USA > Connecticut > A complete history of Connecticut, civil and ecclesiastical, from the emigration of its first planters, from England, in the year 1630, to the year 1764; and to the close of the Indian wars > Part 11
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· At the session in May, the towns were named. That which was sold at Hartford, on the second Tuesday in April, was called Norfolk ; that sold at New-Haven, Go- shen ; that at New-London, Canaan; that at Fairfield, Cornwall ; and that sold at Windham, Kent; and that sold in May, at Hartford, was named Salisbury. The purcha- sers of the said townships were incorporated and empower- ed, in all respects as the proprietors of the townships set off to Hartford and Windsor, and they were all, by an act of the assembly, annexed to the county of Hartford.
As such a number of townships were offered for sale and settlement so nearly together, and as the purchasers were none but the inhabitants of Connecticut, it was many years before they could all be sold and settled. It does not ap- pear that they were all sold at the particular times appoint- ed for that purpose. The following is a true history of their sale and settlement. In several of them, settlements had been made antecedently to any acts of the legislature respecting them.
Settle- ment of Torring- tồn, 1737.
Torrington, the second of the fourteen townships settled, was allotted to the Windsor proprietors, containing twenty thousand nine hundred and twenty-four acres. It was named at, the session in May, 1732. The number of pro- prietors was one hundred and thirty-six. At their first meeting in Windsor, September 10th, 1733, they voted to make a first division of lots in Torrington ; and that there . should be one acre to the pound on the list of each propri- etor. A committee was appointed to lay out this division.
10,5
CONNECTICUT.
CHAP: VI.
A survey of the town was completed in 1734. On the 14th Book II. of March, 1737, the proprietors voted a second division of the lands, and to lay out one acre to the pound, on the list 1737. of each proprietor. About five years after, another divi- sion was voted. But this last division was not completed till about ten years afterwards.
Several young men laboured in the town in the summer of 1736, but there was no family in the town until 1737, when Ebenezer Lyman, from Durham, moved on to the township, with a young family, consisting of three persons only .* Towards the close of the year, Jonathan Coe, who was also from Durham, and had laboured in the town for two summers, married, and a second family now commen- ced. The principal settlers were from Windsor and Dur- ham. The settlement of the town was very slow. In four' years from the settlement of the first families, there was an addition of twelve only. When the first minister, the Rev. Nathaniel Roberts, was ordained, in the summer of 1741, there were fourteen families in the town. It was incorpo- rated in 1744.
Harwinton, the first of the fourteen new townships which Harwinton was settled, consisted of two half townships, one part be- settled and longing to the Hartford and the other to the Windsor pro- ted. incorporar prietors ; the eastern half belonging to the proprietors of Hartford, and the western to those of Windsor. The whole township contains about 18,150 acres. Its first settlers were from Hartford and Windsor. The five first were Messenger, Hopkins, Webster, Phelps, and Wilson. These were on the lands before the division and sale of them, in 1732. The settlement of the town is considered as having been made in 1731. It was incorporated in October, 1737. The first minister was the Rev. Andrew Bartholomew, or- dained about the year 1736.
About the same time Kent, another of the new townships, Kent set- was settled. It was sold at auction, at the court-house, in Windham, on the first Tuesday in March, 1738. The set- tlement commenced the same year. The town was laid out in fifty-three shares. The principal settlers were from Colchester, Fairfield, and Norwalk. Payne, Washburn, Wright, Ransom, and Platt, were from Colchester; the Comstocks were from Fairfield ; and the Slausons, Can- fields, and Bassetts, were from Norwalk. The town was incorporated, and vested with the privileges of the other towns, at the session in October, 1739. The first minis-
* Mrs. Lyman, the first woman who moved into the town, was alive in 1800, in the 89th year of her age. As this was then considered as a fron- tier town, a fortification was erected not far from the centre of the town&
tled and in- corpora- ted, 1739,
O
406
HISTORY OF
CHAP. VI.
Book Il. ter was the Rev. Cyrus Marsh, ordained May 6th, 1741. The settlement of the town was rapid. In May, when Mr. 1738. Marsh was ordained, the church consisted of ten males only ; but before the end of the year, there was an addi- tion of fifty-three persons, male and female, principally by recommendations from other churches.
Indians in Kent.
There is, in this town, convincing evidence, that it was a grand scat of the native inhabitants of this country, before the Indians, who more lately inhabited it, had any resi- dence in it. There are arrow heads, stone pots, and a sort of knives, and various kinds of utensils, frequently found by the English, of such curious workmanship, as cx- cecds all the skill of any Indians, since the English came into this country, and became acquainted with them. These were not only found when the town was first set- tled, but they are still found on the sides of Housatonick river.
The history of the Indians in the town when the settle- ment of it commenced, is well known. Mowehue, a sa- chem who a few years before had removed with his In~ dians from Newtown to New-Milford, about the year 1728, built him a hunting house at Scatacook, in the north west part of Kent, on the west bank of the Housatonick river. He invited the Indians at New-Milford, from the Oblong, in the province of New-York, and from various other places, to settle with him at Scatacook ; and it appears that he was a man of so much art and popularity, among the. Indians, that in about ten or eleven years, about the time when the town was settled, he could muster an hun- dred warriors. The whole number, probably, was about five or six hundred. These, like the other Indians in this state, and in most of the other states, have been greatly diminished. Their whole number, at this time, is not more than forty.
The Moravian missionaries visited these Indians about. the time of the great religious concern in this country. They came first, in the year 1740, and visited the Indian village called Chekameka, in the Oblong, in the pro- vince of New-York. They, about the same time, came and preached to the Scatacook Indians, and in 1743. according to their account, the Scatacook sachem was baptized by them. In this place they formed a church, and had a flourishing congregation. They baptized all hundred and fifty of the Kent Indians. It is universally testified, that these missionaries were very inoffensive people ; that they were well esteemed, and kindly treated by the people of the town while they tarricd. They,
Missiona- ries from the Mora- vians.
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CHAP. VI.
however, complain of themselves as ill treated, persecuted, Book II. and imprisoned ; but it could not be by the people of Con- necticut.
1738.
What became of the Indians, who were first on the ground, before the English had any settlements there, is not known. When they moved away, or to what place, cannot be ascertained. The probability however is, that they were connected with Philips' Indians in the war against New-England ; and that in the slaughter which the Connecticut troops made of the Indians, on the Housa- tonick, at the close of that war, numbers of them were slain, and that the rest were so alarmed, that they remo- ved into Canada, as many other Indians did about the same time.
In this town, a large bed, or mine of iron ore, was dis- covered in the south part, about the time of its settlement. From this, twenty three forges are principally supplied with ore annually. There are six forges in Kent, which annually manufacture one hundred and fifty tons of iron for market, exclusive of what is used by the inhabitants of the town.
Goshen was settled nearly at the same time with Kent. Settlement, The township was sold, at New-Haven, on the first Tues- and history day in December, 1737. It is nine miles in length, from of Goshen. r north to south, and four and an half in breadth from east to west. Its boundaries are, Norfolk on the north, Torring- ton and Winchester on the east, Litchfield on the south, and Cornwall on the west. Its settlement commenced in 1738, or in 1739. The first inhabitants were principally from New-Haven, Wallingford and Farmington. It in- cludes a considerable quantity of the highest lands in the state. In one part of the town, from the same spot may be seen, the Catskill mountains on the west of Hudson's ri- ver, and a very considerable extent of country east of Connecticut river, including a prospect of more than an hundred miles in the whole. There is this rare and pecu- liar circumstance, with respect to what is called the east street, in Goshen ; that, the rain which falls on the front of the houses descends into the Housatonick river, and that which falls on the back side into the Waterbury river.
The elevation of the town, and its exemption from marshy grounds, renders it peculiarly healthy. It never has been visited with a general and mortal sickness, from the commencement of the settlement to the present time. Though a small proportion of the town is rough and moun- tainous, yet the lands are generally strong, and excellent for mowing and pasturage. Hence, large quantities of
108
HISTORY OF
CHAP. VI.
Book II. beef, butter and cheese, are annually sent to market from this town .* The first minister in the town was the Rev. 1739. Stephen Heaton, from North-Haven. He was ordained in in 1740. A charter of incorporation was given in Octo- ber, 1749.
Canaan settled and made a town.
The townships of Canaan and Sharon, were sold and set- tled nearly at the same time. Canaan was sold at auc- tion, in New-London, on the first Tuesday in January, 1738. It is bounded, west by Salisbury, or Housatonick riyer, which is the dividing line between the two town- ships ; north on the boundary line between Connecticut and Massachusetts ; east on Norfolk, and south on Corn- wall. The town is nine miles in length, and four miles and an half at one end, and five at the other. The settle- ment of the town began in June, the same year in which it was sold. The first inhabitants were, Daniel and Isaac Lawrence, John Franklin, and others, who joined them in the settlement about the same time. The town was incor- porated in 1739. The first minister of the town was the Rev. Elisha Webster. He was ordained, October 1st, 1740.
Sharon set- ¿led and in- corpora- ted.
Sharon was settled in the years 1738 and 1739. In the spring of this year, between fourteen and twenty families, from Colchester and Lebanon, made settlements in the town. The next spring, a larger number, from New- Haven, joined them, so that the inhabitants soon became very considerable. The town was incorporated in Octo- ber, 1739. Soon after the settlement of the town, (per- haps about 1740,) one Mr. Pratt, was called and settled for their first minister : but he continued in the ministry not more than four or five years.
Settlement
. and histo- ry of Salis- bury.
Salisbury, another township belonging to the governor and company, was sold at Hartford, in 1737. It is bound- ed, on the north, upon the line between Connecticut and Massachusetts, seven miles and an half; on the west, by the dividing line between Connecticut and New-York, eight miles and three quarters ; it is bounded south, seven miles on Sharon ; east, on Canaan, or the Housatonick. It had been laid out into lots in 1732, about five years be-
* The quantity of cheese, manufactured in the town, and carried to market in 1801, was supposed to amount at least to 270,000 weight, making an income to the farmers of about 24,000 dollars. This is sup- posed to be nearly equal to all their income from other sources. In this town, there was a great abundance of the hard maple trees, and great quantities of maple sugar have been annually made by the inhabitants. In some years, the quantity manufactured has been estimated at 20,000 pounds. Of late years, owing to the diminution and decayed state of the trees, the quantity has been much less.
109
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CHAP. VI.
fore the public sale of it. A few persons made settlements Book II. upon part of the lands at an early period. About the year 1720, three families made settlements on that part of it 1741. called Weatog. There was a family of Duchers, another of Van Deursens, and one of Whites. The two former were Dutch people, but White was an Englishman. This little settlement gradually increased, and was the only one within the limits of the township, until about the year 1740. At that period, there were eleven English, and five Dutch fa- Incorpora- milies in the town. The next year it was incorporated, and ted, 1741. made a distinct town.
When the settlement of the town commenced, there was a considerable number of Indians in the town. In 1740, there were seventy wigwams, all in a cluster, at Weatog, where the first inhabitants of the town planted themselves. These Indians were friendly and hospitable to the white people, and encouraged their settling among them. The town was called Weatog, and Housatonick, until it was named by the assembly, when it was called Salisbury, from a gentleman of that name, who was one of the principal planters of the town .*
This town is distinguished by the large and excellent iron ore bed which it contains. It was discovered and opened about the year 1730. It was found in the lands of one Bissel, and in those given by the colony for the benefit of Yale College. It comprises a tract of about one hun- dred acres. For sixty years past, there has annually been taken from this bed, two thousand tons of ore. It is rich, making from two and two and an half tons of ore, one ton of pig iron. About four tons will make a ton of bar iron. The metal is of the best quality. There is ore found in various other parts of the town. As early as the year 1740, a furnace was built at Ancram, about twelve miles a little north of west from the great ore bed. In 1762, one was erected by oné Mr. Hazelton and others, in this town ; and in 1770, it was rebuilt. The iron at this furnace is generally made into pigs, small ware, and pot ash kettles. Cannon have also been cast here, from four to thirty two pounders ; especially, during the American revolutionary
* There is a very rare tradition concerning this Salisbury. That he removed into the state of New-York, some time after the settlement of the town, and having an unruly servant girl, who ran away from him, he pursued her, and having taken her, tied her to his horse, and rode in such a manner as to throw her down, and so worried and wounded her, that she died. In consequence of this abuse of the girl, he was tried for his life, and condemned to be hanged when he should arrive at the age of 100 years. In 1799, he arrived at that term of life, and then obtained a re; prieve for a certain time.
110
. HISTORY OF
CHAP. VI.
Book Il. war. Many were also cast afterwards, in the years 1797 and 1798. The two furnaces already mentioned, and a- 1741. bout fifteen forges in the vicinity, depend almost entirely on this great ore bed, for their ore. The furnace in Salis- bury, is generally kept in blast from four to five months in a year, and manufuctures from eighteen to twenty tons per week. Another furnace was built in Salisbury, in 1305.
There is a pond whose surface contains about seven hundred acres of water. This supplies the furnace, a grist mill and a carding machine with water .* There are cighit other ponds in the town; one is larger than that which supplies the furnace : the others are smaller. There are also a great number of creeks scattered over the town, which afford many excellent seats for every kind of works, which can be carried on by water. A gentle- man of ingenuity observes, "The abundance of ore, the " quantity of wood, the variety of seats for water works, "afford a prospect, that at some future time, this town "may rival Sheffield and Birmingham, in the extensive- "ness of its iron inanufactures." Besides these advan- tages, the town abounds with all kinds of grain, special- ly with wheat. It furnishes fine tracts of pasturage, and many excellent dairies are kept in the town. No one town, perhaps, produces a greater abundance of all the necessaries and comforts of life than this. t
The first minister of the town was the Rev. Jonathan Lee. He was ordained on the 23d of November, 1744. At the time of his ordination, there were not more than eighteen or twenty families in the town. The town at first was fortified in several places, and guards were kept on the sabbath.
Cornwall, the middle township on the Housatonick, sold by the colony, was laid out in fifty three allotments, or rights. It contained 23,654 acres, and was sold at Fairfield, on the first Tuesday in February, 1738. It was sold for fifty pounds per right. There was no per-
* This pond was called by the Indians, Wanseopomick. The remarka- ble falls in the river between this town and Canaan, have been noticed in the first volume of this history. These, it is supposed, are nearly equal to any thing of the kind in the United States, except the falls of Niagara.
+ There is a tradition in this town, that many years before its settle- ment, a colonel Whiting pursued a body of Indians, as far as the north east part of the town, and there on the banks of the Housatonick, sur- prised and defeated them, with great slaughter. About seventy Indian graves are visible there unto this day. The name of the officer seems to have been mistaken. Major Talcott pursued the flying Indians at the close of Philip's war, and made considerable slaughter among them. This was in August or September, 1676. See the first volume of this history. It was reported that seventy Indians were killed. Major Talcott lost ope man only.
Settle- ment and history of Cornwall.
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CHAP. VI.
manent settlement in the township, until the spring of the Book II. year, 1740, or 1741. The first inhabitants were from va- rious parts of the colony. The Allens and Griffins were 1741. from Litchfield ; the Fullers and Roberts' from Colches- ter; the Holloways were from Middlebury, in Massachu- setts : but the greatest number, the Jewetts, Spauldings, Barrets, Squires' and others, were from Plainfield. There were a number of others from Norwalk, Tolland, and other towns. Such a number of inhabitants planted themselves in the town at once, that they were able to support the gos- pel from the commencement of the settlement. On the third Wednesday of August, 1741, the Rev. Solomon Pal- mer, was ordained to the pastoral office over them. He continued with them in peace, until March, 1754, when on the sabbath, to the great surprise of the people, he declar- ed himself to be an Episcopalian in sentiment. He soon after went to England, and obtained orders. He was originally of Branford, and had his education at Yale Col- lege.
The face of the country is rough and mountainous, but no part of the town is barren. The mountains to the very tops are covered with lofty timber ; the vales and sides of the mountains, are rich and productive ; the waters ex- cellent and abundant. It is supposed, that it has plenty of iron ore ; some has been dug, but as no furnace has been erected in the town, and the other furnaces in the county are amply supplied from ore in their vicinity, little attention has hitherto been given it. There is in the town, a rich mine of black lead, in what is called mine mountain, near the Housatonick.
The township of New-Hartford, was granted to the New- Hartford patentees. It is bounded west on Torrington ; Hartford south, partly on Harwinton and partly on Farmington ; settled and
incorpo-
east, on Simsbury, and north on Barkhampstead. It con- rated. tains 23,940 acres. The settlement of the town commenc- ed about the year 1733, and it appears soon after to have been incorporated. The first and principal planters were from Hartford. They were John, Cyprian and Zechariah. Watson, Joseph Gillet, Noah Merril, deacon Martin Smith, Thomas Olcott, Stephen Kelsey, Matthew Gillet, John Andrus, Jonathan Marsh, Daniel Shepard, Samuel Douglass, Eleazer Goodwin and others. The first minis- ter of the town, was the Rev. Jonathan Marsh, son of the Rev. Jonathan Marsh of Windsor, ordained the second, Wednesday in October, 1739. He continued in the min- istry between fifty four and fifty five years. As this was a forntier town, some fortifications were erected for the de- fence of the inhabitants.
112
HISTORY OF
CHAP. VI.
Hartland settled.
BOOK II. Hartland was another township belonging to the Hart- ford patentees. It is bounded north on the dividing line between Connecticut and Massachusetts, south on Bark- hampstead, east on Granby, and west on Colebrook. It contains, by estimation, 17,654 acres. The proprietors held their first meeting at Hartford, on the 10th of July, 1733. But the lands did not sell ; and during the term of twenty years, there was no permanent settlement made on the lands, either by the proprietors themselves, or any
1757.
other person. The first family that moved into the town, was John Kendal and his wife, in the spring of 1753. But the next year he moved away for fear of the Indians. The same year, deacon Thomas Giddings from Lyme, made a permanent settlement, with his family, in the township. The next year, 1755, two more families joined them. In 1757, four families more, from Lyme and East-Haddam, were added to the settlement. At this period, there were eight or nine families in the town. In 1760, several other families, from Lyme and East-Haddam, joined themselves to the former settlers. The settlement was very slow, so that it was about eight years from this time, before their numbers and estate were sufficient to support a minister. The first church in the town was gathered, consisting of seven males and four females, May 4th, 1768; and on the 18th of June following, the Rev. Sterling Graves, from East-Haddam, was ordained.
The town of Norfolk, which was the first town appoint- ed to be sold for the colony, at Hartford, on the second Tuesday in April, 1738, was not sold until about sixteen years from that time ; as such quantities of land were selling by the Hartford and Windsor people, and by the colony ; and as some of the other townships were judged to be pre- ferable to it, both as to soil, and as they were nearer to the old settlements. At the time it was first offered for sale, one bidder only was found for a part of the town- ship. The assembly therefore suspended the sale of it for about two years. In May, 1750, it was enacted, that the rest of the township should be sold at Hartford, at public vendue, on the third Tuesday of December, then next en- suing ; and that the vendue should be continued until the sale of it should be finished. This was not done till about four years from that time. The proprietors held their first meeting after the sale was completed, in December, 1754. The town is nine miles in length and nearly seven in breadth. It is bounded north, on the line between Con- necticut and Massachusetts ; east on Colebrook ; south, partly on Winchester and partly on Goshen ; and west, on
Norfolk sold and settled.
-
113
CONNECTICUT.
CHAP VI. .
Canaan. At the time when the township was sold, there Book II. were twelve or fourteen persons on the lands, who became proprietors. The first inhabitants were from Hartford, 1758. Windsor, Simsbury, and Danbury. The town was incor- porated in 1758. At this period the inhabitants consisted Incorpo- of twenty-seven families only. There were fifty proprie- rated, tors, and it was a condition among the proprietors, that 1758. each proprietor should settle one family upon cach right in five years. This so expedited the settlement, that, in about three years, they increased to seventy families. The first minister, the Rev. Ammi R. Robbins, was ordained in October, 1761.
The township of Winchester belonged to the patentees Winches- of Hartford. It is bounded north on Colebrook, east on ter incor- porated. Barkhampstead, south on Torrington, and west on Goshen and Norfolk. It contains, by estimation, 20,380 acres. The township was laid out into distinct lots in 1758. In May, 1771, it was incorporated, and vested with the privi- leges of the other towns. The Rev. Joshua Knapp was ordained the first pastor of the church in the town, Novem- ber 11th, 1772.
Barkhampstead was a township granted to the people Bark- of Windsor, and contains, by estimation, 20,530 acres. Its hampstead boundaries are Simsbury on the east, New-Hartford on settled. the south, Winchester on the west, and Hartland on the north. The first person who made a permanent settlement in the town, was Pelatiah Allyn, from Windsor, about the year 1749. He remained the only person on the ground, for ten years or more, His plantation was toward the south part of the town, not far from the dividing line be- tween that town and New-Hartford. As there were fre- quent alarms, on account of the Indians, he used, in times when danger was apprehended, to repair to a fortified post in the northern part of New-Hartford. He took spe= cial measures to guard himself against a surprise at his own house. The next man who made a settlement in the town, was Israel Jones, from Enfield, about the year 1759. There were very few residents in the town, until after the French war, in 1762. About this time, William Austin, from Suffield, and Amos Case, from Simsbury, became resi- dents in the town ; but the settlement was slow. The in- habitants were so few, that they were not called upon to do military duty until 1774. The town was incorporated in 1779. The Rev. Ozias Eells, the first minister in the town, was ordained January 24th, 1787.
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