Commemorative biographical record of Hartford County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Pt 2, Part 45

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1172

USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Commemorative biographical record of Hartford County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Pt 2 > Part 45

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As an alumnus of the Washington Literary So- ciety of Lafayette College he was appointed one of the executive committee to furnish, in behalf of the society, its handsome and spacious hall. The work was accomplished and the hall dedicated April 7, 1881, on which occasion Mr. Field made an address that appeared, among other addresses made on that occasion, in pamphlet form.

The superintendent of public instruction of Northampton county, Penn., appointed Mr. Field to deliver an address before the Teachers' Institute, convened, in annual convention, in the court house in Easton, Nov. 19, 1883. It appeared in print on the day of its delivery. Of this address the late

Rev. Dr. Andrew P. Peabody, at one time acting president of Harvard University, and one of the greatest scholars and literary men of his day, said that he "could give it no higher praise than to say that it was worthy of a graduate of Harvard."

Mr. Field also made political speeches, prior to Presidential elections, in several counties in Pennsyl- vania. He has also written many articles for various periodicals and newspapers. A number of these have appeared in "Beecher's Magazine." In one of a number of articles contributed by him to the "Lafayette College Monthly" (September, 1871) he made the original proposition for the formation of a National College-Men's Union for literary and other friendly contests. This proposition thrilled the students of the colleges and universities of the country. Articles on the subject, written by him, also appeared in the New York Tribune and the New York Times. In the article in the "Lafayette Monthly" Mr. Field shows what must be the benefits of such a society to college-bred men, to colleges and to the public. He adds: "Thomas Hughes, Dr. Chapin and others have remarked that college- bred men do not exercise the commanding influence that they should and can exercise in American pol- itics. We conceive that this is the result of a want of consciousness of power on the part of college- bred men. The power exists-the consciousness of it only needs to be supplied, and this can be fur- nished by a central, representative society of col- lege-bred men. The numbers and resources of such a society would surprise even college men them- selves, and they would be excited to uncommon ef- forts in the common cause. It might in time prove to some incredulous ones that 'knowledge is power.' Although ignorance in motion is more powerful than intellect at rest, brains and ballots combined will tell." On Feb. 19, 1874, the proposition was acted on, and a convention assembled, to take the initiative, at Hartford, Conn. All are familiar with the intercollegiate contests held since that time. These contests stimulate friendly and fruitful emu- lation among the students of the colleges of the land.

Mr. Field was, by appointment of the governor of California, a commissioner for that State in Pennsylvania. Passing over other appointments and elections to honorary membership of societies, 1 he was appointed, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Stevens, of Pennsylvania, lay reader of the Episcopal Church in South Easton, now a part of the city of Easton, Penn., of which his brother, B. Rush Field, is mayor. He was a member of the vestry of Trinity Epis- copal Church of that city, superintendent of its Sunday-school, and a director of the Y. M. C. A.

On Feb. 20, 1883, he was elected to represent the Fourth ward of the city of Easton in the board of control (educational) for a term of three years, leading his party ticket in the number of votes re- ceived ; and, Feb. 16, 1886, he was re-elected for

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another term, and served for a time as president of the board. On May 5, 1887, then intending to leave the city of Easton, he presented his resignation. to the board of control. A resolution of regret was passed by the board on account of his resigna- tion and intended departure from the city. He was a member of the executive committee of the board appointed to make preparations for a public Cottingham memorial celebration, in honor of the third-of-a-century services of city school superin- tendent W. W. Cottingham, the official longest in service of the kind in the United States. The cele- bration took place in Easton April 28, 1887, was participated in by public bodies, schools and citizens, and was a great success. Mr. Cottingham still fills the superintendency.

During 1887 Mr. Field removed from Easton, Penn., to Brooklyn, N. Y. On Oct. 25 of that year he was married, at the "Massasoit House," Springfield, Mass., by his Harvard classmate, Rev. Thomas W. Bishop, of Salem, Mass., to Miss Edna MI. Potter, of Suffield, Conn., daughter of the late Simeon T. and Mary (Ives) Potter, of Enfield, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. Field shortly afterward took up their residence in Brooklyn. On May 14, 1888, on motion of Horace Graves, Esq., Mr. Field was admitted by the Supreme Court of New York, sit- ting at Poughkeepsie, to practice law in all the courts of New York State. During his residence of about ten years in Brooklyn he continued in the practice of law in that city and in New York.

In 1897 certain interests and family reasons pre- vailed to induce Mr. and Mrs. Field to remove from Brooklyn to Enfield, Hartford Co., Conn. Mrs. Field had bought an ancestral and original colonial house in that town, built, 130 years ago, by her great- great-grandfather, Capt. Ephraim Pease, a pros- perous merchant, contractor and large land owner in Enfield during the French war. He was born there in 1719 and died in 1801, the bell that he donated to the First Congregational. Church tolling almost all day on the date of his funeral. He had entertained Washington, when, as commander-in- chief of the Continental army, he passed through Enfield. Washington afterward, in a letter to a friend in England, wrote of stopping at the hospit- able mansion of Capt. Ephraim Pease, "situated on Enfield street, north of the Field House." This letter was seen and read by the late Senator James Dixon when in England, on his wedding tour ; and this fact he related to a reliable and long-time oc- cupant of the Capt. Pease homestead, from whom the information came to C. Terry Knight, the author of an article on Enfield that appeared in a late num- ber of "The Connecticut Quarterly." In that man- sion, now owned by Matthew G. Anderson, Jr., tradition says were quartered British soldiers of the Revolution, probably a part of Burgoyne's army, surrendered in October, 1777. One of the finest elms on Enfield street, rooted on land owned by

Mrs. Elizabeth Prior, grew from a sapling that Capt. Pease planted in honor of the birth of his daughter, Sybil, who, in 1768, married Rev. Elam Potter, Mrs. Field's paternal great-grandfather. It was deemed quite honorable then, as now, to marry the minister. "Capt. Pease gave the site and erected the house (now the Field House) for the home of the distinguished couple. It was accord- ingly well built and the artistic decorations, inside and outside-including paneled walls, rich hand- made mouldings, toothed cornices, carved balusters, tiled fireplaces and the stately recess in the front hall for the 'old clock on the stairs'-were more or less elaborate for the times, and indicate the wealth and pride of a father whose young daughter was to become the bride of a young and promising clergyman. When a large fireplace was being torn out, preparatory to remodeling, a sermon of the long-ago, that had slipped from the mantlepiece, dropped out. Appreciating the value and beauty of shade trees, he planted those old and majestic but- tonwoods along the front of the property that still, with the elms and maples, adorn that part of the street. He thoroughly furnished the house for the young housekeepers, placing, in addition, three negro slaves-Okro, Cæsar and Flora by name-at their service." Eight children were born to these first occupants. Rev. Elam Potter was a noted preacher of Enfield, traditions of whose earnestness in the cause of Christ, in behalf of his people, and in ef- forts for the abolition of slavery, have come down to us. He was ordained in 1769 as pastor of the First Congregational Church of Enfield, and con- tinued as such seven years. An "Historical Notice of the Congregational Church in Enfield" says that at this time an excitement broke out concerning "church order ;" and in 1770 a new society was formed, called "The Second Ecclesiastical Society of Enfield" (aiming at "Strict Congregationalism") -the members of which were called "Separatists"- which has completely disappeared. This subject is fully and ably treated in a thesis entitled "A Sketch of The Strict Congregational Church of Enfield, . Ct.," presented to the Hartford Theological Sem- inary, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, by Rev. Oliver W. Means, M. A., now pastor of The First Congregational Church of Enfield. "Rev. Elam Potter made repeated tours into the Southern States in behalf of the negroes in bondage," nar- rates C. Terry Knight, in an article appearing in a late number of "The Connecticut Quarterly Mag- azine ;" " and the memorial to the General Assembly of Connecticut, praying that the negroes in this State be released from slavery, was, perhaps, in part, a result of his influence."

The abolition of slavery in a number of the States was gradual, Pennsylvania setting the ex- ample ; and it has been well said that only second in honor and importance to the Declaration of Inde- pendence was the act of the -Pennsylvania Legis-

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lature of 1780, inaugurating its abolition in that State. Connecticut was the earliest among her sister States to follow the precedent thus set. In this State slavery was never directly established by statute ; but it was indirectly sanctioned by various statutes, and frequently recognized by the courts, so that it may be said to have been indirectly estab- lished by law. W. O. Blake, in his "History of Slavery and the Slave Trade," says that "Negro and Indian slavery was authorized in Connecticut in 1650 ; and in the same year the Colony passed acts making man-stealing a capital offence, the Colony of New Haven shortly after passing similar acts." [ Henry Wilson's "Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America," Vol. I., pp. 6-372.] Few negro slaves were imported into the State; and in 1774 (Oc- tober session at New Haven) tne importation of all slaves was prohibited by the following act, viz. : "An Act for prohibiting the Importation of Indian, Negro and Mulatto slaves.

"Whereas the increase of slaves in this Colony is injurious to the poor and inconvenient :

"Be it enacted by the Governor, Council and Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same-That no Indian, Negro or Mulatto slaves shall, at any time here- after be brought or imported into this colony by sea or land, from any place or places whatsoever, to be disposed of, left or sold, within this colony. "Be it further enacted by the authority afore- said, That any person or persons, who snall here- after, contrary to the true intent of this act, import or bring any Indian, Negro or Mulatto slave or slaves into this colony to be disposed of, left or sold within the same, or who, knowing such slave or slaves to be so imported and brought into this colony, shall receive or purchase them, or any of them, shall forfeit and pay into the Treasury of this colony the sum of one hundred pounds lawful money for every slave so imported, brought into this col- ony, received or purchased, to be recovered by bill, plaint or information, in any court of record proper to try the same. And it shall be the duty of all con- stables and grand jurors to enquire after and make presentment of all breaches of this act."

After the termination of the Revolutionary war. the Legislature, to effect the gradual abolition of slavery in Connecticut, in the Revision of 1784, enacted the following :

"An Act concerning Indian, Mulatto and Negro Servants and Slaves.

"Be it enacted by the Governor, Council and Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same- ** *

"And Whereas sound policy requires that the Abolition of Slavery should be effected as soon as may be consistent with the rights of individuals and the public safety and welfare-

"Therefore-Be it enacted by the authority

aforesaid-That no Negro or Mulatto child that shall, after the first day of March, one thousand, seven hundred and eighty-four, be born within this state shall be held in servitude longer than until they arrive to the age of twenty-five years, not- withstanding the mother or parent of such child was | held in servitude at the time of its birth; and such child, at the age aforesaid, shall be free; any law, usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding."

In May, 1797, a Connecticut statute enacted that .no" Negro or Mulatto child that should be born within the State after the first day of August of that year should be held in servitude longer than "until they should arrive at the age of twenty-one years."

As early as May, 1711, provision was made for the emancipation of slaves by their owners, who were nevertheless held to be responsible for their maintenance should the slaves ever come to want: "An Act relating to slaves and such in particular as shall happen to become servants for time :

"It is ordered and enacted by the Governor, Council and Representatives in General Court as- sembled, and by the authority of the same-That all slaves set at liberty by their owners; and all Negro, Mulatto or Spanish Indians, who are ser- vants to masters for time, in case they come to want after they shall be set at liberty, or after the time of their said service be expired, shall be relieved by such owners or masters respectively, their heirs, executors or administrators; and upon their or either of their refusal so to do,' the said slaves and servants shall be relieved by the selectmen of the towns to which they belong; and the said selectmen shall recover of the said owners or masters, their heirs, executors and administrators, all the charge and cost they were at for such relief in the usual manner, as in the case of any other debts."

In October, 1777, the following Act, or Proviso, was passed :

"An Act in addition to and alteration of an Act entitled-An Act concerning Indian, Mulatto and Negro servants and slaves :

"Whereas it stands enacted in said Act-'That all slaves set at liberty by their owners, and all Negro, Mulatto or Spanish Indians who are ser- vants to masters for time, in case they come to want after they shall be so set at liberty, or after the time of their said service be expired, shall be relieved by such owner, or master respectively, their heirs, executors or administrators :'

"Therefore Be It Enacted by the Governor, Council and Representatives in General Court As- sembled, and by the authority of the same-

"That if any master, or owner, of any servant, or slave, shall apply to the selectmen of the town to which he belongs, for liberty or license to emanci- pate or make free any such servant or slave, it shall be the city of such selectmen to inquire into the age, abilities, circumstances and character of such

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servant or slave; and if they, or the major part of them, shall be of the opinion that it is likely to be consistent with the real advantage of such servant or slave, and that it is probable that the servant, or slave, will be able to support his or her own per- son ; and that he or she is of good and peaceable life and conversation, such selectmen, or the major part of them, shall give to the owner, or master of such servant or slave a certificate, under their hands, of their opinion in the premises ; and that the mas- ter or owner of such servant or slave hath liberty to emancipate and set at liberty such servant or slave. And if the master or owner of any servant or slave shall, on receiving such certificate, emanci- pate and set at liberty such servant or slave, he, his heirs, executors and administrators, shall be forever discharged from any charge, or cost, which may be occasioned by maintaining or supporting the servant or slave made free as aforesaid-any law, usage or custom to the contrary not withstand- ing.'

There were seventeen slaves in Connecticut as late as 1840; and there had been 2,759 in the State in1 1790. The repeal of the "Black Law," enacted in May, 1833, for the purpose of suppressing the colored school of Miss Prudence Crandell, in Can- terbury, showed an advance in liberal thought. [The foregoing facts relating to slavery in Con- necticut have been derived from various sources, but special acknowledgment is due, in this connec- tion, to George S. Godard, Assistant State Libra- rian of the Connecticut State Library, Hartford ; and also to State Comptroller Thompson S. Grant for facilities.] At the time of its gradual abolition in Connecticut, slavery had ceascd to be as remuner- ative as it had once been in the State.

After the death of Rev. Elam Potter ( 1794) his eldest son, Elam Obediah Potter, "a prominent, useful and influential citizen, who served the town in various capacities for many years," bought the homestead, which afterward was, in succession, owned and occupied by Rev. F. L. Robbins ( a for- mer pastor of The First Congregational Church of Enfield), Eben Parsons and Deacon Albert Par- sons, at whose death, in 1883, the property passed into the hands of his heirs, from whom it was bought back by Mrs. W. Gibson Field into the orig- inal ancestral line. Two granddaughters of Rev. Elam Potter, viz., Mrs. Elizabeth Dwight and Miss Mary Potter, are now living in Enfield. On her father's side (maternal line) Mrs. Field is, through her grandmother, Abigail Terry, eighth in direct descent from Gov. William Bradford, who came over in the "Mayflower." Abigail Terry married Ephraim Pease Potter, son of Rev. Elam Potter, the last named being Mrs. Field's great-grandfa- ther. Mrs. Field is the daughter of the late Simeon T. Potter (a son of Ephraim Pease Potter) and Mary Ives, his wife, and the granddaughter (ma- ternal line) of the late James Ives and Charlotte

Remington, his wife (late of Suffield, Conn.), the latter being a daughter of the late Deacon Reming- ton, of Hasting's Hill. James Ivcs reared a nu- merous and widely-respected family; he was an energetic business man, and conducted successfully a number of industries. One of his sons, Cornelius Ives, was for vears a successful merchant in Au- gusta, Ga., and afterward a financier in New York City, who achieved a competence. He died a few years since, at the ripe age of eighty-four. Milton D. Ives, another son of Jamcs Ives, was the last Ives occupant of the old Suffield homestead, and a widely-known citizen of that town. Mrs. Field attended the Wilbraham (Conn.) Wesleyan Acad- emy, and the Connecticut Literary Institution at Suffield, her native town.

In the mansion on Enfield street, of many hon- orable associations, was born one of Enfield's most successful and popular physicians, Dr. Edward Field Parsons. Mr. and Mrs. W. Gibson Field have made this their home, and to it have made some additions, following the colonial lines. Mr. Field, at Enfield, is conveniently situated with ref- erence to business in Hartford and Springfield, be- ing on the line of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad. Since leaving Easton, Penn., Mr. Field has written considerably for the press. He returns each year to attend to business in New York, Brooklyn and Easton, Penn., where he owns property.

SAMUEL H. WILSON, one of Windsor's best citizens, and one who is now doing more for the community at Wilson's Station that any other man, is a native of that little suburb, born June 19. 1844. He traces his ancestry back to Samuel and Mary (Griffin) Wilson, who were married May I, 1672. Their son, Deacon John Wilson, born May 24, 1686, wedded Mary Marshall, and to them was born a son, Joel, April, 17, 1718, who married Abi- gail Loomis and had a son Moses, born Sept. 11. 1748. Moses Wilson married Hulda Allyn, and they were the parents of Henry, who was born in 1785, and married Eleanor Loomis. This couple were the grandparents of our subject.

Henry Wilson, Jr., our subject's father, was born Feb. 11, 1810, and was educated in the com- mon schools of his day, which were much inferior to those of the present time. When a young man he entered into partnership with his father, and to- gether they engaged in farming and brick making until the latter's death. When the property was divided the son took the portion in the town of Windsor, on which he ever afterward made his home. He was a very successf.il farmer, and was widely and favorably known. He was a man of ordinary build. In politics he was a stanch sup- porter of the Democratic party. On Nov. 17. 1842, he married Miss Susan A. Newberry, who was born in Bloomfield, Conn., Dec. 13, 1810, a daugh- ter of Frederick Newberry. He died Nov. 17, 1852,

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and his wife, who was a consistent member of the Baptist Church, passed away June 3. 1884, the re- mains of both being interred in the Congregational cemetery at Windsor. Their children were Samuel H., our subject ; Daniel L., who died young; Fred- erick N., who is mentioned farther on; and Hul- dah S.

Samuel H. Wilson began his education in the Bucktown district school, and Charles Clark (now deceased) was one of his first teachers. He thor- oughly enjoyed his school days; took an active in- terest in nis studies; and later attended Deacon Woodford's private school at Windsor and the Connecticut Literary Institute at Suffield for one year. He spent his vacations on the home farm with his widowed mother, and when his school days were over he helped her in its management and operation, and also taught for one term in the home district.

When he attained his majority the property was divided, and he continued farming for three or four years. During this time he produced some tobacco, but being disgusted with the use of that weed, he stopped raising it in 1867. A year or so later he embarked in the manufacture of brick on a very moderate scale, at first employing only two men, and doing all work by hand. Each year saw im- provements made to his plant, and its producing capacity made greater, until in 1896 he made five million bricks. In connection with that business he had also conducted a sawmill for some years, and in 1896 added planing machinery and other equip- ments to his plant, which now turns out all kinds of wood, from the rough lumber to house finishings of all descriptions. It is an extremely modern and up-to-date establishment, and in addition to reduc- ing and shaping native woods, Mr. Wilson converts heavy pine from the southeast and northwest into house finishings. He also cuts from one thousand to fifteen hundred cords of wood annually, and buys thousands of cords of wood on the stump, the cutting and hauling of which give work to many. During the summer season he has in his employ from sixty-five to seventy men, and in the winter from twenty to twenty-five, as well as many teams the year round.

Mr. Wilson was united in marriage with Miss Eliza H. Parsons, a representative of one of the first families of Enfield, she being a daughter of Albert and Helen (Raynolds) Parsons. She was formerly a school teacher, and is a lady of excellent education, who has been of great assistance to her husband, as his business interests are extensive. She keeps his books, and is a thorough business woman. Their only child, Helen R., is the widow of Walter Morrison, whose death a few, weeks after their marriage was a severe blow to all. He had been a faithful and efficient employe of our sub- ject, and was an excellent young man.

Mr. Wilson is a Prohibitionist from principle, and whlie not a politician he takes an active interest in the growth of the party that will suppress the

liquor traffic. He was instrumental in having the postoffice established at Wilson's Station, and was its first postmaster, a position that his duty as a citizen compelled him to accept, but his deputy has charge of the same. He is a prominent member of the Memorial Baptist Church at Hartford, with which he united by letter from the First Baptist, where he united early in his teens, and has since been an active worker in the church, exerting an in- fluence such as only a true Christian will. He is very devout in all church matters, is a man of great hon- esty of purpose, is true to every impulse, and his Christian character is manifest in his every-day life. His kindness of heart is proverbial, and he has lost many thousand dollars by unscrupulous persons taking advantage of his desire to aid oth- ers. He is generous almost to a fault, in public- spirited and enterprising, and is an extremely valu- able man in his community. He is very popular with his employes, all of whom receive the great- est consideration and kindness.

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Commemorative biographical record of Hartford County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Pt 2, Part 45

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1172

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1172