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 8
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Messrs. Mills and Burgess left America on the 16th of No" vember following, and after a perilous voyage arrived in Eng- land late in December. They at once presented their letters to Zachary Macauley, Esq., formerly Governor of Sierra Leone, and to the Rev. Messrs. Pratt and Bickersteth, Secre- taries of the Church Missionary Society, who were partially informed as to the designs of the Colonization Society and the nature of the embassy, and gave them many expressions of their confidence. Mr. Wilberforce also received them with great cordiality, and introduced them to Lords Bathurst and Gam- bier, and to his Royal Highness the Duke of Glocester -- all of whom entered into the objects of the mission with enthusiasm .- Lord Bathurst gave them letters of introduction to the Gov- ernor of Sierra Leone, and other officers on the coast ; and Lord Gambier called upon them at their rooms, and politely proffered them any service in his power.
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Having adjusted their affairs in England, incy embarked for Africa on the 2d of February. 1818. A pleasant passage brought them to the coast of that continent on the 12th of March. The incidents of the voyage, as well as their journey along the coast in pursuing the objects of their mission, are graphically related by Mr. Mills in his journal. After spend- ing upwards of two months in exploring the country, and col- lecting and noting facts, they embarked for the United States, via. England, on the 22d of May.
The health of Mr. Mills was feeble when he left America, and the climate of Africa and the fatigues which he had under- gone there, had not improved it. It was a delightful evening when he left those heathen shores. The sun was just going down, and the mountains of Sierra Leone appeared in their majesty and beauty. As he stood on the quarter-deck, taking a last glance of Ethiopia, his bosom began to heave with thoughts of home. " We may now," said he to his colleague, be thankful to God and congratulate each other, that the la- bors and dangers of our mission are past. The prospect is fair, that we shall once more return to our dear native land, and see the faces of our beloved parents and friends." To all human appearance, this was truc ; but an all-wise providence had ordered that he should not realize this prospect.
On the evening of the 5th of June, when about two weeks out, he took a heavy cold, became ill, and expressed some ap- prehensions of a fever. He continued to grow worse until the 16th, when, between two and three P. M., he gently folded his hands on his breast, as if to engage in some act of devotion, while a celestial smile settled upon his countenance, and yielded up his spirit.
Thus, in his thirty-fifth year, did this beloved man close his life of distinguished piety and usefulness. Brief as was his career, he contributed more, perhaps, to the formation and advancement of the existing national benevolent societies, than
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any other man of the age in which he lived, or even of this age. The American Bible Society, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the American Coloniza- tion Society, the Foreign Mission School at Cornwall, and the African School at Baltimore, all had their origin, either direct- ly or indirectly, with him. And when they were once organ- ized, he devoted his whole energies to the furtherance of the objects for which they were designed. To the eye of inan, the shaft of death could not have fallen upon one in whom was centered so many hopes for the moral and religious reno- vation of our race. Blessed be his memory ! No monumental marble records his worth-no fragrant dews shall descend up- on his tomb. His dust sleeps unseen amid the pearls and corals of the ocean, and his name shall swell upon the breeze and be echoed by the wave, until the dawning of that day when the sea shall give up her dead.
After the arrival of Mr. Burgess in this country, the Coloni- zation Society presented a memorial to Congress, through the Speaker of the House, Mr. Clay, from which we extract the following-
" In order to obtain the most accurate information, from scources of the most unquestionable authority, the Society sent out, at great expense, two Agents, Messrs. Mills and Burgess, who have proved themselves eminently qualified for the undertaking. They proceed- ed to the west coast of Africa, where they prosecuted their researches with such zeal, industry and intelligence, as to have contributed es- sentially to the illustration of many important and interesting facts connected with the geography, climate, soil, and products, of that part of the continent, and with the habits, manners, social institutions, and domestic economy, of its inhabitants. From the information thus obtained, the present period would seem to be designated, by a com- bination of favorable circumstances, as the fortunate crisis for reducing to test of actual experiment, these views and objects of the Society, which have already met so encouraging a notice from Congress," &c. " The volume of accurate and valuable information, collected by them, will be found among the documents which we now beg, sir, through your kind mediation, to present Congress."
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[ Note .- A volume of 250 pages was published in 1820, with the following title : "Memoirs of the Rev. Samuel J. Mills, late Missionary to the South-Western section of the United States, and Agent of the American Colonization Society, de- puted to explore the Western Coast of Africa. By Gardner Spring, D. D." The foregoing Sketch is mainly compiled from this work. ]
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EPHRAIM KIRBY.
This gentleman was a native of Litchfield, and was born on the 23d of February, 1757. His father was a farmer in mod- erate circumstances, and Ephraim was employed on the farm during his boyhood. At the age of nineteen, (fired with the patriotism which burst into a flame throughout the country on the news of the battle of Lexington,) he shouldered his musket, and marched with the volunteers from Litchfield to the scene of conflict, in time to be present at the battle of Bunker Hill. He remained in the field until independence was achieved, with only such intervals as he was driven from it by severe wounds. He was in nineteen battles and skirmishes-among them, Brandywine, Monmouth, Germantown, &c .- and received thirteen wounds, seven of which were sabre-cuts on the head, inflicted by a British soldier at Germantown, where Kirby was left for dead upon the field. These "honorable scars" he carried with him through life.
At the close of the Revolution, he rejected with indignation the offer of pecuniary assistance to speculate in soldiers' certi- ficates, by which he might have amassed wealth without labor. He would not tarnish the glory of the cause of Freedom, by thus taking advantage of the necessities of his comrades in arms-preferring, penniless as he was, but conscious of the fire within, to take a more congenial road to eminence. By the labor of his own hands he earned the price of his education. For some time he was a member of Yale College, and in 1787 he received from that institution the honorary degree of Mas- ter of Arts. Mr. Kirby studied the legal profession in the of
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fire of Reynold Marvin, Esq., who had been King's Attorney before the war, and who relinquished the office for the purpose of engaging with all his might in the great struggle for inde- pendence. After he was admitted to the Bar, Mr. Kirby was married to Ruth Marvin, the excellent and accomplished daughter of his distinguished patron and preceptor.
In 1791, Colonel Kirby was for the first time elected a Rep- resentative to the Legislature-a post of honor and responsibil- ity to which he was subsequently re-chosen at thirteen semi- annual elections. As a legislator, he was always distinguished for the dignity of his deportment, for his comprehensive and enlightened views, for the liberality of his sentiments, and for his ablility, firmness and decision.
On the elevation of Jefferson to the Presidency in 1801, Col. Kirby was appointed Supervisor of the National Revenue for the State of Connecticut. About this period, he was for sev- eral years a candidate for the office of Governor. Upon the acquisition of Louisiana, the President appointed him a Judge of the then newly organized Territory of Orleans. Having accepted the station, he set out for New Orleans ; but he was not destined to reach the place. Having proceeded as far as Fort Stoddart, in the Mississippi Territory, he was taken sick, and died on the 2d of October, 1804, aged 47 -- at a period when a wide career of public usefulness seemed opening upon him. His remains were interred with the honors of war, and other demonstrations of respect.
While in the practice of the law in his native town, in the year 1789, he published a volume of Reports of the decisions of the Superior Court and Supreme Court of Errors in this State. This was a novel undertaking ; being the first volume of Reports ever published in Connecticut, and perhaps in the United States .* It was executed with faithfulness, judgment,
* Pease and Niles's Gazetteer speaks of this work as the first vol- ume of Reports published in Connecticut ; Colonel Edmund Kirby,
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and ability, and is now regarded as authority in all our Courts.
Col. Kirby was a man of the highest grade of moral as well as physical courage-elevated in his feelings and aspirations -- warm, generous and constant in his attachments -- and of indomitable energy. He was, withal, gentle and winning in his manners, kindly in his disposition, and naturally of an ar- dent and cheerful temperament, though the last few years of his life were saddened by heavy pecuniary misfortunes .* As a lawyer, he was remarkable for the frankness and down- right honesty of his advice to clients, striving always to prevent litigation, uniformly allaying irritation and effecting compro- mises, and only prosecuting with energy the just and good cause against the bad. He enjoyed the friendship of many of the sages of the Revolution, his correspondence with whom would form interesting materials for the history of his time ; but, unfortunately, almost all of it was lost at sea between New York and St. Augustine, some twenty-five years ago. A few letters to and from President Jefferson are, however, still preserved by Col. Edmund Kirby, of Brownville, New York, which are interesting as showing the relations of confi-
expresses his belief that it was the first work of the kind ever pub- lished in the United States.
* Col. Kirby had acquired a handsome property by his profession, but in an evil hour he employed an agent to purchase for him a large tract of new land in Virginia. This agent betrayed his trust, and by his dishonesty involved his affairs in irretrievable ruin. To be har- rassed by liabilities which he could not meet, was, to an honest and sensitive mind like his, a source of the keenest solicitude. This reverse took place but a short time before his appointment to the judgeship, and consequently he left Litchfield for the last time in a very dejected state of mind. My friend and kinsman, who still survives, (Colonel J. Kilbourne, late member of Congress from Ohio,) informs me that he unexpectedly overtook Col. Kirby while crossing the Alleghanie :, in the summer of 1804, and traveled with him for many miles. Kir- by was then on his way to fulfil the duties of his appointment in Louis- iana. He was gloomy and sad, and expressed his forebodings that he should never return to his native State.
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dence existing between the subject of this notice and that great statesman.
Mrs. Kirby died at Litchfield, in October, 1817, aged 53 .*
* We cannot forbear inserting here the following beautiful and well deserved tribute to the memory of this estimable lady, contained in a private letter from her gallant and lamented son already alluded to, (Col. Edmund K.,) to the author of these pages-dated August 4, 1848. "She is worthy of honorable mention on the page that com- memorates those who have done most to reflect honor on Litchfield -so full of cherished memories ! She possessed a rare combination of talents and accomplishments, blended with all Christian virtues that adorn and make the female character lovely. Born to the pros- pect of a fortune, highly educated and refined, she met the reverses of after life with equinimity and energy, and a display of practical tal- ent for the business of life, in the husbandry of her narrow resources and the education of her children, that commanded the admiration of all who knew her."
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JOHN COTTON SMITH.
In the year 1639, the Rev. Henry Smith was the minister at Wethersfield, on the Connecticut River. A few years be- fore, the Rev. John Cotton and the Rev. Richard Mather, har- rassed by the persecutions to which the non-conformists were subjected, left their mother country and sought refuge in the feeble colonies of New England. They had both been emi- nent in their native country for learning and piety. A son of the latter, the Rev. Increase Mather, was for twenty years President of Harvard College. He married a daughter of the Rev. John Cotton, and from this marriage sprang the Rev. Cotton Mather, of world-wide renown. His daughter, Jeru- sha, married Mr. Samuel Smith, of Suffield, a grandson of the Rev. Henry Smith, above-mentioned, and was the mother of the Rev. Cotton Mather Smith, the father of the subiect of this sketch. He was for more than fifty years the minister of the church in Sharon, in this county, where his name is still pre- served in the affectionate traditions of the people, as a sound divine, a most faithful and tender-hearted pastor, and a man of great personal dignity. His wife was a daughter of the Rev. William Worthington, of Saybrook, one of the old puritan women, in whom faith was the fountain of mild dignity and earnest well-doing.
Of these parents JOHN COTTON SMITH was born in Sharon, February 12, 1765; and he could thus enumerate among his ancestors no less than seven of the clergy of New England, some of whom are illustrious in her history. It was the great blessing of his childhood to receive his training in
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one of the best of the old New England households, where Law stood embodied in patriarchal authority, and Christian Faith gave the key-note to the domestic harmonies ; and much of the loveliness of his character was doubtless owing to the pure and quickening atmosphere of his father's house.
His early education, till he was six years old, was commit- ted to his mother ; and he pursued his classical studies partly in Sharon and partly with the Rev. Mr. Brinsmade of Wash- ington. He entered Yale College in 1779, being then in his fifteenth year .* Though so young, he passed through his col- legiate course with honor, acquiring a high rank as a scholar, and preserving his moral principles and habits from the slight- est stain. It was at the time of the Revolution, the heroic era in our annals, when the energies of our people were quicken. ed to their utmost-and, although our young student took no part in the war, his whole heart went with his country in her struggle for freedom. His father was a zealous patriot, having served as chaplain in the campaign of 1775, and full of hope as to the issue even in the darkest reverses. The son partook of the father's spirit, and with the hopefulness of youth anti- cipated a high and honorable destiny for his new-born country.t He graduated in 1783, the year of the termination of the
* The following winter his father went to bring him home for the vacation. A great snow storm came on, and they were compelled to leave their sleigh in Woodbury, and travel to Bethlem on horseback. By that time the roads had become impassable to horses, and, fearing that they might be wholly blocked up, they set out, with Dr. Bellamy's sanction, on Sunday afternoon, on snow-shoes, reached Washington that night, Warren the next day, and home on the third.
+" The appearance of a large British army from Canada, under Gen. Burgoyne, and the expedition up the North River, under Gen. Vaugh- an, in 1777, filled the whole country with terror and despondency. The firmness and confidence of Parson Smith, however, remained un- broken, and his efforts to revive the drooping spirits of his people were unremitted. In the month of October, he preached a sermon from these words, " Watchman, what of the night ? The watchman saith, the morning cometh." lle dwelt upon the indications which the deal-
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war, and immediately entered on the study of the law in the office of John Canfield, Esq., in his native village. In 1786, he was admitted to the Bar of Litchfield county, then inferior to none in the State for the brilliant array of legal and forensic talent : among whom we may mention Reeve, distinguished for his wisdom and learning as a jurist, as well as for the ex- cellence of his moral and religious character; Tracy, surpass- ed by none in sparkling wit and subduing eloquence; and Na- thaniel Smith, who, by the energy of extraordinary talents, forced his way through great disadvantages to the highest pro- fessional eminence. With these and other distinguished com- petitors, Mr, Smith soon obtained a high reputation, and a: lucrative practice.
In 1793, he was first chosen to represent his native town in the General Assembly of Connecticut ; and from 1796 to 1800, he was without interruption a member of the lower House. At the October session 1799, he was appointed Clerk -and in both of the sessions of the following year he was el- evated to the Speaker's chair.
In October 1800, he was chosen a member of Congress to fill a vacancy occasioned by a resignation, and at the same time
ings of providence afforded, that a bright and glorious morning was about to dawn upon a long night of defeat and disaster. He told his congregation he believed they would soon hear of a signal victory crowning the arms of America, and exhorted them to unshaken con- fidence in the final triumph of their cause. Before the congregation was dismissed, a messenger arrived in Sharon with the intelligence of the surrender of Burgoyne's army: The letter was immediately sent to Parson Smith, who read it from the pulpit, and a flood of joy and gratitude burst from the entire audience .- Conn. Hist. Coll.
A body of Hessians, belonging to the same army, marched through Sharon after their .capture, and their officers were hospitably enter- tained at Parson Smith's. The next morning, when drawn up for march, they sang psalms in their noble language, and then moved on to the sound of sacred music. His son, (John-Cotton,) then twelve years old, was so much delighted with it, that he followed them a long way on their march, and he often spoke of it with enthusiasm after- wards.
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he was elected to the full term of the 7th Congress. When he entered the National Legislature, the Federal party was still in power ; but the close of that session saw the sceptre pass out of its hands, and the party with which he acted lost its national ascendency forever. During almost the whole of his congressional career, he was in a minority ; and the honors which he received were not, therefore, the reward of a parti- zan by a dominant faction. Nor did he ever seek to conciliate his political opponents; he was an open, decided, uncompro- mising opponent ; and yet, such were his talents as a states- man, such his bearing as a gentleman, and such the spotless integrity of his character, as to command the respect and win the confidence of the House and of the country during times of the most violent party excitement. After the first session, he was Chairman of the Committee on Claims so long as he held his seat-a most laborious office at that time, when there was less subdivision of duties in Congress than now, but which he filled with great ability and reputation. Clear-sighted, prompt, energetic and indefatigable, he was able rapidly to dis- entangle the most perplexed subjects, and present them with luminous distinctness ; while his lofty rectitude, never soiled even by the breath of suspicion, gave moral weight to his de- cisions, as coming from one who would never sacrifice justice to party or even national ends.
He was oftener called to the chair in Committee of the Whole than any other member, especially when those questions were before the House which were most fitted to awaken par- ty animosities. In the celebrated discussion on the Judiciary in 1801, he presided to universal acceptance-on one occasion, when the excitement was at its hight, sitting immvoable in his place, with the firm endurance of a Roman Senator, for twelve hours. His Congressional career closed in 1806, when he resigned his seat that he might minister to the comfort of his aged father. He did not resume his practice at the Bar, but
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devoted himself to the management of his farm, and to those literary pursuits which were congenial to his refined taste. But his townsmen would not suffer his talents to be wholly buried. He was sent to the Lower House of the State Legis- lature in the autumn of the same year, and was again chosen Speaker ; and he continued a member of that body until 1809, when he was elected to the Council. In October of that year, he was elevated to the bench of the Supreme Court, in the place of Roger Griswold, who had been elected Lieutenant Governor. Before the second term of this Court was held, Mr. Griswold was elevated to the chief magistracy, and Judge Smith was called from the bench to fill the office of Lieutenant Governor.
Of his associates on the bench, the venerable Simeon Bald- win, of New Haven, father of the ex-Governor, is now (1849) the only survivor.
In consequence of the death of Governor Griswold in Oc- tober 1812, Mr. Smith became acting Governor. For the four following years, and until the political revolution of 1817, he was elected to the office of Governor, which station he filled with eminent ability and faithfulness.
The life of a Governor of Connecticut is generally tranquil, and presents few incidents for history. The narrow limits of our territory, the orderly habits of our people, and the stability of our institutions, leave little to be done by our rulers save calm supervision and such gentle amendments as the change of circumstances may require. Apart from the war, there is nothing demanding special notice in Governor Smith's admin- istration. He adorned the station by the consummate grace and dignity with which he appeared on all public occasions. All the duties and proprieties of the office were most faithfully performed and observed, and his State Papers were distinguish- ed for perspicuity and classic elegance, He was always equal to the occasion.
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From his retirement in 1817 until his death, a period of al- most thirty years, he lived upon his estate in his native town, wholly withdrawn from all participation in political affairs, and devoted to the studies and employments befitting a scholar, a gentleman, and a Christian.
The connection of Governor Smith with the great moral and religious enterprizes of the age, was an important feature in his later life. He rejoiced when the Church, startled out of the sleep of the last century by the shock that engulphed the monarchy of France, began to grope her way in the morning twilight, and with weak faith and dim vision to gird herself for her work, as the light of the world and the pillar and ground of the truth. He was President of the Litchfield County For- eign Mission Society, and of the Litchfield County Temperance Society ; he was also the first President of the State Bible So- ciety, which preceded by several years the national institution. In 1826, he was chosen President of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions ; and in 1881, President of the American Bible Society,-thus receiving the highest marks of confidence and esteem which the christian public could bestow upon him. The former he resigned in 1841, but the latter he retained until his death.
It was a noble spectacle to see the retired statesman conse- crating his old age to such a work. Standing wholly apart from political contests, yet full of filial anxiety for his country, he gave to the Church of God the first place in his affections and labors: Nor was it only in enterprizes the magnitude of which might seem to give them an outward magnificence, that he felt an interest; he was equally for those humble works of which the world takes but little notice. His wisdom and gen- tleness made him much sought for in healing the wounds of distracted churches, and never was he more thankful than when he saw a blessing on those labors of love.
Besides the political and religions honors already mentioned,
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he received several of a literary kind. In 1814, the degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him by his Alma Ma- ter. During the following year, he was elected a member of the Northern Society of Antiquaries in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was also elected a member of the Connecticut Historical Society, and an honorary member of the Massachusetts His- torical Society, in the aims and objects of which societies he entered warmly, and gave them his cordial support, He was for several years an occasional contributor to various scientific and literary periodicals, and was a deeply interested observer of the progress of those arts, sciences, and inventions, which tend to advance civilization, and promote the partial or general welfare of our race. His essays on these subjects, evince patient investigation, deep research, correct observation, with occasional prophetic glimpses of their probable results in the unknown future.
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