USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Farmington > Farmington town clerks and their times (1645-1940) > Part 27
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credulous listener was his delight - his stories would know no bounds.
If he had a favorite author, among all those he knew so well, it was O. Henry. Mr. Brandegee and O. Henry were very much akin - they loved people.
It was a happy and profitable life, with a peaceful end. After less than a year away from home, Charles Brandegee went to sleep the night of September 22, 1927, and did not waken. His ashes were buried in Maple Cemetery, Berlin, October 1, 1927.
His daughter, Hildegard Brandegee Livingstone, and her three sons survive him.
RECORDS AND REMINISCENCES
Makel S. Hurlhurt
1926-1943
When I was very young, we lived on Federal Hill in Bristol, and one of our favorite Sunday afternoon walks was to the end of Woodland Street and into the woods. After many adventures there, we always came to the edge of the Hill and looked out to the northeast, toward Farmington. There we played the game of trying to be first to see the spire of the Farmington Congregational Church. Sometimes father would win, and sometimes, I suspect, he let me win. Then he would tell me again about the church and town. I always wanted to hear more and I learned then, as so many others have, even before I had seen the town where my roots were very deep, to love its traditions and partly understand why Farmington stands apart. Thirty years later, when the town records for nearly 300 years were given into my keeping they were not just statistics of a people who had been born, loved and died, nor were the land records a chronicle of barter and trade. They were the records of the lives of my people, and what I read between the lines, I have tried to show in previous chapters.
Events of the past eighteen years are too fresh in the minds of all of us, to require here, more than a passing word. We have had our great hurricane, our Tercentenary and now we are going through our greatest War. If it seems to us that there is nothing else of particular interest - that the present does not hold as much of historical value as the past - that the most vital things have happened in other years and to other people - it may be that it is our vision that is out of focus and only the gentle but inexorable hand of time can give us our true place, with others, in history.
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Among the important events in Farmington in the past few years is the very business-like financial setup of the town, whereby all income and expenditure is carefully planned under the chairmanship of Austin D. Barney of the board of finance and administered by E. C. Swan, first selectman. Mr. Swan de- votes most of each day to the office, giving the town a thought- ful and thorough administration above and beyond the com- paratively small salary he receives.
Farmington has seen many changes in its outlying districts. The village itself has altered little, but many of the once great farms have been divided into residential developments. At first some of these new districts cost the town money for roads, lights, schooling and transportation. As homes were built and improved, the increased revenue in taxes has more than offset the expenditures of other years and the town is on a sound finan- cial basis with a comparatively low tax rate.
The devastating hurricane of September 21, 1938, was Farm- ington's greatest calamity, although the damage here was small compared with that of other towns. By a peculiar freak of the wind, trees on both sides of the streets fell away from the houses and although the streets were impassable, houses were not damaged. The deluge of rain turned every road into a river and the Farmington River into a raging monster that took bridges, houses and embankments and swept them into crazy- looking piles of debris. With the loss of all communications, it was well into the evening before the extent of the catastrophe was known. A new bridge had to be built over the river in Un- ionville and the local Red Cross and several private charities took a hand in relieving those who were temporarily without homes near the river. For the next few days every one turned their hand toward cleaning up the impassable streets and the littered grounds. For two weeks there was no electricity and Farmington residents went back to rather primitive methods for lighting and cooking. The hurricane and its aftermath was the sole topic of conversation for much more than nine days.
Soon after the first World War, Herbert Knox Smith fore- told the present conflict with almost uncanny accuracy. Mr. Smith occasionally addressed an open meeting of the Farm-
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ington League of Women Voters, of which Mrs. Smith was founder and president, and with a map of the world before us, he would point out the growing need of Germany, in the next generation, for expansion both for population and trade and he foretold what we are now seeing - the most devastating of wars and the most widespread. The next war, he thought, would be the result of unfair reparations, and the total lack of security among the nations then involved. Mr. Smith was a lawyer, a corporation counsel and a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt's. More than all that, he was possessed of vision and , an analytical mind beyond that of most men. He and his brother Ernest Walker Smith were sons of Rev. Edward A. Smith, pastor of the Congregational Church from 1874 to 1888.
When Winchell Smith built his beautiful new home at the junction of the Pequabuc and Farmington Rivers, he brought I a new influence, a new manner of living to Farmington. His great success with stage productions and motion pictures, his financial independence and his cosmopolitism never failed to interest Farmington. But with it all, Mr. Smith was glad to be a country squire, glad to return to the home of his Yankee an- cestors. He purchased the old mill and continued milling flour with the ancient stones, thereby finding the appropriate name for his home - "Millstreams." Mr. Smith was generous with time and money when he approved of the request. He was most generous and interested in people whom he considered worth helping and loved to surround himself with those who could in some way, make their own contribution to life. He would discuss any subject at any time, and was my mainstay in the early days at the Hartford Times, when a special story was wanted. Not everything Mr. Smith said went into print. But his interviews, whether about the condition of Riverside Ceme- tery, where, he said, he would at least be always sure of daisies and blackberry blossoms on his grave, or an analysis of George Bernard Shaw and his plays, were all good copy. I asked him once to explain the great success of his plays, and he said it was because they entertained the public. "You must not preach," he said. "The public doesn't like that. Amuse, divert, relax, but never preach on stage or screen."
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One of my best interviews arranged through Mr. Smith, was with Michael Arlen just after the publication of his best seller, "The Green Hat." When Mr. Arlen arrived in New York on the same boat with Winchell Smith, he refused to be inter- viewed by the reporters from the New York neswpapers, who contented themselves with writing about his "wescots." When I met Michael Arlen at Mr. Smith's home a few days later, he was still rather diffident, but supported by Charles Dilling- ham, John Golden and Winchell Smith, he finally gave his one exclusive interview. It was really an interview with all four of them, three of whom knew most of the answers to anything I could ask. When I asked Mr. Arlen to explain the girl who wore the green hat, a great shout went up from all four - "Ex- plain a woman! Don't ask us to do that!" they all chorused. A story is told even now, by Mr. Smith's friends, of the day a breathless messenger arrived at the Farmington Country Club where Winchell Smith was playing golf, with a contract to be signed immediately, for the screen rights to "Secret Service." Hundreds of thousands of dollars hung in the balance, but Mr. Smith waved the contract aside until the game was finished.
Winchell Smith loved living in Farmington, but he found little to interest or stimulate him in Farmington church, social, political or suburban life. He needed a combination of relaxa- tion and inspiration which he found among his own friends and in his work. He left no children of his own and his large fortune was willed to those charities devoted to the care of children, particularly to the Newington Home for Crippled Children, of which his mother had been one of the founders. Winchell Smith was one of Farmington's most important and distin- guished residents.
Danford Newton Barney and Laura Dunham were married in the old yellow house at the junction of High Street and Hart- ford Road. They later bought the John Treadwell Norton place, long the home of generations of the Treadwell family and be- fore that of the Woodruff family. Besides the residence on the west side of Mountain Spring Road are the old red cottage and barns on the east side. All of the seventeen barns but one are now gone. The red cottage has the distinctive seventeenth cen-
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tury features of three end windows in a row, the windows close under the eaves, and the long sloping roof.
Mr. Barney landscaped the extensive grounds, planting rare trees, rose gardens and maintaining a gentleman's farm.
Although Mr. and Mrs. Barney rarely took part in political or municipal affairs, both were deeply interested in the better- ment of their town and contributed largely to funds or projects for either individual or group good. The Sarah Brandegee Barney Memorial Library, known as the Village Library, the Farmington Museum, the care of the old cemetery and River- side Cemetery were among their local interests. One of the im- portant pieces of work done through the Village Green and Library Association, was the mapping and charting of all known graves with their markers, in the old cemetery, with a copy of the map and chart in the town clerk's office. This has been of great interest and aid to genealogists and historians. Mr. and Mrs. Barney gave much toward the upkeep of the Congregational Church, insuring necessary repairs, painting and interior decorating, together with restoring the ancient hand-wrought lighting fixtures. One of the most important things done in connection with the church, was having a com- plete set of architect's drawings made of the church, from which the church could be rebuilt in the event of its destruction.
The Barney homestead is now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Austin Dunham Barney and their children.
Another Farmington resident of distinction was Honorable John Wallace Riddle, who had been ambassador to Russia and South American countries. Mr. Riddle kindly consented to an interview for the Hartford Times when I was reporter there, only stipulating that he should see the copy before it was sent in. He paid me the compliment of approving the story, which was mostly about the new and untried policies in Russia. He foretold in that interview, that Russia would have to struggle through dark years but that the people would courageously meet the great question of an altered way of living. Mr. Riddle married Theodate Pope, well-known architect, educator and philanthropist.
One little story stands out about J. B. Ryan, host for many
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a year at the Elm Tree Inn and "J.B." to all of his friends. When a new sign was needed for the Inn, he said happily, "That date of 1680 - not old enough. Let us make it 1640, the date of settlement of the Town." But I doubt if even J.B. would have had the temerity to date the Inn even before Farmington was discovered!
In 1938 another of Farmington's most historic old houses, for two generations the famous Whitman Tavern and later the home of Mrs. Charles L. Whitman, was purchased by Dr. W. W. Bunnell and moved around the corner to High Street on the lot where once stood the great barns back of the house. The house was one of those built by Judah Woodruff in 1786 for Major Peter Curtis. The Curtis family, father, son and grandson lived there, selling in 1822 to William Whitman, whose family lived there until the purchase by Dr. Bunnell.
Another old house, removed from its original foundations and come to rest on ancestral soil in 1938, is the Moses Andrews house, built in New Britain, on what was then the road to Plainville and Southington in 1745, by Joseph Root, Jr. Joseph died in 1748, following the death of his fiancée by a few months, and willed the house to his sister Lydia who later married Moses Andrews. They were the parents of nine sons, all of whom were outfitted by their mother, for service in the Revolutionary War. One died in service and the other sons were later promi- nent in New Britain civic and professional life.
The house is similar in construction to that of Joseph's father, Joseph Sr., except for the distinctive feature of a secret staircase from the sitting room to a secret room in the cellar. This was not discovered by recent generations of Andrews, having been boarded up into a closet, until the house was re- moved by the new owners, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Reardon, to its present location on the Andrews farm land on Talcott Mountain. This secret stairway is narrow and built all of brick and led to a cellar room with no windows, but with a large fire- place. The most obvious explanation is that Moses Andrews and his nine sons had secret meetings with other "Rebels" in the room designed and built by Joseph Root for protection from some other danger.
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Former Whitman Tavern Home of Dr. and Mrs. W. W. Bunnell
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Home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry F. Reardon on Talcott Notch Road Formerly known as Moses and Lydia Root Andrews Homestead when it stood on old Main Street in New Britain
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Most of the rooms are panelled, with the original floor boards, windows and fireplaces, and furnished consistently throughout with eighteenth century furniture, the only excep- tion being one sitting room devoted to primitives.
When Charles L. Whitman desired to receive Holy Baptism according to the rites of the Episcopal Church, he had to travel to Unionville to do so. At that time he asked Rev. Edward R. Brown, the rector there, to open a mission in Farmington and the first service was held in 1873 in the hall of the old Center School, which stood where the Noah Wallace School stands today. There were seventy persons present and from that date onward with rare exceptions, one service at least was held every Sunday. A year later the church was moved to new quar- ters, in a room in the stone store which stood on Main Street at the corner of Mill Lane. On October 4, 1874 the first service was held there with ninety people present and the place was used until the present building was erected in 1898. Mr. Whit- man is credited with a most generous support of the church until his death in 1886. His successor in that work, to a large extent, was Charles Stanley Mason Sr. whose son Henry Hall Mason later designed and built the present church on Mountain Road. Most of the work was done by Mr. Mason personally. The carving and finishing, as well as the architectural details were all the work of H. H. Mason, who was a life-long out- standing citizen of Farmington.
In September 1907 Rev. Charles E. Roberts became rector of the parish and served until his death in 1931. He was followed by Rev. Mark L. Brewster who resigned in 1942 to accept the Episcopal Parish in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Charles N. Lee and William A. Hooker were among the generous sup- porters of the church. In 1938 the corner stone of the new Par- ish House was laid with appropriate observance.
This Parish House, now complete, is a most valuable and convenient addition to the church.
Among the former residents of Farmington who watched and guarded the town's interest throughout a long and busy life, two of the most prominent were Adrian R. Wadsworth and Lewis C. Root, both descended from the first settlers here,
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both of whom died in the houses where they and their ancestors for nearly 300 years, had lived and died.
Lewis C. Root was an indefatigable worker for his town, church, library and any public interest as it might develop. His particular interest lay in the large farm he had inherited and the fruit industry built by him and his brother, Timothy Hart Root, many years ago developed into one of the largest in the East. His first ancestor here was John Roote, who came here in 1662.
Mr. Wadsworth too, was always vitally interested in any- thing that was for the good of his native town. He was first selectman for nearly twenty-five years, representative in the Legislature most of those years and chairman of the Republican Town Committee for forty-two years. His large farm was in continuous operation by his family since the settlement here of John Wadsworth in 1650. Mr. Wadsworth had always been actively interested in any improvement in the village. He built the Farmington Reservoir, and was an incorporator of the Farmington Savings Bank, a member of the Farmington Vil- lage Improvement Society and one of the first governors of Farmington Country Club. He was a member of the Board of Education for forty years and of the Farmington Grange for fifty years. Some of the land belonging to his farm was pur- chased from the Indians after it had been given to them by the first settlers here and has been in the family since that time. Most of the farm land is that originally allotted to John, the first settler. Mr. Wadsworth loved his town and gathered much material about the town and its people. Nothing pleased him more than to tell stories of his early years here, or to hear or read about ancient Farmington.
After serving the Congregational Church for thirty-three years as its thirteenth pastor, Rev. Quincy Blakely resigned on Easter Sunday, 1937 and now lives in West Hartford, keeping a warm and friendly interest in his parishioners of other years.
November 1938 saw the installation of Rev. Harold King as the fourteenth pastor of the church, with his father, Rev. Dr. James King, present to give the prayer of installation. Three years later, on November 11, 1941, Mr. King and Shirley
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Smith were married in the Church before a capacity crowd of friends, filling every seat and the Parish House afterward for the reception. This was the first time a pastor of the church had been married while serving here, and the townspeople made a gala occasion of it, to wish the young people well.
The war effort here has been most thoroughly organized since Pearl Harbor, with Herbert C. House as general chairman in Farmington and Thomas M. Rourke as chairman in Union- ville. Committees for disaster, evacuation, relief and both air- plane spotting and air-raid warning have been functioning under direction of the army. The Red Cross has been on full- time basis with Mrs. Mary B. Carey as chairman and Mrs. W. Norton Smith as production chairman, meeting the quota set by the national organization, whether for clothing, bandages or money.
The Women's Defense Council under the chairmanship of Mrs. John H. Thompson has organized committees on nutri- tion, transportation, war information particularly concerning Farmington men and women in service, and a volunteer bureau. The town has so far contributed $5,000 toward supplies, with many individual gifts for such needs as clothing, yarn, station wagon and equipment at the warning center and lookout station.
In May 1943 about 200 from Farmington, and 300 from Unionville were in active service.
The draft board is located in the town hall in Unionville. Members of the board are: Chairman, George F. Hanrahan, with E. C. Swan, of Farmington, William Foran of Plainville, Frank Pinches of Berlin and Kenneth Moore of Southington ind Mrs. Leo Langlois of Unionville, clerk.
In his introductory remarks at the Tercentenary observance, October 13, 1940, Mr. John H. Thompson, chairman said in part: "Three hundred years of peace and reasonable prosperity s an event in the life of any community. In a world gone mad t is a jewel to be cherished and shared. Hence, we of Farm- ngton call upon our children, our neighbors and our friends in Connecticut to rejoice with us in our Tercentenary exercises." Mr. Thompson introduced Governor Baldwin who said in part:
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"It is significant that you celebrate your 300th anniversary today. It is more than the anniversary of a town; it is the anni- versary of a people, and of a principal; the principal of freedom, of liberty, of democracy, of democracy in a Republic."
Rev. Quincy Blakely, former pastor of the church, gave the principal address which was of the history of the town, particu- larly of the past one hundred years. In his opening paragraph he said: "The year 1940 not only marks the 300th anniversary of the settling of this town, but in a general way it marks the completion of a period of three centuries in which has been de- veloped and established in this country a democratic way of life which we like to think of as the American Way. 1940 also marks the year in which democracy has received a most devas- tating blow and in which our own cherished American way of life is being fiercely and scornfully challenged. Our celebration this year, therefore, takes on a new significance. It is far more than the interest and pleasure of recalling events which have taken place in this town and tracing the course in which life has developed here, from the time when the first settlers came in 1640 to the present. In reviewing the history of Farmington we shall be able to see what were the most salient features in the development of our American life. If we can see and under- stand the character and purpose of the men and women who settled this town and directed its development, see what brought them here, see what were their hopes and ideas and dreams, see the difficulties that stood in the way of their achievement, the hardships which they endured, the gruelling labor involved, the sacrifices they made - if we can see this, we shall not only have a new appraisal of the character and worth of those men and women and a new and grateful venera- tion of their memory, but we shall have also a new understand- ing and appreciation of what we call our American way of life, shall see that the way society was organized, the principles of government which were wrought out, in miniature, here were fundamental in our American democracy. If we can get this from our Tercentenary celebration we shall be better prepared to face the challenge which this year brings. We shall have a more determined purpose to preserve our American way. . . . "
HURRICANE AFTERMATH
Upper left: The Road to Unionville from Farmington. ( Note water over bridge.) Upper right: Mountain Road, Farmington. Center: Unionville Bridge after the flood had receded. Lower left: Typical scene in the Borough of Farmington. ( Robert Porter Keep is shown surveying the damage.) Lower right: Trees down everywhere. Photo by M. S. Hurlburt
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After all too briefly reviewing Farmington history, Mr. Blakely concluded "Today we have thought back over the three centuries of Farmington's life, to those brave souls who in 1640 came through the pass in the mountains to begin their life here. May we not say of them what John Masefield has said of the Pilgrims: "They were plain men, of moderate abili- ties, who giving up all things went to live in the wilds at un- known cost to themselves in order to preserve to their children a life in the soul." We salute them. We pay grateful tribute to them. We pledge our loyalty to them and to their great pur- pose."
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UNIONVILLE IN THE PAST
Samuel Pepper was an old man when he wrote his historical sketch of Unionville in 1926. The Chamber of Commerce au- thorized the work, and paid him a salary for it. Since that time the manuscript has been laid away, waiting for the necessary editing and a further sum for defraying the costs of publication. When it was given to me to use as I might see fit, there seemed to be much material of such a specialized nature that it could only be used in certain phases of Unionville life. Much detail is given about the fire companies, intimate bits about family life of the village people, and constant comment from the writer throughout. This manuscript may later be made available to those interested. It could not be used in full here, especially as the book was already nearly finished. The most vital and worth- while facts have been transcribed and add immeasurably to the small amount of information available about Unionville .*
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