USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Winchester > Annals and family records of Winchester, Conn.: with exercises of the centennial celebration, on the 16th and 17th days of August, 1871 > Part 1
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ANNALS
AND
FAMILY RECORDS OF
WINCHESTER, CONN.
WITH
Exercises of the Centennial Celebration,
ON THE 16TH AND 17TH DAYS OF AUGUST, 1871.
BY JOHN BOYD.
HARTFORD: PRESS OF CASE, LOCKWOOD & BRAINARD. 1873.
TO THE MEMORY OF THE PIONEER SETTLERS AND EARLY RESIDENTS OF WINCHESTER,
TO THEIR WIDELY-SCATTERED DESCENDANTS, AND TO THE NATIVE AND ADOPTED CITIZENS OF THE TOWN, This Memorial
IS REVERENTLY AND MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.
PREFACE.
As early as 1856, the compiler of these Annals conceived the plan of collecting materials for a history of his native town, and its early settlers. His life-long residence, reaching back to 1799, and the custody of its re- cords during no inconsiderable portion of the last fifty years, made him more familiar than most living men, with its documentary history and its traditions. Frequent calls by descendants of Old Winchester families, and by genealogists, for information derivable from the town records, im- pressed him with the belief that a compilation of historical events and family records, however imperfect, would be received with favor alike by citizens of the town and descendants of emigrating families.
It soon became apparent that the settlement and growth of one of the most recent of the original towns of the State, was attended with no thril- ling incidents or romantic tałes, with which to embellish its transition from barbarism to civilization. If its territory had ever been possessed by an aboriginal race, that race had long ago disappeared, leaving no trace be- hind. The dispirited remnants of the once warlike tribes of the Narra- ganset region, had only roamed through its tangled forests, and made temporary halts along the shores of its lakes and the banks of its streams. They claimed no right of domain, and contested no settler's possession of its soil. No fort nor block-house was ever needed for protection or de- fence of its pioneer settlers ; and no hostile armament ever approached its borders.
Lacking historical material of this nature, in its origin, and destitute of sensational events in its slow and prosaic growth, the idea of a reada- ble town history seemed preposterous. And yet there are unrecorded in- cidents and traditions in the growth of every community, which, however uninteresting to the outside world, may deeply interest residents and the descendants of residents, of that community. There are traits of char- acter, and memories of worth or unworthiness, customs, and habits of thought and action, that should not be lost to posterity by want of brief record. There is also a growing desire among the descendants of New England families, to trace their ancestry and family connections ; not so much in search of an illustrious origin, as with the desire to establish a connection with progenitors and kindred of solid worth.
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ANNALS OF WINCHESTER.
With the purpose of aiding in these researches, the following circular letter was printed, and largely distributed among the descendants of early settlers and residents of the town :
CIRCULAR.
DEAR SIR :-
I am making a compilation from the Winchester Records, of all the facts ascertain- able in reference to the settlers and inhabitants of the town prior to 1800 ;- and am desirous of incorporating therein such other facts as may be furnished by the descend- ants of old Winchester families, in reference to their origin and expansion. Such a compilation will have a valne proportioned to the accuracy and extent of the informa - tion it will afford to future inquirers in reference to their family history ; - and this must mainly depend on the prompt and liberal aid of those taking an interest in the perpetuation of family history.
The items desired are, the births, marriages, and deaths, of all members of inhabit- ant families - the dates of their settlement in, and their departure from the town - their prior and subsequent residence- the names, residences, and other particulars before enumerated, of their ancestors as far back as can be ascertained -and the names of all descendants ; - also the offices and appointments in church and state, and the profes- sions or occupations which any of them held or followed, together with peculiarities of character or history.
Family Bibles should be made the basis of reports, and such other facts added there- to, as are attainable. Communications, while they are comprehensive, should be brief and well digested - and must be promptly furnished to be available.
As the labors of the compiler will be arduous, and without remuneration, he feels assured that no son or grandson of old Winchester will withhold the aid he can fur- nish towards perfecting the work proposed.
Yours truly,
JOHN BOYD.
WEST WINSTED, CT., June 12, 1857.
The responses to this call were so few, and the materials furnished so scant, as to discourage any attempt in the way of perfected genealogies. Nevertheless, a systematic digest of the materials of family history fur- nished by the public records, supplemented by reliable additions from other sources, seemed to promise essential aid to genealogists, and to the widely scattered descendants of Winchester families. By adding personal no- tices of every known early settler and resident of the town, and incidents of town history, in the form of Annals, it was hoped that a readable book could be compiled, which would prove interesting and instructive to citi- zens of the town and their widely scattered descendants.
The plan adopted was, to trace out the land title of the township, to note the action of the proprietary body, the subdivision of the lands into divisions, tiers, and lots, and the assignment of these lots to individual proprietors or purchasers. The carrying out of this plan required a dili- gent search of the land records and assessment lists, to ascertain the or- der and dates of immigration, the location of immigrants, by means of descriptions and references in recorded deeds, and by personal inquiries of cotemporaries and descendants, for such items of family history as the records do not furnish.
ix
PREFACE.
With these data obtained, and with the aid of town, society, and church records, the compiler entered on his task. How successfully he has ac- complished it, amid the constant interruption of official duties, it is the province of others to judge; while it is his right to assume that few erit- ies will discover more of its demerits than he is painfully conscious of.
In his treatment of the work his endeavor has been to make it reada- ble and instructive to residents and the descendants of residents of the town, by embodying with statistical and historic facts, incidents and illus- trations unappreciable by the outside world. If in this he has assimilated to the illustrious Boswell, the work will probably be not the less accepta- ble to the readers for whom it is specially designed. The home reader will hardly object to being conducted slowly along the path of the first settlers, as one of their number, learning about the divisions of the town- ship domain into tiers and lots and their landmarks; sitting at the primi- tive fireside of Caleb Beach ; partaking of Joel's collation of bear's meat or venison, supplemented by a wooden bowl of toast and cider; calling of an evening at landlord Mott's hostelry and hearing the news of the outer world, and perchance witnessing the descent down the chimney of his stalwart boys; going to meeting at the old Sab-a-day house, or, later, at the new meeting-house, and joining in the prayers and praises of the assembled worshipers ; discussing at the store or tavern the merits or demerits of the half-way covenant and the impending Revolutionary crisis ; attending the trainings, school exhibitions, and public whippings at the post ; watching the growth of the settlement, and becoming ac- quainted with each new settler.
The experiences of a town in small things as well as in large, make up its history. Its legendary anecdotes, apocryplial though they may be, re- lieve the dullness of description or narrative, and illustrate manners and customs. Their absolute truth or falsity should not trouble the con- science of the sober-sided, unimaginative reader, who eschews all levity and humor as of the evil one. All that is demanded of such an one is, to receive them as traditions which, in the nature of things, cannot be authen- ticated or belied.
For assistance and encouragement in prosecuting this work, a grateful acknowledgment is due to D. Williams Patterson, Esq., Jate of Winsted and now of Newark Valley, N. Y., for essential aid in collecting and arrang- ing the family records, for persistent urgency in stimulating the jaded, not to say indolent compiler. to perseverance in prosecuting his task.
To Deacon Ira Hills, of Vernon, N. Y., the oldest living native of the town, and the most filial of her sons, and to Mrs. Nellie M. Swift, of Colchester, Conn., both descendants of the early settlers of the town, and both residents elsewhere during most of their lives, we are indebted for
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ANNALS OF WINCHESTER,
many interesting reminiscences of men and customs of the past. We have copied liberally from the sprightly sketches of the latter, and from the former have obtained valuable material. We are also indebted to the venerable Father Marsh for extracts from his manuscript historical ser- mon, deposited in the archives of the Connecticut Historical Society. With these aged worthies it is fitting to associate Deacon Abel S. Wet- more, of the active generation now on the stage, as versed with traditional lore beyond any other living native of the town.
Credit is also due to Dr. Henry H. Drake, Recording Secretary of the Centennial Association, for securing and arranging accurate reports of the centennial exercises herein published, and for his efficient services in obtaining a list of subscribers exceeding in number the most sanguine an- ticipations of the compiler ; also to C. A. Alvord, a native, and S. A. Hubbard, a former resident of the town, both now of Hartford, and to George M. Carrington, of Winsted, for the kind interest they have taken in the work, and the assistance they have rendered in its preparation for the press.
Before this work was projected, most of the generation connecting the present with the primitive stock had passed away. Among those then living and now departed, a tribute of grateful remembrance is due to Rev· Abel McEwen, D. D., of New London, whose analysis of character and fund of anecdote were unrivaled. A series of sketches of early Win- chester men was commenced by him, but soon discontinued by reason of infirmities of age, of which we have availed ourselves. To the late Dr. Truman S. Wetmore, the compiler is also specially obliged for valuable information obtainable from no other living source. Also to the family of the late Deacon Lewis M. Norton, for free access to his manuscript vol- umes of Goshen genealogies, - a work of great interest and value, which should be made available to the public, in printed form.
The compiler originally contemplated publishing these Annals as early as 1862, but on ascertaining the expenses of publication and the probable patronage the work would receive, it appeared very doubtful whether the actual pecuniary outlay would be refunded, and therefore the project was abandoned.
The occurrence of the town centennial in July, 1871, created a new interest in the history of the town. A publication of the centennial exer- cises was demanded, of which the Historical Address formed a part. This was an epitome of this work; too long to be fully read to a public audi- ence, and yet too brief to prove a satisfactory exposition of the town his- tory. Under these circumstances the compiler decided to bring his whole work before the public, and by an arrangement with the town, engaged to publish in connection with it the other centennial exercise -.
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PREFACE.
The engraved portraits embellishing this volume are, with two excep- tions, of deceased natives or citizens of the town ; and all of them were provided at the expense of friends of the parties. Others would have been in like manner provided, had there existed satisfactory portraits from which to engrave them.
It is hardly an excusable weakness in a writer to deprecate criticism of a production which he has deliberately brought before the public, but it is hoped that the limited public for whose perusal the work was designed, and to whom it is dedicated, will consider that it was compiled in snatches of time amid other occupations, then laid aside for several years, and on finally taking it up for immediate publication, finding much to add, more to suppress, and the whole to correct and condense, and at an age when mental and bodily vigor is essentially impaired, will excuse its defects and the seeming unreasonable delay in carrying it through the press ; and will find in its pages items of town and family history, and of tradition, which would have been lost had they waited for a more able chronicler to em- body them.
·
CHAPTER I.
PRELIMINARY HISTORY-LAND TITLE.
THE oldest conveyance of land recorded in Winchester bears date November 28, 1729, by which John Kilbourn, of Hartford, conveys to Jonathan and David Hills, of Hartford, "all (his) right, title, share, and interest in and to a large Tract of Land, commonly known as the Western Lands, belonging to the Towns of Hartford and Windsor, as it abuts on the Towns of Woodbury and Litchfield, west on the Colony Land, north on the Colony line, and east on Farmington and Simsbury, or however butted and bounded."
This title was derived from a hasty and ill-advised grant of the General Court, made in January, 1686, to the towns of Hartford and Windsor, in anticipation of the annulling of the colonial charter, and the sequestration by Sir Edmund Andross of the unoecupied lands of the colony. Besides several minor tracts undisposed of in Hartford and New Haven counties, the colony owned the whole territory of Litchfield county lying north of New Milford and Woodbury.
On notice of the arrival of Andross at Boston, with authority from the crown to revoke the colonial charter, and to assume the government of the colony, the grant referred to was made by the panie-stricken General Court. The series of votes, of which this grant was one, bore a resem- blance to an assignment in bankruptcy, and had some badges which, in striet legal construction, might have been esteemed fraudulent had the usurpation of Andross been sustained.
The first vote constituted Major John Talcott and Ensign Nath. Standley trustees of all the bills secured to, and all claims due the colony, to be improved by them for paying the colonial debts, and to pay over the surplus, if any, to the several counties, for the encouragement of Grammar Schools. Another vote granted to Wethersfield, Middletown, and Farmington, all the vacant lands between Wallingford bounds and the bounds of those towns ; another vote granted to the Town of Kenil- worth, " all those lands north of their bounds and Guilford, and west of Haddam"; and by. another vote, granted to Hartford and Windsor, " those lands on the north of Woodbury and Matatock, and on the west of Farmington and Simsbury, to the Massachusetts line north, and to
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ANNALS OF WINCHESTER.
run west to Housatunnuck River (provided it be not, or part of it, for- merly granted to any particular persons) to make a plantation or villages thereon."
Andross, after repeated but fruitless efforts to induce the General Court to make a voluntary surrender of the charter, came to Hartford in October, 1687, dissolved the charter government, and assumed supreme control. The charter, however, was never surrendered to him, nor was it ever set aside by the English Courts, on the writ of quo warranto then pending. His usurped government, after a period of about sixteen months, came to an end on news of the deposition of James II., and the accession of William and Mary to the British throne.
On the flight of Andross early in 1689, the charter government was resumed, and the old magistrates, and civil and military officers, were reinstated, until a new election under the charter could be held. The land grants referred to had not been perfected by the issue of charters, which by law were indispensable to their validity, nor was any action taken in reference to them for nearly twenty years. It is probable that the General Court, while composed mainly of those who voted the grant, were unwilling, by a revocation, to incur the imputation of having made a fictitious disposal of the lands, and that the grantees, while the well-known intent of the grants was fresh in their remembrance, were slow to repu- diate the implied trust by any overt acts of ownership.
By the town records of Hartford it appears that nearly twenty-two years after the grant, and after most of those then on the stage had passed away, it was voted in town meeting, " that whereas, a grant was made to the plantations of Hartford and Windsor, on the 26th of January, 1686, of those lands on the north of Woodbury and Matatuck, west of Symsbury and Farmington, to the Massachussetts Line North, and to run west to Housatonuck or Stratford River; that two or three persons be appointed to join with two or more from Windsor, to survey, or view, the said tract of land, and make return of the quantity and quality thereof, and to bring in a map of the same." In January, 1708, another com- mittee was appointed by Hartford to compound with claimants of any part of the lands, to settle the boundaries, and, if need be, to sue, defend, eject, and recover, in course of law, all disputants of their title or trespassers on their lands. In 1710, a committee was raised to devise measures to secure the propriety of the lands, and to move the assembly "to grant them such deed in writing, or other thing " as might be deemed necessary.
Other votes, of a similar nature, were passed from time to time, with a view to establish a possessory right, and in 1715 it was decided to lay out one or two townships, probably with a view to fortify their right of ownership by compliance with the only expressed condition of the original grant. Pursuant to this policy, the township of Litchfield - originally
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PRELIMINARY HISTORY.
named New Bantam - was surveyed and laid out about 1717; and it being found that parties in Farmington had secured Indian titles to por- tions of this territory, they were compromised with, by allotting to them one-sixth part of the township, in consideration of their release of all claim to any other portion of the granted territory, and of procuring a confirmation to Hartford and Windsor of all the lands in the township claimed by Farmington Indians.
Litchfield having been surveyed and its lands disposed of to settlers who had entered on the same, the location and survey of a new township, north of Litchfield, was resolved on, and a committee appointed for that purpose. This committee reported their laying ont of a township of about the dimensions of Litchfield, embracing a gore from the east side of Corn- wall, the whole of Goshen, the west half of Torrington, and the sonth- west corner of Winchester. The report was accepted in 1723, and a committee was appointed to dispose of the lands, admit settlers, and con- vey the lands to purchasers.
At this stage of the proceedings, the General Assembly seems for the first time to have interposed to check the fillibustering operations of these powerful and arrogant towns ; and the state of things imperionsly demanded prompt and energetic action. Not Hartford and Windsor alone were interested in establishing the defective grant of 1686, but also the towns of Wethersfield, Middletown, and Killingworth - the grantees of smaller tracts. Farmington had become specially interested by its compact secur- ing to it a sixth part of the township of Litchfield. Prominent men in other towns had purchased fractional shares of the territory from Hartford and Windsor proprietors, and were thereby brought into the combination, which became so strong that civil process against the trespassers could not be executed in Hartford county, which then comprehended the disputed territory. In this emergency, the Assembly, at the Spring session of 1723, directed the King's Attorney for New Haven county to prosecute the trespassers in the name of the Governor and Company. John Sey- mour, Samnel Catlin, William Baker, Thomas Moore, and Job Ellsworth, of the committee appointed by Hartford and Windsor to dispose of the allotments in the Goshen township, appear to have been the first parties prosecuted and arrested .*
* Doctor Trumbull, in his History of Connecticut, assigns an earlier period for the arrest and imprisonment of trespassers on the western lands, and ascribes to the men of Hartford' and Windsor the famous nprising and jail-delivery in 1722, with the pur- pose of rescuing those trespassers. Recent investigations of the Colonial and Court Records of that period, by Hon. J. Hammond Trumbull, go to show that this high- handed outrage was perpetrated by men of Windham and Tolland counties, in no way concerned in the Hartford and Windsor controversy, but neighbors and friends of Captain Jeremiah Fitch, a popular and influential man in eastern Connecticut, who, after a protracted snit at law in defence of a land title, and, as he and his neighbors
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ANNALS OF WINCHESTER.
The apprehension of a vigorous prosecution of these and other offenders, may have induced the following whimpering vote, passed in Hartford town meeting, in April, 1773 :
" Voted, That Joseph Talcott, Esq., Lieut. Thomas Seymour, and James Ensign be a committee, in conjunction with a committee of Windsor, to represent to the General Assembly, in May next, the true state of our western lands by grant and purchase, and pray their favorable construc- tion of our right thereto, and pray them for a further confirmation thereof by patent, or otherwise enquire of them their further intentions with 1Is, as their children, who freely pay all obedience to them as our father." This language indicates a change of tone and policy. The asking of a, confirmation of title shows a growing doubt of the validity of their action in appropriating Litchfield and attempting further appropriations of terri- tory." Another vote of Hartford, October 7th, 1723, reciting the original grant, and the great expenses and charges of the towns in buying out the native claimants, and assigning as the reason why the Assembly refused their grant, that many members of the Assembly apprehended the quan- tity of land embraced in their grant of 1686 was far greater than was understood or intended at the time ; therefore they appointed a committee to act with a Windsor committee in applying to the coming October session of Assembly "for a confirmation of said lands ; or, if the General Assembly shall remain unwilling, for the reasons aforesaid, to grant a patent of the whole of said lands, the said agents are empowered to con- cert with the Assembly for obtaining a patent for a part of said lands, releasing the rest as said agents shall judge most conducive to the benefit of said towns and the quiet settlement of said lands." The vote then goes on to limit the agents to a proposed division, by a compromise line from the northwest corner of Litchfield, north, to the Massachusetts line, the eastern division to be confirmed to Hartford and Windsor, and the western to be relinquished to .the colony. This division would have
conceived, a wrongful judgment rendered against him, was committed to Hartford jail, on an exeention for costs. His neighbors, against some of whom similar actions were pending or threatened, - there being scarcely a farm in that region over which there were not two or three conflicting titles,-were indignant at his committal, and determined to liberate him. On the 22d of October, 1722, these neighbors and some East Windsor men - about fifty in all - in open day crossed the Hartford ferry, marched up to the jail, and demanded the release of Captain Fitch. The jailor refusing, a battering-ram was improvised out of a timber near at hand, the door was broken in, and Capt. Fitch and the other prisoners were set free. The party then 'retreated to the ferry, which they seized, in spite of the sheriff's posse hastily assembled, and made good their retreat without further interruption. Capt. Fitch was afterwards tried as a participator in the riot, and acquitted of any knowledge, act, or part in the matter. He subsequently obtained a reversal of the judgment against him, the costs of which were the basis of his arrest and imprisonment.
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LAND TITLE.
given to the towns more than three-fourths of the territory, and to the colony less than one-fourth.
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