USA > Connecticut > Connecticut as a colony and as a state; or, One of the original thirteen, Volume III > Part 17
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cars. The former gave employment to 533 men, while the latter had 42 employed. The total equipment of all the rail- roads in the State was 118 locomotives, 208 passenger cars, and 1,615 freight cars, with a clerical and operating force of 2,088 persons.
For the sake of comparison, and to show the growth of the railroad business in the State, we append statistics from the Railroad Commissioners' forty-eighth report.
On June 30, 1900, the capital stock of the railroad corpo- rations in the State was $103,343,268.38. They had a funded debt of $39,444,000. Their gross earnings for the fiscal year were $42,024,951.36, while their operating expenses were $29,517,485.39. The length of the main lines and branches in the State was 1.013.35 miles; by adding the double tracks and sidings, the aggregate mileage was 1,821.87 miles. Including officials and clerical help, employ- ment was given to 27,456 persons.
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CHAPTER XX THE ORGANIZATIONS OF CITIES, BOROUGHS, AND TOWNS
T HE increase of population in Connecticut, with the desire of her citizens for easier facilities for the conducting of their town affairs, caused in the first decade of the nineteenth century, the formation of twelve new towns.
Waterford, formerly a part of New London, was incor- porated in 1801; as was New Canaan, originally a parish, and taken from Norwalk and Stamford. The following year Wilton, named after the old Saxon town situated at the junc- tion of the Hadder and Wily rivers in Wiltshire, England, was taken from Norwalk; and Sherman, named in honor of Connecticut's foremost statesman, was taken from Fairfield; and both were invested with town privileges. Marlborough, by the union of portions of Colchester, Glastenbury, and Hebron, became an organized town in 1803. The next year a part of Lebanon was set aside, and incorporated as a town under the name of Columbia so called from the poetical name of the United States.
The Legislature in 1806 created two towns in Hartford County, and one in New Haven County. Burlington was taken from Bristol, Canton from Simsbury, and Meriden from Wallingford. The next year, by taking portions of the towns of Waterbury, Woodbury, and Southbury, Middlebury was organized; it was also enacted that the northern part of the town of Stonington should become a town under the name of North Stonington. In 1808 Vernon, formerly a part of Bolton, was invested with town privileges.
The organization of new towns during the second decade was confined to New London County. Griswold was formed in 1815 from Preston, and named in honor of Gover- nor Griswold, a native of that county. Salem, which name in the Hebrew language means peace, was taken from the
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towns of Colchester, Lyme, and Montville, in 1819. The Legislature in 1820 incorporated a town from a portion of Stamford, and it was given the name of Darien. The fol- lowing year Bridgeport was taken from Stratford; and in 1822 from Milford was formed Orange, named in reminis- cence of the powers of that house.
The General Assembly in the year 1822 incorporated Chaplin, from the towns of Mansfield and Hampton; the new town was named for a prominent citizen, Deacon Benja- min Chaplin. Manchester, while it cannot be called a pro- totype of its English namesake, is likewise engaged in silk manufacturing; it was formerly a part of the town of East Hartford, and was granted town privileges in 1823. The Legislature in the same year incorporated from a portion of Huntington the town of Monroe, named in honor of the President. The eastern portion of Guilford in 1826 was erected into a separate township, and named for ex-Presi- dent Madison. Prospect was organized in 1827 from por- tions of the towns of Cheshire and Waterbury.
From 1830 to 1839, nine new towns were added to Con- necticut's complement. The northern part of Farmington, which is watered by the river of the same name, was formed in 1830 into the town of Avon, from Shakespeare's river. The Legislature at its May session in 1831 granted town privileges to the inhabitants of the northern part of Branford, and the town was named North Branford. The next year Bethany, a parish-which name in the Hebrew language means "house of dates" (fruit)-was formed from Wood- bridge. It was in 1835 that the western part of Windsor was incorporated into a township, and called Bloomfield, from an old Hartford family. Westport was organized the same year from portions of Fairfield, Norwalk, and Weston. Ches-
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ter, a parish of Saybrook, was incorporated in 1836; its name was obtained from an ancient English episcopal city, situated on the river Dee. The Legislature at the same session passed an act organizing from Groton the town of Ledyard, named in honor of the brave defender of Fort Griswold. That section of country lying on the west bank of the Connecticut River, between Haddam on the north and Saybrook on the south, being a part of Killingworth, was in 1838 organized into the town of Clinton, probably from the great promoter of the Erie Canal. The same year East Lyme was incorporated; it was originally portions of Lyme and Waterford.
The town of Westbrook was formed from the western part of Saybrook, hence the name; it was organized in 1840. The succeeding year Portland ( from the English town of the name) was taken from Chatham; in 1843 Rocky Hill was organized from Wethersfield. Territory was taken from Waterbury, Bethany, and Oxford in 1844, and granted town privileges; it was called Naugatuck, an Indian name mean- ing forks of a river. Two new towns were created by the Legislature in 1845 : South Windsor was taken from Wind- sor, and Easton from Weston. The eastern part of Ashford was named Eastford, and incorporated into a township in 1847. The number of towns in Tolland County was increased in 1847, by taking portions of Hebron and Coven- try and organizing Andover, which was formerly a parish. Its name was taken from the market town in Hampshire, England.
In the decade between 1850-60, fifteen towns were incor- porated. In 1850 New Britain was taken from Berlin; and Seymour, named in honor of the Governor of the common- wealth, was formed from Derby. The next year, Cromwell,
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named for the Lord Protector, was organized from Middle- town. Old Saybrook was organized from Saybrook in 1852. Three towns were incorporated in 1854: West Hartford from Hartford; Windsor Locks ( from its canal locks) from Windsor; and Essex, a parish (named from the maritime county in the southeastern part of England), from Old Say- brook. The Legislature granted town privileges to three towns in 1855 : Bethel, formerly a part of Danbury, derived its name from the Hebrew, meaning "house of God"; Put- nam named for the Revolutionary hero, was taken from the towns of Pomfret, Thompson, and Killingly; Old Lyme, incorporated from Lyme under the name of South Lyme, received its present name two years later. The south- eastern part of New Milford was organized in 1851 into the town of Bridgewater; its name is that of an English town, but is pertinent from a bridge that crosses the Housatonic, which forms a portion of its boundary line. Scotland per- petuates the name of the native land of some of its settlers; it was taken from Windham and organized in 1857 into a township. North Canaan taken from Canaan, and East Granby from Granby and Windsor Locks, were in 1858 incorporated as towns.
The next year Morris was formed from Litchfield. The eastern part of Franklin and the western part of Lisbon were formed in 1861 into the town of Sprague, named from the "War Governor" of Rhode Island, who owned the great cotton mills at Baltic. In 1866 Middlefield was formed by taking the southwest corner of Middletown. Plainville, for- merly known as Great Plains, was taken from the southern part of Farmington and erected into a township in 1809.
The western part of Wethersfield was incorporated in 1871, and named Newington. The same year the towns of
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Bethany, Oxford, Seymour, and Naugatuck each contributed a portion of territory to form Beacon Falls; the name is descriptive. The western part of Plymouth was organized as a town in 1875, and named Thomaston, after the noted clock inventor, Seth Thomas.
The last town incorporated in Connecticut was in 1889; it was taken from Derby, and the old Greek termination for "place" added to the name of the founder, thus forming Ansonia. The village had received the name many years before.
The centralization of population at points within the limits of different towns occasioned the need of a distinct local government short of the full administration of a city. This resulted in the incorporation by the General Assembly, at the commencement of the nineteenth century, of what were desig- nated boroughs. The name was taken from a civic division in England, applied to municipalities that had been granted spe- cial privileges by a royal charter. There are four States in the Union which use the word in their local government. In Minnesota and Pennsylvania its boundaries are identical with those of one of the primary divisions of the county; in Con- necticut and New Jersey, it includes the space occupied by houses adjoining or nearly so. The five subdivisions of Greater New York are designated as boroughs.
At the October session of the General Assembly in 1800, Bridgeport was the first borough incorporated; like many of its successors, it afterwards became a city. The present bor- oughs, and dates of their incorporation, are Stonington 1801, Guilford 1815, Newtown 1824, Colchester 1846, Bethel 1847, Wallingford 1853, Danielson 1854, Greenwich 1854, Winsted 1858, Fair Haven 1872, West Haven 1873, Staf- ford Springs 1873, Litchfield 1879, Shelton 1882, Torrington
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1887, New Canaan 1889, Southington 1889, Branford 1893, Bristol 1893, Naugatuck 1893, Jewett City 1895, Fenwick 1899, Farmington 1901, Ridgefield 1901, Groton 1903, and Woodmont 1903.
It was over half a century before any additions were made to the quintette of cities incorporated by the General Assem- bly in 1784. The Legislature in 1836 conferred civic hon- ors on Bridgeport, which thus early manifested signs of its present importance as a banking and manufacturing centre. Nearly a score of years rolled away before another city was added to the list. Waterbury, which had passed the five thousand mark in population, was granted the rights of incor- poration by the Legislature of 1853. In the same county in 1867, Meriden was created a city; the influx of foreign labor had greatly augmented its population. At the May session of the Legislature in 1870, New Britain and South Norwalk, both manufacturing centres, were incorporated as cities. This complement of Connecticut's cities remained unchanged for nearly a score of years, when the growth of the hat industry in Danbury, and the woolen industry in Rock- ville, so populated these centres that they were entitled to all the privileges of municipal incorporation. The banner year was 1893, when Ansonia, Derby, Norwalk, Stamford, and Willimantic were created cities. This, with the incorporation of Putnam two years later, divides Connecticut by civil divi- sions into eight counties, eighteen cities, twenty-six boroughs, and one hundred and sixty-eight towns.
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CHAPTER XXI AGE OF INVENTION
I N the earlier volumes of this work, mention has been made of noted Connecticut inventions; previous to the formation of the federal government, patents had been issued by some of the colonies. Upon its organ- ization, immediate steps were taken to put in opera- tion the eighth section of the first article of the Constitution, which provided that inventors of new machines or processes should receive letters patent for the sole and exclusive use of their inventions, for a period of fourteen years.
The first Board for the issuing of patents consisted of the Secretaries of State and War, and the Attorney-General; the first patent was granted on July 31, 1790, to Samuel Hop- kins, for an improvement in pot and pearl ashes; the total number issued in that year was three. The early records of the United States patent office are deficient in not stating the residence of patentees; this renders it impossible to credit any section of the country with these early endeavors. The orig- inal patent law was repealed in 1793, and a new act passed in which the formalities necessary to obtain letters patent were prescribed; also the rights of inventors, with the fees to be paid, were more definitely stated.
The next year the cotton gin was patented; and though originating in the brain of a borrowed citizen, it was mainly through the exertions of Phineas Miller and his wife of Connecticut, patrons of Eli Whitney, that it was brought to the notice of those interested in the production of cotton. Mr. Miller became a partner of the inventor. Through the instant and wholesale infringement of the patent by the citizens of the cotton States, and the defiant refusal of their governments to have it respected or to pay for it, the partners made almost nothing from it. One Southern representative openly justified his State's denial of justice on perhaps the
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most impudent ground of robbery every alleged,-that the invention was of such enormous value to the public that no private person had any right to monopolize it.
The machine itself revolutionized the political, social, and industrial interests, not only of the United States but the whole world. The exports of cotton from this country in 1793 were 187,600 pounds; two years later they reached 6,276,300 pounds.
There were forty-three patents granted in 1796, eleven of which applied to improvements in the manufacture of nails and brads; among these was one to Daniel French of Con- necticut for both cut and wrought nails. Apollos Kinsley of Hartford received a patent for an improvement in printing machines. Samuel Lee, Jr., on April 30, 1796, was granted a patent for the composition of bilious pills the first of that class of inventions; Lee's Windham pills, and Lee's New London pills were the subjects of numerous patents. On Feb. 19 of the same year, Elisha Perkins obtained a patent for his Metallic Tractors, of which mention has already been made. We find on Nov. 27, 1797, that Eli Terry received letters patent for improvements in clocks, time-keepers, and watches.
The patent law was modified in 1800, so that two years' resident aliens could enjoy the same rights and privileges as native-born citizens. Eighty-three patents were issued in 1804, which exceeded in number any previous year; the next year the residence of the patentees appears on the records. Among the most important granted that year were to Robert Crane, Jr., Waterbury (May 4), for iron wheels; Asahel A. Kersey, Hartford (Aug. 28), shingle machine; William Wing, Hartford (Aug. 28), casting type; William King and H. Salisbury, Hartford, for carriage springs. Connecticut
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CONNECTICUT AS A STATE
was represented in 1806 by George Richards of Stonington ; he was granted a patent February 14 for a dough machine.
Among the important patents of 1808 were those to Jon- athan Mix of New Haven (Feb. 19) for an elliptical main- spring to be applied to carriages, and placed parallel with the axle, to which it was screwed in the centre; Ebenezer Jenks of Canaan ( April 18) for a fire-brick machine, Simon Glover and D. Parmalee, Newtown (June 8), for a mortising ma- chine, and Abel Brewster, Hartford (July 11), for a vitriolic test for bank bills.
Four patents were granted in 1809 for the manufacture of combs; of these three are credited to Connecticut, Moses Moss of Farmington (Jan. 10), and Timothy Stanley of Southington (July 6), for manufacturing hair combs, and Nat. Jones of Southington (May 9), for making wooden combs. In the same year Samuel Green, of New London (Feb. 15), received a patent for making paper from seaweed, Mary Kies of Killingly (May 5) for weaving straw with silk or thread, Ira Ives of Bristol (June 24) for the striking part of clocks, Simeon Jocelyn of New Haven (July 13), for pruning shears. The latter were operated by means of a pole and cord for lopping the outer and upper branches, and were similar to the kind now in general use; it is claimed, however, that previous to their being patented in this country they were in general use in Germany.
One of the most important patents of the year was for a double-rodded screw auger by Ezra L'Hommedieu of Say- brook (July 31) ; the patentee informed the Secretary of the Treasury that with only a man and two boys, he manufac- tured his own wire and produced daily three hundred weight of assorted screws, which were superior to those imported. The inventors of combs seem to have flourished in the earlier
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days; on May 28, 1810, David Williams, 3d, of Hartford, was granted letters patent for ivory combs; on Aug. 16 of the same year Eli Parsons of Bristol received a patent for pocket hair combs.
A patent was issued in 1811 to Charles Reynolds of East Windsor, for his invention for propelling carriages by steam. The year 1812 marked an era in patenting apparatus for spin- ning, weaving, and other processes for the manufacture of wool, cotton, flax, and hemp; there were a dozen inventions for spinning machinery and eight or ten for looms. Of the latter, J. Roxanna Sizer, of New London received a patent Oct. 21 for a loom for weaving feathered cloth. In the same year, May 23, Robert O. Richards of Norfolk was granted letters patent for manufacturing boots and shoes with wooden pegs, screws, etc. This was the means of greater relief to those engaged in that trade; it was generally used throughout the State, and enabled the workmen to complete their handi- work with increased dispatch, durability, and neatness.
Of the five patents issued in 1813 for cutting and making screws, one was obtained by A. Burnham and T. S. Barnum of Sharon. There were four patents obtained in this year for printing presses; one of these by Zachary Mills of Hartford, who also obtained a patent for an ink distributor. Of the one hundred and sixty-six patents issued in 1815, nine were to citi- zens of Connecticut for button making; viz., L. Merien, New Haven (Jan. 4), turning and polishing; William Lawrence, Meriden (April 12), a lathe-pin for turning wire-eyed but- tons; John B. Collins, Meriden (April 12), single-jointed pewter molds for wire-eyed buttons; Anson Matthews, Southington (April 26), wooden molds; Ira Ives, Bristol (Aug. 7), three patents-viz., for a holdfast while polish- ing for setting eyes of metals in the molds, and for smoothing
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and rending the eye of metal; Herman Matthews, Southing- ton (Sep. 12), two patents, for a machine for finishing, and one for making wire neck buttons.
The thirty-hour wooden clocks were patented June 12, 1816, by Eli Terry of Litchfield; the first printing press in which the long lever was introduced with success was patented Feb. 8, 1819, by John L. Welles of Hartford.
In the annals of cotton and woolen manufactures from 1820 to 1830, the inventions of Gilbert Brewster of Norwich came into extensive use. For his improvement on the wool- spinning wheel, he received a patent Feb. 27, 1824; this was followed by three patents issued March 13 of the same year, for a spinning machine and method of receiving rolls from the machine, for an improvement on wool spinning, and for a spindle for throstle spinning. These, with his later improve- ments in cotton and wool spinning machinery, were manufac- tured in large quantities at Poughkeepsie, New York, by the inventor. A power loom for weaving checks and plaids, the first American loom of that kind, was invented by Rev. E. Burt of Manchester, who in connection with O. D. and A. H. Boyd, received a patent Aug. 19, 1828.
Among the important patents issued in 1829 were those to John Arnold, Norwich (July 15), for forming the web of cloth, without spinning or weaving; William Delit, East Hartford (Jan. 13), for a machine for cleansing rags for paper; and R. Fairchild of Trumbull (May 4), an agitator in paper-making. There were 554 patents issued in 1830. Of the 146 credited to New England, Connecticut had 52; the most important was that of Festus Hayden, Waterbury (Oct. 1), for American wire-eyed buttons.
The succeeding year, Charles Goodyear, who later gained renown for the vulcanizing of caoutchouc, patented a "safe-
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eye button," also a steel spring fork. On March 28, 1831, Asa G. Bill and George Spalding of Middletown received a patent for a loom for weaving webbing, tape, etc. One of the most unique machines for which a patent was issued in 1833 was to Edward M. Converse of Southington, for a wiring machine for tin-plate ware. We find in 1835 that Charles Goodyear, on Sept. 9, was granted a patent for a gum- elastic cement. It was on Feb. 25, 1836, that a patent for revolving firearms was issued to Samuel Colt of Hartford; and on Oct. 26 of the same year J. Arnold and G. G. Bishop of Norwalk received a patent for forming a web of wool and hair without spinning.
Prior to 1836 there was no critical examination of the state of an article, preliminary to the allowance of a patent appli- cation. In its salient features, the patent system of to-day is that of the law of 1836, though there have been various enactments modifying and improving it in matters of detail.
The most important patent issued in 1837 was to Charles Goodyear on June 17, for divesting caoutchouc of its adhesive properties. The next year he received a patent for an improvement in the manufacture of gum-elastic shoes wholly from india-rubber, they having been previously made by simply applying a thin coating of the gum. The same year, Elisha K. Root of Collinsville was granted a patent for a machine for punching and forming the eyes of axes, hat- chets, etc.
Among the important patents granted in the early part of the fifth decade were two to John J. Howe of Derby: the first in 1841, for improvements on a machine for making pins, and two years later for a machine for sticking pins in rows, in sheets of paper. To Ethan Allen of Norwich was issued in 1845 a patent for improvements in the locks of
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pistols and other firearms. In the same year Charles Good- year of New Haven patented a waterproof manufactured of two elastic substances; and Charles Turner of Norwich, a writing machine called the Chirographer.
Calvin B. Rogers of Saybrook obtained in 1845 a patent for an improvement in machinery for making dressing combs. The invention of Mr. Rogers was the first for a self-acting machine for comb-dressing. Prior to this, the blanks were fashioned by hand from bits of ivory, six hundred being a good workman's daily stint; by means of this new machine, five times this amount could be finished in the same time.
We find that of 572 patents issued in 1847, one for improved machinery for dressing staves was granted to Isaac Judson of New Haven, and it is mentioned among the ten most important ones of that year. The next year Col- lins & Co., as assignees of Elisha K. Root of Collinsville, patented an improvement in machinery for dressing axes.
There were 5,516 patents issued from 1840 to 1850. Prior to the former date the total amount was 11,421. Among those classed as important, we make mention in 1850 of those of Samuel Colt and Jesse Carpenter of Hartford, the former receiving one for improvements in repeating fire- arms, the latter for improvements in machinery for spin- ning yarn and making ropes.
The following year Sheldon Northrop was granted a pat- ent for an improved loom for weaving seamless bags; Allen B. Wilson of Watertown, one of his numerous patents for improvements in sewing machines; and Nelson Goodyear for a combination called hard rubber, of which mention has been previously made. In 1852 Benjamin S. Stedman of West Meriden was granted a patent for an improved machine
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for manufacturing pocket-books, and C. Sharpe of Hart- ford for an improved method of priming firearms.
Among the eighteen important patents of 1853 were those of Halvor Halvorson of Hartford, for an improvement in looms for weaving haircloth; and Chauncey O. Crosby of New Haven, for improvements in machinery for sticking pins .. The next year Eli Whitney of Whitneyville received a patent for an improvement in firearms.
The following citizens of Hartford were granted patents in 1855: E. K. Root for an improved compound rifling machine; Rollin White for improvements in repeating fire- arms; and J. B. Terry, improvement in pin-sticking machines. The same year, patents were issued to William V. Gee of New Haven for improvements in looms for weaving suspen- der webbing; Thaddeus Selleck of Winchester, for a process of reducing Franklinite ore to obtain iron and the white oxide of zinc; John H. Doolittle, assignee to American Hosiery Company, Waterbury, for knitting machines; De- Grass and Fowler, Wallingford, for a press for punching metal; and Andrew Hotchkiss of Sharon, projectiles for rifle cannons.
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