USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Farmington > Farmington town clerks and their times (1645-1940) > Part 24
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35
"Voted That the sum of Twenty five Hundred Dollars be and hereby is appropriated out of any funds in Treasury for Roads and Bridges for current year.
"Voted that the sum of Three Thousand dollars be and here- by is appropriated out of any funds in Treasury for support of poor outside of Poor House for current year.
"Voted that the Town accept the road leading from a point opposite the dwelling house of C. T. Boxtie in Unionville south to a point beyond the dwelling house of H. D. Gorm known as Hillside Avenue provided the same can be done without land damages.
"Voted that the Selectmen be instructed to allow the use of the Town Hall in Unionville to people in Unionville for school or other purposes at the cost of heating and lighting and care.
"Voted That a tax of twelve mills of the dollar be laid on list next to be made and completed payable on or before March Ist, 1894."
273
Thomas Lewis Porter
March 30, 1894, a lengthy resolution from the Hartford and West Hartford Horse Railroad Company, giving specifications of the trolley route to be laid, were accepted by E. H. Deming, John S. Parsons and N. O. Keyes, selectmen. On the day The Hartford and West Hartford Horse Railroad Company voted to accept the grant of the right of way, from the town of Farm- ington.
At a Special Town Meeting May 23, 1894, with Erastus Gay chairman, the town granted The Hartford and West Hartford Electrical Railway Company the right of way from the turn of the road at the Willows along said road to Whitman's corner, with the right to grade and improve the same suitable for the paving of the tracks of said Railway Company. The company was admonished by the town not to clear snow from its tracks in such a manner as to impede travel on the highway. Those of us who remember the early days of the trolley with its plow, before motor trucks with their great sweep across the entire highway, remember with what eagerness the few hardy motor- ists who drove "all winter" used the trolley right of way, as the only passable part of the road.
September 14, 1894 the selectmen were directed "to have the House of Industry patched and painted on the outside" and such sum as is necessary be hereby appropriated from the town treasury. It was:
"Voted that hereafter the covered bridge over the Farm- ington River in the first voting district be well lighted.
"Voted That the Pound on the highway in the Village of Farmington be discontinued."
"Voted That the Lockup or Jail in the village of Farmington be used only for the purpose for which it was constructed.
"Voted That the Board of Selectmen be instructed and authorized to construct a building on the grounds of the Town Hall not to exceed $350.00 for the Shelter of Tramps.
"A town tax of 12 mills on the dollar was laid for the ensuing year."
In 1894 Thomas L. Porter, now aged 74 years and with chronic nephritis, no longer attended all of his duties. Henry N. Whittlesey was appointed assistant town clerk June 13, 1895
274
Farmington Town Clerks and Their Times
by E. H. Deming, First Selectman, and the entries during that year in the record books are in his fine and delicate hand- writing. May 4, 1895, and selectmen were directed to contract with the Berlin Iron Bridge Company for the building of a bridge across the river near Richards Mill. The Berlin Iron Bridge Company's bid, lowest of those received, were "$4875.00 for one kind of bridge and $4970.00 for another." Judge Dem- ing, who was first selectman at that time, used to tell the story afterward of the bridge being six inches short at each end. "We had some anxious moments" he would say, "but we finally built the abuttments up to the bridge."
Mr. Porter's last election as town clerk was October 7, 1895. At the annual business meeting in April, 1896, the selectmen were instructed to remove the stationary seats in the Union- ville town hall, "and if necessary, lay a new floor suitable for Hall purposes and procure portable seats for the use of the Hall."
The usual sum of one hundred dollars was ordered paid to the Quartermaster of Burnside Post to defer expenses of "Memorial Day."
A tax of 12 mills on the dollar was laid.
The last entry was a letter from Sophia C. Porter as admin- istratrix of the estate of Alpheus G. Porter setting forth that the bounty of $10.00 per month promised by the town in 1863 - to all soldiers who reenlisted for three years, or during the war, had never been received. This was referred to the Selectmen.
Thomas Lewis Porter was born in Farmington about 1820 and was baptised in 1822. He was the son of Selah and Sophia Cook Porter. His father lived in the ancient Samuel Cowles house, the second on the left on Colton Road. He was a direct descendant of Thomas Porter, tailor, who had lived on Main Street just opposite the intersection of Colton Road and Main - Street, and who had married Sarah Hart. Selah and Sophia Cook Porter had two other sons, John Cook Porter who mar- ried Mary Root and had a son Thomas, and Timothy Porter, who lived in the old Porter homestead, later burned in the fire of 1864. Selah Porter died in 1847 or 1848. His widow, Sophia, . died May 3, 1865, leaving one half of her estate to Thomas L.
275
Thomas Lewis Porter
Porter, and one half to her daughter-in-law, Mary, for the use of her grandson Thomas "who live with me."
Mr. Porter married Mrs. Emeline Woodford Deming, widow of Franklin Deming, December 19, 1859. He gave his age as 39 and she gave her age as 47. Mr. Deming had died March 16, 1856. He had built the house on the Unionville Road, known to later generations as the Montieth place. Mrs. Deming brought some wealth to her husband, from her own family and also from her first marriage. She was of the Woodford family of Avon. Her brother Franklin built the house on the corner of High Street and Mountain Road where H. H. Whaples now lives.
Mrs. Porter bought a home on Main Street, now occupied by Mrs. Balazy. Dr. Chauncey Brown had owned and occupied this house for years, having his office in the basement, now hidden by the verandah wall. During the Civil War the Porters adopted a daughter, not only to fill the vacancy of no children ,of their own, but in order that her father might enlist to fill the quota from East Hartford. Mr. Porter's affairs did not go well and Miss Sarah Porter took over his home. He moved into the Riley house, as it was then known, now in front of the Parsons garage. Miss Porter bought several houses on the corner of Main Street and Hartford Avenue, all old and unsavory in character, and presented the land to the Village Improvement Society for a village park. One of the houses was purchased by Alex- ander Lawrence who moved it to Waterville Road. His sister used it for her "hat shop" for many years. It is now the property of Charles Henderson. These were the days when Farmington was becoming conscious of its possibilities and defects. Through the leadership of Miss Sarah Porter, The Village Improvement Society enlisted the aid of the men and women of the town, who put on a campaign for better sidewalks, electric street lighting, a sprinkling system for the dusty roads and removal of un- sightly saloons and even old houses. The street railway was not allowed on Main Street, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company could not use the right-of-way of the old canal for their railroad through the village. They there- fore laid as straight a road as possible, making it necessary to use a stage or other vehicle for transportation as the depot was
1
276
Farmington Town Clerks and Their Times
built about two miles from the village. As most of the students at Miss Porter's School came by train, it was a fairly costly matter, but one which the townspeople heartily agreed with.
The ancient stage, slung on leather straps, with the driver high in front, rumbled and swayed across the meadows from the railroad station to the village meeting every train, until the era of the motor car was well established. It was one of the last stages in existence hereabout and was considered one of Far- mington's features, to the travelers who were landed from the train many miles from the village. The stage which had made its daily trips to Hartford, had ceased to exist after the advent of the trolley. In earlier years the arrival of the stage-coach from Hartford or New Haven brought the mail, at first weekly, then as roads improved, oftener, until there was daily service.
The arrival of the stage never ceased to be an exciting event. There was the change of horses, the thirsty driver, the mail pouches with their unknown contents, and above all, the either expected or unknown passengers, with their stylish clothes.
The fare to Hartford was expensive, being one dollar each way, and some of the townspeople walked. One farmer walked in one day as far as the Hartford Railroad Station where he was stopped by a long freight train which was switched from one track to another until the farmer's patience was exhausted. Remembering his waiting farm stock, he left his shopping un- done and turning about, walked back to Farmington, to start another day, earlier the next time, for his suit of clothes.
Mrs. Emeline Woodford Porter died August 7, 1898, and is buried in Riverside Cemetery. Mr. Porter, who was Quarter- master Sergeant, 25th Company, Connecticut Volunteer In- fantry, served in the Civil War from October 20, 1862, to August 26, 1863. He died at Fitch's Home for the Soldiers, Noroton Heights, Connecticut, April 1, 1903, and is buried in Riverside.
1
H
A
P
P
Y
Y
E
A
R
S
EBrandeque 1896-1925
MR. BRANDEGEE was fifty-two years old when he was first elected Town Clerk October 5, 1896. He and Henry N. Whittle- sey, former assistant town clerk, were elected auditors at the same election. At the National and State election November 5, the same year, the town had shown a preference by two to one, for Republican candidates. Erastus Gay was elected State Senator, Adrian R. Wadsworth was re-elected Representative, and Edward H. Deming was elected Judge of Probate by 583 votes over his opponent, Marshall P. Ryder of Plainville, who received 100 votes. This was the beginning of a long and popu- lar career as Judge of the Probate Court for Mr. Deming who served with very few interruptions until the age of retirement 1 in 1927.
Under the gentle, but insistent guidance of Mrs. D. Newton Barney, Miss Sarah Porter and Miss Florence T. Gay, the Village was being improved. Miss Gay was responsible for the streets being sprinkled - Mrs. Barney showed her interest by being a member of the Village Improvement Society, and Miss Porter either removed, or remodeled some of the old houses, kept the railroad company from building its tracks along the former Canal bank, also prevented the Hartford and West Hartford Horse Railroad Company from using the Main Street, and was instrumental in bringing the matter of lighting the streets with electricity, before town meetings.
June 12, 1897, it was voted eleven to eight, that the selectmen be authorized to contract with the Hartford and West Hartford Horse Railroad Company to light the streets of Farmington and Unionville for a term of five years at a cost not to exceed
278
Farmington Town Clerks and Their Times
one thousand dollars per year. Adrian R. Wadsworth, George Dunham and Charles Brandegee were appointed to serve with the selectmen on this Committee, the Selectmen that year being Richard H. Condon, Charles C. Georgia and Nelson O. Keyes.
The next month the selectmen acted favorably on the appli- cation of the Hartford and West Hartford Horse Railroad Company, to extend its line along Canal Street, through Meadow Street to Main Street and so to Plainville. Among the stipulations and restrictions were: the surface of the roadbed to be level with the roadway, the turnouts should not narrow the existing road, and no snow should be piled onto the traveled highway from the railroad tracks. October 5, 1902 - five years later - the townspeople voted that "the owners (of the rail- road) remove the rails and ties of the discontinued trolley road on the highway leading to Plainville from Farmington, within 15 days," the road having been unprofitable during its ex- istence.
At the business meeting in October 1897, the high school in the Union School District was constituted a high school to conform to the requirements of the Public Acts of that year, and "the branches shall be taught in said School which are prescribed by the State Board of Education under said Act."
Also at that meeting the assessors were instructed to assess all property in the town at its actual valuation. This would lead one to believe that some of the property had been assessed at such a low figure there had been protests. The tax was still relatively low - twelve mills on the dollar. With the cost of schools, particularly, increasing greatly each year, either valua- tion had to go up, or the tax would.
At a Special Town Meeting July 17, 1899, there had as yet been no results in the matter of street lighting with electricity, and after some discussion at this meeting, involving the legality of the call, the meeting adjourned without appropriating money for the cost of lighting the streets. Two years later, there was still opposition to the efforts of the Village Improvement So- ciety, for at a Special Town Meeting held July 8, 1901, it was voted that all previous votes concerning the lighting of the
Charles Brandegee Only known photograph
279
Charles Brandegee
streets by electricity and any and all appropriations for the same, be rescinded, and now, satisfied with keeping things as they had been in the past, the town fathers adjourned.
At the annual town meeting held September 25, 1899, the townsmen voted to "appoint a committee to examine Scott Swamp Cemetery with view of enlarging the same and with power to enclose the land," but frugally limited the committee to the sum of one hundred dollars.
At the same meeting a vote was passed authorizing the select- men to convey to Hillside Cemetery Association, land as described, to be used for burial purposes, said land owned by the town and "bounded north by Minnie A. Colt, East by Payne, South by Farmington Avenue and West by Fire District land and land of Christ Church Parish."
Also the use of the town halls twice each year to the Far- mington Fire Company and Cowles Hook and Ladder Com- pany, provided they pay the janitor's expenses.
On November 23, 1899 the Farmington Street Railway Company was ordered to relocate its tracks. On July 8, 1905 and on August 29, 1905 the selectmen again ordered such reloca- tion at various points along Farmington Avenue.
The first general index of the Land Records was ordered May 31, 1899 and Mr. Brandegee was authorized to do the work. Many years later he said "I want no monument when I am gone - these record books are the only memorial I care about."
When Sarah Porter died February 17, 1900, one of the most notable persons in Farmington history was mourned and hon- ored, in death, as she would not have wanted to be honored in life. But death had taken only the least important part. No one could live in Farmington, even forty years after her death, without being conscious of her life, her all-pervading person- ality and her enduring influence.
Her life, her influence and her personality probably reached and inspired more lives than that of any other one of Farm- ington's residents, not even excepting the long ministry of her father, Dr. Noah Porter.
When the Parish House, built by subscriptions raised by
1
280
Farmington Town Clerks and Their Times
Miss Porter's former pupils, was presented to the First Ecclesi- astical Society, foremost educators in the East paid tribute to her life and work. Each speaker sought to explain the essence of Miss Porter's success. For success it was. Not of accumu- lated riches, nor of public acclaim, but of a goal reached, an ideal fulfilled, a life worked out according to plan.
No better words can be written of Sarah Porter than those spoken on the 28th day of October, 1902, at the dedication of the Parish House: "To the leader, the example, the friend of those who built it for the greater glory of God and to com- memorate the enduring influences which, as her pupils, they intend, as far as in them lies, shall never diminish among Amer- ican women."
Presiding was William Milligan Sloane, L.H.D., L.L.D. Columbia University. Following singing of the Doxology, the Rev. James Gibson Johnson, D.D., pastor of the church, read part of the 17th chapter of the Gospel by St. John. The first speaker was Robert Porter Keep, Ph.D., of Norwich, Con- necticut, father of the present head of Miss Porter's School. He said in part:
. It is not an unimportant circumstance that Miss Porter's direct ancestor, six generations back of herself, was Robert Porter, one of the eighty-four proprietors of this town, and one of the seven who organized this church. Robert Porter was the son of a nonconformist minister in England, and the date of the formation of Farmington church was only three years later than the execution of Charles I of England. Miss Porter's grandfather, Noah Porter, was a man who enjoyed universal respect. He was a farmer of comfortable means, and he lived on the plains to the west of the town, near the Pine Woods .... Dr. Porter, Miss Porter's father, was a man whose life of 85 years I believe to have been almost without a flaw.'
"Clearness of mind, power of thought, calmness of judgment, strength of constitution, were parts of Miss Porter's inheritance from her father. Nor was her debt less important to her mother, Hetty Meigs, of Middletown, for from her came a vivacity which was somewhat lacking in the Porter temperament. Miss Porter would hardly have been able, without the Meigs in-
Miss Sarah Porter
28I
Charles Brandegee
heritance, to touch by her perfect sympathy, so quickly and so strongly, her innumerable pupils. Of the seven children in the Porter household, Noah and Sarah were the nearest in age and they were very closely united in intellectual sympathy. President Porter was born in 1811, Sarah in 1813. Miss Porter, like all her father's other children, attended Mr. Hart's Acad- emy in the village, and she studied the same studies and in the same way as her three brothers, who all went to Yale. Her one opportunity for study, away from home, was the year she spent at New Haven in 1832, when she attended the school of Dr. E. A. Andrews, the compiler of Andrews' Latin Dictionary, and the editor of a series of Latin classics. This year in New Haven gave Miss Porter a foundation on which she was able to build the self-directed studies of her subsequent life. She lived while in New Haven at the house of Professor Goodrich, one of the most influential Yale professors, and the acquaint- ances which she formed, and especially the familiarity which she gained with the thought and life of a college town, were very important to her. . . . Miss Porter's activity seemed to be without friction. She wasted no time. Important things were done with the same quickness and ease as little things. Distinc- tion between easy things and difficult things seemed hardly to exist for her. I mean that she seemed to do each with equal ease. I never heard her speak of being burdened or hurried. . . . Miss Porter's influence upon a great variety of pupils was largely due to the fact that she had something distinctive to give to each one whom she met. It was due, in other words, to the breadth and depth of her own nature. Her points of contact with people were very numerous. The secret of her freshness of mind was her habit of making continual additions to her knowledge. Her teaching never used up all her energy; she always prosecuted her own studies and her own reading. No teacher was ever more deeply interested in all her pupils, or more truly lived for them. At the same time, it is equally true that she fed the springs of her own life from sources outside of school. Of course, the power to do this was partly due to won- derful elasticity of constitution, to her ability to work long hours without giving out from fatigue; but this very power
282
Farmington Town Clerks and Their Times
again was due to her serenity of nature, to her refusal to be disturbed by petty cares.
. . Miss Porter refused to take discouraged or discouraging views in regard to human nature, in regard to public men, and in regard to public affairs. She believed the best things of those who were her pupils. The more complicated the responsibility which wealth and social connections were certain to bring to her pupils in after years, the more important she felt it to be that she should awaken them, while in her care, to true intel- lectual effort, to self-direction, to a sense of responsibility for others, to the great idea of service; and she was successful in so awakening them."
The next speaker was Thomas D. Seymour, L.L.D., of Yale University whose father had been lecturer at Miss Porter's School. He said in part :... "We say to ourselves and each other that Miss Porter was the ablest, strongest woman we ever knew. I shall not attempt to analyze the source of this power, but in returning to the scene of her life, on this occasion which is in her honor, I am glad to recall some of my thoughts of her. | As is often true, the peculiar secret of Miss Porter's power lay in the very unusual combination of elements in her mind and character .... We all know that she was ready to take charge of any class in her school at a moment's notice. . . . Personally, I can not imagine Miss Porter as happy at the head of even the best woman's college, and if she were there I think she would continue true to her principle, that woman was born for the home rather than for any so-called vocation, and at any rate she would prefer to guide the thoughts of those who would direct homes rather than those who would direct business enterprises."
The Hymn "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" was sung, and followed by an address by Dr. John H. Wright, L.L.D., Harv- ard University, who was in turn followed by Dr. George Ladd, successor of Dr. Noah Porter in the Chair of Philosophy in Yale University. The presentation of the Parish House was made by William Milligan Sloane who said, in part: " ... The personal obligation which Miss Porter's pupils feel they know ! can never be repaid, but it can be humbly acknowledged, and
283
Charles Brandegee
it is in acknowledgment of that obligation that they have erected this beautiful and appropriate memorial. They knew her as a patriot woman who faithfully, in her educational work, served her generation and her country. ... Being herself a living flame, a vital soul, her intimate talk was a pure delight, her friendship a restorer, her affection a comfort. She was utterly indifferent to wealth, except as it was a power for righteousness; to dress, except as it expressed simplicity; to social standing, except as it was a means of high example. All this she exempli- fied in every way. .
Dr. Johnson said in his acceptance: " .. . It is with a feeling of loving loyalty to Miss Porter that we take upon ourselves such responsibilities as are involved in the acceptance of your offering. I very well recall on my first visit to Farmington being taken by Miss Porter in her carriage to see the village and its beautiful surroundings. She knew the name of every hill and distant summit, and we lingered wherever the view was most charming. As we came again into the village street and passed the ancient structure which stood in this place, which had been changed and adapted to its many uses during its long life, I saw that its remaining life was doubtless short, and, with her father and distinguished brother in mind, I said: "There is an admirable place for a memorial chapel.' She replied at once, 'Yes, that will come in good time.' We shall go our various ways today, more sure than ever of the continuing influence of that noble and beautiful character and more grateful for it."
The prayer of dedication was offered by Dr. Frank Knight Sanders, followed by the hymn, "Love Divine, All Love Excelling" and the benediction, by Dr. Johnson.
Sarah Porter had three sisters, Rebecca Ann, who married John R. Keep of Franklin, New York, and the Misses Maria and Elizabeth Porter, and three brothers, Noah, who later became president of Yale University, Edward and Giles Meigs. They were all born in the brick house built by their father, Dr. Noah Porter at his marriage, and still standing on Main Street. Here Sarah Porter and her sisters Maria and Elizabeth, lived all their lives. Sarah Porter did some teaching in Spring-
284
Farmington Town Clerks and Their Times
field, Massachusetts, Philadelphia and Buffalo in the decade following her studies in New Haven. About 1842 she returned to Farmington and began teaching a few of the village girls. It was at her father's suggestion that she took other girls from without the town and lived with them in rented rooms. Her unusual education, her experience in teaching and travel, to- gether with the social prestige of her entire family, soon at- tracted eager and able pupils, and the results of her contact with them soon brought more applications. The first school room was in the stone store, later burned. Miss Porter pur- chased in 1884, from the Farmington Female Seminary Asso- ciation, the first school building on Mountain Road to be occu- pied by her as a school. As the school continued to grow, the big hotel, now the Main House, already leased for several years, as a boarding school, was purchased in 1866, soon to be followed by the purchase of all of the surrounding houses. Income from the school was re-invested in all that would make the school : home-like, healthy, comfortable and conducive to study, char- ! acter building and appreciation of simplicity and gentleness.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.