USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Farmington > Farmington town clerks and their times (1645-1940) > Part 17
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to the order of said Committee for the specific object named in the above resolution.
"Voted: That the Selectmen be and they are hereby author- ized to loan from time to time as may be needed such sums of money as may be called for by said Committee not exceeding the appropriation made for the above named object.
"Voted: That all the Papers & Records belonging to the Probate Office and all the Papers and Records of the Town Clerks office be lodged in said Fire Proof Building when com- pleted and that both offices shall be held in said Building."
It had previously been voted that there should be iron shut- ters and an iron door. No mention is made, unfortunately, of the very lovely arched and leaded windows used. The most frequent guess is that they were brought from some dismantled church.
On November 7, 1853, "permission is hereby granted to A. Williams to make and construct and lay a pipe or pipes for the conduct of water from the aqueduct at his house to any point above or below his house in the public highway so far as he may wish to carry said aqueduct provided however that the said Williams shall not obstruct the public travel on said highway while digging for, laying or repairing said pipes longer than absolutely necessary."
At a meeting August 29, 1854 - "Resolved: That we hail with joy the passage of the Act for the suppression of Intem- perance in this State by the Legislature at its recent Session and the increasing peace, quiet and good order which has been apparent within our limits throughout the present month, and we do hereby commend the members of said Legislature from this Town for their active and united efforts to secure the en- actment of said Statute.
"Voted: That the Middle School District of Individual Mem- bers of the Town may at their own expense make & sustain a good and sufficient sidewalk on the North end of the public green under the direction of the Selectmen during the pleasure of the town.
"Voted: That the Selectmen be requested immediately to erect notice on each end of the Bridge at Unionville to prevent
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fast traveling across said Bridge, according to law & that the Selectmen be directed to enforce the law in all cases.
"Voted: To adjourn.
Austin Hart, Town Clerk"
It was through the generosity of Austin Hart that the Hart genealogy, entitled Stephen Hart and His Descendants was published in 1875, an expensive contribution to the history of Farmington, for which he probably received little return.
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Me. D. Levules
1854-1859, 1871-1873
THE NAME "Chauncey Deming Cowles," bestowed upon a son born June 27, 1812, to Major Timothy Cowles and his wife Catherine Deming, imposed life-long obligations upon both child and man. The name was at once, a burden and a blessing, carrying as it did, the hopes that all that was best in both the Cowles and Deming families would be blended in this man child, and at the same time, holding up the examples of fore- fathers for two hundred years past, for the child to match in his future years.
The child's father, Major Timothy Cowles, was the second son of Colonel Isaac Cowles and was born in the old family homestead on Main Street facing Meadow Road. Colonel Isaac Cowles owned much property and was a frugal and prosperous farmer, and his son Timothy learned to manage a farm, ac- quired an excellent education, taught school in the South School District at the age of eighteen, and soon learned to not only work hard himself, but to make his money work for him. He built the famous stone store on Main Street, which was de- stroyed by Farmington's great fire July 21, 1864, leasing it when it was completed to Austin F. Williams and Henry My- gatt who sold dry goods, groceries and country store sundries there. Miss Sarah Porter had her first classes there in 1843. In 1854, Mr. Cowles and his wife, Catherine D. Cowles, purchased the Union Hotel, now the main building at Miss Porter's School, formerly the Phelps Tavern, hoping the new Canal Railroad would bring guests to his doors.
In 1815, three years after the birth of his son, Major Timothy Cowles built the large and stately residence just south of the
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Congregational Church. The work was done by Captain Selah Porter who lived in the ancient Cowles house on Colton Road. One of his workmen was Chauncey Jerome, who later wrote History of the American Clock Business. Under date of 1815 Jerome said: "I moved to the town of Farmington ... and went to work for Capt. Selah Porter for twenty dollars per month. We built a house for Major Timothy Cowles, which was then the best one in Farmington." The house was on the site of the former Amos Cowles tavern. Here Major Cowles lived until his death April 28, 1858. It was said of him that he was "broad- minded, large hearted man, and many a poor family would witness to his large benevolence. He loved to see his fellow men prosper in life and gave employment to very many laborers, allowing liberal wages to all."
It was an honorable name the new child inherited from both sides of his family. The child's mother was Catherine, daughter of Chauncey Deming, astute, wealthy and one of the first men in Farmington to set in motion trade with both China and the West Indies. This had prospered greatly and soon Chauncey Deming was the wealthiest man in Farmington. He was "first among those merchants for strength and positiveness of char- acter and for business ability. He was foremost in enterprise, and was an active and influential director in one of the banks of both Hartford and Middletown. During the war of 1812, all the banks of the state except the Hartford bank suspended payments in specie, and it is confidently asserted that Mr. Deming held large specie reserves in Farmington, which he produced from time to time to preserve its credit. No one who ever saw him in his vigorous old age as he galloped along the street on his strong and elegant horse, or as he sat in church, with his powdered queue and his bright blue coat and gilt but- tons, will forget the impression."
Chauncey Deming Cowles was graduated from Yale College in 1834, M.A., and from Yale Theological Seminary, serving the Congregational Church in Plainville as its pastor from 184I to 1843, but his voice failing, he retired from the ministry and in 1844 engaged in the manufacture of starch in Buffalo, New York. January 31, 1835, the year after his graduation, he mar-
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ried Jane Eliza Bidwell, daughter of Abner Bidwell, also one of Farmington's leading business men and at various times, owner of many of the larger houses in Farmington and Unionville. Their life together was unusually harmonious and their home was always open to their large circle of family and friends.
Mr. Cowles' health not being of the best, he returned to Farmington from Buffalo in 1853. At the death of his father, Major Timothy Cowles, in 1858, he settled in his father's large and comfortable home to a life of ease and quiet comfort. In 1854, the year after his return, he was first chosen town clerk and registrar, serving until 1859. Among other offices which he held were those of quartermaster 14th Regiment Connecticut Militia Cavalry 1833-37, school visitor 1855-58, justice of the peace, member board of education, librarian of the Farmington Library during 1855, road commissioner, and was again elected town clerk 1871, serving one term. He died January 12, 1880, after a long feebleness resulting from an infection of the lungs, leaving his entire estate to his wife. "He was universally loved and respected for his exemplary life and Christian virtues." He was a brother of Jeannette Cowles who married Austin Franklin Williams and of Catherine Lucina Cowles who mar- ried the Reverend Raymond Hoyt Seeley, D.D., of Bristol, Connecticut. Thus, for sixty-eight years, lived Chauncey Dem- ing Cowles, making every effort to live the life bequeathed to him by his pioneer forebears John Deming and John Cowles.
During these years, William Platner and Samuel Q. Porter had their famous and successful mill in operation in Unionville, where they made writing and book paper. James Cowles, always a firm believer in the possibilities of water power and the devel- opment of business in Unionville, was building a dam and a small canal, providing water power for manufacturing clocks, knives, gun stocks, screwdrivers, cloth, paper and many small items which were having an extensive sale, and forming the foundation of fortunes for the next generation of Farmington and Unionville residents. An excellent lumber yard, with many general stores, provided for the large and comfortable homes. along Lovely Street and Farmington Avenue. The construction of a branch railroad from Farmington to Collinsville in 1850
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had provided the transportation needed to carry Unionville goods to New York and Chicago.
It was in 1854 that the Reverend Luke Daly inaugurated the first Roman Catholic services in Unionville and from that first mission has grown the large and influential church of St. Mary's Star of the Sea, under the guidance of the venerable and loved pastor, Reverend John J. Walsh.
In the early fifties mass was first celebrated in Farmington, the first mission still standing on the premises of John Flood on Hartford Road. This location was called "Flood's Landing" and nearby lived Lawrence McCahill, Mrs. Mary Shanley, John Ryan, John Reilly, John Brady with a few other Irish families in the village. These families constituted the Catholic popula- tion at that time. Soon the brick building on Bridge Street was purchased and dedicated to the honor of St. Patrick. In 1921 subscriptions were received for the new Catholic church on Main Street which was completed and dedicated June 11, 1922. Founders of this church were: Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Cassells, Thomas F. and Patrick J. Cassells, James Collins, Mr. and Mrs. T. C. Collins, the T. C. Collins family, Mr. and Mrs. John Curtin, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Fagan, The John Flood family, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Foster, the Misses Foster, Julia Goss, Mrs. Ellen Hunt, John Long, Timothy Long, Mrs. Harry Loomis, Lena McAuliffe, Mr. and Mrs. Timothy McCarthy, the Timothy McCarthy family, Mr. and Mrs. P. S. McMahon, Anna Muldoon, Mr. and Mrs. William F. O'Neil, Mrs. Mary Reardon, Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rourke, Edward J. Ryan, Mr. and Mrs. John Ryan, Mary J. Ryan, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Ryan, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Scott, Alice M. Wilson, and Rev. M. Ernest Wilson, first resident Pastor of Saint Patrick's Parish.
Following Father Wilson's transfer to St. Mary's Church at Bridgeport, Reverend Henry Cassidy, who had seen service as chaplain in World War I was installed as pastor. He was associate editor of The Catholic Transcript and later removed to Norfolk, Connecticut. Reverend James Barrett followed as pastor of St. Patrick's Church. He wrote several books, among them The Winter of Discontent. Ill health made it necessary
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for him to retire and he later died. The present pastor is Rev- erend Austin F. Dignam, famous both as a wit, and for his love of the out-of-doors.
And how was the town growing in these years?
These were the years when the slavery question was coming always more to the foreground. Whether any Farmington resi- dents had the business interests in the southern cotton fields attributed to a group in Boston, is unknown. We do know that many homes here were provided with so-called stations on the "underground railway" for escaping slaves. Among these were the homes of Horace Cowles, Samuel Deming on Main Street, Lyman Hurlburt on High Street and Elijah Lewis on Hartford Road. Slaves were hidden in closets, wardrobes and sometimes as a sack of meal in the wagon, and usually bore marks of abuse. There may have been some difference of opinion as to the justice of owning slaves. Many of the older families here had always had slaves, who were usually given their freedom and living quarters at their master's death. However, there was no division of opinion when the call came for the first troops. But now, in 1854-59, those slaves who attempted to pass through Farming- ton, were sure of food, lodging and a lift to the next "station."
October 2, 1854, Chauncey Deming Cowles was elected town clerk. The selectmen were Erastus Scott, Henry D. Stanley and Luther T. Parsons, treasurer William Gay and the Board of Assessors was made up of the same members as the Board of Selectmen.
The first votes recorded by Mr. Cowles were:
"Voted: That all persons be requested to dispense with smok- ing in this House during the session of all public meetings.
'Voted: That a tax of 8 cents on the dollar be laid on the list next to be completed.
"Voted: That a tax of one cent on the dollar on the list of 1853 be laid to be paid into the Treasury on or before February 20th 1855 for the benefit of common schools in this Town.
"Voted: That an additional tax of one cent on the dollar be laid on the list next to be completed.
"Voted: That the Treasurer deposit any funds in his hands not immediately wanted, in any responsible Bank, on condition
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of receiving a reasonable consideration for the use of the same until needed for public purposes, said consideration to be cred- ited to the Town."
We see that, although the town was growing, fortunes were being made, homes with all that the world had to offer were being built and enjoyed as the fruits of the earlier merchants and traders were carefully preserved and appreciated, there was still a dearth of taxable property in the town -it was still necessary to lay a yearly tax of approximately ten cents on the dollar to care for roads, schools, bridges, town poor and the state and county tax. And this when the majority of town offi- cials received no remuneration, with the exception of the tax collector, whose compensation was fairly adequate. Town offi- cers were invariably men of sufficient public spirit to give their services gladly for the well-being of their town - the town they had actually inherited from the men who had given their all to found it. Where there was a salary paid, it was usually a pit- tance compared to the resources of the officer receiving it.
The "fair market value" of the property on which the assess- ments were laid, was comparatively low. Real estate brought very little in real money. Another war was coming on. The French Spoilation claims were still unsettled and many Farm- ington families had lost much there. Therefore, although the ate of taxation seems exceedingly high, the actual amount of money collected was barely sufficient to maintain passable highways and village schools. The poorhouse must support tself.
Other matters of interest in those years we find pictured in the Town Minute Book:
We find that Chauncey D. Cowles was the first town clerk to occupy the new record office, as immediately following his election October 6, 1855, for his second year the town voted: "October 6th, 1855: - Report of Record Building Com- nittee made and accepted.
"Voted That the Record Building Committee be authorized to procure proper furniture for the Record Rooms, including :ases for books & papers, chairs, desks, tables and stoves & that aid committee report at the next meeting.
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"Voted: That the Record Building Committee be authorized to draw upon the Treasurer to pay balance due to Mr. Howe.
"Voted: That the Auditors audit the accounts of the Record Building Committee & that said Committee give a detailed statement of their accounts."
April 20, 1857: "Voted: That the town hereafter shall elect their town officers on one ticket, written or printed -
"Voted: That the Selectmen be instructed to inquire into the expediency of widening the Highway leading from the Main Road in South Meadows to the bank near the R. R. Depot, called Indian Lane - to confer with land owners as to the ex- pense of such enlargement, and to report to the next annual meeting. Also, to examine the road from Pequabuc Bridge to the bank on the west side of the meadow, and see what may be necessary to protect the same from damage from the overflow of water from the river."
May 30, 1857, a committee was requested to examine the condition of the bridge over the Farmington River in Union- ville near the railroad depot and report the cost of repairs, also the cost of a new bridge.
The selectmen were directed to examine into the expediency of laying out a highway from Unionville to near the house of Jeremiah Hills in West District .. .
Also that a committee of three be appointed to examine the road leading from Roaring Brook Bridge to the road leading from Lovely Street to the bridge on the Farmington River and report to the selectmen the best location for a road three rods in width.
Edward Tillotson, Egbert Cowles and William Crampton were appointed this committee.
"Voted That the Selectmen are hereby instructed to view the proposed road on the Farms commencing near the house of Thomas Treadwell and leading to the New Britain road near the house of Alonzo Collins . . .
"June 13, 1857, Fisher Gay chosen Clerk pro tempore the following Vote was offered by Egbert Cowles Esq & passed
"Whereas a contagious disease endangering the lives of the People of the Town has appeared amongst us & is liable to
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spread unless precautionary measures are taken to avert its progress, therefore Resolved that The Selectmen be & they hereby are directed to take measures to have the people of the Town vaccinated by School Districts & that they pay such reasonable sums to the Physicians of the Town as shall com- pensate them for the performance of and attendance at the several Districts in vaccinating the People & that the said Se- lectmen use their best endeavours to have a general attendance of the People at the District School Houses to meet the Physi- cians & that previous notice be given of the time and place of meeting from the Desks of the several Religious Societies.
"Adjourned to Sept. 12, 1857 at 9 o'clock AM F. Gay Clk pro tem C. Rowe Assist. Town Clerk"
It is to be supposed that this vote, although passed at town meeting, brought a vast amount of discussion as to the advisa- bility of vaccination. A strange commentary on the whole matter is that sixty years before, many of the townspeople, especially the younger people and many children, voluntarily submitted to inoculation of the disease at a temporary hospital established for the summers of 1792, 1793, 1794 on the moun- tain southeasterly of Farmington. This was upon the petition of Dr. Theodore Wadsworth of Southington and Dr. Eli Todd of Farmington, that they might open such a hospital, to aid in the prevention of smallpox.
On the mountain where the trap rock that largely composes the mountain itself comes to the surface and slightly projects above the surrounding soil, Hospital Rock, near the site of the hospital bears names or initials of most, if not all of those who were patients there in their self-imposed banishment for health.
The rock has at least sixty-six inscriptions, many with dates, most of the names those of prominent Farmington families. It is supposed that patients there visited the rock during their days of illness and quarantine, not ill enough to be in bed, but not allowed to even distantly meet the village representatives who came with food and other necessaries. The rock has been more than once overgrown with fir trees, which, when pulled away, have discovered the deeply chiseled names and dates.
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There is an old mountain road that runs from Farmington to New Britain and passes a little to the east of Will Warren's Den, keeping on by the summit over the eastern slope of the mountain until it comes to the Elias Brown tract. Brown lived here many years and the foundations of his house can still be seen. Further on where there are springs and a brook, could be found within the last few years, foundations where the hospital, probably a temporary affair, overlooked the plain to the south.
Inoculation was a direct contact of the smallpox germ under the skin of the patient and was supposed to make him immune to the disease in the future. It was not until about 1796 that Dr. Edward Jenner learned that those who caught the cowpox by the act of milking diseased cows, were supposed to be in- capable of taking the smallpox, and performed vaccination upon a human subject for the first time in 1796. The protective influence of both inoculation and vaccination are sometimes ineffectual. Erastus Scott of Farmington, had smallpox by inoculation, and when, in after years, as one of the selectmen, he had to look after a smallpox patient, he caught the disease again. He recovered, but in the process first gave the disease to Mr. Stanley of Plainville, one of the other selectmen, who had also been vaccinated in his youth.
Names of patients at the hospital, most with the age, are. "Kesia Allvord, 21 ; Timothy Arnold, age 12; J. Bishop Andrews; Shubael Brownson, age 9; J. Bronson, Ioy, Sep. 1792; Sophia Bull; Laura Bull; Caleb Bacon, age 29, Oct. 1794; Cyrus Curtis, age 20, Oct. 1794; Rebecca Curtis, Ae. 25 y .; Thirza Curtis, 18; Anson Curtis, age 21, 1794; Salmon Clark, age 28, 1792; Sally Cowles, 33; T. Cowles, 1794; Claramond Cowles, 16; Rena Cowles, 10; Daniel Cornwell; G. Cowles; Chester Case; Tim- othy C -; John C-, L.D., D.D .; Eunice Gleason, 27; Nancy Gleason; Edward Hooker, aged nine 1794; Sally Hooker; Wm. Hooker, 1792; John Hull, 23, 1793; Peter Hull, age 18, 1794; George Hull; Amos Hull; Nimrod Hull; Amos Hawley, age 20; Aroxey Hart, age 23; P. H. Zenas Hart; Amasa K- -, M K .; S. L. William Mathews; Anna Mix, 10, 1794; Betsy Mix, 12; Mary A. Norton; R (Reuben) S. Norton; Nathan North, 15, 1794; M. C. Pitkin; James Richard, age 10, 1794;
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Timothy Root, age 12; Roxana Root, 18; S. R. L. R., 1794; Luther Seymour of Hartford, Ct., 22; Anne Street, 19; A. S., 24; Abigail Scott, age 26, 1794; Norris Stanley, age 20; A. Stanley, 1793; J. B. R .; Samuel Scott, October 1794, Age 21; P. Stanley; Lemira Whitman, age 20; R. W., 16; C. W .; Amos Wilkinson, age 16."
Many of the names have further inscriptions and embellish- ments such as "J. Bronson entered a discharged from the Small Pox Hospital Sept 1792 Ag 10 yrs." Several romances begun on the mountain those summer days matured into marriage.
Permits to establish such hospitals were granted by town meeting both before and after the dates engraved on Hospital Rock. Various correspondence and diaries of those years show the existence of similar places as late as 1799, and who was there. One letter says "Fanny and Julia Cowles I believe will come out of the pest house this week a Saturday or Monday." A young man who shall be nameless, although he was later a town clerk, wrote to a friend "The young girls here are all in the pest house. I have been up to Goat Pasture to see them. They are as thick as toads after a rain. Nancy Hooker and Fanny Cowles have it the hardest but they will all do well, I believe." The writer of this letter had previously been inoculated; other- wise he would not have dared go so close to the patients. Goat Pasture as it is still known is north of Hospital Rock.
"Sept. 12, 1857, Voted That the Selectmen be instructed to make all the necessary arrangements to procure the erection of a bridge over the Farmington River leading from the village of Unionville to the Depot. The Bridge to be built of sufficient strength & size for two double teams and two sidewalks. The bridge to be built during the year, and the plan to be similar to that at Collinsville.
"October 5, 1857 . . . Voted That the Selectmen be and they hereby are directed not to make any contract for the erection of a bridge at Unionville until January 1859 . . .
"Voted That the Selectmen be directed to put up such notice on the bridge at Unionville as the law directs in relation to fast traveling on the bridge.
"Voted That the Selectmen of this Town be required to ex-
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amine the bridge across the river near Geo. Richards & Co. mill in company with a competant bridge builder acquainted with the principals of Town's patent in regards to what is best to be done to save the present bridge from going down and re- port at a future meeting.
"October 26, 1857 Voted that the compensation of Board of Relief be one dollar per day hereafter.
"Voted That the compensation for further services of the Selectmen be one dollar per day.
"Voted That the compensation of the Assessors for services hereafter to be rendered be one dollar per day.
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