USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > A biographical history of the county of Litchfield, Connecticut: comprising biographical sketches of distinguished natives and residents of the county; together with complete lists of the judges of the county court, justices of the quorum, county commissioners, judges of probate, sheriffs, senators, &c. from the organization of the county to the present time > Part 20
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" They will, indeed, outshine all those whose industry is not of the most stern and enduring kind. Time would fail me to recount by name the distinguished men who, from an honorable poverty in childhood, have risen by persevering industry and economy to the very summit of literary and professional excellence. Excluded from participating in the commercial affairs of the country, the commodities of the agriculturist cannot be made to yield him those pecuniary returns which reward the husbandmen of other regions. Hence, many whose home is blessed with abundance, can procure but limited means to sustain themselves or their children abroad. For such individuals, this institution has always been an asylum ; and while she has educated her full share of the rich and the hon- orable, she has always been the patron of the honest and the obscure_ In this she will persevere. It is undeniable, that greater facilities than any now enjoyed in these regions for acquiring an education, can here be offered at a comparatively small expense. The door will always be opened for the admission of the moral, industrious and persevering sons of the community to enter. Equally with the heirs of the opulent, will it be our delight to train those who cannot otherwise be prepared for extensive usefulness. In this
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country, neither honor nor office is hereditary. Every boy is born a candidate for the Presidency of the United States. Thus the sons of the rich and the poor are equally permitted to run. 'But one receiveth the prize ;' the son of an obscure minister of the gos- pel, or of a laborer in bricks and mortar, or of a lonely widow, is as likely as any other one to sit in Washington's seat and adminis- ter the government of his country."
During his connection with the church at West Brookfield, Dr. Foote prepared and delivered " An Historical Discourse" on the occasion of the annual Thanksgiving, November 27, 1828, which was published. This discourse exhibits much patient research, and is full of interesting facts relating to the settlement and early history of Brookfield, and breathes an affectionate and grateful spirit towards the fathers of the town and of New England. It concludes with impressing on the present generation the duty not only of preserving but of increasing the means of civil and reli- gious liberty which have come down to us from our ancestors.
" A review of the dispensations of Providence is calculated to . impress our minds with the importance of increasing, as well as perpetuating the blessings which we enjoy. Had not our ances- ters acted on this principle, they would have remained in subjec- tion to an oppressive prelacy. They would never have crossed the mighty deep, to seek an asylum in the Western hemisphere. They would never have taken up their abode in the immense wil- derness of America. Had those who first arrived in this place, been content with a bare subsistence and with the few privileges which they then enjoyed, the forest would still have covered these hills and plains. These fields would never have been cultivated. These dwellings would never have been erected. These houses for the instruction of children and youth would never have been reared. These cheerful villages would not have risen. These temples for the worship of Jehovah would never have been built. It was care for those who should come after them, that chicfly influenced our ancestors to cultivate the soil, and to lay deep and
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broad the foundations of literary and ecclesiastical institutions. It was the regard of each succeeding generation for the welfare of posterity, that has caused these blessings to accumulate in their descent to us. And shall we be content to hand down to the next generation only the inheritance which was left us by our fathers ? Is it enough that we preserve the rights and privileges which we have received? Shall the stream of civil and religious blessings, which in passing each generation became broader and deeper, receive no tributaries from us ? Can we do nothing to advance to that state of perfection at which it is destined eventually to arrive ' when nation shall no more lift up sword against nation,' and when there shall be nothing to molest or intimidate throughout the wide extent of God's earthly dominions? Shall the wheel of civil and intellectual and moral improvement, which during two centuries has been increasing its rapidity, instead of receiving additional impulse, be retarded in our generation ? O let gratitude for the blessings which we inherit, impel us to make efforts for the good of those who shall come after us. Let us endeavor to leave some memorials of our regard for future ages; and when our bodies shall have mingled with the dust, and our very names been forgotten, may those ' who arise and declare' the 'mighty acts of the Lord,' find amongst their occasions of thankfulness, that their blessings were augmented by our generation."
A volume of Dr. Foote's Sermons, edited by his brother, the Rev. George Foote, was published after his decease, and have elicited high praise from some of the most eminent theologians of the country.
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WILLIAM THOMPSON BACON.
WILLIAM THOMPSON BACON was born at Woodbury, in Litchfield county, on the 24th of August, 1814. At the age of twelve he was sent to the " Episcopal Academy," at Cheshire, to be fitted for college, but, after two years, determined on a mercan- tile life, and became a clerk in the city of New York. After three years, at the age of seventeen, he established himself in business in New Haven. In a short time, however, he withdrew from his mercantile connection, and devoted himself to study. He entered Yale College in 1833, where he was regularly gradu- ated in 1837, and was appointed by his class to deliver the Vale- dictory Poem, at the time of the leaving the Institution. During the following autumn, he entered the Divinity School of New Haven, and, after the usual term of study, was licensed as a min- ister in the Congregational denomination. On leaving that insti- tution, he was married to a daughter of Professor Knight, of the Medical Department of Yale College, and, in 1842, was settled over the Congregational church and society in the town of Trum- bull, where he remained until 1845, when ill health compelled him to ask a dismission. He subsequently became one of the editors of the " New Englander," a quarterly magazine of great ability. He was also for a few years the editor and proprietor of the New Haven daily and weekly "Journal and Courier," which he con- ducted with marked ability and success. He is now engaged in his ministerial labors in Kent, in his native county.
Soon after leaving college, Mr. Bacon published a volume of
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Poems from a Boston press, which, in 1840, passed into a third edition, revised and enlarged. In 1848, a new volume of Poems from his pen, was published by Mr. Putnam of New York, con- taining two hundred and seventy five pages. His lighter Poems possess much simplicity and grace. He has a fine perception of natural beauty, and his graver productions are pervaded by a cur- rent of deeply reflective moral and religious sentiment.
The following will serve as specimens of his Poems.
ROME.
The Coliseum's lonely walls still tower, In all their massy strength, to greet the skies ; The Cæsars' hundred palaces of power In undecayed magnificence still rise; And towers, and tombs, and temples desolate, Tell of the solemn grandeur of her state.
The winding walks are there, which, erst, have rung With steel-shod foot, and hoof, and clattering car, When hosts met hosts, like waves on wild waves flung, And Fury sped the thunderbolt of war; And there, to greet the traveller, still rise The trophies of a thousand victories.
Each step records some tokens of a day, Whose pomp and power we cannot comprehend ; 'Tis grandeur in the grandeur of decay, Where ruin mars what man has scorned to mend; And, as from pile to pile the step is led, We seem amid the dwellings of the dead.
We walk amid those temples tottering ;
Each foot-fall starts the young owl from her rest ; Where mantling vines round mouldering arches cling, To furnish forth the bat her dusky nest;
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And every breeze that through the ruin strays, Seems like the ghost of Rome's departed days.
Romans and Roman matrons wandered here ; Here blushed the cheek as its sweet beauty spoken ; Trembled the delicate hand, and sparkled clear The bright drop in the eye, at Love's fond token ; And children's voices woke these streets all day, And echoed the light laugh of maidens gay.
Tempest, and terror, war, and flood, and fire, And cruelty, and guilt, and avarice, These have been here, and wreaked their vengeance dire, On pillared fane, and smouldering precipice ; Yet sits she still amid the solemn scene, Queen of the hills! ay, "every inch" a Queen.
Rome's greatness, and Rome's grandeur may not be The greatness and the grandeur that we prize; Yet, though her soul was chained, her mind was free; And power was there which men cannot despise; She lifted her proud arm, each flag was furled, And, at her haughty beck, bowed down the world.
And with her, though a tyrant in her mood, Was genius, learning, talent consecrate; And though on land and sea her track was blood, Yet intellectual greatness marked her state ; For while was heard the trumpet's deafening clang, The Forum thundered with the loud harangue.
Yet we walk forth upon the breast of earth, And dare to speak and tell how great we are; Less than the ancient worthies from our birth, We talk of deeds of daring -thus we dare; It is as if the young and timorous dove Should mate itself with the proud bird of JOVE!
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"THE LEAVES ON THE BOUGH STIRR'D."
THE leaves on the bough stirr'd, Are fading and falling, And the wind and the wood-bird Are mournfully calling ; And music around us, Of landscape and river, And feelings that bound us, Are passing for ever.
The mists of the mountain, With morning upspringing, The chime of the fountain, Its melody ringing ; The foam where the river burst Up to the day, And all by the sweet stream nurs'd, Passing away.
So hearts we have cherish'd, When life was before us, Are grown cold or perish'd, As years have roll'd o'er us ; And we look in the faces, Once glowing with gladness,
And we find in their places, But sorrow and sadness.
O, life ! it is tearful, We're all of us sighing ; The moment we 're cheerful, That moment we 're dying; And all we have tasted, And all we have spoken,
Are hopes-that are wasted, And hearts - that are broken.
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FREDERICK WHITTLESEY.
FREDERICK WHITTLESEY was born in Washington, {New Preston Society,) on the 12th of June, 1799. His fa- ther, David Whittlesey, Esq., still survives; his mother was Martha Pomeroy, a daughter of Quartus Pomeroy, of North: ampton, Mass. When about ten years of age, Frederick com- menced a course of studies preparatory to entering college- first with the Rev. Dr. Backus of Bethlem, and subsequently under the tuition of the Rev. Samuel Whittlesey, then pastor of a church in New Preston. From thence he went to the Academy of the Rev. Daniel Parker, in Sharon, Ellsworth So- ciety, where he completed his preparatory studies.
In the autumn of 1814, he entered the Freshman Class of Yale College, and graduated in 1818. Soon after, he entered as a law student in the office of Bleeker & Sedgwick, in Alba- ny, N. Y., and after remaining there about nine months, he became a member of the Litchfield Law School. At the end of one year, he took up his abode with his kinsman, Robert Campbell, Esq., of Cooperstown, N. Y., with whom he fin- ished his legal education, and was admitted to the bar of the State of New York, at Utica, in October 1821. During the whole course of his professional studies, he was distinguished for his application, and profitted by the advantages allowed him. He was not only well qualified for the bar, but in the mean time he had reviewed the classics, devoted much time to general literature, and had to a considerable extent practiced in the art of composition.
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After his admission to the bar, Mr. Whittlescy spent about three months at his father's house in Connecticut, revolving in his mind where he should commence business. Remember- ing the pleasant associations connected with Cooperstown, he finally returned to that village, opened an office, and remain- ed there about nine months. Not meeting with a success ade- quate to his wants and wishes, he became somewhat uneasy. He finally packed up his books, made his way to the Erie Ca- nal, placed himself, trunks and boxes, on board a boat, and pro- ceeded westward in search of some indefinite place of residence which should afford a prospect of subsistence. He had a vague idea of ultimately reaching Detroit-but there was no definite purpose in his mind, except to go somewhere and settle down. He followed the Canal as far as Rochester, where it then ter- minated. The weather was bad-the roads were muddy be- yond precedent. He was wearied and ill, and instead of pro- ceeding onward, put up at a public house. Rochester was but a small village, and he knew not a soul there. While tarrying in this place, undecided and desponding, he made some ac- quaintances, who suggested it as a favorable point of location. He decided to remain rather than encounter the miserable thoroughfares which lay beyond-and accordingly opened an cffice, November 1822. From that moment, he looked upon Rochester as his home, and such it has continued to be un- til the present time.
In 1824, the first Bank was established in Rochester, and in some of the disputes growing out of its establisment, Mr. Whittlesey was appointed one of its Attorneys. During the following year, he was appointed Clerk of the Court of Equity for the Eighth Circuit of the State of New York -- an office which he held until 1830, when the Courts were differently arranged. In September 1825, he was married to Miss Ann Hinsdale, daughter of Bissell Hinsdale, Esq., of Winsted, in his native county, who is still living.
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In 1826, the abduction of William Morgan occurred, on ac- count of his alleged revelation of the secrets of Free Masonry. The nature of his offence, and the mystery which shrouded his fate, caused great excitement in the community in which the events occurred. At a public meeting held in Rochester in relation to this transaction, Mr. Whittlesey was chosen one of a Committee of Investigation, since known as the "Morgan Committee." In connection with others, he bestowed much time and labor in investigating the circumstances of this abduc- tion-in endeavoring to unravel the dark conspiracy -- in tra- cing out his mysterious fate, and seeking to bring the perpe- trators of a great social crime to justice. This investigation almost imperceptibly ran into politics, and led to the formation of the Anti-Masonic Party, of which Mr. Whittlesey was an active and leading member. Previous to this time he had be- come one of the editors and proprietors of a political newspa- per, in which his talents as a writer had become favorably known to the public. In 1826, he was appointed Commission- er of Deeds ; and during the following year he was appointed one of the Trustees of the village of Rochester, and subse- quently was elected Clerk of the Board of Trustees of that village. In 1829, he was appointed Treasurer of the County of Monroe, and held the office for two years.
Mr. Whittlesey was elected a Representative to Congress in 1830, from the district composed of the counties of Monroe and Livingston ; and was re-elected in 1832, from the district composed of Monroe county alone. Having served his con- stituents in this capacity for four years with distinguished abil- ity and general acceptance, his congressional career termina- ated on the 4th of March, 1835.
In 1839, the Legislature of the State of New York passed a jaw creating the office of Vice Chancellor of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, and Mr. Whittlesey was appointed to that office by the Governor and Senate. He continued to discharge the duties
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of this appointment for eight years, when the office ceased un- der the provisions of the new Constitution: In 1847, he was one of the Whig candidates for the office of Judge of the Court of Appeals, a new Court created by the Constitution then re- cently adopted, and to which the Judges were elected by the people. Immediately upon ceasing to be Vice Chancellor, he was appointed by the Governor and Senate, a Judge of the old Supreme Court, which was to continue in existence until July 1848: In January 1850, Judge Whittlesey was appointed Professor of Law in Genessee College.
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SAMUEL SHEATHER PHELPS.
SAMUEL S. PHELPS was born at Litchfield, May 13th, 1793. His father, Captain John Phelps, was a wealthy and respectable farmer in Litchfield, and a soldier of the Revolu- tion. Soon after the war broke out, he enlisted into a com- pany of cavalry commanded by Captain Moses Seymour, of the same town, which was present at the battle of Saratoga, and rendered other valuable services in the struggle for Amer- ican Independence. He was the only son of Edward Phelps, who was a Representative to the General Court of Connecti- cut in 1744 and '45, and who died at an advanced age, on the same farm where he had spent a great part of his life, and to the possession of which his son succeeded. John Phelps mar- ried Miss Sheather, of Litchfield, and had several children, most of whom still reside in that town. The subject of this sketch was the youngest son, and named after his maternal uncle, Samuel Sheather.
At an early age, Samuel was placed under the care of the Rev. Ammi Robbins, of Norfolk-who kept a family school for boys -- where he pursued the preparatory studies required for entering college. Judge Phelps still occasionally refers, with great apparent pleasure, to the days he spent with the good Connecticut pastor who laid the foundation of his mental discipline -- always speaking of him in affectionate terms, and as one of whom he has ever retained a reverent and kindly re- membrance.
In September, 1807. at the age of fourteen, he entered Yale College, where he was duly graduated, and with credit to him-
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self, though considerably younger than most of his class -- among the number of whom were the Hon. John M. Clayton, late Secretary of State, and the Hon. Roger S. Baldwin, formerly Governor of Connecticut, and United States Senator.
The winter ensuing was spent at the Litchfield Law School, where he attended the lectures of Judges Reeve and Gould. In the following spring he removed to Vermont, and took up his residence at Middlebury -a town which had been settled chiefly by emigrants from Connecticut, and, in a great propor- tion, from Litchfield county. He there continued his legal studies in the office of the Hon. Horatio Seymour, since a Sen- ator in Congress from Vermont. At that time, (1812,) party spirit ran high ; in New England, and in the particular region where he lived, the Federal, Anti-War party was strongly in the ascendant. Notwithstanding this, however, he was a de- cided Democrat and a warm supporter of the Administration. Soon after hostilities commenced, he was drafted as one of the 100,000 men who were to hold themselves in readiness, and during the summer was ordered to the Canadian frontier. He continued in the ranks at Burlington and Plattsburgh until au- tumn, when he received from President Madison the appoint- ment of Paymaster in the United States' service. In that ca- pacity he remained, until the object of his appointment was accomplished.
Returning to Middlebury, he resumed his law studies, and was admitted, in December, 1814, to practice in the Superior Courts, and, three years after, in the Supreme Court. Here he continued in an extensive and successful practice for the next seventeen years, and until called upon to give up these duties, to fill high and responsible public stations. Previous to the termination of this period, he was elected (in 1827) one of the Council of Sensors. The address to the people, put forth by this Council, was written by Mr. Phelps.
One peculiar feature in the Constitution of Vermont, at that
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period, was the vesting of the principal legislative power in one body of men, called the House of Representatives-subject, however, to the approval and consent of the Governor and Council. The latter body consisted of one member from each county in the state, elected by general ticket. In 1821, Mr. Phelps was elected a member of the Legislative Council, and during the session of the Legislature of that year, he was ap- pointed a Judge of the Supreme Court. This office he held by successive elections until 1838.
In the autumn of 1838, Judge Phelps was elected to the Sen- ate of the United States, and at the close of his term of six years, was re-elected to the same office in 1844.
'The military appointments held by Senator Phelps, we may add, have been, Paymaster in the governmental service, Aid to Gov. Galusha, adjutant of a regiment, captain of a volunteer company of riflemen, and colonel of a regiment. The office of brigadier-general he declined in favor of a friend who stood next in the line of promotion.
The high reputation which Judge Phelps enjoyed, as a mem- ber of the Supreme Bench, would undoubtedly (notwithstand- ing the too frequent change of judicial officers in his State) have retained him in that capacity for many years beyond the time of his resignation, to enter the Senate, but for that event. No decisions of the Vermont Bench are more highly valued than his, as contained in the Reports from 1831 to 1838. None are more marked by clearness and force of language, as well as by a deep and thorough scrutiny of the whole case, in all its bear- ings, that exhausts the subject, and leaves scarcely room for a cavil. The confidence of the people at large in his integrity and ability in this capacity has been rarely equalled, and their admiration of his judicial character and talents cannot be ex- pressed in exaggerated terms. As an advocate, his reputation is not confined to his own State, or to New England: His ar- guments before the Supreme Court of the United States, at
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Washington, have made him very generally known as one who has few superiors as a cogent and powerful reasoner-one who, at a glance, can look through the merits and bearings of a case, and leave no strong point for his client unoccupied, and no assailable point in the positions of his adversary unattacked. We deem it no impropriety to mention here the remark of one highly distinguished, both as advocate, orator and statesman, after arguing a complicated and important case before the Su- preme Court, in which Judge Phelps was his opponent : " I would rather," said he, " have met any other lawyer from New England. Judge Phelps has no superior there or in the coun- try."
In the Senate, he has been known as a useful and influen- tial, rather than as a noisy member ; a man of sound practical judgment, and acting fearlessly up to his convictions of right ; cautious and conservative, yet not to such an extreme but that he can recognize and cheerfully adopt every real and positive improvement ; true to the Constitution he has sworn to sup- port, and to the Union ; and commending himself, by his cour- tesy and candor, to the respect and esteem of all parties. He seldom speaks, unless some important question is pending, and unless, on that question, he has some well-considered opinions. His quiet and industrious labors in the committee-room-and especially as a member of the committee on Claims, and of the committee on Indian Affairs, in one or both of which capacities he has rendered efficient service for several years- have been highly appreciated by his associates at Washington, and have not been valueless to the country.
Several able speeches have been delivered by him in the Senate, two of which, in particular, attracted much attention in all parts of the Union. We allude to his speech on the bill (known as Clayton's Compromise,) reported by a select com- mittee of the Senate, of which he was a member, in the summer of 1848 ; and to that on the Vermont anti slavery resolutions,
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on the Vermont Anti-Slavery Resolutions, during the spring of 1850. From the well known anti-slavery sentiment of the people of Vermont, and the course of northern Senators gen- erally, he was placed in a difficult position by his support of what was, for the moment, almost universally denounced at the North: Yet he never wavered from his convictions of duty in obedience to popular clamor ; and, whether right or wrong in his positions, he had the satisfaction of subsequently see- ing his course generally approved by his constituency. His speech on the Anti-Slavery Resolutions of his State, secured for him at once a high position as an orator and statesman, and was received with admiration by the Senate and the coun- try: It was copied entire into newspapers in various parts of the Union-especially at the North and West.
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