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GC 974.602 Sa34h v. 2 1136311
MJ L
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01150 5911
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historicalcollec02sali
SALISBURY TOWN HALL, 1914
PLATE IV
Historical Collections
of
RELATING TO THE
TOWN OF SALISBURY
LITCHFIELD COUNTY
CONNECTICUT
Volume II
ARRANGED AND PUBLISHED BY
THE SALISBURY ASSOCIATION, INC.
1916
THE TUTTLE, MOREHOUSE & TAYLOR COMPANY
CONTENTS
1136311
Page
The Salisbury Association, Inc., recent work of, 5
Errors, etc., noted in Vol. I, Collections, .
7
Notes on pictures of the Town Hall,
8
Officers of The Association,
9
Part I, History of the Town Hall, .
13
-
Introduction,
.
37
Part II,
Vital Records of Salisbury ca. 1768-1800, 40
Sketch of Salisbury "New" Cemetery, 125
Part III, Inscriptions in the old part of the "New" Cemetery, 129
- Introduction, I71
Part IV, Hist. Digest of Vol. I, Salisbury Land Rec- ords, I73
Explanatory note on the indexes,
197
Index (No. I) of persons,
199
Index (No. 2) of places, etc., :
205
SALISBURY FAIR, 1014
THE SALISBURY ASSOCIATION, INCORPORATED
Supplementing the brief history of the Association which appeared in the first volume of Collections published in Decem- ber 1913, it will suffice to say that its chief activities since that date have been as follows:
Successful fairs were held at Salisbury Center on Labor Day, September 7, 1914, and on the afternoon of Saturday, September 4 and Labor Day, September 6, 1915. The cost of conducting the former was $2,810.78 and of the latter, $3,161.28. In both cases the receipts earned (including State Aid from appropria- tion for the encouragement of agricultural fairs) were sufficient to defray expenses, and to increase, by a small amount, the assets of the Association. The 1915 Fair was insured against loss by a contingent Guarantee Fund, pledged by ninety-seven individuals, and amounting to $1,618.00, not a cent of which was called for.
Plans for the 1916 Fair, to be held September 2 and 4, are now being perfected, and should result in an event of even greater significance than the three similar ones which have pre- ceded it, especially in its educational demonstrations and exhibits. The Guarantee Fund for the coming Fair is already larger, by more than five hundred dollars, than the one raised last year.
In June, 1915, eight hundred shade trees were sprayed with insecticide, at an expense of $566.25. Of this amount $330.50 was paid by individuals and associations, chiefly for treatment of privately owned trees. The remainder, $235.75, drawn from the treasury of the Association, was applied wholly to the treat- ment of elm trees along the public highways. Another campaign of the same kind, including removal of deadwood, will be con- ducted by the Association this season.
Under the auspices of the Association, one of the most success- ful agricultural schools ever held in the East was conducted,
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at the Town Hall, Salisbury, February 1-4, 1916, by the Connect- icut Agricultural College Extension Service, cooperating with The Litchfield County Farm Bureau. The total enrollment of pupils for the four days was 245,-115 women and 130 men.
On the conclusion of the course, an Alumni Association was formed, for the purpose of periodical conference, and eventually for the comparison of practical results secured by compliance with the instruction given. This "follow-up" plan, manifestly a most sensible one, is unique in that it originated with our local committee.
The great interest aroused by this work has resulted in the establishment of the Farm Bureau Department of this Asso- ciation, which will also act as the local Advisory Committee of The Litchfield County Farm Bureau. This new department also has in charge the formation of Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Clubs in the towns of Salisbury and Sharon, and a resident organizer and instructor for the entire season of 1916, entered upon his duties on April 5. Instruction in canning fruits and vegetables may also be secured through this Department, work- ing with the State Extension Service, and on May 23 the Bureau organized a Herd Improvement Association among the dairymen of Salisbury.
It was expected that this volume would appear in 1914, but unavoidable delays have prevented its publication until now.
The valuable help given to the compiler by William B. Perry, Jr., in connection with a part of the Land Record Digest, and by I. Kent Fulton in checking back the Vital Record index with the original record, is gratefully acknowledged. Miss Gertrude Miner's accurate typing of copy, and assistance in reading proof, deserve appreciative mention.
Unless unforeseen difficulties arise, the third volume of this series will be issued in 1917, and will contain continuations of the various classes of records appearing in this volume, together with such other matter as shall seem most desirable and available.
MALCOLM D. RUDD.
LAKEVILLE, CONN., July 15, 1916.
0
SALISBURY FAIR, 1914
SALISBURY FAIR, 1915
7
The Salisbury Association, Incorporated
ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP
The fiscal year of the Association begins on October I, and the membership fee for one year, or any part thereof, is $1.00. Each member is entitled to free admission to the Fair and to a copy of any current publication of the Association. Men, women and children, everywhere, who have an interest in Salis- bury and its welfare, are cordially invited to join.
On September 30, 1913, the membership numbered 467. On September 30, 1915, it numbered 618.
ERRORS AND ADDITIONS TO BE NOTED IN VOLUME I HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF THIS ASSOCIATION
I. On page 55, the date of marriage of Rev. Jonathan Lee to Elisabeth Metcalf is given as October 26, 1745, which is exactly according to Salisbury records. This was unquestion- ably a clerical error on the part of the Town Clerk. The records of the First Church of Lebanon, Conn., (See Bailey's "Early Connecticut Marriages," Vol. II, p. 42) and the Lee Family Genealogy, p. 405, both give this date as September 3, 1744. Of course this correction also applies to the Metcalf entry on p. 57 of Vol. I.
2. On page 73, "Welden, Loara" should be Welden, Loana (or Loanna). This correction is made by Mr. G. P. Anderson of Boston, who cites as his authority, deeds recorded in Vols. I and II of the Town Business Records of St. Albans, Vt.
3. On page 123, there should be prefixed to the names of Mrs. Elizabeth Walton, Miss Polly Walton and Doct. William Walton (d. May 14, 1819) (2) instead of (3).
4. On page 128, line 13, read,-gods for "goods."
5. On page 139, line 2, read,-his younger brother instead of "his older brother."
Ibid. line 16, insert the word and between the words is and that.
6. On page 143, the name of Capt. Samuel Lee should be added to the list of commissioned officers. The facts relating to his service have been fully established since the publication of Vol. I.
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Historical Collections
NOTE ON PICTURES OF THE TOWN HALL
Plate I is reproduced from a print entitled "Wm. Bushnell's Hotel," on the margin of Salisbury Town Map, pub- lished by Richard Clark, Philadelphia, 1853. On the map itself the building is designated "Thorp's Hotel."
Plate II is reproduced from a stereoscopic photograph, loaned by the late Mrs. James R. Eggleston and endorsed,- "View of the old Hotel, Salisbury, by Dexter Brothers."
Plate III is reproduced from a photograph taken about 1880 (certainly before January, 1883) and loaned by Mrs. Margaret Russell.
Plate IV is reproduced from a photograph taken in 1914 by J. R. Jordan.
SALISBURY FAIR, 1915
OFFICERS 1914-1916
President-ROBERT SCOVILLE. Vice-President-CHARLES H. BISSELL. Secretary-Treasurer-MALCOLM D. RUDD. Auditor-WALTER W. NORTON.
Board of Trustees
James R. Harrison.
George H. Clark.
George Coffing Warner.
Nelson A. McNeil.
John C. Goddard.
William B. Perry, Jr.
George E. Quaile.
Donald J. Warner.
Joseph Parsons.
Milo B. Richardson.
Howard F. Landon.
Walter W. Norton.
W. Blanchard Rand.
I. Kent Fulton.
Albert C. Roberts.
Richard N. Barnum.
Hezekiah Goodwin.
Charles F. Wanger.
Herbert Scoville.
Fair Department-W. BLANCHARD RAND, Chairman. Farm Bureau Department-ROBERT SCOVILLE, Chairman. Tree Planting and Spraying Department-DONALD J. WARNER, Chairman.
Highway Advisory Department-ALBERT B. LANDON, Chairman. Publication Department-MALCOLM D. RUDD, Chairman.
Donald T. Warner.
Albert B. Landon.
PART I
HISTORY OF THE TOWN HALL AT SALISBURY
HISTORY OF THE TOWN HALL
The primitive combination log-house and church, built by the Town in 1744 (near the spot now occupied by a log-house of similar dimensions, erected several years ago by Mr. Kent Fulton, west of his home), was soon found to be inadequate to the needs of the growing community, and in 1746 the erection of a larger building was first publicly discussed.
On Feb. 24, 1748, at a town meeting then held,1 it was voted to build a Meeting House 40 ft. long by 30 ft. wide "at or nere ye Northeasterly corner of Mr. Joseph Lee's House Lot," the selec- tion of the site being subject to the approval of the General Assembly of the Colony. Joseph Lee's house stood where now stands the house occupied by Mr. Anson Williams, opposite the Scoville Library,2 and the site selected for the church, and on which it was built, is the same as that occupied by the central portion of the present Town Hall.3
The original Building Committee consisted of Esq. Thos. Chip- man, Capt. Samuel Beebe and Ens" Sam11 Bellowes, who were directed to "improve a carpenter" to hew the timbers and set up the frame and procure plank, boards, shingles and nails. Finally before beginning operations it was decided to increase the size of the building five feet in length and breadth, so that it should be 45 feet long by 35 feet wide.
The work progressed very slowly, undoubtedly due in great measure to the scarcity of money and the difficulty in securing labor, in so new a settlement, where nearly every man was busy with his own clearing and home building.
Nearly a year elapsed, and probably little more had been done in advancing the work, than the preparation of materials. On Jan. 2, 1749,4 the Committee, above named, was authorized "to carry on the Building of the Meeting House, so far as to cover
1 Town Meeting Records, Vol. I, p. 5.
2 Church's Address, p. 27.
3 Reid's Address, p. 17.
4 Town Meeting Records, Vol. I, p. II.
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it with Plank, Bords and Clabords and Shingles &c, and to pro- cure the Lower floores laid and window frames and sashes made and glass put in and the outside Doors made and hung."
It was not until June 1, 1749, that it was finally voted5 "to begin to rais the Meeting House on WednsDay Next." On the same date, and in anticipation of the great event, Ensign Samuel Bellowes was appointed "a Comtee to procure 16 gallons of Rhum half one Hundred weight of Shuger and two pounds of Alspice for raising the Meeting House," and Sergeant Samuel Moore was directed "to procure 8 bushels of wheat and make it into cake" for the same purpose.
Needless confusion has arisen as to the date of the "raising." Judge Church gives it6 as March 24th and 25th, 1749, and the Rev. Adam Reid, writing three years later, gives the same date,7 which he doubtless took from Church's Address. Hence this date has appeared authoritatively twice in print. The writer of this present sketch, either through error in adopting the date used by his predecessors, or through some other misapprehension of the fact, gave the dates in a former article8 as Nov. 24th and 25th, 1749, and having made the mistake once, repeated it in a subsequent paper9 on the same subject.
Manifestly all these dates are wrong. The town vote of June I, 1749, referred to in the preceding paragraph, is perfectly legible and eliminates Church's March date, nor is there found in any of the records of the town, any intimation even, that the rais- ing was delayed until November. It may be said then, and we trust with finality, that this the most important event of the kind, which up to that time had occurred in Salisbury, came off just as planned, and that Messrs. Bellowes and Moore, having duly pro- cured the stipulated liquid and solid refreshments, the structure was "elevated" early in June, 1749, by the united and strenuous efforts of our exhilarated forefathers.
5 Town Meeting Records, Vol. I, p. 13.
6 Address, 1841, p. 27.
7 Address, 1844, p. 17.
8 The 150th Anniversary of the Congregational Church of Salisbury, 1894, p. 17.
? The Centennial Anniversary of the Erection of the House of Worship of the Congregational Church, Salisbury, 1900, p. 10.
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History of the Town Hall
For some time after the raising, the Committee appears to have rested, and it was not until April 9, 1750, that its report was present and accepted.10 Even this report covered only the erec- tion and enclosing of the structure, and perhaps the laying of the lower floor. The expenditure to this stage of the work was £1214, 5 sh. "money old tenor."
It can be of little interest to us to know that the expense incurred was so much in "pounds," unless we can determine, approximately at least, what that sum represented in modern currency. To permit the reader to infer that the amount named should be computed by the value of the present English pound sterling ($4.86) would be entirely misleading. Without entering upon a discussion of colonial currency, a subject vaguely and inadequately touched on by most historians, it can be said with certainty that owing to the scarcity of coined money, the Colony of Connecticut was forced to issue paper money as early as 1709,11 in order to pay the public debts. Such issues were infrequent until about 1740 when the Colonial Wars so-called entailed great expense upon the Colony, specie reimbursements for which by the English government were long deferred. This fact coupled with the rapid increase of population, trade and commerce and the consequent necessity for a freely circulating medium of exchange, resulted in the emission of large amounts of paper bills of credit. A considerable part of these issues was loaned to individuals, on what was considered good security, but owing undoubtedly to the excessive issuance of such bills, the lack of any banking system, inability to secure correct information as to the exact value of much of the security accepted, the prevalence of similar issues made by the adjacent colonies, and possibly to other reasons which cannot now be definitely stated, demoralization of credit ensued.
It is hardly necessary to say that depreciation in the value of the paper money followed. In 1748 many of the prominent mer- chants of New England sent a memorial to the English Lords of the Treasury, which began by reciting "That the Common cur- rency of New England has Consisted of Paper Bills of Credit
10 Town Meeting Records, Vol. I, p. 18.
11 Memorial History of Hartford County, Conn., Vol. I, p. 324.
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for more than thirty years past which by the Uncertainty and Remoteness of their Redemption have lost more than Nine Tenths of their Original Value to the great Distress of the Inhabitants" etc.12 Note that this was at exactly the time when our people began their building operations, and undoubtedly the prevailing depreciation and its impoverishing effects had much to do with the delays which we have recorded.
Assuming that the memorialists above mentioned stated their case as strongly as they could, and that they may have been unduly influenced by the prevailing financial panic, we are inclined to pass over their implication that a pound in credit bills was not worth over fifty cents in minted money and accept rather the statement of DeForest13 that the "old tenor" Connecticut pound was worth in 1754, about one fourth of a pound sterling or say $1.25. Considering that the Colony, on discovering the bad case its credit was in, attempted to remedy the evil and did actually retire nearly all of its old paper issues by the year 1764,14 it seems reasonable to assume that the depreciation was no greater in 1754 than in 1750, and therefore that the £1214 in question was equivalent to approximately $1,520 present currency.
When we stop to consider that the Grand List of ratable estates in Salisbury, in 1751, was, in terms of DeForest's valuation of the pound, only about $14,000, it will be seen how considerable was the sum involved in this building project, representing as it did, the equivalent of over 10% of the taxable property of the town. By supposing, for instance, that we of to-day had com- mitted ourselves to an expenditure of about $275,000, the equiva- lent of 10% of our present Grand List, fully intending to raise that amount by taxation within say five years, we can more fully realize the proportionate magnitude of the financial problem which faced the Town Fathers in 1750, and more properly appreciate the courage and fidelity with which they solved it.
After the acceptance of the Committee's report, already men- tioned, work on the building seems to have ceased entirely for the
12 Law Papers (Conn. Hist. Soc. Pub.), Vol. 3, p. 183. Collections New Hampshire Historical Society, Vol. I, pp. 273-5.
18 History of The Indians of Connecticut, by J. W. DeForest, 1852, p. 405, note.
14 Memorial History of Hartford County, Conn., Vol. I, p. 327.
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History of the Town Hall
remainder of the year 1750. It is possible that the lower room, unfinished and unfurnished as it was, but at least protected from the weather, was used for church services and other public meet- ings during that season, but even this is wholly conjectural.
Whether the delay in completing the building was chiefly due to the causes already suggested or partially to the failure of the Town Tax Collector and the Building Committee to cooperate, does not now fully appear, but a greater sum than had been expended had been levied, although not entirely collected, when the first report was made, and the Committee was directed to turn the funds into the Town Treasury, whenever they were received from the Collector.
In this connection we may infer that some differences of opinion had arisen as to ways and means, for on Dec. 25, 1750,15 about a year and a half after the "raising," a new Committee, consisting of Deacon Hezekiah Camp, Mr. Amos Fuller and Mr. Noah Strong, was appointed and authorized "to go on and finish the lower part of the Meeting House, and stairs, and provide boards for the upper floor." It was also stipulated that the lower part of the building should "be furnished with pews of five and a half feet in width from the wall around the Meeting House, where it is convenient, and that the body of the Meeting House be filled with seats, allowing an alley of four feet wide from the Great Door to the Deacons' Seat, and also an alley of three feet before ye pews." The Committee was also instructed to procure boards for "the Galleries floores."
Nearly another year elapsed without material progress in the work, when at a Town Meeting on Dec. 9, 1751, which is the first one definitely stated to have been held in the new building, another rate (one of 12 pence on the pound, old tenor) was laid on the Grand List, to defray town charges and "toards finishing the Meeting House," and the Committee was again impowered to finish the lower part of the house throughout and furnish it with pulpit, seats, pews, etc.,16 according to the former vote.
During the succeeding six months the work finally appears to have been completed, and we gather from a town vote of July
15 Town Meeting Records, Vol. I, p. 21-2.
16 Town Meeting Records, Vol. I, p. 26.
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27, 1752, that all that then remained to be done was the finishing of the galleries.17 On Sept. 20, 1763, the Selectmen were author- ized to procure "stone steps for the Meeting House Doors,"18 and there end the record references to all matters connected with constructing and furnishing the historic edifice.
We have been thus circumstantial in recounting the details of the building of the church-hall, not only for the sake of historical accuracy, but also to show how the work was finally completed in spite of grave difficulties and disheartening delays and because at least a part of the building so laboriously erected still remains incorporated in the central portion of our "new" Town Hall.
From Dec. 9, 1751, nearly one hundred and sixty-five years, the regular business of the town has been transacted on the spot thus dedicated (in part) to its use, with the exception of the presidential elections of 1860 and 1876, during the alterations made in 1877-8,19 and on a few other occasions, all of which are not now recalled. In the winters of 1798, 1801 and 1804, Town Meetings convened in the old building were several times adjourned to "Capt. Jeremiah Bushnell's North Chamber," where undoubtedly a blazing hearth fire and a hot toddy infused a gener- ous warmth into the deliberations of the ancients which was not afforded by the frosty atmosphere of the meeting house.
The town had no title to the land upon which the church was built, but on May 29, 1750, Col. Robert Walker20 of Stratford, one of the original proprietors of the town, actuated by love and
17 Town Meeting Records, Vol. I, p. 29.
18 Town Meeting Records, Vol. I, p. 70.
19 Address of Lot Norton, Esq. Town Meetings were held in February and April, 1878, in the Academy building.
20 "Hon. Robert Walker was one of the most noted men that Stratford ever produced." Son of Deacon Robert Walker of Stratford and great grandson of Robert Walker who was of Boston in 1632, he was born at Stratford in 1704. He was graduated at Yale College 1730, practised law in his native town, represented it fourteen sessions in the General Assem- bly, beginning in 1745, and was an Assistant, or member of the Upper House, for several years. He married Rebecca, daughter of Joseph Lewis, 2d. He died in 1772, and his grave-stone recites that he was one of His Majesty's Council for the Colony of Connecticut, one of the Judges of the Superior Court and a Colonel in the militia. [Orcutt's History of Stratford and Bridgeport, pp. 427-8, 1323.]
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History of the Town Hall
good will, deeded to Jonathan Lee, Thomas Chipman, Samuel Beebe, and the rest of the inhabitants of the town, two pieces of land, one on the west side of the main highway and the other on the east side. Upon the former the church building had been commenced, and the remainder of the tract was given for burial purposes. That upon the east side, upon a part of which the present (1916) Congregational Church stands, was to be used as a parade ground.
The Rev. Adam Reid says of the old meeting-house,-"It was a rude, unfinished, barnlike building, the beams and braces all bare; without plastering or lathing, and with but scanty accom- modations for the comfort of the worshippers."21 The late Lot Norton, Esq., gives this description of it,22 __ "If my memory serves me correctly, the building was ceiled on the inside, as was the custom of building dwelling-houses in those days. Over- head, however, the rafters and roof boards were fully exposed to view. I remember seeing the prints of the foot of a man on the roof boards, which remained there from the period of the build- ing of the house, till the change was made in 1813-evidently made by some person walking on the boards with wet bare feet before the roof was put on."
In 1783 and 1792 some necessary repairs were voted, and in 1793 the advisability of building a new church was first con- sidered in town meeting. Put to a vote, the motion was lost, but eventually in 1797 and 1798 it was voted to build the present Congregational Church, which was constructed in 1799 and com- pletely finished and furnished in 1800. On the completion of the new house, the old one was abandoned as a place of public wor- ship. On Dec. 5, 1803, a motion to appoint a committee "to view the old Meeting House and assertain the probable expence of putting s'd House in Repair for a Town House," failed of pas- sage. It was still considered primarily as church property, and the Ecclesiastical (Cong.) Society which was organized in it, Nov.
21 Historical Address, Congregational Church Centennial, November 20, 1844, p. 17.
22 From manuscript address prepared by Lot Norton (b. 1803-d. 1880) at the time of the alteration of the Town Hall in 1878.
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12, 1804, "and succeeded in all the property and interests which the town had managed in its ecclesiastical capacity,"23 voted (Sept. 13, 1805) to relinquish its right in it to the town, provided the building should be used for Freemen's meetings, town and school society meetings and for no other purposes.
The old house soon became so dilapidated that according to one authority, it had at that time no doors or windows intact and its complete abandonment was considered. In Nov., 1809, it was voted to sell the house, but apparently no purchaser was at hand. Happily a solution of the increasing difficulty was offered by Simeon Granger, late in 1812, and on Jan. 19, 1813, the property of the town on the west side of the highway, excepting the bury- ing ground and a convenient passway to it and a passway to Roswell Lawrence, his heirs and assigns, to and from his house, was leased to Granger for a period of 999 years from Dec. 28, 1812.
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