USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Winchester > Annals and family records of Winchester, Conn.: with exercises of the centennial celebration, on the 16th and 17th days of August, 1871 > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61
-
245
AND FAMILY RECORDS.
With very limited accessions of population from abroad, and a continued though diminished drainage by emigration, to the West ; and with a soil growing less productive from generation to generation, it has made little, if any, gain in its aggregate wealth and productiveness, and has diminished in numbers. In its general tone of morals there has been little, if any, deterioration, though in Sabbath observances and attendance on public worship there has been a great falling off from the old puritan standard. Excitements and dissensions, some of them of a very serious nature, have arisen and died away. Religious institutions, sometimes greatly im- periled, now stand on a solid basis of unity and piety. No intoxicating liquors are openly sold, and few intemperate men are found. Education is in advance of the average of retired communities around it ; property is more equally distributed now than it was twenty years ago, and the condition of the Society is prosperous and happy.
The new inhabitants appearing on the stage from year to year grow less frequent. We proceed to notice them in their order.
APOLLOS DEAN seems to have been a resident from 1810 for several years ; whether married or single is not ascertained. He may have been a tanner or shoemaker in the employ of the Wades, from whom he received a conveyance of land in 1823, in which he is named of Boston, Portage Co., Ohio.
JOSEPH EGGLESTON, probably from Torrington, was a resident from 1810 to 1815, but not a land owner. His place of residence not ascertained.
JAMES BRAGG came into the town from Springfield, Vt., in 1812. In 1820 he became the owner of the William Chamberlin farm, one and a half miles northerly from the center, on which he lived till a short time before his death, January 30, 1871, aged 88. He married 1807, Susanna, daughter of Daniel H. Cone ; she died February 11, 1816, in her 34th year, and he married (2d), 1821, Orpha, daughter of Wait Munson, of Barkhamsted ; she died November 18, 1868, aged 76.
CHILDREN.
I. DANIEL HURLBUT, b. September 6, 1808; m. Lavinia Gould of East Granby. He m. (2d) Gracy N. Calvert of Lexington, Ky., where he d. in 1847.
II. WARREN, b. February 13, 1810 ; m. Julia, daughter of Deacon Warren Cone. He m. (2d) Almira Gray of Sauquoit, N. Y.
III. CLARISSA, b. December 22, 1811 ; m. Henry Griswold of Hartland
IV. MARY, b. April 19, 1813; d. December 28, 1813.
V. JAMES, b. September 27, 1814 ; d. October 5, 1819.
246
ANNALS OF WINCHESTER,
VI. JULIA LUCRETIA, b. November 10, 1823; m. Frank L. Whiting of Torrington.
VII. MARY ELIZABETH, b. December 5, 1824; m. Rufus T. Towne of New Hartford.
VIII. HULDAH, b. February 20, 1826 ; m. Deacon Samnel C. Newton of Hartland.
IX. SARAH, b. August 15, 1831 ; m. Henry M. Smith of Fairfield, a retired New York merchant.
X. JAMES LORENZO, b. February 24, 1833; m. Eliza, daughter of Hiram Sage of Colebrook. He m. (2d), Sarah Spaulding, daughter of A. A. Spaukling of Norfolk.
DOCTOR ZEPHANIA SWIFT married Nellie Minerva, daughter of Doctor Josiah Everitt of Winchester, and resided in the house recently owned by Samuel Hurlbut 2d, at the center, which he sold, and removed to Farmington before 1819, where he died.
CHILDREN.
I. HELEN ABIGAIL, born in Winchester July 10, 1814 ; other children were born to them after they left this town. Mrs. Swift still survives, living with a daughter, in New York or Brooklyn. To her the compiler of these annals is indebted largely for aid and encouragement in tracing ont old families and delineating ancient customs.
LUMAN WHITING, third son of Christopher Whiting of Winchester, came of age May 5, 1813, and occupied his father's homestead until his removal to Ashtabula County, Ohio, about 1815. He married Anna, daughter of Samuel Hayden, Esq., of Barkhamsted.
MOSES DRAKE and MOSES DRAKE, Jr., of Torrington, in 1813 bought the farm of Oliver Coe, at the south end of Blue street, and occupied it during their remaining lives. Moses Drake, Sen., died July 3, 1831, aged 80, and Moses Drake, Jr., April 10, 1859, aged 71, leaving sons, Henry, who lives on the homestead, Martin V., who lives in Goshen, and several daughters.
EDWARD GRISWOLD and PHINEAS GRISWOLD, Jr., owned and occupied after the death of Phineas, senior, in 1815, the farm next west of the Danbury school house, on the Norfolk Road, until 1822. Phineas Griswold was named in their deed as of Beaver Dam, Erie Co., Penn.
LEWIS HART from Colebrook, purchased the above farm from the Griswolds in 1822, and occupied it until 1826, and then sold to Samuel D. Gilbert. He afterwards removed to Ohio, whence he returned to Colebrook about 1860, and died there in 1866.
247
AND FAMILY RECORDS.
CHILDREN.
I. ELMIRA, b. October 23, 1816.
II. WILLIAM,
b. September 12, 1819.
III. LUCY, b. September 17, 1821.
IV. ERASTUS S.
SAMUEL D. GILBERT came to Winchester when a boy, and resided here during his after life. In 1826 he bought of Lewis Hart the above- mentioned farm, and occupied it until his death, August 24, 1844, aged 46. Ile married May 19, 1819, Candace, daughter of Reuben Hunger- ford of Winchester; she died June 17, 1840, aged 42.
They left three sons, Newman B., Lyman, and Charles, and two daughters, who are wives of Erastus S. Hart, late of Canton, and Riley Grant of Norfolk.
Charles Gilbert, son of Samuel D., was wounded and taken prisoner in the battle of Secessionville, S. C., and died of his wounds in prison at Charleston, aged 29, unmarried.
EBENEZER COWLES, from Norfolk, kept the Green Woods Turnpike Toll Gate, from 1816, for several years, and made coal baskets to eke out a living. He was a zealous religionist of the ultra Calvinistic school, - had a wife and two daughters.
JOEL CLARK is on the tax lists from 1816 to 1830. No real estate is found in his name, and his place of residence is not ascertained. No rec- ord of his family.
HENRY DAYTON, from Torrington, in 1816, owned and occupied a house and tannery in the south part of the Society, until 1824.
BENJAMIN PHELPS, son of Daniel of W., is on the tax lists from 1816. In 1823, he bought, and afterwards occupied a farm on Brooks street, near the old Everitt place, until his death, July 12, 1849, aged 54. He m. Feb. 6, 1826, Abigail Brooks.
FREDERICK PHELPS, son of Daniel, of W., came of age June 30, 1816, - owned and lived on land on Brooks street, near the old Everitt place, until his removal to Kinderhook, N. Y., not far from 1850, where he now resides. He m. May 22, 1826, Lucy W. Hurlbut, dau. of Stephen of W.
JONATHAN SAXTON first appears on the tax list of 1816, and continues until his death, April 19, 1843, aged 66. He owned no real estate in the town.
248
ANNALS OF WINCHESTER,
SALMON BAIL, son of a Hessian soldier, appears on the tax list of 1816. He lived in the society from that date to the time of his death, Sept. 30, 1853, aged 68. He was not a land owner, and his place of residence is not known. His wife Ursula is named on his gravestone, but no date of death given.
JONATHAN F. BALDWIN is on the tax lists of 1819, and onward to 1821. He owned a blacksmith shop at the centre, which he sold in 1821, and then left the town.
RANDALL COVEY is on the tax lists from 1817 to 1821; and owned a wagon maker's shop at the Center, which he sold the latter year.
GEORGE CHASE, son of Gedeliah of W., married Artemisia, dau. of Oliver Coe; owned and occupied from 1819 to 1823, the house on the north side of the Norfolk road, next west of the Center District school house.
DUDLEY CHASE, son of Gedeliah, of W., came of age Ang. 30, 1817 ; m. Simsbury, Sept. 27, 1826, Electa -, b. Simsbury, Feb. 13, 1800. He settled first in Goshen, and since 1831, has lived on the farm where he now resides, on the road from the Center to Hall Meadow. He repre- sented the town in the Legislature of 1858.
CHILDREN.
I. NATHAN, b. Goshen, Oct. 21, 1827 ; d. Feb. 3, 1856, unmarried.
II. HENRY E., b. G., June 3, 1829; drowned in N. J., March 19, 1852.
III. MARY A., b. G., Aug. 30, 1831; m. Rev. A. V. R. Abbott.
IV. ERWIN E. (twin),
b. Nov. 8, 1834 ; m. Mary Commerford.
V. A SON b. Nov. 8, 1834 ; d. Nov. 17, 1834.
VI. DUDLEY, b. Oct. 19, 1838 ; d. April 30, 1839.
VII. ELLEN E., b. Feb. 1, 1840.
REUBEN CHASE, son of Gedeliah, of W., in 1844 bought a house and land in the south part of the society, which he has since occupied to the present time. He was b. March 25, 1800; m. Oct. 17, 1823, Lucy, dau. of Asahel Curtis, b. Oct. 22, 1806.
:
CHILDREN.
I. ADELINE, b. June 8. 1825 ; m. Mathew Hart of Goshen.
II. LUCY E., b. Jan. 30, 1827.
III. HARRIET, b. Jan. 27, 1829; m. George H. Cook of Torrington; d. Nov. 3, 1858.
IV. DELIA, b. March 21, 1832; m. May, 1868, Henry C. Church, New Haven.
V. HARMON, b. Nov. 8, 1839; d. Nov. 21, 1839.
VI. LAURA, b. July 5, 1843 ; m. Lemuel Munger of Torrington.
249
AND FAMILY RECORDS.
SHELDON MILLER, son of George of Winchester, came of age Nov. 10, 1820; m. Oct. 30, 1822, Jerusha Ann Starkweather; lived in the Society until after 1825,and removed to Tyringham, Mass.
CHILDREN.
I. LEWIS ALLEN, b. in W., Nov. 3, 1823.
II. GEORGE HUDSON, b. in W., June 24, 1825.
III. HENRY ELIJAH, b. in Tyringham, Mass., April 18, 1830.
IV. LAURA ANN, b. in Lenox, Mass., Aug. 29, 1832.
V. MARY MARIA, b. in Lenox, Mass., Dec. 6, 1841 ; d. March 23, 1842.
VI. MARY JERUSHA, b. in Lee, Mass., Jan. 13, 1844.
HIRAM CHURCH, a native of Vernon, N. Y., and grandson of the first Samuel Hurlbut, - served his time as clerk to S. & L. Hurlbut, and con- tinued in their employ several years ; afterwards did business at St. Louis, and at Vernon, N. Y., and then returned to Winchester. He m. Nov. 7. 1838, Emily E. Eno, of Colebrook, who, after his death, m. Gail Borden, Esq., now of Texas.
SAMUEL BANDLE, a blacksmith, came from New Hartford; m. a dau. of Samuel Hart of W. Lived in the Society several years, and then moved to Ohio.
WILLARD HART, son of Samuel, of Winchester; m. Dec. 11, 1822, Rhoda Matilda, dau. of Timothy Benedict, deceased, of W., and (2d), Maria, dan. of Daniel Andrews, Jr., of W .; resided in Danbury Quar- ter ; d. May 5, 1840, aged 45, leaving a dau. Rhoda, by his first wife, who m. in 1848, William Miner, and d. leaving one child. By his second wife he had
CHILDREN.
I. SARAH, b. Sept. - , 1829 ; m. Geo. G. Camp.
II. HENRY,
b. 1831; d. in 1846.
III. ELIZABETH, b. in 1835 ; m. James G. Ferris.
IV. LEWIS, b. in 1837.
V. HENRIETTA,
b. 1839; m Nelson Beers.
VI. WILLARD, b. in 1840; m. May 6, 1860, Marietta Hill; killed at Cold Harbor, Va., June 1, 1864, while in the Volunteer Service, as pri- vate in Company E., 2d Conn. Heavy Artillery.
RUFUS DRAKE, from Torrington, in 1823, bought the farm in Hall Meadow, on which he has since resided to the present time.
HARVEY FORD, m. June 26, 1825, Mary Ann, dau. of Noah Drake, of Torrington. About 1830, he bought the farm, on Hall Meadow, which he has occupied till recently.
32
250
ANNALS OF WINCHESTER.
JOHN M. GALAGHER, an Englishman, not far from 1825, began manu- facturing woollen cloths on the east branch of the Naugatuck River, in the south part of the Society, and removed from the town about 1830.
ARCHIBALD DAYTON, from Torrington, m. Jan. 1, 1827, Lophelia, widow of Levi Bronson, and during his remaining life, lived on Blue Street, near the Stone School House. He d. Nov. 28, 1863. His son, Isaac Dayton, now occupies the same place.
WILLIAM S. MARSH, from Hartford, m. for his second wife, Sally, dau. of Richard Coit, - and moved to Winchester in 1825, where he re- sided, on the homestead of his father-in-law, until about 1834, when he removed to Canaan, and died there in 1868.
DANIEL BECKLEY, son of Richard, Sr., of W., has occupied the for- mer residence of his father at the north end of Little Pond to the present time.
NORRIS BECKLY, son of Richard, of W., has resided from his child- hood, and still resides in the Society, mainly in Danbury Quarter.
OLIVER LOOMIS, from Torrington, bought the farm between the two lakes in 1827. and lived thereon until 1844, when he bought, and occupied during his remaining life, the second house west of Dudley's Tannery, on the north side of Main street, in Winsted, and died, childless, Feb. 7, 1872, aged 84 years, 9 months, leaving the bulk of his estate to the Meth- odist Episcopal Church and Society of Winsted, and a legacy of $1,000 to the M. E. Church of Wolcottville. His wife, Mary (Barber) Loomis, d. March, 1870, aged 77 years. Mr. L. was a quiet, frugal citizen, of decided Methodistical and Anti-Slavery sentiments. He was elected a representative to General Assembly in 1834, by a nearly unanimous vote of both political parties.
CHAPTER XIX.
ROADS, PAUPERS, SELECTMEN, ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS, MANUFACTORIES, SEMINARIES, &c.
FROM 1831 TO 1872.
AFTER reaching the matured growth of the Winchester Society, materials for continued annals have steadily diminished in variety and interest. A retired farming community, homogeneous in its composition, with its institutions in running order - so staid that deep ruts mark its patlıway -furnishes few events worthy of record. Changes, imper- ceptible in their progress to a resident inhabitant, may become strikingly apparent to a former resident returning after long years of absence. He may find the possessions of the rich of one generation divided and diffused in another; the overshadowing influence of one class of men undermined, and another class or organization in the ascendant; the all- engrossing dissensions of one period quieted, and new subjects of heart- burning and strife grown up in another.
Such have been the course of events - of improvements and deteriora- tions - for the last forty years. We find no events of startling interest, no dissensions worthy of being resuscitated from the pall of oblivion, no special exhibitions of foul crime or eminent virtue.
In the way of public improvements, the laying out and opening of several new roads, and the alterations of old ones, are worthy of men- tion, and preliminary thereto it is fitting to advert to the conservative and narrow-sighted policy of the town in reference to roads and bridges. This pig-headedness may have had its origin in the heavy expense to which the early settlers were subjected in making their first roads by reason of the parsimonious allowances and reservations of lands for high ways by the proprietary. body, which has been referred to in our earlier annals. Sectional jealousies of the two societies may also have had an influence in fostering opposition to improvements tending to specially benefit one section more than the other. Whatever may have been the remote causes, the effect was a prevailing hostility to almost every pro- posed improvement. If a road was laid out by the selectmen and
252
ANNALS OF WINCHESTER,
reported to the town, however important it might be for public conve- nience and necessity, if it promised a sectional benefit it was blindly voted down, regardless of the certainty of its being ultimately carried through and established by appeal to the county court.
Notable instances of this nature are found in the now traveled roads from Winsted to Wolcottville, and to Colebrook center, the first having been contested with blind obstinacy and reckless expense from 1822 to 1826, and the second from about 1830 to 1835. In both of these cases litigation was kept up, and long trials without number were had before the court and its delegated committees, at an expense in each instance exceeding the actual cost of the roads when finally constructed. Add to this the point blank, contradictory swearing by platoons and battalions of excited witnesses, the pettifogging tricks of counsel unlearned in the laws of fair dealing, and the vindictive hatreds engendered among neighbors, and the evils cannot be over-estimated.
The old roads from Winchester to Winsted were precipitous and cir- cuitous beyond the average of original layings out of roads. A shorter and every way better route was apparent to every observer. A new road over this ronte was advocated from time to time early in this century, but was strenuously opposed by influential parties favoring entire non-intercourse rather than free access between the rival sections. In 1836 the selectmen were instructed to report this or some other better route for a road. Some sinister influence, or non-agreement of the board, prevented any lay-out being reported at that time, and the matter rested until after the opening of the Naugatuck Railroad to Winsted, when, in 1853, the selectmen laid out and reported a road along the south border of the Little Pond, and onward to near the General Hurlbut place, with alterations of the existing roads connecting at each end of the new lay-out. This report, according to ancient usage, was summarily rejected in town meeting. Application was soon after made to the court for a road along this line, which was referred to the county commissioners in 1855. The commissioners of that year proved to be men of more than ordinary judgment and independence. They laid out the new road and alterations of the connecting roads in a way that can hardly be in any way improved. The distance saved is nearly half a mile, while the grades are far better than on the old routes. The lay-out was accepted, and the work completed.
In 1871 a connecting link with these improvements was made by laying out a new road, known as Boyd street, from the Connecticut Western Railroad Station, northerly and westerly to the old road above the Stabell place, thereby avoiding the long and steep ascent of Lake street to the lake outlet. This road was accepted, and is now completed,
253
AND FAMILY RECORDS.
opening an avenue of easy and pleasant communication between the two Societies heretofore greatly needed, and promising a freer communication and fellowship of the two sections.
About 1830, a new road was laid out and accepted, running westerly from the Norfolk or Cooper Lane road, by the residences of Orrin Tuller and Dudley Chase, to a new north and south road, along Hall Meadow in Goshen, which in 1831 was discontinued without being opened. It was soon afterward re-laid, either by the town or by order of Court, and opened to travel, - affording a long desired, and important avenue of intercourse with Goshen, Cornwall, and the Housatonic Valley.
In 1838, a new road was petitioned for, to run from the Center, south- erly and easterly, by the house of Elias T. Hatch, near the south border of Long Lake, and thence in the direction of the Pine Knot, near the line of the Naugatuck Railroad, - to connect with a new proposed road through the south end of New Hartford to Canton. The town, according to usage, rejected the Winchester section, as did the town of Torrington the section within its borders ; - whereupon the petitioners applied to the County Court, and got a committee, which made short work of lay- ing out a line of roads, and improvements on the proposed route, which were confidently expected, by the projectors, to divert the Albany and Hartford travel from the old time route through Winsted, to this new thoroughfare. The road was petitioned for to the Court, laid and ac- cepted, during the smoke of the great battle then raging over the Cole- brook Road, without serious opposition from any quarter. The com- mittee is reported to have carried with them a jug of rum, while examining the route and laying the road, which accounts for the profound wisdom of portions of their lay-out. The road has never fulfilled thie sanguine expectations of its projectors, but has nevertheless vindicated its necessity and convenience.
Improvements and changes have been made in many other roads of the Society ; but the greatest and most beneficial change has been wrought by the entire abandonment of the old system of repairing highways, by a wretched system of labor-taxation, inherited from "the fathers." At- tempts were more than once made to get rid of it by allotment of sections of roads to individual contractors, and by money taxes ; but this system failed to work satisfactorily, and others were tried until the annual town meeting in 1860, when it was voted, "that a thorough man be appointed in each district to repair the roads therein, and that the men so appointed bring in their bills for such repairs to the Selectmen for payment." This vote led to the most thorough repair and improvement of roads
254
ANNALS OF WINCHESTER,
ever made in the town ; yet the process did not prove so expensive as to prevent its being repeated with good results, until the annual meeting in 1865, when a commissioner was appointed in each society to supervise the repairs, under such a limitation of expense as not to exceed two thousand dollars for the whole town. The result was a partial repair of the Old Society roads, and an almost total neglect of those in Winsted. The same course was adopted in 1866, without a limitation of expenses, and repeated in 1867 and 1868, - when the appointment of district road masters was given to the select men, and so continued to 1870, when the entire supervision of the roads was restored to the selectmen, and it has continued in their hands to the present time.
Up to about 1850 the model selectman, - however fair, honorable, and humane he may have been in his private transactions, seemed to become penurious and heartless when invested with this dignity. A capacity to systematize the affairs of the town, and to manage them with a view to general and permanent advantage, was held in small estimation. It was not supposable that he could, at the end of the year, render an intelligent account of his doings or do-nothings. He entered on his duties with an abiding fear of indiscriminate censure of any liberal act or comprehensive policy. At the year's end his report was criticised, and his doings were scanned without reason or mercy. Lucky was he, if his report was so blind as to cover up his mismanagement, and conceal the true financial condition of the town. He thereby stood a chance of re-election, and ultimately of representing the incapacity of the town in the General Assembly.
On the other hand, instances have occurred of the election of indepen- dent, straight-forward men, who have blasted out obtruding rocks from the roads, or built permanent bridges, or kindly provided for the poor ; or, worst of all, have investigated the financial affairs of the town, and produced a reliable balance sheet, showing a before unknown amount of indebtedness. Rarely, in former times, did such offences as these escape the penalty of deposition from office.
It has rarely been the wont of our town to avail itself of the experi- ence of a competent selectman, by continuing him in office for a long course of years as in many other towns. The darling principles of rota- tion in office, and the maxim that to the party victors belong the spoils, alike forbade it.
These strictures, though applied specially to our own town, doubtless have a general application to many of the towns around 13.
In many respects, improvement has become manifest in our affairs. The financial condition of the town is clearly made known in printed reports, from year to year. There is a readiness to vote the taxes that
255
AND FAMILY RECORDS.
are clearly seen to be needful. The principle of cash payments of cur- rent expenses is established. About fifty-six thousand dollars of war loans have been paid off, and the financial condition of the town is pros- perous.
But rare allusions have been made in our annals to the system, or rather want of system, of providing for the poor. We have quoted a few early instances of bringing these unfortunates to the auction block and of summarily attempting to vote them out of the town guardianship. Such cases are rarely found. As a rule the wants of the poor liave been supplied at their own dwellings, or places have been provided for them in private families in the vicinity of their previous residences.
Ahout 1845 the system of contracting with some responsible individual of approved character, to provide for all the poor of the town, either in his own family or at their dwellings, was initiated, and was continued un- til 1871. Few well founded complaints of unkind treatment by contrac- tors have been made. The selectmen have been required to make month- ly inspections and careful inquiries as to the treatment of the poor; and the ministers in charge of the different denominatious have been invited by votes of the town to perform the same duties.
This course of management has not been pursued without a conscious- ness on the part of the community of its evils and abuses. The records of the last fifty years abound with votes instructing the Selectmen to take measures for selecting and purchasing a town farm, and other votes ap- pointing special committees for the same purpose ; - but no selection and recommendation was ever sanctioned by approval of the town until the month of June of the present year (1872), when the Whiting farm, on the east border of the town, was purchased, and is hereafter to be used, under the direction of the town as a home for the poor. The buildings are well adapted to the purpose ; and it is devoutly to be hoped that a competent and humane manager will be selected and such preparations made, as will give a fair start and ensure a successful working of the institution. It is also to be hoped and devoutly prayed for. that whether or not, worthy or unworthy, members of any of our churches are consigned to this refuge, their associated followers of Him who went about doing good will imitate His example, by conscientiously and systematically visiting and minis- tering to the needs and comforts of the destitute and forsaken .*
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.