A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume I, Part 43

Author: Lincoln, Allen B
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co.
Number of Pages: 930

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October 12, 1898, a reunion of former pupils of the Foster School was held in the Town Hall at Hampton. Thirty-two members were present and letters of regret were received from many who were unable to attend. The hall was decorated with flags and autumn flowers. A bountiful dinner was served by the ladies of Hampton. After dinner appropriate exercises were held. Allen Jewett, chairman of the committee, presided, George W. Bennett delivered the welcome address which was responded to by Mr. Foster. George E. Taintor was toastmaster. Rev. S. B. Carter read a poem written by himself for the occasion and a gold-headed cane was presented to Mr. Foster. Short speeches were made by several of the girls and boys and it was voted to hold a reunion the next year. Annual reunions have been held since and many have attended who were not at the first reunion.

Mr. Foster was engaged in teaching for fifty years, having begun at the age of sixteen. He conducted a business college at Worcester for several years. He was present at all reunions until about two years before his death, which occurred November 22, 1914, at age eighty-four.

Among Mr. Foster's pupils who have achieved success are Edward B. Ben- nett, lawyer and former postmaster at Hartford; William Henry Bennett, now a leading lawyer of Minneapolis ; Henry E. Taintor, Leander A. Fuller, Charles B. Hutchins, lawyers; James E. Stetson, George W. Avery, physicians; Steven B. Carter, clergyman, teacher and poet; Milton Perkins, professor in the Uni- versity of Michigan at Ann Arbor; George E. Church, principal of Pearl Street Grammar School, in Providence; Jacob F. Starkweather, teacher at Norwich; Mary E. Starkweather, Sarah A. Tiffany, Keron Robinson, teachers. Vernette E. Cleveland, treasurer and business manager of the Smith Car Baking Com- pany at Northampton, Mass .; W. Ward Bill, son of Lester Bill of Chaplin, was attached to the United States consulate at Melbourne, Australia, for four years, was afterwards appointed consul there for two years, went thence to South

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Africa, was engaged in mining there eight years; and Thomas Hart Fuller (see Scotland, and Willimantic schools).

FORTY YEARS: 1858-1898

Following are verses selected from the poem written and read by Rev. Stephen B. Carter at the reunion of Foster School pupils on Hampton Hill, October 12, 1898.

We're gathered on the selfsame hill as forty years ago While sad and happy mem'ries drift with ceaseless ebb and flow. The same fair landscape charms the eye that then before us spread, The same green earth beneath our feet, the same blue sky o'erhead. The autumn flowers are just as fair as those that blossomed then, And just as gorgeous colored leaves make lovely hill and glen. The dwellings, too, are much the same as in the days gone by, But for the old town hall we look with still unsated eye .*

The brows of youth and childhood then so ruddy and so fair, Now wear the marks of passing years, the furrowed lines of care. Over the eyes undimmed and clear, that conned the schoolbook's page, The shuttle of the spoiler weaves the thick'ning film of age. Across some ears that found delight in music's liquid flow, He has placed the bar of silence since days of long ago.t The auburn tress, or sable locks that vied with raven's wing, Now, whitened with the dust of years, time's handiwork, we bring.

Some, following in the footsteps of him we greet today, Have trod the teacher's honored path, and clomb their rugged way. Some in the field of merchandise, behind the counter stand, With groceries, or with dry goods, piled high on either hand. Some till the old, ancestral farms their fathers tilled of yore, And gather in the autumn time the harvest's golden store. One, Judge Bennett, an attorney, a lawyer in the van, Is he indeed a miracle, "lawyer and honest man" ? The same instructor greets us now that met us daily then, Albeit he nears the seventy years the Bible sets for men. Across the stretch of forty years, again we clasp your hand ; Accept a royal greeting from your decimated band. Receive the cane we bring you here with words of hearty praise, And think how different the kind from that we used to raise. The world has taken giant strides, progress on every hand, Till, now before the fairer set all doors wide open stand.

The inequalities of life grow fewer day by day, Which prejudice to reason now accords the right of way. A panorama of the world of forty years agone, To children of today, would seem a picture overdrawn. To do our work in ways the same as two score years ago, Would seem to young America like going very slow.

* The old Town Hall was burned in 1863 or '64.

Mr. Carter had become totally deaf.

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Some things are better now than then, although we love the old With strong and deep affection that has never yet grown cold. Successive generations largely duplicate the last,

Yet aim to make their present an improvement on the past. While, from its standpoint looking out on other days to come, Age sees, with faith-illumined eye, the shining hills of home. In years that stretch before us, let our aims be high and grand, Becoming worthy citizens of this earth's fairest land.

HAMPTON SKETCHES By Susan Jewett Howe

The earliest families who settled in Hampton and are now represented bear the names Holt, Pearl, Fuller, Button, Colburn and Neff.

The Bennetts came in 1730; the Jewetts in 1745. The Hammonds and Fullers intermarried with the Jewetts in past generations. The Jewetts and Pearls are the same family. The postmaster, Austin Pearl, is descendant from Marie Jewett, daughter of Ebenezer Jewett II.

Rev. Ebenezer Jewett III, born 1827, son of Ebenezer Jewett II, ordained in the Baptist ministry, 1855, preached in New York, New Jersey and Michi- gan, returned to his native town, Hampton, in 1894; died September, 1916, aged eighty-nine years.

The green-box hedge at the South Cemetery completely shades the last resting place of Gov. Chauncey Cleveland. The fine old Cleveland mansion on Hampton Hill is now owned and occupied by the widow of the late William H. Hammond.

Henry G. Taintor was state senator and representative. The fine old Taintor house has been occupied by members of the Taintor family as a summer resi- dence for many years.

Col. Andrew M. Litchfield, 1810-1891, was an officer of the old-time militia; held many town offices, representative in the Assembly; was an extensive land- owner and in early life was a manufacturer and mill owner. Mrs. Carrie Soule, mother of Rev. Sherrod Soule, is a daughter of Colonel Litchfield.

William Brown was representative, state senator, bank commissioner and postmaster.

One of the most interesting of Hampton landmarks was Dr. Dyer Hughes (1797-1862) who practiced medicine about sixty years in the town. His fee, in his early practice, was 121/2 cents for a call in town and 25 cents for a call to Abington, a distance of eight miles. Often it seemed that his charge was less than the maintenance of his horse would cost. But even so, he accumulated a fair competence and maintained a good house on Hampton Hill.

A certain Hampton doctor, so they tell, came home from a trip and was to be married that night. He went to sleep in his chair, and on being awakened, he said that it was so late that he would not do anything about it on that night as he was too tired. The event came off later.

Col. Samuel Mosely, father of Ed. S. Moseley, treasurer of Connecticut, kept a store on Hampton Hill about seventy years ago. Edward S. Moseley was first judge of probate of Hampton district.

Governor Cleveland once said of County Judge Ebenezer Griffin that had he been educated for the bar, he would have ranked with Clay or Calhoun.

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Since the days of Doctor Hughes, Hampton has had four other physicians: Doctors Converse, Spencer, Avery and now Dr. A. D. Marsh, but the normal fee of 121/2 cents and 25 cents a visit passed with the passing of good old Doctor Hughes. Doctor Hughes rode horseback until he met with a painful accident, then he ever after rode in an open buggy. In the day of Doctor Converse, 1885- 93, a professional visit in town was $1. Doctor Avery in 1902-04 raised the fee to $2. The coming of Doctor Avery marked the introduction of the first auto- mobile owned by a physician in Hampton. His car was a buckboard affair and the engine made a noise like a runaway mowing machine, to the delight of the small boy and the terror of horses.

Hampton has three stores. Dwight Phillips, grain and grocery at Hampton Station, does a large business. A. O. Stone conducts a grocery and post-office at Clark's Corners, Charles E. Burnham on Hampton Hill. Mr. Hyde has a sawmill, grist mill and cider mill on Bigelow Pond. In Howard Valley on the site of the first mills in town, John Skinner has a cider mill. Greene Huling has a blacksmith shop in Bigelow.

Hampton has its famous "Field Day" every autumn when the hunters meet for a day's sport and a big dinner at the Inn.

Long will Henry Fuller, the village blacksmith of Hampton Hill be remem- bered. He was a picturesque character, whose original sayings were continu- ally quoted by the townspeople. He was a big-hearted man who began learning his trade at the age of ten years. Since 1907 the old shop has been closed.

Ever will be remembered also the town poet, Andrew Rindge, not only for his extempore poetry, but also his faithful old horse and buggy.

Hampton has changed little in outward appearance in later years. There is the same beautiful old street running the length of the hill, with its tidy attractive homes on either side and the wonderful vision of the hills ranging to the south and east; the winding Little River, the sparkling Bigelow pond under the hill.

More than thirty-five old houses border the street, shadowed by beautiful trees which seem in their grandeur to link the present with the past. For some distance along the hill the State Road from Willimantic towards the East now runs, and an extension of it is hoped for in the near future. The State Road leading west to Clark's Corners will be extended east to Brooklyn.

The houses are now owned chiefly by city people, who come early and stay late each year in beautiful Hampton. Many of the old farms are now owned by summer residents, and several very new homes have been built near that beautiful wooded spot, Hemlock Glen.

When the call of the iron horse thundered through the town in 1872, its prolonged shriek seemed like a call to arms, summoning the people to leave their little industries by. the mill ponds and to forsake the old turnpikes and toll gates and taverns and to follow the army of industry into the growing mill villages of New England. The old town was just struggling to regain itself after the terrible days of the Civil war, when the march of progress claimed her, industries, even as the war had claimed her sons; and her young men and young women began to see their fortunes in new and more populous fields; and yet a few of the old families remained to keep the home town beautiful and to hold its ancient charm until the sons and daughters should some day come back. So the old names that had been in the town from the beginning remained for

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HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY

many years prominent in town affairs, Greenslit, Holt, Jewett, Pearl, Hammond, Durkey, Ashley, Burnham and Whittaker.

Lucius Whittaker kept the Chelsea Inn about thirty-five years. "Grandpa" Whittaker, as he was often called, was a model landlord and the kindly hos- pitality of the old inn was not only expressed in the homelike comfort within, but in the bright coloring of beautiful flowers that blossomed year after year about the doors. The view from the Chelsea Inn is unsurpassed in any of our Windham County towns.

While the older New England families are passing, their places are taken by those coming here from the older countries of the European Continent. Many years ago the Irish came and are now to be reckoned as among the older inhabitants. In later days, Italians, Swedes, French, Canadians, and Russian Jews are among the nationalities now represented in the population of Hamp- ton, and in the free atmosphere of America, they are developing as good citi- zens, while their children often rank among the brightest in the public schools. The first thing to do with these newcomers is to encourage them to own their own farms and homes, for "Bolshevik" ideas gain scant following among homeowners.

Surely Hampton has a bright future ahead of her. The coming of good roads, the automobile, the supervised school, the wide-awake Grange, and renewed church interests, make people more content to stay in the town. The young people have attended the Willimantic High School and gone from there to larger spheres of usefulness, the girls, after high and normal school train- ing, have become excellent teachers and the boys have gone into business or manufacturing, yet some of them still hold the old hill town in grateful mem- ory, and we hope that as the years pass they will see the wisdom as they may be able to help develop here the institutions which offer the best of American opportunity to the new coming peoples ; and thus they will aid to transmit to the coming generations the spirit of a genuine Americanism founded upon a new appreciation of the high civic ideals which actuated the founders of the Republic.

HAMPTON IN PUBLIC LIFE

In 1835, 1836, 1863, Chauncey F. Cleveland was speaker of the State House of Representatives.

Edward S. Moseley was state treasurer fror 1867-69.

Henry G. Taintor was state treasurer, 1866-1867.

Amos Avery, in 1904, was vice chairman of the county medical society, and chairman in 1905.

Arthur D. Marsh, from 1917 to date, secretary and treasurer of the county medical society.

David Greenslit was appointed deputy sheriff in 1844. In 1853 he was chosen by the Legislature to fill an unexpired term of county sheriff and later sheriff for two terms.

Addison J. Greenslit, from 1902-1912, was the state prosecuting agent.

William Brown, from 1861-63, was a bank commissioner.

From the old 13th District, David Greenslit was a state senator in 1866.

Judge William H. Burnham was a state senator from District 29, Hampton, in 1909-10.

Hampton judges of probate, 1859-1920, are as follows : 1859-62, Dyer Hughes ; Vol. 1-23

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1863-88, Patrick H. Pearl; 1889-1910, William H. Burnham; 1911 to date, Charles E. Burnham.

The representatives in the General Assembly from Hampton, 1859-1920, are as follows: 1859, John R. Tweedy; 1860, Lyndon T. Button; 1861, Patrick H. Pearl; 1862, H. G. Taintor ; 1863, (Speaker) Chauncey F. Cleveland; 1864, Jesse Burnham; 1865, Alfred Hammond; 1866, C. F. Cleveland; 1867, Lester Holt; 1868, Edward B. Bennett; 1869, George R. Hammond; 1870, William Brown; 1871, William Lincoln; 1872, Henry G. Taintor; 1873, Lucius Whit- taker; 1874, Enoch B. Lewis; 1875-76, Edward S. Cleveland; 1877, George M. Holt; 1878, David Greenslit; 1879, William Utley; 1880, William H. Burnham ; 1881, Darius Shippee; 1882, Daniel M. Deming; 1883, James A. Burnham ; 1884, David P. Weaver ; 1885, Edgar H. Newton; 1886, William H. Hammond ; 1887-88, Joseph W. Congdon; 1889-90, George R. Burrows; 1891-92, Henry Clapp; 1893-94, Irving W. Hammond; 1895-96, William H. Lincoln; 1897-98, Addison J. Greenslit; 1899-1900, Lester H. Jewett; 1901-02, Austin E. Pearl; 1903-04, Frank H. Deming; 1905-06, William S. Ford; 1907-08, George W. Fuller; 1909-10, Charles E. Burnham; 1911-12, William H. Phillips; 1913-14, Frank W. Congdon; 1915-16, Charles A. Glazier; 1917-18, Albert L. Mills; 1919-20, William W. Jewett.

Hon. Edward S. Cleveland later took up his residence in Hartford whence he served several terms as state senator, also as lieutenant-governor under Luzon B. Morris, and at one time democratic candidate for governor.

Frank W. Congdon removed to Willimantic and became assistant superin- tendent of the state capitol at Hartford.

The Hampton physicians practising from 1859 to date are as follows: 1830-1881, Dyer Hughes; 1845-1862, Robert Potter Botanic; 1845-1866, Louisa Potter; 1863, George W. Avery; 1871, Charles H. Warner; 1874-75, Daniel L. Hazen, eclectic; 1876-84, Charles Gardiner; 1886, W. H. Dunham; 1886-1891, Harvey H. Converse; 1893, H. M. Bannister ; 1895, 1897-1910, L. W. Spencer ; 1903-1907, Amos Avery ; 1915-1920, Arthur D. Marsh; 1918-20, L. F. Cocheu.

ALLEN JEWETT'S RELICS

Allen Jewett has a very interesting collection of relics and mementoes of the days of long ago, which have been accumulating for years. Among them one is at once attracted by an old, time-worn letter written by Samuel Hunting- ton, at one time president of the Continental Congress and later governor of Connecticut. This letter was addressed to Ebenezer Devotion, Esq., from Phila- delphia, November 12, 1779, and related to the lease of lands and the payment of the rent of it. The letter is in a frame and shows the old style spelling and chirography. In his library can be seen a copy of the Acts and Laws of Con- necticut. of 1776, with the name of William Williams, 1796, written on the fly leaf. There are also files of the Windham Herald, "Printed by John Byrnes, in the lower room of the courthouse," for the years 1809 and 1810. In one of these old newspapers is an advertisement that is of more than ordinary inter- est, especially in these days of wartime prohibition. It reads like this, "A few hhds of good rum, likewise morocco shoes, by the dozen or single pair, which will be sold very low for cash." Among the books were noticed a number for use in schools, of which Noah Webster was the author. They were published from 1807 to 1810, and comprised a spelling book, and his first dictionary, about the size of a modern spelling book; and others by the same author. There

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was also Cocker's Arithmetic, published in London in 1677, and an English grammar, published in London in 1703. Alongside this stood a book on sur- veying, owned and used by Ebenezer Devotion, before mentioned and the father- in-law of Governor Huntington.

A panel from "Mother Bailey's" postoffice door is in the collection. This loyal old lady was the wife of Capt. Elijah Bailey, who gave valiant service to the colonies in the Revolutionary war and as a recognition of his worth and reward for duties well done, the president appointed him postmaster of Groton and he held the office forty years, or up to the time of his death, and his wife succeeded him. It is said of "Mother Bailey" that upon one of the many occasions when ammunition became scarce, she went around the village and collected all the old flannel skirts she could find and, taking them to the trooper sent for supplies, remarked, "That is not near enough," and, reaching under her dress, took off her flannel petticoat and added it to the bundle. The material later was used, and very effectually, for covering cannon cartridges.

To the reader of American history, all that relates to the arch-traitor, Bene- dict Arnold, is of special interest. He fell from a great height and reaped a just reward in miserable obscurity. This erstwhile patriot and great military officer had a birthplace, and to Norwich, Conn., is given the doubtful distinc- tion. Mr. Jewett is able to show in his collection a part of the stair rail of the house in which Arnold was born. Even though he was infamous, anything connected with history attracts notice.

A collection of pistols, from the old flint lock to the modern weapon, also knives of various makes and ages, form a part of this treasure trove. There are also silver shoe and knee buckles worn by the dandies of colonial days. A heavy, home-made sword forcibly recalls the difficulties of the Revolutionary times and the many crude weapons necessity forced upon the soldier. Of a still earlier period is a sword owned by Mr. Jewett. This sword was turned out by a village blacksmith, and has a wooden handle. It was carried by Captain Fitch in 1695, as he commanded the first military company organized in Windham County.

A fowling piece, having a long barrel and a flint lock, was the property of Nathan Hale, the first martyr to American liberty, and given by him to Shubel Martin. His son, Fenton Martin, gave the gun to Allen Jewett over sixty years ago and has remained in his possession up to the present time.

In this collection is an old flint-lock musket, carried by William Bennett of Hampton, in the Revolutionary war. It was presented to Mr. Jewett by Samuel F. Bennett, a son of the original owner. And a powder horn carried by Paul Holt in the Revolutionary war. This was given to Mr. Jewett by Nathan Holt, a son of the old patriot. There is also a heavy, round-bellied bottle, carried by Mr. Jewett's grandfather in the Revolutionary war, for drinking water. The old Continental soldier was Ebenezer Jewett, and on the bottle he had cut his initials, E. J., which are perfectly legible. A grenadier's cap is a curiosity, and when one examines it one wonders how the soldier ever was able to wear such a headpiece. It is made of leather, it is all of a foot in height and will weigh a pound at least. In the center of the top is stuck a plume, probably a half of a foot long. Old histories have pictures of troops decked out in these monstrous military caps.

In the days of our forefathers the homes were not heated by steam and always kept at a delightful temperature. As a matter of fact the bed rooms

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were, as a rule, not heated at all. Of a cold wintry night the bed clothes were far from cheery. They were cold, very unpleasantly so. Mr. Jewett has a brass warming pan, a receptacle in which coals from the fireplace were put. On the end of the pan was a long wooden handle. With this instrument of ameliora- tion the housewife would turn down the covers of the bed and, running the pan across the sheet, soon had the bed inhabitable.

An old-fashion time piece, called a bull's-eye watch, is a memento of the early colonial days, and forms a part of this interesting store of relics. It was carried by the owner in 1742 and looks as good as new. To the watch is attached a fob and gold seal. On the case of the watch is written: June, 1742, by Henry Hampdon, Richmond, Viginia.

The Indians were expert weavers and contributed a strand of finely braided human hair. There are about fifty of these strands, which are gathered together in a hank, divided in the middle by an ivory or bone hook and evidently made to hang things on.

There are many Indian relics, such as stone pipes, stone battle axes, spear heads, stone hammers, stone pestles for pulverizing grain, and a Madagascar spear, a Philippine cross-bow and a murderous looking weapon.

Among his collection is a deed, alienating a piece of land in the Town of Windham to Stephen Clark, November 26, 1771. Scrip, or bank notes, issued in Rhode Island in 1800, consisting of a 5-cent scrip, the issue of Talcott Post, cashier of the Charter Oak Bank; a piece of paper, issued by the Continental Congress in 1776, with face value of "'One-third of a dollar"; four-pence and nine-pence scrip, issued by the State of Connecticut, also two shilling and six pence. There is a piece of scrip calling for $30, issued by the Continental Congress in 1779, "to be paid in Spanish milled dollars, or equivalent"; one shilling and three pence, issued by the Colony of Connecticut; $5 scrip, issued by the Continental Congress ; thirty shillings, by the Colony of Connecticut; thirty shillings, by the Colony of Rhode Island; two shillings, nine pence, and four pence, issued by the Colony of Connecticut in 1777.

There are other interesting relics, a sword carried by the captain of the first military company organized in Windham County, a musket carried by William Bennett of Hampton, a finger ring made from a part of General Put- nam's plow, grape-shot fired by the British at a house on Plumb Island, a pocketbook made by Henry Durkee, in Hampton in 1776, chain-shot found in the house that was once occupied by Revolutionary soldiers, bullets (Union and Confederate) from the battlefield of Gettysburg, a combination knife and fork carried by Newton Holt in the Civil war. These and many other interesting articles are in the possession of the venerable Allen Jewett at Clark's Corner. He has collected such relics ever since a youth and prized them all very highly, as do others who have been permitted to look upon them, for they link the present generation to the generations who lived here in colonial days. It is to be hoped that these relics may ultimately be lodged with the Connecticut Historical Society or some similar place of permanent security.

In the same curio room are glass and wooden cases and drawers filled with many other articles, the use and make of which all seem strange to the people of today. These include a wooden clock used by Mr. Jewett's grandfather, a copper mortar used by his great-grandmother for pounding spices, coffee and other stuffs. There is likewise silk floss spun from cocoons by Mrs. Sally Holt Hammond, wife of Uriel Hammond, about the year 1797 ; pewter platters, plates

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A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume I, Part 43

Author: Lincoln, Allen B Publication date: 1920 Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co. Number of Pages: 930

Author: Lincoln, Allen B
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co.
Number of Pages: 930