USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Farmington > Farmington town clerks and their times (1645-1940) > Part 12
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PROGRESS
AND PROBLEMS
Samuel Richards
1823-1828
IF in the later years of his life, Samuel Richards was a mild- mannered man, kindly, precise, grave, known for the strictest integrity, and unsuccessful in accumulating very much of this world's goods - underneath was as valiant and courageous a spirit as any in the land. His "continuation of distress in my temporal concerns," tried him sorely, but when, with the marked favor of the appointment of being the first postmaster in Farmington, his income increased by forty dollars per year, he considered that the Lord was still trying his spirit and wrote of "my unthankfulness to God for his great goodness to me. He is now trying me by prosperity."
Samuel Richards kept a "Diary" of his days of service in the Revolutionary War. Concerning the days after the battle of Lexington, he wrote: "I had the gratification of being selected to carry the American flag at the head of the column which entered from the Roxbury side. When we arrived in the town numerous incidents crowded upon our view. I can particularize, but few of them. The burst of joy shown in the countenances of our friends so long shut up and domineered over by an insulting enemy; the meeting of and mutual salutations of parents and children, and other members of families, having been separated by the sudden shutting up of the town after the battle of Lex- ington; the general dilapidation of the houses, several churches emptied of all the inside work and turned into riding schools for the cavalry; all the places which had been previously used for public resort torn in pieces. As I was the bearer of the flag, I attracted some attention and was constantly pressed with invitations to 'call in and take a glass of wine.'"
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Farmington Town Clerks and Their Times
Later in the war years Samuel Richards was located with most of the other Farmington soldiers in the highlands above New York, and was present at the first occupancy of West Point. He wrote:
"I being at the time senior officer of the regiment present, of course led on the regiment, crossing the river on the ice - Coming on the small plain surrounded by the mountains, we found it covered with a growth of yellow pines ten or fifteen feet high; no house or improvement on it; the snow waist high. We fell to lopping down the tops of the scrub pines and treading down the snow, spread our blankets, and lodged in that condi- tion the first and second nights."
Deacon Richards was at West Point during the building of the fortification the subsequent spring under the direction of Kosciusko:
Of those days he writes : "I was quartered a considerable time with him in the same log hut, and soon discovered in him an elevation of mind which gave fair promise of those high achieve- ments to which he attained. His manners were soft and concili- ating and at the same time elevated. I used to take much pleas- ure in accompanying him about with his theodite, measuring the heights of the surrounding mountains. He was very ready in mathematics. Our family now consisted of Brigadier-General Parsons, Doctor, afterward President Dwight, Kosciusko, and ! myself, with the domestics. ... When the weather had become mild and pleasant in April, I went with Dr. Dwight one day : down to view the ruins of Fort Montgomery, distant about eight or ten miles. There was a pond just north of the fort, where we found the British had thrown the bodies of their own and our men who fell in the assault of the fort. . .. Had the fort held out a little longer, I very probably might have lain among them."
Of the French army in Farmington, he wrote: "Rochambeau with his five thousand men soon moved on as they passed thro Farmington. I being there at the time - had a fine oppor- tunity of seeing them. They were said to be the flower of the French army, having been raised principally in Normandy and the north of France. I viewed their manner of performing
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ll they had to do; such as digging a circular hole & making itches in which to set their camp kettles for cooking their food ¿ every necessary accommodation was performed in the most atural and convenient manner. They rose in the morning and araded by day light; soon struck tents and began their march which they completed - for the day - about noon, then itched tents and set about their cookery. ...
"Having served this the whole of our eventful struggle for dependence; and being preserved to the age of 78, I say with ny feeble voice to my children and grandchildren of whom God has given me numbers, should an imperious call to duty ver press on you - go and do likewise."
Deacon Samuel Richards was tall, slim and very straight. le wore the knee-breeches, silver buckles and stock of the style hat still lingered from the past. He was precise in manner, and unctilious in the discharge of his official, religious and social uties. At the turn of the century he wrote: "The halcyon days f New England are past. The body of the people are putting ff rigidity in habits and morals."
At the close of the war Captain Richards returned to Farm- igton and served as postmaster for twenty years.
He married Sarah Welles, daughter of Jonathan Welles and Catherine Saltonstall of Glastonbury. Their daughter Cornelia married John Lord Butler and lived in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsyl- ania. Captain Richards removed to Wilkes-Barre and lived here with his daughter, to be 87 years old. He died there December 31, 1841 and is buried in the Hollenback Cemetery ear Colonel Zebulon Butler, his comrade in arms and father his son-in-law. He was a member of the Society of the Cin- nnati.
It was Samuel Richards who saw, in 1785, the strategy of iving a little store in the highway at the north end of the town. e bought of Daniel Curtiss a strip of land, which had been ld to Curtiss by the highway committee. It was twenty-six et wide at the east end and had a cooper's shop, well and iqudect" at the west end. Pomroy Strong purchased the coop- "'s shop in 1803, moving it to his own land across the road.
Richards built a store on this strip of land in 1786 and here
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Samuel Richards
he did a thriving business. The store has been successively owned and operated by Horace and Timothy Cowles, James K. Camp, William Gay and his son Erastus and by the present owner, Joseph Tofani. It has withstood the crowding demands of the twentieth century for its removal in the interests of speed- ing traffic. Judge Edward H. Deming used to say "It is so dan- gerous there, it is safe."
It was in 1792 that Deacon Samuel Richards built his new home on Main Street, on land on which had first stood the home of John Steel. Perhaps he had demolished the old house in order to erect this new one. The house later belonged for many years to Mr. Abner Bidwell and was later owned and occupied by Miss Alice Sneath. Here the first postoffice was established and maintained in the front hall, the cross pieces for letters still being evident. On July 22, 1799, he 'advertised in the Con- necticut Courant "Information. A post-office is established at Farmington for public accomodation. Samuel Richards, D. P. Master." and he wrote in his diary that of his income of forty dollars, for the first year, he paid Horace Cowles twenty dollars for assisting him.
In the five years of his service to the town as town clerk, he witnessed one of the epochs of Farmington history. The first inklings of the building of the Farmington Canal had leaked into the Records, forced there by irate citizens who were not in the enterprise and who foresaw only inconvenience of travel and upheavel of their farms and highways. They were more foresighted, as was soon proved, than the members of the com- pany, with their dreams of wide commerce with the West and through their canal, to the far corners of the seas. Progress, with its inventions and speeding modern wonders was on its way, engulfing all who refused to accept it. The canal, little more than a ditch in the sand, with no reinforced embankments and inadequate feeders, took in the cash of its promoters as though at one end and emptied it out at the other faster than the water itself. At one point of the canal bank in Farmington village a coal barge went through a twenty-five foot bank, and although covered with the silt of over a hundred years, has given evidence of logs still there, and the great gaping hole in
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the bank now offers easy access to the river, instead of making it necessary to climb and descend two banks. The farmers were as disturbing to the canal company as were breaks in the banks, and droughts. They were continually complaining because of hayloads being upset as they passed over the bridges of the canal crossing the highways and the town records teem with their votes.
But it was picturesque, and useful at times, weather and the patience of the traveling public permitting.
The first shovelful of earth was turned with great festival on July 4, 1825, at Salmon Brook Village in Granby, and later, canal boats with banners flying, bands playing and groups of travelers were a colorful sight indeed as the canal boats drifted slowly from town to town, affording the towns- people an alluring new mode of travel, with pleasure and com- fort. They could dine well if they so desired, as the captains. vied with each other as to their tables; they might sing in chorus as they traveled so effortlessly to their destination; if they preferred their own home-made bread and goodies, they found a new flavor in the open air and new country; there were bands for the young people for dancing and a shady side of the boat for those more inclined to rest or converse; and there must have been moonlight nights, with the particular spell found only on a lazy canal boat.
The canal boats offered convenient and pleasanter travel on Sundays to the village church, from the Great Plain and from the growing settlement of Unionville, than the former mode of trudging on foot, or by horseback. And small boys fished hap- pily from the stern. Excursions were the order of the summer, just as in later years "trolley excursions" were considered the modern thing to do. In the winter when the canal was frozen over, Farmington boys skated to Plainville and back, on wooden, homemade skates.
For twenty years the canal was kept open, at great cost in time, money and labor, but not always at a loss. There were years when many tons of coal, shingles, and countless passen- gers were carried safely to their destinations. One of the best years was one of its last, for it is recorded that the canal was
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Samuel Richards
navigable throughout its entire length the entire season without a single day's interruption. But the following year, after an unprecedented drought which lasted from July until Septem- ber, the creditors refused to further subscribe to the debts of the company, stockholders' patience and cash were at an end, and there was growing interest in the newer mode of travel and transportation, that of the railroad, to prove an even more serious rival to the canal than the Connecticut river had in the past. In 1848 the "Canal Road" as the railroad was called, was in operation from New Haven to Plainville.
The first meeting proposing the formation of a canal com- pany was held in Farmington at the home of General George Cowles. Chairman of the commission was Simeon Baldwin, and other members were Isaac Mills, William Moseley, George Cowles, Jonathan Pettibone Jr., and Roger Mills. The company was chartered in May, 1822.
According to the very scholarly and detailed paper by Pro- fessor Charles Rufus Harte of New Haven, called modestly Some Engineering Features of the Old Northampton Canal, read by Mr. Harte before the Forty-ninth meeting of the Con- necticut Society of Civil Engineers, Incorporated in Hartford February 21, 1933, most deeply concerned with the mechan- ics of construction of the canal was Benjamin Wright, Con- sulting Engineer, who was Chief Engineer of the Erie Canal, and considered the leading American engineer of the time. Associated with Judge Wright was Eli Whitney Blake, later inventor of the jaw-type stone crusher and a famous mathema- tician. David Hurd, resident engineer in 1820 on the Erie Canal, was chief engineer of the Farmington Canal in 1825. He was succeeded in 1828 by Henry Farnum as assistant and later chief. Although Henry Farnum started work on the canal as cook, and later as assistant at a salary of one dollar per day, when he tendered his resignation from the company in 1850, the directors passed a vote of appreciation, reading: "For the uniform fidelity with which Mr. Farnum has performed all the duties devolving upon him; for the unimpeachable integrity with which the many thousand dollars which have passed through his hands, have been expended; for the unshaken con-
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Farmington Town Clerks and Their Times
fidence with which he carried forward these works under very great difficulties; and for the heavy personal responsibilities which he often assumed to maintain the works, when otherwise they would have been sacrificed, this Company entertain the highest consideration."
Mr. Harte has gathered together with great patience over a period of many years, all available information regarding the canal, even walking the entire length of it for measurements and photographs, and kindly sending such photographs to his friends as Christmas cards. Coupled with the pioneer article by Mr. Julius Gay, written in 1899 and read at the annual meeting of the Village Library Company, there is little to be added, except to quote: Mr. Gay said. " ... the Farmington Canal, an institution of great expectations never realized, to the capitalist a losing venture, to the farmer a great annoyance, but to the boy of half a century ago the most delightful source of endless enjoyment .
John Hooker wrote in his Reminiscences, "It was while I was a school boy that the Farmington Canal was devised and constructed. I remember well Mr. James Hillhouse of New Haven, who was one of its principal promotors, going through Farmington with a large boat on wheels, drawn by several pair of horses, full of New Haven gentlemen, with a band of musicians and flags flying. I think they stopped over night at our village, and the next day went on to other towns on the . route. This I suppose to have been before the canal was made, and to get up enthusiasm for it."
John Hooker's father, Deacon Edward Hooker, who was to succeed Deacon Samuel Richards as town clerk, kept an ac- count of affairs in Farmington, and under date of June 20, ' 1828, he wrote: "Very fine weather. A multitude of people col- lected this afternoon to witness the launching and sailing of the first canal boat that has been seen at Farmington. Every- thing was conducted well. Bell ringing, cannon firing, and music from the Phoenix Band were accompaniments. About two hun- dred gentlemen and ladies, who were previously invited and furnished with tickets, sailed to and over the aqueduct and back again. The boat was drawn by at first four, and afterward
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Samuel Richards
by three, large gray horses handsomely decked, and rode by as many black boys dressed in white. Crackers and cheese, lemon- ade, wine, etc., were furnished to the guests, and the musicians performed very finely on the passage. The boat was named 'James Hillhouse' while passing the aqueduct."
Commander Edward Hooker of the United States Navy wrote: "Sam Dickinson's father was captain of the boat. She was named for James Hillhouse of New Haven, president of the company. ... Of all the boats that ever battled with the raging tide of the old canal, not one had so wide and famous a reputation for passenger comforts and prompt movements as the staunch old James Hillhouse and her genial captain. Not one had so nicely fitted-up cabins as the gentlemen's cabin aft and the ladies' cabin forward as she had, and not one captain on the surging seas of the canal had such a ringing, convincing voice, when he shouted 'Bridge, Bridge,' as Captain Dickinson; and above all things else, not one of them set so good a table ... Long live the memory of the old James Hillhouse and her jolly Captain Dickinson."
In summing up Farmington's brief attempt to become a sea- port adjunct, and the failure of it all, Colonel Burpee wrote in The Story of Connecticut, "Farmington was to retain its pris- tine attractiveness of hillsides, bluff and streams, birthplace of statesmen and world-known clergy, mother of nearby indus- trial towns of world repute, seat of eminent schools, smiling reminiscently over the brief period when she excelled her parent Hartford in population. It is the continuing existence of com- munities of similar nature which in hours of Nature's wayward- ness or man's national perplexities, keep alive the memories of Hooker's advent."
Deacon Richards was 69 years old when he was first elected town clerk November 17, 1823. He served until November 28, 1828, when Edward Hooker was elected.
In those five years some of the outstanding events, showing the ever-growing concern of the town fathers for those in their keeping; the general betterment of the town; and the sharp increase in taxes, were a part of Samuel Richards' concern. His small, businesslike writing, with no flourishes, is easy to read.
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Farmington Town Clerks and Their Times
The first business at the town meeting November 17, 1823, was the choice of General Solomon Cowles as moderator and as town treasurer for the coming year.
John Hooker in his Reminiscences gives us a picture of Gen- eral Solomon Cowles. He wrote: "Gen. Solomon Cowles often presided at these town meetings, and deserves a passing notice. He was a tall, fine-looking man, with white hair, and impressed one as a man quite above the ordinary until he spoke, when his pompous manner and misuse of language and absolute ineffec- tiveness of speech disposed utterly of the impression one had got from the first observation of him. He must have been at this time not far from eighty years old. At one of the town meet- ings he was appointed on a committee to attend to some public business, when he arose to ask to be excused, and said he was 'getting very old and superanimated.' " However, his continued reelection as treasurer bespoke the confidence of the towns- people.
If the voters of the town saw little to justify the great expen- ditures for the Farmington Canal in those years, they had no hesitation in taxing themselves for the benefit of the town poor. The tax for the years 1823 to 1828 was ten cents on the dollar, with four cents of each dollar for "the entertainment of the poor!" Careful thought was given as to how the poor spent their time and of course their conduct on the Sabbath received due concern. Some of the rules voted in town meeting were:
"That the following laws and votes be and the same are hereby ordained and adopted for the government and regula- tions of the Farmington house of Industry.
"I. The manager shall safely keep under his care and control all the articles brought to the house by the selectmen for manu- facture, consumption or use, .. .
"2. The poor shall be kept at such labour as they are most capable of performing and will best promote industry and economy; reference being had to their age, sex and ability, ...
'3. The hours of labour shall be from 6 to 12 in the forenoon and I to 7 in the afternoon, . .
`4. All the labour pertaining to the institution shall be done by the poor and by persons sent to the house of industry.
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"5. The management shall see that every apartment in the house and the grounds around it and the appurtenances are kept clean and especially that the lodging rooms are well cleaned & aired and also that the poor be kept clean and decent in their persons that they statedly comb their hair, wash their hands and faces and at suitable times their feet.
"6. None of the poor shall purchase or have any spiritous liquors . . .
'7. None of the poor shall leave the limits of the establish- ment without a ticket from the manager . . .
"8. All profane, obscene or indecent language and conduct are forbidden. No communication whatever between the un- married males and females shall be allowed (except in cases especially allowed by the manager) and it shall be his peculiar care to see that the least appearance of immodesty between them is checked .. . "
Hours for meals, retiring and rising, care of fires and the observance of the Sabbath were prescribed. The fear of fire was ever present, and any who smoked a pipe was forbidden to smoke in bed. The manager was to look in each room after dark, to see that these rules were obeyed.
In 1825 the expense of caring for those confined in the work house caused some anxiety and it was voted that a house of correction be provided with all dispatch, in the basement of the new building about to be erected at the House of Industry.
Strict regulations were passed in this year, also, for the first time, governing the fishing in the rivers and small streams of the town, or in the pond known as Great Pond in the south part of the town. The town fathers voted that for the purpose of preserving fish in the waters in this town, no person should use any fish craft between the first day of October and the first day of May in each year.
Other considerations voted were: A total tax of nine cents on the dollar: that the treasurer sell the "uncurrent bank notes" now in the treasury; that the selectmen and treasurer see that all notes due the town and in the treasury, be immediately collected.
We see here that the finances of the town were rapidly be-
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coming alarming, and that the answer here was not in an in- crease in such taxes. In the next few years we will follow the efforts of a few clear-sighted men who lifted the town, by its own boot-straps, out of its debt, gave notes for the indebtedness and reduced the amount of annual taxes.
Extensive highways were costing more as the town pro- gressed and were leading to the newly settled parts of the town. Near Northington a "highway beginning at the northeast corner of the burying ground attached to the North meeting house" was to accommodate future Avon people. In Union District a road laid out from the home of Abraham Parsons - northwardly - was approved. Noadiah Woodruff, Pomroy Strong and Amasa Woodford, all of whom were on the line of the canal, now in process of building, were appointed a commit- tee to "view those sections of road lately made by the canal company in lieu of parts of highway occupied by the canal, and report whether in their opinion, said company have made & provided such roads, as said town ought to accept."
The entire highway system of the town now came in for care- ful overhauling and revision. A committee consisting of Solo- mon Cowles, Noadiah Woodruff and Ezekiel Cowles were ordered to view those roads lately complained of to the county court and their report, read and accepted at a meeting held July 16, 1828, was exhaustive and was the basis for a new sys- tem of taxation for road upkeep, and any new construction, as well as repairs. The tax money was to be kept separate from other town funds, with strict accounting. A road commissioner was appointed, to be responsible to the selectmen for the con- dition of the road, "as far as the ordinary funds will allow," and the commissioner was to report annually in town meeting of the state of the roads, and the conditions of the said fund.
The committee "appointed to enquire into the present state of the bridge over the river at the north end of the Town," was ordered continued. Also "that part of the highway, lately a turnpike road in the West District near Thomas Youngs and now shut up by said Youngs" was ordered investigated by the selectmen. The following year Joshua and Thomas Youngs and James and Augustus Cowles were permitted to "build a race-
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