A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume II, Part 11

Author: Lincoln, Allen B
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co.
Number of Pages: 960

USA > Connecticut > Windham County > A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume II > Part 11

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Vol. II-6

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in the second seat, their wives 'against them.' You will notice that in the appointment of the committee the vote reads "the two" deacons, and in the vote seating the committee, the meeting stated who "the two" deacons were.

Third : Nathaniel Wales was not admitted an inhabitant of the Town of Windham until September 24, 1716, and on which day the town in meeting assembled appointed the following committee to seat the meeting house : "Joshua Ripley, Abraham Mitchell, Mr. Wales, Jonah Palmer and John Fitch"-please note that in naming the above committee the town did not say "Deacon" Wales, but simply "Mr." Wales. At a town meeting held December 15, 1719, com- plaint being made that certain persons had encroached upon common land, the town appointed "Mr. Nathaniel Wales, Deacon Eleazer Cary and Josiah Conant" to sue and recover said land.

Fourth: The first mention made in Windham records of Nathaniel Wales as deacon, is October 28, 1725.

Fifth : I am unable to find upon the records of the First Church of Wind- ham any mention made of Nathaniel Wales until December 18, 1726, when the following appears: "voted to charge Eleazer Cary, Joseph Huntington, Na- thaniel Wales and Abel Bingham, deacons, with Joshua Ripley, to be repre- sentatives of the brethren of this church who we recommend unto the pastor, etc."

Deacon Nathaniel Wales was from Milton, Mass., as evidenced by the fol- lowing: The church records of Milton, Mass., as printed in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 22, page 441, June 4, 1716: "Brother Nathaniel Wales and his wife and Brother John Spencer had a letter of dis- missal from Milton Church to ye Church of Wendham." These statements would indicate that Nathaniel Wales became a resident of Windham in the spring or summer of 1716, and therefore could not possibly have been elected as one of the deacons of the First Church of Windham in the year 1700.

In the next place, I wish to speak at some length of Nathaniel Wales, known in his early life as "Nathiel ye 2nd," and later as Jr., born in Windham, March, 1722. His father was Ebenezer, a son of Deacon Nathaniel Wales, the Windham emigrant from Milton, Mass., and his mother was Esther, daughter of Elisha Smith. He was a son of old Windham, a man prominent in town affairs, held in high esteem and retaining the trust and confidence of his towsmen to the day of his death. The records would seem to indicate that he was born in the house now owned and occupied by Charles Larrabee, Jr., as his father, Ebenezer, owned the farm at the time of Nathaniel's birth; how- ever, Nathaniel, Jr., lived there long before his death, and died in possession of the farm. After his death his wife, Mary, known as Queen Wales, carried on the farm.

In March, 1741, he married Mary Wetmore, a daughter of Izrahiah and Sarah (Booth) Wetmore, of Middletown, Conn .; he resided at intervals in Middletown, Norwich and Windham until 1761, after which period he lived in Windham until the time of his death.

Tradition has it that at the time of his marriage his wife expressed a hope that if any children were born unto them that God in his infinite mercy would not allow them to reach the age of maturity, whether this tradition is true or not, there is, however, a headstone or monument erected in the old Windham cemetery to the memory of nineteen children of Nathaniel Wales, Jr., and Mary, his wife, all of whom died in their infancy.

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The colonial records of this state are profuse in reference to his public career. He appears in these records many times as Nathaniel Wales, more times as Nathaniel, Jr. There is plenty of evidence that Nathaniel Wales and Nathaniel Wales, Jr., were one and the same person, To substantiate this state- ment I will only submit two incidents. He was appointed by the General Assembly of Connecticut a member of the Council of Safety, as Nathaniel Wales, Jr., and at the first meeting of said council he is recorded among those present as Nathaniel Wales. On June 7, 1775, at the meeting of said Council of Safety, he is recorded among those present as Nathaniel Wales, the meeting being adjourned, re-convened the same day and at this adjourned meeting he is recorded as Nathaniel Wales, Jr.

He was present at almost every meeting of the Council of Safety, particu- larly those meetings held at Lebanon, from 1775 to 1780. He was entrusted by the General Assembly and the Council of Safety with many important and delicate missions.

In those dark days that tried men's souls; when it scemed as if those loyal men would be obliged to give up in despair the glorious cause of freedom and independence, for which they were striving so hard to attain, Nathaniel Wales, Jr., was close to Governor Trumbull, bravely and cheerfully assuming the responsibilities of his office, and executing the duties assigned to him with a faithfulness and tenacity of purpose characteristic of those men who made it possible for this nation to attain its present greatness.

I believe that when the clouds were the darkest and the resources of the Colonies were almost exhausted that "Brother Jonathan" leaned heavily upon the son of grand old Windham and profited by his aid and advice.

He represented Windham in the General Assembly for many years.

He was one of the justices of the peace for the County of Windham from 1761 until the date of his death.

He was appointed one of the justices of the quorum, sometimes known as the Court of Common Pleas, in 1781-2-3 and at his death John Felch was appointed in his stead.

The town records mention Nathaniel Wales, Jr., as one of the Listers of the town, and surveyor; was one of the selectmen of the town from 1761 to 1772, inclusive, and during that entire period was the first selectman, with a few exceptions ; was the moderator of nearly all the town meetings from 1758 to 1774, inclusive, during the last ten years of said period the town meetings varied from two to five per year. He was agent for the town from 1766 to the time of his death, in 1783, and most of the time acting along in that important capacity.

He was appointed a committee with Col. Jedidiah Elderkin, September 2, 1774, to attend a meeting at Hartford to assist in composing such non-consump- tion agreement as should be judged best. Was correspondent of the town in 1774, and was appointed upon all important committees of the town.

The colonial records mention that in 1764 he was appointed by the General Assembly of Connecticut a committee, with Jonathan Trumbull and Joshua West, to adjust a suit rendered in favor of the colony against Richard Daven- port of Coventry.

In 1770 he was appointed one of the committee to investigate the accounts of Joseph Talcott, late treasurer of the colony of Connecticut; in 1772, Eleazer

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Fitch, Jr., of Windham, reported to the General Assembly that he was indebted to the treasurer of the colony in a considerable sum. It was ordered that he give a bond that would meet the approval of Eliphalet Dyer, Jedidiah Elderkin and Nathaniel Wales, Jr .; in 1773, he was on the committee of correspondence for the colony, to take into consideration the letter from the Speaker of the House of Burgesses of the Colony of Virginia; in May, 1775, the first Com- mittee of Safety was appointed to assist Governor Trumbull when the Assembly was not in session, and among others Nathaniel Wales, Jr., is mentioned.

In the same year the council ordered that fifty men be raised and enlisted at New Haven for its defense, and to be under the command of such persons as should be nominated by William Williams and Nathaniel Wales. In December of the same year the General Assembly granted Jedidiah Elderkin and Nathaniel Wales, Jr., liberty to erect a mill in the Town of Windham for the "manu- facturing of gunpowder," and in 1776 the Assembly voted a premium of £30 lawful money to Elderkin and Wales for having "manufactured 1,000 pounds of gunpowder at their powder mill in Windham." I have been very much inter- ested in the location of this powder mill. It is very difficult to determine the exact spot, but after examining deeds relating to land upon which this mill stood, I am persuaded that its location was upon or near the land now covered by the Willimantic Linen Company's No. 2 mill.

The Continental Congress had resolved that the expense for, and in support of the grand cause of American liberty should be defrayed by the United Colonies in just and proper proportion.

The Council of Safety being in great need of funds, selected William Wil- liams and Nathaniel Wales as the proper persons to apply to the "Congress at Philadelphia," "and request and receive" the sum of £65,000 currency due the Colony of Connecticut. When we consider the means of transportation in those days and the dangers that would be likely to beset men in the performance of a mission of this character, it is evident that the council would not have selected Mr. Williams and Mr. Wales for this important duty unless they had the utmost confidence in their courage and integrity.

The colonial records mention that on March 26, 1777, the Council of Safety ordered the payment of Nathaniel Wales' bill for "hiring teams from Wind- ham, and transporting cannon, on account of Colonel Steward, to Cannan on their way to Albany."

In May of the same year the council appointed Colonel Elderkin and Mr. Wales a committee and directed them to "prepare and mount a field piece now in Windham on a proper field-carriage for public use as soon as possible."

The year 1776 was a very busy year for our Nathaniel Wales, transporting and caring for Continental prisoners, adjusting and liquidating accounts between the Colony and "Elisha Paine, Esq., late King's Attorney for the County of Windham," visiting New London and Groton to view and examine the ground and places where fortifications were proposed to be erected, for- warding supplies to and hastening the departure of the ship Oliver Cromwell on its cruise in the interest of the cause; in New York investigating the truth of a representation that one Kennedy, captain of a ship, loaded out from New York, bound for France, was a suspected character, and it was feared that the vessel would be betrayed into the hands of the enemy.

Among the services Mr. Wales was called upon to render while a member of the Council of Safety was a visit to Middletown to inspect the lead mines

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of that vicinity. This was in May, 1775, just before the battle of Bunker Hill. It was the wish of the leading men to know of the workmanship and the process of developing these mines. His visit there was for the quickening of the industry, and made Connecticut prompt in providing the munitions of war.

This same journey of Mr. Wales, accompanied by the Hon. Thaddeus Burr and Pierpont Edwards, was extended to New York to procure intelligence and to impart correct information concerning colonial measures.

Again, in October, 1775, during the siege of Boston, it was realized that the army must be put upon a more permanent basis.

The militia of the several colonies had rendered excellent service, but there was a demand for a more combined effort. The Continental Congress, sitting at Philadelphia, appointed Benjamin Franklin, Mr. Lynch and Colonel Har- rison to personally visit Washington at Cambridge, and there to meet dele- gates from the several New England Colonies. Connecticut entrusted her inter- est to Deputy Governor Griswold and Nathaniel Wales. The conference was held October 18, 1775, and after four days of deliberation it was deemed advis- able to constitute a Continental army. There was to be enlistments, re-enlist- ments and a general re-organization. This was deemed the wisest course to pursue. To be entrusted with such interests by the Assembly of Connecticut shows the high opinion in which he must have been held by Governor Trumbull and his co-patriots. And in December he was appointed one of the represent- atives of Connecticut to confer upon the expediency of raising and appointing an army for the immediate defense of the New England States.

This was the beginning of the ever-famous Connecticut Line of the Revolu- tion, which "Line" gave honor and renown to the colony in whose defense they went forth.

A person eminently qualified to judge, wrote concerning Nathaniel Wales: "Deacon Nathaniel Wales of Windham was a gentleman of noted piety ; strong powers of mind; he was one of the Council of Safety for a time in the Revolu- tion, and held many offices of trust in Windham." Nathaniel Wales died in 1783.

His patriotism was drawn heavily upon during the trying years in the struggle for independence. He died soon after the declaration of peace. The story of his life has never been told. Perhaps it has been under-estimated. He certainly was the confidant of Trumbull and Washington.

He was not an old man when he died, but his labors during the entire war were many and difficult, and it is not at all strange that he came out of the war in a low state of health.

It was not his appointment to serve his country on the tented fields, but it was his, to counsel with great minds, and give his judgment in the direction of the affairs of state.

As peace was dawning upon the Colonies, the soul of Nathaniel Wales went forward to meet the souls of Knowlton and Hale in the country immortal.

These barest outlines of the career of Nathaniel Wales show him to possess a character full of manliness and worthy of study.

He held offices requiring clear judgment and in trying times. The town honored him. He was a leading man among many strong men. The fact of his being first selectman, moderator of the town meetings and agent, for many years, show the high esteem of his townsmen; but not only this, while a mem- ber of the Colonial Assembly he was often entrusted with commissions of trust

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and honor, showing that he possessed the confidence of the leading men of the colony. The Council of Safety for the colony found in him a trusty patriot. He was one of the Committee of Correspondence, and corresponded with the foremost men of our own and other colonies. His name is often associated with Colonel Elderkin. He was fifty-three years old at the outbreak of the Revolu- tion. He was wisely chosen among the men for counsel.

To be sure he could not enter the field as a young man, but where clearness of judgment was demanded, Nathaniel Wales was found. The militia of the early months of the Revolution was little better than a patriotic mob. The militia of each of the colonies had little to do with the others, but under the administration of Washington the Continental Army was organized. He was one of the committee to re-organize the militia of the colony into the several "Lines" of Connecticut.

During the entire siege of Boston, Nathaniel Wales was alert in strengthen- ing the fortifications of New London and Groton, and in sending artillery to parts where it was needed, and in directing the commissaries in their trans- portation of supplies for the camps. In conclusion. In thinking of our fathers and their achievements we find an ample field for the essayist, poet, orator and historian. The valiant deeds are not all told, there yet remains many more. The purpose of this paper is, in a brief way, to call attention to the condition of our town and probate records, and to make a plea for the preservation of the same, likewise to note the career of one of our noblest patriots of the Revolu- tion. This purpose having been gained, I am sure that the enthusiastic descend- ants of those sturdy men and women will discover many and more valuable items of history relating to old Windham.

COMMUNITY LIFE IN EARLIER AND LATER DAYS By Joel N. Eno, A. M.

At the time the settlement of Windham County began, just before 1690, community life in the main did not differ greatly from that of the first settle- ments of Massachusetts, about sixty years before; though because of the setting up of the sawmill on a neighboring stream, as that on Sawmill Brook in Wood- stock, at the same time as the first rude shelter, frame houses took the place of the log houses of the first settlers of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay; and the product of the gristmill in inland Windham County largely took the place of the sea food of the coast towns. But still religion, which was the moving cause of emigration to New England, and economics, in the shape of honest work, digging out a livelihood from the stony soil, were the dominant factors in community life. The new settlement was laid out in plots along a projected street, with out-fields farther back; a favorite and central site being chosen for the future meeting house, which was begun early as to frame and covering, but from narrowness of means in the community, years elapsed in bringing it to a finish inside. Meanwhile the leaders sought a minister willing to accept what they could offer, often partly in the produce of their farms and woodlands. If a pastor and people of the olden time on trial proved suited and congenial to each other, the minister was settled in the pastorate, with the presence and sanction of the nearest ministers-presumably for life; and being the best educated man was regarded as the religious and usually the intellectual leader and political counsellor of the community. Though greatly respected, he was

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not given the title of "Reverend," which might savor of the ritualists; but that of "Mr.," and at the time of our settlement, sometimes "Pastor."

The compact manner of building by village streets was partly from the need of co-operation in the larger constructive undertakings; since each settle- ment was somewhat isolated from others by the absence of passable connecting roads and of machine power. For instance, in our new settlement, when the frame of any building of important size was ready for putting together, the owner invited the community to his "raising," furnishing food and drink abundantly as a present acknowledgment of a "good turn,"? similar service

JOEL N. ENO, A. M.

being expected of him at the raising of the next new building in the community. Every man and boy for a long distance was there, and recounted the event as local history for the rest of his life. I have heard Capt. S. Avery Lamb, whose body now lies in Westford Hill Cemetery, relate his attendance, as a boy six years old, about 1813, at the raising of the "new" Thomas Knowlton house on the mile strip set off from the west side of Ashford to the new Town of Welling- ton, 1729; in which house the writer spent his youth from fourteen years old up. The meeting house on Windham Green, opened for worship April, 1703, had its outward elegance described in the phrase, "clapboarded from sill to girths," yet was replaced ten years later and again 1753-55, when the new building had a steeple, and the first church bell in the county, costing £20.

The first meeting houses in New England were often four-square, without

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steeple; to which the congregation were summoned by drum. Larger churches contemporary with these of Windham, had some timbers too long for the saw- mill, but hewn square with the broadaxe, and required the strength of many, many men to raise to their place; but when the timbers, thoroughly braced, were pinned together with stout hardwood pins, the building would stand as long as it was kept properly covered. I have been in a meeting house built in 1707; and several frame meeting houses and dwelling houses more than two hundred years old still standing in Southern New England are in sound condi- tion. The modern house is made with light sawn timbers, without a mortise or a tenon, but spiked together, and all can be handled by a few men; hence the old "raising" is only a memory of the older inhabitants.

The most important community gathering was of course the Sunday meeting inside of the meeting house; the minister in his high pulpit, with a sounding board above his head and his hour-glass before him, which he sometimes turned before he was through with his sermon. As there was no heat, there was still more of an endurance test in winter, when he sometimes preached in overcoat, muffler and mittens, while the men ranged on one side of the body of the house and the women on the other, according to age, rank and social condition, defended themselves against the cold; the men by drawing bags over their feet, and the women by heated stones, later by handstoves and footstoves. Below the pulpit sat the elders and deacons. Those who came from a distance, whither in time they had pushed out from the village into the wilderness, came prepared to stay all day, having built "Sabba' day houses" on the green near the meeting house. To these they resorted for the hour between sermons. For singing, verses were given out a line at a time, of the labored version of the Psalms in lame and cumbrous rhyme, Sternhold and Hopkinson, or the Bay Psalm Book; and chanted by the whole congregation, who did not know half a dozen tunes; many did not know any tune; hence they made "a voice of noise," a discord which was, in a large congregation, uproarious; for everyone went to church in those days. There was a reform about 1700 to singing by note. The grown people and little children from the farther farmsteads rode on horseback; the man on a saddle, and his wife on a cushion called a pillion, sitting behind him. Young people walked, barefoot till near the church, then they put on their precious shoes. The man would make his Sunday suit of broadcloth and beaver hat last a lifetime, as the women their carefully pre- served silk or brocade; though the man's everyday clothing was homespun woolen in winter and tow in summer, and the woman's, coarse strong linen in summer and linsey-woolsey petticoat with short-gown outside for winter.

There were several days of fasting and prayer in the year, especially in times of war or fatal epidemic; and family prayer was a part of everyday life. Respect for parental authority was universal; in fact, the first "capital laws" of Massachusetts and Connecticut made insolent assault upon a parent by a son punishable with death. Strict morality was enforced in the conduct of busi- ness, and there was punishment for not paying debts.

Yet they had their festal days. Thanksgiving, the great feast of the year, is still observed in many New England families much as in the early days; the children and grandchildren gathering home to an annual reunion. The men went to church service and sermon in the morning, while the women prepared the good things with which they loaded the table for dinner. Thanksgiving

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as originally celebrated in Plymouth, 1621, had in it a trace of the Hebrew feast of ingathering, and more than a trace of the English harvest-home.

"Saw ye the farmer at his plow, as you were riding by,

Or wearied 'neath his noonday toil when summer suns were high ? And thought you that his lot was hard, and did you thank your God That you and yours were not condemned, thus like a slave to plod ?

Come, see him at his harvest home, when garden, field and trec

Conspire with growing stores to fill his barn and granary.

Perchance the hoary grandsire's eye the glowing scene surveys :

He breathes a blessing on his race, and guides their evening praise."

Among secular gatherings of the whole community, "training days" were the most generally participated in; when the whole military force of the town was called out for exercise. Among the earliest acts of the Connecticut Gen- eral Court, September, 1636: "It is ordered yt every plantacon shall traine once in every month." New orders after the Pequot war appointed Capt. John Mason to train the military men in each plantation ten days in a year, "so it be not June or July, and all persons shall bear arms that are above the age of sixteen years," unless excused by the court. The train-bands were insti- tuted by James I in 1604, as an improvement on the old fyrd; but on the out- break of the Civil war, they sided with Parliament, to whose benefit their train- ing inured ; hence they were abolished at the Restoration of Charles II, in 1660 in England, but remained as an American institution. In 1642, the military age was fixed at from sixteen years to sixty, November, 1643: "All soldiers in the several towns shall be trayned six days yearly, viz .: one day in the first week of March, April, May, September, October and November." The military regulations in detail are stated in the code of .1650; especially that every male person above the age of sixteen years shall have in readiness a good musket or other gun, a sword, rest and bandaleers (i. e., ammunition pouches), also powder, match and bullets; shall be trained six times yearly in March, April, May, September, October and November, by appointment of the chief officer in the several towns, to meet at 8 o'clock in the morning.

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A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume II, Part 11

Author: Lincoln, Allen B Publication date: 1920 Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co. Number of Pages: 960

Author: Lincoln, Allen B
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co.
Number of Pages: 960