisted uj)on the boundary as
fixed in 1713. Impatient at the delay, and more strongly determined
than ever to gain their end, the agents of the aggrieved towns, in
May, 1749, renewed their complaint to the Connecticut General Assem-
bly, and, to meet the objections urged by Massachusetts, represented
that the government of Connecticut had received no equivalent for the
jurisdiction over these towns, and that the agreement had never been
fully completed, and was never established by the royal confirmation.
By this reasoning the Assembly professed to be convinced, and there-
upon " Resolved, That as it doth not appear that ever the said agreement
hath, so it never ought to receive the royal confirmation, and that as
the governments could not give up, exchange, or alter their jurisdiction,
so the agreement, so far as it respects jurisdiction, is void. And there-
upon this Assembly do declare that all the said inhabitants which live
south of the line fixed by the Massachusetts charter are within and
have right to the privileges of this government, the aforesaid agreement
notwithstanding."

The Assemljly, apprehensive of further difficulty with Massachusetts,
appointed a committee to join with commissioners from that province
to fix the boundary line, and in case of failure to establish the line ac-
cording to the royal charters. The governor was directed to prepare
the case and send it to the agent of the colony in London, who should
petition his Majesty to appoint commissioners to run and ascertain the
divisional line. No agreement was reached by the two governments,
and the case was carried to London for settlement. After two years
of controversy the claims of Connecticut were allowed, and the rights
of the inhabitants of Enfield secured. At last the question which had
disturbed the peace of the town almost from its organization was per-
mauently decided. The town, however, had not waited for his Majesty's
decision, but had entered upon the enjoyment of its rights. In October,
1749, the representatives of Enfield, Captain Ephraim Pease and Cap-
tain Elijah Williams, took their places in the General Assembly of
Connecticut, and there the town has been represented annually to the
present time.

In this long and unfortunate controversy the people of Enfield were
moved by no base motive. By charter right the territory belonged to
Connecticut, and had been unjustly taken from her. To the original
Woodward and Saffery survey Connecticut never formally assented.
The compromise of 1713, to which Connecticut was forced by other

ENFIELD. 147

difficulties wliich demanded all her energy, seems never to have been
approved by the town. The greater freedom which Connecticut offered,
and the fact that the convenience of the inhabitants was better served
in Connecticut than in Massachusetts, seem to have furnished the rea-
sons for the action that was taken. Therefore, while all the measures
that were adopted to secure the desired end may not be justified, and
sufficient regard for the agreement of 1713 may not have been shown,
it is clearly without reason to impugn the motives of the people.

The population of Enfield at the time of this union with Connecti-
cut was about one thousand, and was steadily increasing. The taxable
list was not far from X 15,000. The town was therefore of considera-
ble importance. While the people were thus earnestly engaged in
securing their rights, they were not negligent of their duty toward the
larger interests of the colonies. When the expedition was undertaken
against Louisburg, in 1745, Enfield generously contributed to the suc-
cess of the undertaking by sending a large band of young men, of
whom nineteen were lost through the hardships that followed the re-
duction of that stronghold. In the French and Indian war that broke
out in 1754, which laid great burdens upon the colonies, Enfield again
sacrificed several of her sons, besides furnishing money as required.

As the War of the Revolution drew near, the spirit of the people
rose in loyalty to colonial interests and hatred of British oppression.
In the intense feeling against the Boston Port Bill they shared largely.
A meeting of the inhabitants was held, July 11, 1774, for the purpose
of protesting against this obnoxious act. After setting forth the griev-
ances of the people in the strongest language, they passed the following
resolutions : —

" Resolved unanimously, that a firm and inviolable union of the colonies is
absolutely necessary for the defence and support of our civil rights, ^Yithout
which all our efforts will be likely to prove abortive. That to facilitate such
union it is our earnest desire that the commissioners of the several governments
meet, in a general convention, at such place as shall be thought most conven-
ient, as soon as the circumstances of distance and communication of intelli-
gence will possibly admit. That the most effectual measure to defeat the machi-
nations of the enemies of his Majesty's government and the liberties of America
is to break off all commercial intercourse with Great Britain, until these oppres-
sive acts are repealed."

After adopting these resolutions a committee was appointed to con-
fer with committees from other towns respecting the best measures to be
adopted in the crisis, and to receive and forward contributions " for the
relief of those persons in the towns of Boston, Charlestown, etc., who
are distressed by the unhappy consequences of the Boston Port Bill."
The patriotism which prompted these acts was no ephemeral senti-
ment, but an abiding conviction of the justice of the colonial cause,
and a determination to push the questions at issue to a just settlement.
Therefore when the storm broke the people of Enfield did not waver ;
the report of the battle of Lexington reached the place while they
were gathered in the meeting-house at their regular Thursday week-day
lecture. Captain Thomas Abbe hastily procured a drum, and with it
marched around the meeting-house, drumming furiously.

148

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

.€

^ Vj^

" So drum and doctrine rndely blent,
The casements rattled strange accord ;
No mortal knew wliat either meant :
'T was double-drag and Holy Word,
Thus saith the drum, and thus the Lord.
The captain raised so wild a rout,
He drummed the congregation out."

The next morning a company of
seventy-four men started for Boston ;
but before they reached that place the
danger had passed, and most of them
returned home. As the war continued,
efficient measures were taken by the
town to meet the many demands that
were made upon it. Early in 1777 a
committee was appointed to take care
of the families of those who should
enlist in the Continental army. Forty
dollars was also voted to each able-
bodied man who should enlist, till the
town's quota of forty-seven men was
filled. During the war town-meetings
were held frequently for the discussion
of the many exciting questions that arose,
and for such action as would forward
the colonial cause. An annual tax,
sometimes as large as two shillings and
fourpence on the pound, was levied for
the purchase of clothing and tents for
the soldiers, and often another for the
support of the soldiers' families. When,
in 1779 and 1780, it became difhcult for
the Continental Congress to raise money
for the support of the army, the town
itself became responsible for the wages
of the new soldiers that were called for,
and most vigorously pushed the matter
of enlistments. The several quotas of
y. '^"*'^"' ^^^^ town were promptly filled. Of the

'^y^ ^Zi/^ number which Enfield sent into the Con-

C l/ ^ \^C i tinental army, fourteen are known to

^ w '^ j^^^.g j^g^ their lives. When the war

closed, the town found itself in debt to

the amount of several hundred jiounds,

K. T >* ^ -* the most of which was incurred in rais-

!'«=::> i^i^ T^ ^^^ ^^^^ supporting the men sent into

fs^ fj • '^ ^^ ^ the army. In the issue of the war there

was great rejoicing ; not merely because
of the victory gained, but because of the
promise of liberty which the triumph gave ; for the idea of liberty was
deeply fixed in the hearts of the inhabitants of Enfield, as is shown
by their action in town-meeting, March 31, 1777, of which we give a
fac-simile on page 151.

<Ki

It-

ENFIELD.

151

The declaration of peace, in 1783, found Enfield at the end of its
first century. The population was 1,580. The inhabitants at once
settled down into their former quietness, and entered busily upon the
pursuit of the arts of peace. Nothing occurred to disturb them in
these avocations until the breaking out of the War of 1812, when they
were again aroused to action. The sentiment of opposition to the war
common throughout New England was probably shared by the people
here ; yet for the prosecution of the
war they contributed generously. Be-
sides the men enlisted for the service,
a company of seventy-four men, under
Captain Luther Parsons, and other de-
tachments, marched to the defence of
New London in 1813.

Until 1828 nothing further occurred
to mark the history of the town, or to
distinguish Enfield from the surround-
ing towns. In that year began a more
rapid growth, caused by the erection of
mills on Freshwater River. Thomp-
sonville, now one of the thriving vil-
lages of the State, began its history at
that date. In 1833 a village in the
eastern part of the town, afterward
called Hazardville, was begun. This
has grown into a pleasant and stirring-
place. The growth of these two vil-
lages soon began to detract from the
importance of the old " centre of the
township," and finally drew off to them
the most of the business of the town.

The outbreak of the Civil War
aroused the people of Enfield as they
had not been aroused since the Revo-
lution. The spirit shown was the
same loyalty to justice and truth that
had expressed itself in 1774. On the
29th of April, 1861, in town-meeting
assembled, the inhabitants unanimous-
ly passed resolutions, expressing their
loyalty to the general Government, and
the duty of all citizens to make use of
their means in assisting " the properly
constituted authorities to punish trea-
son, suppress rebellion, and maintain
the Constitution and enforce the laws.

the legislature to tender to the President of the United States all the
resources of the State for the suppression of the insurrection. At
the same meeting a committee was appointed to look after all families
of volunteers residing in the town, and to report all cases of want to
the selectmen, with recommendations that they furnish such sums of
money as might be deemed needful. This spirit of loyalty to the

o
o

H
O

►^

C/J

>
>

It was also voted to request

152 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Government, and sympathy with the Nation's defenders, did not falter
as the war continued and its hardships increased. As call after call
was sent out for more men, Enfield quickly and generously responded.
Bounties of one hundred, two hundred, and finally of three hundred
and fifty dollars were paid to volimteers. In July, 1864, it was found
that the town had fifty-eight more men in the service of the United
States than had been called for. The whole number sent into the
army was four hundred and twenty-one. Of these, ten were killed in
battle, seventeen died of wounds, sixteen died of disease, and thirteen
died in prison. Others received wounds or contracted diseases wliich
after months or years ended their lives ; so that they were no less
victims and heroes of the war than those who fell on the field of
battle.

By the generosity of the town toward those who volunteered and
toward their families, a debt of $40,000 was incurred, which has since
been reduced to '$30,000. Since the close of the war the peojjle have
quietly pursued their avocations. The population has steadily in-
creased, and, according to the census of 1880, is (3,755.

Provision for the religious needs of the place was very early made.
The committee, at their first meeting, in December, 1679, took the fol-
lowing action : —

" Whereas it is the most earnest desire of the committee, and by the help of
God shall be their great care, to promote the progress of the gospel by endeav-
oring to settle the ordinances of God at Fresliwater Plantation as soon as con-
veniently may be possible, — it is therefore agreed, concluded, and ordered, that
all persons who accept of their grants, and shall so declare to the committee
before the 1st of May next (1G80), they shall, with all others that may have
after-grants, become bound and hereby are engaged to promote the settling of
an able minister there ; and shall unite together in rendering him suitable and
due maintenance."

Sixty acres of land were set apart to become the property of the
first minister who should be settled, and seventy acres for the use of
the church. In 1683 the building of a house of worship was begun.
But the efforts of the people and committee to secure a minister were
for some time fruitless ; so that, according to the records of a court
held in Springfield, Sept. 30, 1684, " the town of Enfield was by the
grand jury presented to the court, for that they are without a preach-
ing minister." The town was discharged, however, upon the plea that
the inhabitants were making all suitable efforts to procure a minister.
In 1689 the Rev. Nathaniel Welch, of Salem, Mass., came to undertake
the work of the ministry in Enfield ; but in a few months, before his
installation, he died. All steps toward the organization of a church
were for a time deferred. But the people were not destitute of religious
privileges. It was voted by the inhabitants " that they would assemble
together on the Sabbath, forenoon and afternoon, except such as might
conveniently go to Springfield or Suffield, and carry on the day by
prayer, singing, and reading some good orthodox book, till they might
get a supply of a minister." In 1693 the provision for the support of
a minister was increased. Ninety acres of land were set apart for
his use, to become his own possession at the end of seven years. Six

ENFIELD.

153

J^liA^ccM. : f^i^yn^.

acres were to be put into a state of cultivation, and upon this lot a
house was to be built. Besides this, a yearly salary of £55 was prom-
ised ; but not until 1699 was a minister se-
cured. In that year Mr. Nathaniel Collins '\ ,^i p <5^2^
was engaged to preach the gospel. Before the
close of the year a church Avas formed, and
Mr. Collins was ordained as its hrst pastor.^ This church was called the
Church of Christ in Enfield, and was of the Congregational order.

About 1750 a Baptist church was formed in the northeast part of

the town. It existed, however,

'^//^ix^ C^ X ^ ^*^^' *^^^^ ^ short time. Its pastor,

yr ^^Ce^^^xL'^^^t.^ the Rev. Joseph Meacham, became

one of the first converts in Amer-
ica to the faith and principles of Shakerism. This was about the year
1781. With him went several members of his church, and the Baptist
organization soon became extinct. Mr. Meacham, Avho was a native of
Enfield, became a leader among the Shakers. Under his guidance the
principles of this body in regard to property and order were established,
and largely tln-ough his intluence the different societies of Shakers
in New England and New York were founded. A society of Shakers

THE NOKTH FAMILY OF SHAKEPvS.

organized in Enfield about the year 1788, as a result of the defection
in the Baptist Church. This society has continued to the present
time. It consists of three families and about two hundred and fifty

^ The ministers of the Enfield Congregational Church, succeeding Mr. Nathaniel Collins,
have been,— Peter Reynolds, Nov. 1725-1768 ; Elam Potter, 17C9-1774 ; Nehemiah Pnidden,
Nov. 1782-Sept. 1815 ; Francis L. Robbins, April, 1816-April, 1850; C. A. G. Brigham, Jan.
1851-Feb. 1855 ; A. L. Bloodgood, 1855-1862 ; K. V>. Gliddcn, Oct. 1862-April, 1865; Cyrus
Pickett, Feb. 1867-April, 1870 ; N. H. Eggleston, Jan. 1870-July, 1874 ; and Geo. W. Winch,
July, 1875-.

154 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

members. The families are gathered near each other in the northeast
part of the town. They own a tract of land of se^'eral hundred acres,
much of which they carefully cultivate. They sustain their own schools,
take no part in political affairs, and socially are strictly secluded. They
are thrifty, honest, and hospitable. Within a few years they have
erected several very large and expensive buildings, which bespeak their
temporal prosperity. Their growth is not marked.

In 1762 a controversy respecting church order broke out in the
original church, which soon resulted in the withdrawal of many
of the members. These persons organized themselves into another
church, and were known as Separates. In 1770 the General Assembly
organized the Second Ecclesiastical Society of Enfield in connection
with this church. The characteristics of this body were wild enthu-
siasm, a regard for visions and trances, and a practical denial of the
office of the ministry. Gradually these excesses abated. The church
became associated with the Baptist denomination, and in that relation
continued until its extinction, about 1820.

The original church thenceforward for several years was the only
church in the town. But as the population increased, churches of other
denominations sprang up. About 1835 a Methodist Episcopal Church
was formed, and a house of worship erected in what is now the village
of Hazardville. At the time of its organization the church drew its few
supporters from the different parts of the town, as there were very
few^ inhabitants in its vicinity. The growth of the village has added
strength to the church, so that it has become prosperous and active.
A large and beautiful edifice has replaced " the meeting-house built in
the woods."

St. Mary's Parish (Episcopal) was formed in 1863. Its numbers
have been small, but are now increasing.

The Roman Catholics have had a church edifice in Hazardville since
1863. A new and beautiful house of worship was erected during the
season of 1880. From the first the services of this church have been
under the charge of the priest in Thompsonville.

In 1839 the First Presbyterian Church of Thompsonville was formed.
The first settlers of this village were largely from Scotland, who came
as workmen in the mills. They had been connected with Presbyterian
bodies at home, and brought with them a deep love for their mother
church. While they were few they worshipjied with the Congregational
Church of the town ; but in ten years their numbers had so inci'eased
that they felt justified in organizing a church of their own polity. In
1845, after long and bitter dissensions over the question of instru-
mental music in its religious services, this church was rent asunder
by the withdrawal of a considerable portion of its membership. The
dissatisfied ones at once formed themselves into a new church, and
became connected with the United Presbyterian body, and have since
been known as the Cnitcd Presbyterian Church of Thompsonville.
Both of these, after many trials and discouragements, have groAvn into
strong, active churches.

In 1840, chiefly through the labors of the Rev. John Howson, who
had come from England for employment in the carpet-works, the
Methodist Episcopal Church of Thompsonville was formed, and it has
continued, growing in numbers and inliuence.

ENFIELD. 155

The Episcopal Church of Thompsonville was organized as a mis-
sion in 1851, and as St, Andrew's Parish in 1855, and is gatliering to
itself an increasing number of adherents.

In 1860 the Roman Catholics erected and dedicated a house of wor-
ship in Thompsonville, which by the large increase of the foreign popu-
lation has become, in numbers, the most flourishing religious society in
the town.

Within a few years a Universalist society has been formed, which
in 1879 built a meeting-house, and since has sustained public services.
TliG society is small.

In 1855, after a long contention over points of doctrine, the old
First Church of Enfield was again divided. Nearly one half of its
members, under the lead of the Rev. C. A. G. Brigham, who for four
years had been pastor of the church, withdrew, and formed the North
Congregational Church. This latter body continued under the pastor-
ate of Mr. Brigham until 1871, Avhen, having accepted the doctrines and
polity of the Catholic Apostolic Church, he resigned, and with several
members of the church went to form a congregation of the Catholic
Apostolic order. After this defection the North Church continued re-
ligious services until 1878, when, already weakened by numerous with-
drawals from its membership, it closed its house of worship, which in the
following year was sold to the Catholic Apostolic Church, and most of its
remaining supporters became connected with the First Church. While
there are still a few members of the North Society, the body is practi-
cally extinct. The Catholic Apostolic Churcli remains. Mr. William M.
Pearl is the elder in charge. Mr. Warren Button is assistant.

Besides these various religious organizations, there is a society of
Second Adventists, whose meeting-house is in the eastern part of the
town, where public worship has been maintained irregularly for twenty
years, and regularly for the past twelve years. The members of the
society are somewhat scattered.

Thus there appear sixteen religious societies in the history of the
town, of which thirteen still exist and own houses of worship and
regularly maintain public services. Yet many as they seem, the multi-
plication, since the organization of the First Church in 1699, has hardly
kept pace with the growth in population.

Following close upon the provision for the church were measures
for the establishment and support of a school in Enfield. The com-
mittee, in December, 1679, voted " an allotment of forty acres in some
convenient place, for and toward the support of a school to be improved
for that use forever." No school seems to have ])een established until
1703, in which year it was " voted to have a school master in this town
to teach children." In the following year it was voted "to build a
school-house, to be eighteen foot long, sixteen broad, and six foot studs,
in the most convenient place in the middle of the town." And in
the same year, also, John Richards was invited to teach school, " the
town to give him or any other man that shall keep school in this town
X14 yearly, the rest of the salary to be raised upon all children in
the town from five years of age." Twenty acres of land were promised
to Mr. Richards if he continued to teach for five years. From this
time provision was made annually for the support of a school in the

156 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

town. A male teacher only was employed at first ; but in 1714 the
town went so far as to vote " to hire a woman to keep school four or
five months, if the selectmen see cause and think convenient." Either
the selectmen did not" see cause" so to do, or the town was dissatisfied
with the experiment, for in the following year it was decided " to hire
a man to keep school." In 1733 a movement was made toward estab-
lishing a school of a higher grade. A committee was appointed " to
consider of and determine what shall bo necessary and best respecting
hirin"' a grammar school master." Such a " school master " seems to
have been hired shortly afterward.

Until 1754 one school had sufficed for the whole town. In that
vear the town was divided into five districts, Wallop, Scitico, North
End, South End, and the Centre, and the sum of .£500 was voted for
new school-houses. This multiplication of schools greatly increased the
expenses of the town. Frequently the amount raised for this purpose
was double that for all other town expenses. As the population has
increased, new districts have been organized and new schools estab-
lished, so that at the present time there arc twenty-six schools sup-
ported by the toAvn. Of these, three are high schools, — one in each of
the three villages, — and are a blessing and honor to the town. Into
these twenty-six schools are gathered eleven hundred children, and for
their support twelve thousand dollars are spent annually. Besides these
public schools, there are several parochial and private schools, attended
by five hundred children and supported at an unknown expense.

The first settlers of Enfield were farmers. To till the soil, they
came to this place. The first products of the land were such as would
supply their own wants, — corn, wheat, rye, and barley. To increase
their "income, tar and turpentine were quite extensively manufactured
until clearing of the lands put a stop to this industry. Agriculture
then for many years remained almost the sole business of the people.
To the present time, indeed, it has been the occupation of a large por-
tion of the inhabitants. Much fruit, such as apples, pears, and peaches,
is raised. Grains of the various kinds are produced. Dairying to a mod-
erate extent is carried on. For a long time, however, the chief source of
income to the agricultural portion of the community has been tobacco.
To the growth of this article the land is admirably adapted.

But Enfield has ceased to be a distinctively agricultural town, and
has already become noted for its manufactures. In 1802 iron-works
were erected on the Scantic River in the eastern part of the town, which
did a small business for many years. Soon after, the manufacture of
ploughs was begun, and was carried on quite extensively until 1860.
Then, as the market for the ploughs was mostly in the South, the
business was nearly broken up by the war. Since the war it has
revived but little.

The year 1828 marks the beginning of a most remarkable growth
in the business and population of Enfield. In that year, through the
efforts of a former resident of Enfield, Mr. Orrin Thompson, of the
firm of Andrews, Thompson, & Co., of New York, the Thompsonville
Manufacturing Company was organized, for the purpose of manufactur-
ing carpets, and its works were located near the mouth of Fresliwater
River. As this was a pioneer enterprise, all the machinery and skill

'ona-ii.

ENFIELD. 157

had to be imported, and came from Scotland. The intention at first
was to import the yarns dyed, and ready for use. But this was found
to be impracticable, and therefore all the departments of a complete
carpet-manufactory were at once established. Owing to the business
tact and energy of Mr. Thompson, who gave his personal attention to the
business, the company was immediately successful. The products of
these looms soon fjecame widely known and celebrated, so that there
was shortly a demand for increased power of manufacture. In 1833
the weaving of three-ply, and soon after of Venetian, carpets began.
In 1811 Brussels and Axminster works were added. In 1817 the
hand-loom was displaced by the power-loom, and the works were much
enlarged. A new era of prosperity seemed to be opening for the Thomp-
sonville Manufacturing Company. But hardly had the promise begun
to be fulfilled, when unexpected trials rose to threaten the hitherto un-
checked success of the company. The firm of Thompson & Co., of New
York, which was virtually the Thompsonville Manufacturing Company,
became crippled, and in 1851 failed. In this disaster the carpet com-
pany went down, and the mills were at once closed.

The energy of Mr. Thompson, however, was not paralyzed. He set
about devising a plan for starting the mills, and after two years suc-
ceeded in organizing the Hartford Carpet Company, with T. M. Allyn,
Esq., of Hartford, as president, and George Roberts, Esq., of Hart-
ford, as treasurer. In 1854 this company bought the property, and at
once began operations, with Mr. Thompson as superintendent. Wise
management has insured success. A steady growth has marked the
history of the new company. Improved machinery has greatly increased
the quantity and improved the quality of the fabrics produced. New
works erected have admitted the manufacture of new varieties of goods,
notably the Wilton and moquette carpets. The present production of
the works is nine thousand yards daily. The number of workmen em-
ployed is eighteen hundred. In 1856 Mr. Roberts became president,
and he held that position until his death, in 1878. During his adminis-
tration of the company's affairs its capital was increased from $300,000
to •11,500,000, and its dividends reached at times as high a figure as forty
per cent a year. Mr. Roberts was born in East Hartford in 1810, son
of Ozias Roberts, and was for many years one of the leading business
men of Hartford. He was closely identified with the large mercantile
and financial interests of the city, and was held in the highest respect
and esteem by all who associated with him. Since Mr. Roberts's death
the Hon. John L. Houston, who has for many years been connected
with the company, has been its president.

While the manufacture of carpets has been the chief industry of the
village of Tliompsonville, other branches of business have been carried
on to a limited extent. In 1845 the Enfield Manufacturing Com-
pany was organized, with H. G. Thompson as president, for the
manufacture of hosiery. For several years the company did a flourish-
ing business, but finally failed, and in 1873 the property was purchased
by the Hartford Carpet Company.

A considerable trade in lumber has been built up by the T. Pease
& Sons Company, with yards here and at Windsor Locks. The com-
pany has a large planing-mill, and the manufacture of doors, windows,
blinds, and other articles used in building is largely carried on.

158 MEMORIAL HISTOEY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Ill 1833 a business was begun in another part of the town which
has since grown into large proportions, and added much to the
weal til and population of Enfield. In that year Loomis & Co. began
the manufacture of powder in the eastern part of the township. A
tract of five hundred acres of land was purchased, lying in a deep valley
on both sides of the Scantic River, and mills were erected upon this.
At the time of the purchase there were only two houses and six inhabi-
tants upon the entire tract. In 1837 Colonel A. G. Hazard, of New
York, became connected with the company, and soon was the chief
owner of the property and the moving spirit of the luisiness. He
removed to Enfield and organized the Hazard Powder Company, of
which he was made president and manager. The works were much
enlarged and the quantity of manufacture greatly increased. The
mills of the company are scattered over a large territory, and consist
of twenty-two pairs of rolling-mills, five granulating-houses, six hydrau-
lic presses of four hundred tons working-power, three screw presses,
forty pulverizing, mixing, dusting, and drying houses, five refineries,
and numerous cooper-shops, storehouses, and magazines, — in all two
hundred buildings. The power for operating these mills is obtained in
part from the Scantic River. Three large artificial ponds have been
constructed, and several canals built for carrying the water to the
different mills, in Avhich twenty -three large tui'bine wheels are placed.
Besides these, five steam-engines, two of them of one hundred horse-
power, are used. About one hundred and fifty workmen are employed.
All the different kinds of government, sporting, and blasting powder
are manufactured. The daily product of the works is about twelve
tons of powder. In 1849 the Enfield Powder Company was organized,
and erected mills three miles east of the works of the Hazard Powder
Company. In 1854 the latter corporation absorbed the former, and has
since run the mills in both places. The powder manufactured here has
become greatly celebrated, and finds a market in all parts of the world.

Specific mention should be made of John Pease, Sr., " the Father
of Enfield." He was probably born in England in 1630, and came to
America with his parents when a child. His father died soon after
reaching Massachusetts, and John seems to have been left to the care
of his grandmother. She lived but a short time, however, after the
death of JohnV father, and in her will ordered that " John Pease shall
be given freely to Thomas Wadeson, that he shall dispose of him as his
own child." He married Mary Goodell, of Salem, Mass., as his first
wife, and Ann Cummings, of Topsfield, Mass., as his second wife. Mr.
Pease settled as " a yeoman," in Salem, Mass., and there remained until
his removal to Enfield in 1681. Here he resided until his death, July 8,
1689. He was active in everything that concerned the welfare of
the new settlement, and was especially prominent in religious affairs.
His descendants have always been numerous in the town, and some of
them have been among the most influential and honored of the citizens
of Enfield.

John Pease, Jr., son of the preceding, was the most prominent man
in the early history of Enfield. He was born in Salem, Mass., May 30,
1654, and removed to Enfield in 1681. When a boy he was appren-
ticed to a carpenter and joiner. This occupation he probably followed

ENFIELD. 159

until his departure from Salem. He was foremost in every enterprise
that sought the welfare of tlie town, and was almost constantly in offi-
cial position. He was the first constable in the place, and held the
office for many years. He was appointed "land measurer" of the
town, was elected one of the selectmen at the first town-meeting, and
was the first captain of militia in the place. He married Margaret
Adams, of Ipswich, Mass., Jan. 30, 1677, and died in Enfield in 1734.

Elisha M, Pease, son of the Hon. L. T. Pease, was born in Enfield,
Jan. 5, 1812. He was a descendant of John Pease, the first settler of
Enfield. He received an academical education, studied law, and in
1834 went to Texas, where he resided until his death, in August, 1883.
Mr. Pease took an active part in iniblic affairs almost from the begin-
ning of his residence in Texas. He was one of those who met in coun-
cil to consider the expediency of taking up arms against Mexico. After
Texas had declared her independence he was for a short time in active
military service. He then settled down to the practice of the law.
After holding several minor oflices he was in 1853 elected Governor
of Texas, and held the position for four years. When the spirit of re-
bellion began to rise. Governor Pease announced himself a Union man,
and so remained through the war. He suffered much in consequence
of his positive loyalty. His life was threatened, and he was com-
pelled to live in retirement, where he lacked many of the necessaries
of life. At the close of the war he returned to the practice of his pro-
fession. In July, 1867, he was appointed Provisional Governor of
Texas by General Sheridan. Governor Pease held this office until
the reorganization of the State government in 1870. From that time
until his death he lived in private life. He possessed talents of a high
order, and in all his official acts was high-minded and patriotic. He
married Miss Lucadia Niles, of Windsor, in 1850, who with two chil-
dren survives him.

The man who more than any other left his mark upon the history
of Enfield was Orrin Thompson. The influence and results of his life
demand a special and full tracing of his career and character. Mr.
Thompson was born in Suffield, March 28, 1788. In the year 1800 his
father, Matthew Thompson, moved to Enfield. In 1805, Orrin, after
spending some time at the academy in Westfield, Mass., went to Hart-
ford to serve an apprenticeship as clerk in a store. There he remained
for several years, and acquired that knowledge and those habits of
business which marked his after life and were largely the secret of his
success. Upon reaching his majority Mr. Thompson went to Jewett
City as clerk for a manufacturing company, where he remained for two
or three years. There he was drafted into the militia during the War
of 1812, and was sent to Stonington when that place was threatened
with attack by the British fleet.

In 1814 he returned to Enfield and began business for himself in a
store which stood where the First Congregational Church now stands.
In this business he was successful. But tlie opportunities were too
narrow for his energy and ambition, and so in 1821 he went to New
York and entered the firm of David Andrews <fe Co. This firm was
engaged in the carpet-trade. There Mr. Thompson found a field for
the exercise of his powers. By his force and skill he increased the

160 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

business of the firm fivefold, and secured for himself a prominent
place among the leading merchants of New York.

While prosecuting his business in the latter city he conceived the
design of manufacturing his own goods. His boldness soon led to the
attempted execution of his plan, and his love for his old home caused
him to fix upon Enfield as the place for the trial of his experiment.
In 1828 Mr. Thompson organized the Thompsonville Carpet Manufac-
turing Company, and for it obtained a charter from the legislature of
Connecticut. The works were located near the mouth of Freshwater
River. Workmen were In-ought from Scotland, and the mills were
soon in operation. Success marked the enterprise from the first. The
works were soon enlarged, and new grades of carpeting manufactured.
As a result of this success a busy village sprung up, which in a few
years became the centre of the population of the town. In the year
1840 Mr. Thompson purchased the carpet-factory at Tariffville, and
organized the Tariff Manufacturing Company, which also carried on
a successful business. The product of these looms soon acquired a
national reputation. The wealth of Mr. Thompson rapidly increased,
and he became one of the few millionnaires of liis time in Connecticut.
In 1851, however, his long-continued success was broken. A series of
disasters reduced to bankruptcy the companies with which he was con-
nected. He first attempted to revive the Thompsonville Manufacturing
Company, but in this he failed. He then interested himself in the
organization of the Hartford Carpet Company. This corporation jjur-
chased the property of the former organization, and in 1854 started
the mills, under Mr. Thompson as superintendent. This position he
held until 1861, when he resigned, and retired from business. In his
well-earned retirement he continued till his death, which occurred at
Milford, Jan. 31, 1873. Mr. Thompson was married in 1815 to Miss
Love Lusk, of Enfield. Mrs. Thompson died in 1847.

Mr. Thompson was especially thoughtful of those in his employ,
and this interest manifested itself even after liis retirement from
business. His moral qualities were of a high and marked order. His
religious convictions were deep. His faith in God was steady, and,
especially after his reverses, strong and comforting.

Harry Allen Grant was born at St. Simon's Island, Georgia, Jan. 23,
1813. His father had been a surgeon in the English navy, but resigned
his position and purchased a large plantation in Georgia, upon which
he passed the rest of his life. The son was sent North, at the age of
seven years, to be educated, and afterward returned home for only
brief and occasional visits. He was graduated from Union College
in 1830 ; he studied medicine in Baltimore, and began practice in
Albany, New York, where he remained only three years ; then, his wife,
formerly IVIiss Louise Bloodgood, having died, he went to Europe for
further study. There he spent four years, mostly in Paris, giving his
time largely to the study of surgery under the direction of the most
skilful surgeons of Europe. On his return home he began the prac-
tice of medicine in Hartford. Dr. Grant's thorough training and his
skill in surgery very soon gave him a prominent position in tlie medi-
cal profession. His practice extended throughout all the surrounding
region, and he was frequently called from a distance for consultation

■■m^--

'•' mmm'

fcyAS Riii^s

ENFIELD. 161

or for the performance of difficult surgical operations. After twelve
years in Hartford, ill health necessitated his retirement from profes-
sional service. He removed to Enfield, having purchased the place of
Mr. Orrin Thompson, whose daughter he had married, and there he
remained until his death. Soon after his removal to Enfield he went
to Europe for medical advice and treatment, and returned with health
nearly restored. For many years he exerted a wide and beneficent
influence. When the War of the Rebellion broke out. Dr. Grant,
though a Southerner by birth, and having many friends in that sec-
tion, took a decided stand for the National Government. For a short
time he was Surgeon-General of the State under Governor Buckingham.
Afterward he was appointed surgeon for the examination of recruits
for the army. In 1862 he was elected as one of the representatives of
Enfield in the General Assembly. He also held the office of Collector
of Internal Revenue for some time. In 1864 he was chairman of the
delegation from Connecticut to the Republican National Convention at
Baltimore, and was made one of the vice-presidents of the convention.

In all positions Dr. Grant was faithful and efficient. He was a
man of broad and fine culture, of courtly manners, of tender sympa-
thies and generous deeds. The poor, the sick, and the young were the
special objects of his regard and kindness. He strove to make his
life a practical illustration of Christian truth. He died Nov. 30, 1884.
His wife and two sons survive him.

Another prominent name in the history of Enfield is Augustus G.
Hazard. Mr. Hazard was born in South Kingston, Rhode Island, April
28, 1802. When he w^as six years of age, his fathei-, Thomas Hazard,
who was a sea captain, removed to Columbia, in this State. There
Augustus worked upon a farm until he was fifteen years old. His
opportunities for attending school were very slight. At fifteen he
began to learn the trade of house-painting, and in this business con-
tinued until he was twenty years of age. He then went to Savannah,
Georgia, and became a dealer in paints, oils, and other merchandise.
He built up a large business, and prosecuted it with great profit to
himself until 1827, when he removed to New York and became agent
and part ow^ner of a line of packets between the latter city and Savan-
nah. At the same time he carried on a large commission business in
cotton, zinc, and gunpowder.

In all these undertakings he was eminently successful, and gained
the means and experience which enabled him to undertake and manage
prosperously the great enterprise of his life. About the year 1837
he became interested in the powder-works of Loomis & Co., in the
eastern part of Enfield. In 1843 he organized the Hazard Powder
Company, and became its president and manager. Soon after, he re-
moved his family to Enfield, and continued a resident of the town until
his death, on the 7th of May, 1868. While Mr. Hazard was residing in
Savannah he became connected with the military organizations of the
State, and acquired the title of Colonel, by which he was generally
called during his life. In the year 1822 he was married to Miss Salome
G. Merrill, of West Hartford, who survived him. She died in 1880.

In the conduct of his business Colonel Hazard was shrewd and
energetic, and by it he accumulated a large fortune. He was deeply

VOL. II. — 11.

tifta^ ^^^^;*i:^-^-y-<^^^''

162 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

interested in politics, and for several years was chairman of the Whig
State Central Committee. He was a warm personal and political friend
of Daniel Webster. Upon the disruption of the Whig party he became
a Democrat in politics. During the war for the suppression of the
Rebellion, and afterward, he was a stanch supporter of the Union
cause. Colonel Hazard was a man of large public spirit, ready to aid
with his counsel and means whatever promised any good to society.
In the village of Hazardville, which was built up by the large business
which he controlled, and which perpetuates his name, he took a decided
interest. He gave several thousand dollars to erect a building for a
library and a public hall.

James Dixon was born in Enfield, Aug. 5, 1814, and died in Hart-
ford, March 27, 1873. He was the son of William Dixon, who for

^ ^ many years was a

'^^-^J>^/^»^ prominent and in-

^^ -^ fluential citizen of

the town. James

was graduated

from Williams College in 1834, and soon after began the study of
the law in his father's office. Being admitted to the bar, he removed
to Hartford and entered upon the practice of his profession. He
soon became quite prominent at the bar, and gave promise of emi-
nence. But his taste was decidedly for politics, and after a few years
he gave up his law practice and became a politician in the full sense
of that term. In 1837, when only twenty-three vears of age, he was
elected from his native town a member of the State House of Repre-
sentatives. He Avas also a member in 1838, and again in 1844. He
was elected a Member of Congress as a Whig, and served from Dec. 1,
1845, till March 3, 1849. In 1854 he was again a representative in
the State Legislature, and at the session of that year was a candidate
for the nomination as United States Senator, but was unsuccessful.
Two years later he was again a candidatje, and by a combination of
Know-Nothings and Republicans was elected. He served in the National
Senate from March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1869. In 1866 he was promi-
nent in the attempt to organize a party upon the basis of the political
principles of President Johnson. This action put him out of sympathy
with the Republican party. In 1868 he was nominated by the Demo-
crats for re-election to the Senate, but was defeated. Later in the
same year he was nominated by the same party for Member of Con-
gress, but was again defeated. Upon the expiration of his term in the
Senate he retired to private life, and there remained in feeble health
until his death. His wife was a daughter of the Rev. Dr. Jonathan
Cogswell. Her death occurred several years before his. Mr. Dixon
had a taste for literature, and had he chos-en a literary life, would
doubtless have achieved marked success. He published a number of
poems in "The New England Magazine," at Boston, and was a frequent
contributor to the " Connecticut Courant," of Hartford. In its files
may be found many of his best writings.

^^c^^Wk^^

XII.

FARMINGTON/

BY NOAH POETEE, D.D.,

President of Yale College.

IT was in 1640 that the township of Farmington began to be occu-
pied by white settlers, principally inhabitants of Hartford. A few
of these were members of the church which Thomas Hooker organ-
ized at Newtown (Cambridge), in Massachusetts, and a few years before
had transferred to the valley of the Connecticut. Among the three vines
which were planted in this genial valley, Hartford was conspicuous, and
from this central stock the plantation of Tunxis was the first vigorous
shoot. We can readily believe that the enterprising planters who had
been tempted to the valley of the far distant Connecticut by the tidings
of its fertile and sunny meadows would not be long insensible to the in-
dications of other meadows beyond the blue line of mountains which
they could here and there descry over the billowy forest to the west-
ward, the suggestion of which would be confirmed by the speculations
of the occupants of the palisade fort at Windsor in respect to the
sources of the Tunxis River, which rolled smoothly at their feet.

We are not told who was the first adventurer who dared to penetrate
the intervening forest and gazed upon the lovely vision of the meadows
enclosed by the Tunxis and the Pequabuck, near the centre of which
arose the smokes of a considerable Indian settlement, and along the
borders of which stretched the attractive slopes which are now occupied
by the village. No chronicler is needed to assure us that the vision
when reported awakened the most serious thoughts in the minds of the
residents of Hartford, and that these thoughts very soon matured into
a plan for the speedy occupation of this inviting valley.

It appears from the Colonial Records, that on Feb. 20, 1639-40,
the report of the committee appointed in January "was delayed
to the General Court," and that on June 15, 1640, " the particular
Court " " was ordered to conclude the conditions for the planting of
Tunxis." The agreement with the Indians respecting the possession
of Hartford, which was renewed in 1670, speaks of the original grant
from Suncquasson, which grant " was by him renewed to the Hon.
John Haynes, Esq.," and " other the first magistrates of this place and

1 The historical sketch is largely composed of selections from "An Historical Discourse,
delivered by request hefore the citizens of Farmington," Nov. 4, 1840, by Noah Porter, Jr. ;
also, "An Historical Discourse delivered at the Celebration of the One liundredth Anniver-
sary of the Erection of the Congregational Church in Farmington, Conn.," Oct. 16, 1872, by
Noah Porter, D.D., President of Yale College ; also, " Sketch of the Character and Pastorate
of Noah Porter, D.I)., Pastor of the church in Farmington."

164 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

enlarged to the westward," etc., which enlargement with his former
grants " was made in the presence of many," etc. ; and several years
after, " about the time of the plantin(/ of Farmington m the year 1640,
in writing, between the English and Pethus, sachem or gentleman
of the place," etc. The following settlers served as grand jurors ;
namely, William Lewis in 1641, John Porter and Thomas Orton in
1643, John Porter and William Smith in 1644, Anthony Howkins
in 1645. In 1645 the town received its charter as an independent
commonwealth.^

The territory of this township was bounded on the east l)y the three
river towns ; on the north by Simsbury, subsequently settled ; on the
south by Wallingford, subsequently incorporated ; and on the west by
the western woods, within which Harwinton was the first incorporated
town. This territory now includes the following towns : Southington,
which was the first to be detached as a separate township in 1779 ;
nearly the whole of New Britain and Berlin, 1785 ; Bristol, 1785 ; Bur-
lington, 1806 ; Avon, 1830 ; Plainville, 1869 ; and parts of Wolcott,
Harwinton, and Bloomfield, formerly Wintonbury Parish.

The number of actual settlers at first was small, but it gradually
increased, until in 1645 Tunxis received its present name, and became
a taxable town, with " the like lil)erties as the other towns upon the
river for making orders among themselves." Its first tax in 1645 was
£10. We can more readily describe than realize the scene that pre-
sented itself to the few settlers who separated themselves from the
flourishing towns on the Connecticut, and had come here to dwell
alone. Between them and their homes lay a continuous forest. They
were in the midst of a large and warlike tribe of Indians, the largest
of any of the tribes in the vicinity of the Connecticut. The huts of the
natives were scattered here and there, while a large and central settle-
ment appeared on the east bank of the river, where now stands their
monument, the silent and the only witness that they ever were here.
Across the hills upon the southeast there was established upon the
Mattabesett a portion of another tribe, from which this river had its
name. Much of the descending slope from the mountain, along which
now runs the village street, was more or less densely wooded ; in some
places it was moist and even marshy. At its foot lay the open meadow.
Beyond was the western forest, its border darkening the western hills
quite down to their base, the teri-or of the Indian and the white man ;
for along its unknown tract for hundreds of miles roamed the dreaded
Mohawks, to whom all the tribes in this region were tributary. The
Mohawks were fierce and warlike, the terror of all the New England
tribes. From the banks of the river which bears their name they
roved hither and thither upon their errands of conquest ; now surprising
a native settlement upon the Sound, or breaking in on a defenceless
tribe on the branches of the Connecticut. The terror of the Mohawk
rendered the presence of the English desirable, and disposed the Indians
in all this region to a peaceable demeanor.

Under these circumstances the settlement began. From the pass
in the mountain through which runs the present road to Hartford, to the
original meeting-house lot, lots of five acres were laid out for dwellings ;

^ See Colonial Records, vol. i. pp. 133, 134.

['^(©AfrTl

FARMINGTON. 165

those along the main street were bounded west by the river-bank, and
were divided by the street, the houses being at first erected on its
western side. South of this the lots were laid out in larger or smaller
divisions, still bounded west upon the river. As new settlers came in
they received lots as the gift of the town, or purchased them from the
older proprietors. In the year 1655, fifteen years from the date of the
original settlement, the number of ratable persons in the town was
forty-six, and the grand list of their estates was £5,519, while the
number of ratable persons in Hartford was one hundred and seventy-
seven, and the sum of their estates was .£19,609.

The map here inserted gives a view of the vilhige and its inhabitants
near the end of the seventeenth century.

During the first sixty years the village was gradually increased,
till in 1700 it is supposed to have consisted of nearly as many houses
as at the present time. In the year 1672, thirty-two years after
the date of the original settlement, the proprietors of the town, at
that time eighty-four in number, took possession of all the land with-
in the limits of the town, and ordered a division on the following
principles.

They measured from the Round Hill in the meadow, three miles to
the north, two miles sixty -four rods to the east, five miles thirty-two rods
to the south, and two miles to the west. The lands within the parallelo-
gram bounded by these lines were called the " reserved lands," large
portions of which had already been taken up, and the remainder was
reserved for " town commons, home-lots, pastures, and pitches, conven-
ient for the inhabitants," and a common field enclosing the meadows ;
while all without these lands was surveyed and divided to the eighty-
four proprietors, according to tlieir property as shown in their lists for
taxation, with a double portion for Mr. Hooker, and a various increase
for all those whose estates ranged from £10 to £70. The surveys and
divisions in the western section of the town were made first, by dividing
the whole into six divisions, of a mile in width, including the highways
between, and running eleven miles from north to south. Each of these
tiers was divided according to the estate of each, by lines, so that each
man had lots a mile in extent from east to west, and varying in width
according to his property. The division of the other portions of the
town was conducted in very much the same manner. The surveys
were made at different periods, and they constitute the basis of all the
titles to land within the towns that have been severed from the original
township.

In 1685, the year of the accession of James II., on application to
the colonial legislature, a patent was granted, confirming in a formal
manner, and by legal phrase, to the proprietors of the town, the tract
originally granted in 1645.^ At this time the colonists were greatly
alarmed at the prospect of royal encroachments upon their chartered
rights, and the formal confirmation of the charter of this town was
dictated by their fears, as a necessary security against threatened
danger.

The following is a list of the owners of house-lots, prepared in 1840
by the Rev. William S. Porter, from the records in Farmington and

1 This patent was founded on the charter of Connecticut, granted by Charles II.

166 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Hartford. The letter " S." denotes actual settlers, nearly all of whom
had previously lived in Hartford : —

Mr. John Haynes, Esq. ; Mr. Samuel Wyllys ; Mr. Edward Hopkins ; Mr.
Thomas Welles ; Mr. John Steele, S., died in 1664 ; Mr. John Talcott ; Mr. John
Webster; Elder William Goodwin, S., died in 1673 ; William Pantry; Thomas
Scott ; Deacon Andrew Warner, S., removed to Hatfield ; John White ; Stephen
Hart, S., died in 1683; William Lewis, S., Register, died in 1690; the Rev.
Roger JSTewton, S., removed to Milford ; Thomas Webster; Matthew Webster, S. ;
Nicholas Mason; Thomas Barnes, S., died in 1688; John Pratt; Renold Mar-
vin ; Matthew Marvin ; John Brownson, S., removed to Wethersfield, and died
in 1680; Richard Brownson, S., died in 1687 ; George Orvice, S., died in 1764 ;
Thomas Porter, S., died in 1697; Francis Browne; John Warner, S., died in
1679; Thomas Demon, S., removed to -Long Island; John Cole, S., removed
to Hadley ; Deacon Thomas Judd, S., removed to Northampton ; Thomas
Upson, S., died in 1655 ; Deacon Isaac Moore, S. ; John Lomes, S., removed
to Windsor ; William Hitchcock, or Hecock, S., soon died ; John Wilcock ;
Nathaniel Watson.

The following purchased house-lots of the original owners, and
became permanent settlers, the most of whom were also from Hart-
ford : —

Robert Porter, died in 1689; John North, died in 1692; John Steele, Jr.,
died in 1653 ; Samuel Steele, removed to Wethersfield, and died in 1685 ; John
Hart, burnt in 1666, with all his family except the oldest son, who was absent;
Nathaniel Kellogg, soon died ; MattheAv Woodruff, s(wn died, or removed per-
haps to Milford ; Thomas Thomson, died in 1655 ; John Andrews, died in 1681 ;
John Lee, died in 1690; William Adams, died in 1653; John Clark, died in
1712; Samuel Cowles, died in I69I ; Moses Ventrus, died in 1697; William
Ventrus, removed to Haddam ; Robert Wilson, died in 1655 ; John Wiatt, re-
moved to Haddam; John Standley, died in 1706; Joseph Kellogg; Deacon
John Langdon, died in 1689; Thomas Hosmer, returned to Hartford; William
Smith, died in 1669; Thomas Newell, died in 1689 ; David Carpenter, died in
1650.

The other early settlers were Thomas Hancox, in Kensington ; John Root,
died in 1684; Mr. Simon W^rothum, died in 1689 ; Edmund Scott, removed to
Waterbury ; Dr. Daniel Porter, died in 1690; Mr. John Wadsworth, died in
1689; Thomas Orton ; James Bird, died in 1708; Joseph Bird, died in 1695;
the Rev. Samuel Hooker, died in 1697 ; Mr. Anthony Howkins, died in 1673 ;
Richard Jones, removed to Haddam ; William Corbe, removed to Haddam ; Jo-
seph Woodford, died in 1 701 ; Zach. Seymor, removed to Wethersfield ; Richard
Seymor, Avent to Great Swamp or Kensington with others in 1686; Thomas
Bull, died in 1708; John Norton; Abraham Dibble, removed to Haddam;
Richard Jones, removed to Haddam ; Richard Weller ; John Carrington, removed
to Waterbury; Thomas Gridley, died in I7I2 ; Samuel Gridley, died in 1696;
Obadiah Richards, removed to Waterbury ; Thomas Richardson, removed to
W^aterbury ; John Scovill, removed to Haddam ; John Welton, removed to Water-
terbury ; John Rew, died in I7I7 ; John Blackleach, merchant ; Joseph Hawley,
died in 1753.

The eighty-four proprietors consisted of such of the above as re-
sided in the town in 1672, or their sons, together with three non-resident
owners ; namely, Mr. Newton, Mr. Haynes, and Mr. Wyllys. With but
few exceptions, as has already been stated, the inhabitants were con-
fined to the village. A few daring spirits, however, were attracted by
the meadows on the Mattabesett, and about 1680 commenced a

MAI^ OF FARMINliTON

FARMINGTON. 167

settlement at the Great Swamp under the guidance of Richard Seamor.
From this beginning this society of Kensington originated in 1705, and
subsequently that of New Britain, 1754, and still later the parish of
Worthington, 1772. These parishes, with some additional territory,
were constituted the township of Berlin in 1785. In 1850 New Britain
became a town, and in 1872 a city. In 1673 the narrow intervals upon
the Naugatuck determined an emigration to what afterward became the
town and subsequently the city of Waterbury. Here and there a more
bold and enterprising spirit fixed his dwelling at some distance from
the village. As we. have said, during this period the inhabitants by
degrees became more numerous, but with the exception of the colony
near " the Seamor-fort," and two or three houses on the northern bor-
ders of the great plain, they were as yet scattered for two miles or
more along the village street. The upland near their dwellings had
been slowly cleared and the forest still lingered in sight along the foot
of the mountain. The western woods were yet an unbroken wilderness,
save the opening which had been made by the Indians as they retreated
in 1672 to their reservation west of the meadows, and rallied around
a new burying-place for their dead. On the south was " the white oak
plain," stiil unsubdued, and " the great plain " was thickly crowded
with its growth of birches and tangled shrub-oaks. It was not till 1695
that a highway was laid through this district of the town. The
meadows still furnished our fathers their grass for the long winter,
and the corn for the Indian pudding, their favorite dish. From the
upland and the drier portions of the meadow they harvested their wheat
and rye and pease. The meadow remained a common field, enclosed by
a sufficient fence, and shut during the growing of the crops against
the intrusion of cattle. The regulation of this property constituted the
principal busuiess of the town-meetings. The river furnished to the
English and the natives its overflowing abundance of shad and salmon,
and the west woods abounded in deer, wolves, and panthers.

In the forest up the mountain, and especially in the interval between
the first and second range, was their common place of pasturage, and
this portion of the town was long reserved for that use. Tlie meeting-
house lot was as yet a noble common of several acres. A canoe with
ropes was furnished at the north end of the street, by which the
river was crossed, as it was not until 1725 that the first bridge was
erected at this place. At the annual town-meeting no man might be
absent who valued his twelvepence. Then were chosen the townsmen,
the register, the fence-viewers, the chimney-viewers, — so necessary in
those days of wooden mantels, of

ill-constructed chimneys, and of enor- /%nP \lP / • .J^ '
mous fires, — their tithing-men, and ' J^'^n. Wa<^5 Y^Q^^ih. •
last, not least, their one constable^

who was to them the right arm of the king himself ; a functionary

j^ ^^ treated with reverent awe and obeyed with

^(rt/nr>yn .-/S»r7*<7 implicit deference. Whosoever resisted

lUf^f'K.uujrc --< c^AWCO ^i^g pQ^g,,^ resisted the ordinance of God.

V__^^ Two men besides Mr. Hooker bore the

appellation of ilir., — Anthony Howkins and John Wadsworth. Nor
may we forget to name Captain William Lewis, Captain John Stanley,
Ensign Thomas Hart, and Sergeant William Judd.

168 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Their communication with the other towns was infrequent. Occa-
sionally a traveller would appear by the path from Hartford, with news
from their friends and kindred there, or a message of alarm from his
Excellency the Governor, and now and then some one would emerge
from the forest by the " New Haven path " with tidings from that
commercial emporium or from the lands beyond the seas.

The Indians were still here by hundreds. Within the slip of land
reserved for them near the village their canoes might be seen every day
filling the little creek that put in from the river, and their owners were
stalking along the streets, now trying the Indian's cunning, and now-
frowning with the Indian's wrath. A few were gathered into the
Christian church, a few admitted as freemen ; and a missionary school,
embracing sometimes fifteen or sixteen, was taught by Mr. Xewton and
perhaps by Mr. Hooker.

From the first, however, the relations of the settlers with the Tunxis
Indians were usually friendly. No outbreak of a hostile character
ever arose between them. Whenever dissatisfaction was apparent, the
Indians were assembled, treated with kindness, and " gratified with
presents."

For their title to the lands, our fathers rested upon the original
agreement with Sequasson, the sachem of Suckiaug, and chief sachem
of the neighboring tribes. But for the sake of satisfying the natives,
this title was afterward confirmed by two successive agreements, the
first in 1650, the second in 1673.

In the first of these it is taken for granted that " the magistrates
bought the whole country to the Moohawks country, of Sequasson ^ the
chief sachem." Then it is noted that the Indians at that time yielded
up all their grounds under improvement, and received " ground in place
together compased about with a creke and trees." This was now to be
staked out, and " although the English had bargained for the gras for
their cows, yet this they let go." This reservation was that finest por-
tion of the meadow still called "the Indian Neck."

It is added, " that the peace and plenty that they have had and
enjoyed by the presence of the English, in regard of protection of them,
and trade with them, makes more to the advantage and comfort of the
Indians, though they hire some land, than ever they enjoyed before the
coming of the English, when all the lands was in their own disposal ;
and although they do hire in regard of the increase of their company,
yet their corn and skins will give a good price, which will counterbal-
ance much more than the hire of their lands, and therefore the Indians
have reason to live loveingly among the English by Avhom their lives
are preserved, and their estates and comfort advantaged. ... In this
we the chief Indians, in the name of all the rest acknowledge, and we
engage ourselves to make no quarrels about this matter." This agree-
ment was signed by John Haynes and Pethus and Ahamo his son, with
their heraldic devices. It was Avitnessed by Stephen Hart, Thomas Judd,
Thomas Thomson, Isaak More, Thomas Stanton, and Roger Newton.

By the second treaty there were reserved to the Indians two hundred
acres of upland, which they are forbidden to sell without leave, together
with the Indian Neck. There is also given a map of the land sold, as

' Also sometimes spelled Suncquasson, as on page 163.

FARMINGTON. 169

measured from Wepansock, that is, the Round Hill, ten miles south,
eight west, three miles east, and five miles north. This is signed by
twenty-six Indians, chiefs, squaws, and sons, with their appropriate
devices.

In 1681 Massacope gives a quit-claim deed of all this land. He was
probably a Mattabesett Indian, and with his son signs the agreement for
valuable considerations, and " gratification at the time of sale." Not
satisfied with the limits as specified in the deed, he went out and for
himself examined and marked the boundaries.

Notwithstanding all these precautions, the early settlers of this town
were occasionally moved to fear and alarm. In 1612 the General Court
took measures in reference to a hostile gathering and plot of the Indians
about Tunxis. In 1657 the house of John Hart Avas destroyed by
fire, and his family consumed, with yi yr c

the exception of one son. In the /lyr^^ ^^^ ^L r^^

same year Mr. Scott was cruelly Qy^'^'^ JTUy t J gTV
murdered. The house of Mr. Hart

was near the centre of the village, that of Mr. Scott on the border of
" the great plains." Both these acts were ascribed to Meshupano, as
principal, and his accessories. For firing the house the Farmington In-
dians paid each year a heavy tribute for seven years, " eighty f addome of
wampum, well strung and merchantable." The year after, complaint was
made of the bullets shot into the town from the garrison of the natives,
and also of their entertainment of strange Indians, and they were ordered
to find another garrison. In 1662 we find them quarrelling with the
Podunks of Windsor. From 1640 to 1720, eighty years, this town had
fronted an almost unbroken forest which extended from the wooded hori-
zon which we see from the village street, westward to the Housatonic
and northwestward to Lake George. This was the hunting-ground of
the Tunxis tribe and the marauding-ground of the dreaded Mohawk, who
might appear either as the foe of his timid subject, or perchance as his
ally for the destruction of the whites. For the first sixty years there
was a numerous and not always friendly tribe in a garrison and village
almost within musket-shot of the church.^ In 1675 Simsbury, then
Massaco, a frontier settlement to the north, was deserted by its inhabi-
tants — some forty families — and totally burned. So complete was the
desolation, that the returning settlers found it difficult to discover the
places where their effects had been secreted. The church erected in
1708 was provided with " guard seats," as they were called, where some
ten to twenty men could be on the lookout near the doors against a
sudden assault. The space for these seats was relinquished in 1726 for
the erection of pews for eight families, with the provision that the pews
should be surrendered should there be subsequent occasion to mount
a guard. Later than this, on some occasion of alarm increased by the
presence of strange Indians, the men of the Tunxis tribe were required
to present themselves daily at the house of Deacon Lee, and pass in
review before his daughter, whom they both admired and feared. Dea-
con Lee lived a little distance northward from the centre on the west

1 Early in 1657 an Indian killed a woman and her maid and fired the house, occasioning
the destruction of several buildings. The Indians were forced to deliver up the murderer, who
was brought to Hartford and executed "as a butcher fells an ox." — Diarxj of John Hull,
Transactions and Publications of the American Antiquarian Society, vol. iii. p. 180.

170 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

side of the street. The Indian garrison and village extended southward
to the point of land at the confluence of the Pequabuck and the Tunxis
rivers. It is very easy to perceive the reason why this place was
selected as their chief residence. It is not easy even now to walk along
the brow of the hill which overlooks the reservation so long styled the
Indian Neck, without picturing the rude wigwams scattered along tliis
sunny terrace, with canoes idly floating below on the stream, which was
filled with shad and salmon, while the deer were abundant in the forest
that stretched westward and northward to the Mohawk country. It is
pleasant to find, in 1751, liberty granted to the Christianized Indians
to build themselves a seat in the meeting-house in the northeast corner
over the stairs. From the Colony Records for 1733, 1734, and 1736,
appropriations are ordered from the public treasury for " dieting of the
Indian lads at 4 shillings per week for the time thev attend the school
in said town." In 1734 X33 6s. were paid ; in 1736; £28. In 1689 and
1704, which were years of alarm from distant Indians, houses were
fortified, and stores of ammunition were provided. These fortified
houses were strongly guarded by double doors and narrow windows.
The years named were years of alarm throughout New England, as in
consequence of war between England and France the colonies were
threatened with incursions from the north and east by French and
Indians. Relavs of men were called for to serve in the two or three
despei'ate wars in which the French and Indians combined for the posses-
sion of the northern and western line of posts, and in which victory for
the French might bring the tomahawk and the torch into this valley.^

In 1740 the Indian boys were so many and so strong that they
were esteemed more than a match for the whites of the same age.
About the middle of the century, as game became scarce, the remnants
of the tribe removed, first to Stockbridge, and afterward to Oneida
County, New York, and finally to Green Bay in Wisconsin. A fragment
remained behind till they became extinct. The last male of unmixed
blood was buried Dec. 21, 1820, the day which completed the second
century from the landing at Plymouth Rock, while the only surviving
female stood trembling by the grave. Tradition relates that during the
ministry of Mr. Whitman, the Stockbridge tribe invaded the Tunxis
Indians near their homes. They were met by the Tunxis tribe in
battle array, in the little meadow two miles north of the village. The
latter were at first routed and driven back upon their ancient burying-
place. There they rallied, and by the assistance of their squaws, who
attacked the flank of the foe, they drove back the invaders with defeat
and almost entire destruction. After the removal of the greater portion
of the tribe to Oneida, they often visited their friends and sepulchres
here, and on such visits would hold dances at the old burying-place, and
evening powwows, and give splendid exhibitions of their agility and
strength. There are not a few living who remember the Indian reser-
vation and the frequent appearance in the village of the descendants of
the ancient tribe on visits of begging and traffic.

In 1840, by order of the School Society of Farmington, a monumen-
tal block of red sandstone was erected to the memory of these Indians.
It stands in the new burying-ground on the edge of the river. The spot
is one of sad historical interest, as the following inscription on one side
of the monument explains : —

FARMINGTON. 171

IN MEMORY OF THE INDIAN RACE ; ESPECIALLY

OF THE TUNXIS TRIBE, THE ANCIENT

TENANTS OF THESE GROUNDS.

The many human skelet07is here discovered confirm the tradition that this spot
ivas formerly an Indian hurying-place. Tradition further declares it to he
t'.ie ground on which a sanguinary battle was fought between the Txmxis and
Stockbridge tribes. Some of their scattered remains have been re-interred beneath
this stone.

The reverse side of the monument bears the following lines : —

" Chieftains of a vanished race,
In your ancient burial place,
By your fathers' ashes blest,
Now in peace securely rest.
Since on life you looked your last,
Changes o'er your land have passed ;
Strangers came with iron sway,
And your tribes have passed away.
But your fate shall cheiished be.
In the strangers' memory ;
Virtue long her watch shall keep,
Where the red-men's ashes sleep."

The church was organized in 1652, or, as the record has it, " Upon
the 13th of October Mr. Roger Newton, Stephen Hart, Thomas Judd,
John Bronson, John Cole, Thomas Thomson, and Robert Porter
joined in Church Covenant in Farmington." Of this church Roger
Newton was the first pastor. Stephen Hart had been a member of
the original church of Thomas Hooker. It is added, " About one
month after myself [John Steele,

the clerk] , Mrs. Newton, the wife ij^^,*^^%^ /^ /^ /-.

of Stephen Hart, the wife of J^SS"^^ ^ V i^rx^hsrty^^^^
Thomas Judd, the wife of John

Cole, and the wife of Tliomas Thomson." Mr. Newton was one of " those
young scholars " mentioned by Cotton Mather, who came over from Eng-
land with their friends and completed their education in this country.
He married Mary, the daughter of Mr. Thomas Hooker, of Hartford, and
probably completed his education under his instruction. He remained
here till .1658, generally approved, when he removed by invitation to
the more ancient and larger church at Milford, where he labored with
acceptance till his death, in 1683. His widow became one of the eighty-
four proprietors of the town, and inherited the farm of Governor
Hopkins in Farmington.

In July, 1661, Mr. Samuel Hooker, son of Thomas Hooker, " the

light of the western churches," was installed the pastor of this church,

^ / J / having received his degree at Harvard

^OlJku\A fr^J-tr/S/t: . College in 1653. He continued to be its

pastor until his death, Nov. 6, 1697, and
was esteemed " an animated and pious divine." He was, according
to the testimony of the Rev. Mr. Pitkin, " an excellent preacher, his
composition good, his address pathetic, warm, and engaging," and as
story relates, he informed a friend of his that he had three things to do
with his sermons before he delivered them in public, — " to write them,
commit them unto his memory, and get them into his heart."

172 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

He was a Fellow of Harvard Colleg-c, and was employed in 1662, one
of a committee of four to treat with New Haven in reference to a union
with Connecticut, and was esteemed throughout the State an eminent
and influential minister. He twice preached the annual election sermon,
for which he received a special vote of commendation and thanks. His
name, with that of three other citizens, was appended to the address to
King William of Orange after the glorious Revolution of 1688. Cotton
Mather says of him, at the conclusion of the life of his father, " As
Ambrose would say concerning Theodosius, ' Non totus recessit, reliquit
nobis libcros in quibus eum debemus agnoscere et in quibus eum cerni-
mus et tenemus ; ' thus we have to this day among us our dead Hooker
yet living in his worthy son, Mr. Samuel Hooker, an able, faithful, use-
ful minister at Farmington, in the colony of Connecticut." He was a
large landholder, and had eleven children, and among his descendants
are named many of the most distinguished families and individuals of
New England. His daughter Mary married the Rev, Mr. Pierpont,
of NcAv Haven, and was the mother of Sarah, the wife of Jonathan
Edwards.

Next to the church (or rather as essential to the continuance and the
prosperity of the church), in the estimation of our fathers, was ranked
the school. Through the deficiency of our early records we cannot
trace the vestiges of their earliest care ; but as far back as Ave can find
regular records of their proceedings, we find its wants, as were those
of the church, the annual care of the town. In December, 1682, the
town voted <£10 toward maintaining a school, and appointed a com-
mittee to employ a teacher. In December, 1683, they made the same
appropriation, and ordered every man to pay four shillings a quarter for
every child that should be sent. Again, they voted " to give X30 for a
man to teach school for one 3'ear, provided they can have a man that
is so accomplished as to teach children to read and write, and to teach
the grammar, and also to step into the pulpit to be helpful there in
time of exigency, and this school to be a free school for this town."
In another vote about this period they ordered the services of a teacher
to be secured who could teach Latin also.

Year by year we find similar records, till 1700, when the colonial
assembly having directed forty shillings on every £1000 in the grand
levy to be devoted to education, this town voted to add to the same
a sufficient sum to maintain the schools for a certain portion of the
year.

In the second century of its history the town steadily increased in
population, although the population seemed slow to spread itself beyond
the reach of the social and other attractions of the village. It was not
so easy to subdue the forest as it became a century later. Either the
colonial axes or the skill of those who wielded them has been surpassed
by those of later generations. " The earlier settlers of New England
for many other reasons dwelt in villages. Among these reasons were
the fear of wolves and Indians and the desire to be near the meeting-
house," with all that this signified. The fertile and ample meadows,
witli the generous uplands that opened directly upon them, also tended
to hold this community together. Of the outlying lands the eastern
farms on the gentle slope east of the mountain range were settled first,

FARMINGTON. 1 73

then the beautiful region since called the Stanley Quarter, opening
toward the Mattabesett ; while here and there an adventurous planter
or family group was bold enough to penetrate into the forest or upon
the Great Plains and beyond, toward the south and southwest.

It is not surprising that before 1766 no schools were maintained
except two in the village. The first school supported without the
village was the one upon the Eastern Farms. The Great Plain was
still uncleared, and it might be bought for a dollar the acre. Wild
animals were abundant in the West Woods. So late as 1730 bounties
were paid for wolves and wild-cats, and later than this a bear was shot
by a little girl of fourteen, in Bristol, while the family were absent at
meeting in Farmington. Venison was sold in the streets as late as
the Revolution, and shad and salmon were caught from the river.

I find also a record, about 1729, of a cession of a considerable tract
of upland to several individuals, on condition that it should be sown with
English grass. The meadows were still unmarked by dividing fences,
and the Pine Woods till 1740 were burnt over for a pasture, to which
the people in the eastern towns drove their young cattle in the spring.

During this period, until after the War of the Revolution, the town
as a whole gained largely in the wealth that was gathered from the soil.
The population increased rapidly in large and sturdy households. Fre-
quent calls were made for its young men to contend Avith the Indians
in Massachusetts, at the Northwest, and in Acadia ; and thus the strug-
gle for existence and growth was constantly maintained, as also a con-
stant moral and religious discipline, by wars and pestilence, to say
nothing of the theological controversies and the political discussions
which tasked the thoughts and exercised the faith of these vigorous
men and faithful women, until they were called to share in the first
great struggle for national life from 1775 to 1783.

The original church and parish has from the first been more than
usually exempt from controversies, although it has not been entirely
without ecclesiastical contention. During nearly ten years after the
death of Mr. Hooker, there was a sharp controversy in the town in
reference to a minister, which called for the interference and authority
of the General Court. At a General Court held 1702, " the town of
Farmington laboring under great difficulties in reference to the calling
and settling of a minister among them, and other ecclesiastical concerns,
certain of the inhabitants made their address to this General Assembly,
praying for counsel and relief. In answer whereunto, this assembly doth
order and direct them to seek counsel and help from the Rev. Elders,
namely, the Rev. Mr. Abram Pierson, Mr. James Noyes, Mr Taylor,
Mr. N. Russel, Mr. Samuel Rnssel, and Mr, Thomas Ruggles, or any
five of them, whom this assembly doth direct to be helpful unto them,
and (unless the said inhabitants shall agree among themselves, etc.) to
nominate and appoint a minister for them, and in case the minister so
nominated and appointed Avill undertake this work, this assembly doth
hereby order that said inhabitants of Farmington shall entertain him
for one year, and also pay to him such salary as hath been usual and
customary among them." The town officers were also appointed by the
General Court. In 1704 the General Court directed the same ministers
as above to procure a minister for the inhabitants of Farmington " who

174 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

are hereby ordered to receive him and to pay him as formerly until tliis
court do order otherwise, or until they agree among themselves." In
1705 messengers were sent to Nantascot, near Boston, to confer with
Mr. Samuel Whitman. So great was the zeal of the people, that they
proposed to pay to any one who would lend money to bear the expenses
of their messengers, two shillings for one shilling lent, till the time of
(^ ^ A , the next minister's rate. Their offers of salary

,cm\ Coh.'H-yn<x?x,^ were very liberal: first, =£90 a year, with the

use of the parsonage in the Pequabuck mead-
ows, as also forty acres of land in fee, and a house, he finding glass and
nails. The year after, .£200 were voted as a settlement, a salary of
<£100, and his firewood. Wheat at that time was five shillings and
threepence per bushel. Mr. Whitman was settled in 1706. In 1708,
as he proposed to visit his friends at Boston, the town by their vote
provided for the payment of the service and expenses of a " waighting
man " to attend their minister. He was a graduate of Harvard College
in 1696, and, in the words of Mr. Pitkiu, " was a gentleman of strong
mind and sound judgment ; his sermons correct, accurate, and instruc-
tive ; his delivery and public address calm and moderate ; he was highly
esteemed and greatly improved in ecclesiastical councils, and was
esteemed a truly learned man." He died in 1751.

The following resolution, adopted in the second year of Mr. Whit-
man's ministry, is of some interest. At a church-meeting in Farmington
in the year 1708, " Agreed that such persons as own the covenant per-
sonally shall be accouuted under the watch and discipline of the church
though not admitted to full communion."

At a meeting, Nov. 26, 1730, the rule -was adopted that those bap-
tized persons who proposed to own the covenant, and had previously
fallen into gross or scandalous sin should publicly profess repentance
for that sin by its name, and then make the following covenant with
the church : —

" You do solemnly avouch the Lord God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in
whose name you have been baptized, to be your God ; and professing a serious
belief of the Holy Scriptures to be His word, do take them to be the only rule of
your faith and manners, renouncing whatever you know to be contrary to them.
You take the Lord Jesus Christ to be your only Saviour and Eedeemer, depend-
ing on Him for righteousness and strength, that you may be pardoned and ac-
cepted of God, and walk in all sincere obedience to His commandments. You
do also submit yourself to the discipline and government of Christ in his church
and to the regular administrations of it in this church of His while Providence
shall continue you here ; promising not to rest in present attainments but to be
laborious after a preparation for the enjoyment of God in all his ordinances."

During Mr. Whitman's ministry the second meeting-house was
begun in 1709 and completed in 1714. This second church was fifty
feet square, with height proportional, and furnished with a cupola or
turret, which tradition has always placed in the centre, from which
the bell-rope was suspended so soon as a bell was provided. How hard
it was to build the church of 1709-1772, and how rude it was when
built, is obvious from the fact that the first tax of a penny in a pound
was spent in procuring the nails. Another vote respected the glass
and lead. Another directs that " it be ceiled with good sawn boards

FARMINGTON. 175

on the within side up to the railings and filled with mortar up to the
girts." Later, thoughtfulness of the fierce northwesters suggested the
vote that the mortar should be continued along the second story.
Two tiers of new seats were ordered, one on each side the aisle which
extended to the east door. It follows from this and other notices,
that the house stood along the street to the northwest of the site of the
present edifice, that the pulpit was on the west side, and the entrances
were from the north and south and east. The seats from the first
house were probably removed to the second, and were placed facing
the pulpit, except the two new ones, which, it may be conjectured,
filled the space not covered by the old seats, now transferred to a
larger house. Mrs. Whitman, the pastor's wife, sat in a pew at the
south, that is, the right hand of the pulpit, but this pew was built at
Mr. Whitman's expense, and after his decease it was purchased by the
society. In 1731 the purchase of a bell was ordered, and in 1738 a
town clock. Before the bell was provided, the beat of drum called the
people together on Sundays and public days at a cost of <£1 10s. the
year. New seats were next ordered for the gallery ; now and then a
pew was erected at the expense of its occupants. In 1759 the society
ordered all the seats except those in front to be pulled down and
replaced by pews. In 1746 a committee was appointed to repair the
house and see " what can be done to prevent its spreading." From
that time onward it was doomed to destruction.

The most serious ecclesiastical disturbance which occurred during
the ministry of Mr. Whitman was occasioned by the " new way of
singing." It would appear from the records of several meetings of the
church that the result for a time was doubtful. The following reso-
lution, passed by the parish, March, 1726-7, decided for the old
way : —

" This meeting taking into consideration the unhappy controversy that hath
been among us respecting singing of Psahns in our pubhc assemblies upon the
Sabbath, and forasmuch as the church in this place hath several times in their
meetings manifested their dislike of singing psalms according to the method not
long since endeavored to be introduced among us, being the same way of singing
of psalms which is recommended by the reverend ministers of Boston, with other
ministers to the number in all of twenty or thereabouts ; therefore that the con-
troversy may be ended, and peace gained for this society, this meeting by their
major vote do declare their full satisfaction with the former Avay of singing of
psalms in this society and do earnestly desire to continue therein, and do with
the church manifest their dislike of singing according to the said method
endeavored to be introduced aforesaid."

In 1757 the tables were turned, for the society voted and agreed
that they would introduce Mr. Watts's Version of the Psalms to be
sung on the Sabbath and other solemn meetings in the room of the
version that hath been previously used. At the same meeting Elijah
Cowles was requested to tune the Psalm, and that he shall sit in the
fifth pew. In 1762 Mr. Fisher Gay was chosen to assist Elijah Cowles
in setting the psalm, and he should sit in the ninth pew on the north
side the alley, and Stephen Dorchester was chosen to assist the choris-
ters in reading the psalm. In April, 1773, the spring after the present
house was first occupied, a choir was allowed by the following vote :

176 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

" Voted, That the people who have learned the rule of singing, have liberty
to sit near together in the scnne position as they sat this day at their singing meeting
and they have liberty to assist in carrying on that part of divine worship."

In 1752 the Rev. Timothy Pitkin was installed the fourth pastor
of the church. He was graduated at Yale College in 1747, was the
son of William Pitkin, Governor of the State, was a member of the cor-
poration of Yale College from 1777 till 1804, was dismissed at his own

request, and died
June 8, 1811, in the
eighty-fifth year of
his aoe. He mar-
ried the daughter
of President Clap,
and by his own re-
sources and those
of his wife did much
for the refinement
of his parish. How rude was its condition in some particulars at least
may be judged by this oft-repeated story. When he brought home his
wife, they rode in an open four-wiieeled carriage. The older and more
respectable men of the town went out to meet their pastor and his lady,
and escort them home. They were of course eagerly on the lookout
for the first glimpse of the expected company. When the phaeton
came in sight, one of the older men cried out, " I see the cart, I see
the cart!"

Of the impression which he made upon children, the late Professor
Olmsted testifies by this apostrophe : —

" Friends and companions of my childhood ! Do you not see him coming
in at yonder door, habited in his flowing blue cloak with his snow-white wig and
tri-cornered hat of the olden timel Do you not see him wending his way through
the aisle to the pulpit, bowing on either side with the dignity and grace of the
old nobility of Connecticut? Do you not still follow him as he ascends the pul-
pit stairs, clinging to the railing to maintain with seeming ambition the wonted
vivacity of his step, now enfeebled by ageT'

Mr. Pitkin was more than a courtly gentleman and a kindly friend.
He "was a man of fervent piety and earnest spirit, who sympathized with
Whitefield and his movements, and invited him to his pulpit. During
his ministry the practice of owning the covenant w^as abandoned by a
decisive vote of the church. Of this event Dr. Porter writes thus : —

" Late in life he is remembered to have said to a friend with deep emotion,
' The breaking up of that halfway covenant nearly cost me my ministerial life.'
In this remark he is supposed to have had reference to an incident Avhich my
father mentioned to me, and which explains the final action of the church on that
subject. The question was put, ' Shall the practice of admitting persons to own
the covenant without coming to the Lord's Supper be from this time discon-
tinued 1 ' A majority of this church were in the negative. Whereupon Mr.
Pitkin said, ' Then I can no longer be your pastor ; ' at which the motion was
made and carried ' to leave the whole affair with the pastor, and the meeting was
dismissed.' "

THE REV. TIMOTHY PITKIN

FARMmGTON. 177

The final action of the church was taken April 18, 1781. The fol-
lowing sketch of his pastoral life and estimate of his usefulness was
made by the late Governor Treadwell : —

" Mr. Pitkin was a good classic scholar, and had acquired by reading and
extensiv^e acquaintance with gentlemen of information and science a general
knowledge of men and things ; particularly of passing events both at home and
abroad. He was a gentleman of polished manners and of a communicative dis-
position, which assemblage of qualities, together with a sprightly air and manner,
made him very engaging and instructive in conversation ; so that but few persons
of taste ever left his company without having been entertained, and, if not owing
to their own fault, improved. Besides being eminently pious, and knowing how
to accommodate himself to the character and attainments of those with whom he
conversed, he was able to speak a word in season that would please, and either
edify or reprove, and he was very happy in so shaping his remarks as to leave
a savor of religion, or at least a serious impression, on the mind.

"A popular address was his province. In this he delighted and in this he
excelled. Hence there was want of variety in his sermons, which his many excel-
lent qualities could not fully compensate. The reverse which took place some
years before he resigned his ministry was painful to him and his people. An-
other generation had arisen which knew not Josepli. They regarded him indeed
with affection ; still Mr. Pitkin saw, or thought he saw, a wide difference between
that affection and the admiration of the former generation. For a time he gave
up his salary and continued his labors. The voluntary contributions made him
by the people were small. This coutirmed him in opinion that a coldness had
taken place, and that his usefulness among them was at an end. A council was
called ; he urged before them his want of healtli and that he had no furtlier pros-
pect of being useful here, and requested to be dismissed from his people. The
society opposed, but the council complied with his request, and dismissed him.
Since that time Mr. Pitkin has preached occasionally in various places, but for
the most part has lived retired. He has, however, been very useful in praying
with the congregation in the absence of a minister, in visiting and praying with
the sick, in attending funerals, in praying and expounding the Scriptures at con-
ferences, in conversing witli and assisting and counselling such as were under
religious concern, and in other pious endeavors to promote the interests of relig-
ion among us. On the whole, his life was dignitied and useful, his death was
peaceful, and his memory will be blessed."

It was during Mr. Pitkin's pastorate that the present spacious
meeting-house was erected. The first recorded movement toward the
erection of this building was on Feb. 2, 1767. On the 30th of December
three builders, probably residing in the neighboring parishes, were
selected as a committee. They reported in April, 1768, that the old
meeting-house was not worth repairing. It was not, however, until
Feb. 6, 1769, that the decisive vote was taken (fifty-three against twelve)
to build a new edifice. In December, 1770, the movements became
earnest and decisive. In November, 1772, it was voted to meet in it for
regular worship. The two persons who deserve to be named as active
in its construction are Colonel Fisher Gay and Captain Judah Woodruff.
Mr. Gay was one of the two or three leading merchants of the village,
and a public-spirited and intelligent man. In obedience to the vote of
1769 he and Captain Woodruff went to Boston for the timber, which
was brought from the then Province of Maine, and was of the choicest
quality. Captain Woodruff was the architect and master-builder, and
the tools with which he wrought are many of them preserved to this

VOL. II. — 12.

178

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

day. The interior of this house was divided on the ground floor by
aisles as at present, except that a row of square pews was placed along
the walls on every side, a pew in each corner, with one or two benches
by the north and the south doors. An aisle extended from the west door
to the pulpit, as at present, another aisle from the south to the north
door, the two dividing the body of the house into four blocks, each con-
taining six pews. All these remained unpainted until they were removed
in 1836, and in them all not a defect or knot was to be seen. Looking
down upon the middle aisle was the formidable pulpit, with a window
behind it. It was reached by a staircase on the north side, and was
overhung by a wondrous canopy of wood, rounded somewhat like the

THE PRESENT MEETING-HOUSE.

dome of a Turkish mosque, and attached to the wall behind by some
hidden mechanical mystery, which stimulated the speculative inquiries
of the boys long before they could comprehend the graver mysteries
to which it was supposed to give resonant emphasis. Along the front
of the pulpit was the deacons' seat, in which sat two worthies whose
saintly dignity shone with added lustre and solemnity on the days of
holy communion. The gallery was surrounded by a row of pews with
three rows of long benches in front, rising, as is usual, above one
another. In the winter of 1825-1826 the pews and the long seats in
the gallery were demolished, and slips with doors were substituted for
them, for more private and special occupation. In 1836 the pews
were removed from the floor, the old pulpit and sounding-board dis-
appeared, new windows were made with blinds, etc., at a cost of some
$2,186.70. It was not until 1824 that stoves were introduced. Pre-
vious to this period foot-stoves were the sole substitute, for the filling

FARMINGTON. 179

of which the people from a distance were dependent on the liberal fires
which were kept burning at the hospitable houses in the vicinity.
The place where this house was erected was known as the Meeting-
House Green as early as 1718, and a new school-house was directed
to be built upon the place with this designation, " near where the old
chestnut-tree stood," which was doubtless one of the noble remnants
of the original forest. As early as 1743 a general permission was
granted to such farmers as lived at a distance to erect small houses
along tlie fences on either side of this green for their comfort on the
Sabbath, or, as it was phrased, for "their duds and horses." Two
such houses stood on the east line, near the town pound, within the
memory of many, as late as 1818 or 1820. The cost of the building was
£1750 12.S. lOhd., of which Mr. Pitkin contributed X20.

Mr. Pitkin was dismissed at his own request, June 15, 1785, and
died in 1812.

Mr, Pitkin was succeeded by the Rev. Allen Olcott, who was or-
dained January, 1787, and dismissed August, 1791. He was an able
but rather unattractive man, and his ministry was attended with sharp
and continued divisions, although neither his Christian nor general
character was called in question. He died in Orford, New Hampshire,
August, 1806.

Four years afterward the divisions were still more threatening, for
they were aggravated by a sharp and positive hostility on the part of
many influential men against the new light, or Hopkinsian preaching.
Mr. Edward Dorr Griffin, afterward so distinguislied and so well
known, preached as a candidate in the fervor of his youth, with the
glow of his soaring imagination and the brilliancy of his imposing
rhetoric. His preaching was attractive and powerful, and it made
a strong impression on the young and the old. Many were awakened
to new convictions, and began, as they thought, a new life. Many were
vexed and disturbed, and conceived a determined hostility to the fear-
less and defiant preacher. The old strifes were reawakened and became
more bitter than ever. A decided majority gave Mr. Griffin a call ;
but a large minority opposed him, — twenty-four to seventy-three. He
accepted the call after a delay of nearly five months, A council was
convened which declined to install him against so strong an opposition,
but advised the calling of another council, to which the society con-
sented by a small majority, — the vote standing sixty-two to forty-one.
Meanwhile some reports were circulated unfavorable to the character
of Mr. Griffin, and his opponents made use of them before the council.
When this body convened, the house was packed as never before or
since, with an excited auditory. The spokesman for his opponents was
arrayed in full professional attire, and made showy denunciations against
Mr. Grifiin's reputation. The council acquitted the candidate of the
charges, but advised that ^ yi ^r r>

he should withdraw his ^-^ /y ^ y>^^

letter of acceptance, which Z^i/^t-^ r/c^'^n^^.^y^-j'^y

he did, and the storm was /W^ dZ^^S^a^

allayed. In a few months '-^

after, in the same year, the Rev, Joseph Washburn came among this
people, a messenger of peace and of blessing, a man of quiet dignity
and winning ways, who united all hearts, exorcised the spirit of bitter-

180 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

ness and dissension, and brought peace to the parish. Mr. Washburn
was ordained May 7, 1795, and died at sea on his way to Charleston,
South Carolina, Dec. 25, 1805. From 1795 to 1799 there were special
revivals of religion, which are narrated in the first volume of the
Connecticut " Evangelical Magazine." A volume of his sermons was
published after his death.

Up to the War of Independence, the town steadily increased in
wealth and population. It was divided into several parishes, but it was
not until 1779 that Southington was incorporated as a separate town,
the first of many others. The whole of the town took an earnest and
excited interest in the Revolutionary movements, and furnished men
enough to make a regiment. How spirited was its zeal and noble its
sacrifices will appear from the following resolutions, which were passed
at different town-meetings, Avhen the spacious new church was crowded
at times by more than a thousand men : —

"At a very full meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town of Farmington,
Legally warned and held in said Farmington, the 15th day of June, 1774, Colonel
John Strong, Moderator : —

" Voted, That the act of Parliament for blocking up the Port of Boston is an
Invasion of the Rights and Privileges of every American, and as sucli we are De-
termined to oppose the same, with all other such arbitrary and tyrannical acts in
every suitable Way and Manner, that may be adopted in General Congress : to
the Intent we may be instrumental in Securing and Transmitting our Rights
and Privileges Inviolate, to the Latest Posterity.

" That the fate of American freedom Greatly Depends upon the Conduct of
the Inhabitants of the Town of Boston in the Present Alarming Crisis of Public
affairs : We therefore entreat them hy Every thing that is Dear and Sacred, to
Persevere with Unremitted Vigilence and Resolution, till their Labour shall be
crowned with the desired Success.

" That as many of the inhabitants of the town of Boston, must, in a short
time be reduced to the Utmost Distress, in Consequence of their Port Bill, we
deem it our indispensable Duty, by every Effectual and Proper Method, to assist
in affording them speedy Relief.

" In pursuance of which Fisher Gay, Selah Hart, Stephen Hotchkiss, Esqs.,
and Messrs. Samuel Smith, Noadiah Hooker, Amos Wadsworth, Simeon Strong,
James Percival, Elijah Hooker, Mathew Cole, Jonathan Root, Josiah Cowles,
Daniel Lankton, Jonathan Andrews, Jonathan Woodruff, Aaron Day, Timothy
Clark, Josiah Lewis, Hezekiah Gridley, Jr., Asa Upson, Amos Barnes, Stephen
Barnes, Jr., Ichabod Xorton, Joseph Miller, William Woodford, Jedidiah Nor-
ton, Jr., Gad Stanley, John Lankton, Elnathan Smith, Thos. Upson, Elisha
Booth, Samuel North, Jr., Theo. Hart, and Resen Gridley be a committee, with
all convenient speed, to take in subscriptions : Wheat, Rye, Indian corn, and
other provisions of the Inhabitants of this Town, and to Collect and Transport
the same to the Town of Boston, tliere to be delivered to the Select Men of the
Town of Boston, to be by them Distributed at their Discretion, to those who
are incapacitated to procure a necessary subsistence in consequence of the late
oppressive Measures of Administration.

" That William Judd, Fisher Gay, Selah Hart, and Stephen Hotchkiss, Esqs.,
Messrs. John Treadwell, Asahel Wadsworth, Jonathan Root, Sam. Smith,
Ichabod Norton, Noadiah Hooker, and Gad Stanley, be, and they are hereby
appointed a Committee to keep up a Correspondence witli the Towns of this and
the neighboring Colonies, and that they forthwith transmit a copy of the votes of
this Meeting to the Committee of Correspondence for the Town of Boston, and
also cause the same to be made public.

FARMIXGTON. 181

"Sept. 20, Tuesday, 1774, it was voted that the Selectmen be directed
to purchase Thirty Hundred weight of Lead to be added to the Town stock for
the use of the Town.

" At the same meeting, voted, that the Selectmen be directed to procure Ten
Thousand French flints to be added to the Town Stock for the use of the Town.

" Voted, That the Selectmen be Directed to purchase thirty six barrels of
Powder, with what is ah'eady provided, to be added to the Town Stock for the
use of the Town.

"In 1775 special encouragement was given to John Treadwell and Martin
Bull, in the manufacture of Saltpetre.

" Sept. 16, 1777, the first record is made of the administration of the Oath of
Fidelity to the State of Connecticut, and the oath provided for freemen to a large
number of persons.

" A similar record is made Dec. 1, 1777, and others at subsequent dates.

" The inhabitants of the town of Farmington in legal town meeting convened.
To Isaac Lee, Jr., and Jolm Treadwell, Esqs., Eepresentatives for said town in
the General Assembly of this State : Gentlemen, having in pursuance of the rec-
ommendation of the Governor of this State taken into serious consideration the
articles of confederation and perpetual union proposed by the Honorable Con-
gress of the United States to the consideration and approbation of said States,
we are of the opinion that there is much wisdom conspicuous in many of said
articles which in many respects are highly calculated to i:)rouiote the welfare and
emolument of the United States and promise the most extensive blessings to us
and posterity, it is therefore with the utmost pain that we find there is discover-
able in some of said articles which bear an unfavorable aspect to the New
England States, and this in particular, the similarity of customs, manners, and
sentiments of the nine Western States, and their opposition to the New England
States in these respects, especially as the power of transacting the most important
business is vested in nine States, gives us great apprehension that evil conse-
quences may flow to the prejudice of the New England States — the method of
appointing courts for the deciding controversies between two or more States which
will, as the case may be, entirely exclude every person that may be nominated
in the New England States ; the rule of stating the quota of men for the Conti-
nental Service iu war and mode of apportioning of the public expense, we are
constrained to say are in our opinion very exceptionable though we are unwilling
to believe that they were designed for the prejudice of this and the other New
England States ; you are therefore directed to use your influence in the General
Assembly of this State by proper ways and means that the articles of confedera-
tion may be amended and altered in the several particulars above mentioned by
Congress, if such emendations can be made without manifestly endangering the
independence and liberties of the L''nited States. The emoluments, however,
of the United States are to govern you in all your deliberations upon this
interesting and important subject.

"Voted, That the other articles of confederation are approved Avith the
exceptions above taken in these instructions.

" Test. Sol. Whitman,
"April, 1778. Town Clerk."

Foremost among those who acted and spoke at all these meetings
was Colonel Fisher Gay^ (the son of John Gay, Jr., wlio was born in
Dedham, Mass., 1698), born in Litchfield, Oct. 9, 1733, and grad-
uated at Yale College, 1759. He began his life at Farmington as a
school-teacher, but after two or three years he started a small mer-

1 The regiment which he commanded belonged to AVadsworth's Brigade, and numbered
four hundred and forty-nine on the roll. See Henry P. Johnston's " Campaign of 1776, etc."
Brooklyn, 1878.

182 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

cantile business, which by his energy and skill became very consider-
able. He soon became prominent in public affairs. He was a])pointed
one of the committee of correspondence from the town in 1774, and
was a member of the other important committees, as of vigilance,
preparation, etc. On hearing of the conflicts at Concord and Lexing-
ton he shut up his store at once and marched to Boston at the
head of about a hundred volunteers. His commission as lieutenant-
colonel is dated Jan. 23, 1776. His last commission as colonel bears
date June 20, 1776. The brief journal which he kept of his services
before Boston is preserved. From this it appears that he reported to
General Washington February 6, and on the 13th was sent for by him
and immediately despatched into Rhode Island and Connecticut to pur-
chase powder. On the 18th he reported himself with a number of tons,
" to the great satisfaction of the General," but was severely ill from
over-exertion. The Itli of March he was ordered with his regiment to
act as a part of a covering party to the workmen who were detached
to fortify Dorchester Heights. The success of this attempt led to the
evacuation of Boston, and Colonel Gay, with his regiment, with Colonel
Leonard, Majors Sproat and Chester, and other officers and their troops,
were ordered to march in and take possession of the town. Here he
continued within, or before the works, until the army before Boston broke
up, when his regiment was ordered to New York. On his way he spent
two or three days with his family for the last time, heing at that
time very ill. He grew worse after reaching New York. A part of
his command was sent to Long Island, and were in the action which
followed the retreat, in which last movement they were distinguished.
He died Aug. 22, 1776, and was buried on the day of the battle. His
zeal and self-sacrifice were conspicuous. On his sword, which is still
preserved, are engraved the words, " Freedom or Death ! " Alike
ardent in counsel and foremost in every good work in this community,
whether it concerned the school, the church, or the state, he cheerfully
risked his life for the rights of New England and the independence
of the United Colonies. Nor was he alone. Three companies from
Farmington were in action against Burgoyne, and it is confidently
asserted by one whose recollections cannot be mistaken, that every
young man from the town, worth any consideration, was at some time
or other in the field.

The village street was a part of the high road from Boston through
Hartford to New York. Washington came by this route to meet
Rochambeau at Wethersfield to arrange for the final expedition against
Yorktown. Several thousand of the French troops were encamped for
a night at least, about a mile below this place, and their arrangements
for a bivouac are still to be seen. Tradition says that the Puritan
misses did not disdain a dance by moonlight with the French officers.
Some of Burgoyne's officers were quartered here after the surrender,
and the town is indebted to the skill of one of their number for two of
its best houses. Several dwellings were patterned in different parts of
the State after one of these houses. A part of the artillery taken at
that memorable surrender was kept for a long time in the village.

Till near the end of the war the town was cons}>icuously an agri-
cultural community. The life and manners of the people were faithfully

FARMINGTON. 183

depicted by an honest chronicler in the following sketch prepared by
the Hon. John Treadwell in 1802 : —

" This town, as its name imports, was at first, and indeed till a late period,
wholly agricultural. Labor in the field was almost the only employment. In-
dustry and economy have characterized tlie inhabitants ; labor has been held in
reputation ; none, however elevated by office or profession, have considered
themselves above it. Magistrates and ministers, when their appropriate business
would permit, have labored in the field. Indeed our magistrates have always
been farmers ; have been as laborious on their farms as others, and have derived
their support from labor as much, almost, as the meanest citizen. They have
been content to eat their bread in the sweat of their brow ; and it was honor
enough to be esteemed the first among equals. But very little of the labor on
farms has been performed by slaves ; and if a farmer had a slave, he constantly
labored with him, and taught him the habits of industry by his own example as
well as by his authority. Labor having been thus reputable among all classes of
citizens, industry has been almost universal ; and very few through idleness have
become chargeable to the public. The master of the household has gone before
his sons and domestics into the field in their daily labor, and if too remote, as
usually happened, to return at noon, they dined together on their plain fare,
under the covert of some thick shade, where on the green grass they miglit enjoy
the luxury of the free air, with more sincere delight than the greatest modern
epicure at a civic feast. While the men have been thus employed in the held, in
raising the materials for food and clothing, the women have been no less indus-
trious in the domestic circle, in rearing the tender branches of the family, and in
dressing food for the table. The careful matron has been accustomed to ' seek
wool and flax and work willingly with her hands ; slie layeth her hands to the
spindle and her hands hold the distaff.' On Monday they have been employed
in perfect dishabille, in washing their linen in their houses, and when this is done,
at about the middle of the afternoon, they assume tlieir neatest appearance, and
are the perfect contrast of what they were in the morning, prepared to visit or to
receive company. The brijthers of the family returning from their daily labors,
toward evening, covered with sweat and dust, and finding their sisters neatly
dressed, and enjoying the cool shade, are led sometimes almost to repine at their
happy lot ; but these feelings are corrected when they reflect that their sisters are
employed more hours in the day, and that their labor when compared with their
strength is, many times, more severe than their own. It is true, however, that
the young daughters, who have much to expect from their appearance, find
means to shift off no small proportion of the drudgery of the family on the fond
mother; who submits the more readily, because she feels that there are reasons
for it, that have their weight ; that she herself in youth has had the same
indulgence, and that they must submit to the like service in their turn.

" Our ancestors here, of both sexes, have, till of late, clad themselves in simple
apparel, suited to their moderate circumstances and agricultural state. The men
have been content with two suits of clothes, called the every-day clothes and the
Sabbath-day clothes. The former were usually of two sorts, those for labor
and those for common society. Those for labor in the summer were a check
homespun linen shirt, a pair of plain tow-cloth trousers, and a vest generally
much worn, formerly with, but more modernly without sleeves ; or simply a
brown tow-cloth frock and trousers, and sometimes a pair of old shoes tied with
leather strings, and a felt hat, or old beaver hat stiffened and worn Avhite with
age. For the winter season they wore a check blue and wliite woollen shirt, a
pair of buck-skin breeches, a pair of white, or, if of the best kind, deep blue home-
made woollen stockings, and a pair of double-soled cowhide shoes, blacked on
the flesh side, tied with leather strings; and, to secure the feet and legs against
snow, a pair of leggins, which, for the most part, were a pair of worn-out stock-
ings, with the bottom and toe of the foot cut off, drawn over the stocking and

184 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

shoe, and tied fast to the heel and over the vamp of the shoe ; or if of the best
kind, they were knit on purpose of white yarn, and they answered for boots on
all occasions ; an old plain cloth vest with sleeves, lined with a cloth called drug-
get ; an old plain cloth great-coat, commonly brown, wrapped around the body,
and tied witli a list or belt ; or as a substitute for them, a buck-skin leather waist-
coat and a leather apron of tanned sheep-skin fastened round the waist, and the
top of it supported with a loop about the neck, and a hat as above, or a woollen
cap drawn over the ears.

*' For ordinary society in summer they were clad in a check linen homespun
shirt and trousers, or linen breeches, white homespun linen stockings, and
cowhide single-soled shoes, a vest with sleeves usually of brown plain cloth, a
handkerchief around the neck, a check cap, and a hat in part worn.

" In winter they were clad as above described for winter, excepting that they
assumed, if they had it, a better great-coat, a neckcloth, and a hat that might be
considered as second best. Their Sabbath-day suit for winter was like that last
mentioned, excepting that their stockings were commonly deep blue, their leather
breeches were clean and of a butf color, they added a straight-bodied plain coat
and a white holland cap, and sometimes a wig with a clean beaver hat. For the
summer, it was a check holland shirt, brown linen breeches and stockings, single-
soled cowhide shoes with buckles, a plain cloth and sometimes a broadcloth and
velvet vest, Avithout sleeves ; the shirt-sleeves tied above tlie elbows with arm-
strings of ferreting of various colors, a white holland cap or wig, and beaver hat ;
and on Thanksgiving days and other high occasions a white holland shirt and
cambric neckcloth.

" The women have been, till within about thirty years past, clothed altogether
in the same style, with a moderate allowance for the taste of the sex. A minute
description will not be attempted ; a few particulars will characterize the whole.
They wore home-made drugget, crape, plain clotli, and camblet gowns in the
winter, and the exterior of tlieir under dress was a garment lined and quilted,
extending from the waist to the feet. Their shoes were high-heeled, made of
tanned calf-skin, and in some instances of cloth. In the summer they wore striped
linen and calico gowns, cloth shoes, and linen underdress ; and every young lady
when she had attained her stature was furnished with a silk gown and skirt if her
parents were able, or she could purchase them by dint of laboi\ Their head-
dress has always occupied a great share of their attention while in youth ; it has
always been varying, and every mole seems, in its day, the most becoming.
Within the period just mentioned, the elderly women have worn check holland
aprons to meeting on the Sabbath, and those in early life and of the best fashion
were accustomed to wear them in their formal visits.

" The same simplicity has been conspicuous in their diet, their houses, and
their furniture. Equipage they liad none ; pleasure carriages and sleighs were
unknown. In attending the public worship, or in short excursions, a man usually
rode witli a woman behind him, mounted on a pillion ; and even to this day this
practice is not wholly laid aside.

" The people of this town, as farmers, have had some advantages above most
of their neighbors, but they have had their disadvantages ; among which, their
compact settlement is one. Two things induced this mode of settlement : fear of
Indians, and a wish to place themselves in a situation convenient to improve the
meadows. The inhabitants have their home-lots in the town plot ; their lots,
as usually happens, in various parts of the meadows, distant from a quarter of a
mile to nearly three miles ; and their pastures for their cattle and horses in perhaps
an opposite direction, and as far or farther distant. In this situation, the time
spent in taking the cows to pasture, and fetching their teams in the morning, and
going to their fields, in returning home, turning out their teams and fetching
their cows at night, must be, in most cases, a considerable part of the day, which
is worse than lost, and is more than saved by those who live on their farms in a
central situation."

FARMINGTON. 185

Soon after the War of the Revolution, with the returning activities
of peace this town became the seat of an extensive trade. The town
which had guarded the frontier undauntedly for three fourths of a cen-
tury in face of an Indian village and the dark forest of the Mohawks
beyond, now began to command the trade of the new towns which were
springhig up in every part of that forest. From along the Litchfield
turnpike on the west, — the turnpike which, as long as Xew York and
its vicinity was held by the Euglish, was the high road from Boston
and Hartford to the Middle States, — down the valley of the Tunxis
from the northwest toward Pittsfield and Albany, up the Farmington
from the north and beyond the Great Plains from the south and south-
east, there was gathered an active mercantile trade which was first set
in motion bv John aud Chauncey Deminn-, who were followed bv the five
sons of Elijah Cowles, Seth, Elijah, Jonathan, Gad, and Martin, and the
two sons of Solomon Cowles, Solomon and Zenas. Some of these mer-
chants set up branch houses in the neighboring towns. Some, not con-
tent with buying their goods at Hartford and New York, arranged to
import them, and in their own vessels. The signs on the numerous stores
bore the inscriptions of " West India and East India goods," and in
some instances these goods came directly to the hands of the Farming-
ton merchants. At one time not less than three AVest India vessels
were owned in Farmingtou, Avhich were despatched from Wethersfield or
New Haven. One at least was sent to China, and brought from the then
far-distant Cathav, silks and teas, and china-ware bearing the initials
of these enterprising importers. The Indian corn which was raised
so abundantly in the meadows and on the uplands was extensively kiln-
dried and sent to the West Indies, and with the horses and the staves
which the then new near West could so abundantly furnish, was the
chief export, which brought back sugar, molasses, and Santa Cruz
rum. At a somewhat later period an active trade in tin-^vare and
dry-goods was pushed into the Atlantic Southern States, and employed
the energies and excited the ambition of many of the young men
of the village and the town. Large fortunes were occasionallv the
results of these ventures. Not infrequently the young man who went
forth in the maturity of strength and the confidence of hope never
returned.

The old meeting-house began to rustle with silks and to be gay with
ribbons. The lawyers wore silk and velvet breeches ; broadcloth took
the place of homespun for coat and overcoat, and corduroy displaced
leather for breeches and pantaloons. As the next century opened,
pianos were heard in the best houses, thundering out the " Battle of
Prague " as a tour de force, and the gayest of gigs and the most preten-
tious of phaetons rolled through the village. Houses were built with
dancing-halls for evening gayety ; and the most liberal liospitality,
recommended by the best of cookery, was dispensed at sumptuous
dinners and suppers.

This period of active business and mercantile enterprise and the rapid
accumulation of wealth extended from 1790 until about 1825. In 1802
Governor Treadwell records that "a greater capital is employed in
[trade] than in any inland town in the State." Mr. Chauncey Deming
was first among these merchants for strength and positiveness of char-
acter and for business ability. He was foremost in enterprise, and was

186 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

an active and influential director in one of the banks of both Hartford
and Middletown. During the War of 1812, all the banks of the State
except the Hartford Bank suspended payments in specie, and it is con-
fidently asserted that Mr. Doming held large specie reserves in Farm-
ington, which he produced from time to time to save its credit. No
one who ever saw him in his vigorous old age as he galloped along the
street upon his strong and elegant horse, or as he sat in church, with
his powdered queue and his bright blue coat and gilt buttons, will
forget the impression.

The decline of this trade began with the opening of a more ready
comnumication with Hartford, by the extension of the Litchfield and
the Albany turn]3ike roads over the Talcott Mountain. The Farm-
ington capitalists were large owners in the stock of both tliese roads.
They did not foresee that by making it easier for themselves to go
to Hartford they would make it easier for their customers to do the
same.

The military spirit of the town was fostered by its wealth and enter-
prise. Upon the meeting-house green on the first Mondays of May and
September, and some one or two other days in the autumn, there were
gathered the three military companies of the town, — the Grenadiers,
select and self-respecting, glorying in the buff and blue of the Revolu-
tion, with a helmet of more recent device but of Roman model ; the
Infantry, or bushwhackers, numerous, miscellaneous, and frolicsome,
whose straggling line and undisciplined and undisciplinable platoons
were the derision of the boys and the shame of all military men ; and
a small but select company of cavalry, or " troopers," as they were
called in contrast with the " trainers." These last consisted of " the
horse-taming " young men of the community, more commonly sons
of farmers in the remoter districts, who delighted in the opportunity
to show their horsemanship, and thus vie with the aristocratic grena-
diers, who were more largely from the village. In the autumn also
was the annual " field day " for the regiment, which was summoned
to meet once a year on one of the immense rye-fallows that stretched
out upon the Great Plains. To these military organizations the
meeting-house was in some sense the centre. The minister was sum-
moned yearly to offer ])rayer upon the Green amid the assembled three
companies, and invited to dine with the officers and those aspiring
privates who chose to indulge in the expense of a dinner for a trifling
sum. Should it rain beyond endurance on training-day, the meet-
ing-house was opened to protect the soldiers from a drenching. Its
sacred walls have many a time reverberated to drum and fife and
the tramp of files along the aisles, while excited boys looked down
from the gallery with wonder at so strange a spectacle, breathless
with miso'iving at the disturbance of their wonted associations with
the place.

Around the meeting-house were gathered representatives of all the
population on the three or four days of election week in the spring, and
the two days after the annual Thanksgiving in the autumn. The elec-
tion days were usually devoted to ball-playing, in which adults partici-
pated with the zest of boys, and delighted to show that their youthful
energy was not extinct, and that the talcs of their youthful achievements

FARMINGTON. 187

were not mythical exaggerations. Wrestling matches, throwing of
quoits, and other feats were by-plays to the principal performances.

Between 1783 and 1802 one hundred and forty-seven families emi-
grated from Farmington, besides a number of unmarried persons of
both sexes, in all about seven hundred and seventy-five individuals.
The most of them settled in the States of Vermont and New York ;
" a few in different parts of the Northwestern Territory." Since that
time there has been a constant stream of emigration in every direction,
into almost every State of the Union.

In 1802 there had but three of the inliabitants been convicted of
high crimes ; one was executed for murder thirty-five years before ;
two were sent to Newgate Prison for a number of years ; they were all
Indians. There were in 1802 fifteen paupers supported by the town,
at an expense of $718. In that year there were thirty free blacks in
the town. The number of dwelling-houses was four hundred and
thirty-eight. (The town then included the present town of Avon.)

In 1775 the Hon. John Tread well and Martin Bull engaged in the
manufacture of saltpetre, a material then needed in the preparation
of gunpowder. They prosecuted the business with success till the
French espoused the cause of the United States, when the demand for
the article ceased.

In 1802 and 1803 there were manufactures in the town of Farming-
ton of the following articles : checked and striped linen, 15,000 yards per
year; hats, 2,500 per year ; leather in four establishments, 1,500 sides,
500 skins ; tin-ware in five shops, 200 boxes tin plate per year ; potash,
three establishments, 15 tons ; muskets, 400 stands.

Stephen Bronson manufactured the linen with enterprise and suc-
cess, employing foreigners to assist in weaving and dyeing. The yarn
was spun in private families.

Asa Andrus carried the art of preparing japanned ware to a high
degree of perfection, and realized from his efforts considerable profit.

These were the days of prosperity and pride for tliis always beautiful
village.! YoY reasons already given, its active trade was gradually
diminished. Some unsuccessful efforts were made to introduce manu-
factures here and to invest in manufacturing enterprises abroad, but
with little success. The fortvmes that had been accumulated under
more favorable circumstances have been greatly diminished, until agri-
culture has seemed to be the chief reliance for the inhabitants. Many
of the hamlets and villages that formerly were the dependencies of the
mother town have rapidly increased in wealth and population by the
manufacturing industries to which they were compelled by necessity,
while the decaying splendor and wealthy respectability of the formerly
brilliant village has occasioned their wonder and criticism. The canal,
from which something was expected, proved little more than a costly
and troublesome convenience, and the railway was unfortunately al-
lowed to leave the village far enougli in the distance to suggest
thoughts of what it might have been had it passed near its centre,

1 The social aspects of the village, as they were some fifty or seventy years since, are
graphically depicted by the late E. I). Mansfield, of Cincinnati, Ohio, in "Personal Memoirs
at Cincinnati," 1879, pp. 79-84. Mr. Mansfield became a student of Mr. Edward Hooker, of
the Red College, in 1815.

188 MExMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

while it stimiilatecl what were formerly two school districts into the
rapidly growing communities of Plainville and Unionville.

While these villages have shot up into vigorous life, a few abortive
attempts to introduce clock-making and other industries into the cen-
tral village were made and relinquished. The gambrel-roofed buildings
that once were the scenes of busy traffic on the village street have one
by one, with two or three exceptions, been removed into the back
streets, and become solid and comfortable dwellings ; and the village
itself is left to be the pleasant retreat of the remnants of its older and
once numerous families, or the lovely sojourn for the gay inmates of
the school, which almost calls the town its own. Meanwhile some
stimulus has been given to its agricultural industry, and the soil, and
its nearness to markets, destine it to become sooner or later a thriving
agricultural community, and a lovely retreat from tlie battle and strife
of manufacturing and commercial towns.

The Farmington Savings Bank was organized May, 1851, and has
been very prosperous. The Farmington Creamery Company was
established in 1870, and has stimulated and rewarded the as'ricultural
enter])rise of the community. In 1881 it received 1,201,000 quarts
of milk.

We resume our sketch of the moral and religious life of the old
town, with the pastorate of Dr. Porter, who was ordained Nov. 5,
1806, and died Sept. 24, 1866, after a pastorate of nearly sixty
years. During this period the town passed through some of the most
eventful experiences of its history. He was in every sense closely
identified with the intellectual, ethical, and religious history of the
town. His ancestor was one of the original proprietors, and also one
of the original members of its carefully selected church ; his father
was deacon of the same. He was fitted for college in the family of
Mr. Washburn. He liad scarcely known any other home than Farming-
ton except during his college life. His church and parish embraced
the entire population, and with the exception of six or eight families,
it was Congregational. Far and near, in lonely hamlets, and beyond
rough and rocky paths, he was the one pastor for all these households,
whatever were their needs or longings for human or Christian sym-
pathy. His Sunday congregation, for many years, was from six hun-
dred to nine hundred souls. During the first third of his pastorate he
was zealous for Orthodoxy, having inherited the New England sturdy
confidence in a fixed formula of doctrine as the only faith once deliv-
ered to the saints, which he did not fail to proclaim in its sterner as
well as its milder features. In the last two thirds of his ministry his
enlarged views of the spiritual adaptation of the gospel to the soul of
man imparted a new interest to his preaching and his conceptions
of the gospel. He welcomed new thoughts, and had them to the very
end of his life. He was not afraid of any new light which might break
forth from the Scriptures, because he was so saturated with its great
truths and its prevailing spirit that he had no misgivings that the truth
would ever fail. It was characteristic of this spirit that at eighty-
six some of his latest reading was devoted to " Ecce Homo;" and his
Greek Testament was found open on his study table at his death.
In his meridian activity, and even after the beginning of old age,

FAEMINGTON. 189

his regular weekly meetings were as follows : Three services on Sun-
day, involving two written discourses, and a familiar lecture or exposi-
tion in the evening, with an occasional attendance at the Sunday school,
a weekly lecture on Wednesday evening, and another, in some outlying
school-house, on Thursday afternoon or evening. For all tliese services
more or less definite preparation was made.

As an ethical teacher and guide ho was bold and fearless and
outspoken. In the early part of his ministry intemperance was a prevail-
ing vice, and social drinking was universal, and even countenanced by
the ministry. There were not a few of the greater and lesser immoral-
ities against whicli he was expected to protest, and he did protest most
earnestly. Some of these were especially prominent in the wealthy
and gay community which at that time swarmed in the streets and
houses of Farmington. In the early part of his pastorate an associa-
tion was formed in the State for the promotion of Christian morals,
before which, early in his ministry. Dr. Porter preaclied one of the
annual sermons. He had been nearly twenty years in the pastorate
before ihQ first temperance movement commenced. Twenty years
before this time a hogshead of rum had been sold at retail in "a single
day in the village, and eight or ten retail shops had been actively sus-
tained by respectable traders. Most of the farmers depended for ready
money on the sale of cider at the many numerous small distilleries.
The evil was so serious that Dr. Porter, in connection with most of
the Congregational pastors of Coimecticut, acted with promptness
and energy in furtherance of the first Temperance Reformation. He
subsequently gave his cordial adhesion to the movement to abstain
from all intoxicating drinks, and was far in advance of his people in
both these enterprises. Then came the Antislavery excitement, Avhich
very sharply divided the pastors of the State. Dr. Porter did not
hesitate from the first to denounce slavery as a system, and to dwell, in
his sermons and other discourses, on the evils which must inevitably
attend it ; but he did not accept the abstract theories adopted by the
originators of the movement, nor did he sympathize witli their indis-
criminating denunciations, and for these reasons did not join himself
to their association. It so happened that his parish became one of the
minor, but very active, centres for Antislavery propagandism. Some
of the prominent men in the church were zealous propagandists of the
extremest doctrines. Not a little money was contributed to the cause.
Frequent conventions were held, at wliicli " laggard churches " and
" temporizing ministers" were unceremoniously rebuked. An earnest
and persistent effort was made to bring into use very extreme doc-
trines as tests of Christian fellowship, and to bring all the churches
to utter protests, by resolution and by other methods, to debar
from the communion of the Lord's Supper those who could not
purge themselves from all complicity with slavery. A majority of
votes was obtained in Dr. Porter's own church for a series of resolu-
tions of this description, and tiie pastor was requested to announce
them at every communion service. These proceedings were offensive
to his conscience. He regarded these votes as doing violence to the
teachings of the New Testament and to the very spirit of Cliristianity.
With great boldness, but with still greater patience and gentleness, he
reasoned and expostulated, but failed to convince. Perhaps no phase

190 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

of his life as a pastor was more fruitful in Christian instructiveness
than the manly dignity and patient sweetness which he manifested
during these trying years in which old age was beginning to gather
around him, and its sombre darkness was made more gloomy by a wild
storm like this. The storm passed away ; the last of its lingering
clouds vanished into air, and long before his death the entire church and
parish rejoiced in the mild and benignant rays of the sun whicli had
blessed them so long, and shone out again before its final setting.

In respect to revivals of religion, the pastorate of Dr. Porter was
somewhat peculiar. For the first fifteen years there was no great
awakening to religious things. Of a population of 2,400, only 200 were
communicants, and of these very few belonged to the gay and wealthy
families of the village. In 1821, in connection with a general awaken-
ing in the State, and with tlie preacliing of Dr. Nettleton the evangelist,
some 240 were added to the church. Such special movements occurred
very frequently after this until the pastor's death, as in 1823, 1826,
1828, 1831, 1834, 1838, 1840, 1843, 1851, and not infrequently after-
ward. In the first fifty years of this pastorate 1,138 were received as
communicants, 866 on profession of faith.

Dr. Porter's relations to the public deserve some notice. Though
he seemed to be chiefly occupied with his own flock, and more than
usually engrossed by its duties and cares, he was eminently a public
soul. He cared earnestly and zealously for the whole Church of
Christ.

Most of the movements of modern benevolence originated during
his pastorate. For many years the only collections taken up in the
church were those authorized by law, for the help of feeble congre-
gations in Connecticut, and that of a Female Cent Society, each sub-
scriber to which made an annual collection of fifty cents, and an annual
contribution for the churches in the New Settlements. Every other
contribution for the progress of the kingdom of God came into being
under his eye. Almost every one was greeted by his sympathy. He
gave liberally himself to these associations after a fixed method, and
he solemnly impressed upon his people the duty of abundant gifts.
He cared for every one of these societies which had won his confi-
dence, as though it were under his personal care, and recognized a
response to its claims as part of his duty as pastor. With the mission-
ary enterprises of the American Board, which was organized at his
house, and of the American Home Missionary Society, he maintained
the closest sympathy, and by his influence large sums of money were
directed to their treasuries. In the establishment of the Doctrinal
Tract Society, of the " Montbly Christian Spectator," and of the " Con-
necticut Observer," in the founding of the Theological Seminary at
New Haven, in the raising of money for Yale College, he was most
efficient, and considered that all these services to the Church of Christ
were but the natural and necessary outflows of his office as a pastor.

His increased catholicity of feeling in respect to differences in doc-
trine and rite and organization was manifest in his later years. The
sturdy pertinacity with which he stood almost alone among his peers
in defending the rights of his association to judge of the orthodoxy of
Dr. Bushnell, and the catholic construction with which he was disposed
to measure and interpret his doctrinal expositions, were evidences of

FARMINGTON. 191

his sincere concern for the freedom of the ministry as essential to the
life of the church, and of the duty of the ministry to enforce no
divisive tests of communion.

His end was eminently peaceful. His remains were providentiallv
detained from burial, by a severe storm, in the old church in which he
had preached for sixty years, where during a dark and dismal night
they were watched by a few faithful men of his flock. On the follow-
ing morning tlie sun came forth and he was laid in the grave, near the
river that waters the meadow over which he had so often feasted his
eyes with so much delight, and over against the hills beyond which he
had so long looked for the city of God.

Oct. 9, 1861, the Rev. Levi Leonard Paine was ordained and installed
colleague pastor. He was dismissed March 22, 1870. The Rev. James
Fiske Merriam was ordained and installed Sept. 13, 1871. He was
dismissed July 1, 1873. The Rev. Edward Alfred Smith was installed
May 5, 1874.

In 1810 Mr. Solomon Langdon gave two thousand dollars to the
Ecclesiastical Society as a fund for the support of the gospel. Li 1820
he gave in addition five hundred dollars, on condition that the society
would increase the amount to ten thousand dollars, whicli was accom-
plished. In March, 1823, he made another subscription of three hun-
dred dollars, to increase the fund to twelve thousand dollars. In his
will, after certain bequests, he left to the society the residue of his
estate, amounting to some thousands of dollars. These bequests were
the fruits of his own industry. He died May 10, 1835.

In 1825 a Methodist Episcopal church was organized, which in 1834
erected a house of worship. An Episcopal Mission (St. James) has
held stated worship since Oct. 5, 1873.

For nearly forty years Roman Catholic worship has been observed
in the village. In March, 1868, the edifice which is now occupied was
purchased, and subsequently fitted for Christian worship.

The moral and religious history of the original parish church and
the community in which it has been the central force may be summed
up as follows: From 1640 to 1700 it was trained under the teachings
and animated by the fervor of Roger Newton and Samuel Hooker, — the
first the son-in-law, the second the son, of the eminent Thomas Hooker.
The ministry of the latter continued for nearly forty years, and was
elevating and quickening in an eminent degree, making itself felt on
all the extensive town, and all the infant parishes into which it was then
and subsequently divided. From 1706 till 1751 it was favored by the
solid and sagacious Whitman, who administered the so-called Halfway
Covenant, if we may judge from the records of the church, in an energetic
spirit, and saved the community from the disastrous divisions and contro-
versies Avhich followed tlie Great Awakening. He was followed by the
fervent and florid Pitkin, who sympathized with Whitefield, invited him
to preach in his pulpit, and long after his dismissal, till his death, in
1811, was a living example of a godly life. His ministry was quicken-
ing to many ; although it is evident, from many indications, that in con-
nection with the demoralization of the wars for nearly forty years and
the attraction of French Infidelity, and the steady accession of wealth,
many influences were unfavorable to earnest Christianity. From 1790

192 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

to 1800 there were many active efforts for the revival of spiritual
religion, in which Mr. Olcott probably sympathized, and which partially
accounted for the opposition which finally drove him away. The same
antipathies were aroused by the fervid and pointed preaching of the
fervent Griffin (then in his youth and afterward so distinguished as a
preacher), which excited the hostility of a large party in the parish.
The gentle influence of Mr. Wasliburn doubtless preserved the parish
from division and from sectarian strife. During his ministry, as has
been noted elsewhere, there were two remarkable religious awakenings.
During the first fifteen years of Dr. Porter there was no general relig-
ious revival. The village grew gay and wealthy, and the embargo and
the war occupied the attention of the community. Two years of fatal
disease also agitated and occupied the people. In the mean time the new
missionary movements, at home and abroad, with the Sunday school
(1819), were introduced with reasonable energy. The American Board
of Conimissioners for Foreign Missions was organized at the house of
the pastor in 1810, with Governor Treadwcll as its president. In 1820
there was a general religious awakening, whicli almost revolutionized
the once gay and pleasure-loving village, and added two hundred or
more to the communion of the church, — one hundred and fifteen on
one occasion. This was followed by many similar experiences at very
frequent intervals. In connection with these influences, the various
movements for moral reformation excited the attention of the com-
munity, kindled their zeal, were most liberally supported by their
money, and occasionally aroused the animosities of hostile parties.
The temperance movement, beginning about 1825, finally succeeded in
putting an end to the use of distilled liquoi's and cider as a beverage,
and the destruction of as many as fifteen or twenty distilleries of
cider-brandy. The Antimasonic movement was also once a prominent
interest in the town, — more against the recollections of previous
generations, however, than any very present interest in Masonry as
an active power. The Antislavery movement in its very early stages
excited no little interest, and divided the church and community into
what in any other place would have been called active parties. ^ This
was owing in part to the very early interest taken in the movement by
the Rev. Amos A. Phelps, a native of the town, and a brilliant and
able speaker. The differences of opinion, with the criminations and
recriminations, were not all of the happiest influence. Much that was
said and done, if it were recorded, would be a history of wasted energy
which tended to little good either at home or abroad. That the church
and parish survived all storms of feeling, and never was sundered or
half-cloven by permanent parties, is an argument for wonder and
thankfulness.

Indeed, the unity of the old church and parish for nearly two hundred
and fifty years past, which is scarcely now broken by sectarian divisions,
with their manifold inconveniences and scandals, is a marked feature of
its almost unique moral and religious history.

1 The fact is worthy of record here that a sermon was preached in the meeting-house to
"the Corporation of Freemen," in Farinington, at their meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 20, IJli,
by Levi Hart, of Preston, in which the slave trade, as it then was practised in Connecticut,
was boldly assailed, and slaveholding was severely criticised. This Levi Hart was doubtless a
descendant of the original settler, Deacon Steven Hart.

FARMINGTON. 193

Tlie interest of the town in general and special education may not
be omitted. We have already referred to the early action of tlie town.
In 1772 the parish was divided into separate school districts, and a
petition was presented to the legislature to authorize each to tax itself
to manage its own concerns. It was not till 1795 that the legislature
constituted special school societies throughout the State. In the year
following, this newly formed school society digested a system of regu-
lations for the visitation and discipline of the schools. In 1798 a bill
with similar provisions was reported by John Tread well, of this town,
afterward Governor, and adopted for the entire State of Connecticut.
The town deserves especial honor as the place in which the school
system of Connecticut was first matured and adopted.

The town of Farmington provided very early and very liberally for
a special town fund for the support of public schools in all its societies,
by the sale of lands reserved for highways. In tlic old meeting-house
were held the annual school exhibitions, in whicli the highest classes
from all tlie schools, each in turn, appeared on the stage to try its skill
in reading, spelling, and defining before the assembled community.
The late Professor Olmsted records his remembrance of one of these
exhibitions which must have taken place before 1809. In February,
1793, it was voted that John Treadwell, John Mix, Timothy Pitkin, Jr.,
and Seth Lee be a committee to devise a plan for the formation of a
new school in the society, to give instruction in some of the higher
branches of science not usually taught in common schools, and report.
There is no record that any report was ever made. It is probable that
the fierce ecclesiastical strife which had begun to agitate the community
preoccupied the attention of the public.

In the year 1816 the academy building was erected by an associa-
tion of gentlemen who contributed a thousand dollars, to which the
society added some six or seven hundred, thereby securing to itself the
use of a convenient lecture-room, and to the community apartments for
a higher school. Such a school was maintained with great success for
some twenty years, and was of great service to this and other towns.
To tliis movement may be directly traced all that has been subsequently
done for special education in the village.

Of this academy the most distinguished principal was Deacon
Simeon Hart, who not only devoted himself with singular painstaking
and probity to the education of the youth committed to his care, but
was in all his years of residence in this town a public-spirited citizen
and an ardent servant of Christ and his church.

The Old Red College, as it was called, should not be forgotten, as
its imnates at one time made themselves very conspicuous in the com-
munity. It stood on tlie ground now occupied by the Female Seminary,
and was originally the residence of Colonel Noadiah Hooker. His pure
and noble-minded son, Edward Hooker, used it for lodgings for a num-
ber of students from the Southern and Southwestern States, whom for
several years he prepared for college and for public or professional life.

In the palmy days of the village these well-dressed and showy young
men, ten to fifteen in number, for several years made themselves con-
spicuous at all times, and especially on Sundays, when witli iron-shod
boot-heels they tramped to the highest pew in the gallery and made
themselves the observed of all observers.

VOL. II. — 13.

194 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

In the year 1844 Miss Sarah Porter opened a school for a few girls
and young ladies of the village, with two or three from other towns. Out
of this beginning has grown the very flourishing school which still
continues.

Social or public libraries have been successfully sustained in the
village and some of their outlying hamlets. One of these for a long
time satisfied the literary wants of the north end of the village, but was
subsequently absorbed into what was called the Phcenix Library, which
has existed since early in the present century. There was also a Mechan-
ics' Library in the village, and still another library on the Great Plain.
One of these libraries, probably the oldest, originated in a horse-shed
with a few boys, who organized a plan of joint ownership and exchange
for the very few juvenile books which came within their reach. It be-
came a very flourishing institution, and was for many years sustained
by a large number of proprietors. They met for many years on the
first Sunday evening of every month at the house of Deacon Elijah
Porter. This library meeting was the village lyceum, at which its
educated and professional men and the more intelligent citizens would
freely compare their views in respect to the affairs of the village and
the nation, to which tlioughtful and curious boys listened with unno-
ticed attention. After this free interchange of opinion, which went on
while the books were received which had been taken at the previous
meeting, at the appointed hour the drawing began, which was now and
then interrupted by an active bidding for any book which was especially
desired.

On tlie records of the Farmington Library Company there appears
on page la" Catalogue of the Library begun in 1785." On the 1st of
January, 1801, without any apparent change in the organization, it
began to be called the Monthly Library. From 179G to 1813 Elijah
Porter was the libi-arian. During the year 1813 the office was filled by
Luther Seymour, after which the library was dissolved, and on the 12th
of February, 1814, the Phoenix Library was formed by a selection of
the more vahiable books from the old library. Elijah Porter Avas again
appointed librarian, and retained the office until March 17, 1826, when
the Village Library, of which Captain Selah Porter had been librarian
since January, 1817, Avas united with the Phoenix, and both remained
under the care of Captain Porter until he resigned, April 4, 1835, and
Simeon Hart, Jr., was appointed in his place. It appears by the record
that " The Farmington Library Company was formed Feb. 18, 1839,
designed to supersede the Phoenix Library Company, which proved
defective in its organization and was accordingly dissolved."

The old library still survives in the hands of a very few of the
original proprietors. It is an instructive memorial of the past as well
as a valuable collection of standard books. It is to be hoped that it
may never be dispersed, but may become the property of the town. It
would not be honorable to the town or the village at a time when so
many towns in New England are collecting and supporting public libra-
ries, if these books should be sold for a pittance, and its standard histo-
ries and solid treatises should be distributed no one knows whither.

Among the most distinguished men who have been resident in
Farmington, two deserve especial notice ; namely, the Hon. John Tread-
well and Dr. Eli Todd. Dr. Noah Porter writes thus of Dr. Treadwell :

FARMINGTON. 195

"The Hon. John Treadwell was born in Farmington, Nov. 23, 1745. His
parents, Ej^hraim and Mary Treadwell, were highly respected for their piety.
Having finished his education at Yale College, where he Avas graduated in 1767,
he pursued a thorough course of study in legal science, but sucli was his
aversion to professional life, that he never ofi'ered himself for examination at the
bar. In the autumn of 1776 he was chosen a representative of the town to the
General Assembly; and by successive elections from that time till 1785 he was

^^{^

continually, with the exception of one session, a member of the house. He was
then elected one of the Assistants, and to that office was annually chosen till 1798,
when he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor. In the autumn of 1809, on the
decease of Governor Trumbull, he was chosen by the legislature to the office of
Governor ; and by a renewal of the appointment at their session in May, he con-
tinued in the discharge of the high duties of that office the following year. At
this time he had been twenty years judge of the Court of Probate, three years
judge of tlie County Court, twenty years a judge in the Supreme Court of Errors,
and nineteen years a member of the corporation of Yale College. The greater
part of this time he was also one of the prudential committee of that corpora-
tion, and took a zealous part in whatever pertained to the prosperity of the semi-
nary. Among other public services, it also deserves particular mention that he
had an early agency in negotiating the sale of the New Connecticut lands, and
in constituting from the sale our school fund. Having, in connection with
others, accomplished that laborious and difficult trust, he was appointed one of
the board of managers ; and in this office was continued till 1810, when, by a
different arrangement, it was superseded. He drew the bill for the application
of the fund, and is probably to be considered more directly than any other person
the fother of the system of common-school education in this State. In these
various offices his reputation was unsullied. He was known to act uprightly,
and was generally acknowledged to act judiciously. Probably no man was
better acquainted with the internal policy of the State ; and having begun his
fostering care over it when it was in the cradle of its independent existence, and
been almost exclusively devoted to its concerns, in offices so various, and some
of tliem so important, for thirty years, he contributed to its order and improve-
ment in a degree which, in other periods and circumstances, would have been
hardly possible for any man. In the church his labors were scarcely less impor-
tant than in the State. In the church of Farmington, of which he became a mem-
ber iu the twenty-seventh year of his life, his counsels and example always, and
more especially in several trying periods of its history, were exceedingly valued.
More than twenty years he was a deacon of that church, anrl while adorned with
the highest dignities of the State, he continued to perform the ordinary duties of
that office. Of (icclesiastical councils he was a frequent and useful memlier.
Of the Missionary Society of Connecticut he was one of the original trustees ;
of these trustees he was the first chairman ; and this station by successive ap-
pointments he continued to fiJl till on account of advanced years he declined
a reappointment. He was also one of the Commissioners who formed the Con-
stitution of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and
who devised the incipient measures for carrying into effect the important design
of their commission. Of that Board he was the first President, and in that office
he continued till his death. No magistrate of New England probably, since the
time of Hayues and Winthrop, engaged a greater measure of confidence in the

196 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

church, was more useful in it, or more venerated hy its ministers. He was not
a man of brilliant genius or extended erudition or commanding elocution. He
had no superior advantages of birth, of patronage, of personal attractions, or
courtly address. He had no peculiar power of delighting the social circle Avith
the sprightliness of his fancy, nor of swaying public assemblies by the eloquence
of his appeals. He Avas not, iu the common import of the term, a popular man ;
yet he had an intellectual and moral greatness which carried him superior to all
obstacles in the path to eminence ; so that with no advantages above what thou-
sands enjoyed, he united in himself, in a perfection rarely found, the characters of
a jurist, a civilian, and a divine. In the ordinary scenes, as well as in the higher
sphere of life, his piety shone with steady lustre. His attendance upon divine
ordinances was steady and exemplary. The retired circle for prayer and Chris-
tian conference, as well as the solemn assembly, could command his presence
and engage his warm affections. Familiar as divine truth was to his contempla-
tions, he was always entertained and often melted under the plainest and most
unadorned exhibitions of it. He could safely appeal to all who knew him, that
in simplicity and godly sincerity, not by fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God,
he had his conversation in the world. "NYith serene hope in Christ, he died
Aug. 18, 1823, in the seventy-eighth year of his age."

Dr. Asaliel Thomson says of Dr. Todd : —

" Dr. Eli Todd, the son of Michael Todd, an enterprising merchant of ISTew
Haven, Conn., and Mrs. JMary Todd, a lady much and deservedly respected for
her intelligence and piety, was born in that city in 1770. At an early age he
entered Yale College, where he graduated in 1787. Subsequently, after spending
some time in the West Indies, he pursued a course of medical study under the
direction of Dr. Beardsley, an eminent physician of New Haven, and came to
Farmington to enter upon the practice of medicine in September, 1790. He
continued to reside in Farmington till October, 1819, when he removed to
Hartford. On the establishment in that city of the Eetreat for the Insane,
an object which he had long contemplated with high interest, and to which
he contributed largely by his influence and exertions, he was selected, as if by
general consent, to carry into effect the benevolent plan of its founders, as its
physician and superintendent. This situation he retained from the period of
his appointment at its first organization, in 1824, till his deceas'^ in the autumn
of 1833.

" Dr. Todd was a man of rare mental endowments. He possessed in a high
degree the various characteristics of superior genius. His intellect was strong
and vigorous, capable of readily compreliending, mastering, and illustrating any
subject to which his attention was directed ; his judgment was profound, clear,
and discriminating, his apprehension remarkably quick, his memory strongly
retentive. Ins imagination and fancy brilliant and ever awake, and his taste deli-
cate and refined, the source of much enjoyment to himself and the means of
much pleasure to others. His conversational powers were uncommon. Though
unusually affable, and often inclined to sprightliness and gaj'ety in his intercourse
with others, yet his mind was naturally of a highly philosophical and speculative
turn. On other occasions, when the subject required or admitted of it, he would
give utterance to his sentiments and feelings in a style vivid, bold, and figurative,
abounding in striking imagery, interesting and picturesque description or narra-
tive, and lively sallies of wit and humor. No one on such occasions could be
long in his presence without being sensible of, or paying homage to, the vigor of
his understanding and the brilliancy of his imagination.

" But while his rare intellectual powers inspired sentiments of respect and
admiration, his moral and social qualities, the attributes of the heart, secured to
him the strongest attachment. Many who were his patients or patrons can

FARMINGTON. 197

testify to his kind-hearted sympathy in the sick-room, to the unwearied assiduity
with which he watched at the bedside of the sick, to liis anxious solicitude to
devise and adopt, as well as his ready ingenuity in contriving, every possible
measure for their relief, and to the affectionate language and manner with which
he aimed to allay their sense of distress, when it could not be at once removed.
They can also bear testimony to liis frequent outpourings of heartfelt delight on
seeing them relieved and restored again to the enjoyment of health.

" As a practitioner he long and extensively enjoyed the confidence of the
community in an enviable degree ; perhaps none of his contemporaries in the State
attained a higher raidi. He evinced uncommon sagacity in investigating the
causes, seats, and nature of diseases, and was usually remarkably accurate in his
predictions of the changes they would undergo, and of their terminations. In
his intercourse with societ}'', his manners and general deportment were unusually
courteous and gentlemanly ; he was ever frank, open-hearted, and sincere, exhib-
ited a high sense of honor, always despised what was mean and disingenuous,
and was ever attentive to all the decorums of time, place, ami character. Though
allable and condescending to individuals in all situations in life, and though he
aimed, and with almost uniform success, to avoid giving offence, yet he was fear-
less and independent in expressing his sentiments and pursuing the line of conduct
he chose to follow.

" In physical conformation Dr. Todd was of medium size, well-made and
muscular. In early life he possessed great bodily strength and agility, and de-
lighted in all those exercises which called them into action. Dr. Todd was twice
married, but left no children.

" No biographical notice of Dr. Todd should be concluded without some
reference to his religious character. Though born of pious parents, yet till late
in life the Bible and the Christian religion are believed to have occupied little
of his attention, and he Avas generally reputed a sceptic. In 1825 his first
wife died in the triumphs of faith, and on her death-bed urged and entreated
him to attend to and investigate the subject of religion, expressing her undoubt-
ing conviction that if he would do so in the same thorough and impartial manner
in which he examined other topics, the result woidd be most happj^ In compli-
ance with her dying request, he commenced the study of tlie Bible ; anil by the
blessing of God the effect proved as ]\Irs. Todd had anticipated. All the doubts,
difficulties, and prejudices which had so long stood in the way of his embracing
the Christian faith were dissipated ; and Dr. Todd became a firm believer in the
great doctrines of revelation, and a sincere and ardent disciple of Christ ; and
through the remainder of his life, and particularly during his last long and dis-
tressing illness, enjoyed in a high degree the peculiar supports and consolations
of the gospel."

The following additional list of men distinguished in the history of
the town, including its parishes, has been gathered from its records
and other sources: John Steele, Thomas Judd, Stephen Hart, Wil-
liam Lewis, Anthony Howkins, John Hart, Dr. Daniel Porter, John
Wadsworth, John Leo, Deacon Thomas Bull, Captain Thomas Hart, John
Hooker, Captain William Wadsworth, William Judd, Colonel Fisher
Gay, Colonel Noadiah Hooker, Chauncey Doming, Edward Hooker,
Governor John Treadwell, the Hon. Timothy Pitkin (M.C.), Lemuel
Whitman (M.C.), Jared Griswold, Samuel Richards, John Mix, Horace
Cowles, Solomon Cowles, and Zenas Cowles (brothers), Jonathan,
Elijah, Seth, Gad, and Martin Cowles (brothers), James Cowles, John
T. Norton, Asahel Thomson, M.D., Simeon Hart, Samuel Hooker
Cowles, Elnathan Gridley, John Richards, D.D., the Rev. Amos A.
Phelps, Professor John Pitkin Norton.

198 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

For several years after its settlement the town was dependent on
Hartford for a physician. In 1652 the General Court authorized Dr.
Thomas Lord to charge for a visit " to any house in Farmington, six
shillings." The resident physicians have been : —

Samuel Portev, born Oct. 24, 16G5 ; died March 25, 1736. Thomas Thomson,
born June 3, 1674 ; died July 17, 1748. Ebenezer Lee. Samuel Eichards, born
Oct. 22, 1726; died Nov. 10, 1793. Thomas Mather, born Sept. 7, 1741 ; died
Aug. 10, 1766. Asa Johnson. Tiraotliy Hosmer, born August, 1745. Theodore
Wadsworth, born Oct. 5, 1752 ; died June 2, 1808. John Hart, born March 11,
1753; died Oct. 3, 1798. Adna Staidey, born Jan. 28, 1763; died Dec. 30,
1725. EU Todd, born July 22, 1769 ; died Nov. 17, 1833. Harry Wadsworth,
born May 23, 1780; died April 25, 1813. Asahel Yale. Asahel Thomson,
born April 16, 1790 ; died May 2, 1866. Zejjhaniah Swift (practised from 1815
to 1830). Chauncey Brown, born March 14, 1802 ; died Aug. 9, 1879. Edwin
Wells Carrington, bom July 8, 1805 ; died Feb. 8, 1852.

There are now practising in Farmington village Drs. Franklin
Wheeler and Charles Carrington ; and in the village of Unionville, Drs.
Everett A. Towne, W. W. Horton, E. C. King, and E. M. Ripley.

c/^/y^a

UNIONVILLE. 199

UNIONVILLE.

BY JAMES L. COWLES,

Long before the birth of the modern village of Unionville, the
tumblino; waters of the rirer and of the brooks in the neiohborhood
had been in a measure utilized by the settlers for their rude manu-
factures. On the left bank of the river, a short distance from the old
Perry's bridge, and located on Zack's Brook, was Hammond's gun-
factory, where firelocks were made for the soldiers of the Revolution
and of the War of 1812. Some of the large grindstones there used
were of red sandstone, and were quarried in Scott's Swamp. It was at
Hammond's factory that Mr. Colton — one of the early superintendents
of the Springfield Armory — learned his trade.

Twelve to fifteen tenements stood in tlic neighborhood, to give
slielter to the operatives ; but with the peaceful era that followed the
War of 1812 the demand for weapons of war diminished, and before
1832 the business was entirely abandoned. Some of the old tenements,
however, still remain, silent witnesses of the industry which brought
them into being. The business must have been quite brisk, for it
seems to have been beyond the capabilities of Zack's Brook to furnish
sufficient power; and a part of the works was run in connection with
the grist and saw mill which stood farther to the north and is now
known as Richards's Mill. In 1832 George Richards bought this prop-
erty of Thomas and Joshua Youngs. It is probable that this mill, or
one on the same site, has been in existence for more than a century.

In the Farmington town records there is to be found the following
instrument connected with the name of Joshua Youna's, which will
hardly fail to be of interest, reminding us as it does of the brevity of
the period since slavery was one of the institutions even of Connecticut.
The record reads as follows : —

" On Application of Capt. Joshua Youngs of Farmington, in Hartford
Coiuity, made to us, one of the civil authority and two of the Selectmen of said
Farmington, we liave examined into tlie health and age of Titus, a black man,
now or late a slave of said Youngs, and we do find upon such examination that
said Titus is in good health and is not of greater age than forty-tive years, nor of
less age than twenty-five years, and upon actual examination of said Titas we are
convinced that lie is desirous of being made free.

"Certified this 10th day of January, a.d. 1816, by us,

"John Mix, Jus^ Pads.

Samuel Richards, ) c ; _• "
-r, ^ ' y Selectmen.

LZEKIEL CoWLES, )

" Whereas, on application made by me, Joshua Youngs, of Farmington, in the
county of Hartford, to one of the civil authority and two of the selectmen of said
Farmington, tliey have signed a certificate that Titus, a black man, now or late
my slave, is in good healtli and is not of greater age than forty-five years, nor of
less age than twenty-five years, and upon examination of said Titus they are
convinced that he is desirous of being made free.

,200 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

" Therefore be it known to all whom it may concern, that I have and hereby
do completely emancipate and set at liberty the said Titus, so that neither I nor
any claiming under me shall hereafter have any right whatever to his services in
virtue of his being my slave.

" Done at Farmington this 10th day of January, a.d. 1816.

"Joshua Youkgs.
" In presence of John Mix, Samuel Cowls.

"John Mix, Register."

On Roaring Brook, upon the site of Sanford's wood-shop, stood
formerly a clothier's establishment, Avhere the wool of the farmers in
the vicinity was carded, spun, and woven. The old weaving-room is
still standing, and is occupied as a tenement ; but this business, too,
had been abandoned before 1830. At the mouth of tlie brook stood
Langdon's grist and saw mill, well known the country around for good
work, and in full tide of successful operation.

It is ])robable, however, that, when the Farmington Canal was built,
the inhabitants of Union District were fewer in number than earlier
in the century. The building of the canal placed Unionvillc at the
head of the canal navigation on the Farmington River, and to that
circumstance the modern village owes its birth. Mr. Henry Farnam,
the engineer of the Farmington Canal, had taken the levels of the
river, when the project of continuing the feeder canal to New Hartford
was under consideration. It was very likely owing to his suggestion
that Thomas and Joshua Youngs, John T. Norton, and Abncr Bidwell
joined with Messrs. James and Augustus Cowles in building the dam
and canal, which were designed to furnish power for the manufacture
of cotton, wool, and iron. Those gentlemen applied to the General
Assembly for a charter, and in May, 1831, the Farmington River
Water-Power Company was chartered, — the capital stock not to exceed
!f200,000. The Youngs, hoAvever, soon sold out their interest, and the
early leases were made in the name of Norton, Cowles, & Bidwell. The
first dam and canal cost about 89,000, and were completed in 1831
or 1882, About that time Messrs. James & Augustus CoavIcs built the
store near the new bridge which is now occupied by H. K. Vosburgh
and owned by the Cowles Paper Company. A Avharf Avas built on the
river, back of the store, for the convenient loading and unloading of
canal-boats. In 1832 Messrs. CoAvles & Co. completed the Patent
Wood-ScrcAV Factory for Messrs. Sherman Pierpont & Elisha Tolles, of
Litchfield. Mr. Pierpont Avas brother to the Rev. John Pierpont, of
Boston. This building is still standing, and is occupied by the Ripley
Manufacturing Company. The scrcAv business Avas abandoned after
about three years. During the half-century that has intervened, tlie
old factory lias been used for many different purposes : for the manu-
facture of clocks, rivets, and spoons, oyster-tongs, axe-heh-es, mouse-
traps, and gunstocks. To-day mouse-traps are still made on the
premises ; but the Ripley Manufacturing Company (organized in 1872)
has added a fine brick structure to the old building, and is also ex-
tensively engaged in the manufacture of a heavy paper for binders'
boards.

The spoon business, which was begun in the old screw-factory,
is now carried on by Mr. HoAvard Humphrey in a small shop run by
steam, and built within the past year. As long ago as October 13,

imiONVILLE. 201

1832, Frederick J. Stanley, Seth J. North, and Horace Cowles met at
the tavern of Noah L. Phelps, in Farmington, to act as arbiters in
settling a difficidty which had arisen between the proprietors of the
water-power and Messrs. Ficrpont & Tolles, with reference to damages
occasioned bv an alleged short supply of water. Notwithstanding the
fact, however, that the first establishment on the water-power had been
troubled for lack of water, Messrs. Rufus Stone & E. K. Hamilton,
on the 8th of July, 1837, leased land and power for a paper-mill.
The firm afterward became Stone & Carrington, and continued in
operation until 1848, when it sold out to William PUitncr and Samuel
Q. Porter, under whose management the business was for many years
very successful. In 1853 and 1855 these gentlemen leased additional
power, and not long after built a second mill. The new mill and
tenements erected by Messrs. Platner & Porter were models of neat-
ness and good taste. These gentlemen gave a tone and character to
the village which up to that time had been wanting. In 1860 the
Platner & Porter Manufacturing Company was organized, with a ca]n-
tal of 185,000, and with varied fortunes the company has continued
manufacturing writing and book papers. As early as 1844 the manu-
facture of furniture was begun by Lambert Hitchcock in the factory
near the new river bridge. Up to the period of the war it was carried
on with fair success. After that time the business gradually declined,
and a few years ago the old factory was bought by what is now known
as the Upson Nut Company.

About 1835 — perhaps a year or two earlier — Mr. L. R. Groves
began the manufacture of saws, and Messrs. Seymour, Williams, &
Porter entered into the business of making clocks, on Roaring Brook,
on the site of the factory lately occupied by the Cowles Hardware
Company. A capital of some -130,000 was then invested, but a de-
structive fire in 1836 or 1837 seriously interrupted both enterprises.
The clock business never seems to have flourished in Unionville after
the fire, although it was carried on in the screw-factory after the aban-
donment of the screw business by Pierpont & Co.

Mr. David A. Keyes finally obtained possession of the site occupied
by Groves and others, and there, he says, made the first mincing-knives
manufactured in America. He was also among the first Americans to
make screw-drivers. This business continued on the same ground for
over forty years, and has only within a few months removed to Bridge-
port. In Bridgeport the company has erected a factory that will give
employment to one hundred hands.

The saw business managed by Mr. Groves was continued by other
parties, and in 1854 Mr. Albert Hills and Mr. Frederick W. Crum
built a small factory on the Cowles Canal. The business continued
until the rise of the great saw-factories in Pennsylvania, during the
war period, made competition too severe for small concerns. They
sold out their factory to tlie Union Nut Company.

A new dam was built by Mr. James Cowles about the year 1856,
and a few years later an immense reservoir was made at the head of
the river, most of the different owners of water-power on the stream
sharing in the expense.

In 1869 the head gates and canal were enlarged by James L. Cowles,
who in 1877 sold out the entire water-power to the different manufac-

202 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

turers holding leases thereon. These gentlemen, under the name of
the Union Water-Power Company, have raised the dam, and, owing
to various improvements, the power, which in 1835 could hardly be
depended upon to furnish water for a single small shop, now runs the
wheels of five paper-mills, besides the extensive works of the Upson
Nut Company and the large factory used by the Standard Rule Com-
pany and the Upson & Hart Cutlery Company.

Dwight Langdon began the manufacture of nuts and- bolts in
Unionviilc in 1857. On his death, a few years later, the business fell
into the hands of Andrew S. Upson and George Dunham. These
gentlemen obtained possession of an invention for the manufacture of
nuts. In 1861 the Union Nut Company (of late changed to the Upson
Nut Company) was formed, with Andrew S. U])son as president. The
ownership of this patent, and the able management of Mr. Upson and
his associates, have served to make this company the most successful
of all the concerns in the town. It has stores in New York and
Chicago, besides extensive manufacturing interests in Cleveland.

The Cowles Paper Company began the manufacture of wrapping-
paper in 1866. In 1870 the Delaney & Munsou Manufacturing Com-
pany was located in the village, and began the manufacture of" collar
and book paper. This company l)Ought out the factory of Ditson,
Pond, & Co., who in 1866 had begun the manufacture of flutes.

In 1864 the new turning-shop was built by the estate of James
Cowles, for John N. Bunnell. Mr. Bunnell did not succeed in the
enterprise, and in 1872 the Standard Rule Comi)any was organized for
the manufacture of rules and levels, and occupied the turning-shop.

In 1880 the Meach & Hart Cutlery Company was formed for the
manufacture of cutlery. The business had already been undertaken
by private parties. This concern was changed to the Upson & Hart
Cutlery Company, who bought the turning-shop and very much en-
larged it. It manufactures solid steel knives and forks, silver-plating
a large part of its production on the premises. The Rule Company
occupies the second story of the building. The oldest merchants in
Unionville are the firm of Try on & Sanford ; they have been estab-
lished about thirty-two years ; they now occupy a very handsome brick
building, and do a flourishing business. There are now in the place,
besides this old firm, three or four new stores devoted to general busi-
ness, besides two drug-stores and two hardware-stores. After the
abandonment of the Farmington Canal the village suffered for some
time for lack of facilities of transportation ; but in 1850 a lu-anch of
the New Haven and Northampton Railroad was constructed from Farm-
ington station through Unionville to Collinsville. Under the able man-
agement of Mr. Yeamans, the president of the road, this Ijranch has
become of great importance to the main line of the Canal Road, while
it has given value to property which, without railroad facilities, must
have long since gone to decay.

Previous to 1841 the inhabitants of Unionville, or Union District,
attended church services in the Old Church in Farmington or in the
Congregational Church in West Avon. The Farmington Canal was
then in operation, and during the navigable season it was customary to
use a yawl to take the people to church. Starting from the wharf at

UNIOXVILLE. 203

the store of James and Augustus Cowles, they rowed down to the head
of the canal. Here they passed througli the head gates, horses were
attached to the boat, and the company enjoyed a pleasant ride to the
mother settlement.

The Congregational Cliurch was organized March 30, 1841, and has
enjoyed the services of the following ministers and deacons. Pastors :
Rev's Ricliard Woodruff,^ installed June 30, 1842, dismissed May 13,
1846 ; Jairus C. Searle,^ installed Sept. 6, 1848, dismissed April 15,
1851 ; Giles M. Porter, installed (3ct. 14, 1852, dismissed Oct. 29, 1856;
Hiram Slauson, installed Dec. 9, 1857, dismissed Dec. 7, 1858 ; Charles
Brooks,! installed Dec. 21, 1864, died June 11, 1866 ; T. E. Davies, in-
stalled May 12, 1869, dismissed Jan. 14, 1883. Stated preachers:
J. R. Keep, through whose instrumentality the church was gathered
and organized ; James A. Smith, from January, 1859, to May, 1863 ; B. A.
Smith, during the years 1863-1864 ; Henry L. Hubbell, from the spring
of 1866 to the spring of 1868. Deacons : Edward K. Hamilton,^
chosen in 1841, resigned in 1859 ; Cornelius R. Williams, chosen 1841,
dismissed December, 1849 ; Walter H. Cowles, chosen Nov. 24, 1851,
dismissed May, 1859 ; William Platner, chosen 1859, dismissed Septem-
ber, 1864 ; Eber N. Gibbs, chosen November, 1859 ; Seymour D. Moses,
chosen September, 1864. Present pastor : C. S. Lane, installed May
27, 1884.

The Rev. Noah Porter gave the charge at the installation of tlie first
pastor ; George Richards, Eber N. Gibbs, Edward K. Hamilton, Eli D.
Preston, William Bradley, and David B. Johnson constituted the church.
Twelve other persons were soon after admitted. E. K. Hamilton and
R. Williams were appointed deacons. The first church edifice was
erected on the Park, but was removed to its present site and enlarged
in 1852. The congregation has now outgrown the old edifice, and a
very handsome stone structure is in process of erection adjacent to the
residence of Mr. Samuel Q. Porter. The membership now numbers
two hundred and fourteen, — seventy-two males and one hundred and
forty-two females.

The parish of Christ Church (Episcojial) at Unionville was organ-
ized 1845. Occasional services were held in various places until
June 29, 1871, when the corner-stone of the church now standing was
laid ; the edifice was completed in the Decem])er following. On August
12, 1880, all indebtedness having been removed, the church was con-
secrated by Bishop John Williams, Since 1868 there has been a rector
settled over the church : E. K. Brown from 1868 to 1878 ; William
Lusk from 1878 to 1879 ; and A. E. Beeman from 1879 to 1885.

The Methodist church in Unionville was built about nineteen years
ago. It has a congregation of about one hundred and fifty, and a
membership of seventy ; the pastor is the Rev. Nelson Edwards.

The Rev. Luke Daly inaugurated the first Roman Catholic services
in the village in 1854. He continued to serve the people until 1856,
when he was succeeded by the Rev. Patrick O'Dwyer. The Rev. John
Pagan came next in 1861, and remained until 1868. Then came the
Rev. Lawrence Walsh, who was succeeded in 1870 by the Rev. B. O'R.
Sheridan, the present incumbent. A large and attractive church was

^ Deceased.

204

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

built under his direction, at a cost of from 125,000 to $30,000. It
was dedicated in 1876. The Roman Catholic population is from five
hundred to six hundred.

According to the last enumeration, there are in Union District four
hundred and sixty-five children of school age.

Thefirst bridge across the river on the road now leading to the depot
was built in 1846. The new covered bridge in the same place was
built in 1860. Tlie first bridge at Richards's Mill appears to have been
built in 1837 or 1838.

Qyyiy^u^^

XIII.
GLASTONBURY.

BY WILLIAM S. GOSLEE.

ON the 8th of May, 1690, the General Court of the Colony of
Connecticut, on the petition of Ephraim Goodrich, Joseph Smith,
John Harrington, Thomas Brewer, Ebenezer Hale, John Strick-
land, John Hale, William House, Samuel Hale, Sr., Patrick Stearne,
Richard Treat, Sr., Thomas Treat, Richard Smith, John Hollister,
Jonathan Smith, Samuel Hale, Jr., Samuel Smith, John Hubbard,
Joseph Hills, John Kilbourn, Samuel Welles, Tliomas Hale, Richard
Treat, Jr., and William Wickham, residents of Wethersfield, and own-
ers of land belonging to that town, on the east side of Connecticut
River, by consent of that town, given the preceding December,
granted them an act of incorporation, '' that they may be a township
of themselves, and have liberty to provide themselves a minister." In
granting their petition the General Court advised them " to be cautious
how they improve it," and stipulated that until they should have a
good orthodox minister settled among them, " they should pay their
full proportion to all public charge to Wethersfield."

With this caution, the persons above named and their associates
seem to have proceeded deliberately in the work of organization, having
previously! located their meeting-liouse on the ground afterward
known as the " Green." The founders of the town having come from
the neighborhood of Glastonbury in England, the General Court, in
June, 1692, with a disregard for correct spelling, in which the succeed-
ing generations down to the present have sympathized, named the " town
at Nabuc, over against Wethersfield," " Glassenbury." ^ The name is
practically unique in this country, there being no other post-office of
that name, and only one other town, Glastenbury, situated among the
Green Mountains in Vermont.

The Rev. Timothy Stevens came here to reside April 15, 1692.
The inhaljitants met in town-meeting on the 28tli of the succeeding
July, and expressed their unanimous desire that Mr. Stevens should
continue and settle in the work of the ministry among them ; made a
generous provision town-wise, and by the grants of individuals, for his
settlement, including the building a residence for him ; and appro-
priated for his salary .£60 "current money" per year. Joseph Hill,

1 February, 1690.

2 This method of spelling the name continued to be used in the records until about one
hundred years ago, when it was changed to " Glastenbury," and so written until 1870, when
the town, by vote, made it " Glastonbury," by which name it is now known in the State and
nation.

206 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Ephraim Goodrich, and Eleazar Kimberly were chosen townsmen (or
selectmen), and Eleazar Kimberly, town clerk. Mr. Kimberly con-
tinued as town clerk until his death, Feb. 3, 1708-9, and in his pen-
manship and method of keeping records has not been surpassed by
any of his successors. He was also secretary of the colony from 1696
until his decease, and was the first deputy from this town to the General
Assembly, May session, 1694.

Glastonbury was the first town in the colony of Connecticut formed
by the division of another town. Its earlier history and traditions are
inseparably a part of those of the mother-town, and as such are amply
treated in Mr. Adams's history of Wethersfield. We have the satis-
faction of knowing that territorially we sprang from, and are connected
with, the oldest town in this Commonwealth, and that nothing but the
ceaseless tide of the Connecticut River was the occasion of our separa-
tion. The territory included in Glastonbury is six miles in width from
north to south, and eight miles in lengtli from east to west. These
measurements are by estimate, and probably are actually exceeded by
a large fraction of a mile, especially as to length. In 1803 a part of the
southeast corner was detached, to form, with portions of Hebron and
Colchester, the town of Marlborough ; to which another small portion
was added some ten years later, and in 1859 a small farm owned by
Henry Finley. Aside from these, no change has been made, except by
a resolve of the General Assembly in 1874, fixing the river as the boun-
dary on the west between the towns of Wethersfield and Glastonbury.
The town is bounded north by East Hartford and Manchester ; east by
Bolton, Hebron, and Marlborough ; south by Marlborough, Chatham,
and Portland ; west by the Connecticut River, or the towns of Wethers-
field, Rocky Hill, and Cromwell. It has almost every variety of surface,
from the level plains of its northwestern portion, the elevated table-land
of Nipsic, to the rugged ridges of Minnechaug, Seankum or Dark Hollow,
and Meshomasic, and the hilly region approaching the river at Red
Hill in Nayaug. The activity of the fathers in " lifting up their axes
upon the thick trees " at an early period denuded the country of its
forests, so that miles in extent could be swept with a glance of the eye.
Its soil is as varied as its surface, — from the fertile meadows on the river
to the beautiful and productive second lift of land between these and the
meadow hill, and the lighter, sandj, and loamy lands upon the higher
ground extending to the foot of the hills. In the eastern and southern
portion it becomes more rocky, with occasional patches entirely free from
stones. In the northeastern portion its fertility is principally confined
to the valleys between the rugged hills of Minnechaug and Kongscut and
the table-land to the north and west ; and in the southern part along
the valley of the Roaring Brook adjoined by the table-lands in the ro-
mantic vale of Wassuc, and the higher grounds in the southern part of
the town. The mountains, as they are called in this State, together
with their spurs, are connected with the great eastern range which
comes down from the valley of the Chicopee River in Massachusetts
and is broken through by the Connecticut River at the " Straits "
below Middletown. They afford, from their summits and declivities,
unsurpassed views of the Connecticut valley. The streams which flow
through the town, following the natural course of the valleys from
northeast to southwest, form a pleasing feature in the landscape.

GLASTONBURY. 207

Roaring Brook is also famous in its upper part as the habitation of
the trout, though many of its seekers have often proclaimed them-
selves the victims of misplaced confidence. Still farther east lies the
lake known as Diamond Pond, from the shining rocks sprinkled with
garnets found near its banks. This is fed by springs clear as crystal,
and abounds in fish.

The organization of this town was in great part the work of Eleazar
Kimberly, assisted, as it is said, by the wise counsel, among others, of
the Rev. and Hon. Gcrshom Bulkeley,i an ancestor of the Bulkeley
familv in this country. By the intermarriage of liis daughter Dorothy
with Thomas Treat, of Nayaug, grandson of Richard Treat, one of the
first settlers of Wethersfield, he became also the ancestor of a large
part of the descendants of the ancient families of this town. He was
a man of marked ability, possessed in a large measure of the learn-
ing of that day, being clergyman, physician, and lawyer. His attach-
ment to monarchy, as shown in that most curious document, " Will and
Doom," a copy of which, obtained from the archives of the English
Government, is deposited in the library of the Connecticut Histori-
cal Society, does not seem to have affected the wisdom and prudence
of his counsels as one of the founders of our municipality, which show
him, notwithstanding his prejudices, to have been worthy of his birth
as a true American. He died in this town Dec. 2, 1713, aged sev-
enty-eight, while on a visit to his daughter Dorothy (Mrs. Treat).

The ancient surveys of the lots in the west three miles were made
prior to 1684, under the auspices of Wethersfield. By that survey each
proprietor had a strip of land assigned to him of a certain number of
rods in width, fronting on the river, and extending back three miles to
the eastward. Each share included a section of the meadow, the fertile
and arable lands adjoining it on the east, and the " wilderness " at the
end of his lot. An ample measure of land was reserved for the " coun-
try road," or main street, then, as now, six rods in width, and other
convenient highways to intersect the same from the east ; while, to make
up for the land taken for the street, an extension of many times its
width was annexed to the east end of the lots, and bounded by land left
for a highway of ample dimensions running from the north to the south
bounds of the town. Still farther east were measured out the " five
large miles," which, soon after the organization of the town, were as-
sumed as the property of the town and its proprietors, and regarded as
undivided public lands, to be held for future distribution to its citizens,
as their interests might require. Claimants from other towns were
evicted, and the interests of the town in the lands and the lumber
thereon were protected by votes of the town, and by suits when re-
quired. The westernmost mile of this tract was established as com-
mon land, but grants were made from it to settlers from time to time
before the year 1700. It was, however, too valuable to be held in this
way, including as it did the beautiful and fertile section of Nipsic, with
its 'mineral spring, and Nipsic Pond (long since drained by the ad-
joining proprietoi-s). Finally it, Avith all the other eastern lands, was
divided among the town inhabitants from time to time, in proportion

1 His aiitograph may be fouud in the Wethersfield history.

208

MEMOKIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

to their lists and position, by the proprietors and the town. In 1768
the whole matter was closed from all further controversy. All the
grants were made in fee. Two hundred acres near Nipsic Pond
were given to the First and Second societies in equal shares, which
were immediately leased by them for nine hundred and ninety-nine
years.

Many of the farms on the " street " are now held by the lineal de-
scendants of the first settlers ; and in the case of the Welles family,
descendants of Governor Thomas Welles, the descendants of George
Hubbard, Frances Kilbourn, and John Hollister, the titles go back to
the survey of 1640. The descendants of Richard Smith, Samuel Hale,
Samuel Talcott,^ William Goodrich, Thomas Treat, and Edward Ben-
ton still own a portion of the lands their ancestors improved in 1684.
Wright's Island has been in the family of James Wright ever since the
first allotment in 1640. In the East Farms, noAv comprising Avhat is
known as East Glastonbury and Buckingham, the land was taken up
at a later period, but the families of Andrews, Curtis, Dickinson, Goslee,
Hills, Hodge, Hollister, House, Howe, and Strickland trace their titles
for nearly two centuries.

The material used for building was wood, so that there are few of
the dwellings now standing that are more than one hundred years old.

//*>.:^^L'. V '-\

}vmw0t,,^„

THE HOLLISTER HOUSE, 1675.

The old Hollister house at South Glastonbury is said to have been built
in 1675, in which case it was probably erected by John Hollister, the
second of that name, son of one of the early settlers of Wethersfield.
He is said not to have lived constantlv on this side, although he owned
and improved land here. He is distinguished as having been the de-

1 Often in the records spelled "Tallcott."

GLASTONBURY.

209

feiidant and the vanquished party in a lawsuit before the General Court,
with the redoubtable Gershom Bulkeley as his antagonist. This mansion
is said to be the oldest wooden house now standing in this State, and
is in excellent repair ; and bids fair, accidents not preventing, to stand

THE TALCOTT HOUSE, 1699.

3 sharp
house ^^^^^-y-^o/J^ cJ^*^^

as long again. Another famous dwelling was the old Talcott house,
built about 1699, which occupied the site of the present residence of
the venerable Jared G. Talcott, and was built by Samuel Talcott for his
son Benjamin Talcott, grandson of the lirst settler, John Talcott, who
came from England in 1632. This house was fortified in the earlier
part of its history, and bore the sharp
compliment of an Indian tomahawk
upon one of its doors. The
now standing near Welles Corner,
formerly occupied by Jared Welles, was built by Samuel Welles for
his son Thaddeus, a great-grandson of Governor Thomas Welles, and
brother of Colonel Thomas Welles, who occupied the old mansion re-
moved by David C. Brainard within a short time. Welles Corner, with
its elegant and ancient elms, is the site of the domicile of the first an-
cestor of the Welles family resident in Glastonbury, though the present
house has hardly completed the century. Besides the ancient houses
built by John Goslce, Samuel Talcott, and Thomas Hollister, in the
eastern part, there are a number of very respectable antiquity in differ-
ent parts of the town.

The first meeting-house was erected on the Green, at or about the
time of the Rev. Mr. Stevens's ordination, in October, 1693. It was en-
larged in 1706, and stood until destroyed by fire on the night of Dec. 9,
1734. The second meeting-house, by compromise between the north and
south, and by the decision of the General Court, was erected on the main

VOL. II. — u.

210 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

street, about one fourth of a mile south of the Green, standing half in
the street, just north of the old Moseley tavern,^ where David H. Carrier
now lives. It was used as a church for more than a century, having
been built in 1735. On the division of the society in 1836, by the
establishment of the society at South Glastonbury, it was abandoned
as a meeting-house, and during the year 1837 was demolished. The
town, on the establishment of the East Farms as a society, had no
further care of ecclesiastical matters, neither did it resume the charge
of schools and cemeteries until a hundred and twenty years later. The
meeting-house spoken of was forty-four feet wide and lifty-six long, and
twenty-four feet in height between joints. It was clapboarded without
and ceiled within, the walls being filled (a very proper thing in those
stoveless days), and the whole " finished in a manner suitable for a
Christian people to worship God in." It was furnished with a high
pulpit, overshadowed by a sounding-board at the west end, pews for the
dignitaries, and seats and galleries on three sides for those of lesser
magnitude, and included a seat in the southeast corner, somewhat
raised, for the colored servants.

The number of people at the East Farms having increased, and the
space between them and the western people being too extended for con-
tinuous attendance on public worship, they petitioned the General Court
in 1730 for the establishment of a separate society. David Hubbard,
Thomas Hollister, and others represented them. The petition was
granted, and those inhabiting the East Farms, and certain other resi-
dents on the mile of common, with their farms, were allowed to be a
distinct ministerial society, called Eastbury. Stephen Andrews, the

ancestor of the Andrews family,

<-^^ y (L. /-A Clrr ^ M J, was the first clerk of the society.
J^<^*yn^(>i^ C/fuJ:t^€nLK^ Ij^ 1765 the mile of commons was

wholly annexed to the East Society.
Upon the petition of David Hubbard and others in their behalf to the
General Court in May, 1732, a committee was appointed to view the
selected site for their place of public worship, " being near a certain
rock near a pond called Little Nipsick." This committee made its
report, which was accepted in October, 1732, locating the place " upon
the northerly part of a plain in said society, being northeasterly of a
pond called Little Nipsic, about ten rods southeasterly of a small pine
marked on the southeasterly side with the letter ' H,' — to be set on the
highest range of a plain where there is laid a small heap of stones."
The order was thereupon made that " said inhabitants forthwith proceed
and set up the same at said place." The meeting-house was begun
during the next year, but not finished until three years later. In archi-
tecture it was similar to the house erected in the First Society about
the same time, though it was somewhat smaller, being " forty feet long,
thirty-five feet wide, with eigliteen-feet posts." Neither had steeple
or bell, and both were of the " barn order" of building, which, however
well adapted to shelter a public assembly, does not afford much scope
for the gratification of architectural taste. The location was extremely
lonely, no dwelling, except for the sleeping dust of our ancestors, having

1 The tract of land on which this house stands was originally ninety-three rods wide, and
was purchased by Joseph Maudsley (afterward written Moseley) in 1718. His descendants
now own a portion of it.

GLASTONBURY. 211

ever been erected near by. In 1821, after an agitation of more than
twenty years for a new location, the society accepted a meeting-house
from the proprietors, having in 1819 voted to sell the old one and the
land on which it stood. This new meeting-house, aside from being-
ample in size, was, after many improvements, not much more " a thing
of beauty " than the first. So in 1867 a new meethig-house was erected,
with steeple and bell, which is a landmark among the hills of Buck-
ingham, — as the society has been named, from the post-office estab-
lished there in 1867.

By the division of the First Society in 1836, and the dilapidation of
its ancient edifice, a new meeting-house became a necessity for the
mother organization, and it was so voted in society's meeting January 17,
1837. This was located farther to the north, on land which in 1640 was
owned by the Rev. Henry Smith, the first settled minister of Wethers-
field (from 1641 to 1648), and later (in 1684) by Samuel Hale, the an-
cestor of the Hale family. It was built in 1837, under the supervision
of David Hubbard, Josiah B. Holmes, George Plummer, Benjamin Hale,
and Ralph Carter, as a building committee. It was a very tasteful
edifice, with tower, bell, and clock, especially attractive after its enlarge-
ment and thorough repair in 1858, which made it a most fitting and
beautiful sanctuary. It was burned on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 23,
1866. The church which takes its place was erected in the year follow-
ing, and with its graceful spire (rebuilt in 1880) forms a prominent
object in the views of the valley.

The Congregational meeting-house at South Glastonbury was erected
in 1837. It occupies a commanding position in that village, and has,
among other improvements, a large town clock.

The Episcopalians organized St. Luke's Parish about 1806, and
built their church soon after, — a quaint and modest edifice in what,
measuring on the main street from north to south, is the old historic
centre of the town. It was occupied for church purposes until about
1838, when a brick church was erected in South Glastonbury village.
The old edifice was used for various educational purposes until about
1860, when it was removed farther south on the main street, and is
now known as Academy Hall. About 1858 the same denomination,
at the northern part of the town, including a part of East Hartford,
formed the St. James Parish, and erected a church a short distance
above Welles Corner.

The Methodist organization was formed in 1796, and in 1810
erected its plain and unpretending house of worship at Wassuc, near
the then residence of " Father " Jeremiah Stocking, just north of the
school-house. The numbers for many years were few ; but incited by
the enthusiastic clergymen^ of their denomination at that day, they

^ Among the many who favored the company of believers with their spirit-stirring pres-
ence and exhortations was the Eev. John N. Maffitt, afterward a Doctor of Divinity. The
Hon. John I!. Buck sends to the writer the following reminiscence : —

John N. Maffitt, the elder, came to Glastonbury in 1819, in the early part of the year, and
later on in the year his wife followed him from Ireland, where Maffitt had left her, and caTne to
this country alone. She then first met him in Glastonlmry at the house of tlie Kev. Jeremiah
Stocking, during the progress of a prayer-meeting which Maffitt was conducting. Maffitt, who
had rare natural gifts of oratory, somewhat of the coarse quality but matchless in effect,
preached not only in Glastonbury but in many adjoining towns for some time afterward.
In that year both his wife and infant son were taken sick iu Hartford and were conveyed to

212 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

more than made up in zeal and fervency of spirit what they lacked in
numbers.

On the removal of the ancient Congregational place of worship to
its present location, their attendance increased so that in 1847 the old
house was taken down and a new one built near Roaring Brook, in the
present village of East Glastonbury. This is a beautiful edifice,^ and
with its sister church farther up the valley in Buckingham rings forth
the sound of the " church-going bell " as the fathers in this portion of
the town never heard in their generation.

A Methodist church at South Glastonbury was erected in 1828.
This is a brick edihce, and is the only one in town without spire or
bell.

A Baptist meeting-house is said to have been erected on Matson
Hill about fifty years ago. It has long since disappeared, and its exact
location is known to but very few people.

As in most country towns, the subdivision into various ecclesiastical
organizations has been a source of weakness to each. The thoughtful
care of the fathers furnished the several Congregational churches with
limited funds by which they are materially assisted in their proper
work.

The Roman Catholic church, St. Augustine, at South Glastonbury,
was built in 1878, and supplies a long-felt want of a large number of
people in devotional exercises. The edifice is finely situated on the
rising ground overlooking the village, and of ^ery tasteful model.

Our ancestors at an early day provided a school for the children of
the town, the selectmen liaving hired one Robert Poog as schoolmaster
in 1701, at the expense of the town and by its direction. Schools were
then established at the Green, at Nayaug in 1708, and at the East
Farms in 1714. They were supported half by taxation and half by
assessment upon the children between six and twelve years of age,
" whether they attended school or not." Before the close of the eigh-
teenth century an academy was located on the Green, and in the
early part of the present century at South Glastonbury. Both these
buildings were destroyed by fire. Efforts have been made from time
to time to secure the establishment of academies ; but owing to lack
of permanent endowments, notwithstanding the expense of their in-
ception on the part of pulilie-spirited individuals, they have in all
cases maintained a sickly and temporary existence, though a great
benefit to our educational interests while they lasted. The Glastonbury
Academy, established in 1869, is the only one which remains in exist-
ence, and only waits for a small portion of the funds that are lavished
on foreign objects, to become a permanent educational institution worthy
of the town whose name it bears. The eastern people for a long series

the residence of HalsevBnck (Mr. Buck's father), in Glastonlniry, where they were hoth cared
for in his family. Mrs. Maffitt soon recovered, luit the lad continued ill for many months.
However, he finally recovered and again joined his father, who had in the mean time contin-
ued visiting his wife and .sick boy at the residence of Mr. Buck as opportunity offered. This
incident acquired an additional interest when afterward the elder Maffitt became chaplain of
the Lower House of Congress; and wh^n, still later, the little sick boy became known to the
world as John N. Maffitt, commander of the Rebel privateer " Florida," sailing in the service of
the Inte so-called Southern Oonfederacy.

1 Burned June 14, 1885, but rebuilding began at once.

GLASTONBURY.

213

of years had a select school during a part of the time in an academy
building near the homestead of David E. Hubbard, Esq., which was
attended by a large number of our older citizens, including many from
the adjoining towns of Bolton and Manchester. The basement of the
Methodist Episcopal church in East Glastonbury was also used for
that purpose for some time after its erection.

ColumV)ia Lodge, Xo. 25, F. & A. M., located first at Stepney (now
Rocky Hill) in the latter part of the last century, is one of the oldest
country lodges in the State. It was removed to South Glastonbury in
the early part of the present century, and has ever since held as its
property the building on the corner near the present residence of
George Pratt, formerly owned by Stephen Shipman and Jedidiah Post
in succession. Many of our prominent men — including Jonathan
Welles, Deacon Asa Goslee, Henry Dayton, and George Merrick —
have been members and Masters. Daskam Lodge No. 86 was estab-
lished at the north part in 1857, and has recently finished and occupied
its own building for lodge purposes, and a small public hall in the
lower storv.

profitable, and it only requires the
attention which is bestowed on
other business to make it more so.

The population of this town in 1790 was 2,732, and in 1880, 3,580.
The farming population has evidently decreased within the last hun-
dred years, but the advent of manufactures has rather increased the
total. At iiresent farming is ^^ *- ,_-^ . ^ ^ >•

The pioneer i'n packing and mar-
keting Connecticut seed-leaf
tobacco was Oswin Welles,
Esq., a native and resident of
this town.

In the early history of this
town, and down to within liv-
ing memory, large amounts
of corn, potatoes, rye, oats, and other farm products were shipped to
the West Indies, with horses and mules, salt pork and beef. Ebcnezer
Plummcr, Samuel Welles, and others at the north part of the town,
John Welles, Lyman Munger, Henry H. Welles, Russell C. Welles, and
others at South Glastonbury, had not only a large domestic commerce,
but also carried on a large trade with the West Indies, some of it in
articles not now regarded with favor for ordinary consumption.

Ship-building was also pursued at Pratt's Ferry until within the last
sixty years. The ancient ship-yard has long since become the bed of

the river. The Welleses, Sellews, and Hales were extensively engaged
in that business ; and later, between 1840 and 1850, Captain Chauncey

214 MEMORIAL HISTOEY OF HAETFOED COUNTY.

Gaines built four large sailing-vessels. At South Glastonbury Cap-
tain Roswell Hollister and others built a large number early in this
^ . ^ ^ century, and the last (a barge) was

o^^W-^ti:, /to-^dZCC^ '^"ilt ^y Captain Martin Hollister about

1870.

Previous to the incorporation of the town a grant was made by the
General Court to Thomas Harris of forty acres for a mill-site, which
was in the present limits of this town. This grant was afterward
assigned to Joseph Bull and John Bidwell, Jr., who in 1669 received
an additional grant of two hundred acres for the same purpose. This,
1 judge, must have been on Salmon Brook, probably at or near where
the village of Eagle Mills now stands. Provisions were also made
by the town for the encouragement of those disposed to erect mills, by
grants of sites and land. In 1706 permission was given to Sergeant
John Hubbard, Thomas Hale, Sr., John Gaines, and William John-
son, " to erect a saw-mill upon Roaring Brook, Avhere it may not be
prejudicial to any particular person, and to get timber from the com-
mons for the use of said mill." I do not identify this location. In
1712 permission was given to Gershom Smith, Thomas Hollister, Jona-
than Judd, Samuel Brooks, Ebenezer Kilbourn, and Thomas Kimberly
" to build a saw-mill on the northernmost branch of Roaring Brook "
at Wassuc, and confirmed to the above with John Kilbourn and Joseph
Tryon a year or two later. The site of this mill is now occupied by
the mill of the Roaring Brook Paper Manufacturing Company.

The several streams were occupied at an early day by mills, many
of which have become by the lapse of years nothing but a memory
or an indistinct tradition. On Salmon Brook, having its source in
Lily Pond, on the summit of the Hill Minnechaug, Avas the carding-
machine of Stephen Hurlburt^ and his predecessors, the stream just
below being now used for a similar purpose by the heirs of George A.
Hurlburt, on the site of an ancient still. Below is the saw-mill of
W. H. & W. E. HoAve. Farther doAvn Avere the casting-Avorks of Cap-
tain Jared Strickland, maker of a patent hand coffee-mill, used in fami-
lies before the days of ground coffee and spices. BetAA'cen this and the
Eagle Mills, so far as I can learn, no other site was occupied. The
Eagle Mills site was originally a saAAMnill ; then, soon after the Revolu-
tion, used for a clothing and fulling mill by Fraray Hale, Jr., and
others ; and then operated by the Eagle Manufacturing Comjiany,
organized under special act in 1822, Avith Samuel Welles, Robert Wat-
kinson, Daniel H. Arnold, Fraray Hale, Jr., and Aristarchus Champion
as corporators. By them and their successors a small wooden mill Avas
erected and enlarged, and in 1832 a brick mill was erected a short dis-
tance beloAv. The company Avent through varying stages of ])rosperity
in the manufacture of woollen goods, until it failed in 1848. Since then
the mills have passed through the hands of several proprietors, until
now the Avhole property is owned by the Glastonlniry Knitting Company
(A. L, Clark, president), wliose trade-mark on their goods is con-
sidered, as it should be, a full guarantee of their excellence. Below
is the site (now disused) of a saAv-mill, formerly operated by Messrs.
Osman and Otis House ; and still farther doAvn is the site of an ancient

1 Mr. Hurlburt was the pioneer in, and inventor of, the art of making felt hats by
marhinery.

GLASTONBURY. 215

grist-mill, granted by the town in 1715 to Ephraim Bidwell and Richard,
Joseph, and Gershom Smith. This use was continued until 1876, when
the property was purchased by the " Case Brothers " of Manchester ;
and the mill, enlarged and improved, with auxiliary steam-power, is
now devoted to the making of binder's board. Nearer the river was an
ancient saw-mill belonging to the "NVclleses, and used by Oswin AVelles
in his younger years for that purpose, and as a manufactory of wooden-
ware until 1846. Then it was conveyed to Frederick Curtis, and, with
the land and buildings connected therewith by succeeding conveyances,
was subsequently used as an extensive manufactory of plated silver-
ware by him and his successors, F. Curtis & Co., the Curtisville Manu-
facturing Company, the Connecticut Arms & Manufacturing Company
(they adding thereto the making of firearms), until, by various
changes, it is now held by the Williams Brothers Manufacturing
Company, and used for the manufacture of cutlery and plated ware
with good success. The Island (Wright's) anciently extended north-
erly to about opposite the mouth of this brook, with a long stretch
of meadow intervening. The brook, or creek, instead of going to the
west across this meadow, turned to the south and followed the track
now known as " Crooked Hollow," and emptied into Roaring Brook
(at that ]3oint called Sturgeon River) near its mouth. At an early
date in this century (I am unable to state the exact time) a channel
was cut from the southward bend westerly to the river, which the
stream has followed until the river, by its continued wear at that point
to the eastward, has reached the meadow hill above and below.

The stream next below rises in the region of Nipsic, and was utilized
for the site of tanneries by John Cleaver at an early date, and by David
and Norman Hubbard, their predecessors and ancestors. One tannery
still exists, on the New London and Hartford turnpike road, owned by
Isaac Broadhead, the excellence of whose product (hog-skins for sad-
dlery) is noted in our foreign as well as domestic trade. Just below
Messrs. Chauncey & William H. Turner, some sixty or more years ago,
succeeded John Cleaver (also a tanner) in a clothing works, which tlie
changed methods of housewifery has long since caused to be disused
and pass away. A short distance farther down was a grist-mill, on
land anciently belonging to John Hubbard, and also a Ijark-mill and
tanneries belonging to David Hubbard about fifty years ago. This
privilege is now owned by the J. B. Williams Company, successors of
Messrs. James B. & William S. Williams, who established themselves
here about 1850 in the manufacture of soaps of all kinds, ink, and shoe-
blacking. Their business is now confined to the former articles. Their
success, consequent upon a career of active intelligent business, is such
as to have greatly benefited themselves, their town, and all good enter-
prises. Just east of the main street, known to but few, is the site of
an old distillerv, Avhich the changed ideas as well as habits of the
community have long since caused to disappear. A large brickyard
was also located near this point. This stream empties into the great
meadow-drain whose Avaters, increased by the intervening streams,
debouch into the Connecticut at Red Hill, at a point formerly known
as Brooks Island.

The main street crosses the next brook, over a bridge Avith a hand-
somely turned brick arch, Avhich has stood for more than a century,

^^ ^e^v^-^sC

216 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

and bids fair to stand as much longer. Robert Moseley has a small
sash-and-blind factory a short distance above.

The next, or Smith brook, crosses the main sti-eet just south of
the ancient Kimbcrlcy mansion. Zephaniah Hollister Smith, Esq.,
successively minister, doctor, and lawyer (in which last capacity he was

only known officially in this town,
although born here), occupied
this house from about 1790 until
his death, in 1836. His widow,
Mrs. Hannah H. Smith, and her five daughters, remained here until
her decease in 1851, and the latter during the remainder of their lives,
— except Miss Julia E. Smith, the fourth daughter, who, soon after the
decease of her last surviving sister, was married to the Hon. Amos
A. Parker, of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, and removed to Hartford
in 1881. The youngest two of the family were the " Smith Sisters,"
with whom the town, in collecting its taxes, was obliged to contend.
It was a contest in the newspapers and the courts, lasting from
1875 to 1879 ; and notwithstanding all the trouble and expense, and
the unreasonable and undeserved abuse and misrepresentation heaped
upon the town, its officers, and citizens, it taught us so to make out our
assessment lists and rate-bills as not to require a "healing act" to make
them legal and collectible. Tlie ladies were somewhat distino-uished as
linguists. Miss Julia having translated the Bible from the original
languages, and published the same at her own expense.

On the brook near the house, west from the main street a short dis-
tance, in the early part of the present century, Messrs. Joseph and
Tliomas Stevens, Jr., erected a forge,
with a trip-hammer, on an ancient r2^^ / ^
water-privilege. Being active, hard- ^^^^a^f^
working men, possessed at that time

of considerable means, they soon had a very profitable business in
making and furnishing ship irons, anchors, etc. In an evil and ill-
j> - ' J - > J. advisedhour, it is said, they were

JpLri^Cca^^f^Cr^/yi^ A Pei'S"^^ed by Esquire Smith to
*^ ^'^ f^*^ «.^i^ v.-' . V gigj^ ^ paper, or make an ac-

(/ knowledgment amounting to a

lease of his land, which their pond had covered for many years without
question. Then they were in his power as tenants at will, their dam
had to come down after multiplied actions at law, their business was
ruined, and they were financially destroyed. They "were compelled to
abandon the enterprise ; " not, as has been stated elsewliere,^ " by the
neighbors," " on the ground that a trip-hammer was a nuisance in the
midst of a village," but by the force of law, consequent upon their un-
witting saci'ilice of their rights. Rightly or wrongly, the sympathy of
the people was with them in their troubles ; and the town itself, at its
annual meeting on Nov. 1, 1813, " voted, that the town, on the petition of
Joseph and Thomas Stevens, Jr., to join by a committee in their petition
to the General Assembly against Zephaniah H. Smitli, do grant said
petition, and do appoint Messrs. Oliver Hale and Benjamin Hale [one
of the representatives] a committee." But nothing availed to loosen

^ Glastenbuiy Centennial, p. 126.

GLASTONBURY. 217

the grip of their powerful antagonist ; and the delicate ears of the
"neighbors" were soothed by the continuous silence, and their a?stlietic
tastes were no longer disturbed by the jar of tlie trii)-hammer, or their
slumbers disquieted by the croaking of the frogs.

The small stream next south has been improved by Francis Taylor
for many years past as the motive-power for a saw and grist mill.
Mr. Taylor and the Messrs. Howe, in Buckingham, did formerly a
large business in coopering, but the disuse of cider and of wooden
powder-kegs has made it much less.

We now come to Roaring Brook, which, rising in the extreme
northeast corner of this town, nearly bisects it diagonally to its mouth
at South Glastonbury. Although its power is well improved now, the
review of its former labors will compare favorably with the present in
number. Near its head was formerly a saw-mill run by Xatlianiel Hub-
bard. Still further down is the site of another and ancient saw-mill on
the noted if not valuable " Coop farm." It is now owned, with other
lands on the stream below, by Charles H. Owen, Esq. About a mile
farther down are the vestiges of another saw-mill. Still farther, and
the old blacksmith shop on the Hebron road, remembered by many
yet living as the place of the true and faithful work of Deacon Asa
Goslee and his son Asa, which formerly, with its large undershot
wheel and trip-hammer, took advantage of the water-power and is
now abandoned. Hardly a vestige remains of the dam still farther
on, which was connected with a clothier's shop some seventy years
ago. Passing up the branch known as Slab Brook, w^e are on the site of
the saw-mill grant to Jonathan Treat, used in the early part of the
century by Fraray Hale, Jr., as a place for a carding-machine. Some
of the dam-logs and the excavation for the raceway are there, but no
one living ever saw the building. Still farther east, in a lot carved from
the farm a portion of which is owned by the writer, are a cellar and
wheel-pit, which the traditions of more than a hundred years fix as the
site of a linseed-oil mill. Below, on the main stream, were the saw-mill
and carding-machine of Elijah Covell, where for so many years he
counselled the boys and praised the girls of succeeding generations.
The old stream now passes it un vexed by any wheel. The reservoir of
the Crosby Manufacturing Company comes next, furnishing the power
for their mill in East Glastonbury village, a short distance below. This
mill is a substantial edifice of stone, and was built about 1840 by the
Roaring Brook Manufacturing Company for the making of cotton and
woollen goods, — that is, satinets. William C. Sparks was the agent
until its dissolution in 1862, when the mill passed into the hands of
Edwin Crosl)y and Sereno Hubbard, and was operated by them during
the war with great profit, having been considerably enlarged. After the
death of Mr. Hubbard it passed to Edwin Crosby, thence to E. Crosby
& Sons, and is now owned by the Crosby Manufacturing Company. Aux-
iliary steam-power has been put in, and with the latest and best machin-
ery a very excellent quality of goods is made. The place has been
greatly improved by the enterprise and public spirit of its proprietors,
who are all residents in the village. A wise and prudent expenditure has
produced its usual effect in promoting the prosperity not only of those
who make it, but of the surrounding community. Below is a mill for
grinding feldspar and flint, which is not in use. Next comes the estab-

218 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

lishment of the Roaring Brook Paper Manufacturing Company, occu-
pying the site of the ancient mill which has been already mentioned.
The family homestead of the Hon. John R. Buck is just to the south,
on the turnpike and adjoining the Wassuc Green, with its venerable oak
and trees of a younger growth. About a mile below the stream receives
a noble affluent known as the " south branch," or Flat Brook. It begins
in the rough and romantic region of Dark Hollow, associated with
legends and weird stories of treasure, both buried and natural, which
no human eye, according to tradition, has ever been permitted to see
more than once. On or near the meadows on this stream was " Sadler's
Ordinary," a noted house of public entertainment on the old road from
Hartford to New London two hundred years ago. Nearly south of the
old " gate-house," on this stream was formerly a manufactory of fire-
arms, occupying probably the site of an ancient mill, where the best of
guns were made, but which, like their report, has become simply a
memory. A glass-factory formerly stood near the turnpike north of
this point, where the vestiges of broken glass may still be found. By
the time the brook reaches the main stream, increased by branches from
Mott Hill and the northerly sides of rugged Meshomasic, it is nearly as
large, and assists in forming a fine water-power for the mills below.
The first is a large cotton-mill built by the Hartford Twine Company,
since owned by the "Wassuc Mills, and now in lease by the Wassuc
jManufacturing Company and owned by the brothers Plunkett, of Pitts-
field and Manchester. This mill occu})ies the site of the Forge, built by
Talcott Camp soon after the Revolution for the manufacture of bar-iron
from the ore. He was succeeded in the iron business by Samuel and
John Hunt, and by Robert Hunt and Henry Dayton, until the location
was sold to the Hartford Twine Company. A short distance below is
the village of Hopewell, where the large woollen-mill, with steam-power
in aid, owned by Franklin Glazier, of Hartford, is situated. The pro-
prietor keeps up with the times, and through the good and bad seasons
has run his mill with enterprise and profit. This mill was established by
Horatio Hollister and his sons more than fifty years ago. The anchor-
factory comes next, operated now by George Pratt, with good help and
his own clear head and strong arms producing articles for which the
demand is constant and the pay good. He succeeds the Glastonbury
Anchor Company, and Jedidiah and John H. Post. Below this place the
stream breaks through the hills with a sharp descent into the lower
grounds near its mouth at Nayaug. In this deep valley, shut in on either
side by precipitous hills, is Cotton Hollow, for more than eighty years
improved as the site of cotton-mills. It has been owned by many pro-
prietors in succession, — the Hartford Manufacturing Company, John
H. Post, Green Brothers, Glastonbury Manufacturing Company, and at
present by Abraham Backer, of New York. Two large mills, one
of brick and the other of stone (the interior of the latter having been
burned out about forty years ago and since rebuilt), occupy the succes-
sive benches of the ample fall, while steam is used as an auxiliary power.
The water-power, formed by a heavy high stone dam and shut in by the
high banks above, is one of the finest and best in the county. Prior
to the Revolution, and until 1777, gunpowder was made here. An
explosion occurring Aug. 23, 1777, caused the immediate death of
George Stocking and his three sons, — George, Hezekiah, and Nathaniel,

G-LASTONBIJRY, 219

— and of Isaac Treat; and of Thomas Kimberly, Esq., great grandson
of Eleazar Kimlierly, on the folhjwing day. Between this and the ilain
Street bridge was an ancient sawMnill, as also a saw and grist mill far-
ther down, all of which have been disused. On the site of the latter is
a large mill for grinding feldspar, which is used in the making of
pottery and paints, now mider control of the London White Lead and
Color Company. The crude material was discovered a few years since
to exist in large quantities in a i"ange of hills coming north from Port-
land through the southern part of this town, and crops out at intervals
for a numlier of miles. A large quarry sold by George S. Andrews to
the grantors of the company, situated in the rear of his house, is being
very extensively mined. Mr. Andrews has also other quarries, and a
spar-mill just (^ver the Portland line. The material is said to have a
large commercial value.

Subsequent to the location of the meeting-house as already men-
tioned, and to the date of the act of incorporation, but prior to the first
meeting of the people under its provisions and the naming of the town,
Samuel Smith and John Huljbard, by a grant under their hands, dated
the 4th day of May, 1692, " having a desire to promote the settlement
of the public worship and ordinances of God among the inhabitants of
Wethersfield that are on the east side of the Great River, and to the
intent that the said inhabitants . . . may hereafter possess and enjoy a
suitable and convenient piece of land for the erecting of a meeting-house
upon, as also for a public burying-place," conveyed to said inhabitants
" a piece of land containing by estimation ten acres, ... to be twenty
rods in breadth from north to south, and fourscore rods in length from
east to west." The stone bearing the oldest inscription is that of
Eunice (daughter of John Chester, of Wethersfield), wife of the Rev.
Timothy Stevens, who died June 16, 1698, in her thirty-first year.
Generally the cemetery is well cared for, though undoul)tedly a careful
probing of the soil in the western and oldest part would reveal monu-
ments not suspected by many. As the erection of gravestones at an
early day was not as common as now, the spaces apparently unoccupied
have really been fully used. Here lie the ancestors of the old families,

— the Hales, Hollisters, Kimberlys, Moseleys, Talcotts, Welleses, and
many others, some of whose names have faded from this region. The
yard was enlarged in 1867 by the purchase of two acres from Mr. James
R. Hunt, which has been carefully laid out, and already has quite a
number of elegant and expensive monuments.

The burying-place near the site of the old meeting-house in Bucking-
ham was not used much if any before 1745, as the first two ministers
(pastors) of that society rest in the Green Cemetery. This cemetery
is well fenced, and in the appearance of the ancient memorials bears
the marks of honorable and zealous attention, creditable not only to
the town, but to others more immediately interested.

The cemetery located at South Glastonbury, on the summit of the
hill on the main street below Roaring Brook, was purchased in 1776 of
Samuel Goodrich. It has been twice enlarged, and contains the dust
of many of our worthiest and best citizens.

The Wassuc Cemetery was established in 1810, in connection with
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has since been enlarged.

220 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

The cemetery (Centre) near the site of the old Episcopal Church
was opened in 1823, and enlarged in 1858.

The cemetery near the Congregational meeting-house at Bucking-
ham was established about 1820, and enlarged to the south in 1865.

The burial enclosure on the " Hill " has been used for about a
hundred years as a place of sepulture for that neighborhood.

Nipsic Cemetery was opened about 1845, and enlarged in 1884.

The foregoing are all cared for by the town, to its great honor. All
are enclosed, and are yearly mowed and kept in order.

The St. James Cemetery, laid out in 1859, is pleasantly located, east
of the church of that name, and has many elegant monuments.

The Hon. David E. Hubbard and his wife, Mrs. Pamelia (Hollister)
Hubbard, are buried near their homestead. Besides this there are but
two private yards, — one in East Glastonbury, on the Harmel Weir
place, and one at South Glastonbury, near Lyman Hollister's resi-
dence.

The " main street " is a continuation of the " country road," which
passes through and along the east side of the Connecticut valley. Tra-
dition has it that it follows mainly the Indian trail. For but a short
distance compared with the whole length of the route does it require
causeways to avoid the ordinary river freshets. The General Assem-
bly in May, 1676, granted power to the selectmen of the towns holding
plantations on the east side to lay it out six rods wide. It was prob-
ably located at an earlier day ; for in March, 1706-7, the selectmen,
Samuel Hale, Sr., Jolm Hubbard, and Joseph Hollister, surveyed said
highway, not by courses and distances, but by evidently following the
fences on the west side of an ancient way, but stipulating for the full
width (six rods) east of the west line thereof. The landmarks — trees,
etc. — are hardly now discoverable. A more careful survey was made
in December, 1762, by Samuel Talcott, Ephraim Hubbard, John Kim-
berly, William Welles (surveyor), and Jonathan Hale, Jr., selectmen,
in which the whole course of it is set out by metes and bounds. The
" white oak tree by Gideon Hale's house," mentioned in that survey, is
still standing in its veneral^le youth just north of the house of Mrs.
Pamelia Hale, and is still growling, common to us and our fathers.
Other bounds referred to in that document can be definitely located
along its west side. And what a street it is, — the pride of every resi-
dent and the admiration of every visitor ! Fixed and laid out before
the straight and rectangular ideas of highways had come in fashion,
every position, as it winds along, gives new views ; while the noble
trees, the growth of a century, authorized to be planted by the town
before the Revolution, greatly add to their elegance.

Glastonbury is left outside of railways. There have been hopes at
times for the construction of a horse-railroad from Hartford, long since
chartered ; and the Connecticut Central was chartered from Springfield
to Portland, but stopped short at East Hartford. The State consti-
tutional amendment preventing towns from engaging in railroad-build-
ing came just in time to prevent us from making investments town-wise.
The ancient ferry called "Pratt's" has been long disused. An attempt
to revive a ferry between Glastonbury and Wethersfield some forty
years ago failed after a short trial. The ferry at Rocky Hill is well

GLASTONBURY. 221

patronized, especially since the opening of the Connecticut Valley
Railroad.

Our general history has but few salient points. Early it has refer-
ence to matters of settlement, churches, and schools. The unanimous
call of the Rev. Timothy Stevens (son of Timothy Stevens, of Roxbury,
Mass.), a young man of twenty-six, as pastor ^ .
in 1692, his acceptance thereof, and identiii- y ^^ ^~ ^
cation with his people in his family connec- */<'*»*<^^ t/U>'7/^h^
tions, and his growth in worldly prosperity ._y

along with them, seeming to have been a quiet, discreet, peace-loving
man, living, so far as any records show, in the kindest relations with
all his parishioners, until April 14, 1726, when he died, having previ-
ously buried his two wives, sumving all his children by his first wife,
and leaving but three ^ of the eight children borne to him by his second
wife, Alice Cook, — all tliis is a quiet history, in marked contrast with
the early annals of the mother town. Perhaps there were no other
ministers resident here.

Eleazar Kimberly (as has been mentioned), was town clerk from the
^n /j, ' y? ^ organization of the town till 1708, when

^L&OfJ^ <3^ %/\t^'y^ v^-^-^Jy he was followed by Samuel Smith, one

V- C_--- of the donors of the Green. Mr. Smith

had many peculiarities of orthography and chirography, but he seems
to have been assisted in the work of his records by his neighbor, the
Rev. Timothy Stevens, who possessed a very characteristic handwriting,
plain, but not very forceful. r-* a^ .^^

He held the office until 1713, SZt^tncUZiCC -^^y^^u,^^ !7f^ef €S fcf^
when he was succeeded by «/

Thomas Kimberly (surveyor), son of Eleazar, who, in addition to this

office, held by him
until his decease in
1730, represented
this town in the
^v^ • legislature nearly

^ '^ ^y every session from

^y^ 1708 to 1730, and

-'::::^^''=^^^--.^-_,-^'''''"'""''''°^^ the last five years
was Speaker. His writing, after the lapse of nearly two hundred
years, is as clear and correct as an engraved plate.

The Rev. Ashbel Woodbridge, son of the Rev. Timothy Woodbridge,
of Hartford, a young man _ ^r-^

of twenty-four years, was // /^y//^J^/^\ y ')

the second ordained min- yf%/iXyV . C^(/c~CrO V^^C^O^A-^
ister. He remained as J^

pastor until his decease, ^

Aug. 6, 1755. " A man of eminent piety and distinguished worth, a
ripe scholar, sound divine, and successful peacemaker."

During the ministry of Mr. Woodbridge the society at the East
Farms, or Eastbury, was organized (1731), and after calling several
clergymen finally secured the Rev. Chiliab Brainard as pastor in 1736.
He died Jan. 1, 1739, in his thirty-first year, after a three years' pas-
torate. His successor was the Rev. Nehemiah Brainard, settled January,

1 Timothy, Joseph, and Benjamin Stevens.

. (^^HtM^AM/

222 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY,

1740, and died Nov. 9, 1742, in his thirty-second year. Both these young
men are buried in the Green Cemetery, side by side. The next to
assume the duties of the pastorate was the Rev. Isaac Chalker, who was
installed October, 1744, and died May 21, 1765, in his fifty-eighth year.
Financial troubles almost crushed him, but the intervention of kind
friends saved him from further annoyance, and he passed the evening
of his life in quiet.

Thomas Welles, son of Samuel, grandson of Samuel, and great-
grandson of Thomas Welles, the third Governor of Connecticut Colony,
was the successor of Thomas Kimberly as town clerk. He was a man

of great ability, colonel of the militia,
^Jjf^Ct^^a^ tu6J^^ representative in 1725 and nearly every
*^ ' year succeeding, and for the larger part

of the time every session until 1751, Speaker for the last two years,
and Assistant from October, 1751, to October, 1760. He retained
the office of town clerk for thirty-six years, until 1766, when it is sadly
apparent from his official signature in our records that his " right hand
had lost its cunning." He died May 14, 1767, in his seventy-fifth year.

The Rev. Ashbel Woodbridge's successor
in the First Church was the Rev. John Eells,
ordained pastor June 27, 1759, in his twenty-
third year, and remaining here in his office until his death, in 1791. He
was a son of the Rev. Nathaniel Eells, of Stonington, and cousin of the
Rev. James Eells, afterwards settled at Eastbury. Under his wise and
prudent leadership no dissension seems to have arisen ; and the people
were so united in patriotic sentiment that it is reported that only one
left his country to become the associate of the Rev. Samuel Peters, for-
merly rector of St. Peter's Church in Hebron, in the London colony
of Tory malcontents headed by that bitter champion of kingly power.

Soon after the decease of the Rev. Mr. Chalker, the Rev. Samuel
Woodbridge, a son of the Rev. Ashbel Woodbridge, was ordained pastor
of the Second Society. Mr. Woodbridge was then a young man of
twenty-six years. Unremitting study, in his case, produced insanity, and
after preaching about a year he was dismissed, to the "great sorrow"
of the church and society. He was succeeded by the Rev. James Eells,
son of the Rev. Edward Eells, of Upper Middletown (now Cromwell),
who was ordained Aug. 23, 1769, and remained with his people until
his death, Jan. 23, 1805, aged sixty-three, and in the thirty-fifth year
of his ministry. Prior to the pastorates of the Messrs. Eells the church
records seem to have been regarded as private property, and no one has
given any information where they or any part of them may be found.
If ever they should come to light they would undoubtedly elucidate
many points which only exist in the misty traditions of the past.

The history of our town during the Revolution and the years imme-
diately preceding is of the greatest interest, and is calculated to foster
the respect and admiration which our citizens have for our fathers
and our town. So early as June 18, 1770, a town-meeting was held at
which measures were taken for the support of the non-importation agree-
ment, and at which Messrs. Jonathan Welles (a son of Colonel Thomas
Welles) and Ebenezer Plummer (long time from 1747 a successful
merchant in this town and a prominent and patriotic citizen) were
appointed their representatives to attend a meeting of the mercantile

GLASTONBURY. 223

and landholding interests to be holden at New Haven on the 13th
of the next September, to concert and prosecute " such plans and
measures as are necessary for the defending of our just rights, our
common liberties, and peculiar privileges, which we (under God) have
heretofore long enjoyed." At the same time, " in order to carry into
effect the measures proposed," a committee of three (Major Elizur
Talcott, Jonathan Hale, Jr., and Ebenezer Plummer) were appointed
" to inspect that there be no goods imported into this town from Xew
York until the revenue acts are repealed," The records show com-
parative quietness until June 23, 1774, on the reception of the news of
the act of Parliament closing the port of Boston, when a meeting was
held which passed a ringing series of votes, setting forth the opinion
of that statute as " subversive of the rights and liberties of American
citizens, unconstitutional, and oppressive ; " and making common cause
with the city of Boston and the Province of Massachusetts Bay in re-
sistance " to the designs of our enemies to enslave us ; " recommending
the continuance of the non-importation agreement for that purpose.
And they also expressed their approval of a General Congress as " the
most probable method to cement the colonies in a firm imion, on which
(under God) our only security depends." Colonel Elizur Talcott,
William Welles, Captain Elisha Hollister, Ebenezer Plummer, Isaac
Moseley, Thomas Kimberly, and Josiah Hale were chosen a " com-
mittee of correspondence to answer and receive all letters, and to pro-
cure and forward such contributions as shall be made in this town for
the relief of our distressed friends in Boston, and to transmit a copy of
the proceedings of this meeting to the committee of correspondence at
Boston as soon as possible." The letter, signed by these gentlemen
and sent to Boston enclosing these proceedings, is to be found in
Dr. Chapin's " Glastenbury Centennial, 1853 " (page 91). Ebenezer
Plummer was probably its author.

The intelligence of the aft^airs at Concord and Lexington reached
here by express on the Sunday following, and was announced by the
reverend and patriotic cousins from their respective pulpits. The
rest of the day was spent by the members of the militia in casting
bullets, replenishing their cartridge-boxes, and repairing their firelocks.
On Monday morning a large company assembled at the house of Cap-
tain Elizur Hubbard, in Eastbury, and under his command started for
Boston. During the Revolution the town's frequent votes making pro-
vision for food and supplies to the army and families of soldiers, recruit-
ment of men by bounties and drafts, and providing guns for the soldiers,
show that the general sense of the people was fully enlisted in the work
of achieving our national independence. Barracks for recruits are
said to have been erected in the meadows on land long since swept
by the river. Tories banished from other towns for safe-keeping
found place for repentance and reform among our patriotic eastern
inhabitants, and breathed the air of freedom, under surveillance, among
the rocks and hills of Eastbury. Tradition has it that at different
times nearly every able-bodied man of the proper age was in the ser-
vice, so that the crops were made and harvested by the women. Espe-
cially so in the summer and autumn of 1776, when the series of
engagements took place which ended in the occupation of New York
by the British.

904

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

The lists are not at present accessible which show the full number
of our citizens who were in the army ; but we have the names of 151,
which must be increased at least 50 per cent. 23 are mentioned as
enlisted for three years, or during the war, — a number which the
truth will largely increase, — and 31 as having been killed or died in
the service. Many of those named in the account of Wether sfield's
soldiers were inhabitants of Glastonbury. Colonel How^ell Woodbridge
(son of the Rev. Ashbel Woodbridge) was the highest ranking officer,
and afterward, as then, one of our first men, representative from 1789
to 1795 inclusive, and dying in his fifty-first year, in 1796. Colonel
Elizur Talcott commanded a regiment which served in the early part
of the Revolutionary War. Captain Elizur Hubbard survived to his

eighty-second year, dying
Sept. 14, 1818. Captain
Wait Goodrich, noted for
his energetic bravery as
well as being a man of
affairs, is said to have been a privateersman. Captain Samuel Welles
(son of Thaddeus Welles and nephew of Colonel Thomas Welles), as
well as his son, Samuel Welles, Jr., were in the service during a
portion of the time.

William Welles, having succeeded his father as town clerk in 1766,
retained that office until his death, April 19, 1778. His son William
succeeded him, and held the
office until July, 1781, when he
is said to have removed from
town, and was followed by his
brother-in-law, Josi ah Hale, son

of Benjamin Hale, who continued in that office until 1803.

resided in the south part of the town.
/jf^yyx 4/Ppj^^B^ cessor was Colonel John Hale, from
-^ ■ '^ 1817, the date of his decease

a-7^

iPty^ Cr^;:iyCL

Mr. Hale
His suc-
1803 to
Jonathan Welles
(son of Jonathan Welles, Esq., and his wife Katherine, a daughter of
Roswell Saltonstall, eldest son of
Governor Gurdon Saltonstall, and
grandson of Colonel Thomas
Welles) was then chosen town _
clerk, holding the place till 1829. Mr. Welles is remembered by our

older citizens as a dignified gentleman
of the old school, who recognized his
position and all tliat it implied. He
lived in the ancient house on the east
side of the main street on the summit
of the hill just south of the Smith
Brook, the site of which is now occu-
and which was the residence of his
uncle, William

house,
His

-/hj^

pied by David Brainard's

father and grandfather.

Welles, lived "in the house now standing on the

ojiposite side of the street, wdiere a portion of

Yale College was quartered during a part of the

Revolution. Jonathan Welles, Sr., had been a tutor in that institution

from 1754 to 1756. Mr. Welles's son, the Hon. Henry Titus Welles,

GLASTONBUEY.

225

after breaking in 1851 the chain of Democratic successes here for more
than a generation, removed to Minnesota in 1854, after the death of his
father, and is one of the foremost men of that State. Another son
of Jonathan Welles, Sr,, named Gurdon Welles, was a zealous preacher,
— a very " Boanerges," — the sound of whose ministrations could often,
as it is said, be heard a mile.

The French spoliations in the latter part of the last and the beginning
of the present century very seriously damaged our navigation interests.
The War of 1812 called quite a number of our people into the
field for coast defence. Colonel (afterward Deacon) George Plummer

was adjutant of the brigade in service,

and spent with the wliole or a part of ^^ ^^'^C^

the command " more than sixty days" ^''^^^«^«-^''C4t*.^**-»^tj2/t-

in " being ready " for a descent of the ^

British fleet and trooi)S upon New London, which never occurred.

The assembling, in 1818, of the convention forming a constitution in
lieu of the charter of King Charles II., and the movements prelimi-
nary thereto, aroused great interest here. The careful and able man-
agement of the Hon. Samuel Welles, assisted by the Hon. David E.
Hubbard, both men of great force of character and sterling good
sense, resulted in the election of these gentlemen to the General

Assembly in May, 1818, the calling
the convention, and their election
as delegates thereto. That body
met Aug. 26, 1818, and completed its
work September 16th of the same
year. On a submission to the peo-
ple it was approved by a very small majority. The influence of these
men in their own town is
shown by the fact that while

Hartford County gave a ^!f^Z>' GCtx--o<s/ G J^^^-c^y^^CkyhjcyC

majority of 609 in the neg-
ative, Glastonbury was one of the five towns out of eighteen in the county
that gave a majority of yeas, — tlie vote standing 122 yeas to 57 nays.
In the fall of 1829, following the advent of the Jacksonian era,

the clerkship was placed

in the hands of another

--^/JLmX^ ])rancli of the Welles

a son of the Hon, Samuel Welles, and

familv. Thaddeus Welles,
brother of the Hon. Gideon
Welles, Secretary of the
Navy during the War of
the Rebellion, was chosen,
and retained that office

\/nr^/)r.<^ /<ctyCj— Dayton was ^q ^^-^

y elected) un- UM^ut^^yuyTx.^ ^/ct^f^t^^

til 1848. Fraray Hale having held ^'^^'p^-^-'^^*^ f^^"

the oftice two years, Benjamin Taylor 'f

held it from 1850 to 1,855, when Mr. Welles held it for two years,
followed by Mr. Taylor in 1857 for one year, and succeeded by Mr.
Welles in 1858.

exception of 1840, when Henry

VOL. II. — 15.

226 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Mr. Welles represented this town in 1836, 1837, 1845, 1847, and
1848. He was nominated to the Senate by his party in 1839, 1840, and
1844, and also in 1859, when he was elected, and chosen President pro
tern. He held the office of justice of the peace, trying a large proportion
of the cases in town for the more than forty years he was in the magis-
tracy. He died iSept. 27, 1876, in his seventy-first year. He was a man
of great ability, — a born leader of men, devoted to the interests of his
native town ; one of those who, while they may have enemies, have the
tact to make ardent friends. Known to every one, young and old,
he was also acquainted with every one. By a pleasing address he dis-
armed the prejudiced, and made even those who might at first look
upon him askance, fully believe not only in his ability but his integrity.
Em]jhatically a man of the people as well as a man of affairs, his coun-
sel and assistance were constantly sought ; and his advice was not only
freely given, but w^as " timely and good."

The War of the Rebellion, which burst upon us in 1861, proved our
citizens worthy of their ancestry. Vote after vote upon our records
during the terrible four years of civil strife attests the devotion of this
town to the life and welfare of the nation, and a resolution to secure
by every proper means the perpetuity of the Union. During that war
it furnished 10 three months' men, enlisting in April, 1861 ; 318 men
enlisting for three years, or during the war ; and 62 nine months'
men. Reducing all to the standard of three years, equals 334 men.
The commissioned officers were Robert G. Welles, captain in Tenth
United States Infantry ; Charles H. Talcott and William W. Abbey,
captains in Twenty-Fifth Connecticut Volunteers ; and Benjamin F.
Turner, lieutenant in Twenty-Fifth Connecticut Volunteers. Doctors
Henry C. Bunce, Sabin Stocking, and George A. Hurlburt were regimen-
tal surgeons. In the navy, Samuel Welles was constructing engineer
(killed at Mare Island Navy-yard, California, in 1866) ; R. Sommers
was an ensign ; Charles M. Cooley, Henry P. Cooley, and George F.
Goodrich were master's mates ; and Horace Talcott (died in service in
Kentucky) was paymaster.

Until about 1840 the town and electors' meetings were held at the
meeting-houses in different portions of the town, but mostly in the First
Society. In March, 1837, the old meeting-house being about to be dis-
used, a town-meeting was called to " appoint a committee to buy or build
a town-house, or for taking such order respecting a town-house as may
be thought proper." That meeting was held April 17, 1737, and at
first voted to buy the (old) Episcopal church ; but the action was
rescinded at the same meeting. Messrs. Jedidiah Post, Fraray Hale,
Jr., David E. Hubbard, Parley Bidwell, Thaddeus Welles, Chauncey
Andrews, and Abner Dickinson were then chosen a committee " to
take the subject into consideration and report to a future meeting as to
the expediency of buying a building for a town-house, or erecting one,
and fixing a proper location." This committee, or a majority thereof,
reported a resolution at an adjourned meeting held April 27, 1837,
recommending to build a town-house on the " Green " north of the old
meeting-house ; but the report was rejected. In January, 1838,
another town-meeting was held, but rejected all the propositions sub-
mitted to it, and dissolved. However, on the 29th of January, 1839,

GLASTONBURY. 227

the town authorized the building of the town-hall on the Green, and
appropriated $1,600 therefor. The house was built in 1839 and 1810
as well as possible with the limited appropriation, and the first meeting
was held in it Oct. 5, 1810. The controversy was exceedingly earnest
and somewhat bitter, and called out a very large vote. But we are
to be congratulated, in the light of succeeding years, that the present
location of our town-hall, notwithstanding the size of the town, is so
convenient of access for our people by reason of converging highways ;
especially when it is known that a compromise measure came very
near being carried which would have i»laced the building at Buck's
Corner, far from the centre of population, though very near the geo-
graphical centre.

The two hundredth anniversary of the authority given for a mili-
tary company on the " east side " of the river, in Hartford and
Wethersfield, which came around in 1853, was the occasion of a mag-
nificent celebration, with a "feast of reason and flow of soul" on the
old historic Green. The Rev. Alonzo B. Chapin, D.D., rector of St.
Luke's parish, prepared an address which was afterward expanded into
a book called " Glastonbury for Two Hundred Years." The com-
mittee of arrangements consisted of Messrs. John A. Hale, Thaddeus
Welles, Jared G. Talcott, David E. Hubbard, Charles HoUister, Edwin
S. Treat, Henry Dayton, Joseph Wright, Sidney Smith, Andrew T. Hale,
Walter B. Neau, Elisha Hollistcr, Henry T. Welles, George Plummer,
and Leonard E. Hale.

The ancient west line of this town as well as the east line of Weth-
ersfield was the Great River ; but, very singularly, the north line of
Wethersfield prolonged east across the river does not corres})ond with
the north line of this town, being about one hundred and twenty rods
north of it. In the case of Bulkeley vs. Hollister, in 1681, the defen-
dant claimed that the north line of the town should correspond with
the Wethersfield line, which would have given him his claimed width
at Nayaug. We have a suspicion that Gershom Bulkeley, like some of
his successors, understood the manipulation of legislative bodies better
than Hollister, and that though the General Assembly gave the case
to the plaintiff, no injustice would have been done if they had decided
in accordance with the claim of Hollister, The river, coming down
through the meadows broadside on, makes in the lapse of years great
changes, and the boundary was early a subject of question between
the two towns, though not until 1769 was there any attempt to estab-
lish a line in distinction from the river. Thomas Welles, representing
Glastonbury in 1765, petitioned the General Assembly to establish the
river by resolution as the boundary, without reference to its wear on
either side. Upon this petition being ignored, the town of Wethers-
field in 1769 made its petition to re-establish as the line between the
towns as the river ran in 1692. This was supposed to be done in
1770 by establishing a line beginning at a place called " Pewter-pot
Brook's mouth," in the Keeney's Point meadow, running in a southerly
direction to the branch of the river on the east side of Wright's Island
and following to the main stream, and thence in the river to the south
bounds of the towns. In 1792 Wright's Island was set to Glastonbury,
and at that point, by the action of the towns, the river was conceded to
be the boundary. In 1870 Glastonbury petitioned the legislature for

228 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

the establishment of the river as the line, and Wethersfield claimed
the old line of 1692-1770. This controversy continued between the
towns until in 1874 the Connecticut River, as it now flows or may
hereafter run, was established as the boundary between the towns.

The first post-office was established in the old Welles Tavern (now
the residence of Charles Chapman) in 1806, and Jose])h Welles was
postmaster. He retained the position until 1832, when Benjamin
Taylor was appointed, retaining office until 1862, when he retired. The
office at South Glastonbury was established March 29, 1825, with
George Merrick, Esq., as postmaster, who served until the 15th day of
June, 1829, when he was succeeded by Oliver Brainard, who continued
in office until his death, in 1861.1 Offices have since been established,
at Naubuc in 1856, East Glastonbury in 1863, and Buckingham in 1867.

Prior to 1806 the mail for different

vV » ^ towns was taken from designated

■^^^ '^■""^'ceyy-yCO'^C^ post-offices by post-riders and by

them delivered. The Rev. Jeremiah
Stocking in his early manhood was a post-rider from Hartford to Say-
brook. He began in 1799, delivering the newspapers, and carrying the
mail from 1801, and continued in the business twenty-five years, in
which time he travelled 150,000 miles, and crossed the Connecticut
8,500 times.

The Hon. Sidney Dean, member of Congress from the Third District
of Connecticut in 1855 and 1857, lived in the south part of Glastonbury
during all the early part of his life. Some of his family still reside in
the town.

The Hon. John R. Buck, member of Congress from the First Dis-
trict of Connecticut in 1881 and 1885, is a native of Glastonbury.

The migratory character of our town-clerk's office, due to frequent
changes in the incumbent, resulted, in 1881, in the erection of a Town
Records Building on Welles Corner for that and the other town offices,
with a large fire-proof vault for safely keeping the records.

^ At this time Judge Merrick was in the mercantile as well as the law business. He was
a descendant of the Rev. Noah Merrick, of Wilbraliam, ]\Iass., and his wife, Abigail Fisk,
widow of the Rev. Chiliah Brainard, first pastor at Eastbury. Judge Merrick was boi-n at
Wilbraham, Feb. 1, 1793, being the son of Dr. Samuel F. Merrick ; read law with the Hon.
Sylvester Gilbert, of Hebron, and the Hon. Hunt ]\Iills, of Northampton, ]\Iass. ; was admit-
ted to the bar in 1815, and continued in ]iractice in South Glastonbury until his death, Oct.
6, 1879. He married for his first wife Nancy, daughter of Eoswell Hollister and his wife
Elizabeth, by whom he had two sons, — George Hollister, who died before his father, and
Roswell E. Merrick, who survives him. Mrs. Nancy Merrick having deceased. Judge Mer-
rick married Miss Betsey Ann, daughter of Thomas and Betsey Ann "(Welles) Hubbard, and
sister of the Hon. John W. Hu])barcl, who survives him. He was a true gentleman, always
affable, a safe and prudent counsellor, and a good lawyer. He was a magistrate for the whole
term of his life here until attaining the constitutional limit of age, judge of the county court
for many years, and served in the legislature of 1866 with marked credit and success.

XIV.
GRANBY.

BY WILLIAM SCOVILLE CASE.

ALTHOUGH Granby has existed as an independent township only
since 1786, the history proper of the tract enclosed in its present
limits antedates that period by considerably more than a century,
A hasty resume oi the history prior to the final separation from Simsbiiry
is necessary for a complete and satisfactory understanding- of the later
chronicles. The town, as incorporated in October, 1786, comprised an
area of about fifty-nine miles, with an average length of nine and one
half miles, and a breadth of about six miles. Still later, in 1858, this
territory was in turn divided, — about one third of the eastern part of
the town going to form the present township of East Granby, which
includes the famous Newgate Prison. The location of Granby cannot
perhaps be better described than by saying that it lies adjacent to and
directly south of the irregular notch in the Massachusetts and Connecti-
cut boundarv line. It consists of a hillv and irregular district, like
most of the towns which make up the northern and northwestern por-
tions of the State. Its lowlands are traversed by the waters of two large
brooks, with their several tributaries, which, coming from nearly oppo-
site directions, meet near the southeastern boundary of the town, and
together flow on to the crooked Farmington River about three miles
distant. The soil is generally sandy, although the well-watered lowlands
are as fertile as those of the adjacent towns. Farming is the prevailing
occupation of the people, the distance from good water-power, as well
as from railroad conveniences, rendering the place undesirable for
manufacturing purposes. Copper in quantities too small to warrant
the expense of mining is an indigenous product, and traces of iron
have likewise been found in sufficient quantities to arouse the enthu-
siasm of enterprising people ; but Granby mining ventures, of what-
ever description, have so far proved most dismal failures to all who have
embarked in them. Although nothing definite is known concerning
the earliest period of the town's history, yet there is good reason for
supposing that the first house in the tOAvn stood at the Falls, — now
in East Granby, and a little less than a mile north of the village of
Tariffville. This was occupied by John Griffin as early as 1664, and
he may with reasonable certainty be called the first settler. He held
the first Indian deed, given by Manahanoose on account of the Indians
having set fire to some of his tar, which he manufactured in considera-
ble quantities.^ The next settlers in the town located at Salmon Brook,

^ See history of Simsburj'.

230 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Granby proper, and the first house there stood near the present resi-
dence of Mr. Dennison Case. Daniel Hays, of Indian fame, lived, about
1720, in a house which stood " below the hill," and near the present
home of Mr. Joseph Sanford. It is also generally supposed that a
block-house was erected still farther south, immediately in the rear of
the house lately occupied by Mr. Charles Pettibone, where the settlers
flocked in times of danger, and when in fear of any outbreak from the
savage proprietors of the country.

Little by little the wildness of the country took on a more civilized
air. First of all it was necessary that there should l)e roads. Means
of communication must be had with neighbors, and with the adjoining
towns. As in all early settlements in new countries, these roads were
at first simply footpaths. One of the first public highways was a road
from Barn-door Hills, in the western part of the town, to Wilcox's mill,
which was located near the present site of the New Haven and Northamp-
ton Railroad depot. Another road ran from near the residence of Mr.
Dennison Case to the same mill, and still another lay between Barn-door
Hills and the house now occupied by Mr. Orlando Smith. These high-
ways were of the most primitive sort, and were constructed only as the
strict necessities of the occasion required. Fear of the Indians, which
is the one omnipresent and unquestioned factor in all our colonial
history, seems to have been present at this period among the settlers,
and, unfortunately, with excellent reason. Frequent attacks and mur-
derous outbreaks kept these unfortunate pioneers in a perpetual state
of alarm ; and their energies at this time seem rather to have been
devoted to measures of personal safety than to matters of public interest
and improvement.

In the early days of the settlement the Indians were never slow to
take advantage of its weak state, and many acts of depredation and
malicious deviltry took place. The most noteworthy of these was
probably the capture of Daniel Hays,i an early settler, alluded to
before. Hays, as has been stated, lived at Salmon Brook. At that time
a young man of twenty -two or twenty- three years, he was captured on his
way to the pasture in search of his horse. The three Indians who had
thus lain in wait for him immediately bound their captive and started
for the north. A general alarm was soon spread among the settlers,
and a party made up of men from his own town and the neighboring
town of Windsor was soon scouring the woods in search of the savages.
All their efforts were vain, however, and in the mean time the captive
was hurried on to Canada, treated with all manner of insults and in-
dignities. After a journey of nearly thirty days he was brought to a
great Indian encampment on the Canada border. Here he was com-
pelled to " run the gauntlet," which terrible ordeal he was fortunate
enough to pass through alive, and was at length by unusual good
fortune adopted into an Indian family. After a lapse of several years
he was sold to a Frenchman at Montreal, who took pity on him and
allowed him the privilege of purchasing his own freedom after a service
of some years. He returned to his family after an absence of about
seven years, and lived from that time in an uninterrupted course of
peace and happiness. He died in 1756, and was buried in the cemetery

1 The narrative here given is taken, in its essential details, from the excellent account
given by Mr. Phelps in his " History of Simsbury, Granby, and Canton."

GRANBY. 231

at Salmon Brook, where his grave may yet be seen, marked by one of
the curious little red freestone slabs of that period.

The work of settlement and population was very slow and discour-
aging. Records show that as late as 1709 there w^ere only eleven fami-
lies settled within the present boundai'ies of the town. It has been
afifirmed that frequent Indian outbreaks kept the place entirely deserted
for considerable periods of time. As the town grew in numbers and
strength, however, apprehension of dangers from these sources gradu-
ally disappeared, and the population seems to have increased with con-
siderable rapidity, as in 1736 two ecclesiastical societies were established,
called respectively the Northeast and Northwest societies. It must be
remembered that all public measures prior to 1786 were carried out only
with the approval of the town of Simsljury, of which the settlements at
the Falls and at Salmon Brook and Turkey Hills were a part. The
" meetings " of the Northwest or Salmon Brook Society were held for a
time in the house of Daniel Hays, which was also used as a tavern ;
but in 1739 a meeting of this society was convened to adopt measures
for building a meeting-house. Local feeling was strong, and the
General Assembly was at length referred to, in order to settle disputes
and decide upon a location for the new building. This august body
appointed a committee, in accordance with whose report the site finally
adopted was upon Seminary Hill, at Salmon Brook. This result of out-
side arbitration seems to have by no means put an end to internal dis-
sensions, however ; for in 1775 the building was taken down and rebuilt
on a spot designated by another committee of arbitration, some two miles
north of its first location. This in turn was taken down, and another
building erected in 1834, which is still standing, and is occupied by the
First Society.

In these earliest years of the Northwest Society the congregation did
not feel able to support a minister, and the " meetings " were con-
ducted by the " brethren " alternately, with an occasional sermon from
some ordained minister whenever it was practicable to secure such a
rara avis for one or more Sundays. This state of affairs lasted for fif-
teen or sixteen years, until the little parish had so grown in numerical
and financial strength that the church-goers felt warranted in keeping
a shepherd of their own.

The first settled minister of the original Northwest Society was the
Rev. Joseph Strong, ordained 1752 and dismissed 1779. Mr. Strong
probably organized the church. He " used Watts' Psalms, and cate-
chized the children," receiving as compensation for his ministerial
labors a salary of <£50, his fire-wood, and the use of the parsonage,
which stood on the site of the old Jewett place, now owned by the
Hon. T. M. Maltbie. The magnificent elms which are now standing
at this place were probably set out by Mr. Strong. Before his dis-
missal some trouble arose in regard to his salary, owing to the deprecia-
tion of currency during the war. He removed to Williamsburg, Mass.,
and remained there engaged in his labors until his death.

The Rev. Israel Holly succeeded him in the parish, in October, 1784,
remaining until 1793, when he in turn gave way to the Rev. Isaac
Porter, who was ordained in June, 1794, and remained in the pastorate
for more than thirty-eight years. Mr. Porter experienced many difii-
culties during his long ministry. It would seem, from appearances,

232 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

that he was a strict disciplinarian, and ruled his congregation with a
rod of iron. Members were disciplined for absenting themselves from
church services, and much dissatisfaction followed. At last Simeon
Holcomb brought specific charges against the church, criticising the
manner in which the sacrament was administered, complaining that
the pastor had not been ordained and was not supported " in the Gospel
way," and avowing that the church was impure and corrupt in many of
its members. After Mr. Porter's dismissal he lost his property, and
became dependent for his support upon the generosity of individuals ;
the church, be it said to her shame, withholding her aid, in spite of his
long and faithful pastorate. His successor, the Rev. Charles Bentley,
was pastor from 1833 to 1839. Mr. Bentley consented to settle in
Granby only on condition that a new church be erected ; and the present
edifice was completed early in his pastorate.

The next pastor Avas the Rev. Chauncey D. Rice, who served in that
capacity from 1839 to 1841. A new parsonage was built for Mr. Rice,
adjoining the present church building. The Rev. Israel P. Warren was
his successor. He was ordained in 1842. Mr. Warren was considered
rather " liberal " in his theology, and, after the manner of his kind, his
pastorate was marked by contests between himself and the more con-
servative element. He afterward removed to Boston, and rose to con-
siderable eminence in his profession. After his dismissal the pulpit
was filled for some time by " supplies," and not until 1855 was the
next regular minister ordained. This was the Rev. William Gilbert,
who remained in charge until 1863. The Rev. Thomas D. Murphy
(Yale, 1863) was ordained in 1866, the Rev. Dr. Leonard Bacon, of
New Haven, preaching tlie ordination sermon. Mr. Murphy was pas-
tor of the church until 1871. Shortly after the organization of the
South Church at Salmon Brook in 1872 Mr. Murphy became its pastor,
and remained as such until 1880. The Rev. William Hammond suc-
ceeded him in the pastorate of the First Church, and remained two
years. Mr. Hammond was followed by the Rev. James B, Cleaveland,
the present pastor. At the South Church the pulpit "was filled, after
Mr. Murphy's dismissal, by the Rev. George W. Griffith, at that time a
student in the Yale Theological Seminary. Upon his graduation
(1881) Mr. Griffith became the pastor of the church, remaining in that
position one year. He was succeeded by the Rev. W. D. McFarland,
who left at the expiration of a year's service to accept a position upon
the staff of " The Gospel in All Lands," a religious paper published at
Baltimore. From the time of Mr. McFarland's dismissal the church
has had no settled pastor.

The Northeast, or, as it came to be called, the Turkey Hills Society
is described in the history of East Granby.

An Episcopal church was begun in 1792, although not finished
until 1800, and stood many years on the site of the present building of
the Library Association. From the small number of Episcopalians, the
parish was always weak in its finances, and never able to support a
minister of its own. The pulpit was usually supplied by combining
with the people of St. Andrew's Parish in Bloomfield, all together hiring
a rector who should do the duties incumbent upon him for both par-
ishes. The church was closed about forty years ago, but to this day
traces of its influence are occasionally observed. A movement has

GEANBY. 233

been started quite recently to reorganize the Episcopalians of the town,
with a view to testing the advisability of again holding services in the
place.

The Methodists erected their present church building in West
Granbv in 1845, and the societv is now in a comfortablv flourishing
condition. There is also a society of Universalists possessing a sub-
stantial little church located in North Granby, some few hundred rods
above the old North Church of the Congregationalists. They are
prosperous and independent enough to employ their own minister, and
their numerical strength, although confined almost exclusively to the
northern section of the town, is considerable.

The organization of the South Church, alluded to before, took place
in 1872, when a division occurred, and the people of Salmon Brook
and immediate vicinity, who formed a considerable portion of the con-
gregation, dissatisfied at having to ride two miles over a poor road to
get the benefits of public worship, seceded from the mother church
and organized themselves into the South Congregational Society. They
have never built a church, but have held services in the building of the
Granby Library Association, a commodious two-storied structure, which
was erected about the time of the formation of the new society, and
admirably answers the purposes of a church.

We have spoken of the early ecclesiastical history of the town, and
it is proper in this connection to add a few words regarding the early
educational history. But little is known definitely concerning the first
schools, and we must pass rapidly from the time when tlie early settlers
built their first school-house near Salmon Brook, to the period, a cen-
tury or more later, when something more systematic was undertaken.
In 1874 the entire public-school system of the town was improved
and remodelled. The number of scholars in each district was as
follows : In district No. 1, 111 ; No. 2, 34 ; No. 3, 18 ; No. 4, 64 ; No.
5, 17 ; No. 6, 45 ; No. 8, 16 ; No. 9, 30 ; No. 10, 27 ; No. 11, 10. Total,
372, It was at this time that the modern high-school methods were
adopted by the board for the examination of teachers. The standard
then set has been rigidly adhered to, and has resulted most satisfactorily.
A better qualified and more competent body of teachers has been the
result sought for and attained. For the year 1884 the cost of main-
taining the schools of the town amounted to 82,554.94, of which
-1625.50 came from the school fund and $296.12 from the town de-
posit fund, leaving -$1,452.89 to be assessed by taxation. At present
the town ranks fifty-second among the towns of the State, in school
attendance according to enumeration, which for the eleven districts is
now 264, a decrease of 108 in eleven years.

Private schools of more or less importance have at various periods
had a brief existence within the town. A school of considerable note
once stood near the present site of the soldiers' monument, at Salmon
Brook Street. This was discontinued more than half a century ago.
The library building at Salmon Brook was occupied for a number of
years by the Rev. Mr. Murphy, who, with an assistant, taught the
various branches of the classics, for collegiate preparation, and kept a
school of the first order. At Mr. Murphy's departure this school was
closed.

234 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

We have alluded before to a " block-house " which stood, at the
earliest period of the history of the settlement, in Salmon Brook Street.
An elaborate map of Simsbury, made about 1730, located another and
more important fortification about a mile north of the " street," and
near the Southwick road. This was known as Shaw's Fort. It is
supposed to have been erected in 1708, and was probably of the most
primitive style of architecture, — a rough block-house, protected by the
conventional ditches and palisades. In these early days of the settle-
ment no military organization was attempted ; and it is probable that
this fort was used only on occasions of unusual Indian outbreaks, when
the settlers flocked to it en masse. At this time there were but fifty-
eight houses in the entire tract which afterward became Granby, and
they were scattered over several miles of territory. Nevertheless, we
must date the military history of the town from this period ; and it is
not surprising, when we consider the rough training which these people
had in their early struggles with savage foes, to find them in after
years playing so important a part in the most serious wars which
afflicted the country. In the French war of 1756 Simsbury furnished
a company in which several Granby men served, and in 1762 a comijany
of forty-seven men, under the command of Captain Noah Humphrey,
formed part of the disastrous expedition to Havana under General
Lyman. Fourteen members of this company came from the Granby
part of Simsbury. Only two of them returned from Havana. Their
names were Andrew Hillyer and Dudley Hays. The sufferings of the
men who took part in this foolhardy expedition were extreme. Sickness
and shipwreck, — every form of disaster, in fact, seemed to be present.

In the War of the Revolution the record of the town was one in
which we may well take pride. Volunteers to the cause of freedom
came forward from every section, and in the attack on Fort Ticonderoga,
in 1775, Granby men were present as members of Captain Phelps's
company. It was during this war that the usefulness of Newgate was
made apparent, and the place was fitted up and transformed into a
prison for Tories and English prisoners. It proved its admirable
fitness for the purpose, as a letter from General Washington still bears
evidence,^ and did much good service in the cause of the patriots. After
Burgoyne's surrender, detachments of his captured army were sent
through to Hartford, and a peaceful little meadow, only a few hundred
yards from the spot where the original block-house stood, is still
pointed out as the cam])ing-ground of a company of Hessians who
passed through the place as prisoners of war. Men from this town
participated in nearly every battle of importance during the entire
Revolutionary War ; and the writer treasures a curious old razor, with
its w^ooden case, which passed through the untold hardships of Valley
Forge as the pro])erty of Sergeant Seth Hayes.

The part which Granby played in the second war with Great Britain
and the Mexican War is lost to us, although there were doubtless natives
of the town who enlisted in each of these struggles. No companies
were formed from this place exclusively. After the latter war, and
during the period of " militia " excitement, there was much interest
manifested in military matters, and many of the older citizens remember,
with a thrill of the same old patriotic ardor that fired them then,

* See the liistorieal sketch of East Granby, p. 80.

GRANBY. 235

the " general training day." This was an occasion of extraordinary
interest to the dwellers in the rural districts, who flocked in great num-
bers to the village which had been previously selected as the gathering-
ground of the volunteer companies for miles around. Granby was often
selected for this honor, and the broad " street " seems to have been
especially adapted for the warlike manoeuvres which characterized such
o-ala-davs. In the War of the Rebellion the town furnished her full
quota of men.

Everett Griswold joined the service April 19, 1861, and was proba-
bly the first Granby man to enlist, although his example was quickly
followed by seventeen more enlistments in May. Twenty more men
were enrolled in the service before the end of the year. The number
of enlistments during the following year was thirty-eight, and in 1863
and 1864, nineteen. Of these men, the greater part enlisted as privates,
and never rose above the positions of minor officers, though there was
at least one brilliant exception in the person of Colonel Richard E. Hol-
comb, who rose rapidly by promotion and was finally put in command
of the 1st Louisiana, the first white Union regiment from that State.
He w\as killed at the battle of Port Hudson, June 14th, 1863, while at
the head of his men and urging them on. Colonel Holcomb was a
man of great braverv and determination, and his brilliant record as
a soldier gave promise of a bright future.

Since the exciting events of the Civil War little has occurred to dis-
turb the tranquil sleepiness of the staid old town. With the memory
of their dead heroes fresh in their minds, the people of the town imme-
diately after the war voted to erect a soldiers' monument. Voluntary
contributions were forthcoming, and in a short period the amount requi-
site for a handsome memorialwas pledged. Then came the inevitable
wrangle over the location of the proposed monument. Every section
of the town came forward with its own particular claims to recogni-
tion. There were apparently insurmountable objections to its erection
in one place, and unanswerable reasons for its being located in another
place, and vice versa. The upshot of the whole affair was the dedica-
tion, July 4, 1868, of the handsome brown stone monument which
stands at the northern end of Salmon Brook Street.

In 1786 the town was incorporated, with Judah Holcomb, Jr., as the
first town clerk. Colonel Ozias Pettibone and Colonel Pliny Hillyer
were the first representatives to the State legislature. Until 1794 the
town was allowed but one representative in the legislature. In that
year, and thereafter, two were sent, and the two gentlemen who first
went together were the men who had up to that time alternated in
representing the town, — Messrs. Pettibone and Hillyer.

In 1858 the town was subdivided, East Granljy forming itself into
an independent town, as Granby had done before. During the cam-
paign of 1840 political excitement in Granby ran very high, and a spot
near Stony Hill is still recollected by many people as the site of the log
cabin of the Harrison and Tyler men.

The Granby Water Company was incorporated in 1868, with Dr.
Jairus Case as president. Water is brought from Bissell's Brook, and is
supplied at present to almost every house-owner in the vicinity. A vis-
ionary scheme to construct a railroad from Granby to Tariffville, distant

236 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

some four miles, also upset the minds of the villagers a few years ago.
After going to the trouble of securing a charter from the legislature,
the upholders of the scheme decided it to be impracticable, and it was
abandoned.

In December, 1876, the place was visited ])y a disastrous fire which
destroyed the principal hotel, the store of Loomis Brothers, together
with the post-office, and the adjoining buildings. A high wind was
blowing at the time, and a general conflagration was apprehended.
This, however, was happily averted. The burned buildings have not
been rebuilt.

In 1882 disputes arose between Granby and Suffield regarding the
town boundaries upon Manatic Mountain. The trouble was referred
to a committee of three persons appointed by the Superior Court,
who decided the matter in favor of this town, after a personal examina-
tion of the disputed territory and a full review of the evidence.

In manufacturing, the town has never held a prominent place. West
Granby has acquired some note as a centre for cider-brandy distilleries,
and there was, at one time, a brass foundry, on the present site of For-
syth's grist-mill.

Pegville, one of the small villages of the town, derived its name
from quite an extensive shoe industry once located there ; and a build-
ing was erected at Salmon Brook a few years ago for the purpose of
manufacturing toy pistols and other " notions " of like character.
The place was subsequently occupied by another company for . the
manufacture of knife-handles ; but it has been unoccupied for a con-
siderable period. In politics, Granby has been variable. At present
the town is very strongly Republican, giving a Republican majority of
between forty and fifty on a total vote of about three hundred. The
town is in the Third Senatorial District, and has been represented in
the State Senate by Edmund Holcomb, Republican, in 1866, Dr. Jairus
Case, Democrat, in 1868, and Theodore M. Maltbie, Republican, in
1884. William C. Case, Republican member from the town, was
Speaker of the Connecticut House in 1881.

The population of the town is decreasing. Every census shows
a loss of some scores, and the " Ricardian acre " is only too common
a sight on the hillsides and among the mountains in the northern and
least settled portions of the town. The census of 1870 gave Granby
a population of 1,517, and that of 1880 reduced the number to 1,340.

XV.
HARTLAND.

FEOM NOTES BY LESTER TAYLOR.

HARTLAND is lioimded north by Massachusetts, east by Granby,
south by Barkhamsted, west by Colebrook. It is about seven miles
east and west and al)out five miles north and south, containing
thirty-four square miles. This township was part of " those lands on
the north of Woodbury and Mattatock and on the west of Farmington
and Simsbury," etc., gTanted by the General Court, January, 1687, to
the towns of Hartford and Windsor, " to make a plantation or villages
thereon." This grant, with others made at the same session, was in-
tended to put the vacant lands west of Connecticut River lieyond the
reach of Sir Edmond Andros or other governor appointed by the Crown.
" The expedient was, in its. immediate results, effectual ; but at a later
period this grant was the occasion of a long and angry controversy
between the towns and the Colony." ^ The controversy was settled in
1726 by an agreement that the tract covered by the grant should be
divided, and that one half of it should be confirmed to Hartford and
Windsor. By deeds of partition executed by these towns in 1732, " four
parcels of land lying within said large tract was set out to the patentees
of the town of Hartford ; " and by an act of the General Assembly in
May, 1 733, one of these parcels, " called the Northeast Fart, containing
by estimation seventeen thousand six hundred and fift3'-four acres," was
named Hartland, — a name easily derived from " Hartford land." The
first proprietors' meeting was held in Hartford, July 10, 1733.

The surface of the township is broken by a double range of hills
north and south, and through it flow the east and west branches of
Farmington River. The east branch rises in Norris Pond, near Tolland
Centre, Mass. ; the west branch in Nichols Pond, in Becket, Mass.
The town is liberally supplied with unfailing springs, and cold, clear
streams that flow east and west. Hartland Pond covers about eighty
acres in the northwest part of the town. The soil is a gravelly loam,
except in the alluvial deposits of the valleys. Here and there coarse
granite crops out on the hUls. The climate is cool, with a dry, bracing
atmosphere. The natural woods are maple, beech, birch, ash, chestnut,
cherry, and hemlock.

There is no evidence of any permanent settlement of Indians within
the town, though arrow-heads and other implements found in the val-
leys show that they hunted here. The first white settler was John
Kendall, who came from Granby and built his cabin in the south valley,

1 See Trumbull's "History of Connecticut," vol. ii. pp. 95-99 ; and "Colony Records,"
vol. iii. p. 225, note.

238 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

east of where the old Bates house stands, now owned by Leonard Dick-
inson. His twin daughters were the first white children born in the
town. He moved away in about a year, and the first permanent settler
was Thomas Giddings, who came from Lyme, June 12, 1754. He made
his home on the land so long owned by the late Willis Wright, in the
southeast part of the town. Simon Baxter ^ came next. Joshua Gid-
dings, brother of the lirst settler, came in 1756 from Lyme and located
in the east parish, south of the centre, on the farm now owned by
H. Searles. Jos^hua Giddings had three sons, John, Joshua, and Ben-
jamin. John was the first wliite male child born in Hartland. Joshua,
the second son, left Hartland for Pennsylvania, where, soon after, his
son Joshua R. Giddings, the famous Abolitionist, was born. The third
son, Benjamin, was the father of the Rev. Salmon Giddings, who in
1817 organized the first Protestant church in St. Louis and was installed
over it.

Moses Cowdrey came from East Haddam in 1756, and after several
changes finally settled in the northeast district in the cast parish. He
left three sons, Asa, Ambrose, and Moses. In 1760 Jonas Wilder and
Consider Tiffany, also of East Haddam, settled on the West Mountain,
and Thomas Beman, of Simsbury, made his home in East Hartland.
Daniel Ensign, of Hartford, came in 1761. By that time the place had
thirty-seven families, numbering two hundred and twelve persons. Uriel
Holmes, another of the East Haddam people, arrived and built his
house at the southeast corner of the green at the centre of East Hart-
land. It stands now, the oldest house in town. Colonel Holmes was
a prominent citizen, and represented the town in thirty-six sessions of
the legislature. Other early settlers were Josiah and Stephen Bushnell,
from Saybrook, Phineas Kingsbury and Nehemiah Andrews, and a
number of young men from East Hartford, among them Reuben Burn-
ham, whose wife, Chloe Fitch, was a sister of the inventor of the first
steamboat.

The first doctor in the town was Dr. Jeremiah Emmons, who came
from East Haddam and settled in East Hartland. In 1775 Uriah Hyde,
from Windsor, built the first blacksmith's shop in West Hartland,
thouo-h before this, Jehiel Meacham had worked at the trade in East
Hartland. The first tavern in the west parish was kept by Eldad Shep-
herd, who came from Hartford in 1770. About 1780 two brothers,
Caleb and Timothy Olmsted, came from East Hartford to West Hart-
land. Timothy Olmsted was considered the most popular teacher and
composer of church music in Connecticut at that time. He published
a work of church music, " The Musical Oho," containing many original
tunes, such as London, Vernon, etc., long familiar to lovers of church
music.

The town was incorporated in May, 1761. The fii-st town-meeting
was held at Simon Baxter's house, July 14, 1761. Joshua Giddings
was chosen moderator, and Joseph Gilbert town clerk. Until 1795
Hartland belonged to Litchfield County ; in that year it was annexed
to Hartford County. This was an important event to the people, for
many of them were from Hartford, and from the beginning the chief

'■ He enlisted in tlic British army, and died in Halifax.

HARTLAND. 239

business interests of the place had been connected with Hartford. The
population at different dates has been : 1756, 12 ; 1774, 500 ; 1810,
1,284 ; 1880, 647.

March 1, 1775, at a town-meeting it was

" Voted, That the town will hear read what the Continental Congress did
in their Association, — this meeting being sensible that the liberty of every
freeborn American is most atrociously invaded, and having duly considered
how the Association of the Continental Congress is most happily concerted to
relieve our fears, to recover and preserve uninjured our invaded rights and
privileges — we heartily approve of and acquiesce in it, and will to our utmost
faithfully adhere to and observe the same, and acknowledge to our worthy dele-
gates who attended that Congress, that we have a most grateful sense of the
service they have done us and our country in the wise and noble resolutions
they adopted."

The list of Revolutionary soldiers from the town is not preserved ;
but there was no lack of patriotism. In 1776 a tax was levied to buy
stockings and clothing and tents for the Continental Army, and in 1781
it was voted by the town to keep their quota in tlie army full.

Hartland for many years belonged to the Simsbury probate district.
In 1807 Hartland and Granby were made a district ; and in 1836
Hartland itself was made a district, with Phelps Humphrey for its first
judge.

The first church in Hartland was organized May 1, 1768 ; but as
early as 1761 the Rev. Ashbel Pitkin was employed to preach and hold
services in private houses. The Rev. George Colton succeeded him.
The first pastor of the church was the Rev. Sterling Graves, who was
ordained June 29, 1768, at an open-air service a mile south of the pres-
ent church. He was given seventy- _^^^-^^ ^. /-?
five acres of land and £100 as a <^C^l^^^^^^ <^ i^t^£!*''t/^^^
settlement ; and his salary, begin- y ^
ning at £35, was to rise gradually ^
to £75, two thirds payable in wheat, pork, beef, etc., at the stated rate.
He died in 1772, and the next year the Rev. Aaron Church was made
pastor. He served till his death, in 1823, and was a man held in the
highest regard. He was made a delegate to the convention that adopted
the new constitution of 1818. Other pastors of \h.Q first parish have
been the Rev's Ami Lindsley, Aaron Gates, J. C. Houghton, Nelson
Scott, David Beales, John B. Doolittle, Lyman Warner, Nathaniel-
Bonney, Merrick Knight.

Because of the deep valley through the middle of the town, a division
between east and west seemed desirable and natural ; and, on petition,
a committee was appointed for the purpose by the General Assembly.
They were Colonel Seth Smith, of New Hartford, Daniel Humphrey, Esq.,
of Simsbury, and Colonel Nathaniel Terry, of Enfield. They made the
west parish include the South Hollow west of the river as far north
as Samuel Bassett's, now S. P. Banning's. The second church was thus
organized in 1780. In 1782 the Rev. Nathaniel Gaylord, of "Windsor,
was ordained to a successful pastorate which lasted until 1841. He
was a graduate of Yale, first in his class. Since then the pastors have

240 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

been the Rev's Adolphus Ferry, John A. Hempstead, Luke Wood,
Charles Grosvenor Goddard, Rodney L. Tabor, Rolla G. Bugbee, Fred-
erick A. Balcom.

The interference, or rather the regulation, of the town in society
matters in early days is illustrated by such votes as these, recorded in
1776: —

"Voted, To sing the last singing on the Sabbath or Lord's day, without
reading."

Also

"Voted, Lieut. Eleazer Ensign and Mr. Joseph Wilder assist in reading the
Psalm on the Lord's Day and other public meetings."

A Methodist " class " was organized in the west parish during the
early part of this century, holding its meetings in private houses. The
church building was not put up until 1833. The first meeting-house of
the first ecclesiastical society was built in 1764, by vote of the town.
It was used until 1801, when the present building was put up, and it
was remodelled in 1875 at considerable expense, so that it is now as
attractive a church as is often found in rural New England. The bury-
ing-ground, near by, was laid out in 1765 by Joshua Giddings and Jason
Millard, selectmen. The meeting-house in the West, or Second, Society
was erected in 1775, a very large, substantial structure. Its steeple
was put on in 1837, with a bell presented by Mr. Ste])hen Goodyear.
In 1844 a new church building was put up on this site, and dedicated in
June, 1845.

■'J

The first post-office was located at East Hartland ; the second in
West Hartland in 1827. First there was a weekly mail from West
Hartland by Barkhamsted, North Canton, Simsbury, to Hartford. In
1850 this was made a semi-weekly service. In 1879 a daily mail was
established between New Hartford and West Hartland, and Hartland
Centre (the Hollow) was also made a post-office. It has four mails a
week. The others have theirs daily.

In 1782, the custom was established of holding town-meetings alter-
nately in East and West Hartland. This held until 1860. In 1859
the town voted to build its own town-hall at the Hollow, near the geo-
graphical centre ; Jonathan A. Miller gave the land for the site, and
other citizens contributed liberallv. The first meeting was held in it
in October, 1860.

Hartland was not allowed representatives in the General Assembly
until October, 1776, when Phineas Kingsbury and John Wilder were
admitted.

Among natives of Hartland there should be mentioned a number
whose names have come to be well known elsewhere.

The Rev. Selah B. Treat, D.D., was born in Hartland, Feb. 19,
1804. He was the only son of Selah and Anna (Williams) Treat. He
received the advantages of a good academic education, and entered
Yale College at the age of sixteen, graduating in the class of 1824.
Subsequently he studied law, practised in East Windsor, and Penn
Yan, New York. His prospects in the profession were full of promise,

HARTLAND. 241

but he gave up the law and entered the Andover Theological Semi-
nary to prepare for the ministry. He graduated in 1835. He was soon
settled over a chui-ch in Newark, New Jersey, where he remained four
years. Subsequently he became Secretary of the American Board of
Commissioners for Foreign Missions, holding that office for many years.
He died in Boston, March 28, 1877, aged seventy-three years.

Judges Horace and Eli T. Wilder, sons of Colonel Eli Wilder, went
from Hartland to Paincsville, Ohio. The former graduated at Yale, in
1823, and both became lawyers and judges. Horace Wilder was six-
years judge of the Common Pleas Court and for a time judge of the
Supreme Court of Ohio. Subsequently they left Ohio and made their
homes in Redwing, Minnesota.

Judge Lester Taylor, of Claridon, Ohio, was born in West Hartland,
in the latter part of the last century, and settled in Ohio when twenty
years old. He was elected county judge in 1846, and in 1856 he was
chosen to the State senate by the counties of Geauga, Ashtabula, and
Lake, and the senate chose him for its presiding officer. He had also
been a member of tlie lower house of the Ohio legislature.

Samuel Edwards Woodbridge was born in Hartland in 1788, son of
the Rev. Samuel and Elizabeth Woodbridge, who were originally from
Hartford. He ^, ^ -s
was superin- A^^^'^^^t-tW
tendent of /7^

schools in his
native town,
and in 1825
opened a boys'
school which
acquired con-
siderable pop-
ularity. In 1834 he took charge of a large school on Long Island for
neglected children, which had about eight hundred inmates. Leaving
there, he established a school for boys at Perth Amboy, which proved
very successful. He died in 1865.

The princi]ml industry of Hartland has been agriculture, the soil
being especially adapted to grass and grazing purposes. Formerly a
great deal of cheese was made in the town. Of recent years butter-
making has taken its place. Cattle-raising is quite extensively carried
on, and in the fields there are grown the cereals and tobacco.

In manufacturing, Hartland has had the usual run of grist-mills,
saw-mills, and fulling-mills, and besides these, wagon-shops, tanneries,
a print-factory, and a paper-mill. Uriel Holmes built the first saw
and grist mill in the North Hollow on the east branch of the Farm-
ington. In 1777 Stephen Bushnell built a grist-mill on Mill Brook,
and also a saw-mill. There was another saw-mill higher up the same
brook. Samuel E. Woodbridge in 1818 built the saw-mill now owned
by Watson E. French. S. Roberts has a saw-mill on the East Mountain.
These and portable steam-mills have largely reduced the amount of
timber. Most of the mills have gone to decay. Thomas Fuller, and
afterward his son Luther, had a fulling and clothiers' mill in the North
Hollow. Thomas Sugden had a tannery in East Hartland, and Deodate

VOL. II. — 16.

zi/rmii^^

242 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

I. Ensign had one in West Hartland, which his sons carried on for many
years.

Wagon-making- was begun in 1824, in East Hartland, by Ezekiel
Alderman, from Granby. He was succeeded by Uri Holcomlj, and he
by Lester H. Gaines. In 1840 Elias E. Gihnan began the same business
in West Hartland, but went to Winsted in 1854. His brother Samuel
carried on the manufactory till his death, in 1869.

In 1836 John Ward and his sons, James and Michael, from Adams,
Mass., built large print-works on the west branch of the Farmington,
near the Barkhamsted line. They made from two hundred thousand
to three hundred thousand dollars worth of goods a year, but in 1857
the firm dissolved. Little was done with the property until 1874, when
the sons of Michael Ward began there the manufacture of paper.
They are making about two tons of fine manila paper a day.

XVI.

MANCHESTER.

BY THE EEV. S. W. KOBBIN^S,

Pastor of the First Congregational Church.

MANCHESTER is one of the four towns whose territory was origi-
nally included in the town of Hartford. It was incorporated
in 1823, and its separate history is comparatively lirief ; yet it
claims its inheritance in the historic treasures of the ancient town, in
the wisdom and valor of the early settlers whose bequest to posterity
renders illustrious the record of two hundred and fifty years. Though
the Earl of Warwick gave to the Connecticut Company the entire do-
main from Xarragansett Bay to the Pacific Ocean, prudence and equity
required the confirmation of the title by the original possessors of the
land ; the good-will of Chief Joshua being even more essential to a
peaceful settlement than the favor of King Charles. The first pur-
chase made after the arrival of the Rev. Thomas Hooker and his com-
pany from Newtown, Mass., com])rised a tract extending six miles west
of the river and three miles east of it, bounded north by the Windsor
settlement and south by Wethersfield. The tract west of the river
was divided into two sections each three miles wide, east and west.
The plantations east of the river were known as the Three-mile Lots,
and were supposed to extend as far east as the Hiilstown road, in
Manchester.

The land lying east of the Three-mile Lots was known as the Com-
mons, and belonged to and f(jrnied a part of the hmiting-grounds of
Joshua, sachem of the western Niantic Indians, who was the third son
of Uncas, sachem of the Mohegan Indians. About the year 1675 or
1676 Joshua sold to Major Talcott of Hartford, for the use and behoof
of the town of Hartford, a tract of this common land extending from
the aforesaid Three-mile Lots five miles still farther east the Avhole width
of the town of Hartford, and bounded east l)y other land claimed by
Joshua, which now constitutes the town of Bolton ; but the conveyance
was not made till after Joshua's death, which occurred in May, 1676.
The Governor and Council, or General Court, nevertheless claimed and
exercised authority over this land under and by virtue of the charter
of King Charles II., and in 1672 had passed an order extending the
boundaries of Hartford five miles farther east, for the encouragement
of planters to plant there, covering the same ground afterward sold
to Major Talcott by Joshua. In 1682, after Joshua's death, Captain
James Fitch, of Norwich, and Thomas Buckingham, of Saybrook,
administrators on the estate of said Joshua, sachem, conveyed the

244 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

same by deed to Mr. Siborn (Cyprian) Nichols, Sergeant Caleb Stanley,
and John Marsh, selectmen of the town of Hartford ; and from that
time onward till 1772 it was known as the Five Miles.

By the act of incorporation the western boundary of the town of
Manchester was placed half a mile west of the west line of the
Five Miles. The town therefore included, in addition to the Five
Miles, a section, half a mile wide, of the original Three-mile Lots. In
1842 a portion of East Windsor, com])rising an area of nearly two
square miles, and including Oakland district, was annexed to this
town, making its present area about twenty-eight square miles, bounded
north by South Windsor, east by Bolton and Vernon, south by Glaston-
bury, and west by East Hartford. The face of the coimtiy east of
Connecticut River for a considerable distance is generallv level, risinsf
into broken uplands in the northern part. Near the centre of the town
of Manchester the land gradually rises into a moderately elevated
plain, along which extends the broad avenue which is the continuation
of the old " country road " from East Hartford Street, beginning at the
corner near tlie moutli of the Hockanum River. This plain gradually
terminates on the east in the high range of hills which, sweeping
round to the southwest, encloses the extensive valley that forms the
southeast part of the town.

The Hockanum River, the outlet of Snipsic Lake, in Vernon, flows
through the entire northern portion of the town, receiving as chief
tributaries Hop Brook and Bigelow Brook. In the vicinity of tliese
streams the manufactories are located. The chief centres of business
and population are North Manchester and South Manchester. Other
settlements are Manchester Green, Lydallville, Parker Village, Oak-
land, Buckland, Hilliardville, and the Highlands.

The first settlers of the Five Miles located in the western part, in
the vicinity of Hop Brook.^ Here, as early as 1711, Thomas Olcott
was appointed to keep a house of entertainment, Avhich stood just
across the road from the residence of the late Sidney Olcott. Subse-
quently a tavern owned by John Olcott was kept on the corner, a few
rods farther south. Tradition tells of the great droves of cattle which
in the early days passed this point on the way to market, and of
numerous emigrants from Rhode Island making the journey to the
Western Reserve, which was the westernmost point that anybody then
sought.

The first general division of lands in the Five Miles occurred in 1731,
when the proprietors appointed a committee to lay out three miles and

^ Prior to any general division, lands in this section were, in some instances, assigned by
the General Court to individuals for meritorious services rendered to the colon3^ For exam-
ple ; in 1666 the General Court ordered that four men and horses be speedily sent to Spring-
field to accompany such as should be sent by Captain Pynchou to Fort Albany or farther, as
should be judged meet to " atteine certeine understandinge concerninge y^ motion of y^
French." Corpoial Jolm Gilbert was one of the men sent. For this service the General
Court in 1669 granted him two hundred acres of laud, whereof twenty acies miglit be
meadow. In October, 1672, the Court appointed James Steele and Nathaniel Willett to lay
out to Corporal John Gilbert his grant, and they, in March, 1673, laid out to him two hundred
acres on the east side of the Great Eiver, about two miles eastwardly from Mi'. Crow's saw-
mill, upon a brook called Hop Brook. This land came into the possession of Joseph and
Thomas Gilbert, sons of Corporal John Gilbert ; and in 1707 one hundred acres of it were
deeded to Thomas Olcott, Jr., by Joseph Gilbert as administrator of Thomas Gilbert's estate.
This land, or a portion of it, has remained in the Olcott family one hundred and seventy-five
years.

MANCHESTER.

245

one hundred rods on the east side, next to Bolton, the whole width of
the town of Hartford, to be divided to the original proprietors or their
heirs, according to their rate as it stood recorded on the town-book,
including necessary ways. The same year this committee laid out four
strips or tiers of tliis land, each tier being two hundred and forty rods
wide, running north and south, parallel with Bolton town line from

THE CHENEY HOMESTEAD, SOUTH MANCHESTER.

Windsor to Glastonbury. Each of these tiers was divided amona: the
proprietors in proportion to their rates, by parallel east and west lines,
reserving a strip thirty rods wide for a highway between the first and
second tiers, also a forty-rod highway between the second and third
tiers, and a tliirty-rod highway between the third and fourth tiers. Of
these four highways running north and south, the first passed about half
a mile east of the Green. The road running north from Oak Grove
mill over Academy Hill to the Bryant place corresponds nearly to the
western line of the
second or forty-rod
highway ; while the
main street from
North Manchester to South Manchester indicates the place of the third,
which separated the third and fourth tiers of land. The balance of the

unappropriated five-mile tract, lying
A » « y » between the Three-mile Lots on the

^^^y C/t<X7^<^ the former division on the east, re-

mained common and undivided till
1753, when it was distributed among the proprietors and their repre-
sentatives by Mr. Samuel "Wells, Nathaniel Olcott, and Josiah Olcott, a

^a^^'Mi^^^.

246

MEMORIAL HISTORY Oi^ HARTFORD COUNTY.

committee appointed to distribute said lands and lay out suitable roads
thereon.i

The years between 1731 and 1753 witnessed the gradual occupation
of the lands assigned in the first division. Many names in tlie list

of tlie early settlers of
Hartford designate families
whose residence for several
generations has been within
the limits of the five-mile
purchase. On the north
side of the street, extending
east from the Centre, a hun-
dred years ago were the farms and residences of the brothers, Timothy,
Benjamin, and Silas Cheney. On the south side of the same street,
also west of the north and south
highway, tracts of land were owned
by Richard Pitkin. Near his resi-
dence, a mile east of the Centre, was

the chief place of business at the
time of the Revolution. The set-
tlement contained a store, a tav-
ern, a blacksmith's shop, a pottery,
and a glass-factory.
In 1783 William Pitkin, Elisha Pitkin, and Samuel Bishop were
granted the sole privilege of making glass in the State for twenty-five
years. The glass-factory was an object
of curious interest to many who resorted y^, /
hither to witness the process of manu- /ifcJli
facture. Its ruins still remain, — the
vine-clad walls and graceful arches of the old stone structure beins: an
attractive subject for tlie artist's pencil. Some years later the business
centre was at the Green, now the oldest village in the town. The
store had a large trade, much of it from the country lying to the east.

The post-office
was estab-
lished here in
1808.2 Tj^g

growth of the
village was

promoted by the opening, about 1794, of the Boston and Hartford
Turnpike, running directly west from this point midway between the

1 For the account of the division of the land, also of the purchase of the same, as pre-
viously noted, see the Historical Address delivered by Deacon R. E. Dimock at the one
hundredth anniversary of the First Church of Christ in JIanchester, which lias been pub-
lished in pamphlet form.

2 Wells Woodbridge, the first postmaster, held the office twenty-six years. The post-
office bore the name of Orford Parish till the

town was incorporated, when the name was

changed to Manchester. At OaMand the post- //li^^f'y^A ^/I'-TL^n^y/yl-^hl aL/^ ^

office was established in 1841. It was removed

to Union Village in 1850, taking the name

of Manchester Station, which was afterward

changed to North Manchester. At Buckland, previously called Buckland's Corners, the post

office was established in 1840 ; at South Manchester, in 1851.

td
t?d

CO
I

MANCHESTER. 249

north road ^ and that by the Centre. This was an important route for
the stage-lines from Boston and Providence to New York. The public-
house kept by Deodat Woodbridge. and afterward by his son Dudley
Woodbridge, was a notable stopping-place for numerous travellers, in-
cluding judges,

statesmen, and /"""^ /-,

high military ( y/fAe/j^fi^f
officials. This ^^^n/'-^'^^^'-^y/

point was in ^

the direct

course from Hartford to Lebanon, the headquarters of military opera-
tions for the State and the home of Governor Trumbull, — Washinaton's
" Brother Jonathan." The people here, therefore, had the opportunity
of seeing men noted in the country's history, especially during the
period of the Revolution. A daughter of the proprietor of the hotel
was accustomed to relate, as an interesting incident of her childhood,
that she gave a glass of water to General AVashiugton at his request,
and received his thanks for the favor. The hotel building, now and
for many years used for a private residence, is kept in excellent
condition, and is a pleasant memorial of the past. It needs only the
hanging out of the old sign to recall the bygone time when the fre-
quent stage arrivals not only brought welcome guests but summoned
from the neighborhood eager inquirers for tidings of great affairs going
on in the world. Few stop now to think what grave questions of
national and local interest were here discussed with the practical
wisdom and common sense which characterized the men of that time.
This village, known as " The Green," — after tlie fashion of naming the
villages in the former days, — has not shared the growth of some other
parts of the town since the convenience of water-power and railroad
transportation has given the advantage to other localities. It, how-
ever, still retains the aspect of thrift, and for a place of residence
its healthful atmosphere and the commanding views from its graceful
slopes are a permanent attraction. A single stage-line does good ser-
vice connecting the old post-office with the trains on the New York and
New England Railroad at the Manchester station, a mile away.

Manufacturing enterprise had an early beginning but a limited devel-
opment in this section as compared with others. Timothy Cheney, as

well as his brother
^^^ . y^ Benjamin, was nota-

><^^^^a^^ v.^^>* ^^^^^.-^sTpyy^^^^r^^ ble as one of the first
^:>'<5^^t^.^^^<MS^<^€^iy<nria^^. dock-makers in New

England. In those
days the usual time-
piece was the noon-mark on the kitchen floor, and clocks were rare
and costly. Those made by Timothy Cheney and his brother had tall
carved cherry-wood cases and wooden works, some of which, after

1 The north road was known in the older time as the Tolland Turnpike, which also had
its lines of stages. One of tlie lines by the Green turned at that point, procecnling to Hartford
on the Tolland Turnpike by Bueklaiid's Corners, where for many years in the early part of
the century a tavern was kept. This was the rallying-point for the people of this region to
pay honor to General Lafayette when on his way to Hartford during his visit to the United
States in 1824.

^'&^^<:::^^^e^y}<^^^9?^^^^>p

250 MEMOKIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

the lapse of a century, are still keeping good time. In their workshop
John Fitch, whose invention of the steamboat antedates that of Fulton,
was an apprentice and received his first lessons in mechanics. Subse-
quently Richard Pitkin started a cotton-mill, which went into operation
only a few years after that at Union Village. ^ Still later, Benjamin
Lyman was a manufacturer of ploughs, carts, and wagons. He was the
first in the State to manufacture cast-iron ploughs in place of those hav-
ing the old wooden share and mould-board, and he was the inventor of
the iron hub, which went into extensive use in drays and other wheel-
vehicles. The excellence of the ploughs and wheels now in use is due
in no small degree to the merit of these inventions. Mr. Lyman was
also the first in this region to manufacture light one-horse wagons, —
light for those days, — whereby the good wives of that time were saved
the necessity of going on foot or choosing between the ox-cart and the
pillion. Marvin Cone, also, during his long life was engaged in a simi-
lar line of manufacture. The carriages and wagons from his factory
were in extensive demand for their finish and durability. To this
business the present firm — Cone & Wadsworth — succeeded. In 1851
a stockinet-mill was erected by the Pacific Manufacturing Company.
In 1861 this company was succeeded by the Seamless Hosiery Com-
pany, — Keeney & Colt. The mill was burned, a new one was built,
and the business conducted by C. G. & M. Keeney. Addison L. Clark
became associated Avith the Keeney Brothers in 1871, and since 1877
has been the sole owner and manager of the mill, now called the Man-
chester Knitting Mill.

Early manufacturing enterprises on the Hockanum Eiver created
the settlement called Union Village. Near the present paper-mill of
the Keeney & Wood Manufacturing Company was built the first paper-
mill in Connecticut, with one exception.^ The news of the battle of
Lexington was printed in the " Connecticut Courant " on paper made at
this mill, then owned by Ebenezer Watson and Austin Ledyard.^ In
1778 the mill was burned by an incendiary,* and the legal representa-
tives of Watson & Ledyard brought their memorial to the General
Assembly, stating their loss to be $20,000, and claiming that this mill
had supplied the press of Hartford with eight thousand sheets weekly,
and had made a great part of the writing-paper used in this State,
besides large quantities for the Continental army and its officers.
Permission was granted to hold a lottery to raise the sum of $7,500.
In 1784, on a site a little farther west, Butler & Hudson erected
a mill which afterward came into the control of John Butler. Of

1 Eichard Pitkin, who started this cotton-mill, was a son of the Captain Pdchard, of the
Revolution, mentioned elsewhere in this article. He followed his father into the army, a
mere lad acting as teamster. In 1818 he was one of the delegates to the Convention which
formed the present State Constitution. He was the father of the late Deacon Horace Pitkin,
of Manchester.

2 In 1769 Christopher Leffingwell, of Norwich, was allowed a premium of 2d. a quire for
the manufacture of letter-paper, and Id. for printing-paper.

3 The deed of the land and privilege was given to Watson, M'ho, to secure it from his
creditors, made it wholly over to Ledyard. After "Watson's decease the administrators applied
to the General Asseniblv for a committee to adjust their accounts, and liberty to grant a deed
of one half to Watson's "heirs. The committee reported that there " is due Ledyard on the ex-
piration of the partnership, Jan. 30, 1779, £171, 17s. Shd.," and that on settlement a deed of
release of one half should be given to Watson.

* Fire has always been the persistent foe of the paper-mills. Not less than thirteen have
been burned here during the last forty years.

MANCHESTER. 251

this mill Timothy Keeney, father of Timothy Keeney of the present
company, was foreman. After Mr. Butler's death Increase Clapp, Tim-
othy Keeney, James B. Wood, and Sandford Buckland, who a short
time before (in 1838) had formed a partnership under the name of
Clapp, Keeney, & Co., purchased ^„^ * ^

the mill property of John Butler's f i^^i.^jy'MZ^ /lO/PttAf
estate. This firm was the first to ^ Ji^rp^*^ r<^ j

use paper shavings in the manufnc- ^

ture of paper. These shavings, which before had been taken from the

book-binderies in New
York to the beach and
burned, were bought at
a very low price and
converted into paper at
a great profit. On the
death of Mr. Clapp this partnership was dissolved, and in 1850 it was
succeeded by the Keeney & Wood Manufacturing Company.

In 1791 the first cotton-mill put into successful operation in Con-
necticut was built in Union Village. Of this mill Samuel Pitkin was
the principal owner, John Warburton the chief designer aiid operator.
The machinery was made under his supervision, and would be con-
sidered at this day a prodigy of clumsiness. Sometime previous to
this undertaking Mr. Warburton brought from England some valuable
secrets a1)out cotton-spinning which were of great service to the enter-
prise. Tradition says that he brought important designs concealed in
a false bottom of his trunk. The spinning of cotton was a success ; and
people came from afar to see the wonderful machine capable of mak-
ing the fabulous amount of twelve pounds of good yarn in a single day.
At first the yarn was jjut out to Ije woven by hand-looms in the fami-
lies of the neighborliood ; afterward power-looms were introduced and
cloth was made in tlie mill. In 1819 David Watkinson and brothers,
of Hartford, having purchased this mill witli a tract of land adjoining,
erected a large stone mill, and a company was incorporated under the
name of the Union Manufacturing Company. In 1854 this company
erected a fine brick mill, which is operated in connection with the
stone mill.

At Oakland, in 1832, Henry Hudson, of Hartford, purchased of
Joseph Loomis the privilege already occupied by a saw-mill and grist-
mill. Tiiese he converted into a paper-mill. In 1842 the property
was deeded to his son, Mclancthon Hudson, and in 1844 a second mill
was erected. The Hudson paper-mills were managed by the Hudsons
for thirty years, Melancthon Hudson being succeeded by his sons,
William and Philip W. Subsequently the Cheney Brothers came into
possession of the property, rebuilt and enlarged the old mill, putting
into it the best modern machinery, improved the dwelling-houses, and
adorned and beautified the grounds, making Oakland an attractive
village. In former years the Hudson paper-mill filled large orders
for the United States Government. In 1878 the property was sold
to the Hurlburt Manufacturing Company, which has since been re-
organized under the name of the Oakland Paper Company. Between
Oakland and Union Village, in 1831, William Jones started a silk-
mill, which was used afterward for the manufacture of satinet, and

252 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

still later was sold to G. H. Childs, who has converted it into a grist-
mill.

Within the present limits of Parker Village a settlement was started
in 1808 by John Mather, who built a small glass-factory and powder-
mill. It required, it is said, twelve men to operate these establish-
ments ; and Mather was regarded the aristocrat of the region, on ac-
count of his ability to give
orders to such a multitude.
The powder was made by
using hand - mortars for
working the materials. Two
kegs of twenty-five pounds
each were the daily product of the mill. When fifty kegs were pro-
duced, they were loaded into the team-wagon and started on the old
turnpike for Boston, to be sold for part cash and part New England
rum. In the old time the latter article was deemed an important
force in building and running the mills. Some veteran manufacturers
remember their apprentice days, when one item of their duty was to go
to the store at eleven o'clock for the supply necessary for " dinnering
the men." In 1830 Mr. Mather sold this property to Hazard, Loomis,
& Brothers, then the powder monopolists of New England, who built
a new powder-mill and introduced new methods of manufacturing.
They also bought of Daniel W. Griswold another small powder-mill on
the same stream, nearer Union Village. The latter privilege was sold,
in 1840, to Keeney, Marshall, & Co., who erected thereon a paper-mill,
which was burned a few years later, and then a new mill was built,
now oAvned by White, Keeney, & Co. The Mather privilege, sold also
in 1810 by the Powder Company, was bought by Lucius Parker & Co.,
who erected a cotton-warp mill, which is still in operation. Nearly
all the powder-mills have had their destructive explosions. The last
occurred in 1834, in the mills above mentioned, resulting in the death
of six men.i

In 1850 the Pacific Manufacturing Company bought of Daniel Lyman
a privilege three quarters of a mile east of Parker Village, and erected
a mill to be used in connection with their mill at the Green. This mill
was burned, and the privilege was subsequently purchased by Lydall
and Foulds, who have a paper-mill and needle-factory here, and also a
paper-mill at Parker Village.

In Buckland the first paper-mill was erected in 1780 by Richard L.
Jones, who already had in the vicinity a powder-mill and an oil-mill,
used afterward as a grist-mill, and later as a wire-factory. During
the succeeding forty years the property passed to various owners,
among whom were Joseph Chamberlain, who held it in 1825, Colonel
Henry Champion, of Colchester, Samuel C. Maxon, and William Debit,
by whom it was sold in 1836 to George, Henry, and Edward Goodwin.
Subsequently it came into the possession of the National Exchange
Bank of Hartford, and was sold, Oct. 15, 1868, to Peter Adams, who
has expended a large sum in rebuilding and providing the best manu-

1 The rpcovd of deaths kept by the pastor of the First Chureh gives the names of these
persoTis, and adds: " All but Bivins were hilled instantly, and most of tiieir bodies were shock-
ingly mangled. A leg of Avery was carried about thirty rods against the roof of a barn with
such violence as to break a hole through."

^^^^^

MANCHESTER. 253

facturing facilities. The mill is devoted chiefly to the making of writing-
paper, and is said to be one of the largest in the country.

A short distance southwest of the Adams mill Aaron Buckland, in
1780, built a woollen-mill, in which he manufactured plain cloth, woven
by hand-looms. Mr. Buckland sold the property, Sept. 28, 1824, to
Andrew N. Williams and Simon Tracy, who sold the same, March 13,
1828, to Sidney Pitkin, of Lebanon. Elisha E. Hiliiard, of Mansfield,
first an employe, then a partner, of Mr. Pitkin, afterward became the
owner of the mill. He was also principal owner of the Charter Oak
Mill, in South Manchester. Later, F. W. Clark was associated with
Mr. Hiliiard in the ownership and operation of the latter, which was
sold, in 1881, to Cheney Brothers.

Tlie pioneer manufacturer on Hop Brook was Cliarles Bunce. Hav-
ing served his apprenticeship in a paper-mill in New Haven, he came
to Hartford in 1788, and was employed by Hudson & Goodwin,
printers and paper-manufacturers. He afterward worked in Butler's
mill, and for
four years
was super-
intendent of
a mill in
A n d o V e r.
He then pur-
chased of Elisha Pitkin an unfinished building designed for an oil-mill,
which he completed ; and there he began the manufacture of paper.
His oldest son, George, worked in his father's mill till he became of
age, in 1811, when he became a partner in the business. The other
sons, Heman, Charles, Walter, Lewis, and Edwin, engaged in paper-
making ; other mills were built, and
for more than sixty years an exten-
sive business in this line was car-
ried on by members of the family.
Lewis Bunce, with his sons, Henry C. and Edgar, had a flourishing
mill, which was destroyed, with great loss, by the flood of 18G9. For
nearly tAventy-five years George Bunce owned a mill on a site purchased
of George Cheney. On retiring from business, in 1850, he sold it to
Cheney Brothers.

Another notable paper-maker was Peter Rogers, who in 1832 leased
of Robert McKee a privilege occupied by a powder-mill, which he
converted into a paper-mill, making >>^

press-boards and binder's boards. /J^ y //^

Mr. Rogers came to this country a U ^C'^^'Z^^^^ U'^'^''^^'"^
poor boy from Amsterdam, in Hoi- /if

land. He worked for a time in Butler's mill, and was a partner, in
1825, with William Debit in the mill at Buckland. He died in 1841.

The same year his

erty on the expiration
of the lease, and in 1849 erected another mill, which was burned in
1869. The Atlantic Mill was erected on the same site in 1881. The
first mill was twenty-four feet by thirty, with two stories, and produced

254

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

but one ton of paper per week. The second mill produced one and a
half tons per day, and was the first in the country to use printed-
paper stock in making white paper, extracting the ink by a novel
process. Two other mills were built by Mr. Rogers farther east, —
the first in 1852, the second in 1860. The former was purchased by
D. T. Ingalls & Co. It was afterw^ard burned, and the present Oak
Grove Mill was built on its site.

In the vicinity of the mills last named are the cotton-warp mills
of the Globe Manufacturing Company. This company purchased the
privilege in Globe Hollow, previously occupied by the satinet-mill of
the American Company, and in 1841 erected there a mill which was
used for several years in making cotton warp, and afterward sold to
Clieney Brothers. In 1853 the Globe Company purchased the Eagle
Hill Mill, erected in 1836 by another company for making satinet, and
continued the manufacture of cotton warp. After the decease of
Joseph Parker, agent, the mill owned by F. D. Hale, on the site of
the old cotton-mill of Richard Pitkin, became also the property of the
Globe Manufacturing Company.

At the Highlands, once included in the old Wyllys farm, the Case
Brothers have'established their business. In 1862, A. Wells Case pur-

....'f'c-'

ik^'^'^'i^.m

WTLLYS FALLS.

chased the privilege, and a mill built by Salter & Strong, In twelve
years three mills were destroyed by fire and one by water. Two, built
respectively in 1874 and 1884, are now in operation, making press-
boards, binder's boards, and manila paper. Two others are operated by
the same proprietors in the west part of the town on the sites formerly
occupied by Bunce's mills, in which the Case Brothers learned in boyhood
the art of paper-making. The romantic beauty of the Highlands is sur-
passed by that of few other localities in New England. On the south-

MAXCHESTER.

255

east the hills arc crowned with forest ; in other directions a full view is
afforded of Manchester, Hartford, and an extensive portion of the Con-
necticut valley. Here the stream falls sixty-five feet over the rocks
into the valley below, grass-covered, and enclosed for some distance by
wooded bluffs, — a miniature Yosemite, admired by all observers. At
the base of these bluffs are excavations that have been made for ore
(sulphide of copper), which, being found in limited quantity, was once
supposed to indicate the existence of valuable mines. In the original
division of the land, the place where the copper-mines were supposed to
be was to remain undivided, " to lye for the general benefit of the pro-
prietors." Above the falls are the mineral springs, containing — accord-
ing to analysis by Professor Barker, formerly of Yale College — a large
percentage of bicarbonate of iion, with sodium, calcium, magnesium,
and other elements. In 1869 enterprising parties erected here a com-
modious house, intending to make the place a pleasure-resort. This
building, just as it was completed, shared the fate of the mill below
the falls, as well as of much other property that was swept away at the
same time by the flood.

The manufacturing enterprise most remarkable for its growth is that
of the Cheney Brothers. Near the close of the last century Timothy
Cheney removed to a farm al)Out a mile south of his former home at the
Centre, and, improving the water-power, built a saw-mill and grist-mill
on the stream, and near it the house
yet known in South Manchester as
the Cheney homestead. When he
died, in 1795, his son Timothy re-
turned to the former home at the
Centre, while George, another son,
occupied the later house, and there
passed his life, an influential citizen
in his generation, as his father had
been before him. George Cheney
was married to Electa Woodbridge,
Oct. 18, 1798. Their children were
George Wells, John, Charles, Ralph,
Seth Wells, Ward, Rush, Frank, and
Electa, wife of the Hon. Richard
Goodman, of Lenox, Mass. Several
of the sons, after the manner of New
England boys, left home in youth to
engage in various pursuits, John
and Seth became artists of rare skill
and genius, and gave their energies
chiefly to their profession, but had
part in the business enterprises of
their brothers. Seth W. Cheney
died, greatly lamented, in 1856, aged forty-six.

A CHENEY CLOCK.

Charles and Ward

were for several years mercliants in Providence ; but later, Charles
went to Ohio, where he bouiiht a farm near Cincinnati. The brothers
who remained at home became afterward interested in experiments
in silk-culture. In March, 1836, they built a small mill known as
the Mount Nebo Silk Mill, and began the manufacture of

sewmg-

256 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

silk, — their first venture as silk-manufacturers. On the rise of
the Morus midticaulis speculation, Ward, Frank, Charles, and Rush
Cheney went with ardor into the culture of midberry-trees. Charles
Cheney conducted his experiments on his farm in Ohio ; the three
others took a farm at Buiiington, New Jersey, where they had nurs-
eries and cocooneries, and where they published for a year or two " The
Silk-Grower and Farmer's Manual." In 1841, after the collapse of the
speculation throughout the country, the brothers returned to South
Manchester and reopened the Mount Nebo Mill, making sewing-silk
from imported raw silk. From this time dates the steady development
of the silk-industry. The next ten years were years of experiment and
study, aided hy travel and close observation of what had been done
abroad. Fraternal co-operation, natural ingenuity, and untiring appli-
cation were the factors which produced success. In 1855 they made
their first experiments in the production of spun silk from pierced
cocoons, floss, silk waste, and whatever silk cannot be reeled. These
hitherto almost waste materials have by special machinery been spun
into fine yarns and woven into beautiful and durable fabrics. From a
small beginning this new industry, developed by years of patient and
costly experiment, grew to be the specialty of the business. The
present company was incorporated in 1854 under the name of Cheney
Brothers Silk Manufacturing Company, with a capital of fl,000,000.
During the same year, the growth of the business requiring a larger
number of hands than could be obtained at that time except in cities, a
mill was built in Hartford, of which Charles Cheney had special charge
until 1868, when he returned to South Manchester.

The original Mount Nebo Mill was a small building, with machinery
driven by water-power, and gave employment to half a dozen hands.
In place of this has arisen the group of buildings known as the Old
Mill, comprising the business offices, Avith various departments for
weaving, dyeing, finishing, and preparing goods for shipment. In 1871
the New Mill (so called) was erected, consisting of four three-story
brick buildings, each two hundred and fifty feet long and connected by
a common front. The Lower Mill is a third group, comprising a large
carpenter's shop and the building formerly used for velvet-weaving.
Near by are also the gas-works for lighting the mills and the whole
village. Cheney's Hall is a spacious brick building which serves an
important purpose as a place of meeting for religious, literary, and
social occasions. In the third story is the armory of Company G, First
Regiment Connecticut National Guard. The public library and reading-
room, till recently occupying the basement, have been removed to a
commodious building specially provided. The number of names on
the Cheney pay-rolls lias increased from the original half-dozen to over
fifteen hundred. The mills are models of order and convenience in
their internal arrangements, while their attractive surroundings mani-
fest the same taste and care that appear alike in the private grounds
and residences of the proprietors and in the comely cottages and
shaded avenues of the village.

In 18(39 the Cheney Brothers built between South Manchester and
North Manchester the branch railroad connecting with what is now the
New York and New England Railroad. This line, from the date of its
opening as the Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill road in 1850, to the

^ MANCHESTER. 259

present time, when eight or more passenger-trains each way daily con-
nect the villages with Hartford, New York, Providence, and Boston, has
been an important factor in the growth of the town, to which also the
branch road has contributed in no small degree.

At the time of the final division of the five-mile purchase in 1753,
a considerable number of settlers had located here, and they had
preaching a part of the time. Since 1748 they had been allowed their
proportion of the ministers' rate, not exceeding three months in the
year. Prior to 1748 they had paid their rate wholly to the Third Soci-
ety of Hartford, now the First Society of East Hartford. The minis-
ter of this society and those of other neighboring parishes rendered
service to the people of the Five Miles by occasional preaching, baptiz-
ing their children, and attendance at marriages and funerals. In May,
1772, the ecclesiastical society was established by the General Court,
and named the Ecclesiastical Society of Orford.^ The hrst meeting-
was held Aug. 13, 1772, — Captain Josiah Olcott, moderator, Timothy
Cheney, clerk. The first action of the society was a vote to build a
" meeting-house for publick worship," and to raise for this object three-
pence on the pound on the list in money, and ninepence on the pound
in grain or labor, to be paid in 1773. Timothy Cheney, Richard Pitkin,
and Robert McKee were chosen a committee to receive the above grants
and improve them for the purpose named. Captain Josiah Olcott and
Ensign Solomon Oilman were chosen agents to apply to the General
Assembly for a tax on the land of non-residents. Also an agent was
chosen to apply to the county court for a committee " to affix a place
in said society for to build

a meeting-house on." "The C^ ^ */)

bigness of the meeting-house " /^j^^C/^T^^yj' J^AJ/T'''^^'^^^
by a subsequent vote was de- C^ /r

termined to be fifty-four feet ^

by forty. The house in which this society meeting was held, and which
had been used for a considerable time for religious services, called
afterward the " old meeting-house," stood under the oak-trees in the
thirty-rod highway, about eight rods east of the present site of the
Centre Church.

The enterprise of building the new house was one of serious magni-
tude. The first difficulty was to fix the location. The committee
appointed by the county court fixed upon a site which the society de-
clined to accept. A request for another committee was refused ; where-
upon, at the May session in 1773, Messrs. Timothy Cheney, Richard
Pitkin, and Ward Woodbridge, agents for Orford society, presented a
memorial to the General Assembly, setting forth that

" Their Honors, in tender regard for the happiness and welfare of the memo-
rialists, were pleased to establish them as an Ecclesiastical Society, and that
they soon agreed in due form to build a meeting-house, and applied to the
County Court for a committee to affix a place for that purpose ; that said Com-
mittee came out and affixed a place without notice to the east part of the
society, and that they fixed on a side hill in a very inconvenient and very dis-
gusting place ; praying that the stake may be stuck further east, at or near the
point where the four roads come togetlier."

1 From Orford in England ; or tbus, — Winds- Or, Hart-/or<Z.

260 MEMOEIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

The objectionable site was a few rods west of the present crossing of
the branch railroad to South Manchester. After long discussion upon
this memorial in both houses, a committee was appointed, who, after
thoroughly viewing the premises, established the site according to the
desire of the memorialists. The obstacles in the way of buildhio- were
still more formidable. The work was undertaken "^on the eve of the
troublous times of the Revolutionary War, and the result contemplated
by the society's vote in 1772 was not fully realized till twenty years
afterward. In 1777 the first grant had not all been paid, and the
frame, which then had just been raised, remained for a considerable
time without being enclosed. In 1779 it was voted to raise one shilling
on the pound to be laid out in covering the meeting-house. This house
with only its board covering and its rough slab or"])lank seats, with no
provision for heating, was the Sabbath home of the church, which was
organized on the 29th of July, with eighteen members, — sixteen men
and two women. The society was moved doubtless to this step toward
completing the building by the prospect of having a duly organized
church and a settled minister. Further progress toward completing
the house was delayed for several years. This was the darkest period
of the war. About this time New Haven and East Haven were plun-
dered by the British, and Fairfield, Norwalk, and Green's Farms were
wantonly burned. Nothing was decisive in military affairs, and every-
thing pertaining to the final result of the great struggle seemed to hang
in doubt. It was a time of great financial embarrassment. Conti-
nental money had depreciated in value till one dollar in silver was
worth sixteen dollars of currency, and six months later one dollar in
silver was worth forty in currency. About this time the sum of £1,300
was raised by the society as the yearly outlay on the highways, and
the allowance to each man for labor thereon was twenty dollars per day.
After long delay, however, the matter of finishing the meeting-house
was again taken up ; eighty-nine persons sul^scribed for the purpose
sums varying from £1 to <£13, and on May 20, 1794, twenty-one years
after the Assembly's committee had set the stake, it was "Voted, 'That
the Society is satisfied with the repairing and finishing of the meeting-
house in the parish of Orford as })er instruction given to the committee
to finish said house, provided the pew doors are well hung and the red
paint covered on the front side of said house." This was the house
which the Rev. Mr. Northrop referred to thirty-six years later as
having been " finished after the approved models of ancient incon-
venience and discomfort." It had its high pulpit, broad sounding-
board, lofty galleries, and square high-backed pews, the true conception
of which was suggested to a five-year old lad when taken fur the first
time to the Sunday school. Becoming restless during the exercises,
he went into the aisle, saying to his attendant, who thought he had
started for home, " I 'm only goin' into the next pew." This house
was occupied until 1826. A new one was then erected on nearly the
same ground, of better architecture, but like the former in its inter-
nal order as to pulpit, galleries, and pews. In 1840 the latter house
was reconstructed within, and raised so as to admit of a basement cor-
responding in size with the audience-room above. It had an open
portico, with stone steps along the entire front. In consideration of five
hundred dollars paid by the town, the basement was used thereafter

MANCHESTER. 261

for the transaction of public business. Prior to 1826 the town-meet-
ings were held in the old church. From 1826 to 1840 they were
held for some years in the Methodist meeting-house, and occasionally
at the house of George Rich. In 1879 the society sold the meeting-
house to the town ; it was removed about eight rods west, and put in
good order for public use. The same year the present house of worship
was built. It was dedicated on the 3d of December, and on the next
day the centennial anniversary of the organization of the church was
celebrated. On this occasion about six hundred persons were present,
some having come from afar to commemorate the faith and sacrifices of
those who here laid the foundations on which three generations have
been permitted to build.

The first pastor, the Rev. Benajah Phelps, was settled in 1781. He
was paid a "settlement of £150, and an annual salary of £100,"
payable in money or in produce, according to the late regulation act ;
namely, " wheat at 6s. per bushel, rye at 4s., corn at 3s., and all other
articles agreeable." - ^

Mr. Phelps was a _^/^ ^v

native of Hebron, a
graduate of Yale Col-
lege, and before his
settlement here had preached thirteen years at Cornwallis, Nova Scotia.
He was dismissed in 1793, but did not remove his residence. He died
Feb. 10, 1817, aged seventy-nine. The Rev. Salmon King was settled
in 1800, and after a ministry of eight years removed to Bradford
County, Pennsylvania, where at first he itinerated in the forests and
at length gathered a church to which he ministered twenty-five years,
till his death, in 1839, at the age of sixty-eight. The pastorate of the
Rev. Elislia B. Cook, from 1814 to 1823, was distinguished by a remark-
able revival of the church from a condition of almost suspended anima-
tion, and by the sad circumstances of his decease. He was drowned in
attempting to cross a stream while assisting a neighbor in the hay-field.
Thus in the prime of manhood, at the age of thirty-six, his career of
unusual activity and usefulness was abruptly closed. The pastorate of
the Rev. Bennett F. Northrop, from 1829 to 1850, was the longest in
the history of the church.^

In 1785 Thomas Spencer invited the Rev. George Roberts, a Method-
ist itinerant, to preach at his house ; and soon after, a class of six per-
sons was formed. From this germ have grown the two flourishing
churches in the town. The church grew in numbers and strength,

1 A notice of the pastors of the First Church may be fouml in the published account of
the One Hundredth Anniversary; also of ministers who have gone forth from the parish, whose
names are as follows: Allen Olcott, Rodolphus Landfear, Anson Gleason, Nelson Bishop, Ralph
Perry, Chester S. Lyman, Allen B. Hitchcock, Elisha \V. Cook, Frederick Alvord, John B.
Griswold, Charles Griswold, Charles N. Lyman. Mr. Gleason was a second " apostle to the
Indians," having spent over thirty-six years as a teacher and preacher among the Choctaws,
Senecas, and Mohegans. Chester S. Lyman has been for many years a professor in Yale Col-
lege. There are those who recall the ardor of his early pursuit of science, when, a boy, he
studied the stars from the observatories of our eastern hills, constructing his own telescopes
and mathematical instruments. Of other natives of the town, Frederick W. Pitkin was a
graduate of Wesleyan University in 1858, settled as a lawyer in Milwaukee, "Wis., removed to
Colorado, and became Governor of that State. Wilbur Fisk Loomis was a graduate of Wes-
leyan University in 1S51 ; became pastor of the Congregational Church, Shelburne Falls,
Mass.; engaged in the service of the Christian Commission during the War of the Rebellion ;
and died Jan. 6, 1864, in Nashville, Tenn.

262 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

sometimes through powerful revivals affecting the whole community,
as in 1814 and 1821. In 1822 a new house of worship was built at
the Centre.

In 1850 the growth of the north village had become such as to re-
quire stated religious services. The Second Congregational Cliurch was
formed, and its house of worship dedicated Jan. 8, 1851. This church,
growing steadily from the beginning, celebrated its twenty-fifth anni-
versary in 1876. The Methodists residing in North Manchester, follow-
ing the example of the Congregationalists, also organized a church and
built a new house of worship in 1851, — the two churches thus resuming
relations similar to those of the two parent churches in former years.
About two years later the Methodist society disposed of their church
property at the Centre, and erected the present house of worship on a
very eligible site at South Manchester.

Early in this century a Baj)tist church was organized, holding ser-
vices in a meeting-house, in which also a school was kept, on the trian-
gular plot a short distance south of the town-liouse. A second house
was built farther north ; but after some years religious service was dis-
continued and the house was sold and removed.

The Protestant Episcopal Church held services first in 1843 at North
Manchester. St. Mary's Parish was organized in 1844. In the course
of years the place of worship was changed to other points, — Oakland,
the Green, and the Centre. From 1874 to 1883 services were held in the
Centre academy building. A new and convenient church edifice was
erected in 1883, — the church home of the present flourishing parish.

The Roman Catholic Church has a large membership, with two
houses of worship. Its religious services were first held at North
Manchester, where St. Bridget's Church was erected in 1858. The
large and commodious church edifice, known as St. James's Church,
erected at South Manchester in 1876, is delightfully located, and is an
ornament to the village.

^to'-

The first school within the present limits of the town was estab-
lished in 1745. The third society of Hartford " Voted, That those per-
sons living on the Five Miles of land in this society have their ratable
part of school money improved among themselves by direction of
the school committee, from time to time, until the society shall order
otherwise." Josiah Olcott was the first committee ; and the school
was near his house, which stood on the site of the residence of the late
Sidney Olcott. In 1751 the society passed a vote authorizing several
schools on the Five Miles as follows ; namely, one to accommodate Lieu-
tenant Olcott, Sergeant Olcott, the Simondses, and those living near
them ; one on Jamb-Stone Plain ;i one near Ezekiel Webster's; one in
the Centre, between Sergeant Samuel Gaines's and Alexander Kecney's ;
and one near Dr. Clark's. AVhen the Ecclesiastical Society of Orford
was established, the schools and highways, as well as church affairs,
were under its supervision. In October, 1772, the society " Voted, That
when any school district in the society shall keep up a master-school
three months in the year they shall be entitled to their proportion of
the publick money according to their list, and proportionately for shorter

^ The north part of Buckland, where the quarries are located. The use to which the stone
was once applied in building suggested the name.

MANCHESTER. 263

terms." At the same time it was voted to set out the society of Orford
into school districts, which were numbered and named as follows : first,
or middle ; second, or west ; third, or southwest ; fourth, or south ;
fifth, or east ; sixth, or north. ^

In 1795 the General Assembly provided for the formation of school
societies. The first meeting of the school society of Orford was held
Oct. 31, 1796, — Deacon Joseph Lyman, moderator, Dr. George Gris-
wold, clerk. The principal business of the annual meeting of the school
society was the appointment of committees. In the list of school
visitors at the beginning of the century we find the names of the
Rev. Salmon King, the Rev. Allen Olcott, Dr. George Griswold, Moses
Gleason, Richard Pitkin, Timothy Cheney, Deodat Woodbridge, Joseph
Pitkin, Alexander M'Lean.

In the early history of the society the district school furnished the
only opportunity for education, except the occasional select school, and
private instruction sometimes given by the minister. Before the days
of seminaries and high schools the village academy, usually under the
direction of a board of trustees, was a useful institution. In this town,
thirty years ago, two imposing academy buildings might be seen, — one
at the Centre, the other on the eminence eastward, from its command-
ing site a prominent object of observation. A stranger might have in-
quired the meaning of these two institutions in such close proximity.
His natural and true inference would have been the zeal of the people
in the cause of education. He might also have judged with equal truth
that there once existed in tlie town an East and a West, that on occasion
were accustomed to differ ; and in the matter of locating the academy,
the difference was about three fourths of a mile. At that time there
was no committee of the General Assembly, as in 1773, to set the stake.
However, the academies served a noble purpose. In them able in-
structors dispensed their stores of knowledge, and many educated in
these schools are doing grand work in the world. But the schools
were long ago given up. The increasing efficiency of our public-school
system has superseded the village academy.

The public schools in the town at present comprise one school with
six departments at North Manchester, one with eight departments at
South Manchester, three with two departments each and four with one
department each in other districts. The larger schools are open to
pupils from all the districts. The number of children between four
and sixteen years of age was in 1830, 497 ; in 1840, 517 ; in 1850, 584 ;
in 1860, 812 ; in 1870, 872 ; in 1880, 1,587 ; in 1884, 1,675.

The incorporation of the town was a matter seriously agitated as
early as 1812. From that time till 1823 the annual meetings of the
town of East Hartford were held alternately with the First Society and
at the meeting-house in Orford Parish. Opposition to the act of incor-
poration was made by the people of East Hartford for the same reason
that the formation of the Ecclesiastical Society was opposed in 1772 ;
namely, that the boundary line did not correspond with that of the

^ The order of school districts established in 1859 corresponds with the present order ;
namely : 1. Northeast (Oakland); 2. East (the Green); 3. Southeast (Porter district); 4. South;
5. Southwest; 6. West ; 7. Northwest (Buckland); 8. North (North Manchester) ; 9. Centre,
including South Manchester.

264 MEMOEIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

original five-mile purchase. The latter boundary is near the Hillstown
road, in Spencer Street. The town boundary agreeing with that of
Orford society is half a mile farther west, about eighty rods beyond the
cemetery.

The first meeting of the town of Manchester was held June 16, 1823.
Dudley Woodbridge was chosen town clerk ; George Cheney, Martin

Keeney, and Joseph Noyes, select-

/^ J,f/^--^^ ^^^G^- "Tl^o fii's* representative in

h^'^^^^^i^^ ^^ Crie/yi^p', the General Assembly was George
^ ^^ ^^ Cheney. Mr. Woodbridge was suc-

^ ^ ceeded by George Cheney as town

clerk in 1825, and the latter in 1828 by George Wells Cheney, who
held the office until his decease, in 1840. The office has since been
held by William Jones, Ralph R. Phelps, Ralph Cheney, Samuel R.
Dimock, and
Daniel Wads-
worth, — the
last by an-
nual election
from 1855 to the present time.

Three burying-grounds were opened east of the river prior to the
incorporation, in 1783, of East Hartford, which for forty years after
included the Five Miles. Two of these are now known as the east
and west cemeteries in Manchester. The west cemetery is doubtless
the older, the oldest stone there bearing date 1743. There are doubt-
less unmarked graves of still earlier date, since the highway as it now
runs takes in a portion of the oldest part of this yard. It is probalile
that for a number of years after the first settlement the people in
this section in many cases buried their dead in the first yard, now
belonging to East Hartford, as the family names often correspond, and
the burials here succeed in the order of dates the burials there. The
east cemetery was opened about 1750, the oldest stone bearing date
1751. This yard, enlarged in 1867, now contains seventeen acres.
It includes a portion of the diversified upland on the south, which has
been laid out at liberal expense and with excellent taste. In the east
cemetery are found the names of Bidwell, Cheney, Cone, Griswold,
Keeney, McKee, Lyman, Pitkin, Woodbridge ; " in the west, Bidwell,
Bunce, Caldwell, Elmer, Hills, Keeney, Kennedy, McKee, Marsh, Olcott,
Spencer, and Symonds, most of them of people wlio had to do with the
welfare of the ' eastermost parish ' in its early days." ^ The northwest
cemetery, at Buckland, was opened in 1780. It is beautiful for situa-
tion, occupying a plateau raised thirty feet above the surrounding plain.
Here are the graves of Dr. William Cooley and Dr. William Scott, each
of whom was for thirty years honored in the profession. The names
of Buckland, Jones, Hilliard, and others recall the memory of persons
identified wifli the interests of the town.

It is evident that the spirit of " seventy-six " was intense in this
section of Hartford in the Revolution. Several votes of the Orford
society are recorded, aljating the rates of soldiers in the public service.
Timothy Cheney was captain, and Richard Pitkin lieutenant, of a
company that went into the field. Washington, learning of Captain

^ See J. 0. Goodwin's History of East Hartford.

MANCHESTER. 265

Cheney's mechanical genius, desired his services for another purpose,
and he was ordered home to manufacture powder-sieves for use in the
army, Lieutenant Pitkin succeeding to the command of the company.
Lebanon was the headquarters of military operations for this part of
the KState, and soldiers, passing to and from Hartford, were entertained
at Olcott's tavern in the west district. The Rev. Benajah Phelps had a
severe experience in connection with the war. Residing in Nova Scotia,
he was put to the alternative of leaving the Province or taking up arms
against his country. He found means to escape, leaving his family
and nearly all his effects. Afterward, having obtained a permit to go
back for his family, he was taken by a British man-of-war, and after
some time was put on board a boat with a number of others about
fourteen miles from land in very rough weather, and left to the mercy
of the seas, but finally arrived at Machias, and never returned to Nova
Scotia. His family came to him a year afterward at Boston. In con-
sideration of his losses he received some years later from the General
Assembly a grant of ^150.

The record of Manchester in the War of the Rebellion cannot here
be fully given. The outburst of indignant patriotism when Fort Sum-
ter fell, the war-meetings, the response to the first call for \olunteers
to defend the national capital, subsequent enlistments, bounties paid,
aid-societies organized, encampment of the boys in blue on the grounds
of the old Centre Church, the enthusiastic departure, the gallant record
of suffering and death, defeat and victory, — in all this we have the
witness that this historic ground could still produce heroes worthy of
the old days " that tried men's souls." Manchester ^ sent to the war
two hundred and fifty-one men ; namely, volunteers two hundred and
twenty-four, substitutes and drafted, twenty-seven. Of the whole num-
ber the record includes killed in action six, and died in service from
disease or wounds, thirty-two.'-^ The two hundred and fifty-one men
were scattered into widely separated commands, — in all twenty-
seven. Forty were in the First Connecticut Artillery, forty-four in the
Sixteenth Regiment Infantry, thirty-eight in the Tenth, fifteen in the
Fifth, and numbers varying from one to eleven in other regiments, and
three in the Navy. Among the officers from Manchester were Captain
Frederick M. Barl^er, who was killed at Antietam, Lieutenant-Colonel
Frank W. Cheney of the Sixteenth Connecticut, who was severely

1 The Spencer rifle, invented by Cliristopliei' M. Spencer, of Manchester, shouhl be noted
as a valuable contribution of this town to the war. It was the result of patient study and
experiment, on the part of the inventor, in the machine-shop of the Cheney Brothers. The
manufacture of the rifle for the Government was carried on by the S])encer Eifle Company, in
which tlie Cheney Brothers invested a very large sum of money before the successful develop-
ment of the invention. The works, for the sake of convenience, were established in Boston.
The merit of the weapon proved so great that the demand for it exceeded the capacity of the
factory in Boston, and for a time the works of the Burnside Rifle Company, in Providence,
were also employed to fill the orders. One hundred thousand of the rifles were in the field.

2 Those who were killed in action were Captain Frederick Barber, John H. Couch,
Amandor C. Keeney (only sixteen years old), Charles Robinson, Julius C. AVilsey, and Lucius
Wheeler. The others who died in the service, of disease and wounds, in hospitals, etc., —
a more lingering but no less heroic death, — were as follows: Hobart D. Bishop, James
Brookman, James B. Chapman, Thomas Connor, Matthew Covel, Orrin J. Cushman, James
Dawley, Daniel Haverty, John Horsley, Loi-en House, Rufns N. Hubbard, Michael Hussey,
Peter Johnson, Samuel W. King, James M. Keith, Marvin Loveland, Levi F. Lyman,
Frederick ilunsell, Ezekiel L. Post, John Rynes, Watson C. Salter, John Smith, James
Touhey, Francis H. Wright, George Wright, H. T. Gray, George A. Marble, George Wal-
bridge, Geoi'ge Brookman, George F. Knox, J. Sweetland, George Keeney.

2G6 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

wounded at Antietam, and Brigadier-General John L. Otis, who went
out as Lieutenant of the Tenth Connecticut.

The amount paid by the town during the war for bounties, pre-
miums, commutations, and support of families was -147,212.70 ; individ-
uals paid $8,000 : total, 155,212.70. The soldiers' monument, standing
in the park in front of the Centre Church, was dedicated 8ept. 17, 1877.
It consists of a square granite pedestal about eight feet high, sur-
mounted by a statue of a soldier in uniform looking with firm and
thoughtful features toward the south.

Drake Post No. 4, G. A. R., named after Colonel Albert W. Drake,
of the Tenth Connecticut Volunteers, was organized July 9, 1875, with
ten members. It has now one hundred and fifty-five, and has been
from the first a flourishing organization.^

Manchester was made a probate district in 1850. The town has had
two representatives in the legislature since, and beginning with, the ses-
sion of 1882. The census of 1880 showed that the population had
passed the figure (5,000) at which by State law a town is entitled to
such representation.

Seventy-five years ago the larger portion of the inhabitants of Orford
were in the east and west sections, and agriculture was the chief
industry. Union Village contained only seven small dwelling-houses,
and tlie entire population of what is now called North Manchester
is estimated to have been not more than one hunth-ed and fifty.
From the present site of W. H. Cheney's store in South Mancheser
might be seen perhaps half a dozen houses. There was no road at
that point running east and west. A lane led down by George Cheney's
house to the house of Robert McKee, which stood on the present site
of John Sault's residence, thence over the hill to the Hackmatack Road,
which then, as now, extended east from Keeney Street across the north
and south road to Wyllys Falls. There were no stores, and no mills
except the saw-mill, grist-mill, and fulliug-mill of George Cheney ;
Hop Brook, winding down from Bolton hills, gave a charm to the
valley. On the southeast, Mount Nebo raised its wooded crest toward
the sky ; named, doubtless, from the delightful view it afforded of the
land, fair even in its primitive aspect, before it had been called, as in
later times by high authority, the " Eden of the world."

The population of the new town in 1823 was about 1,400. In 1830,
it was 1,576; in 1840, 1,695 ; in 1850, 2,546 ; in 1860, 3,294 ; in 1870,
4,223 ; in 1880, 6,462. The taxable property in 1823 was $62,009 ; in
1883 it was $2,792,600.2

1 Manjr of the facts here given pertaining to Manchester's record in the late war were
furnished by Major Robert H. Kellogg.

2 The labor of preparing even so brief and imperfect a sketch cannot be known by one
who has not undertaken a similar task. The above would have been far less complete with-
out the aid of previous researches by- Judge R. R. Dimock, and of facts furnished by others,
especially by Colonel F. W. Cheney and by Messrs. James Campbell and Olin R. Wood.

^fr^ 'i^.4Uj

XVII.
MARLBOROUGH.

BY MISS MARY HALL.

MARLBOROUGH lies in the extreme southeastern part of the
county, and is fifteen miles distant from Hartford. It was
formed from ])ortions of Glastonbury, Hel)ron, and Colchester,
which are situated in the three counties of Hartford, Tolland, and New
London respectively, and is bounded north by Glastonbury, east by
Hebron, south by Colchester, and west by Chatham, the latter until
1767 being- a part of Middletown.

The area of the town at its incorporation in 1803 was about
eighteen square miles. Ten years later an addition was made from
Glastonbury, increasing its area to twenty-two square miles ; the
average length now being live and a half miles, and its average width
four miles. It is very irregular in shape, and its rugged surface at
some points swells into picturesque hills. The northern part, the
natural boundary between Marlborough and Glastonbury, known as
Dark Hollow, is a rare picture of disordered and broken masses of
rocks rising to great heights, contrasting with wide stretches of wood-
land and waste open ground dotted with evergreens. Ravines cut this
extensive tract of unimproved land in various directions running longi-
tudinally through Glastonbury and Marlborough. These hills and
ravines were barriers between the towns until the building of the Hart-
ford and New London Turnpike. Marlborough Lake, so called, is a
beautiful basin of clear water nearly a mile in length and a half-mile
in width, set among rolling hills which rise gracefully to a considerable
height in some places. The lake is fed by underground springs, and is
without visible inlet. In some places the depth has never been ascer-
tained. Pickerel fishing has long been enjoyed here, and more recently
fine black bass have been taken. Granite quarries for home su])plies
have been opened and have yielded a good quality of stone. Black
lead, or plumbago, has been found in small quantities in some parts of
the town.

The only river of sufficient size to be dignified by a name is Black-
ledge's River, or Brook, which runs through the eastern part in a
southerly direction to join the Salmon River in Colchester. The lake
and numerous small streams furnish excellent water privileges, and
there are two mineral chalybeate springs in the southern part of the
town, one of which has more than a local reputation.

The first settlements in the town were made in the southern part.
Tradition tells us that a Mr. Carrier came up from Colchester town

268 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

and made the first clearing, on which he built the cabin that was his
dwelling for some years. He had several encounters with the Indians,

^ y but finally succeeded in estab-

^ ^"-JZ^ lishing himself as proprietor

(j^'^P^a^ y^O^^^^<^''^y of the soil. Messrs. Foot and

C^ y""'/^-— '^l^^iiner soon followed, and later

^-^ the Messrs. Lord settled in the

same neighborhood. The lands in that jmrt of the town are still owned

by the descendants of those early settlers.

A little later Samuel Loveland came from a /--^^^^C^ //
Glastonbury and built the first house in the lA/ Js^xaJ'^

northern part of the town. The first set-
tlers in the eastern part were persons by the name of Buell, Phelps, and
Owen, while Ezra Strong, Ezra Carter, and Daniel Hosford settled at
the centre and western part.

On May 15, 1736, fourteen subscribers, " hereto Inhabitants in Col-
chester, Hebron and Glastonbury," f)etitioncd the General Assembly for
a separate place of worship. " We would Humbly Shew to your Hon''* our
Difficult Circumstances.^ our Living So far from any Pis of the publick
worship of God. Some Living Seven, Some Eight miles k Several of us
have so Weakley wives y* are not able to go to the Publick worship of
God. . . . their are above sixty children in our neighborhood which are
so small that they are not able to go to any ])lace of Publick worship."
They asked tlie privilege of " hiring an orthodox minister to preach
the word to k amongst us." The residents in Glastonbury (Eastbury
society) were " John Waddoms, Abraham Skinner, daved dekason
[Dickinson], Samuell Loveland, Joseph Whight [White] ;" in Colchester
(First society), " Epaphras and Ichabod Lord;" in Hebron, "Benja
neland, Wilam BeuU, Benjamin Nelan, Jr., John k Joseph Neland," also
"Worthy Watters and Ebenezer Mudg," who were probably residents of
Hebron. The Assembly granted the petitioners liberty to employ a
minister, but did not release them from taxes for the support of the
ministry in the ecclesiastical societies to which they respectively be-
loDged.2 The following year (1737) a petition to which thirty-two names
were attached was presented. But onfe "• Benjamin nclan " appears, and
" Ebenezer Mudg " is absent ; otherwise the names are those of the pre-
vious petition. And to these are added, — from Colchester, "Abraham
and Daniel Day, Andrew Carrier, Andrew Carrier, Jr., Benjamin Carrier,

and Benjamin Carrier, Jr., David

_ // C^ ^ /^ ^r j^ju' Bigelow;" from Hebron, "Noah

Q^-IAdV^O^J f^arr (^^r Owen,IsaacNeland,TimothyBuel;"

from Glastonbury, " Charles Love-
man [Loveland] ;" also " Robert Cogswell, Nathan Dunham, Sr., Rochel
Jones, John and Deliverence Waters, Samuel Addams, John Addams
(his mark), Daniel Addams, Joseph Kellogg, Samuel Buel, and Benj.
Skinner." This petition was not granted ; but the perseverance of
these pioneers shows itself in the repeated petitions which followed in
1740, 1745, 1746, and 1747. That of April, 1747, having been received
favorably, the society was incorporated, and named Marlborough. The

1 There was no bridge over Salmon River, and old people still remember ■when it had to be
forded.

'■^ Connecticut Archives, vol. viii. doc. 20.').

MARLBOROUGH. 269

society without doubt took its name from Marlborough, Mass. ; tlie
kirgest tax-payer in the society being David Bigelo\v,i a representative
of a family conspicuous in the history of the old town of Marlborough,
Mass. Ezra Carter, another influential member of the new society,
came from the same town. ^—^^^/^ Oe-

The transfer of David Bigelow i (3/\ ^ <(jQ) /h V/y nj.^ ^
from the church in Colchester to ^}J ^^ (J'^^^y^J^-^^^^^
the Marlborough church tells us c^

that in its early history it was called New Marlborough.

On the 4th of April, 1748, the society voted unanimously " to set a
meeting-house on the top of the hill on the east side of the highway
twenty-eight rods north of Ezra Strong's house." They appointed a com-
mittee consisting of Epaphras Lord, Captain William Buell, Lieutenant
Dickinson, Daniel Hosford, Ezra Carter, and Andrew Carrier, to frame,
raise, and cover the meeting-house. Before anything was done toward
the building beyond the appointing of this committee and a contribution
of timber, the society turned their attention to the settlement of a
preacher. The Rev. Evander Morrison seems to have preached.to them
for some time previous to and after the incorporation of the society ;
but they did not give him a call to settle. The Rev. Samuel Lockwood,
who had graduated at Yale in 1745, was invited to settle, but declined.
.The Rev. Elijah Mason, a graduate of Yale in 1744, was then asked to
preach as a candidate ; and Aug. 17, 1748, the society gave him a call
to settle, which he accepted, and was ordained in May, 1749. The
church, which was not organized until the council met to ordain
Mr. Mason, was composed of such members as were in good and
regular standing in the churches to which they belonged.

The work of framinir raisins', and covering the house was now
begun, the expense being defrayed by levying a tax of four shillings on
the pound. A little later in the same year the windows were glazed.
This seems to have exhausted their resources, and nothing more was
done until April, 1754, when it was voted " to make seats and pews, to
seal said house up to the windows, and also to make two pairs of stairs."
In the course of the same year it was voted " to make one tier of
pews on the back side and on both ends of our meeting-house, and two
tiers of pews on the foreside of said house, and the remainder of the
lower part of said house to be filled with seats." The following year,
" Voted that a committee provide joice and boards at the society's cost
for the gallery floor." Dec. 10, 1756, they voted to procure a lock and
suitable fastenings for the meeting-house doors, at the society's cost.

Early in 17G1 certain charges brought against the Rev. Mr. Mason
led to his dismissal after a pastorate of twelve years ; but by a subse-
quent council he was restored to the ministry, and in 1767 he was
settled in Chester, where he died in February, 1770.

1 John, son of Joshua and Elizabeth (Flagg) Bigelow, and (according to a family gene-
alogy) seventh in descent from Ralph de Bogueh*, was born Dec. '2, 1681, and died March 8,
1770.. Several of his father's family settled in Hartford as early as 1669 and 1670, and
others soon after on the east side of the river. A deed dated Feb. 26, 1706, conveying land
to John, the father of David of Jlarlborough, opens as to grantee as follows: "To John
Bigelow, son of Joshua Bigelow of Watertown, Mass., which John Bigelow now dwells in
Hartford on the east." David settled in Colchester in 1730, but was not dismissed from the
church in Westchester and recommended to the church in Xew Marlborough till Xov. 5,
1750. He married Editha Day, Dec. 11, 1729, and died June 2, 1799. His wife, who was
born Sept. 10, 1705, died Jan. 19, 1746.

270 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

The society was supplied for nearly a year by preachers from neigh-
boring churches who volunteered their services to the struggling church,
when the Rev. Benjamin Dunning, a young graduate from Yale (1759),
was requested to preach as a candidate, and soon afterward received
a call to settle, which he accepted. He was ordained in May, 1762.

The galleries were completed in 1770. Three years later Mr. Dun-
ning was dismissed. He was afterward settled in Say brook (Pautapaug
parish, now Centre Brook), where he died in May, 1785.

In October, 1773, the Rev. David Huntington^ was asked to preach
as a candidate, accepting at first, but afterward declining on account of
his health. The society repeated their call in February, 1776, and Mr.
Huntington was installed the following year. Six years after his set-
tlement the people renewed the work of completing the church, voting
in 1782 " to erect pews in the body part of the house," also, "to shingle
the front side with chestnut shingles."

The next year they were ambitious to become a town, and ceased
work on the church. The petitions of this and the following year, sent
to the GLeneral Assembly asking for incorporation as a town, were not
received favorably by that body, and the people once more turned their
attention to the meeting-house. In 1797, after a pastorate of twenty-
one years, Mr. Huntington was dismissed, and the same year was
settled over what is now the South Church in Middletown, whence
he removed in 1803 to North Lyme, where he died April 13, 1812.
The painting and underpinning of the meeting-house and the laying of
its steps made this remarkable structure complete in 1803. It had been
fifty-four years in building, and was finished by laying the corner-stone
last. The church was without a settled preacher for seven years after
Mr. Huntington's dismissal, and during this period twenty different
ministers supplied the pulpit. Of these, Sylvester Dana (1798), Vincent
Gould (1799), Ephraim Woodruff, and Thomas Lewis (1801) received
calls which were not accepted.

The completion of the meeting-house was followed by the incorpo-
ration of the town in May, 1803, and this by the settlement of the
Rev. David B. Ripley ,2 in September, 1804, over the church. A fund
of three thousand dollars was raised during his pastorate, the increase

of which was " to be used
for the support of preaching
forever." Mr. Ripley sus-
tained the relation of pastor
of the church twenty-three
years. He was dismissed March 6, 1827, and preached for a year at
Abington (Pomfret) ; then removed to Virgil, New York, and thence
to Indiana, where he died in 1839 or 1840.

The following have been his successors, with terms of service, to the
present time: Dr. Chauncey Lee,^ Nov. 18, 1828-Jan. 11, 1837 ; Hiram

^ The Rev. David Huntington graduated at Dartmouth College in 1773, and the same year
received the honorary degree at Yale. He pursued the study of theology under his pastor, the
Eev. Dr. Solomon Williams, of Lebanon. Two years after his settlement in Marlborough,
Nov. 5, 1778, he married Elizabeth Foote, of Colchester.

2 Tiie Rev. David Bradford Ripley graduated at Yale in 1798, and was licensed by the
Tolland Association, June, 1802. He preached for a year in Lisbon, Newent Society, before
his call to Marlborough.

3 The Rev. Doctor Chauncey Lee, son of the Rev. Jonathan Lee, of Salisbury, graduated at

SC^,..,.^^^ ^.- m^rl^Ciy^

MARLBOROUGH. 271

Bell, 1840-1850 ; Warren Fiskc, 1850-1859 ; Alpheus J. Pike, 1859-
1867. S. G. W. Rankin supplied the pulpit the most of the time for
the next four years. In 1871 Oscar
Bissell was installed; he was dis-
missed in 1876. C. W. Hanna
supplied one year, when he was in-
stalled ; he was dismissed in 1879.
The Rev. J. P. Harvey supplied for one year, was installed in 1880,
and is tiie present pastor.

In 1841 the old meeting-house had become so uncomfortable that
action was taken with reference to building a new one. Subscription
papers were circulated with such success as to warrant the undertaking,
and in aljout a year the foundation was laid for the new church, two
rods back of the old meeting-house.

The last sermon was preached in the old house June 13, 1841, after
which, the record says, " It was rased to its foundations, and the
ground cleared away for its successor." The new house was completed
and dedicated March 16, 1842. The society now has a fund of more
than five thousand dollars, and in addition owns a comfortable par-
sonage. The present membership of the church is seventy-two.

The residents of the society worshipped harmoniously until 1788,
when eleven families left the church and joined the Episcopal Church
in Hebron. Lay service was held for some years in the school-house in
the south part of the town. The Episcopalians never built a house,
and in 1820 had become so reduced in numbers that lay service was
abandoned, — the three or four remaining families keeping up their
attendance at the church in Hebron.

In 1810 Seth Dickinson and wife and Sylvester C. Dunham joined
the Methodists in Eastbury ; about three years later a class was formed
in Marlborough, composed of ten or twelve persons ; and in 1816 a
Methodist church was formed, embracing forty-five individuals, among
whom were the following heads of families : Seth Dickinson, Daniel
Post, Samuel F. Jones, Oliver Dewey, Edward Root, Asa Bigelow,
Sylvester C. Dunham, John Wheat, and Jeremiah Burden. Meetings
were held at first in private families, and for a while in the school-houses
in the northwest and northeast school districts. These meetings were
frequently conducted by such pioneers of Methodism as Jeremiah Stock-
ing, Allen Barnes, Daniel Burrows, Father Griffin, and occasionally
Lorenzo Dow, and were of a character calculated to stir the staid Con-
gregationalists. Sectarian zeal manifested itself at once, and for years
a bitterness existed which crippled the spirituality of both churches.
The Methodist Church was gathered, however, from a class of disciples

Yale College in 1784. He studied law, and commenced practice in his native town, but relin-
quished the legal profession to enter the ministry in 1789. He was ordained pastor.in Sun-
derland, Vermont, in 1790 ; resigned his charge before 1797 ; preached for a year or so in
Hudson, New York ; was installed at Colebrook, in 1800, and continued in the pastorate
there for twenty-seven years. In 1823 he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from
Columbia College. He preached the Connecticut Election Sermon in 1813. In 1807, during
his ministry at Colebrook, he published "The Trial of Virtue," a poetical paraphrase of the
Book of Job, which seems to have been well esteemed in its day, though now unknown save
to bibliographers. While at Marlborough he contributed to the "New Haven Controversy"
his " Letters from Aristarchus to Philemon," in defence of old-school orthodoxy. After resign-
ing his charge at Marlborough he removed to Hartwick, New York, where he continued to
reside till his death, in December, 1842.

272 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

who having put the hand to the plougli never looked backward, and
the rapid growth of the church was a surprise to those who predicted
faikire.

In 1838 the Union Manufacturing Company fitted up a chapel at
the village, where they worshipped until they built a church. Circuit
preachers ministered to the people from 1830 to 1842, when the new
church was deeded to the Providence Conference, which sent its first
representative, the Rev. Nelson Goodrich, to take charge. The church
has a membership at present of only twenty-four. It has a fund of
two thousand dollars, and a small parsonage. The pulpit is supplied
by students from Wesleyan University.

The Baptist Church was the last to attempt organization. In 1831
ten persons resident in the town, witli three non-residents, called the
first regular meeting ; Aaron Phelps, Oliver Phelps, and Ezra Blish
being the leading spirits in the enterjn'ise. Meetings were generally
held in the Northwest School-house till 1838, after which they were
held for about two years in the chapel fitted up by the Union Manu-
facturing Company for the Methodists. The membership increased to
twenty-eight in 1838. From this time it constantly diminished, until
meetings were discontinued altogether.

The people as early as 1757 turned their attention to the education
of their children. Schools were kept in private houses in the southern
and western parts of the town for several years. Daniel Hosford
and others asked permission of the General Assembly to build a
school-house at the Centre, were granted this privilege, and began build-
ing the following year, completing the house in 1760. This school-
house was built nearly opposite the meeting-house, and was the only
school building in the town for many years.

In 1833 the Centre School received, by the will of Captain David
Miller, a legacy of eighteen hundred dollai's. This was to be held by
the town, and its income used for educational purposes in this district
forever.

In 1841 there were five school districts, — the Centre, North-
east, Northwest, East, and South, with a total attendance of one
Imndred and seventy-three scholars. An occasional Avinter school
for adults, conducted by clergymen in connection with their church
work, has been the only opportunity offered in town to those desiring
a higher education. There were in 1884 only four school districts,
with an attendance of seventy-one scholars.

The first mills built in the town were grist and saw mills. Mr.
Robert Loveland built the first grist-mill, on Blackledge's River, about
a mile north of the grain and lumber mills of the late Gustavus E. Hall.
The first saw-mill was built by Eleazer Kneeland, in 1751, on the
same river, in the south part of the town, near the saw-mill of the late
George Foote.

In 1840 there were in the town one woollen-factory, one carding-
machine, two fulling-mills and clothier works, three grain-mills, four
saw-mills, one gunnery, and two large cotton-mills, which were owned
and operated at this time by the Union Manufacturing Company.
During the Revolution the old gunnery owned and operated by Colonel

MARLBOROUGH. 273

Elislia Buell did a considerable business in repairing and manufacturing
muskets for those who entered the service from adjoining towns.

The Marlborough Manufacturing Company, incorporated in 1815,
built the north mill, and several dwellings for the mill operatives and
employes, when it failed, and sold out to the Union Manufacturing
Company. Tliis company built a number of dwellings, the south mill,
and a store, and by operating the mills accumulated a large property.
The whole town partook of the thrift and enterprise of the village,
finding there a market for wood and produce of all kinds, and being
aided materially in many ways by this company. The cloth manu-
factured was a blue cotton stripe, and was sold to Southern merchants
and planters for clothing for the slaves. When the War of the Rebellion
broke out, the demand for the material was cut off, and the mills stood
idle for some time. The north mill was destroyed by fire in 1862, and
the south mill two years later. Several dwellings were burned with
these mills, and the enterprise of the town was crippled.

During the past ten years several large tracts of woodland have been
cut; the lumber has been shipped to Boston and eastern Connecticut for
ship-building and railroad purposes. Besides this, little has been done
outside of agricultural pursuits. Tlie land is owned to a great extent
by a few, who still carry on their farming as they did forty years ago.
The young people are attracted away by the enterprise of neighboring
cities and towns, and thus aid in depopulating the town from year
to year.

Mr. Jonathan Kilbourn invented an iron screw for pressing cloth.
The first screw manufactured by him was used by Esquire Joel Foote
in his fulling-mill in the south part of the town. Mr. Kilbourn
invented other mechanical appliances, and was considered a genius in
that section, as the following lines upon his tombstone, in the neigh-
boring town of Colchester, will show : —

" He was a man of invention great,
Above all that lived nigh ;
But lie could not invent to live
When God called him to die."

Inventive genius seems to have slumbered some fifty years after
Mr. Kilbourn's death, when a number of inventors appear, Henry
Dickinson being the first. He invented a new fastening for gates,
which was somewhat used, and a washing-machine. Joseph Carrier
invented a bread-knife, and Charles Jones a flower-stand. During the
past year Charles Hall has secured a patent for a wagon-scat.

The military history of the town, so far as records and traditions
go, is of little glory. Worthy Waters bore the title of " Captain " in
1774, but this probably was a local honor, and the respect accompanying
it enforced on " training day " only. Few entered the Continental
army, and few fought in the War of 1812. In the War of the Rebellion
Marlborough furnished her full quota of troops, though few entered the
service from motives of patriotism. The only commissioned officer was
Captain Dennison H. Finley, who went out as lieutenant of Company G,
Thirteenth Connecticut Volunteers. He was mustered in Feb. 18, 1862,
and served his full three years, having in the mean time been pro-
moted to the captaincy. His only brother, Daniel B. Finley, who was

VOL. II. — 18.

274 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

a volmiteer in the same regiment, died soon after entering the army,
and was the only Marlborough soldier who died in the service whose
body was returned to liis native town for burial.

It is worth recording that among the town offices that of postmaster
was held by the Elislia Buell family for more than fifty years, and by
one member of it for thirty -four years ; while David Skinner and his
son and grandson have been deacons successively in the Congregational
Church, their terms of office covering a period of over one hundred
years.

The town has been without a resident physician since 1841. Pre-
vious to that time a number had located in the town for a short time,
going to larger fields of labor as they found them. The following is
an incomplete list of those who have practised here : Dr. Hezekiah
Kneeland, Dr. Timothy Woodbridge, Dr. Eleazer McCrary, Dr. Daniel
Smith, Dr. Lewis Collins, Dr. Zenos Strong, Dr. Royal Kingsbury, Dr.
John B. Porter, Dr. Palmine, Dr. S])aulding, Dr. Foote, Dr. Harrison
Mcintosh, and Dr. Lucius W. Mcintosh ; the latter remaining longer,
and being identified with church and town interests to a larger ex-
tent, than any other. Marlborough was made a probate district in
1846, having formerly been a district of East Haddam. Asa Day was
the first judge.

Epaphras and Ichabod Lord, of Marlborough, were sons of Richard
Lord, 8d, of Hartford, and Abigail Warren, daughter of William
Warren. Her mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of John Crow, who
married Elizabeth, only child of Elder William Goodwin. Mr. Crow

^^..^ was the largest landholder in Hart-

cV^*^)" ^*^^"^- Elder William Goodwin was

,9^2^ c^ ^7^ prominent in the early days, was one

of the original purchasers of Hart-
ford, a ruling elder in the Rev. Mr.
Hooker's church, and afterward in the church at Hadley. He died
in 1673, in Farmington, leaving his estate to his daughter. Mr. Crow
was in 1659, next to Mr. Welles, the wealthiest man in East Hartford.
On the death of William Warren, in 1689, Mrs. Warren married
Phineas Wilson, a wealthy merchant from Dublin, and on his death
continued her husband's business, and became the most extensive
banker in the State. Richard Lord died in 1712, aged forty-three,
leaving a large estate. Four of his five sons lived to grow up, and were
graduated from Yale, — the two youngest, Epaphras and Ichabod, in
1729. Their mother married for her second husband the Rev. Timothy
Woodbridge, and died very aged, in 1753. She gave the church in
Marlborough a communion-service, which was sold in after years and
replaced by a plated set, to the scandal of the town. Epaphras Lord,
born 1709, married Hope, daughter of Captain George Phillips, of Mid-
dletown, and had three children. Upon lier death he married (1799)
Lucy, daughter of the Rev. John Bulkcley, of Colchester, who had fifteen
children. He represented Colchester in the legislature from 1743 to
1745. Ichabod Lord, born in 1712, married Patience Prentice Bulkley,
daughter of the Rev. John Bulkeley, minister in Colchester, 1703 ; grand-
daughter of the Rev. Gershom JBulkeley, of Wethersfield, and great-

^ Iit^-^Uj-^

MARLBOROUGH. 275

granddaughter of the Rev. Peter Bulkeley, of Bedfordshu-e, England.
Mr. Lord died in 1762, leaving seven daughters. His widow married
the Rev. Mr. Eells, and removed to Middletown. After his death she
returned to Marlborough, where she died July 8, 1794, aged eighty-
four. Her daughter, Elizabeth Lord, married John Eells. Epaphras
and Ichabod Lord came down from Hartford and purchased a large
tract of land in Chatham and Colchester.

Joel Foote, Esq., son of Asa and Jerusha (Carter) Foote,^ and
fourth in descent ^ ^

from Nathaniel / ^ ^ Jf/J^7~ ^ '

Foote, of Weth- J/^^ <S^^i€>
ersficld, was born /"^^ C/

June 26, 1763, in t/
that part of the town of Colchester which was set off to Marlborough.
He was liberally educated, and was probably as good a type of an
old-school gentleman as any resident of the town. His uprightness
was proverbial, and his services in places of trust were constantly
sought. He represented the town in the General Assembly twenty-
two successive years, and from his general prominence won the title
of " the Duke of Marlborough." He was twice married, his first wife
beiug Abigail Robbins Lord, daugliter of Elisha Lord, of Marlborough,
who died at an early age, leaving four children. His second wife was
Rachel Lord, daughter of Samuel P. Lord, of East Haddam ; eio-ht chil-
dren were born of this marriage. His death occurred at Marlborough,
July 12, 1846, at the age of eighty-three years.

Ezra Hall was born in 1835. After working upon his father's farm
till he was twenty years of age, he determined to acquire a liberal
education, and after a course of preparatory study at Wilbraham, Mass.,
and East Greenwich, Rhode Island, he entered Wesleyan University, at

Middletown, in 1858,
graduating in 1862.
He read law in the
office of Judge Moses
Culver, of Middletown,
while in the Univer-
sity, and afterward in
that of the late Thomas C. Perkins, of Hartford, and after his admis-
sion to the bar began practice in the city of Hartford, pursuing his
profession there until his death. He was elected to the State Sen-
ate in 1863, from the district in which his native town was situated,
and was the youngest member of the body. He was again elected to
the Senate in 1871, and in 1874 he represented Marlborough, in which
he still kept his legal residence, in the House of Representatives. In
1874 he was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United
States, and argued some important cases before that tribunal. He
was taken suddenly ill, and died at Hartford, Nov. 3, 1877, after
a few days of intense suffering. He left a widow and two children.
Mr. Hall had attained an honorable position at the bar and a high

^ Asa Foote, j'oungest son of Nathaniel Foote, one of the most prominent men in tlie new-
settlement of Colchester, was born in that town May 4, 1726. He married, April 26, 1752,
Jerusha, daughter of Ezra Carter, of Colchester, died May 11, 1799. He was the father
of Joel Foote, Esq., "the Duke of Marlborough. "

276 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

place in the public esteem. He was ambitious in his profession, and in-
defatigable in the discharge of its duties. No client ever had reason to
complain of any neglect of his interests. He was always honorable in
his practice, and had in this respect the entire conlidencc of his associates
at the bar. He had a tenacious will, a vigorous and especially active
and perceptive intellect, and a rare faculty for the despatch of business.
He was, however, made for a man of affairs rather than for a great
thinker, and found his most fitting place in dealing practically with
business and with men. With a shrewdness and sagacity of the tra-
ditional New England type, he was unusually skilful in negotiation.
During the later years of his life Mr. Hall was a specially growing
man. An earnest study not merely of the law, but of everything that
would help him to a higher development of his faculties, was showing
its fruit. Professional success was still the great object of his ambition,
but it seemed to gather about itself in his conceptions higher and
higher moral conditions, — a wider knowledge, a more thorough self-
culture, a high standard of personal honor. He was for many years
a communicant in the Pearl Street Congregational Church of the city
of Hartford, and for a long time one of the most active laborers in its
Sabbath school.

Samuel Finley Jones was born in Marlborough. His father, John
Jones, served in the Revolutionary War, and died, on his way home, of
a fever contracted in the service, leaving a widow and two sons. His
widow died soon after, and the elder son went to sea and was never

heard from. Young Sam-
uel at three years of age

<^ ^^ry^^l

^— >-^— t __/ Z^tZT"*-^^ went to live with his grand-

^^ /'^ father, Samuel Finley, for

' whom he was named, and

lived with his grandparents until sixteen, receiving only a common-
school education. He was then apprenticed to Colonel Elisha Buell, to
learn the trade of a gunsmith ; and after serving his time out married
Miss Annie Strong, and bought a small farm in the northeastern part
of the town. From this time on he added to liis landed property
rapidly, and for fifty years was the largest land-owner in that section.
Mr. Jones had also a genius for money getting and keeping, and was
well known as the money king of that section for many years. The
Methodist Episcopal Church and town interests found in him a firm
friend and most excellent adviser. His great force of character, in-
domitable courage, and individuality were remarkable. He died at the
age of ninety years, the last ten of which were years of infirmity.

XVIII.
NEW BRITAIN.

BY DAVID N. CAMP.

NEW BRITAIN is one of the smallest towns in Hartford County
in extent. It is less than five miles in length, and its extreme
breadth is a little less than four miles. In the northern and
western parts of the town, the hills rise to a considerable height and
the surface is broken ; in the southeast, the town extends to the mead-
ows near the source of the Mattabesett. Most of the place is high,
composed of rolling hills and irregular-shaped valleys. The main
street of the city is about one hundred and seventy feet above sea
level at the railway crossing, and more than one hundred and thirty
feet higher than the railway crossing at Asylum Street, Hartford.

New Britain forms a water-shed, — one of its streams discharging
its waters into the Quinnipiac at Plainville and thus passing into the
Sound at New Haven ; another forming an important branch of the
Mattabesett, joining the waters of the Connecticut at Middletown ;
and a third flowing northeasterly, uniting with the Connecticut at
Hartford. Numerous springs and small streams furnish ti supply of
water for agricultural purposes, but produce little motive-power for
mills or manufactories.

The soil is generally fertile, producing good crops in those parts of
the town devoted to agriculture and gardening. The trap-rock in the
hills and that which crops out in different parts of the town aft'ord
material for the foundations of buildings, paving roads, and other
stone-work. A copper-mine in a spur of trap upon the Berlin road
was once worked, but was abandoned many years ago as unprofitable.
Lead, asphaltum, calcite crystals, and other minerals have been found,
but not in sufficient quantities to be of commercial value. Nearly an
entire skeleton of the Mastodon Americanus was dug up some years ago
on the land of the late William A. Churchill, between Main and Arch
streets.

At the time New Britain was first settled, few or no Indians resided
there. The Tunxis Indians, from the valley of the Farmington River,
occupied a portion of the northern part of the place, — Dead Swamp
and vicinity being a favorite hunting-ground. The Wangunks of the
Connecticut vallev extended their incursions within the limits of Berlin
and New Britain, and the Mattabesetts, a])parently a division of the
Wangunks, had a lodge near Christian Lane, and perhaps another at
Kensington. The Quinnipiacs upon the shore of Long Island Sound
had extended their dominion as far north as Meriden, and thev claimed
the right to hunt in a portion of the territory since included in Berlin

278 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

and New Britain. Members of other tribes sometimes made incursions
upon this neutral ground.

The Indians were generally friendly to the English, permitting them
to establish their settlements near the Indian lodges and to pass over
the Indian trails without opposition. The English were seldom attacked
by any tribe or clan in a body, but were annoyed by the thefts and
robberies of individual Indians or groups, and went armed for safety.
The Indians, by their knowledge of the country and wild animals, were
often an aid to the whites. Some of the settlers of New Britain were
at first accustomed to seek shelter in the fort at Christian Lane ; but
this was a temporary arrangement, for they soon found that their new
homes could be occupied without molestation.

It was not long after the incorporation of Farmington as a town in
1645, that improvements were made in the southeastern part of the
" town's first grant," on the east side of the hills which divided the
valley of the Tunxis from the great meadows on the Mattabesett. Some
of these improvements were within the present town of New Britain,
and the rude cabins constructed at irregular intervals on the eastern
and southern slopes of the Farmington range of hills became the
nucleus of the settlement in that part of the town.

In August, 1661, the General Court granted to Jonathan Gilbert, a
former officer of the court, " a farm, to the number of three hundred
acres of upland and fifty acres of meadow, provided it be not preju-
dicial where he finds it to any plantation that now is or hereafter may
be settled." The next year, or in March, 1662, Daniel Clarke ^ and

John Moore had four hundred
. • - /^^ / ^cres granted to them, and in

/y *H 7 -Pi / 7 ^ -r^A 1*365 another grant was made to
c^rc £-ci^ {^^ ^C^ Clarke. These grants to Gilbert,

'Clarke, and others were chiefly in
Berlin, occupying a portion of the valley now traversed by the New
York, New Haven, & Hartford railroad, but extending southerly to the
northern part of the town of Meriden, and northerly in the valley of
the Mattabesett River to the Great Swamp.

In 1672 Jonathan Gilbert purchased the interests of Clarke and
other proprietors, and made additions to the territory by other grants,
until he held the title to more than a thousand acres.^ He soon sold
the most of it to his son-in-law. Captain Andrew Belcher,^ who pro-
ceeded to improve it by laying out roads, constructing tenant houses,
and preparing a part of the land for cultivation. This tract, a part of
which extended within the present limits of Meriden, was sometimes

^ Daniel Clarke and John Moore were deputies, and also held various offices to which
they were appointed by the General Court. Clarke for several years was secretary, also clerk
of the county court of Hartford, member of the committee to treat with the Indians, of the
committee to appoint and commission officers of the militia, and of the standing council with
the governor and lieutenant governor. His name was spelled with and without the e.

2 Gilbert was at this time marshal. He had a warehouse in Hartford and estates "on the
east side of the Great River over against his warehouse."

3 Captain Belcher was a wealthy merchant of Boston, engaged in trade with the Connec-
ticut and New Haven colonies. He owned vessels employed in transportation, and was the
agent of Connecticut in purchasing "amies and ammunition" for the colony. He was also
employed by the Massachusetts colony to carry provisions from Connecticut to Boston for the
supply of the army and the colony. His youngest son was governor of Massachusetts and
afterward of New Jersey.

«^

/oO CA^n.jn. &L^ U\A (jp OKyv'\,'\M) ,

::T:o*i^BB7:-

NEW BKITAIN. 279

d\^t ^ML

known as " Merideen " or " Moriden ; " but this term was afterward
applied exclusively to the southern part and the territory south of it,
and the northern part was termed /p ^

the Great Swamp. It having ^Q^ya^Una. -/yx s^^n^-^
been found that Great Swamp (y ^7^ J^ /)

and vicinity was not included in 4;^ fxQ H^V^ ^-^tM J^T
either of the towns already in-
corporated, the General Court, at a special session held January, 1G87,

gave permission to the towns bor-

y^C3iQf~^ — /* Mj» '9::^ dering on it "to make a village
-^cau- ^ ' /o-a^n^*^ therein." i Farming-ton was prompt
^ in improving the opportunity thus

presented, and within a few months of the passage of the act Richard
Seymour and others, from Farming-
ton, were located in the northern 05^>/i/^c,^ ^o^st-^
part of Belcher's tract, at a place ^ ^^^jycwn y^^c^z^
called Christian Lane.^ This settle- -

ment was near the southeast corner of New Britain. Other families,

which soon followed Seymour and his

yf rr-?Q-^r7r^ ^ ' S^ associates, located farther north, on sites

^r ^ V ^ a7^t-*rv. now within the limits of the town.

Among the persons occupying this local-
ity were Captain Stephen Lee,
Sergeant Benjamin Judd, Jo-
seph Smith, Robert Booth, An-
thony Judd, Isaac Lewis, and

others, who were ancestors of many of the
present residents of New Britain. The
settlement gradually extended north,
occupying East Street, South Stanley
Street, and a part of the southeastern and ^^ ^ ^
eastern portions of the present city and ''Tj^^^^'^*^)C^ ofe"^'^^
town. ^^

The first settlements of New Britain were thus in two localities, —
one in the northern and western part near the borders of Farmington,
extending by degrees southerly at the base of the Blue Mountain, and the
other in the southeast part of the town, extending from Berlin north-
erly on the streets east of the Centre to Stanley Quarter, The present
business part of the town and city was occupied at a later date. The
residents of the southern and eastern portions of the town constituted
a part of the Great Swamp Society until 1754, when the new society
of New Britain was incorporated.

The original settlers of New Britain were from Farmington, and
nearly all the adults were members of the church of that ])lace, con-
tributing their full share for the preaching of the gospel and other
parish expenses. They were accustomed on Sundays and lecture-days

1 The act is as follows : " This court grants Weathersfeild, Middleton and Farmington
all those vacant lands between Wallingford bownds and the bownds of those plantations, to
make a village therein."

2 The town of Farmington voted to Eiclmi'd Seymour one pound, and similar gratuities
to others, for forming this settlement.

280 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

to go to meeting with their families, from four to eight miles, over or
around the mountain on roads which were little more than Indian
trails. The journey was necessarily made on foot or on horseback,
and in obedience to the laws of the colony, as well as for protection
from Indians and wild beasts, the men were armed. No complaint
of the distance or inconvenience of bad roads appears to have been
made during the ministry of Rev. Samuel Hooker, who was much
beloved, and was pastor of the Farmington church at the time New
Britain was first settled. After Mr. Hooker's death, and during the
long interim which occurred before his successor was settled, the
people at Christian Lane began to inquire whether they could not
have a minister for themselves. On application being made to Far-
mington, the town voted " that so many of their inhabitants that
do, or shall personally inhabit at the place called Great Swamp and
upland belonging thereto," etc., might "become a ministerial society
and be freed from the charge elsewhere." i This action of the town
was confirmed by an act of the General Court establishing a society to
be called the Great Swamp Society. The new society included the
families residing in the southern and eastern parts of New Britain.
When the church was organized, a few years later, the first deacon
chosen was Anthony Judd, from the New Britain portion of the society.
For nearly forty years a large proportion of the people of New Britain
were members of the Great Swamp Society, and attended meeting at
Christian Lane. The residents of the northern and western parts of
the place remained with the society in Farmington.

For a time harmony prevailed in the new society ; but when, forty
years after its organization, an attempt was made to locate a new
meeting-house, the elements of disunion were manifested. The society
had gradually extended its settlement and occupation of farms north-
ward toward Stanley Quarter, and to the southwest toward Kensing-
ton Street and the Blue Mountains. After many meetings the new
meeting-house was at last located and erected nearly a mile to the west
and south of the first house at Christian Lane. The distance from the
New Britain portion of the society was considerably increased, and
the people petitioned for relief. They asked that they might " have
the liberty for four months in the year to provide preaching for them-
selves," and " be excused from paying their part of the salary of the
minister of the Great Swamp parish for one third of the year."^ This
petition was not granted, and the members of the north part of the
society continued to pay their dues to the Great Swamp parish. But
they also continued to petition, until at last in May, 1754, the General
Court granted the request of the petitioners, and incorporated a new
society with all the privileges of other ecclesiastical societies, and gave
it the name of " New Briton." ^ From this time (1754) New Britain
had a distinct corporate existence.

1 September, 1705. See Colouy Records, vol. iv. pp. 527, 528.

^ This petition, dated May 9, 1739, was signed by twenty-six persons, all living in the
southeast part of the present limits of New Britain. Among the signers M'ere Stephen Lee,
Isaac Lee, Deacon Anthony Judd, and other prominent men of the parish, some of whom
had been foremost in founding tlie Great Swamp Society.

3 The part of the act referring to New Britain is : " And be it further enacted by the au-
thority aforesaid, that there shall be one other Ecclesiastical Society erected & made & is
hereby created and made within the bounds of the town of Farmington, & described as

jpiiieiK'.

^-^^^z^ &

'y^-g.^/'^^^^c^ I , iL, ;[.:) .

NEW BRITAIN. 281

For civil purposes, this parish remained a part of the town of
Farming-ton until the incorporation of Berlin in 1785. New Britain
was then included in the latter town, of which it was a parish until
1850, when Berlin was divided by a line beginning- at the centre of
Beach Swamp bridge and running north 88° 20' west to Southington
line, and in the ojiposite direction to Newington line. The books and
records of the old town belonged to New Britain by the terms of the
act. The first town-meeting in the new town was held July 22, 1850.
Lucius Woodruff was chosen town clerk and treasurer, and Joseph
Wright, James F. Lewis, Gad Stanley, Noah W. Stanley, and Elam
Slater were chosen selectmen.

At the first State election held after the incorporation of the town,
526 votes were cast for governor, 515 for the secretary of State, and
517 for member of Congress. Ethan A. Andrews, LL.D., and George
M. Landers were the first representatives elected to the legislature.

The borough of New Britain was incorporated the same year as the
town, — in 1850. It was four hundred and eighteen rods in length from
north to south, and one mile in width from east to west. The town-
hall, the present high school building, was the centre of the borough.
At the first meeting of the borough, held Aug. 12, 1850, the officers
elected were Frederick T. Stanley, warden ; 0. S. North, G. M. Landers,
Walter Gladden, Marcellus Clark, T. W. Stanley, and A. L. Finch, bur-
gesses. The first meeting of the warden and l)urgcsscs was held Aug.
12, 1850. In accordance with the provisions of the charter, arrange-
ments were made for the better protection of property and the main-
tenance of law and order. Police officers, fire wardens, a street com-
missioner, and an inspector of weights and of wood were appointed ;
provision was made for the abatement of nuisances and for the care of
the streets, and a watch-house was secured.

In a few years the necessity of some provision for a more adequate
supply of water was evident ; and in 1857 a charter was obtained which
empowered the borough to construct suitable water-works. Land at
Shuttle Meadow was bought and cleared, the right of way secured, a
dam l)uilt, and over five miles of main and distributing pipes laid in
time for the water to be let on in Octol)er of tlie same year. The main
reservoir, which covers about two hundred acres, is in the northeast
corner of Southington, about two and a quarter miles from the city
park, and about one hundred and .seventy feet ahove it. The water-
works have been extended and the supply largely augmented, to the
great convenience of the people and the better protection to property
in case of fire.

follows, viz. : South on tlie North bouiuls of Kensington parish & Easterly on Wetherstiekl town
line, as far north as the North side of Daniel Hart's lot, where his" Dwelling House now
stands, & from thence to run West on the North side of said Hart's lot to the West end of
that tier of lots, from thence to run Southerly to the old fulling Mill so called on Pond river
& from thence Southerly to the east side of a Lot of land belonging to the heirs of Timothy
Hart late deceased near ' Bares Hollow,' & from thence due south until it meets the North
line of Southington parish, thence by said Southington line, as that runs until it comes
to Kensington North line. Excluding Thomas Stanley, Daniel Hart & John Clark & their
farms on which they now dwell, lying within the bounds above described, & the same is
hereby created & made one distinct Ecclesiastical Society, & shall be known by the name of
_' New Briton ' with all the powers & priviledges that other Ecclesiastical Societies by law have
in this Colony, & that all the improved lands in said society shall be rated in said Society
excepting as liefore excepted. "

282 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY,

As the business and population of the town and borough increased,
the necessity of exercising additional powers became evident, and a
city charter was obtained in 1870. The northern boundary of the city
coincided with the borough line as far as that extended, but the southern
boundary Avas upon the town line. From east to west the city extends
six hundred rods, or one hundred and forty rods beyond the borough
boundary in each direction. Under the city charter and amendments
the streets have been extended and much improved ; the police and
fire departments have been reorganized and made more efficient ; the
apparatus for extinguishing fires has been greatly increased ; large
additions have been made to the water-works ; an excellent system of
sewerage has been adopted, and its benefits have been extended to all
the principal streets, and in many ways the city has been benefited.
At the first election under the city charter Frederick T. Stanley was
elected mayor, C. L. Goodwin clerk, and A. P. Collins treasurer.

The city government consists of a mayor and common council com-
posed of four aldermen and sixteen councilmen,- — one alderman and
four councilmen being elected from each of the four wards of the city.
The city clerk and city treasurer are also chosen at the city election.
The town government, consisting of three selectmen, a toAvn clerk,
treasurer, assessors, board of relief, school committee, and justices of
the peace, is still continued. The mayors of the city have been, in
succession, Frederick T. Stanley, Samuel W. Hart, David N. Camp,
Ambrose Beatty, John B. Talcott, and J. Andrew Pickett.

The first meeting of the New Britain Ecclesiastical Society was
held June 1.3, 1754.^ At this meeting it was voted that a meeting-
house should be built and that provision should be made for preaching.
Apparently having in mind the difiiculties experienced in locating a
church in the Great Swamp parish, the New Britain society applied
at once to the county court to have a site fixed by its authority. The
court sent out a committee which fixed the site for the new meeting-
house on the hill about half a mile northeast of where the railway
station now is, near the junction of Elm and Stanley streets.

The society at its first annual meeting, Dec. 2, 1754, applied to the
town of Farmington to lay out or alter highways so as to facilitate
access to the " place appointed by y^ county court to build a house for
religious worship."^ A committee was appointed to procure timber,

1 The records of the first meeting of this society are as follows: "A society Meeting
Holden by y^ inhabitants of y*^ Parish of New Britain,' Holden in said society on y^ 13'" Day
of June 1754, warned accord'in.c; to y« Direction of y<= law. At y"^ same meeting y^ society
made choyce of Benjenion Judd Junr. to be a Moderator to lead and moderate in said meet-
ing. At y^ same meeting, Isaac Lee w-as made choyce of for a Society Clark. At the same
meeting Lieut. Josiah Lee and Lieut. Daniel Dewey & Capt. John Paterson was Chosen a
Comtt. to order the Prudentials of this society for y^ present year. At the same meeting
Lieut. Josiah Lee was Chosen Society Treasurer for y'= Present year. The officers liaving been
elected, the same meeting voted, That it is Necessary for the Inhabitants of tliis society to
build a meeting house for Religious worship. Voted, That it is Necessary to have Preacliing
amongst us."

2 At the first annual meeting, held Dec. 2, 1754, a committee was appointed "to aply
themselves to the Townd of Farmington in behalf of this Society to Desier them to appoint a
Comtt. fully Impowered to lay out Highways by exchanging or otherwise, as they can agree
with the oners, & where they.judg most convenient for y*^ accommodating y*' Inhabitants of
this Society, to travail to y^ Place Apointed by y<^ County Court to build a House for Religious
worship."

uy^^'-y

NEW BRITAIN. 283

and boards sufficient for the floor " and the outside in order for clap-
boarding." The size of the building, as voted by the society, was to be
forty-five feet in length, thirty -five feet in width, and twenty-two feet
high between joists ; but when erected it was somewhat larger.

During the spring and summer of 1755 the timber which had been
cut from the forests of New Britain was prepared for the frame, which
was raised in the early autumn. The house Avas covered with oak clap-
boards and the roof with chestnut shingles, all produced in the parish.
The floor was laid early in the spring of 175G, and rough seats were
procured, so that the house could be occupied for preaching services ;
but the interior was not finished until some years afterward.

This first meeting-house in New Britain was located on the west side
of the highway, now" Elm Street, near a ledge of rocks which gave pic-
turesqueness to the situation. A grove of trees reserved from the
primitive forest partially surrounded the place. Roads from different
parts of the society were altered when necessary, so as to converge to
this locality. An open space in front of the building was termed " the
parade," and for more than fifty years was used as the rendezvous of
the local militia. The meeting-house had neither steeple nor bell, and
in form was not unlike a large barn. On the east side were large
double doors constituting the main entrance, but a single door at each
end also gave ingress to the audience-room. On the opposite side from
tlie main entrance was the high pulpit, over which was a huge canopy,
or sounding-board, supported by iron rods.

When finished, some years later, a broad aisle led from the niain
door to the communion-table in front of the pulpit. Narrow aisles,
leaving the broad aisle near the principal entrance, passed to the right
and left around the "square body," intersecting the broad aisle in front
of the pulpit. S(iuare pews, with vertical sides, against which the hard
uncushioned seats were placed, with a narrow door fastened with a
wooden button, filled the square body and were also arranged around
the outsides of the house. A gallery on the right of the pulpit for men,
and one on the opposite side for women, completed the interior arrange-
ment. The stairs to the galleries ascended from the audience-room.

About eighty rods east of the church, on a lane one rod wide, which
was afterward increased in width and named Smalley Street, the small
burying-ground was located.^ Additions have been made to this sev-
eral times, and the large town cemetery with its walks and roads is the
result.

For some time after the organization of tliis society the pastors
of neighboring churches officiated in the parish, — the preaching ser-
vices, as well as the week-day meetings, l)eing held in private houses.
The society found it difficult to obtain a settled pastor. In the latter
part of the autumn and in the early winter of 1754 the Rev. Stephen
Holmes preached thirteen Sundays, but was not settled as a pastor.
During the next three years a number of ministers preached for a time,
and a call was given to the Rev. John Bunnel in 1755, to the Rev. Amos

1 The ground was part of the Lee farm, and the lane hniding past it was deeded to the
town of Farniington in 1755, by Dr. Isaac Lee, of MidiUetown. It is described as being "one
rod wide, and lialf a mile and six rods long, butted east on the highway that runs by the
house where my son Stephen now dwells." Deacon Josiah Lee, a brother of Dr. Lee, deeded
the other half of this street to the town. At a society meeting held in 1755, " Stephen Lee
was chosen to Dig the graves for y^ inhabitants of this society as Need shall require."

284 MEMOEIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Fowler in 1756, and to the Rev. James Taylor in 1757 ; but all these
invitations were declined, or, if any one of them was accepted, some-
thing pi'evented a settlement.^

At last, after many efforts, and application had been made to the
Hartford South Association for advice, Mr. John Smalley was invited
to preach as a probationer. He came in December, 1757, and preached
for a few Sundays with so much acceptance to the people that at a
society meeting held Jan. 9, 1758, it was unanimously voted to choose
him for their minister.^ The call was accepted, and arrangements were
made for his settlement.'^

At this time, nearly four years from the organization of the society,
no church had been formed, all action for procuring the preaching of
the gospel and maintaining the ordinances having been taken b}^ the
society. An ecclesiastical council, to organize a church if deemed ex-
pedient and to oi'dain Mr. Smalley, was convened at New Britain, April
18, 1758.* The next day, April 19, a church of over sixty members
was organized, and Mr. Smalley was ordained according to the Saybrook
Platform, by the imposition of hands and with fasting and prayer.
With a church formed and provision made for the regular preaching of
the gospel, the society proceeded to finish the interior of the meeting-
house and place under it suitable underpinning. But money was
scarce, and the work went forward slowly. A committee was appointed
Jan. 8, 1759, to procure material and carry on the work, but several
years elapsed before all the work was completed.^ Notes were given for
some of the bills, for which the society committee were sued, and some
unpleasantness was caused in the society. The work w^as finished at
last, and the meeting-house became the place of assembling for the
whole parish, not only for Sunday services, but for other public meet-
ings. For more than fifty years after this house was occupied by the
First Church and Society there was no other church organization in

1 The following, from the records of a society meeting held May 13, 1755, exhibits some-
what the urgency of the situation : " Att the same meeting, Sargt. Ebenezer Smith, Sargt.
"Woodroff, j\Ir. John Judd & Isaac Lee were appointed a committee to aply themselves to Mr.
John Bunnell in behalf of this Society, to pray him to Reeonsider the request of this Society
& our Needy circumstances & y'' 111 consequences of his Denial and see if there be anny way to
Remove the Objections that lay in the way of his setteling in the work of y'' Ministry Amongst
us, etc. — But if he still continues to Denigh our Re(|uest & pursist in a Negative answer after
all our Impertunities, that they be Directed to aply themselves in behalf of this Society to
Mr. Elizer Goodrich of y*' parisli of Stepney & pray him to com into this Society and preach
y^ Gosjjel Amongst us ; and if lie is not to be obtained, then to procuer sum other sutable
candidate or candidates to preach y^ gospel amongst us."

2 The record says "y^ society unanimously voted to choose Mr. John Smalley for their
minister, and to proceed to his settelment in y'^ work of y^ Gospill ministry amongst us." The
salary was also voted, but after consultation with Mr. Smalley it was linally agreed that he
should receive one hundred and fifty pounds as settlement and a salary of fift}' pounds a year
for three years, and then sixty pounds and twent}'- cords of wood annually.

2 Mr. Smalley's letter of acceptance was as follows : "The parish of New Britain having
given me a call to settel among them in y* work of 3'^ Gospel ministry, I do hereby signify
my compliance therewith so far as to acquiesce in y* Terms, and to Refer y^ matter to y^ appro-
bation and advice of y" Rev'd Association to which said parish belongs. John Smalley.

"New Britain, March G, 1758."

* Tliis council was composed of eight clergymen and ten laymen, the Rev. AVilliam Rus-
sell, of Windsor, being moderator.

^ In February, 1762, "a committee M'as appointed to go on to finish the Lower Part of
y^ meeting House and Pulpit and y^ Galery floor and y^ front Pound y« Galery the Insuing
summer and that y* Square Body of said meeting House shall be finished by Pews and not by
long seats."

'/I *^'//mm

NEW BRITAIN. 28o

New Britain. Near the meeting-house were tlie '' Sabbath-day houses,"
furnished with a few seats and a table. Application was made to the
town of Farmington for a grant of land from the forty-rod highway for
Mr. Smalley. The town granted him a tract of twelve acres, which
was upon the west side of ISlum Street, and extended from the foot of
Dublin Hill as far south as the line of the railroad. The land was sold
to Colonel Isaac Lee by Mr. Smalley, who in 1759 purchased of William
Patterson twenty-six acres on East Street, with a house and other build-
ings. This place, known as the Rhodes Place, was the residence of
Dr. Smalley until 1788, when he bought the house and lot on East Main
Street, where he passed the latter years of his life. The parish slowly
but steadily increased both in population and wealth. In 1785 the
meeting-house was repaired and improved. ^ The improvement in the
meeting-house was accompanied by other improvements ; the cultivation
of churcli music was especially noteworthy. In August, 1786, the pru-
dential committee was authorized "to draw on the treasury not ex-
ceeding six pounds for the Incurreging of singing in this society to the
best advantage." Other appropriations were made, and in 1789 the
committee was instructed " to procuer such Instruments of Musick as
they think Propper and Decent."

In the autumn of 1809, when Dr. Smalley had reached the age of
seventy-five, and had been more than fifty-one years pastor of the
church, he was at his own request partially relieved from pastoral
work, and a colleague was called. Dr. Smalley continued to preach
occasionally until September, 1813, when his last sermon was de-
livered, nearly fifty-six years after the beginning of his preaching in
New Britain. The pastorate of ^-y^ /^

Dr. Smalley was eventful and fruit- ^^'^V^ ^^T^ xy/r

ful, and covered an important ^y&^A-"*^ "^^ ^^^^ ^>-e:^^..^
period of national history. It in- ^--^^'^

eluded part of the time of the (/

French and Indian War ; the whole period of the American Revolu-
tion, and of the French Revolution of 1789 ; of the rise of Russia ;
the foundation of the English dominion in India; the partition of
Poland; and of other political changes which affected nearly all the
nations of Europe. The leading men in the parish were intelligent,
and well acquainted with the political history and the prevailing
thought of the times in which they lived. They sometimes differed
with their pastor, and they did not hesitate to express their opinions
frankly, and at times emphatically ; but the relation of pastor and
people was mutually kind and affectionate. Dr. Smalley's ministry
resulted in important gains to the church, in increasiug strength and
influence to the society, and in the growth of intellectual and moral
character in New Britain. During his pastorate there were several
seasons of special religious interest; the year 1784 being noted espe-
cially as the time of the " Great Awakening."

Mr. Newton Skinner, a native of East Granby, was ordained and
installed as colleague pastor with Dr. Smalley, Feb. 14, 1810. Mr.
Skinner had a settlement of three hundred dollars, and an annual salary

1 " Lieut. John Beldeu, Captain James North, Ensign Lewis Andnis and Elnathan Smith
were apointed to shingle and clapbord the meeting-House with pine clabord and Shingles
and also CoUer the same with a Fashenable Coller."

286 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

of six hundred dollars, from which in a few years he saved enough to
enable him to purchase a farm. He bought the house and lot at the
corner of East and Smalley streets, and afterward purchased other real
estate. He was a good farmer, and by economy and good manage-

I f /) /7 r"--* mcnt accumulated property,

^ -Myi^^UL^^ C-di (JaJ^ which at his death in 1825

was inventoried at ten
thousand dollars. During Mr. Skinner's ministry of fifteen years the
changes in the place which had commenced in the latter part of Dr.
Smalley 's pastorate were becoming more marked. The present centre
of the town and city was gradually transforming fi'om a staid farming
community into a thrifty manufacturing village. Thought was quick-
ened, new enterprises were planned, the proportion of young people
was increased, and society was gradually changing. The first Sunday-
school society in Hartford County was organized in this parish in 1816,
and Mr. Skinner was made the first president.

The revival of 1821 added to the number of church-goers, and a
demand seemed to exist for additional accommodations for the people
who were accustomed to attend preaching services. A lot for a new
meeting-house was presented to the society by Isaac Lee, and in 1822
a neat and commodious church edifice was erected at a cost of about
six thousand dollars in addition to what was obtained for the old
meeting-house. This building was located at the corner of Main and
East Main streets, where the Burritt School now stands, and for many
years its attractive exterior appearance and convenient interior arrange-
ments were admired, and its more central location contributed to the
growth of both church and society. The settled pastors of this church
have been : —

Rev. John Smalley, D.D., settled April 19, 1758, died June 1,1820.

" Newton Skinner, " Feb. U, 1810, " Mar. 31, 1825.

" Henry Jones, " Oct. 12, 1825, dismissed Dec. 19, 1827.

" Jonathan Cogswell, D.D., " April 29, 1829, " April 23, 1834.

" Dwight M. Seward, D.D., " Felx 3, 1836, " June 15, 1842.

" Chester S. Lyman, " Feb. 15, 1843, " April 23, 1845.

" Charles S. Sherman, " July 2, 1845, " Sept. 5, 1849.

" Ebenezer B. Andrews, " June 26, 1850, " Nov. 12, 1851.

" Horace Winslow, " Dec. 29, 1852, " Dec. 20, 1857.

" Lavalette Perrin, D.D., " Feb. 3, 1858, " May 31, 1870.

" John H. Denison, " Feb. 8,1871, " Sept. 26, 1878.

" Elias H. Richardson, D.D., " Jan. 7, 1879, died June 27, 1883.

" G. Stockton Burroughs, Ph.D., " Feb. 7, 188L

Among the ministers who have officiated in this parish, but were not
settled pastors, may be mentioned the Rev's Charles A. Goodrich,
Asahel Nettleton, D.D., Thomas H. Gallaudct, LL.D., Nathaniel W.
Taylor, D.D., Noah Porter, D.D., and Oliver E. Daggett.

The organization of another Congregational church in New Britain
had been contemplated for some time, when at a meeting held June 28,
1842, it was voted : —

" That this church unite in calling a meeting of the Hartford South Conso-
ciation, to assemble in this village on Tuesday, the 5th day of July next, at nine
o'clock A. M., in reference to forming and organizing a new Congregational church
in this parish, provided they deem it expedient."

NEW BRITAIN.

287

111 compliance with this request the Consociation met on the day
fixed, and, after hearing those in favor and those opjjosed, voted that it
was " expedient that another church be formed." After this action of
the Consociation one hundred and twenty members Avithdrew to form
the South Church, leaving two hundred and seven mem1)ers remaining
in the First Church. In I800 the present large and commodious brick
church edifice was conn)leted and dedicated. Its favorable location, —
opposite the city park, — and its complete arrangements of chapel,
pastor's study, and social rooms, well adapt it to the needs of this
large church and iiarish. The membership of the church is now six
hundred and thirty-three.

The South Congregational Church was organized July 5, 1842, by
the Hartford South Consociation. It was composed of one hundred
and twenty members, who by ad-
vice of the council were dismissed
from the First Church to constitute
a new church. On the 18th of
November, 1842, this church in-
vited the Rev. Samuel Rockwell to
become its pastor. The call was
accepted, and Mr. Rockwell was
installed Jan. 3, 1843. After a
ministry of fifteen and a half years,
during which two hundred and sev-
enty members were added to the
church, he was, at his own request,
dismissed June 20, 1858.

The Rev. Constans L. Goodell,
D.D., was ordained and installed
over the church Feb. 2, 1859. His
ministry continued nearly four-
teen

SOUTH CONGREGATIOiSrAL CHURCH.

288 MEMOEIAL HISTORY OF HARTFOED COUNTY.

Mrs. Goodell's health, and at his own request, he was dismissed Nov. 18,
1872. During Mr. Goodell's ministry five hundred and sixty-one mem-
bers were added to tlie church. The Rev. Henry L. Griffin was ordained
and installed as pastor Oct. 1, 1873. At his own request he was dis-
missed Dec. 20, 1877. During his pastorate of four years two hundred
and thirtv-eight members were added to the church.

In three months after Mr. Griffin was dismissed, the Rev. James W.
Cooper was installed pastor, — March 20, 1878. Tiie cliurch has never
been without a settled pastor a year at any one time since it was organ-
ized. The membership, Jan. 1, 1885, was seven hundred and three, —
one of the largest of the Congregational churches in the State. The
Sunday school connected with this church has more than one thousand
members, and a carefully selected library of over eighteen hundred vol-
umes. The first house of worship was completed in the spring of 1842.
It was built of wood, at a cost of about eight thousand dollars. Gal-
leries were added suljsequently. Tlie present church edifice of brown
stone was completed in January, 1868. It stands on the site of the
first church built for this society.

The First Baptist Church in New Britain was organized June 16,
1808, with twenty members. A few persons had been immersed pre-
vious to this time, and meetings had been held in private houses or in
a school-house. These meetings were continued, with occasional preach-
ing services, by ministers from other parishes until 1828, when a plain
but neat building about twenty feet by thirty was erected for religious
meetings. This church was located at the head of Main Street, near
the foot of Dublin Hill, and served this society for public worship until
1842, when another church edifice, about forty feet by sixty, was ])uilt on
the site of the present Baptist church, at the corner of Main and West
Main streets. In 1869 the present spacious and convenient brick
church, about one hundred feet in length by sixty in width, was erected.
This building was newly slated and a new organ procured in 1884.
The renewal of church edifices indicates to some extent the rapid growth
of this prosperous society. From a membership of twenty at the organi-
zation of the church, and one hundred and seventy-four in 1843 — after
the second church was built — the increase has been to five hundred and
sixteen church members in 1884. The first pastor, the Rev. Seth
Higby, was settled over the ])arish in 1828, before the first church was
built. The settled pastors of this church liave been : —

Rev. Seth Hio-by, 1828-1829. Rev. W. P. Pattison, 1847-1850.

" Nathan E.Shailer. 1829-1832. " RobcM-t J. Wilson, 1851-1852.

" Amos D. Watrous, 1834-1886. " E. P. Bond, 1852-1865.

" Matthew Belles, 1838-1839. " W^in, C. Walker, 1805-1871.

" Harmon S. Havens, 1839-1841. " J. V. Schofield, 1871-1876.

" Levi F. Barney, 1841-1846. « Geo. H. Miner, 1877-1884.

" E. Cushman, 1846-1847.

Methodist meetings appear to have been held for a time in private
houses, principally under the leadership of Oliver Weldon, previous to
1815, when a preaching service was held by the Rev. H. Bass at the
school-house on Osgood Hill. The first class, of twenty persons, was
formed by the Rev. David Miller in 1818. The first church building for
this society was erected in 1828 on the site of the present church.

NEW BRITAIN. 289

There had been occasional preacliing- before in scliool-houses and private
houses. The first service in the church was a quarterly meeting held in
1828, before the interior was furnished with permanent seats.

For several years the preacher who ministered to this church also
supplied some other. In 1839 Farmington Mission and New Britain
were supplied by the same preacher, and in 1810 and 1811 Berlin,
Farmington, and New Britain had one preacher for all. From about
this time the church increased more rapidly in numbers, and the con-
gregation soon became so large that the time of the pastor was given
to this parish alone. In 1851 a larger and more commodious church
edifice was erected on the site of the old church. In 1869 changes
were made in the interior which much improved the audience-room and
made the church pleasant and attractive. A parsonage was also erected
the same year.

The first service of the Protestant Episcopal Church of New Britain
was held in the academy building on East Main Street, Jan. 17, 1836, the
Rev. Silas Totten, D.D., of Trinity College, Hartford, officiating. On the
17th of April a service was held in the same place by Bishop Brownell.
St. Mark's parish was organized Aug. 28, 1836, the Rev. N. S. Wheaton,
D.D., President of Trinity College, presiding, when the following officers
were elected : wardens, Lorenzo P. Lee and Ira E. Smith ; vestrymen,
Emanuel Russell, F. T. Stanley, Hezekiah Seymour, George Francis,
Ralph Dickinson, and Cyrus Booth. The first church building of this
parish was a small wooden structure situated on the north side of East
Main Street, near the residence of the Hon. G. M. Landers. It was con-
secrated Dec. 7, 1837, by the Right Rev, Thomas C. Brownell. This
building was sold in 1818, and the present church building on West
Main Street was erected. The increase of communicants and the con-
tinued increase of the congregation made further enlargement neces-
sary ; and in 1859 an addition was made to the church, and a chapel
built, which furnislied ample accommodations. From the organization
of the parish until April 16, 1837, the Rev. N. S. Wheaton, D.D., offici-
ated. His successors have been : —

Rev. Thomas Davis, officiating, April 23, 1887-May, 1888.

" Z. H. Mansfield, ) ^, j .^^o tv- -.o.a

" John Williams, D.D,) Jmie, 1838-Isov. LSIO.

John M. Guion, rector, Dec. 2, L810-Dec. 29, 1815.

Charles R. Fisher, officiating, Jan. 1816-April, 1816.

Abner Jackson, " " April 19, 1816-Dec. 23, 1848.

" Alexander Capron, rector, Jan. 1849-Easter, 18o,5.

" Francis T. Riissel], " May 6, 1855-Jan. 3, 1864.

" Leonidas B. Baldwin, " Axvj;. 31, 1864-July 31, 1870.

" J. C. Middleton, " April 18, 1871-Sept. 9, 1874.

" John U. Druinni, « March 1, 1875-March 31, 1877.

" William E. Snowdon, " April 10, 1877-May 1, 1880.

" John Henry Rogers, " Sept. 12, 1880-

In 1836 there were but eight communicants ; in 1862 there were
one hundred and thirteen, and in 1883 one hundred and eighty-three,
with one hundred and twelve families in the parish.

About the year 1842, by request, the Rev. William Stickney, a Uni-
vcrsalist minister of Berlin, preached in the school-house on South Main
VOL. ir. — 19.

290 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Street. Other clergymen of this denomination, at irregular intervals,
preached in school-houses or elsewhere in New Britain. May 31, 1874,
the First Universalist Society was organized in a private house. The
Rev. S. A. Davis, who had been instrumental in the organization of this
church, was employed nearly seven years as a supply, usually holding
service once in two weeks. The Rev. M. W. Tabor was the sup|)ly in
1880 for about a year, when different persons preached until 1883.
The Rev. D. L. R. Libby, then pastor of the Forest Street Universalist
Church, Medford, Mass., received a call from the society, which was
accepted, and he entered upon his work in this parish April 1, 1883.
The society for some years held their meetings in Odd Fellows Hall.
In June, 1884, the State Missionary purchased a lot for a church on
Court Street, upon which a neat and commodious brick church was
erected the same year at a cost of about <3il3,000. The society has
increased in numbers during the last few years, and in the autumn of
1884 had about eighty members.

Special services in the German language were begun in the First
Baptist Church in February, 1871, by the Rev. Mr. Dietz, of New Haven.
The first baptism of a believer occurred May 6, 1871. Mr. Dietz was
in Germany during the summer, his place l^ing supplied by the Rev. Mr.
Kohler. On Mr. Dietz's return in the autumn he resumed charge, as-
sisted by the Rev. Mr. Rabe, under whose ministry several persons were
baptized and added to the membership of the First Baptist Church. The
work was continued, the services being conducted in German by differ-
ent German ministers until 1877, when the Rev. Charles Schmidt was
called as a regular pastor. He began his work in 1878, preaching in
German in the Baptist church in the afternoon of each Sunday, with
Sunday school in the same place in the morning. The work was
prosecuted as a branch of the Baptist Church until the increase of
numbers seemed to make a separate organization advisable. On July 9,
1883, the German Baptist Church was formed, and the Rev. Charles
Schmidt was ordained as pastor. A building lot on Elm Sti-eet was
bought, and a neat and convenient chapel was erected. This was dedi-
cated Jan. 1, 1884. The Rev. Mr. Schmidt resigned May 1, and was
succeeded by the Rev. J. D. Weimar, the present pastor.

In 1841 the Rev. Edmund Murphy, the first priest to attend regu-
larly the Roman Catholics, commenced his work in New Britain. He
was succeeded in 1842 by the Rev. John Brady, of Hartford, who took
charge of this parish until 1848, when the Rev. Luke Daly came here
to reside. He commenced the erection of the Roman Catholic brick
church in 1850. This building, eighty-four feet by twenty-five, was com-
pleted in 1853 and dedicated by the Rev. B. O'Reilly. A transept
seventy-five feet by thirty-two, and a cliancel forty-two feet by thirty,
were added in 1862. These were dedicated by the Right Rev. F. P.
McFarland, Oct. 11, 1863. More recently a sacristy forty feet by
twenty has been added to the rear of the church. In 1877 the brick
convent on Lafayette Street was erected by the Rev. Luke Daly. He
died the next year, after a successful pastorate of thirty years. He
was succeeded by the Rev. H. Carmody, D.D., })y whom the parochial
schools were opened in 1879. These schools have a membership of
about eleven hundred. St. Mary's parish, wliicli in 1848, on the
commencement of the Rev. Luke Daly's pastorate, had but twenty-five

NEW BRITAIN. 291

families, has now more than six thousand persons. Dr. Carmody died
in 1882, and was succeeded by the Rev. Michael Tiernay, the present
pastor of the Roman Catholic Church in New Britain.

The Advent Christian Church has a small house of worship. The
Swedish Lutheran Church was oro'anized in 1881. It has a settled
pastor, the Rev. 0. A. Landell, and a new church edifice.

The children in the families of the first settlers of New Britain were
educated at home or at the town school in Farmington. When in 1717
the General Court made it obligatory that societies should maintain
public schools, the Great Swamp Society assumed the responsibility,
and made provision for schools in different parts of the society.^ On
the organization of the Society of New Britain, in 1754, this society
made the necessary arrangements to maintain its schools.^ After the
establishment of a State school fund in 1795, and the passage of the
act relating to school societies, New Britain was organized into a school
society, and this body took charge of the schools.

When in 1798 the law requiring school visitors was enacted, the New
Britain school society appointed to this office the Rev. John Snmlley,
Colonel Isaac Lee, Colonel Gad Stanley, Captain Jonathan Belden,

Levi Andrews, Deacon Elijah Kart,^
James North, David Mather, and Captain
N. Churchill ; selecting its most promi-
nent and most intcllie;cnt men for this /

James North, David Mather, and Captain /C^^^^ J^ --^^ \

N. Churchill ; selecting its most promi- cy^^/^y^^'^^^^-'^^^Ci^^^-^

position. Dr. Smalley's name continued

at the head of the list until 1814, when that of his colleague, the

Rev. Newton Skinner, took its place. At the time the New Britain

school society was organized it included four school districts ; namely,
the East district, with a school-house on East Street ; the Southwest,

embracing IMain Street and all

the society west from Dublin

ff ^.^ Hill to Kensington ; the North-

^^^ west, extending from the foot of

Dublin Hill to Farmington ; and

Stanley Quarter, in the northeast part of the parish. In 1803 the school

committee were authorized to spend one hundred dollars in each district.

1 A committee appointed to inquire into the best plan for .schools in 1718 reported, "that
the society being so very scattering, and our ways so very difficult for small children to pass to
a general school a great part of the year, we advise that the society be divided into squaddams
for the more convenient schooling of children." Th(> division was made, and the money was
divided to each squaddam or district.

2 At a meeting held Dec. 16, 1754, it was voted, "that a school be kept in this society ac-
cording to laws." A committee was appointed "to order the affairs of the school, and to use
proper endeavors to procure the country money and defray the charges of the school."

3 According to Andrews's "History of New Britain,"^ the townsfolk used to say, "Deacon
Hart knows everything : he knows almost as much as Captain Belden."

292 MEMOEIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Two years afterward this sum was increased to one hundred and
twenty-five dollars. The teachers of the winter schools were generally
selected from the most intelligent and best educated farmers. During
the summer they tilled the soil ; when the crops were harvested, and
their labor was not needed on the farm, they taught the Avinter school
as a matter of duty, as well as a pecuniary convenience. In the summer
the young women of the best families Ave re honored by being invited to
teacli, and it Avas their ambition to teach Avell. Each school district was
a neighborhood, like a larger family, where each person possessing a
knoAvledge of the aiTairs of others Avould contribute to the welfare of
all. The teacher, being one of the most intelligent and honored persons
in the district, commanded the respect of all, and by an intimate Ivnowl-
edge of the home life of the children, and a quick sym})athy Avith them
in their Avell or ill doing, was able to inspire to high purpose, and to
develop those intellectual and moral traits which make noble character.
The practice of " boarding around " Avith the different families gave the
teacher additional opportunities of acquaintance and influence.

In these district schools the common branches of reading, spelling,
writing, and arithmetic Avere aa^cU taught; and Avith these, a regard for
good manners and a reverence for age and authority Avere inculcated.
If the minister. Dr. Smallcy, Colonel Lee, or other honored citizen passed
the school-house and play-ground during recess, play Avas sto])ped and
the children, arranged in line, made profound obeisance. Regard for
truth and right Avas taught at home and at school, the parents being
careful to sustain the teacher's authority. If any thoughtless boy be-
haved so as to receive punishment at school, he Avas sure to haA-e the
flogging repeated when he reached home. Such Avere the early schools
of New Britain, taught, it is true, in rude structures, and with the lack of
many modern helps, but so as to give an intellectual and moral tone to
youth, and Avith the family and church help to form a generation of men
and Avomcn fitted to lay Avell the foundations of society.

In 1807 the Southwest district Avas divided and the Middle district
was formed. For twenty-five years the common schools Avere main-
tained in the fiA^e districts thus organized, — generally taught by men in
the winter and by young women in the summer. In 1832 the Shi])man,
or Sixth district was formed from a part of Stanley Quarter ; and two
years later the Middle district Avas divided and the North Middle and
South Middle AA^ere formed. In 1838 the Ledge district was formed from
a part of the North Middle. The organization of the ncAv districts led
to the erection of several ncAv school-houses, and seemed to aAvaken a
local interest Avhich for a time helped to make the schools efficient and
successful in their work. In a few years the interest abated, and the
schools were neglected, until they failed to provide the education needed.
From 1845 to 1848 there Avere repeated efforts in town-meeting and
elscAvhere by the friends of education to secure a reorganization of the
schools and ]:)rovidc for their permanent improvement ; but these
efforts were unsuccessful, until in 1849 an act was passed incorporating
the State Normal School. By raising a generous contribution for the
building, and the offer of a suitable model school, the location of the
Normal School in New Britain was secured. The three school districts
near the centre of the society were then united, the schools graded, a
public high school was established, and all were placed under the charge

NEW BRITAIN. 293

of the governing body of the Normal School as " model schools," or
" schools of practice." At the same time the schools of the Central
district were made free. Thus was established one of the lirst public
high schools of the State outside of Hartford and Middletown, and the
principle of free schools was adopted, while in other parts of the State
the rate-bill was nearly everywhere in use. At that time New Britain
was a parish of Berlin, with less than three thousand inhabitants and
an assessed valuation of property amounting to less than a million of
dollars. To Professor E. A. Andrews, the Rev. Samuel Rockwell, Seth
J. North, Esq., and those associated with them, the place is much in-
debted for the successful efforts which resulted in the establishment of
a system of public schools, including a free high school, which has been
so great a benefit to the community.

For several years the public schools were successfully conducted in
intimate relation to the State Normal School ; but as the school chil-
dren mcreased and additional school room was required, the connection
became less close, and after the temporary suspension of the Normal
School in 1867 it ceased altogether. By vote of the town, Oct. 13,
1873, the school districts Avere consolidated into one district, and placed
under the control of a school committee of twelve persons appointed by
the town, — the acting school visitor, by law, having immediate charge
of the schools.

Though public or common schools were early established, the people
did not depend upon these wholly for the education of their children.
Subscription scliools, ])rivate schools, seminaries, and academies were
founded and maintained, to provide higher and better education for the
community. Soon after the close of the Revolutionary War, or in
1784, a subscription school Avas established on East Street, and taught
by a daughter of Dr. Smalley. Other and similar schools, which were
independent of the common schools, were held in other parts of the
society, usually between short terms of the district schools. The first
continuous private or select school of which a record is found appears
to have been established in 1813, chiefly
through the agency of Thomas Lee and
Seth J. North. It was taught by Miss
Almira Hart, afterward the distinguished
authoress Mrs. Almira H. Lincoln Phelps. In 1828 a private school

y^~~X'/? "^^^s established in

/^' . J^ • /^Y^ /> y *^^i^ house which

^lu^a. c^^:^c^i>^ ^ /L^yi^K^ had been occupied

^ . by Dr. Smalley, on

East Main Street. This school was so successful that a school-room in the
new house of Alvin North was

erected for it. About the same FY^'^yT^^'T^*^ /^

time a company was formed to ^'^ /^/"Z^i-^Cx^^^
establish an academy. Samuel Hart, M.D., Seth J. North, Henry North,

^ and Joseph Shipmanwere

^^ y the largest cash contribu-

-^ yr?'^Z.<yo^i^-£'''''^'t.-^^Ji^ tors to this enterprise.

(;y } A two-story building was
erected near the meeting-
house, under the superintendence of Alfred Andrews, the first teacher,

294

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

■h

'^ ^ ^
?^'^.^"l^^

.^A^ ^

IMl^

X|1 ^ sQ^n^

^>.^ K'^i

NEW BRITAIN.

295

who taught for two seasons. He was succeeded by Nathaniel Grover
and Levi X. Tracy, both graduates of Dartmouth College. The school
increased in numbers, and was for a while a flourishing academy.
Four young men, all natives of New Britain, entered Yale College from
this school in 1838. At the time the academy was exerting its influ-

t' CD

ence on the older pupils, an infant school, in the south part of the
village, was awakening much interest. Previous to 1837, Elijah H.
Burritt, an older brother of Elihu Burritt, had a private boarding and
day school on Main Street, near the site of the opera-house. In 1843
Miss Thirza Lee established a seminary for young-
ladies at the corner of Main and West Main streets.
This was quite successful until she married and re-
moved from the place. Several other private schools
Avere popular for a time, but all have been closed except the New Britain
Seminary, opened in 1870, and St. Mary's parochial schools.

nyy^^^i (6^

THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

A commendable interest has also been manifested in general educa-
tion. In 1838, or before there was a normal school in this country,
four thousand dollars was subscribed in New Britain to establish a

296 MEMORIAL I-IISTORY OF PIARTFORD COUNTY.

county seminary for the education and traininp; of teachers. The
project was not executed ; but in 1850 over sixteen thousand dollars
was raised by private subscription to provide a building and apparatus
for the State Normal School. When the General Assembly, in
1880, voted to erect a new building for the Normal School, the town of
New Britain appropriated twenty-five thousand dollars toward its
construction, and occupied the old building with its public schools.

The first settlers of New Britain were farmers. To the tillage of
the ground some added the preparation of staves, hoops for sugar-
hogsheads, builders' lumber, and other products of the forests ; and
these articles, with the surplus of agricultural products, were sent to
Boston, to the West Indies, or elsewhere, to be exchanged for such
commodities as were needed, and not readily produced at home. Flax
and wool were converted into clotli by the hand spinning-wheel and
loom, and afterward made into garments for the family. A black-
smith's shop, a saw-mill, and a grist-mill were located in the settlement
quite early. A few men worked at the carpenter's trade a portion of
the year, and a few at other trades. Besides the work of each family
making at home such articles as were necessary for its own use, and
a limited production of common tin-ware, there was no attempt at
manufacturing as a distinct business until after the Revolutionary War.
Then other blacksmiths' shops were opened for business, and in some
of them axes, hoes, chains, shovels, and other implements needed in a
plain farming community were forged.

Between 1790 and 1800 a few of the more enterprising men began
to inquire whether the increasing demand for manufactured articles did
not indicate that goods for other markets could be made with profit in
New Britain. James North, an intelligent blacksmith and a successful

/> farmer, conceived the idea of
^"^^^^c^K*^ e^ C'^^/^I^i^^'^ having a few of the young men
<^ go away to learn some new busi-

ness. His own son James and two other voung men were sent
to Stockbridge, Mass., to become acquainted with working in brass
and other metals. Upon the expiration of their apprenticeship, in
1799, two of these young men — James North and Joseph Shipman —
formed a partnership for the manufacture of sleighbells. They com-
menced business in the spring of 1800, in a room of the Sugden
house, on South Main Street, near the residence of the late Henry
Stanley. The business proved quite successful, and at the close of
the year each of the young men went into business for himself.
James North, Jr., continued in the Sugden house, which belonged to his
father ; and Joseph Shipman established himself in one end of his fa-
ther's joiner's shop, on East Main Street. Mr. Shipman's capital of fifty
dollars was loaned him by the Rev. Dr. Smalley. Some of the sleigh-
bells made by these men were sold in Connecticut, ])ut a part were
transported to Boston on horseback, and there found a ready market.
Seth J. North, a younger brother of James, had learned the black-
smith's trade of his father, but he went into business with his brother,
and for a time the two worked in com|)any. James soon removed
to Cherry Valley, New York, and Seth carried on the business in New
Britain. He built larger shops on the west side of Main Street, and

iL.

NEW BRITAIN. 297

much increased the amount of business. The shop in which Shipman
worked burning down, he built a larger sho]) on Stanley Street ; and
afterward, near Judd's mills, he erected more extensive shops. For many
years these shops of North and Shipman Avcrc tiie principal manufac-
tories of brass goods in their line in the country, and their products
were sent to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and other cities. In 1807
Seth J. North, Isaac Lee, Thomas Lee, "William Smith, and Joseph
Shipman formed a company for making various articles of jewelry.
This was probably the first instance in New Britain of combining the
capital of a number of persons for manufacturing purposes. The
business was established in a shop on the west side of the City Park,
next north of the site of Rogers's block. Four of the partners had
previously been separately engaged in making articles from brass and
tin. The new business was continued by the company only three or
four years, but it served to show what could be done with combined
capital.

About 1808 Hezekiah C. Whipple, from Providence, commenced
work in plain jewelry in a small way. He lived on Stanley Street, and
in a year or two he had a small shop near the corner of East Main
and Stanley streets, where he made plated harness-buckles, cloak-clasps,
and plated wire. In 1812 Seth J. North and his brother, Alvin North,
entered into partnership with Mr. Whipple and commenced a general
plating business of silver and other wire. They drcAv out silver-plated
copper wire to the size required, and then converted it into clasps,
rings, curb-chains, and other small articles. They introduced the use
of horse-power, — probably the first in New Britain employed for
manufacturing purposes.

During the War of 1812 several other shops were opened where
manufacturing on a small scale was prosecuted. The articles made
were chiefly such as were required for domestic use, — as knives and
forks, candlesticks, sad-irons, bureau-locks, and other small articles of
hardware. When peace was declared, and importation from Europe
was resumed, most of these shops were shut up, and manufacturing
in New Britain was again confined to the shops of Seth J. North,
Joseph Shipman, and the North & Whipple Company. Soon after
1820 business began to revive ; some of the old shops were re-
opened and new ones were built. From Stanley Quarter to South
Main Street these shops, to the number of eight or ten, were located at
irregular intervals ; and in them brass goods, small articles of hard-
ware, jewelry, hooks-and-eyes, buttons, glass beads, and some other
articles were manufactured. Nearly all the work was done by hand,
with the assistance of a foot-lathe. In the shop of North & Stanley,
on the east side of South Main Street, horse-power had been introduced.
By turning the brook now flowing into the Russell & Erwin ])ond, Jesse
Hart had secured a small water-power in a shop where the Baptist
church now stands ; and the small water-power at Hart's mills and
Judd's mills had been partially utilized.

Near the close of this decade (1820-1830) and the beginning of the
next the foundation was laid for some of the large manufacturing
establishments which have given to New Britain so wide a reputation
as a manufacturing city. In 1830 William B. Stanley, Henry W.
Clark, and Lora Waters commenced the manufacture of machinery on

298

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

the east side of Main Street, just north of the present railway crossing.
In the latter part of the year Frederick T. Stanley bought out this
company and commenced the manufacture of door-locks and house-
trimmings. His brother, W. B. Stanley, soon went into partnership
with him ; the business was extended and a steam-engine was intro-
duced. This was the first use of steam as a motive-power for manu-
facturing in New Britain. The coal for the engine was brought from
Middletown by teams. Westell Russell, afterward sheriff of Hartford
County, was the first engineer. The business — for a time quite profit-
able—was continued by the Stanleys until the financial crisis of 1837,
when it was closed up at this place and transferred to the shops of
Stanley, Woodruff, & Co.

In ^1835 F. T. Stanley, W. B. Stanley, Smith Matteson, Emanuel
Russell, Truman Woodruff, and Norman Woodruff formed a partner-
ship with a capital of $18,000, under the firm name of Stanley, Wood-
ruff", & Co. A tract of land west of Main Street, including most of
the territory since occupied by the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing
Company, was bought, a dam built across the small stream, and a brick
factory, eighty-two feet by thirty-four, erected for the manufacture of
plate locks. This was the only factory built by this company, and
it still stands, — one of the many buildings occupied by the Russell
& Erwin works. On the 1st of January, 1839, the Woodruffs, W. B.
Stanley, and E. Russell withdrew, and Henry E. Russell and C. B.

Erwin became partners in
the firm, and the name was
changed to Stanley, Russell,
& Co. F. T. Stanley retired
Jan. 1, 1840, and the business
& Erwin until Jan. 1, 1811,
Bowen, of New York, became a partner, and a new
company, styled Matteson, Russell, & Co., commenced business for five

was continued
when John K.

by Matteson, Russell,

years, by agreement. Mr. Matteson died the next year ; but the com-
pany continued under the same name until Dec. 31, 1845, when Mr.
Matteson's capital was withdrawn, and Mr. Bowen's soon after. The
company was reorganized, Jan. 1, 1846, as the Russell & Erwin Com-
pany, and so continued until January, 1851. In 1850 the partners
bought out North & Stanley, William H. Smith, and several other firms
in New Britain, and the Albany Lock and Argillo Works, Albany.
Jan. 1, 1851, the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Company was organ-
ized, under the general State law, with a capital of 1125,000, which
was soon increased to 1200,000, and in 1864 to q^500,000, and is now

w
H
>

* " ■» S N.

If (I

NEW BRITAIN. 301

81,000,000. In 1876, to the manufacture of general hardware was
added the manufacture of wood-screws, in a large building erected
in 1875 for this purpose. New machinery has been added, until all
varieties of screws of brass and iron are made, and also steel nails.

The Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Company was one of the first
in this country to make a specialty of builders' hardware. The variety
has been increased until all kinds are produced in large quantities,
together with solid bronze goods for building and ornamental pur-
poses. The buildings of this company cover several acres, its business
being larger than that of any other company of the kind in America.
Its goods are sent to all parts of the United States and to foreign
countries.

In 1842, in a building which had been used as an armory, and which
stood near that of the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Company, the
manufacture of door and shutter bolts, and chest, trunk, door, and lifting
handles, was begun by Frederick T. Stanley. In August, 1852, a joint-
stock corporation was formed to manufacture wrought-iron butts and
hinges. It was called the Stanley Works, and commenced business with
a capital of $30,000, which has been increased at different times until it
amounts to '1325,000. In 1871 the extensive brick buildings on Myrtle
Street, now occupied by the company, were erected. Connected with
these buildings are railway tracks to the New York and New England,
and the New York, New Haven, and Hartford railroads, enabling the
company to receive the raw material direct at the shops, and ship the
finished goods to market without cartage. The business has been
largely extended by increasing the variety and varying the style of
goods manufactured. By using the best of iron and steel and employ-
ing skilled workmen the company have been able to compete with other
establishments and furnish superior goods for the market. In 1883 the
manufacture of tacks, brads, and nails was added to the other business.
F. T. Stanley was president of the company from its organization until
his death, in 1883. William H. Hart is now president and treasurer,
and William Parker vice-president and secretary.

In 1853 the manufacture of plumbs and levels was introduced in
New Britain by Thomas S. Hall and Frederic Knapp, in a building now
used by the Stanley Rule and Level Company. In 1854 a joint-stock
company was formed under the firm name of Hall & Knapp, with
$15,000 capital, which was increased to $20,000 in 1856. The rule-
making branch of the business was begun in 1854 by Augustus Stanley,
T. A. Conklin, and T. W. Stanley, under the name of A. Stanley & Co.
A business in Bristol with which Mr. Conklin had been connected was
bought out, and the manufacture of rules commenced in the upper story
of J. B. Sargent & Co.'s factory on Elm Street. The next year the rule
business of Seth Savage, Middletown, was purchased and brought to
New Britain ; all the works were removed to the upper story of North &
Stanley's hook-and-eye factory, the number of workmen was increased,
and the foundation laid for a new company.

On the 1st of July, 1857, the Stanley Rule and Level Company was
organized as a joint-stock company, with a capital of $50,000. In 1862
the handle business of Augustus Stanley, then on Arch Street, was
bought by the company and united with the other works. In February,
1863, the company purchased of C. L. Mead, of Brattleborough, Vermont,

302 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

his entire rule business, which inchided the manufaoture of the best
rules made in this country. For a time the business was carried on
both in Bi-attleborough and in New Britain, jjut it was afterward all
moved to New Britain, w^ith an extensive warehouse in New York. In
1864 the capital was increased to |100,000 ; in 1867, to $200,000 ; and
in 1881, to -f300,000. Henry Stanley was president of the company
from its organization until his death, in 1884. He was succeeded by
G. L. Mead, who is president and treasurer. Frederic N. Stanley is
secretary. This company has largely extended its business by the
erection of new buildings, the introduction of new and improved ma-
chinery, and the increase in the variety of articles manufactured.

The manufacturing company of Landers, Frary, & Clark originated
with the Hon. G. M. Landers, ex-member of Gongress from the First
District. For a time engaged in manufacturing furniture-casters and
window-springs with Josiah Dewey, he saw an opportunity for enlarg-
ing the business, and in 1841-1842
built a shop west of his residence
on East Main Street, and commenced
the manufacture of coat and hat
hooks and other small articles of hardware. Subsequently Levi 0.
Smith entered into partnership with him, and in 1853 the Landers &
Smith Manufacturing Gompany was organized as a joint-stock company.
In 1862 the company purchased the business of Frary, Garey, and Co., of
Meriden, and the capital was increased to -$50,000. Mr. Smith retired,
and James D. Frary took his place. The company then organized by
act of legislature, under the name of Landers, Frary, & Clark. The
capital has been increased to $500,000, and the business enlarged
until it includes a large variety of table cutlery and general hardware.
The ^tna Works were built in 1866 and destroyed by fire in 1874.
They were reljuilt at once on a larger scale, and supplied with improved
machinery. The Hon. G. M. Landers was president until he retired
from the active management in 1870. The present ofificers are J. A.
Pickett president, G. M. Landers vice-president, C. S. Landers treasurer,
and J. C. Atwood secretary.

The extensive hardware manufactory of P. & F. Corbin began in a
partnership formed in 1849 by Philip Corbin, Frank Corbin, and Edward
Doen, under the name of Doen, Corbin, & Co. The shop was located
near the residence of Philip Corbin. The capital was small, and but
few workmen besides the proprietors were employed. In November
Mr. Doen sold his interest to H. W. Whiting, and the firm name was
changed to Corbin, Whiting, & Co. In January, 1851, Mr. Whiting
sold his interest to the other partners, and the firm became P. & F.
Corbin. In 1853 the company was removed to the shop formerly occu-
pied by Seth J. North in the manufacture of hooks-and-eyes. In Feliru-
ary, 1854, a joint-stock company was formed with a capital of $50,000,
which has since been increased to $500,000. The buildings have been
extended until they cover a large area on Park and Orchard streets.
The goods manufactured are builders' and miscellaneous hardware, a
great variety of door-locks, ornamental bronze, door, and house trim-
mings, and iron and brass screws. Philip Corbin is president and
treasurer, and S. C. Dunliam secretary.

The North & Whipple Company, one of the companies formed before

.f&

y/^^J^n^^tf L0U^^^

NEW BRITAIN. 303

the War of 1812 which continued business after the war closed, was
bought out by Alvin North, who for a time manufactured rings, buckles,
and other metal parts of saddles. Horace Butler was for a time part-
ner with Mr. North ; but in 1846 he bought Mr. North's interest, and
with his sons established the business of H. Butler & Sons, to which
the Taylor Manufacturing Company succeeded. The branch of the
business continued by Mr. North was afterward prosecuted in company
with his sons, 0. B. North and H. F. North; the latter associating with
him Lorin F. Judd and J. A. Pickett, by whom in 1861 the North &
Judd Manufacturing Company was organized. This company has
been successfully engaged in the manufacture of saddlery, hardware,
and malleable iron castings.

The business of Morton Judd and 0. S. Judd, which was commenced
with the manufacture of harness hames in 1833, has been continued on
West Main Street by the Judds and C. S. Blakeslee, under the name of
M. Judd & Co., Judd & Blakeslee, and now of 0. S. Judd.

There are a number of other manufactories of hardware of less
extent than those mentioned, or more recently established. The Hu-
mason & Beckley Manufacturing Company make pocket cutlery and a
variety of brass, steel, and iron goods. The j\lalleable Iron Works and
the Vulcan Iron Works produce mallealjle and gray iron castings ; the
Union Works manufacture hardware, pum])S, and machinery ; the
National Wire Mattress Company and tiie Wire-web Bed Company,
wire mattresses ; the Corbin Cabinet Lock Company, in the large new
building erected for its works, cabinet hardware ; the Companion Sew-
ing Machine Com])any, sewing machines; the Francis Company, cast-
steel goods ; the Kempshall Manufacturing Company, bank and safe
locks and hardware. The American Spring Needle Company and the
Dyson Needle Company make knitting-needles, and other companies or
firms various articles and specialties in iron and brass.

The manufacture of fine jewelry dates from about 1820, when Wil-
liam B. North had a sliop for that purpose on the corner of Main and
Elm streets. William A. Churchill was first an apprentice with Mr.
North, and then a partner in the business. After Mr. North's death,
in 1838, James Stanley became a partner, and the firm w^as changed to
Churchill & Stanley. Charles Warner and Charles M. Lewis, engaged
in the same business, became united with this company in 1853. Other
partners were interested for a time, and then retired or were removed
by death. The business is now carried on under the firm name of
Churchill, Lewis, & Co., by C. M. Lewis, W. W. Churchill, and F. Wessel,
who continue the manufacture of the finest quality of solid gold jewelry
in a great variety of designs.

Besides the work in metals, which has been the leading branch of
manufacture in the city and town, considerable capital has been em-
ployed in the manufacture of various kinds of neck-wear and under-
clothing. Seth J. North, John Stanley, and others were for a few years
engaged in the manufacture of neck-stocks, much of the work being
done by women at their homes. Afterward the manufacture of shirts
was commenced, and continued until it became a large business ; the
shops of I. N. Lee & Co., Julius Parker & Son, and William Bingham
furnish employment to a large number of persons, and send a great
quantity of manufactured goods to market.

304 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

New Britain has long l)een noted for its manufacture of knii goods.
A small factory in Griswoldville having been partially destroyed by fire,
the tools and machinery which were uninjured were purchased and re-
moved to New Britain, and in March, 1847, by the efforts of S. J. North,
H. Stanley, 0. Seymour, and Mr. Powell, the New Britain Knitting Com-
pany, the hrst of the kind in this country, was organized with a capital
of $20,000, which in October of the same year was increased to $30,000.
The company was reorganized in May, 1848. Seth J. North was presi-
dent, and Henry Stanley secretary and treasurer. The business was
commenced in the Sargent building, then belonging to North & Stan-
ley. The capital, at various times, has been increased to $200,000.
The business occupies the whole of the large building on Elm Street,
erected for this company and enlarged several times to accommodate
the increase of machinery and product. The company make a specialty
of the manufacture of knit goods of various kinds for men, women, and
children. John B. Talcott is president and manager, and George P.
Rockwell secretary and treasurer.

The American Hosiery Company was organized in 1868, under the
general law relating to corporations. The company occupy three large
buildings on Park Street, in which are manufactured a great variety of
knit goods for men, women, and children's underwear and hosiery, in
cotton, woollen, merino, and silk. The goods of this company deserv-
edly rank as the best of the kind made in this country. The machinery
used was made to order in England, and is specially adapted to the pro-
duction of the finest quality of goods. The carding, spinning, and
knitting are all done by the company in tlieir own buildings. The
machinery is driven by an engine of two hundred and fifty horse-power,
and employment is given to over one thousand persons, all under the
general management of ex-Mayor John B. Talcott.

The manufacture of paper boxes has for several years been success-
fully carried on by H. H. Corbin & Son and by James H. Minor, Other
industries are pursued, but are mostly connected with those already
mentioned, in the way of supply or preparation of material, or else are
designed to meet the immediate needs of a rapidly growing manufac-
turing community.

Havino- no sea-coast or navigable rivers, New Britain had no advan-
tages for commerce, and, with the exception of a few persons engaged
to a limited extent in the West India trade and in trade with Boston,
made no eft'ort to establish commercial relations with other places.
When Middletown was the largest city in the State, a limited ex-
change of surplus products for foreign articles needed was made in
that city. Hartford and Rocky Hill were the other shipping ports for
New Britain. The articles of early manufacture were distributed from
baskets by foot-pedlers, and afterward from wagons, to the neighboring-
towns, and were transported on horseback to Boston, New York, and
other markets. As business increased, goods were transported nine or
ten miles to the Connecticut River by teams, and then shipped to their
destination. The opening of the Hartford and New Haven Railroad in
1839 lessened the cartage of freight to two miles ; and tlie extension
of the Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill Railroad to Bristol in 1850
gave New Britain direct railway communication with Hartford. The

NEW BRITAIN. 307

New Britain railroad to Berlin Avas opened in 1865, giving direct con-
nection with New Haven and New York ; and the New York and New
England road was extended to Fishkill in 1881, making connections
with roads to the coal-mines and west. All the facilities of commnni-
cation and transportation were favorable to the business of New Britain.

The first store within the present limits of the city was kept by
Elnathan Smith on East Street, near the Rhodes place. In 1805 and
1806 Isaac and Thomas Lee built a store at the northwest corner of the
Green, on the south side of West Main Street. In 1823 the Lees also
built the stone store which is on the west side of Main Street, opposite
East Main, and is still occupied as a place of business. As the popula-
tion became greater, new stores were erected, and when the place
became a manufacturing city, with the resulting increase in the demand
for articles for domestic use and for business, stores were multiplied
and goods classified until there are stores of specialties with stocks as
varied and complete as are to be found in the State.

The New Britain Bank was incorporated by the legislature in 1860,
with a capital of $100,000, which on Feb. 28, 1863, was increased to
$200,000. It became a national bank, Ijy vote of the stockholders,
April 21, 1865, and in the following August the capital became
1310,000. On the first organization of the bank C. B. Erwin was
chosen president and A. P. Collins cashier, and these gentlemen have
been continued in office until the present time.

The New Britain Savings Bank was incorporated in 1862. Its
deposits and loans have steadily increased, until the former amounted
on the 1st of July, 1884, to 11,409,576.

Were it not that the manufacturing interests of New Britain far
surpass all other industrial interests, the place would be noted for its
progress in agriculture, and for the intelligent a|)plication of the prin-
ciples of science to the cultivation of the ground, the raising of stock,
and the production of fruit and garden vegetables. There are some
good farms so worked as to be constantly improving in value as the
crops removed from them arc increased. Several farmers are already
noted for the excellence of the blooded stock that they have reared.
The market-gardens are well known, and their products find a ready
market not only at home, but in tlie chief cities of the country. The
Connecticut Valley Orchard Company, organized in 1884, with its office
in New Britain, is already extensively engaged in the cultivation of
fruit and vegetables in New Britain, Berlin, and Deep River. The
New Britain Agricultural Club, organized in 1858, mainly through the
efforts of Eliliu Burritt, is vigorously sustained, and is disseminating
information among the farmers and gardeners about New Britain.

The citizens of New Britain have borne an honorable position in the
defence of the State and
country. Several of the ^ C>

members and officers of ^''^
the Farmington trainband ^
resided within the limits
of New Britain. Major
John Patterson, the first deacon chosen in the First Church of New
Britain, held a captain's commission under King George III. He was

308 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

present at the capture of Havana by Admiral Pocock and the Duke of
Albemarle in 17(52, and died there. His son, General John Patterson,
was a brigadier-general in the American army during the Revolutionary
War, and a member of the council that tried Major Andre.

Noah Stanley, another deacon of the First Church, was a lieutenant
of the king's troops in the French and Indian War. General Selah
Hart was in 1775 one of the committee to provide ammunition for the
Connecticut colony, and in 1788 a delegate to the -State convention
for the adoption or rejection of the Constitution of the United States.
Colonel Isaac Lee, Captain Stephen Lee, Captain Phineas Judd, and

many others were active in military

//I . / yl/'ci^ matters in the Revolutionary War.

^ tuoyvZ-ru^LJ ^YcUU Colonel Gad Stanley was one of the

^ officers who with his troops covered

Washington's retreat from Long Island. Captain Lemuel Hotchkiss,
who was with Colonel Stanley, had a horse shot under him in that

In the War of 1812 only a few citizens of New Britain were specially
distinguished, but a number bore an honorable part. Isaac Maltby, a
member of the First Church and a divinity student of Dr. Smalley, was
brigadier-general in that war. Ezekiel Andrews was a captain m the
same war,'' and some other members of this church had a less conspicu-
ous part in the struggle.

In the Civil War, which occurred during President Lincoln s admm-
istration, there were six hundred and forty volunteers from New Britain,
of whom eighty fell in battle, were wounded and died of their wounds,
or were sick and died in hospitals or Southern prisons. Among those
who participated activelv in this war were some who were promoted to
posts of distinction, and"by bravery and heroic fortitude won an honor-
able name.

A public library was established in New Britain quite early in the
history of the place, and the books were in general use among the pro-
prietors. Some inconvenience having been experienced in the general
management, at a special meeting of the proprietors, held Feb. 2, 1792,
a new constitution with eight long articles was adopted.^ By this
instrument each member at the time' of subscribing was to pay thesum
of three shillings, and two shillings annually afterward. The rights
. of members were carefully guarded, were assignable to any person
approved by the majority of the proprietors, and the shares could be
devised by will or descend by inheritance. Five directors, chosen an-
nually, had the general care of the library, purchased books, and made
by-laws and regulations for the use of the library. _ Though this was
not a church liijrarv, it was considered an aid to parish work. It was
kept at the church, "or at the house of Deacon Judd. It was open on

1 Some of the provisions of the constitutioa and by-laws were strict. For every leaf
/olded down in any book there was a fine of threepence, and for any other injury a fine in
proportion to the injury. The eighth and last article of the constitution declared that the
articles taken together were to be considered a "Magna Charta," and were not to be re-
pealed, either together or in part, except by the votes of three fourths of those present at a
meetincr warned for that purpose, when said three fourths "shall amount to more than one
half of all the proprietors for the time being." There were fifty-six subscribers to this consti-
tution, the list being headed by Dr. Smalley.

NEW BRITAIN. 309

the days of the conference meetings, or of the lectnre before commun-
ion, for an hour or two before or after such meetings, and the pastor.
Dr. Smalley, took special pains to liave tlie books well distributed, and
read by those who would be profited by the reading.

The library association continued in active operation until 1825,
when it was succeeded by the Julian Society, — a similar association,
which had at first about thirty-five members, but was soon increased to
one hundred and fifty. New books were added to the library, the
drawing days were more frequent, and meetings for debate were also
held once in two weeks. In the autumn of 1886 the constitution was
again amended and the name of the association changed to the Xew
Britain Lyceum. The library and effects of the Julian Society passed
into the hands of the new association. To the measures for improve-
ment already employed was added a course of lectures. By means of
the library, the lectures, and discussions, the intellectual culture of the
community was advanced. Tliis association was maintained with vigor
until the autumn of 1841, when its record was suddenly closed, the
books were distributed or lost, and the society ceased to exist.

Soon after the organization of the Soutli Congregational Cliurch a
parish library was established, which had, in February, 1846, over four
hundred volumes, — principally of biography, historv, travel, and prac-
tical science, with a few religious works. Additions were made until
the library included over six hundred volumes, which were kept in the
vestry when not in use by members of the congregation. This was for
a time popular and useful to the church ; but the multiplication of
Sunday-school books and the increase of the Sunday-school library made
this library less necessary to the parish, and the books were transferred
to the shelves of the New Britain Institute, to increase the usefulness
of the public library.

The New Britain Institute was established in 1852, to provide a
public library and reading-room for a growing manufacturing commu-
nity, and also to arrange for lectures or other means of entertainment
and instruction. It was incorporated by the legislature in 1858. For
some years it was maintained by the annual subscriptions of manufac-
turing companies and individuals. It received a legacy of ten thousand
dollars from the late Lucius Woodruff, the income of which, with a
small town appropriation and membership fees, pays the annual ex-
penses and admits of small additions each year to the library. The
reading-rooms are well supplied with daily and weekly papers, maga-
zines, and other periodicals, and are free to all. For taking books
home from the library there is the annual charge of one dollar.

The Rev. John Smalley, D.D., was born in the Columbia parish
of Lebanon, June 4, 1734. His father, Benjamin Smalley, was an
English weaver in humble circumstances, who came to this country
in early life. His mother, the second wife of Benjamin Smalley, was
Mary Baker, of Cornwall, a devotedly pious woman, under Avhose
influence his earlier life was passed in the quiet of a country home.
While young he was placed in a sliop to learn a trade ; but his pastor,
the Rev. Eleazer Wlieelock, D.D., afterward the first president of Dart-
mouth College, became interested in him and offered to fit him for
college. He pursued his studies with Dr. Wheelock, entering Yale

310 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUXTY.

College in 1752, at the age of eighteen. While he was in college his
father became pecuniarily embarrassed and died suddenly, leaving his
family dependent, and John decided to leave college to assist in their
support ; but he was advised to proceed with his studies, and by the
assistance of friends was enabled to do so. He graduated in 1756,
and immediately entered upon the study of theology with the Rev.
Joseph Bellamy, D.D., of Bethlehem. He was licensed to preach by
the Litchfield South Association in 1757, l)cgan to preach in New
Britain in November of that year, and was ordained and installed over
the church April 19, 1758, the day that the church was organized. He
soon won the confidence of his people and was beloved and revered.
He was married, April 24, 1764, to Sarah Guernsey, of Bethlehem.
He had six children, all daughters, two of whom died in infancy. Two
of the others married clergymen, and two were married to parishiouers
of their father. Dr. Smalley was a diligent student. He took great
pains, in preparing his sermons, to aim at a specific impression, and to
lead his hearers to God as the source of all good. His sermons were
logical, dwelling much upon the doctrines, and fortified by proofs from
the Scriptures. He preached by reading his notes closely, with some-
what of formality and a slightly drawling utterance. He had no popu-
lar oratory, and he heartily despised all tricks of art with a view to
attract the attention of his audience. He was scrupulously punctual,
exceedingly vigilant, and ever watcliful of tlie interests of his parish.
During his pastorate of fifty-two years the church increased in numbers
and in spirituality, and the whole parish was stimulated in thought.
He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the College of New
Jersey in 1800. He became eminent as one of the foremost of New
England divines, wielding a commanding influence. His sermons on
Natural and Moral Inability were published in this country and in
Europe, and had a wide circulation. Two volumes of his sermons were
published. He also wrote occasionally for religious periodicals. Sev-
eral young men were educated in his family, some of whom he trained
for the ministry. Among the private students who owed much of their
success to his training, were Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth, the Rev.
Nathaniel Emmons, D.D., Ebenezer Porter, D.D., the President of An-
dover Seminary, and about twenty others, some of whom became emi-
nent in their work. Dr. Smalley continued his duties as pastor until
the autumn of 1809, and preached occasionally until 1813. He died in
the midst of his people, June 1, 1820, at the age of eighty-six.

Etlian Allen Andrews was born in New Britain, April 7, 1787. He
was the youngest of four children, and passed his early years on the
farm of his father, a man of English descent, in easy circumstances, and
of much general information. Surrounded with books, and of a natu-
rally inquiring mind, young Andrews resolved to seek a liberal edu-
cation. He commenced his preparation for college at Berlin, and
continued it at Farmington under the tuition of tlie Rev. Noah Por-
ter, D.D., and Samuel Cowles, and completed it at Litchfield under
instruction of the Rev. J. M. Whiton, D.D. He entered Yale College in
1806, and graduated with Governor Ellsworth and Professors Fitch and
Goodrich. On leaving college he entered upon the study of law in the
office of his former teacher, Samuel Cowles, of Farmington. He com-
menced the practice of law in New Britain in 1812, and was admitted

cfX-A^^

NEW BRITAIN. 311

to the Hartford Bar in 1813. He was soon after appointed aid to Gen-
eral Lusk in the service of the war with England, and passed most of
the summer at New London. He returned from service in the army to
the practice of his {u-ofession in New Britain. Soon after, he opened a
school in his own home, Avlicre he fitted young men for college. He
was several times elected to the legislature from the town of Berlin,
and represented New Britain the first year after the town was incorpo-
rated. He was also for two years Judge of Probate. In 1822 he was
appointed Professor of Ancient Languages in the University of North
Carolina. For six years he filled this position with distinguished abil-
ity, and then returned to Connecticut to accept the professorship of
Ancient Languages in the New Haven Gymnasium. After continuing
a year in this institution, he established the New Haven Young Ladies'
Institute. He conducted this so successfully as to call together pupils
from nearly all parts of the Union. In 1833 he removed his family to
Boston and succeeded Jacob Abbott in the care of a school of high order
for young ladies. He continued in charge of this school for six years,
when he resi2:ned to give more of his time to the course of Latin au-
thorship which he had already commenced. He was for a time senior
editor of the " Religious Magazine," and a contributor to other periodi-
cals. On leaving Boston with his family, he again became established
in New Britain at the old homestead. This, in the mean time, had
received extensive alterations to prepare it for his family residence.
His time was now principally devoted to the revision of his Latin
books. His most elaborate work was his Latin-English Lexicon ; but
his " First Lessons in Latin," of which thirty-four editions had been
pul)lishcd in 1862, " First Latin Book," Latin Grammar, Latin Reader,
and the adaptation of several Latin authors as school text-books, gave
evidence of his indefatigable industry. He received the degree of Doc-
tor of Laws from Yale College in 1847. Though absorbed in classical
studies, he was fond of the sciences, and investigations in them were
to him pleasant recreation. He had good taste, and possessed a keen
relish for the beautiful in nature and art. He took an active interest
in all matters pertaining to education, was for many years upon the
town board of school visitors, was president of the Educational Fund
Association organized to secure a building for the State Normal School,
and made the official presentation to the State of the buildings erected
by citizens of New Britain for that purpose. He was interested in all
nieasures which affected the welfare of his native town, and advocated
successfully the project for securing better railway facilities and other
measures for the improvement of the place. He was a member of the
South Congregational Church, New Britain. The later years of his life
were passed at his home in the circle of friends by whom he was esteemed
and beloved. He died March 24, 1858, aged seventy-one.

Frederick Trenck Stanley was born in New Britain, Aug. 12, 1802.
His father, Gad Stanley, was a son of Colonel Gad Stanley, an ofti-
cer in the Revolutionary army and a civil magistrate of note. F. T.
Stanley passed his childhood on the farm in Stanley Quarter, attend-
ing school near his home a part of the time. At sixteen years of age
he went into a store in New Haven as clerk, and remained there until
1823, when he removed to Fayetteville, North Carolina. At this place
he was engaged in mercantile business for three years, and then sold

312 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

out and returned to the North. For a year or two he was clerk on a
steamboat making trips from Hartford to New York. After return-
ins; to New Britain he was for a short time clerk in the store of 0. R.
Burnham, and in 1829 was engaged in mercantile trade with Curtiss
Whaples. In 1830 he was associated with his brother William B.
Stanley, H. W. Clark, and Lora Waters, in a small manufactory on
Main Street, near the present railway crossing. He bought out his
partners in 1S31 and commenced the manufacture of locks, the first
made in this country. He also introduced the first steam-engine used
for manufacturing purposes in New Britain. In 1835 he became a
partner in the firm of Stanley, Woodruff, & Co. and entered more
extensively upon the manufacture of locks of various kinds. In 1841
he sold out his interest in the latter company, and for the next two
years was in business in the State of Mississippi. Upon his return to
New Britain he engaged in the manufacture of bolts and hinges in
a shop near his house. The business increased rapidly, and in 1852
a joint-stock company was formed, of which he became president. He
was continued in this oftice until his death, — a period of more than
thirty years. In business Mr. Stanley was methodical, energetic, and
progressive, but he never made the acquisition of property his sole
aim. His generous nature led him to give liberally, both of time and
means, for the benefit of others. His public spirit, especially, led him
often to place the welfare of the town and city before his private in-
terests. He planned the city water-works, and by unceasing energy
and indomitable perseverance secured the adoption of his plans and
the introduction of Sluittle Meadow water into the city. He was one
of the prominent movers in securing the town park and having it set
apart for public uses. He was active in promoting the various railway
enterprises which have so much benefited New Britain, and the first
engine run on the Berlin branch bore his name. He earnestly advo-
cated the system of sewerage finally adopted for the city, and was per-
sonally active in making the preliminary arrangements for its use.
He represented the town of Berlin in the legislature in 1834, was in
1850 elected the first warden of the borough of New Britain, and in
1871 the first mayor of the city. He was interested in the affairs of
the country, and though never an active politician, he was well in-
formed on all national questions. An ardent admirer of Daniel Web-
ster, he often travelled long distances to hear him speak. Mr. Stanley
was a consistent member of the South Church, attending its services
after his eyesight liad entirely failed and his steps had to be guided by
another. He was married, July 4, 1838, to Miss Melvinia A. Chamber-
lain. There were three children born to them, two of whom died in
childhood. The surviving son, Mr. Alfred H. Stanley, resides at the
homestead, where his father died, Aug. 2, 1883.

Elihu Burritt, the youngest son of a family of ten children, was
born in New Britain, Dec. 8, 1810. His parents having but little prop-
erty, he was early dependent upon his own resources. In his boyhood
he attended the district school a part of the time, until he apprenticed
himself to a blacksmith, still studying in his room at night, and often
at the anvil. When twenty-one he attended his brother's private
school for one quarter, giving his attention chiefly to mathematics, but
occupying his odd hours with Latin and French. At the close of the

'^,

NEW BRITAIN. 313

quarter he resumed work at his trade, but still pursued his studies
at every favorable moment, carrying a small Greek Grammar in his
pocket or hat, which he would study while at work. The next winter
he passed at New Haven, that he might be in the vicinity of books and
scholars. He continued the study of Latin and Greek, giving some
attention also to French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Hebrew. He
then became preceptor in an academy for a year, teaching the lan-
o-uao-es, and also continuing his studies. His health failing from too
close confinement, he was led to accept a position as commercial trav-
eller for a factory in New Britain. At the solicitation of friends he
returned to New Britain and opened a grocery and provision store ; but
in the financial panic of 1837, which soon came, he lost his property. He
resolved to return to his trade and his studies, and went to Worcester,
where he had access to the valuable library of the Antiquarian Society.
Here he divided his hours between work and study, giving his atten-
tion to Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldaic, Samaritan, Ethiopic, and the
modern languages of Europe. A letter in the Celto-Breton language,
written by him to the Royal Antiquarian Society of France, is sup-
posed to be the first in that language ever written from America.
He soon became known as " the Learned Blacksmith," and invitations
to lecture came from various parts of the country. For the next few
years his time was occupied principally in labor at the anvil and in
lecturing. He spoke upon Application and Genius, then in the Anti-
slavery cause and in the cause of peace and humanity. In May, 1846,
he went to Europe, proposing to be absent three months, but remained
three years. He addressed large audiences in England and Ireland,
visitino: the latter countrv during the famine of 184(3-1847. He was
a vice-president of the Peace Congress held in Brussels in September,
1848. He also attended the great meeting at Exeter Hall in June, 1849,
and was secretary of the Peace Congress held in Paris the same year.
Returning to America early in 1850, he lectured in different parts of
this country, but went to Europe again in May to prepare for the ap-
proaching Peace Congress at Frankfort. He was also a member of the
Fourth Congress held at Exeter Hall, London, in 1851, and afterward
was engaged with the friends of peace in promoting the interests of
the League of Liniversal Brotherhood. His work in Europe brought
him into association with Richard Cobden, John Bright, Dr. Guthrie,
Joseph Sturge, M. de Tocqueville, Victor Hugo, xilexander Von Hum-
boldt, Professor Liebig, Tholuck, Hengstenberg, and others, some of
whom became his intimate friends.

Immediately after the Edinburgh Peace Congress of 1853 he re-
turned to America, and here addressed public meetings in behalf of
ocean penny postage. He passed three months in Washington, inter-
esting meml3ers of Congress in the measure. In August, 1854, he went
to England again for a year. On his return to America he devoted
considerable time to lecturing and addressing public audiences on the
subject of Compensated Emancipation, and was secretary of the asso-
ciation organized in this interest in 1856. He passed several years on
his farm in New Britain, visiting Europe in 1863, and making journeys
on foot the whole extent of England and Scotland, gathering material
for two interestiuG: books, "• A Walk from London to John O'Groat's,"
and " A Walk from London to Land's End and Back," which were pub-

314 MEMORIAL HISl'OHY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

lished in London. In 18G5 lie was appointed Consular Agent for the
United States at Birmingham. In connection with his duties in this
office he collected statistics of the Birmingliam district, which he pub-
lished in a volume entitled " Walks in the Black Country and its Green
Border Lands." He soon after Avrotc another volume, entitled " The
Mission of Great Sufferings." After leaving his office he passed six
weeks at Oxford, returning to America in 1870. From that time he
lived in New Britain, in the family of his sister, Mrs. Strickland, giving
much of his time to the advancement of education, the improvement of
agriculture, and the promotion of the public welfare. He established a
mission school in a building on his farm on Burritt Hill, and another
in the southern part of the city in a chapel l)uilt at his expense and
mostly by his own hands. He was a member of the First Church of
Christ in' New Britain. He died March 6, 1879, aged sixty-eight.

Seth J. North was born in New Britain, Aug. 13, 1779. In youth
he worked in the blacksmith's shop with his father, but soon after he
was twenty-one years of age he engaged in the manufacture of sleigh-
bells with his Ijrother James. He continued the business after his
brother removed from town, building new shops and adding to the
«C articles manufactured. From 1807 to 1811 he was a partner with

Thomas Lee and several others in the manufacture of jewelry. In
1812 he entered into partnership with a younger brother, Alvin North,
and H. C. Whijiple in making plated wire, etc. He was afterward
associated with John Stanley, William H. Smith, Henry Stanley, and
Oliver Stanley in various manufactures. For several years before his
death he was successfully engaged in the manufacture of hooks and
eyes and knit goods. In 1847 he was largely instrumental in the organi-
zation of the New Britain Knitting Company, and was its president
from that time until his death. He was one of the projectors and origi-
nal stockholders of the Hartford and New Haven Railroad, and also
of the Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill Railroad. He took an active
interest in military affairs, became a major in the War of 1812, and was
after known as " Major North." He was active in securing the or-
ganization of the South Congregational Church in 1842, in procuring
its first place of worship, and in providing means for the support of
preaching. He was a friend of education, assisting in the cstaljlish-
ment of schools and academies, and taking a prominent part in the
founding of tire State Normal School and securing its location in New
Britain. He loved business, was wise in planning, and nearly always
successful in his business projects, and at his death was one of the
wealthiest men in Hartford County. He was public-spirited, liberal in
his benefactions, doing much for the church with which he was con-
nected and for the community in which his life was passed. Ho died
March 10, 1851, aged seventy-one.

Henry Stanley was born iu Stanley Quarter, New Britain, Sept. 24,
1807. After completing his school education at Monson Academy,
Mass., he was for a time a clerk in a dry-goods store in Hartford.
Returning to New Britain, he commenced the study of medicine with
Dr. Samuel Hart, but was soon induced to reliuquish study for more
active employment. He was engaged in manufacturing with Alvin
North for a short time, and then went into company with Seth J.
North and William H. Smith, in the firm of North, Smith, & Stanley.

NEW BRITAIN.

315

After Mr. Smith withdrew, the firm continued as North & Stanley.
Mr. Stanley afterward was in company with his brothers, Augustus
and T. W. Stanley, in the firm of H. Stanley & Co. In 1847 he aided
in the introduction of the manufacture of knit goods into New Britain,
and became secretary, treasurer, and superintendent of the New Britain
Knittiug Company. He was interested in many of the manufacturing-
establishments of New Britain and Hartford, and in some elsewhere.
At the time of his death he was president of the American Hosiery
Company, the Stanley Rule and Level Company, and the Stanley Works,

WORKS OF THE STANLEY RULE AXD LEVEL COMPANY.

and director in several other companies. Naturally conservative, his
cool judgment and intelligent counsel often helped to guide the actions
of those associated with him. He was one of the founders of the
South Congregational Church, and for many years a member of the
standing committee, and clerk of the ecclesiastical societv. He died
May 3, 1881.

William H. Smith was born in New Britain, Oct. 22, 1800. His
life was passed in his native place, which he saw transformed from a
quiet country parish of a few hundred inhabitants to an active, thriving
city of as many thousands. In business he was first associated with
Seth J. North and Henry Stanley, under the firm name of North, Smith,
& Stanlev, the leading brass-founders of the village. He afterward
withdrew from this firm, and in 1851 his own business was merged in
the Russell & Erwin ]\Ianufacturing Company. Though not actively
engaged in business during the later years of his life, he was interested
in the principal manufacturing companies of New Britain, and a direc-
tor in several of them. He was president of the New Britain Savings
Bank from its organization until his death, and a director in the New
Britain National Bank. He was for a time warden of the borough, and
filled with acceptance other civil offices. In all these positions his
fidelity and conscientious attention to the trusts committed to him won
the respect and confidence of the community. He became a member

316 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

of the First Church in New Britain in 1829. He withdrew from this
church in 1842 to unite with others in the organization of the South
Congregational Church, of which he was a member until his death. For
fifteen years as a member of the standing committee, and for the last
eight years of his life as deacon, he faithfully served the church.
Though modesty and diffidence characterized his public life, he did not
shrink from Ivuown duty. He was liberal in gifts to benevolent objects,
sympathetic, but discriminating and judicious in rendering aid to the
poor and unfortunate. His genial nature, uniform cheerfuhiess, and
sincere regard for others won for him a large circle of friends. He
died Aug. 20, 1873. Mr. Smith may be taken as a worthy type of
the class of men who by their enterprise and fidelity promoted the
growth of their native place, — a town richer in the character of its men
than in its natural resources.

Cornelius B. Erwin was born in Booneville, New York, June 11,
1811. In his youth he worl^ed in his father's tannery and shoemalvcr's
shop, but on attaining his majority he sought more active employ-
ment. In 1832, with but five dollars in money, he left home as assist-
ant to a drover, and came to Hartford with a consignment of horses.
He soon sought and found work in New Britain, and with the exception
of a short absence in 1833, for another consignment of horses, he made
this place his home for the remainder of his life. He was for a short
time in the employ of North A: Stanley, tlien a partner in the firm
of W. H. Belden & Co., and in 1836 went into company with George
Lewis, under the firm name of Erwin, Lewis, & Co. On the 1st of
January, 1839, he entered into partnership with Henry E. Russell,
F. T. Stanley, and Smith Matteson, engaged in the manufacture of locks
and other hardware. He continued with Mr. Russell as a partner in
the successive firms of Stanley, Russell, & Co. ; Matteson, Russell, Erwin,
& Co. ; and Russell, Erwin, & Co., all doing business in the same locality.
On the organization in 1851 of the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing
Company he became its president, and held the office by successive
elections until his death. He was president and a director of the New
Britain National Bank, a director of the New Britain Savings Bank
and of the principal manufacturing companies of New Britain, of sev-
eral insurance companies in Hartford, and of other corporations in
Hartford and elsewhere. Though seldom holding public offices, by
wise counsels and the judicious use of his wealth he aided public im-
provements. His sterling integrity and practical wisdom in business
matters made him a valuable counsellor. He was beneficent Avhile
living, and by his will devised most of his large property, inventoried
at more than a million of dollars, to the cause of education and to
public and charitable uses. He died March 22, 1885, in the seventy-
fourth year of his age.

John B. Talcott was born in Thompsonville, Sept. 4, 1824. His
parents removed to West Hartford in 1828. He fitted for college in the
Hartford Grammar School, and graduated from Yale in 1846, the salu-
tatorian of his class. He studied law with Francis Fellowes, Esq.,
of Hartford, at the same time hearing Latin recitations in the Hart-
ford Female Seminary, and performing the duties of Clerk of the Pro-
bate Court. While thus engaged he was appointed tutor to fill a vacancy
for a year in Middlebury College, Vermont, after which he returned to

j:.ho'2yB.S.nc-

NEW BRITAIN. 317

Hartford, and was admitted to the bar. He was soon appointed tutor
in Greek at Yale College, and filled the position for three years ; at the
same time pursuing his law studies, expecting to practise law. He was,
however, induced to change his plans and begin active business in New
Britain, as a partner with Seth J. North and others, then engaged in the
manufacture of knit goods and of hooks and eyes. He was elected treas-
urer and manager of the New Britain Knitting Company, holding this
position for fourteen years. In 1868 he organized the American Ho-
siery Company, of which he was for many years secretary and treasurer.
He is now president of this company, and also of the New Britain
Knitting Company, the New Britain Institute, and the New Britain
Club ; a director in the New Britain Savings Bank, in the City Bank,
Hartford, and in several manufacturing companies. He was elected a
member of the common council in 1876, alderman in 1877-1879, and
mayor in 1880 and 1881. In all the relations of his public business
and in social life he has the respect and confidence of his fellow-
citizens and of all who know him.

David N. Camp was born in Durham, Oct. 3, 1820. He tauglit a few
years in public schools and in an academy in Meriden. On the incor-
poration of the State Normal School he was appointed teacher in that
institution, became associate principal in 1855, and principal and State
Superintendent of Schools in 1857. He resigned in 1866, and passed
some months visiting the educational institutions of Europe. While
there he was appointed a professor in St. John's College, Annapolis,
Maryland, where he taught until the organization of the National Bureau
of Education, when he resigned, to engage in the service of the bureau
in collecting information respecting education. He established the New
Britain Seminary in 1870, and was its principal until 1881. He was for
several years editor and manager of the " Connecticut Common School
Journal," and afterward of other periodicals. He revised Mitcheirs
Outline Maps and the " Governmental Instructor," compiled and
edited the " American Year Book," and is the author of a series of
geographies and maps, and of a globe manual. On the organization
of the city government, in 1870, he was elected a member of the
common council, was mayor from 1877 to 1879, and represented the
toAvn in the General Assembly in 1879. He was one of the incor-
porators of the New Britain Institute, is president of the Adkins
Printing Company, vice-president of the New Britain National Bank,
and director in several other corporations.^

Among the early residents of New Britain were several persons of
marked character, of whom portraits and full sketches cannot well be
given. Captain Stephen Lee, one of the seven pillars of the Great
Swamp Church, resided on East Street, and owned a large tract of land
extending from his home to Main Street. He was captain of the Far-
mington train-band, was much engaged in civil and ecclesiastical
affairs, and was one of the leaders in securing the organization of the
New Britain Society ; but in 1753, nearly a year before the act was con-
summated, he died, at the age of eighty-seven. Colonel Isaac Lee, a
grandson of Stephen, was a farmer by occupation, residing at the head
of Main Street, but his time was largely given to the public service.

1 Abridged from "American Journal of Education."

318 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

He was prominent in the organization of the First Church, and one of
its officers for forty-eight years. He was for thirty years the leading
magistrate of the place, administering justice fearlessly and impartially,
and was treated with great respect. He represented the town in the
General Assembly, and in 1788 was a delegate to the State Conven-
tion which adopted the Constitution of the United States. He died
Dec. 13, 1806, aged eighty-six. Major John Paterson, who lived near
Captain Lee, on East Street, was a large landholder, owning some
slaves, and was active in civil and military affairs. His son. General
John Paterson, graduated from Yale college in 1762, and lived at his
father's homestead as a practising attorne}^ and teacher. He I'emoved
to Binghamton, New York, became Chief Justice of Broome County,
and held other local offices of trust. He was a brigadier-general in
the War of the Revolution ; then a member of the legislature of New
York for four years ; a member of the convention to amend the con-
stitution of the State in 1801 ; and a representative in Congress 1803-
1805. He became an extensive landholder, and removed to Lisle, New
York, where he died, July 19, 1808, at the age of sixty-four. In the
northeastern part of the place Thomas Standley, or Stanley, a direct
descendant of one of the first settlers of Farmington, exerted a large
influence, and, with his sons, gave name to Stanley Quarter.

In the southwestern part of the parish was a band of stalwart men
who gave name to Hart Quarter, and stamped their influence on the
whole place. Judah Hart and Elijah Hart were relatives of nearly the
same age, and married in the same year, 1731. They had their homes
near each other. The former had three and the latter seven sons, who
lived to manhood, were married, and, with a single exception, resided
near the homes of their parents. All were members of the First
Church, two had ten children each, two eleven each, and some of the
others had large families. All owned considerable property, and a few
possessed large estates. Several were men of more than ordinary intel-
ligence and force of character.

^^2^- «->^<rC .2v-.v-v.^^

XIX.

NEWINGTON.

«
BY ROGER WELLES.

NEWINGTON contains about fourteen square miles, in the form of
a ))arallclog'rani, about iixe miles in length from north to south,
and two and three fourtlis miles in breadth. It adjoins seven
other towns : West Hartford and a part of Hartford on the north ; Weth-
ersfield and a part of Rocky Hill on the east ; Berlin, Roclcy Hill, and a
point of land belonging to Wethersfield on the south ; and Xew Britain
and parts of Berlin and of Farmington on the west. As seen from
Cedar Mountain, whose ridge substantially forms its natural eastern
boundary, the town spreads out Ijencath the eye in a valley of field,
forest, and meadow, every acre of which is capable of cultivation. It
is easily seen to be the home of the farmer, and the well-tilled farms
bespeak the intelligent thrift and industry of the people. One at-
tractive feature of the picture is an oval-shaped sheet of water in the
exact geographical centre of the place, on a comparatively high plateau
of land, and confined l)y a natural ledge of traiwock. Its outlet divides
the town irregularly into halves, and joins a larger stream from Now
Britain, anciently called Piper's River, which winds through West
Hartford, and by Park River through Hartford into the Connecticut.
Two main highways, half a mile apart, run north and south through
Newington, marking the ancient divisions of the parish, called the
West Divisions by the fathers, who originally subdivided them into
" lots."

The village Congregational church stands conspicuous on an emi-
nence on the eastern mainroad, about midway of the place north and
south, and in its rear is " God's acre." Near by are the town-hall,
post-office, and store, with that inevitable adjunct of the meeting-house
in the early days — the whipping-})ost, which has now, however, lost its
former vocation. There is one other church edifice in the town. At
the northern part, where the two railroads. New York, New Haven, and
Hartford, and New York and New England, form a junction, and have a
common depot, a village has clustered, with a post-office and store and
Grace Church.

Sowheag, a sachem of the Mattabesett tribe, originally sold the land
in Newington to the first settlers of Wethersfield. A committee ap-
pointed by the two towns of Wethersfield and Farmington definitely
settled the western limit of this Indian purchase on the 29th of Oc-
tober, 1670, by a line which established their boundary, running from

320 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Hartford south to a white-oak tree " standhig about a mile to the south
of ]\[attabesett River on rising Land," or not far from the present town-
hall of Berlin. This line still divides the towns of Newington and
New Britain.

In February, 1G71, the inhabitants of Wethersfield voted that " the
land next Farmington bounds," one mile in Ijrcadth, and extending
from Hartford to Middletown, should be divided to all the " household-
ers of the town that lived on the west side of the river." There must
have been seventy-six households west of the river at this time, for
-the tract was divided into seventy-six shares or "lots," each twenty-
six rods wide and containing fifty-two acres, for which the house-
holders drew lots. The tract contained 3,952 acres, and was called
the West Division. The lots were described by numbers, beginning at
the north end.

In 1G86 the town authorized the lay-out of a highway twelve rods
wide at the front or east end of these lots, from Hartford line south-
ward. This is now one of the main highways of the town ; but though
still wide, its width has materially diminished in the two centuries since.
In the same vear the town granted to the Rev. John Woodbridae two
hundred acres of land, Avhich was laid out west on this hitrhwav, north
on the Hartford line for eight-score I'ods or half a mile, east and south
on the common, and extending soutli two hundred and ten rods. The
extra ten rods were prol)al>ly for a highway. This grant undoubtedly
extended south to the highway now running east from the North
school-house.

There was another general division of common land authorized by
the town in February, 1G94. In October following a committee was
appointed to make the division. In April, 1005, it reported a division
of five different tiers of lots. The third tier ran east from the Wood-
bridge grant, abutting north on the Hartford line and south on what
is now called Jordan Lane, which then extended west of Cedar Moun-
tain in what was as nearly a straight line as the topographical character
of the mountain would permit. The lots ran north and south one
hundred rods across the tier, and being of shorter length than was
usual, Avere called "■ short lots." There were but nine of these lots in
all, numbered 70 to 87 inclusive, extending from Ensign Stedman's on
the east to the Woodbridge grant on the west. Land was left for a
highway south af them. The first, second, and fifth tiers were in Weth-
ersfield, in that part now constituting Rocky Hill. The fourth tier of lots
was wholly in Newington, called the East Tier, and ran ])arallel to the
West Division, and half a mile cast ; being separated from it by a strip
of common land called the Half-mile Common. It was a half-mile
wide, and extended from the highway south of the " slioi't lots " to the
New Haven road as its southern terminus, or about four miles. It
contained thirty-nine lots, beginning at the north end with lot 88, and
ending with lot 126 at the south. The lots of this second division were
all apportioned according to the lists of the proprietors as taken in
October, 1693, because a purchase of land had been made from the
Indians and paid for by a special tax laid u])on the list.

The building of a saw-mill at the foot of the lake had been author-
ized as early as Oct. 25, 1677, and lots of tAventy acres each, in the

NEWINGTOX. 321

immediate vicinity, " about Pipe-Stave Swamp," were granted by the
town to Emanuel Buck, John Riley, Samuel Boardman, and Joseph
Riley, on condition that they build a saw-mill, "to be up and fit to
work " by the last of September, 1678. It is mentioned as in existence
in the spring of 1680. This lake was in the half-mile common, as were
these lots, which were called saw-mill lots. In subsequent transfers of
these and other lots they are often described in the deeds as situated in
Cowplain, which was the designation given to this part of the town for
many years before it was called Newington. A third general division
of all the common lands of the town was authorized at a meeting of the
proprietors, held Feb. 20, 1752, to be apportioned according to the list
made up after August 20 preceding. The grant of lots for the building
of the first saw-mill, as detailed, probably followed not long after the first
settlement of Newington. Settlers were attracted by the lake and its
mill privilege, and the well-watered valley abounding in heavy timber ;
while abundant grazing is suggested by the name Cowplain. Pipe-
staves had been obtained there long enough for the locality to be named
Pipe-stave Swamp in the vote of the town in 1677. The tradition is
that five persons — three by the name of Audrus, and tlie others Slead
and Hunn — were the first settlers of Newington. The records show
that Joseph Andrus drew lot 115 in the division of land laid out
according to the list of 1693, so that he was settled there and had
property in the list prior to tliat date. He came from Farmington,
where he was born May 26, 1651, the son of John Andrus, one of the
first settlers of tliat town. He married in 1677, and died April 27,
1706. As he was not one of those Avho drew lots in the division of
1671, he could not then have been a householder in tlie town. He
bought one of the saw-mill lots, March 31, 1684, and afterward made
many other purchases, and became a large landholder. He is said to
have located near the centre, and to have l)uilt a house that was for-
tified, a few rods south of the meeting-house, to which the first settlers
retired with their families every night and slept on their arms ; but
the Indians in the neighborhood were friendly, and never attacked
them. He left a son. Dr. Joseph Andrus, born in 1678, who was
prominent in church and society affairs, and was said to have been " a
shrewd, observing man, who had a very retentive memory." He died
Jan. 18, 1756. He left a son, Joshua, afterward a deacon of the
church. He lived on the spot where the Kappell family now reside.
The two other settlers by the name of Andrus were said to have been
nephews of Joseph, and to have settled in the south part of the parish ;
they were probably the brothers Daniel and John Andrus, who were
the sons of Daniel Andrus of Farmington, a brother of Joseph.

John Slead, or Sled, bought a fifty-two-acre lot (No. 22) in the
West Division, Dec. 16, 1681, and half of the next lot south, Nov. 10,
1694. He is said to have built his house near the site of the old
academy, about half a mile west of the house of Joseph Andrus. His
name appears in the town but not in the society records.

Samuel Hunn bought the ninety-first lot in the division of 1693,
containing twenty-five and a half acres, Aug. 14, 1695, and two years
later he bought the third, fourth, and sixth lots in the West Division.
His name appears prominently in the towm and society records. He is
said to have located in the north part of the place. He died, Nov. 1, 1738,

VOL. II. — 21.

322 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY,

aged sixty-seven, according to the inscription on his gravestone in the
Newington cemetery, which has the following lines : —

"The flefli & bones of Samuel Hunn
Lie uiulerneath this TomL
Oh, lett them reft in Quietnefs,
Untill the day of Doome."

None of these settlers except the first drew lots in either of the two West
Divisions. There was another settler in the extreme south part of the
place who was undoubtedly the first in point of time, and pre-eminent in
the extent of his land. Sergeant Richard Beckley received a grant from
the General Court, Oct. 8, 1668, of three hundred acres lying on both
sides of Mattabesett River to run up from New Haven path, Tliis
grant was confirmed by the town at a meeting held Feb. 23, 1670-71, in
which it is described as obtained by him "by purchase of Turramuggus,
Indian, with the consent of the court and town . . . whereon his house-
ing and barn standeth," so that at this date he had a house and barn
in Newington. This confirmation of his grant from Turramuggus is,
however, stipulated to be on the condition that he give up all right or lot
in the West Division, which was separated from his land only by a
highway. The tradition is that he married a daughter of Turramuggus.
As the latter was a successor of the sachem Sowheag, and one of his
heirs, and had the disposal of so much land, an alliance with the royal
line of native chiefs may not have been disadvantageous, and may account
for this grant and for his location near the home of the chief.^ Other
Beckleys in process of time settled around him, until the name of
Beckley Quarter was acquired by the locality. He appears to have
been one of the first settlers of New Haven, and one of the pillars of
Mr. Davenport's cliurch. The records of that colony show that he
resided there from 1639 to 1659. In 1646 he and " sister Beckley,"
who was probably his wife, were " seated " in Mr. Davenport's church
in the second seat, indicating his prominence. He is stated to have
married for his second wife a daughter of John Dcming, of Wethers-
field. In 1662 he was appointed a constable in Wethersfield, so that
his removal from New Haven to Wethersfield was between 1659 and
1662. He died Aug. 5, 1690. As the land in Newington was highly
productive, the pioneer settlers were soon joined by others, and in a few
years this small beginning grew into a considerable and prosperous
settlement.

By the year 1708 the settlement had so increased that the inhabi-
tants petitioned the town of Wethersfield to be a distinct parish. In a
town-meeting held Dec. 18, 1710, the petition was so far granted as to
give the petitioners libertv " jointly and publicly to gather in the public
worship of God amongst themselves for four months of the year yearly,
that is to say, December, January, February, and March." Another

1 Li an Indian deed of the town Lands of Wethersfield, given Dec. 25, 1671, to confirm
the ancient grant of Sowheag, the grantors as recorded are described as " Turramuggus, Sepan-
namaw, sr.uaw, daughter to Sowheag, Speunno, Nabowhee, Weesumpshee, ^\aphank, true heirs
of and rightful successors to the aforesaid Sowheag " (Town Votes, ii. 202). In another Indian
deed c'iven Feb. 10, 1672, Turramuirgus is described as " the sachem," and among the signers
are h'iniself, his daughter, and Kesoso, the "sachem's squaw" (Town Votes, "-252) In both
deeds he signs first, as the prominent personage, and in the latter deed his mark is followed by
that of his°wife, and then by his daughter's.

NEWIXGTON. 323

petition was presented to a meeting held Dec. 24, 1712, alleging the
difficulty "in the best season of the year" of attending public worship
in Wetiierslield, and the capacity of the petitioners " in a tolerable
manner " of maintaining a minister " with the ordinances of the gos-
pel," and expressing their earnest desire of being a distinct parish.
This petition was signed by thirty persons, who {n'obably represented
that number of families residing in the West Divisions. The action of
the town was now favorable, and the petitioners were granted the privi-
lege of being " a distinct parish by themselves for the carrying on the
worship of God amongst themselves," and a committee was appointed
to " look out a convenient place on the commons between the two last
divisions whereon the west farmers shall erect their meeting-house."
This committee reported at a town-meeting held March 23, 1713, that
the meeting-house should, when erected, " stand on that piece of cleared
land adjacent to the house of Joseph Hurlbut and J(jhn Griswold, west-
erly, about the middle of said land, on the west side of a small black
oak tree." This report was accepted. In May, 1713, a committee of
the west proprietors petitioned the General Court, then in session at
Hartford, to confirm the grant. The Beckleys, however objected to
being included in the ncAV society, because they were " twice so near "
to the meeting-house in the Great Swamp Society as to the place
selected by the committee for the meeting-house of the new society.
Their opposition was unavailing. The Assembly granted the charter
" according to the grant of the toAvn of Wethcrsfield," with jiarish limits
" two miles and fifty rods in width from Farmington township eastward,
bounded on the North by Hartford, and on the South by Middletown."
The parish as thus incorporated contained two settlements, one of
about twenty-three families in the vicinity of the selected site for the
meeting-house, north of the geographical centre, and called in the
language of that day the " Upper Houses," and the other of seven or
eight families near the southern extremity and called the " Lower
Houses." The latter immediately took measures to sever their en-
forced union with the " Upper Inhahitants," and effect a junction with
the Great Swamp Society. As an equivalent for their secession they
proposed the annexation to the new parish of some of the proprietors
of lands in Farmington in the division of land abutting upon Wethers-
field. These proprietors were nearer the chosen site of the meeting-
house in Newington than to that in the Great Swamp Society, and
were found to be willing to make the exchanti'e. For the encourao-e-
ment of this exchange the " Lower Inhabitants " executed a bond dated
May 13, 1715, for the payment to their " neighbors in said Western
Society " of £50 to help build the new meeting-house, and lodged
it on file in the office of the colonial secretary at Hartford, where
it is still to be seen. A petition was presented to the General Court
at its session in May, 1715, to legalize the exchange. This body
appointed a committee to " go upon the place " and effect a settlement
if possible, consider the subject of the exchange, fix a site for the
meeting-house if necessary, and report at the next October session of
the Assembly. The committee reported in favor of the exchange, and
fixed the site of the meeting-house on the commons " near Dr. Joseph
Andrus's house," which was the site previously selected by the town
committee.

324 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

The Assembly accepted the report and passed an act to carry it
into effect. Thus Stanley Quarter, as the annexed portion of Farming-
ton was called, became a part of the parish of Newington ; and it so
continued till 1754, when the parish of New Britain was incorporated,
covering this territory, and Beckley Quarter was confirmed to the
society of Kensington, and afterward became incorporated with the
town of Berlin. In the year 1716 the new society began to keep a
record of its meetings, and from that time to the present this record is
nearly unbroken. The society immediately began the erection of its
meeting-house. In 1720 they made choice of the Rev. Elisha Williams
as their minister. In 1721 the society was legally christened Newing-
ton by the General Assembly, in honor, it is said, of the residence of
Dr. Watts, near London, England, on the Surrey side of the Thames.
The church was duly organized at a fast held Oct. 3, 1722, and Mr.
Williams was ordained Oct. 17, 1722.

In 1871 the inhabitants of Newington were found by a special cen-
sus to number eight hundred and thirty-seven. A considerable part
of them presented a petition to the General Assembly of that year for
incorporation as a town, partly for the same reasons that had actuated
their fathers in 1712 in their earnest desire to be a distinct and inde-
pendent parish, — the inconvenience and difficulty of travelling to
Wethersfield over Cedar Mountain and several ranges of hills and
intervening valleys, and the conviction that they could better manage
their own affairs if they had a free and independent local self-govern-
ment, tlian as an outlying and dependent fraction of Wethersfield.
The petition met with some local opposition in Newington, but none
from their tramontane brethren. The citizens of Newington nomi-
nated a candidate for the legislature who favored the new town. His
name was put on the tickets of both political parties, and he was
elected on that issue almost unanimously. The act of incorporation
was passed by the legislature without an opj^iosing vote, and was
approved by Governor Jewell, July 10, 1871. The boundaries of the
toAvn were a little more extensive as originally incorporated than those
already mentioned, Init were the following year made to conform to
their present limits. During the few years of its existence the town
has increased in numbers and prosperity much more rapidly than ever
before in the same length of time. By the census of 1880 its popula-
tion was 934, an increase of over eleven per cent in nine years. It
has built a town-liall, and substantial im])rovements have been made
in roads and bridges. It has no debt, and its taxes have been usually
about seven mills on the dollar. No liquor is licensed to be sold within
its borders. No saloon has ever spread its baleful influence. It sends
one representative yearly to the legislature, and has elected thirteen in
all. Newington is the youngest of the twenty-nine towns forming
the sisterhood of Hartford County, and her history as such is yet to be
achieved.

Three religious denominations have had houses of worship in the
town, — the Congregational, Episcopal, and Methodist, — the first of
which was the sole church organization until near the close of the
last century. The establishment of the Ecclesiastical Society connected

NEWINQTON. 325

with this church has ah^eadj been related. There are no records of the
church known to exist, separate from the society records, prior to 1747.
Its first minister was the Rev. Elislia Williams, whose life may be
briefly outlined as follows. He was the son of the Rev. William
Williams of Hatfield, Mass., where he was born Aug. 24, 1694. He

;^/-2

entered the Sophomore Class at Harvard College in 1708, and grad-
uated in 1711. The year following he taught the grammar school at
Hadley, Mass. He married Eunice, daughter of Thomas Chester, of
Wethersfield, Feb. 23, 1714-15. He then took up his residence in
Wethersfield, whore the records show ho owned Indian slaves. He
represented the town in the colonial legislature in October, 1717 ; May,
1718 ; May and October, 1719 ; and May, 1720. Ho was clerk of tlie
house at all of these sessions but that of May, 1719, Avhen he Avas audi-
tor of public accounts. He acted as tutor of Yale students at Wethers-
field from 1716 to 1718. In 1720 he had a severe fit of sickness, w^ien
he became " sanctified," to use the language of President Stiles. He
was chosen the minister of the parish at about twenty-six years of
age, at a society meeting held Aug. 5, 1720. A settlement of £170
was voted, and a salary of £50 a year. He doubtless continued to
preach until the formal organization of the church in 1722. In the
fall of 1725 he was chosen rector of Yale College. Neo-otiations be-
tween the church and college were had as to the sum wliich should be
awarded the former for their charges in settling him. On the 4th of
May, 1726, £200 lO.s. were awarded, and his connection witli the society
was dissolved. He was installed as rector in Septeml^er, 1726, and filled
the position for thirteen years, — till Oct. 21, 1739, when he resigned
on account of ill health. He then returned to Wethersfield, and was
again a representative in May, 1740, and was Speaker of the House.
He continued to be a deputy from Wethersfield and Speaker of the
House for several sessions. He was judge of the Superior Court in
1740, and for some years thereafter. In March, 1745, he was ap-
pointed chaplain to the State forces sent in April in the expedition
against Cape Breton, and witnessed the capture of Louisburg. In May,
1746, he was again a deputy in the Assembly. That session voted to
send an expedition to Canada, and Mr. Williams was appointed its
colonel. The regiment did not go, Ijut expenses were incurred, and he
was sent as special agent to Great Britain to negotiate for their pay-
ment by the home government. While there his wife died. May 31,
1750 ; and the next year, Jan. 27, 1751, he married Elizabeth Scott,
the hymnist, only daughter of the Rev. Thomas Scott, of Norwich,
England. (The Hon. Thomas Scott Williams, late Chief Justice of
Connecticut, and a relative of the rector, was named after this father-

326

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

in-law.) After his return from abroad he lived in Wethersfield till his
death, July 2-1, 1755. His career shows him to have been a man of
remarkable versatility of talent, and prominent in theology, education,
law, legislation, diplomacy, and military ah'airs. John Deming was

the first deacon of the church, appointed at its organization, Oct. 3,
1722 ; and he continued to officiate till his death. May 1, 1761. Jabez
Whittlesey was chosen in April, 1726, and officiated until his removal
to Bethlem in 1745.

NEWINGTON. 327

The Rev. Simon Backus was ordained the second minister of the
church Jan. 25, 1727. He was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth
(Huntington) Backus, of Norwich, where he was born Feb. 11,
1701. He graduated at Yale College in 1724. He had a settlement of
£115, and a salary of X70, to rise to X90. He was married, Oct. 1,
1729, to Eunice Edwards, daughter of the Rev. Timothy Edwards, of
East "Windsor. He preached in Xewington till he was appointed chap-
lain to the Connecticut forces that garrisoned Louisburg after its cap-
ture. He probably was the immediate successor of Rector Williams in
that position. He died at his post March 15, 1746, leaving his widow,
with seven children, in such straitened circumstances that upon her
memorial the Assembly granted her <£300 in old-tenor bills. Her
brother, the famous Jonathan Edwards, was one of the fourteen stu-
dents of Yale at Wethersfield in 1716, and afterward occasionally
preached in Newington.

The third minister was the Rev. Joshua Belden, the son of Silas
and Abigail (Robbins) Belden, of Wethersfield, born July 19, 1724.
He graduated at Yale in 1743, and began to preach in Newington, May
10, 1747, and was ordained the 11th of
November following. He discharged the ^y'^^jvy
active duties of pastor for fifty-six years, // ^
— until Nov. 6, 1803. He died July 23, ^ '

1813. He was thrice married. He admitted to the communion of the
church 169 members, and to the half-way covenant, 159 persons ; but
this practice was discontinued in 1775 as unauthorized by Scripture.
The baptisms were 622 ; marriages, 336 ; and deaths, 443. Deacons
were chosen as follows : Josiah Willard was appointed the third deacon
in 1745, and so continued until his death, Marcli 9, 1757. Joshua An-
drus, 1757 ; died April 25, 1786. John Camp, Julv 2, 1761 ; died Julv
27, 1782. Elisha Stoddard, Aug. 14, 1782 ; died July 2, 1790. Charles
Churchill, Aug. 31, 1786 ; died Oct. 29, 1802. James Wells, Aug. 5,
1790; resigned Oct. 29,1818. Daniel Willard, Feb. 24, 1803; died
Jan. 16, 1817.

Deacon Charles Churchill, who was at one time captain of the local
military company, built, about 1754, in the south part of the town,
what is now known as the old Churchill house. It was then considered
one of the finest residences hereabouts. Besides seven open fireplaces,
it contains four great ovens, one of which is large enough to roast an
entire ox ; and it is the tradition that Captain Churchill once entertained
Washington and Lafayette there, and that all four ovens were in full
blast at the same time. One of its chambers is said to have been
papered with the depreciated currency received by Captain Churchill for
supplies which he furnished to the army.

In 1797, after a controversy of nearly eighteen years over the site,
the erection of a new meeting-house was begun a few rods northwest of
the first one. It was practically finished the next year. It has been
much modernized by frequent repairs, and is now a very pleasant house
of worship. During the Revolutionary War Mr. Belden took the patri-
otic side, and a sermon of his, preached Juno 30, 1776, is full of vigor-
ous exhortation to his people to both pray and fight in defence of their
country ; and they responded by sending one hundred men into the
war, — one fifth part of the population of the parish, equivalent to

328

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

THE CHURCHILL HOUSE.

all its fighting men. The church numbered fifty-one members at
Mr. Belden's resignation.

The fourth minister, the Rev. Joab Brace, D.D., was the son of
Zenas and Mary (Skinner) Brace, of West Hartford, born June 13,
1781. He graduated at Yale in 1804 ; preached his first sermon at

Ncwington Oct. 7,1804;
and was ordained Jan.
16, 1805. He married,
Jan. 21,1805, Lucy Col-
lins, of West Hartford.
Ho continued the active
duties of pastor for just fifty years, preaching his farewell sermon
Jan. 16, 1855, which was printed by the society. The degree of Doctor
of Divinity was conferred in 1854 by Williams College. He died, April 20,
1861, in Pittsfield, Mass., at the residence of his son-in-law, the Rev.
Dr. John Todd. He was a man of towering and commanding figure,
with piercing black eyes and sonorous voice. In his later days he was
most dignified and venerable in his appearance. During his ministry
the admissions were 321 ; baptisms, 401 ; marriages, 257 ; and deaths,
453 ; and at its close the church numbered 170 members. The follow-
ing deacons were chosen: Levi Deming, Oct. 29,1818; died Jan. 1,
1847. Origen Wells, Oct. 29, 1818 ; resigned Nov. 29, 1847. Jedediah
Deming, Julv 1, 1847 ; died Mav 4, 1868. Jeremiah Sevmour, Nov. 29,
1847 ; died April 1, 1867.

A Sunday school was established in 1819 by a few of the church-
members, which now numbers 223 members, and has eight hundred
books in its library.

NEWINQTON, 329

The fifth minister, the Rev. William Pope Aikin, was the son of
Lemuel S. and Sarah (Coffin) Aiivin, of Fairhaven, Mass., born July 9,

1825. He graduated at Yale in

1853, and became a tutor in that ^/A/ /y JO yn " /f "

institution. He received a call /fyi/ld^a.'-T-'j^ r ^Ayi/^^^^^*^-
to settle in Newington March o,

1856, which he accepted, and was ordained Jan. 15, 1857. He married
Susan, daughter of Edwin Edgerton, Esq., of Rutland, Vermont,
Aug. 13, 1857. He discharged the duties of pastor for ten years, greatly
to the satisfaction of his people, to whom he endeared himself by the
high qualities of his mind and heart ; and they reluctantly yielded to
his resignation and departure to another field of labor in the summer
of 1867. During his pastorate the admissions were 54 ; baptisms,
63 ; marriages, 31 ; deaths, 109. The deacons chosen were Rufus
Stoddard, May 3, 1867 ; died Jan. 30, 1870. Levi S. Deming, May 3,
1867 ; resigned in 1870. Mr. Aikin died at Rutland, Vermont, March
29, 1884.

The following ministers have also officiated as pastors during the
years designated : The Rev's Sandford S. Martvn, 1868-1869 ; Dr.
Robert G. Vermilye, 1870-1873; William J. Thomson, 1875-1879;
John E. Elliott, 1879-1884. The deacons chosen during the same
period are Jedediah Deming, Feb. 6, 1870 ; Charles K. Atwood and
Heman A. Whittlesey, March 6, 1870, who are still in office. The
church now numbers 191 members, with 102 families, who habitually
attend its public worship.

The eighteen years' controversy as to the site of the second meeting-
house settled down, toward its close, to a choice between two rival loca-
tions. When the question was decided, in the summer of 1797, many
of the defeated party joined with persons in Worthington and Kensing-
ton, that same fall, in erecting an Episcoi)al church in the southwest
part of the parish, a little below where William Richards now resides.
This church was fifty by forty feet in size, with a tall steeple, and was
erected and finished at about the same time as its rival. It was called
" Christ Church," and kept up an active organization for thirteen ^jears.
Its clergymen were the Rev. Seth Hart, the Rev. James Kilbourn, and
the Rev. Ammi Rogers, besides others who may have officiated tem-
porarily. Mr. Jonathan Gilbert was appointed warden of the parish
April 18, 1808. The members were few and the expenses heavy, so
that the church did not prosper. No records were kept from 1810 to

1826, when the society had become virtually defunct. A remnant of
the church organized in 1826 for the purpose of disposiug of the
church edifice, which had become somewhat dilapidated by neglect, and
it was sold for one hundred and fifteen dollars, and the avails turned
over to the Episcopal Church in New Britain. There was a burying-
ground connected with this church on the opposite side of the street,
which is the only vestige left, visible to the eye of the passing traveller,
of what was the first Episcoi)al church in Newington. There is a
record-book in the hands of Mr. Seldcn Deming.

The second Episcopal organization held its first church service in
1860, in the house of Jared Starr, Esq. Such services were held in
private houses or in the depot until November, 1874, when the corner-
stone of Grace Church was laid, and in March, 1875, the edifice

330 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

was completed and occupied. The audience-room has seats for one
hmidred and fifty persons. It is h)cated about a half-mile northeast of
the depot. The number of families on the parish register is thirteen ;
communicants, twenty-one ; average attendance upon public worship,
forty. In the Sunday-school there are thirty scholars and four teachers.
The clerffvmen who have officiated more or less are the Rev's Professor
Francis T. Russell, F. B. Chetwood, Francis Goodwin, William F.
Nichols, John M. Bates, and Howard S. Clapp. Grace Church is free
to all, supported by contributions collected every Sunday. It was con-
secrated June 15, 1882. Its wardens are Jarcd Starr and E. T. Day.

Prior to 1831 there had been too few Methodists to attempt an
organization, but about that date they were joined by some disaffected
members of the Congregational church, and on Nov. 28, 1834, Mr.
Zaccheus Brown conveyed a rood of land, at the northwest corne]" of his
home-lot, to Anion Richards, Robert Francis, Jr., and Hervey Francis,
" in trust for the use and benefit of the trustees of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church." A church was there erected twenty-six by thirty-six
feet in size, without steeple or bell. Public worship was maintained for
some years. It had a Sunday school which in 1837 numbered forty
scholars. But the organization did not attain any permanent pros-
perity. In the fall of 1860 the meeting-house was removed to the
corner northeast of the Congregational church, and in 1870 it was sold,
and devoted to private uses. Its assets and members went to the
Methodist church in New Britain.

The first action in relation to schools was taken at a society meet-
ing held Dec. 31, 1723, when a school committee was appointed, and
" the country money " was voted " to them to defray part of the chai'ge
of a school." The first school-house is mentioned in a vote passed
Dec. 15, 1729. A new school-house at the north end was built in 1757.
It was voted, Dec. 1, 1760, that the summer school be kept by " a
school dame," which shows an early appreciation of the value of female
teachers. A school-house at the south end is mentioned in 1773. In
1774 a new school-house was ordered to be built in the centre of the
society, " near to Captain Martin Kellogg's house." The society was
divided into three school districts in 1783, called the North, the Middle,
and the South districts. A fourth district was created by the school
society in 1835, called the Southeast district. These districts still con-
tinue, with some changes of boundaries. The four districts have five
school-houses, all in good condition. A new school-house was built in
the Middle district in 1883 at a cost of two thousand dollars. The
number of children enumerated in the town in January, 1883, was two
hundred and thirty-one. In 1829 an association was formed, called
" the Newington Education Company," for tlie purpose of building an
academy for a school of a " higher order " than the district schools.
The building was erected, and an academy flourished there for a quarter
of a century. Though there has l^een no academy in the place for the
last thirty years, education has not been neglected. It was estimated
by Dr. Brace in 1855 that for twenty years prior to that date one thou-
sand dollars annually had been spent in educating Newington children
abroad, in seminaries, high schools, and colleges. This annual ex-
penditure has undoubtedly greatly increased with tlie added years.

NEWINGTON. 331

Dr. Brace had a private school for tliirty years, in which he fitted boys
for college, instructing- two hundred in all. Our common schools have
made steady advancement, never having afforded better advantages to
the scholars than to-day. ''

There are three mill-privileges which have been occupied as sites
where mills have l)cen carried by water-power : one in the centre of
the town, at the north end of the pond ; one in the north district, on
Piper's River ; and one at the west side, near the boundary line. There
have been five grist-mills. The first was built as early as 1720 probably,
by Deacon Josiah Willard, at the north end. The second, at the west
side, was built by Benjamin Adkins, on the spot where Luther's mill
now stands. The third was built by Martin Kellogg, 4th, and Daniel
Willard, 2d, where the first one stood. Its long mill-dam was several
times partially carried away by the freshets to which that river is sub-
ject. The fourth was built at the centre, nortli of the pond, by Israel
Kelsey and Joseph Kelsey, of Berlin, and Unni Bobbins, of Newington.
It was afterward destroyed by fire. Several other mills and factories
have been built and dcsstroyed by fire since at that place. The present
factory there makes paper for binders' boards. The fifth grist-mill was
built by Joseph and James Churchill, where Adkins's mill had been,
at the " west side." It is still used as a grist-mill, owned by Martin
Luther, and is now the only one in the town.

A satinet-factory was built by General Martin Kellogg, Daniel Wil-
lard, 3d, and John M. Belden, at an expense of about twelve thousand
dollars, at the north end, about 1838. It was destroyed by fire a few
years ago, and the site is now vacant. Tlicre is a brick-kiln at the west
side of the town, where a large quantity of brick is made, carried on
by the Messrs. Dennis, near the New York and New England Railroad,
and a station has been established there called Clayton. There was
formerly for some years a distillery at the centre, where cider-brandy
was manufactured, until the Washingtonian temperance movement
touched tlie conscience of the owner and he abandoned the business.
The manufacture of cotton-batting and of edged tools was also carried
on at that point for a few years by Edwin Welles.

The principal industry of Newington has at all times been the
tilling of the soil. In former days there was some commerce with
the West Indies. The products of the soil were exported, especially
onions ; and molasses, sugar, and rum were brought in return cargoes
to Wethersfield. But our inland situation has proved a barrier to com-
mercial enterprises. Our soil is well adapted to the cultivation of all
of the ordinary farm crops, as potatoes, corn, oats, rye, turnips, onions,
tobacco, hay, fruits, and seeds. Hartford and New Britain furnish
markets of easy access, while two railroads offer convenient transpor-
tation to those more remote. The soil is generally a sandy loam, ex-
cept in the northern and western portions, w^here clay abounds. A good
deal of money is annually spent in fertilizers, but the land yields a
return which makes the expenditure a paying investment. The fences
are almost wholly of posts and rails ; rarely you see a stone wall.

The first trainband or militia company in Newington was organized
at the meeting-house, Oct. 18, 1726, by the choice of John Camp

332 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

as captain, Ephraim Deinino- lieutenant, and Ricliard Bordman en-
sign. At that time the militia of each county constituted a regiment,
with no fixed number of companies. This first company in Newington
was the fourth in the town of Wethersfield, there having been two in
the old society and one in Rocky Hill prior to this time. Those
on the muster-roll in Newington had probably been attached to the
north, or second company of the old society. These three ofhcers were
prominent among the early settlers. Their names appear signed to a
petition to the town, presented in 1712, for the forming the settlers into
a distinct parish. Captain Camp died Feb. 4, 1747, in his seventy-
second year. He left a son, John, born in 1711, who was deacon of
the church for many years, and lived in a house west of the residence
of Shubael Whaples. Lieutenant Deming died Nov. 14, 1742, in
his fifty-seventh year. Ensign Bordman became a lieutenant, and
died Aug. 7, 1755, in the seventy-first year of his age. The second
captain was Martin Kellogg, appointed in October, 1735. He was born
Oct. 26, 1686, the son of Martin and Anne Kellogg. He lived with his
father in Deerfield, Mass., when that place was sacked by the French
and Indians, on the 29th of February, 1704. His father and four chil-
dren, including himself, were captured, and were obliged to make the
long march through the snow to Canada. The four children in their
captivity learned the Indian language. The eldest daughter, Joanna,
became attached to that mode of life, and married an Indian chief.
Martin, Joseph, and Rebecca became useful frequently afterward as
interpreters. Martin was captured by the Indians several times, and
taken to Canada. He says, in a petition to the General Assembly in
1745, that more than thirty years ago he escaped from a long and
distressing captivity among the French and Indians. He married,
Jan. 13, 1716, Dorothy Chester, daughter of Stephen Chester and
great-granddaughter of Governor Thomas Welles, a cousin to the wife
of the Rev. Elisha Williams. In 1726 he was appointed one of the
committee to arrange the terms of Mr. Williams's removal from the
Newington church to Yale College. After that event he owned and
lived in the mansion built by the church for Mr. Williams, and died
there Nov. 13, 1753, aged sixty-eight. He was remarkable for bodily
strength and presence of mind. Many exploits of his early life have
been handed down by tradition. In June, 1746, the legislature ap-
pointed a committee to employ him in the proposed expedition to
Canada " as a pilot on hoard his Majesty's fleet " for " the river of
St. Lawrence." In 1749 and 1750 he was engaged as instructor to the
Indians, especially of the Six Nations, of the Hollis School at Stock-
bridge. In 1751 he was sent with clothing, as colonial agent, to
Hendrick, chief of the Mohawks. Indeed, the colony and parish
records show that he was a man of affairs whose services were often
made useful, especially in negotiations with Indians.

In 1739 the militia of the State was organized into thirteen regi-
ments : Wethersfield was embraced in the sixth. In that year war
was proclaimed between England and Spain. In 1741 an expedition
was sent against the Spanish West Indies, and a draft of one half of
the Newington muster-roll was made, July 2, 1741, at one hour's
warning, of six officers and twenty-three privates. Their names
were : ensign, Robert Wells ; sergeant, Caleb Andrus ; drummer, David

NEWINGTON. 333

"Wright; corporal, Jonathan Whaples; sergeant, Samuel Churchill; cor-
])oral, Zebulon Rol)bins ; privates, Samuel Hunn, Jonathan Deverux,
Thomas Stoddard, Zebulon Stoddard, Nathaniel Churchill, Daniel Wil-
lard, William Andrus, Judah Wright, Henry Kirkham, Joseph Andrus,
Jedediali Atwood, Stedman Youngs, Elijah Andrus, Abraham Warren,
Elisha Deming, Janna Deming, Benjamin Ooodricli, Jonathan Blinn,
Martin Kellog-^g-, David Coleman, Thomas Robbins, Charles Hurlbut,
Josiah Whittlesey. The age for military duty was then from sixteen
to fifty.

Some of the captains that succeeded those already mentioned were
Josiah Willard, Charles Churchill, Martin Kellogg, 3d, Robert
Wells, Sr., Robert Wells, Jr., Jonathan Stoddard, Roger Welles,
Levi Lusk, Absalom Wells, Robert Francis, Jonathan Stoddard, Jr.,
Martin Kellogg, 5th, James Deming, Joseph Camp. On the re-
organization of the militia, a light infantry company was enlisted
from the old society and that of Newington, about two thirds of them
from Newington. The captains who belonged to the latter parish were
Joseph Camp, Simeon Stoddard, Daniel Willard, Erastus Latimer,
Erastus Francis, Selden Deming, Daniel H. Willard, Albert S. Hunn.

According to a census taken August, 1776, Newington numbered
four hundred and sixty white, and seven colored inhabitants. It has
had four colonels ; namely, Roger Welles, Levi Lusk, Martin Kellogg,
and Joseph Camp. Three of these, namely, Welles, Lusk, and Kel-
logg, were afterward brigadier-gen-
erals; and two of them, Lusk and ^z^// ^ ^
Kellogg, were promoted to the rank y^/^^^t^^^^^
of major-general. In the war of
1812-1815 two small drafts were
made from the company, and stationed
at Groton, to defend New London, and the frigate "Macedonian"
and the sloop-of-war " Hornet," from any attack that might be made
from the British fleet on the coast. General Levi Lusk commanded
the militia, and Lieutenant Joseph Camp (afterward colonel) had a
command there.

In the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, Newington sent forty-nine
volunteers and nine substitutes into the contest. Perhaps the most prom-
inent in all this list of military characters was General Roger Welles.
He was a descendant of Governor Thomas Welles, in the sixth genera-
tion. He was born Dec. 29, 1753, at Wethersfield, in the house
lately occupied by General L. R. Welles, just north of the State prison ;
which property has been in the ownership of the Welles family since
it was bought by Governor Welles. He was the sixth child and
second son of Solomon and Sarah Welles, in a family of twelve chil-
dren. His mother was also a Welles, a descendant of three governors,
Welles, Pitkin, and Saltonstall. He graduated at Yale College in
1775. He taught school at Wethersfield till the Revolutionary War
broke out, when he entered the service, and continued in it till the
war closed. He served as lieutenant in Colonel S. B. Webb's battalion
Connnecticut troops, known as the Ninth Battalion or Regiment. He
was first lieutenant in Captain Joseph Walker's company, where he
remained till April 22, 1779, when he was transferred to Captain
Thomas Wooster's company. As lieutenant he was in command of the

334 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

company till Aug. 1, 1780, when ho was transferred to the Light
Infantry Company, having been promoted to a captaincy, to date from
April 9, 1780. In 1783, and perhaps before, he was in command of
the Light Infantry Company, Third Connecticut Regiment, Colonel S. B.
Webb commanding. He was present at the siege and capture of York-
town, in command of one hundred picked men, none of whom were
less than six feet tall, under General Lafayette, by whom he was
ordered to storm and take a redoubt ; which he accomplished, being
foremost in taking possession of the works, though wounded by a
bayonet-thrust in the leg. He was afterward presented with a sword
by General Lafayette. He married Jemima Kellogg, daughter of
Captain Martin Kellogg, 3d, on the 25th of March, 1785, and settled
in Newington, where he lived till his death, March 27, 1795, in
his forty-lirst year. In May, 1788, he was appointed colonel of the
Sixth Regiment of Militia. In May, 1793, he was appointed Brigadier-
General of the Seventh Brigade. He was a member of nine sessions
of the legislature, from 1790 to 1795, being a member when he died.
He was of commanding appearance, being six feet two inches tall in
his stockings, with blue eyes and light-brown hair. He had five
children.

One of these, the Hon. Martin Welles, born Dec. 7, 1787, was a
prominent lawyer at the Hartford County Bar. He graduated at

Yale College in 180G ; was

C /j ///n ^ J yo p/j judge of the County Court

V t/uU ^C^iy-cZtc^^ / aaf V for several years ; a repre-

V ^ .^ .^..-^i^i^--* '""^^J^ sentative in the legislature

for six years ; clerk of that
body three years; speaker two years; and State senator two years.
Like his father, he was over six feet tall, dignified and commanding ;
a man of strong will and innnense perseverance. He addressed a court
in words terse and well-chosen, and as a lawyer was particularly
skilful in the science of pleading. He died Jan. 18, 1863.

XX.

PLAINVILLE.

BY SIMON TOMLINSON.

IN 1869 Plainville was set off from Farmington, where it had been
earlier known as the Great Plain, and was incorporated as a town.
It is bounded north by Farmington, east by New Britain, south
by Southington, west by Bristol, and contains about twelve square miles.
The village proper is only about four and a half miles from the busi-
ness centre of Farmington ; but its history and business interests liad
been so separate from those of the town to which it was attached that
the legislature of 1869 granted its incorporation, although the place
was not even represented in that body as a voting district. The peti-
tion was signed by every legal voter, and the division was effected
without discord.

Plainville is probably the most level township in the State. Nearly
all of its area is in the broad open plain lying between the mountain
ranges which run north from New Haven harbor to Vermont. Plain-
ville is distant twenty-seven miles from the Sound coast, and twenty-
five miles from the Massachusetts line. The whole plain is composed
of drift, and seems to be of comparatively recent origin. The shallow,
sandy loam of the surface rests on gravel and sand, with here and
there a stratum of clay, and the red sandstone lies under all and
occasionally crops out. Water is abundant at from six to twenty feet
below the surface. The Pequabuck River flows northward from Plain-
ville into the Farmington River just opposite Farmington village,
furnishing in its course the water-power for Terry ville, Bristol, and
Plainville. On the east side of the plain, about a mile from the
Pequabuck valley, is Hamlin's Pond, known in the old records as Big
Pond. It is fed by small streams from the north and east, and itself
is the source of Quinniitiac River, which flows due south through South-
ington, Meriden, Wallingford, and North Haven, to New Haven Bay.
Thus Plainville rests upon a dividing ridge of water-shed, and is the
highest bottom-land along the valley. Its measured altitude is 186
feet above tide-water. It is a current geological belief that the Con-
necticut River formerly flowed through this valley and was at a com-
paratively late day diverted by some convulsion near Mount Tom, in
Massachusetts.

It is not probable that any large tribe of Indians made this place
their camping-ground, but there are evidences that the tribes of the
Quinnipiac and Farmington valleys met here in conflict. A field near
Big Pond has yielded stone arrow-points to many curiosity-hunters ;
and they have been found, too, in large numbers along the river-bank

336

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

on the north side of the village. Stone axes, samp-bowls, and other
relics have also been found ; and many bones were uncovered when the
canal was being dug. The last Indian who lived in this section was
named Cronx, and the land where his hut stood still bears his name.

The rich bottom-lands of the Tunxis valley attracted and held the
first settlers ; and the outside lands, like the Great Plain, being less
fertile, were mapped off into divisions, and these into small sections,
which were allotted by vote to settlers, on condition that they would
pay the taxes for a number of years. Thus these lands fell to many
proprietors, and few settlers located upon them, as the lands of the
east and west border were preferred. The western slope was called
Red Stone Hill, from the quantities of broken red sandstone A\hich lie

- -•U'ii'-^.i-^ii^'.

THE " OLD ROOT PLACE."

there. It was thereabouts that the Hookers, Curtises, Roots, Bishops,
Twinings, Phinneys, Richardses, Morses, and others settled. To agri-
culture was early added the manufacture of tin and japanned ware, and
Red Stone Hill was for years the centre of this industry. This section
received further importance in 1778, when Samuel Deming, of Farming-
ton, bought a section of land on the Pequabuck River and built a saw-
mill and grist-mill there, near the present site of the hame-works of
Edwin Hills. This property was subsequently owned by the Roots, who
added wool-carding and the manufacture of cloth to the other occupa-
tions. They were descendants of John Root, who built the " old Root
^ • Place," now owned by E. N. Pierce.

(i]^A/p ^^ /7/ *A-v ^^1'- Root was one of the first set-

\J ^'^^ /l^^/nA/V^^yL^ tiers on the Great Plain proper.

In 1784 John Hamlin for £30
bought 6 acres 16 rods, at White Oak, as the eastern slope was called.
He located near what was thereafter called Hamlin's Pond, and his

PLAIN VILLE. 337

descendants still own much of the land thereabouts. In the same year
Chauncy Hills gave £12 for 8 acres and =£16 for 4^ acres, and he was
the first man to locate on the broad plains. He entered extensively
upon the purchase and cultivation of these lands on the plain, which,
though not apparently very fertile, were level
and easily tilled. He borrowed money to buy ^^^ * _^^
still more, paid promptly, and in time came JoAa^fV^^^^^
to be the independent owner of more than one ^^

thousand acres, — nearly all the eastern plain. ^

His grain-crops alone exceeded fifteen hundred

bushels. At his death he left a large and well-tilled farm to his seven
sons and daughters. No less than ninety-five of his immediate de-
scendants are now living, of whom thirty-five still reside within the
limits of Plainville. His eldest son, the late Elias Hills, brought up a

family of eleven children, seven of whom are still
J/^^/f/ living, and all of whom are residents of this place.
With these exceptions, few of the descendants of
the early settlers remain here, and the family-
names are found oftener on the headstones of the cemetery than in
the homes of the living.

Much interesting information as to this place is found in the "• Plain-
ville Notes " of the venerable Jehiel C. Hart, who came to the Great
Plain in 1814 to teach school, and who in later years gave much time
to tracing the histories of the old families and the town itself. He
reported twenty families, with a /? y^

population of about two hundred // ji^ ^J*"'*^ y

and fifty in his school district in 'W /yyQ /// yjjy, J^

1814, and about one hundred pu- / V U>^ ' C/ QP Ccyiy/

pils in the school, though some of /y
these came from Bristol. In 1871

he recorded the fact that " only eleven are to be found here now."
Such has been the restlessness of population in this moving century.
Mr. Hart said that in 1814 he found already established an excellent
library, which was kept at the school-house. The people were intelli-
gent and orderly. There was no meeting-house, and the inhabitants
worshipped in the neighboring towns, Mr. Hart, who died in 1881, was
the last of the eighteen petitioners who, in 1839, asked leave to with-
draw from the Farmington Congregational Church and establish one at
Great Plain.

The Plain remained of little importance and with but insignificant
business interests until the construction of the Farmington Canal.
This remarkable though unfortunate work — an attempt in a small
way to bring back the Connecticut River to its original path — was
thrown open to business in 1826. Between here and tide-water at New
Haven were about twenty locks to overcome the elevation (186 feet).
This station received the name of Bristol Basin. The basin was located
just south of Main Street, between the present railroad-track and the
store now owned by H. D. Frost, which stood then upon the basin, so
tliat boats could be loaded and unloaded at its door. Bristol had then
already become a place of considerable mercantile and manufacturing
importance, and so gave its name to the basin. At Main Street a
bridge si)anned the canal. Farmington, then one of the richest towns

VOL. II. — 2-2.

38 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

in Connecticut, had invested heavily in the canal, and had great hopes
from it. As many as twelve mercantile establishments were run-
ning- there shortly after the canal was opened, and there was talk of
rivalling Hartford as a business centre.

E. H. Whiting came to Plainville and bought five acres near the
present residence of R. C. Usher, where he built a basin, and a ware-
house beside it, and established a store (now turned into a tenement).
He also built a hotel, which stands on the street-corner. It was in this
building that the first post-ofiice was located, and l)y vote of the people
in 1831 the name of Plainville was adopted. Dr. Jeremiah Hotchkiss
was the first postmaster and the first appointed oifice-holder in the
town. The position yielded honor rather than profit. The mail was
displayed on a board, with a lattice of tape, under which the letters
were slipped. Thus, as every one could see the entire mail, each could
learn at a glance whether there was anything for him. This simple
style of delivery continued here until 1860.

In 1829 Mr. Whiting sold his store to A. F. Williams and Henry
Mygatt, of Farmington, and for less than twelve dollars an acre bought
thirteen acres along the canal at Bristol Basin, now the most thickly
settled part of the town. He built the store now owned by H. D. Frost,
and the business was carried on there until the death of his brother,
Adna Whiting, in 1865.

About 1835 H. M. Welch, now one of the leading and richest citi-
zens of New Haven, built a large store on the west side of the basin.
He carried on a large wholesale and retail business, employing a
number of canal boats to bring the goods, and many heavy teams to
distribute them through the surrounding country, while the farmers
brought in their produce for sale and shipment. In those days Bristol
Basin was a busy centre. Mr. Welch removed to New Haven in 1848 ;
but the activities developed at the Bristol Basin were the beginnings of
the town of Plainville.

The canal suffered from the porous nature of the soil and frequent
washouts, and from the long period in each year during which it Avas
closed by frost ; and after about twenty years it was merged into
the canal railroad, with a track along the tow-path. The fii'st passenger
train arrived in Plainville Jan. 8, 1848. It had been intended to keep
the canal open imtil the railroad was built ; but a disastrous washout
near Simsbury loft it em])ty, never to be refilled, and left many canal-
boats high and dry for all time. About 1852 an east and west railroad
— the Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill — was opened through Plain-
ville, now incorporated into the New York and New England Railroad,
of which it is the main track west from Hartford to the Hudson. Thus
the town has ample railway facilities.

The manufactories of the town are estimated to make about three
quarters of a million dollars worth of products yearly, and employ from
four hundred to five hundred hands.

The largest is the Plainville Manufacturing Company, organized in
1850. It employs over two hundred hands in making a large variety of
knit underwear. The stock of the company is principally owned in New
Haven.

The hame and plating works of Edwin Hills, now employing about
seventy-five men, are on tlie Pequabuck River, in the western part of the

PLAINVILLE. 339

village. Hiram Hills, his father, began the business in a small way
about 1886, and after vari(jus vicissitudes it has l)ecomc very success-
ful. Here also on the opposite side of the same stream is the large
grain-and-feed mill of G. W. Eaton.

A leading Plainville industry is the manufacture of carriages. Be-
fore the war the Plainville carriages had a large sale at the South.
This was, of course, all broken off when the war began, and the manu-
facturers suffered severely. L. S. Gladding <t Co. survived the trying
experience, and the business which they established is still carried
on by Horace Johnson, a former partner. E. W. AVebster, unal)lc to
recover from the losses of the war, sold out, and was succeeded by
the Condcll, Mastin, & Butler Co. The carriage-shops of this lirm,
as also the works of Horace Johnson, were burned in January, 1884.
Mr. Johnson now owns the whole property, and has rebuilt the works.
These two carriage-works arc the largest, and there are several smaller.

An interesting industry, conducted by one of the oldest firms here,
is the manufacture of clock-hands, rivets, and other delicate hardware,
by Clark cV Cowles. A. N. Clark manufactures watchmakers' goods.
George Hills & Son make metallic clock-cases, and also sell some clocks.
Burwell Carter has a brass-foundry. B. 1>. Warren & Son, successors to
F. S. Johnson, employ a number of hands in sawing ivory, horn, and
fancy woods for knife-handles. C. H. Jones has works for making steel
slides to whicli the needles in knitting-machines are attached.

*t?

The first ecclesiastical society of Plainville was organized in 1839,
and in 1840, on petition of eighteen signers, the church was set off
from that of Farmington, to be known as the Second Congregational
Church of Farmington. The first meeting-house was dedicated June 25,
1840. The first pastor was the Rev. Chauncey D. Cowles, of Farm-
ington. The present church building was put up in 1850. From a
membership of about seventy at the first year, the church has now
between three hundred and four hundred, while five other denomina-
tions have been organized in the town. The present pastor is the
Rev. Joseph N. Backus.

The Baptist society was formed in 1851, and the church dedicated
in December, that year. It has about one hundred members. The
present pastor is the Rev. Erastus C. Miller.

The Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal) was organized in 1859, with
fifty members, under the rectorship of the Rev. Francis T. Russell.
The Rev. W. E. Johnson, rector of Trinity Church in Bristol, is the
officiating rector of this church.

To accommodate the many Swedes living in Plainville, and also
those of Bristol and Forestville, a Swedish Methodist church was built
in 1881. The pastor is the Rev. M. A. Ahgren.

A Methodist church was built also in 1881. Its pastor is the Rev.
Duano N. Griffin. The Methodist Camp-meeting Association has its
camp-grounds in the western part of the town.

The Roman Catholic Church has had stated services in Plainville
for more than twenty-five years, at one time as a part of the New
Britain parish and at another time as a part of Bristol. In 1881 the
Rev. P. McAlenny was assigned to Plainville, and the present fine
church was built.

340 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

The first school-house in the Great Plain was built about 1790, and
is still standing, at the south end of the covered bridge. It is now
a brass-foundry. In 1842 Plainville was divided into two school dis-
tricts, the east and the west. Soon after the town was incorporated
they were consolidated, and the graded system was adopted. The
present school building was erected in 1872. The graded system,
though strongly opposed at first, has given general satisfaction. The
separate school at first maintained in the White Oak District has been
discontinued, as it was found cheaper to give the scholars that were
attending it free transportation to the graded school.

Farming on a large scale has been given up in this town, and the
land is cut up into small sections. The last of the farmers who culti-
vated land here by the hundreds of acres was Samuel Camp, who died
in 1876.

The work of " village improvement " has been generally undertaken
in the town, and it bears many evidences of care and of good taste. It
is a healtliy place, and is steadily growing in population. It has a
weekly newspaper, — the " Plainville Weekly News," — edited and pub-
lished by C. H. Riggs, of Bristol, in connection with the " Bristol Press."
The local editor is Simon Tomlinson.

XXI.

SIMSBURY.

BY LUCIUS I. BARBEE, M.D.

THE beautiful valley through which the Farmington River winds
in its course from Farmington bounds northward, was called
by its original occupants Massaco (pronounced Mas-saw'co), and
the river itself, the Tunxis. This valley lies between two parallel
mountain ridges, stretching in a northeasterly and southwesterly direc-
tion, called Ijy the early settlers respectively East Mountain and West
Mountain. The East, now called Talcott Mountain, in honor of Major
John Talcott, of Hartford, is a continuation of the Mount Holyoke and
Mount Tom range, of Massachusetts, and t-erminates in East Rock at
New Haven. The West Mountain is a continuation of the Green
Mountain range, of Vermont, terminating in West Rock at New Haven.
Previous to its settlement by the whites Massaco was an unbroken
forest, save along the river, where natural meadows spread out on
either side, skirted with tangled thickets and vines, interspersed with
patches of Indian corn, tobacco, beans, etc. Moose, deer, and other
wild animals were numerous, and its streams were supplied with
fish in the greatest abundance. All these rendered it an inviting
and favorite camping and huntiug ground for the Indians. Its
plains and uplands were covered with majestic pines, and its ridges
and mountain-sides with hard wood of every variety adapted to the
climate.

Tlie first official or public notice of Massaco is in an order of the
General Court, in these words : —

April, 1642. — " Its Ordered, that ths Governor and Mr. Heynes shall have
liberty to dispose of the ground uppon that parte of Tunxis Eiuer cauled Masso-
cowe, to such inhabitants of Wyndsor as they sliall see cause."

About the year 1643 two young men, John Griffin and Michael
Humphrey, came to Windsor and

engaged in the manufacture of tar ^^ f%J^My4 .rr^jJ^d^^'^'^
and turpentine, which soon became ^ u-'\i/y%
important articles of commerce. -^
John Griffin was the pioneer in this business, as he was afterward the

pioneer settler of Massaco. In

..^iJC^^ iUu fu„i,i£^/^ ^^^^ *^^^ General Court ordered

j~} v».^v^«Si — u,y ^jj^^ Massaco be purchased by the

country, and appointed another
committee to dispose of it. But no purchase from the Indians, and no
grants, were made by either of these committees. Meanwhile Griffin

342 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

and Humphrey were prosperously carrying- on their business of manu-
facturing pitch, tar, and turpentine, when a difficulty, involving im-
portant results, occurred between Griffin and an Indian. One day
Manahannoose, a Massaco Indian, " did wittingly kindle a fire," which
consumed a large quantity of tar belonging to Griffin. For this the
Indian was arrested and brought before the Court in Hartford, and
in default of " the payment of five hundred fathom of Wampum,"
which was the judgment of the Court, was delivered over to Griffin,
by order of the Court, " either to serve, or to be shipped out, and ex-
changed for neagers, as the case will justly beare," — as provided by
law. To escape this penalty, Manahannoose gave to Griffin a deed of
Massaco ; and the other " Indians, the proprietors of Massaco, came
together and made tender of all the lands in Massaco, for the redemp-
tion of the Indian out of his hands, being they were not able to make
good the payment of five hundred fathom of Wampum, for the
satisfaction."

The permanent settlement of Massaco began about 1664. The
General Court had made to several persons grants of land lying on
both sides of the river, above the Falls. In 1663 a grant was made to
John Griffin " of two hundred acres [north of the falls] (where he
can find them), between Massaco and Warranoake, in consideration
that he was the first to perfect the art of making pitch and tarre in
these parts." This grant, with another subsequently made by the town
in 1672, of about a mile and a half square, given in part consid-
eration of his resigning and relinquishing his Indian deeds to the
proprietors of the town, constituted what was kuown as Griffin's
Lordship. In a deed dated in 1664 he is described as belonging to
Massaco ; showing that at that date he had Ijecome a settled and per-
manent inhabitant. A committee had been appointed by the General
Court " to lay out all the lands that are undivided at Massaco, to such
inhabitants of Windsor as desire and need it." In 1666 they went up
to Massaco and measured out allotments to themselves and to several
other persons at Newbery's (now Westover's) plain ; and in 1667 they
surveyed lots, granted at Nod meadow, at Wetaug, and Hopmeadow.
This committee were Simon Woicot, Captain Newbery, and Deacon

Moore. In October, 1668, about twen-
- ♦ -^ A /t r tj'fi'^'® men met at the house of John

yM^ff'XJ. t;^\>9\Jr0r Moore, Jr., in Windsor, and agreed

on the terms of settlement on their
several allotments at Massaco. Nearly all of these settled on their
lands within two years after their grants were made. The settlements
were mostly along the river, on both sides of it. By a return made in
1669, by order of the General Court, of the names of the freemen
belonging to each town and plantation, it appears there were thirteen
who were " stated inhabitants of Massaco, and have been freemen for
Windsor, — Thomas Barber, John Case, Samuel Filley, John Griffin,
Michael Humfrev, Joshua Holcomb, Thomas Maskel, Luke Hill, Sam-
uel Pinney, Joseph Phelps, John Pettibone, Joseph Skinner, Peter
Buell." In the same year John Case was api)ointed by the General
Court constable for Massaco, — the first civil office held by any of its
inhabitants.

Massaco had hitherto been, in the language of the General Court,

SIMSBURY. 343

'•• an appendix of Windsor." It was an offshoot from that town. In

1670 the inhabitants of Massaco appointed two delegates, Joshua Hol-

comb and John Case, to present to

the General Court their petition for ^T^^ // /J /9

town privileges. This petition was ^(^^^-^^^ (H^ < Cofyyx^

at once granted, and the delegates

were received as members of the Assembly at the May session of that

year. The record of incorporation is in these words : —

"This Court grants Massacoe's bouuds shall ruuu from Farmington boiuids
to the northward tenu miles, and from Windsor bounds on the east, to run
westward tenn miles; provided it doe not prejudice any former grant, and be
in the power of this Coiu't so to dispose. . . . The Court orders that the plan-
tation at Massacoe be called Simjisbury."

The origin of the name is a matter of conjecture. Simon Wolcot
was a prominent man in the colony, as were his father, Henry Wolcot,
and his brother of the same name. He was one of the committee to
" dispose of the lands at Massaco, and further the planting the same."
He was one of the first and most prominent settlers of the town,
and took an active interest in its affairs. He was familiarly called
" Sim," according to the prevailing custom of abbreviations, and it is
not improbable that the town was thus named in compliment to this
man.

The records of the first ten years after the town was incorporated
were unfortunately destroyed by accidental burning between June,
1680, and October, 1681 ; necessarily, therefore, the history ,of its

organization and public
during those years is
meagre and obscure. John
Slater was the first town
clerk whose records are extant ; though tradition says John Terry was
the first to hold that office, as well as the first military ofticer.

At the October session of the General Court in 1670 the depu-
ties for Simsbury were John Griftin and Michael Humphrey. In
1671, as a mark of confidence, and in recognition of the integrity
and trustw^orthiness of Mr. Simon Wolcot, the General Court granted
to him liberty " to retail wine and liquors (provided he keep good
order in the dispose of it) until there be an ordinary set up in
Simsbury."

During the first five years after the incorporation of the town the
numl)er of families perceptibly increased; but in 1675 a calamity
impended which in the following year overwhelmed the town and
dispersed its inhabitants. Philip's War had commenced. In Massa-
chusetts and Plymouth colonies attacks were made upon some of their
towns, many of their inhabitants killed, and houses pillaged and burned.
Simsbury, being a frontier town, was peculiarly exjjosed to danger. By
order of the General Court a garrison was established there, and kept
up at the expense of the colony. A council of safety was established
at Hartford, and was in daily session, for the protection of the colony.
On the 6th of August the Council " Ordered the several towns to keep
scouting parties of mounted men on the roads between town and
town, for the prevention of danger to travellers," and " that Windsor,

oro-a

344 MEMORIAL HISTOEY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

each other day, shall send four men to clear the roads to Simsbury."
Rumors of danger increasing, the General Court, at its session in
October, 1675, passed an order "■ That the people of Simsbury shall
have a week's time to secure themselves and their corn there ; and at
the end of a week from this date the souldiers now in garrison at Sims-
bury shall be released their attendance there," — thus leaving the
inhabitants to provide for their own safety.

As before stated, the inhabitants of Simsbury were mostly emi-
grants from Windsor. Upon hearing this order many returned thither,
with such effects as they could carry with them ; but not all, as ap-
pears from the issuing another order of the Court, March 3, 1676, as
follows : —

" The iiisolencies of the heathen, and their I'age encreasing against the Eng-
lish, and the spoyle that they have made in sundry places, hath moved us to
order that forthivith the people of Simsbury doe remove themselves, and what
estate they can remove, to some of the neighboring plantations, for their safety
and securety."

Then came the rush for dear life. There was no bridge or ferry
across the river where teams could cross, or cart-path through the
forest. All the goods they could carry must be packed upon their
backs. The Rev. Daniel Barber, a descendant of one of these refugees,
thus vividly describes the scene, and what followed : —

" The fearful apprehension of being suddenly murdered by savages put in
motion and hastened along whole bands of woiwen and children, witli men in
rear ; ^vith sheep and cattle and such utensds and conveniences as their short
notice and hasty flight would permit. Their heavy articles, sucli as pots, kettles,
and plough-irons, were secreted in the bottoms of swamps and wells. The father
of the first Governor Wolcott and his family were among those who fled from
Simsbury. He filled up a large brass kettle with his pewter cups, basins, plat-
ters, etc., and then sunk the kettle, with its contents, in the deep mud of the
swamp, but was never able to find it afterward. After the inhabitants had
spent a day or two in their retreat, the men under arms were sent back, for the
purpose of looking about and making discoveries. They came to the highest
eminence in the road east of Simsbury River, from which, at one view, they
could take a survey of the principal part of their habitations, which, to their
surprise and sorrow, were become a desolation, and every house burnt to ashes."

And he adds : —

" I have recorded the story as a matter of fact, having very often heard it
related as such, in my infant years, and also from the childi'en of those wdio
were witnesses and personal sufferers."

The date of the disaster was the 26th of March, 1676. It was a
Sabbath day. A band of Philip's warriors rushed through the deserted
town and applied the torch to the thatched roofs, and forty dwelling-
houses, with barns and other buildings, were consumed. Fences, farm-
ing-utensils, furniture, farm-produce, and provisions were gatlicred into
heaps and burned. The ruin was complete ; not a house or a building
was left. Up to the time of the burning of Simsbury the Massaco
Indians had welcomed their new neighbors and lived in peace with
them. After this disaster many of them, through fear of the hostile
Indians, fled in terror to the west, and established a new Wetaug

SIMSBURY. 345

on the banks of the Housatonic. For more than a year Simsbury
remained a solitude. But though its former iidiabitants were driven
from their homes, they still maintained their town organization and
transacted town business. Only one week after the catastrophe they
lield " a townc mctting of y*^ inhabitants of Simsl)ury, in Windsor (oc-
casioned by the Warr)," and passed sundry town acts of which there is
a record.

In the spring of 1G77, the danger being supposed to have passed,
the greater number of the settlers returned to their former grants, and
began to binld again their habitations. The rebuilding of the town
was slow and discouraging. Some of the former inhabitants did not
return, while others, having lost all their goods and utensils, were
greatly straitened. As in other plantations, a system of " common
fields" had early been established for the protection of the growing
crops. One such field was establislied on each side of the river,
extending from the house-lots to the river in breadth ; and in lentrth,
from Farmington bounds at the south to a point below the Falls at
the north, — a distance of more than seven miles. These were under
the care of the selectmen, or toAvnsmen. In the management and
care of them great and frequent difficulties occurred ; indeed, at this
period of settling anew the town, matters of difference and unpleasant-
ness were constantly arising. But in the midst of these it is pleasing
to observe the spirit of moderation and conciliation which prevailed.
By a formal vote of the town a memorable rule of action was adopted,
which is worthy of being perpetuated and kept in force.

"Dec. 1, 1681. — We, the inhabitants of Simsbiiry, being met together the
pt of y® 10* moneth, being desirous henceforward to live in love and peace,
mutnally to the glory of God and our own peace and comfort, to prevent after
Animosities and uncomfortalde variances, do make this Act : That whensoever
any difference may arise in any of our civill transactions, y', after we have given
our reasons mutually, one to anotlier, and cannot, by the meanes, be brought
together : that, to a Final Issue of our diffei'ence, we will committ the matter,
with our reasons, pro and con, to the "Worshipfull Major Tallcott and Cajitain
Allen, to heai-e as presented in writing, and tlmt we will sit dowiie to their
award, or determination : this voted and concluded for a standing record for
henceforward."

Major Talcott seems to have been the patron saint or special and
trusted counsellor of the Simsbury settlers on all occasions of difficulty.
In their troubles with the Indians, resulting from the non-payment of
their dues for the purchase of their lands ; in their strifes in relation to
the location of the meeting-house ; in the settlement of ministers and
the distribution of lands, — he was appealed to, and aided them by his
wise counsel and advice. In short, " y'^ Worshipful Major Talcott " was
their '•' guide, philosopher, and friend."

Thirty-four years had passed since the Indians sold their lands to
John Griffin. The title, however, was not valid, the purchase not being
made in accordance with the laws of the colony. The old Indians had
passed away. In 1G80, by the aid and helpfulness of "the Worshipful
Major John Talcott, of Hartford," the inhabitants of Simsbury bar-
gained with the successors of those Indians, who, for the consideration
of the deed to Griffin, and for " a valuable sum paid to them in hand,"

346 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY,

gave a deed in trust for the inhabitants to Major Talcott, and other
trustees named, in full confirmation of the contracts of their predeces-
sors, " of all that tract of land lying and being situate on Farmington
bounds southward, and from thence to run ten large miles northerly,
and from the bounds of Windsor town on the east, to run ten laro-e
miles westward ; the tract or parcel of land being ten miles square
large."

But the "valuable sum" not being paid, "the Indians make a griev-
ous complaynt to s*^ Major, and being incessantly urging for their dues
agreed for, the Towne at a metting held May 5, 1682, for to still the
acclaymations of the Indians, and to bring to issue the said case, and
to ease the major of those vexatious outcries, made by y'^ Indians for
their money, to bring the matter to a period, the inhabitants of Sims-
bury at this meeting have agreed to put to sail one hundred or one
hundred and fifty acres of said land, within the precincts of Simsbury,
on y® river, towards their west bounds."

Here the " Worshipful Major Talcott " opportunely comes in and
proposes as follows : —

"A Cojypy of 1/ Major Talcott' s tearmes.

" Gentl™ and Friends : in y" mean time let not anything I signify here pre-
vent yourselves making saile of nuj or all that land lyeing west upon y° river : for
the Truth is, I have no desire nor temptation by all that I have seen or heard,
to spur me one to gain it, haviug fully consulted myselfe in refei'ence to y^
grounds of that mattei", in all the circumstances thereof, both good and bade,
and do find no one place, whei'e anything considerable can be taken up ; the
most of that which some call meadow is full of small brush and vines, through
whicii y' is no passing ; or full of trees, small and great, which will be very
chargeable subduing : and in y'' place where the best land of that sort is, there is
no accommodation of vpland to it, saving onely mighty Tall mountaynes and
Rockes, and the way bade to it, and a great way to all of it, and will be dis-
mally ol)scure & solitar}' to any that shall live vpon it, and very hard coming
at the market, not onely because of y" remoteness, but badness of the passage,
and the society of Neighbourhood will be very thin, all which will be discour-
aging. Yourselves may Improve yo'' most Judicious, to take view if you see
good for yo'' further satisfaction : for my designe is not to bring up an evill
report concerning the badness of any part of yo'' bounds. Neitlier shall any
wayes disadvantage yo"^ market, by putting a low esteme upon the lands, let
the wheells turne wdiich way they will. And yet, notwithstanding all that I
have inserted in these lynes, setting asyde all difficultyes mentioned, if you can
in a joynt way, with freedom of spirit and serenity of mynde se cause to grant
three Hundred Acres in any place or places, not exceeding three places, where I
shall take it up, upon said West River towards the West end of yo"" Boinids,
I shall accept you giving deeds for the same ; whether it shall be worth a
penny to me or no. And that shall be an Issue of y'' Debt matter depending.

" Your friend and serv',

In response to these magnanimous "tearmes " the town returned the

following : —

SIMSBUEY. 347

" A Coppi/ of a Letter sent to Major Talcott.

"These are to iuforme the Wo'shipfull ]\Iajor T;i]cotl, y' in answer to his
letter received (June, y*^ 'J"' 1682), the Inhabitants of Sinishury being met to
hear and consider y® same, vpon July y® 4"^ 1G82, Voted and agreed to give
the WorshipfuU Major John Talcott, of Hartford, Three Hundred acres of land
vpon the River lying towards the westward end of our Town Bonnds, k liave
granted him that liberty to take it up in Three places, according to his desire ;
this granted vpon the account of the Major defraying of the charges of the
whole Indian purchase."

Thus ended a long-pending, unsettled claim of tlie Indians, so as
to give them satisfaction and still their " acclaymations."

From a very early period difficulties in relation to and arising
from unsettled boundaries between Simsbury and Windsor existed,
but they were amicably settled in 161)1. The people living in the
northeastern part of the town were for a long time subjected to great
annoyance and loss by a claim set up by Suflield that they were within
its limits, and were liable to pay taxes in that town. Suftield was
organized under and by authority of the General Court of Massachu-
setts in 1682, and claimed by that colony. For a long time the line
between the colonies Avas in dispute ; but at length a new survey showed
that not only these border settlers of Simsbury but the whole of the
town of Sufiield belonged to Connecticut.

In 1786 the town was divided by act of the legislature, — the north-
ern half, taking with it half the population as well as territory, behig set
off and incorporated as the town of Granby. Again, in 1806, Simsbury
was divided by a north and south line, west of which the territory for-
merly called West Simsbury was incorporated as a town, to be called
Canton. By this division the poi)idation of Simsbury was again re-
duced by nearly one half ; so that in 1810 the census showed a popula-
tion of about 1,900. But even this did not suffice ; in 1843, by an act
of the legislature, all that part of Simsbury lying east of Talcott Moun-
tain, comprising " a tract of land about five miles from north to south,
and one mile wide, containing about three hundred and fifty persons,
was annexed to the town of Bloomfield." Thus again w^as the popu-
lation of Simsbury materially diminished and its area reduced, so that
from being one of the largest it has become one of the smallest towns of
the State. Its area now covers only ihe original Massaco Avhicli !Mana-
hannoose and his friends conveyed to John Griffin. It is bounded on
the north by Granby and East Granby ; on the east is Talcott ]\Ioun-
tain, whose crest line separates it from Bloomfield ; and Mount Philip
is in the extreme southeast. These mountains pi'csent tow^ard the west
a mural front, with only three passes over them within the limits of the
town : the first is at Wetaug, between Mount Philij) and Talcott ]\Ioun-
tain ; the second, at Terry's Plain, two or three miles north of the
first, through wdiich passes the old county road fi'om Granville, Mass.,
to Hartford ; the third and only remaining pass is at the Falls, between
Simsbury and Granby, Avhere the Farmington River breaks through
the mountain ridge on its Avay to the Connecticut at Windsor. Here
passes not only the common or carriage road, but also the Hartford
and Connecticut Western Railroad, from Hartford to tlic north Avestern
part of the State and the great West. Here too is the beautiful and

348

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

now floiirishino- village of Tariffville, within the limits of Simsbury, pos-
sessing one of the largest and best water-powers of the State.

Sinisburv is bounded on the south by Avon, the north line of which
runs diagonally across Mount Philip. From the Connecticut valley,
Mount Philip is scarcely distinguishable from Talcott Mountain, but
from any stand-] )oint in the Farmington Valley it is a distinct and
prominent mountain peak. From its summit the view is enchanting.
There stand the Tower and the Summer-house, the former in Avon,
the latter in Simsbury. Mount Philip received its name from the first
settlers on their return from their sad exodus at the burning of Sims-
bury. By that name only it has been known by their descendants for
more than two hundred years. Every rood of land upon it is and has
many times been recorded in the Simsbury records as " lying and being
on Mount Philip."

TARIFFVILLE GORGE.

In railroad facilities Simsbury is not surpassed by any other country
town. In 1850 the New Haven and Northampton Company constructed
a railroad, passing through the centre of the town from New Haven to
the north line of the State, and subsequently to Northampton, on or
near the line of the canal which had been constructed between those
points, and which, proving unsuccessful, was abandoned. By this road
direct communication is had with New York. In 1871 the Connecticut
Western Railroad, now reorganized as the Hartford and Connecticut
Western, was opened for use from Hartford to the west line of the
State, and is now extended to the Hudson River. These two railroads
intersect each other at Simsbury Centre, and give business and postal
communication with all parts of the country.

In 1868 the Simsbury Water Company was chartered, for the pur-
pose of supplying the fainilies in Centre and Hopmeadow districts with
pure running water. In this it is eminently successful.

SIMSBURY. 349

In the early history of the town its ecclesiastical as well as its
civil aifairs were managed in town-meetings. As early as 1671,
only a year after its organization, the town made a contract with
Mr. Thomas Barber to erect, according to specifications, a meeting-
house for public worship. As has been stated, the first settle-
ments of the town were on b(jth sides of the river, on roads running
parallel with it throuo-h the length of the vallev. The river not
being fordable, and tliere being no bridge or ferry, it was a matter of
the greatest importance on which side the meeting-house should be
placed.

To settle this question meeting after meeting was held ; votes were
passed at one, to Ije reversed at the next. Bitter feelings arose. A
majority voted to place it on the east side ; at tlie next meeting, on the
west side. At length it was agreed to leave the matter to Major Tal-
cott and Captain Allyn, of Hartford, who after a full hearing decided
that the house should be built on the west side, in front of the burying-
ground, at Hopmeadow, — giving at the same time some friendly ad-
vice. Again the town held a meeting : —

■■o*-

"Feb. 13, 1G82, put to vote y^ above written, to sec whether it would be
accepted, respecting the whole advise, of the Worshipfull Major Talcott and Cap-
tain Allyu ; it by y vote was accepted by 12 pei'sons, and not acepted by 17
or 18 persons."

Finally, to put an end to the contest which had continued so many
years, an agreement was drawn up, and signed by all the legal voters
of the town, " to ajjpoynt a day solemly to met together, in a solemne
maner,to cast lott for y"" place where y"' meeting house shall stand ; . . .
and wliere the Providence of God cast it, so to seat down contented."
This was submitted to Major Talcott and Captain Allyn, and by them
was "well approved" May 8, 168o. Accordingly, "At a solemne met-
ting on May 24, 1683, two papers were put into y'' hat, tlie one east,
and the other for the west syd of y"" river, — and it was agreed that
the first pai)er that is drawn shall be y® lott; this voted : the lot that
came forth was for the west syd the river." Thus was amicably settled
an imhappy controversy which had so long existed, exciting the ani-
mosities and disturbing the friendly relations of those who should have
lived in harmony. Having exhausted all human means to effect a
settlement, they appealed to the court of Heaven for a decision of the
question at issue. Without doubt they considered it a religious act,
and the result as the judgment and will of God. xill cheerfully
acquiesced in the decision, and went forward and erected the house
that had been under contract twelve years.

The first meeting-house stood in front of the burying-ground at
Hopmeadow. It was erected in 1683. It was used for public worship
about sixty years. Mr. Samuel Stone,

son of the eminent colleague of Mv. ^ // ct^^K

Hooker, of Hartford, was the first min- ^O/flVUtcC J'^-^ft
ister of Simsljury. He was employed

during the whole period from 1673 to 1679, only interrupted by the
destruction of the town in 1676.

After Mr. Stone, the next minister was Mr. Samuel Stow, then lately
dismissed from Middletown bv a committee of the General Court. He

350 MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

continued in the work of the ministry here from 1681 to 1685, and was
invited to settle, but declined. In May, 1682, Mr. Stow and Michael

Humphrey were appointed by the

, /""^ .J town to present a petition to the

^ \A.ntU.%lC ^tort). General Court asking leave "to sette

>C-x^ A_-P •• [themjselves m Gospel order," and

form a church. The petition was at
once granted, but the church was not organized till fifteen years later.

The next candidate for settlement was Mr. Edward Thomson. He
was from Newbury, Mass. He supplied the ])iili)it from 1687 to 1691.
The town gave him a call to settle ; but not agreeing on the terms, he
suddenly i-eturned to Newbury.

After Mr. Thomson came Mr. Seth Shove, who preached here from
1691 till 1695. His labors were so acceptable that the town gave him
a unanimous call to settle, and he signified his acceptance, but soon
afterwards settled at Danbury. His character was that of a pious,
godly man, and he was known as a peacemaker.

In October, 1695, the town voted a call to ]\Ir. Dudley Woodbridge,
and in August, 1696, renewed the call. A difference existed as to the
terms of settlement, and hence, delay. In July, 1697, increased in-
ducements Avere held out to him, and the invitation repeated. After
some further delay Mr. Woodbridge accepted the invitation ; and on
the lOtli of November, 1697, the church was organized, and he was
ordained and installed as its pastor. At the ordination of Mr. Wood-
bridge, forty-three persons — twenty-six men and seventeen women —
were admitted members of the church. He died Aug. 3, 1710, and
was buried in the jjnrying-ground at Hojjmeadow. He continued in
the work of the ministry here upwards of fourteen years. Imme-
diately after his death the inhabitants lield a town-meeting, and ap-
pointed a day of fasting and prayer, " to seek to God for his conduct
and guidance in refference to the procuring a faithful minister in this
place, and to advise with tlie Reverend Elders of the neighboring
Churclies." In accordance with their advice the town by a unanimous
vote invited Mr. Timothy Woodbridge, Jr., a son of the Rev. Timothy
Woodbridge, of Hartford, to settle in the ministry here, and again in
1712 the invitation was renewed, with an increase of salary offered.
This was accepted, and on the 13th of November of that year he was
ordained. He died Aug. 28, 1742, having continued in the work of
the ministry here about thirty years. His remains lie buried near
those of his kinsman and ju'edecessor.

The term of Mr. Timothy Woodbridge was a stormy period. The
congregation had so increased that the old meeting-house was too
small for their accommodation.

In 1725 steps were taken by the ^— . ^ y, e/l /\,^^^ O
town to erect a new one. Then ^^^^^JTl^ril/M'^V^hfo
re-arose the question of location, ^

and with it the old feelings of

jealousy and strife. Meetings were held, and votes without num-
ber were passed and rescinded. The General Court " Ordered His
Honour y'^ Governour and Nathaniel Stanley to meet the inhaintants."
A meeting of the town Avas held. " His Honour Joseph Talcott,
Esq., Governour, was chosen moderator of the meeting. Sundry

SIMSBURY. 351

votes were passed, and a site agreed on." This again was rescinded.
Thus it went on from year to year. The strife continued and waxed
more fierce, till in IToG the General Assembly appointed a committee
to report "how they find the state of the matters." Upon their report
and recommendation the General Court arbitrarily divided the terri-
tory of the town into three societies, besides the portion east of the
mountain, which they annexed to Wintonbury. In 1739 the Assembly
ordered that the meeting-house of the First Society should be located
on Drake's Hill, where it has ever since remained. Thus was termi-
nated a fourteen-years bitter controversy. When, subsequently, the
town was divided, the other two societies were included in Granby.
Afterward, in 1780, the First Society was divided, and the society of
West Simsbury was constituted.

While ■ these meeting-house difficulties were in progress, others
arose in relation to the payment of Mr. Woodbridge's salary. At
the session of the General Court in May, 1732, Mr. AVoodbridge rep-
resented that the town was in arrears to him for one year and seven
months' preaching, which the town had refused to grant a rate for.
The court ordered the town, within twenty days, to lay a tax sufficient
to raise the sum required ; and, in case of failure, the secretary of the
colony was directed to grant execution against the estates of any of
the inhabitants. In 173(3 Mr. Woodbridgc again applied to the Assem-
bly, representing that his accounts and salary were still unpaid. Where-
upon it was ordei-ed that the inhabitants of the town " do forthwith
pay to him what sliall be found in arrear ; and as Mr. Woodbridge
has served the town in the work of the ministry for a year past, the
Assembly do assess the inhabitants of Simsbury in the sum of <£100,
and appoint and emi)awer John Case, collector, to gather said rate and
pay it over to said Woodbridgc."

At the May session following, in 1737, Mr. Woodbridge liaving
shown to the Assembly that, notwithstanding the order of the last
session, nothing had been done in the premises, it was resolved by the
Assembly " that the inhaljitants of Simsbury shall forthwith settle and
adjust their accounts, and make payment of arrears due to Mr. Wood-
bridge " ; and auditors were appointed to hear and adjust the accounts,
and report to the Assembly next after doing the same. " And further
Ordered that the listers of Simsbury within ten days next after the rising
of the Assembly make a rate upon the inhabitants, except the two north
parishes, amounting t > £110 on List of 173G ; which list to be delivered
to James Cornish, Jr., who is fully authorized, appointed, and com-
manded, forthwith to gather and pay the same to Mr. Woodbridge, for
his service from October, 1735, to October, 173G : and if the said
listers neglect or refuse to make said Rate and deliver the same to
s*^ Cornish, within the time limited, they shall forfeit and pay a fine of
<£20 each, — one half to Mr. Woodbridge, and one half to the county
treasurer ; and if the s,'^ Collector fail in his duty, the Secretary of the
Colony shall make a writ of distress, to distrain the s** sum out of
the o'oods of s'^ Cornish." Bv these rio-id measures the c'ood minister
was e