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Gc 974.602 N45L 1771790
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
Gg
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01150 5671
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EARLY DAYS In Newington, Connecticut 1833 - 1836
By HENRY G. LITTLE
1813 - 1900
Privately Printed Newington, Connecticut 1937
In Newington, Connecticut
1833 - 1836
HENRY G. LITTLE
171790
10 The Newberry Library with much pleasure, Edwin Stanley Heller
Secoington, Coun. Coctober 16, 1937,
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F 84651
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Little, Henry Gilman, 1S13-1900. Early days in Newington, Connecticut, 1833-1836, by Henry G. Little, 1813-1900. Newington, Conn., Priv. print., 1937. 2 p. 1., 122 p., 1 1. port. 24cm. "One hundred copies printed."
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1. Newington, Conn .- Hist.
I. Title.
38-2746
Library of Congress
F104.N62L5
Gift '37
SHELF CAŘI 974.62 i :
Gift '37
Dedicated with gratitude to the following persons who have made this publication possible.
THE MISSES LAURA K. AND MARY R. CAMP
E. WELLES EDDY
STANLEY R. EDDY
MRS. ARLAN P. FRANCIS
THOMAS A. FRANCIS
JAMES C. GILBERT
GEORGE HOLT·
MISS ANNA G. KELLOGG
FREDERICK W. KILBOURNE
JOHN H. KIRKHAM
STUART R. OSBORN
CHARLES F. SMITH
MARTIN WELLES
Henry & Lite
HENRY GILMAN LITTLE
Forty-two years ago I recall seeing pass our house, an abnormally tall, spare, white bearded old gentleman clothed in black with the conventional frock coat of that period. I was out in the front yard and he gave me a friendly glance as he walked by.
It was Henry G. Little of Grinnell, Iowa, revisiting sixty years later, the scenes of his early manhood, which he de- scribes so vividly in this book, made up of letters written in his old age to "The Hartford Times".
Born in Hollis, New Hampshire, March 31, 1813, he felt obliged to leave the straitened home of his farmer father, and to strike out for himself as so many New England lads did. His stay in Newington was a molding factor in his after life.
It brought him in close touch with the finest families there, gave him educational opportunities, and won for him his wife, his beloved helpmate for over fifty years, Fidelia W. Stoddard whom he married in Newington, March 1, 1836. Thereafter his life belongs to the Middle West. For a year he lived in Peoria County, Illinois and then for thirty years in Henry County, which he helped to organize, and where he exerted a powerful influence in the politics and morals of that new region.
Wherever he lived he was a mighty force for righteousness. For most of these years he lived in Kewanee, and became one of the largest dealers in real estate in Illinois. His judgment in regard to land values was remarkable, in fact, almost unerring.
He was one of the original members of the Republican party of Illinois, became acquainted with Lincoln, who must have been surprised to meet a man as tall as himself, and was associated with the Republican leaders of that state, in those strenuous, political years. In 1850 he was elected Sheriff of Henry County as well as Collector of the State and County taxes, and in 1856-7, he was a member of the Legislature, where he "saw almost daily" Lincoln, and later heard him several times during his famous debate with Douglas.
In 1860 he removed to Oberlin, Ohio for the sake of edu- cating his children and in 1867, he migrated to Iowa, settling in Grinnell where he passed the rest of his days.
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There he naturally soon became a citizen of wide interests and influence. He was Mayor of Grinnell, 1869-1873, for several years a Trustee of Iowa Agricultural College, and for many years a Deacon of the Congregational Church.
A man of stern probity with a Puritan heritage, he was generous to a fault, hearty, hospitable and kindly. Down to the close of his long life, he carried the heart of a child, and probably his keenest delight was to frolic with his little grand- children. He was courageous, morally and physically, and nothing daunted him.
He was bright, humorous, and an engaging conversationa- list, and the more so by reason of his prodigious memory, as these letters abundantly show.
These gifts combined with his deep, religious nature gave him unusual power over men. He was always a wise counselor. One other characteristic should be mentioned, his fondness for planting shade trees and his love of flowers and of all growing things.
It was a pleasure for him to speak before audiences on various subjects and a greater pleasure for them to hear him. Well was it that such a New Englander went out to settle as a pioneer in the Middle West. His ideals contributed to make both Illinois and Iowa finer states to live in and to be born in.
In 1894, the year before he revisited Newington, Mr. Little published a book full of intimate recollections of his birthplace, entitled, "Hollis, Seventy Years Ago". Tho not a bookish man he was a born writer and there is not a dull page in it.
Mr. Little died in Grinnell, November 3, 1900, having survived his wife ten years. They had eight children, five of whom, all daughters survived him, but they now have all passed away.
He lies buried in beautiful Hazelwood Cemetery, the land for which he gave to the Woman's Cemetery Association, a voluntary organization formed by a group of Grinnell women to manage its affairs.
EDWIN STANLEY WELLES
Newington, Conn., July 27, 1937
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EARLY NEWINGTON DAYS Reminiscences of Two Generations Ago by a Former Resident.
I.
I 'T WAS in the freshness and beauty of early summer that I first looked upon Newington. My young manhood, too, was at its June, and the century was still young. I was 20 years old. All my worldly possessions were in the not over-weighty bundle which I carried in my hand. I was big, and strong, and well and happy, and the world was all before me where to choose to make my way by the strength of my own right arm. I knew. of work to be had in New Britain, and was swinging on my way with long strides towards that busy town. The road wound along the slope of Cedar Mountain, and my eyes were drawn to the quiet beauty of the little village of scattered farms and clustered homes about the foot of the hill. It was June, 1833. I had left my rugged New Hampshire home. The little farm there was too small for the many children. We must push out into the world and make for ourselves what fortune life had in store for us. How little I knew then how dear would be the memories clustering round that tiny village as I looked back from near the other end of life upon those early days.
I had no thought of stopping, but pursued my way, passing near the white church with its tall spire and the graves of many generations lying about it. Further on I passed the Center school-house, Roger Welles's farm, and, on the other side of the little brook, the Academy, Mrs. Whittlesey's home, and so on, till I had nearly reached the line dividing Newington from New Britain. There was another brook and a bridge. Down in the stream some men were washing sheep. On the bridge stood a gentleman who seemed to be directing them. He spoke to me as I was crossing, and asked:
"Do you want to hire out?"
Like a true Yankee, I answered question with question. "Where do you live? What is your work, and what will you pay?"
"Well," he said, "I live in Newington, a few miles east. I can give you work on a farm for three months at $16 a month."
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I liked the manner of the man. He told me his name was Kellogg, but I knew nothing then of the weight and influence of the name of General Martin Kellogg in all the country round. It was a fair offer, but I remember that I suggested $18 as a more satisfactory sum than $16, and I well recollect how the general said in his genial, gentlemanly way, "What difference will it make a hundred years hence whether it is $16 or $18 a month?" I was attracted toward the peaceful, home-like village I had passed through as well as toward the man who offered me employment. I said, "I will accept your offer." When the sheep-washing was finished I turned about and, with the others, took up my march towards my new home on "Cabbage Hill," in Newington.
General Kellogg was at this time something over 50 years of age, an accomplished man of business and a thorough gentle- man. Mrs. Kellogg was from one of the best families of the town, an intelligent and highly cultivated lady. There were seven children. Martin, the eldest son, was in Yale College. Roger Welles, the second, was about my own age, and worked at home on the farm, as did Henry Laurens, who was younger. Next in age was Mary, a beautiful girl in her teens, and younger still were Samuel, Charles and Sarah. At least two of the children attended the Center school taught by Miss Anna Wells. One other member of the family I should mention who was for more than 50 years the faithful and efficient helper and friend of two generations of the Kelloggs. That was Rhoda Brown, who must be well remembered by many Newington residents.
Into this wealthy, aristocratic, and intelligent family I came a stranger and a "hired man," without recommendations and without backing. My appearance could not have been greatly in my favor, for I know it was decidedly green. Still, as I look back over the more than sixty years since that day and recall the many kindnesses and the many cordial words which I have received from different members of the family, I realize that it was the beginning of friendships of real import- ance to my after life.
That first afternoon I found myself hoeing corn in the field with Welles and Laurens Kellogg, Giles Smith, Sam Smith and Jonathan Stoddard, while the general was plowing with oxen.
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At night I was told that I was expected to be at work in the garden by sunrise in the morning. Several days of steady, hard work in the cornfield followed. For the refreshment of the laborers two jugs were daily carried to the field. One of these contained hard cider for those who could "stand it," while the other was filled with water for those who preferred that. I noticed that the Smiths were able to "stand" the cider in large quantities.
Grinnell, Iowa, July 27, 1894.
Pen Picture of the Rev. Mr. Brace, Pastor for Fifty Years. II.
It was during the first week of my life in Newington that a young man came one day to General Kellogg and asked for all the men he could send to help raise his house. "The timbers," he said, "are very heavy." When he had gone I asked Welles Kellogg who the man was. "His name is Belden," said he. "He is going to marry my cousin, Mary Hale." I afterwards knew John M. Belden well. Welles asked me if I would go to the "raising," adding that if I did so I must lose my time. I went with the others on the Kellogg farm. On the way some one pointed out to me the home of the Rev. Mr. Brace, and as we were at work on the new house I noticed Mr. Brace at his window watching all that was done. The huge timbers were heavy indeed. As the men were heaving up one of the great cross-beams for the second story, a sudden commotion in the crowd of spectators called the attention at a critical moment, and the timber slipped and fell, slightly injuring two men. The excitement was due to nothing more serious than the appearance upon the scene of a certain Mr. Goodrich, "full as usual," his neighbors said, of "rum and hard cider," and just then at that valorous stage of drunkenness when he was ready to challenge the whole world to fight. He had attacked a young man named Elijah Lathrop, who lived with Deacon Origen Wells, giving him a stinging blow in the face. Lathrop prompt- ly returned blow for blow, and a lively encounter was in pro-
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gress. The big six-footer, who pushed through the encircling crowd and surprised the drunken fellow by suddenly picking him up bodily and carrying him off to land him ingloriously in the middle of the road, was a stranger to most of those present, and, as he turned back to his work after thus putting an end to the quarrel, he heard more than one of the by-standers say to his neighbor: "Who is he? Who is he? He must be strong." Mr. Brace came running over to see if any one was hurt, but except for one bloody head and face, no serious damage had been done.
The week of hard work closed with the setting of the Saturday sun, which marked the beginning of the Connecticut Sabbath. Newington people kept the holy day with strictness. Only the subdued bustle of the getting ready for meeting disturbed the sacred quiet of the Sabbath morning. Clad in my homespun New Hampshire suit I made my way to the south side of the meeting-house gallery from which I looked down upon the worshiping congregation, a large proportion of whom were young people. General Kellogg and his son Laurens were in the "singers' seats," and beside the general sat the leader of the choir-whom I afterward knew as Colonel Camp-with his "pitch-pipe," by means of which he "pitched the tune" for the hymns. The impression made upon my mind on that first Sabbath-day that Newington was a deeply re- ligious community, has remained with me. I observed the profound reverence of the people for their minister, and after listening to that first of the many sermons which I after- wards heard from that gifted man, I no longer wondered.
Mr. Brace was then in the prime of life, in the full strength of his vigorous manhood. I can see him now, walking down the aisle with his family, they turning into the old, square pew on the south side of the pulpit, while his tall, commanding figure ascended the pulpit stairs. The dignified bearing, the high, smooth forehead, the dark, penetrating eye, the beautiful, curling hair, and, above all, the intelligence and benevolence, which beamed from his attractive face, all commanded ad- miration and respect, and accorded well with the simple dignity of the service. Another writer has well described this remarkable man. These are his words: "When I first knew him he was in the glory of his days, nearly six feet high, straight
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and finely built; strong and vigorous. His hair was curly and beautiful, his teeth even and very white; his eye large, black and brilliant as a diamond, his forehead lofty and commanding, his lips somewhat compressed, and the whole impress of his character was that of a man decided and hard to be moved, capable of great mental labor, quick of apprehension and devoted to his work. I seldom, if ever, heard his equal in prayer. I have heard others pray as earnestly, as tenderly, as fluently, but I never saw a man who was his equal in lifting up an audience to the very throne of God, and holding them there till they felt the very dews of Heaven falling fast and cool upon them.'
Mr. Brace began his labors with the Newington church at the age of 23, almost immediately after the close of his theological studies, in January, 1805. The salary agreed upon was $370 and the drawing of twenty loads of wood annually. From the first day of his settlement to the close of a pastorate lasting a full half-century he never took a vacation. He was a fine scholar. Dr. Todd, his son-in-law, tells us that "he was almost perfect in five languages." Studious methodical, con- scientious, generous, he was well qualified for the educational work which for many years he carried on in connection with his pastoral labors, receiving into his family several boys whom he fitted for college. Aided by the addition to his income thus acquired he reared a large family, most of whom were given a liberal education, and at the close of his ministry of fifty years it was found that the small savings of those frugal years · amounted to the comfortable sum of $6,000.
Grinnell, Iowa.
The Old Meeting-House and the Large Bible Class.
III.
The meeting-house of that day was a plain and simple structure, whose only ornate feature was the tall, slender steeple. That, however, was soon after cut down to about its present height, for reasons which I am not able to give. Mr.
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Elisha Whaples did the work. The audience room was filled with the quaint, high-backed, square pens, which were oc- cupied by successive generations of the same families. High up on the west side was the narrow pulpit with two doors, from whose desk were preached the most of those able and practical sermons for which good Mr. Brace was famous. On the three other sides were galleries, the one opposite the pulpit being appropriated to the use of the choir. Among the singers I recall their leader, Colonel Camp; General Kellogg and his sons Welles and Laurens, the latter of whom was a very fine tenor singer; Elisha Whaples, Marcus W. Stoddard, Daniel H. Willard, Levi S. Deming, Maria Deming, Mary Wells, Catherine Wells, Sophia, Fidelia and Cornelia Stoddard, Frances and Sarah Wells. Prominent among the worshipers the two good deacons were always to be seen. They were Deacon Origen Wells and Deacon Levi Deming.
The Sunday-school was then a comparatively new in- stitution, but it had already taken deep root and attained a vigorous growth in Newington. Nearly the whole congrega- tion remained with their Bibles and question books for the exercises of the school, and the busy hum of voices filled the room during the hour devoted to Bible study. Mr. Daniel Willard was superintendent of the Sabbath-school, with Mr. William Deming as assistant. Both were active and efficient men. Mr. Willard's business of selling maps obliged him to be often absent on the Sabbath; but wherever he spent the day he was to be seen in attendance upon the Sunday-school, which he. was often invited to address. He was a pleasant, fluent speaker, and when he was at home we enjoyed listening to his accounts of the schools visited. There were many excellent and faithful teachers in that Newington Sunday-school, but I shall always count it my especial good fortune that I was very soon invited into the Bible class taught by Mr. Josiah Atwood. How well I remember that interested company of young men and their earnest and accomplished teacher. Among them were Marcus Stoddard, Wolcott Seymour, Levi S. Deming, Albert S. Hunn, William Carter, Elijah Lathrop and several others. We occupied the southwest corner pew, and our studies were at first engaged upon the earlier portion of the Old Testament Scriptures. I remained with this class during
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the whole of my stay in Newington, though I was sometimes called upon to supply the place of an absent teacher. The acquaintances made in this class with teacher and pupils were of lasting pleasure and benefit to me, and I shall always be indebted to Mr. Atwood for at least some portion of my ap- preciation and enjoyment of the Bible. I realize now, as I did not then, that my attendance upon meeting and Sunday- school on first going to Newington was a great advantage to me. It brought me into association with the best people of the town and paved the way for my introduction into good society. It is good advice yet to all young people (and old ones, too), going among strangers, to associate themselves at once with church-going people and religious workers.
The characteristics of Newington people, and of the com- munity which they made interested me deeply. I had not seen much of the world, certainly I had never seen a town just like Newington. Though a much smaller place than the New Hampshire town from which I came, the people were more prosperous, "better-to-do," and I soon observed an aristo- cratic tone in the society there, which was wanting among my old neighbors. There, girls from good families lost nothing of social standing by going into a neighbor's home to assist in the housework, or even to the factories of Lowell or Nashua. I know accomplished women now occupying high positions in society, who, in their girlhood were accustomed to thus in- crease their spending money, or, more frequently, to secure for themselves educational advantages which their parents were unable to give them, and that fact never at all degraded them in the estimation of their wealthier townsmen.
It was not quite the same in Connecticut. The towns were older. I believe they were originally settled by wealthier families. The land was richer and life was not so hard and toilsome as among the barren New Hampshire hills. It was clear that class distinctions were more marked. Not that there was any lack of industry or economy in the valley of the Connecticut. Far from it. Newington people were models of frugality and industry, but Newington girls did not do housework outside of their own homes, and would have re- fused to do so; while a "hired man" was to all intents and pur- poses a servant, and so on a lower social plane than those who
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worked, quite as hard perhaps, but only for themselves. There was, nevertheless, one industry in which from time immemorial Connecticut women had been wont to engage in, and which was not considered derogatory even to those from families of wealth and refinement. Even to this day the town of Wethers- field and the region roundabout is famous for its culture of the onion, and sixty years ago women gifted with all graces of mind and manner and blessed with money in the bank besides, did not disdain to add to that last by donning suitable gowns and the sheltering cape-bonnet and spending long hours in weeding the fragrant and aristocratic vegetable, or "bunch- ing" it in the barn for shipping. The onions were loaded upon sloops sailing from Hartford, and supplied the New York market. I remember going on some errand one day to Allen Stoddard's barn, and finding "Aunt Mary" with a blushing group of merry girls busy there with the "bunching." No one lost standing by assisting in that particular branch of business. But I have often wondered how, as General Kellogg's hired man, I should ever have succeeded in making my way to social recognition in such a community. Newington people were tasteful and even elegant in their dress. I was quick to note the rusticity of my own appearance in my rough, homespun New Hampshire suit. Newington people were intelligent and well educated. Their common schools were good, though not of a very high grade. After leaving the school at home many of the young people were sent to academies at a distance, some to Wethersfield or East Windsor, some to Westfield or Monson, Mass., and some went on to college. A few years before my first acquaintance with Newington, the people had, by voluntary subscription, built an academy building for themselves. The institution was liberally patronized and did much to raise the standard of education in the village. Some of the pupils went from that academy to Yale College.
IV.
The Newington of 1833 was a farming community. Nearly every family was directly dependant, to a greater or less extent, upon the soil for support. Even Parson Brace
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had his little farm whose products eked out the slender salary which his people were able to pay. He kept several cows, and his excellent wife, model housekeeper and capable manager that she was, turned them to good account in providing for her large family.
Dr. Hall, the only physician, did not own a farm, but he rented a piece of land and devoted a part of his time to its cultivation. A few artisans gave themselves almost wholly to the labors of their trades. Elisha Whaples and Dositheus Hubbard, with his son William, were carpenters, who had not much time for farming. The same was true of William Dem- ing, wheelwright and carriage-builder. Larkins Brown was both blacksmith and farmer, as was Simeon Stoddard. The latter, however, did little more at his trade than the work needed on the Stoddard farms.
Horses were little used in farm-work, but Newington farmers prided themselves upon their fine oxen. The Devon was the favorite breed on account of their activity, their toughness and their uniform, handsome, red color. Imported fertilizers were not then used, but everything upon the farm which could be turned to such use was carefully saved, and good crops were secured. The thrifty people found profit in the cultivation of a great variety of cereals, grass, vegetables and fruits. Every farmer had his flock of sheep, though little other stock was raised. Generally, the sheep were of the smooth, fine-wool, Saxony breed, and their snowy fleeces brought a much better price than now. The wool, hay, corn, oats, potatoes, onions, turnips, apples, butter, cheese, eggs, etc., were readily turned into cash in the Hartford and New Britain markets. Prices in general were far below those of to-day, and no doubt the well-to-do descendants of those frugal New- ington folks often wonder how their fathers and grandfathers could rear their families in comfort and also lay up money as they did. Prudence, and forethought, and close management were indeed needed. No small wage or small saving was despised and the extravagances of the present time were un- known. After the season's crops had been gathered and sold, a part of the autumn work was the digging and marketing in Hartford of the moulding sand found under the mountain in the north part of the town.
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