USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Farmington > Farmington town clerks and their times (1645-1940) > Part 33
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His land was purchased from John Wilson, husband of Sarah (Hooker) Wilson, 1662.
In those early years a woman with a husband living could not dispose of her own property. Thus it was neces- sary for John Wilson to record as his own, having received it from Sarah, the farm left to Sarah Hooker by Governor Edward Hopkins in his will 1657.
As has been explained in descriptions of other homesteads, abutting property owners are not always clear in the earliest records as deeds were not always submitted to the town clerk for
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recording until many years had elapsed, unless a transfer of property was being made. But we find that the Hopkins farm with mesuage or tenement, or- chards, gardens was bounded on the north by land of Rev. Roger Newton. Just where that line was we cannot know now, as a lane from the Pequa- buck River to the Porter Swamp divided the Newton land and eventu- ally became a boundary. When John and Sarah Wilson sold this farm to John Root the north boundary was land of Rev. Samuel Hooker who had lived on the Newton land since 1661. There is no other record of the land being acquired by Rev. Samuel Hooker.
It may have been that in the tene- ment, or farm house, on the Hopkins- Wilson land, the meetings of the church members were held following the re- moval of their first pastor Rev. Roger Newton, as Julius Gay says there is a carefully preserved tradition that meet- ings were held in the house belonging to Sarah (Hooker) Wilson. A house not otherwise occupied would have been more convenient for the growing parish than the average home with its family life. John and Sarah Wilson did not live there as they had lived in Medfield, Massachusetts since 1651, when Rev. John Wilson accepted the pastorate of the first church there serving for forty years as its first pastor.
The Root homestead has been in the family since that time until November 1941, when it was purchased by Mrs. Anne Burr Lewis, owner of the house on the corner of the original property, also owner of the old Hart-Deming house on Main Street across from the Congregational Church, and the house next south of the Root homestead, on the site of the John Warner dwelling- house.
RICHARD SEYMOUR son of Richard Seymour of Hartford and brother of Zachary, and John, was born about 1648. He married Hannah, daughter of Matthew Woodruff of Farmington. He was made a freeman 1669 and was one of the body of proprietors of Farming- ton in 1672. He led the Great Swamp Settlement in 1686 and was captain of
the fort there. In 1710 he was killed by the fall of a tree.
His mother Mercy Seymour married John Steel November 25, 1655, as his second wife, bringing her three minor sons to Farmington with her. Her hus- band's will dated July 29, 1655 was proved October 25, 1655.
John Seymour married Mary Watson and settled in Hartford.
ZACHARY SEYMOUR son of Richard Seymour of Hartford lived on the high- way leading to Hartford on land bought of Abraham Dibell. Mountain Spring Road bordered his land on the west and his neighbor on the east in 1672 was Samuel North. The record gives 'William Corby' on the east illustrating again the difficulty of keeping bound- aries in chronological order, as we know that Corbe sold this land to North in 1666. At least six years elapsed be- tween the date of transaction and the recording of the land.
Seymour was made a freeman 1669. Records of law suits in the County Court show that he was engaged in trade in the Barbadoes. He removed to Wethersfield and married there February 9, 1688, Mary, daughter of widow Mary Gritt. He died there August 1702, aged 60 years.
JOHN SCOVILL or SCOBIL married Sarah Barnes March 29, 1666. His land in Farmington recorded 1674 was between that of John Cowles and the 'meting house' which would make it about between the present Churchill and Holcombe houses. Scovill removed to Haddam, selling his house lot and dwelling to John Cowles.
EDWARD STEBBINS an original proprietor and settler in Hartford and Farmington had a daughter Elizabeth who married (1) Robert Willson who died 1655 and (2) Thomas Cadwell of Hartford, in 1658.
Stebbins sold his home in Farmington in 1659 to Isaac Moore. It was a one acre piece with a spring on it and was about opposite the home of Miss Florence Gay.
Stebbins of Hartford was on var- ious committees for the public good,
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concerning building a house of correc- tion, conserving corn, and was ap- pointed by the Commissioners to collect a yearly contribution for the maintenance of 'scolars at Cambridge'.
He was appointed in 1662 as adminis- trator of the estate of Mrs. Dorothy (Hooker) Chester widow of John Chester and sister of Rev. Thomas Hooker. In the wills of Edward Stebbins and of his wife Frances, reference was made to "son, Mr. John Chester now living in or near London" who had married their eldest daughter.
Stebbins was one of the prominent and more wealthy men of the colony. He was constable, (an important office in those years when the constable was the nearest representative of the law and crown), deputy at various times, leather sealer and named on the Com- mittee to consider Endicott's 'defacing the colors' May 1635.
Edward Stebbins was the original owner of the site of the present Far- mington Museum. In 1653 he sold land consisting of five acres to Isaac Moore who later acquired other land on present High Street, exchanging a five acre piece with John Standley, his brother-in-law. Here Standley built his home about 1665.
EDMUND SCOTT was one of the earliest settlers in Farmington, his homestead of thirteen acres with dwell- inghouse, orchards and gardens being recorded February 1650. This was bought of George Orvis and was just south of the home of Dr. Daniel Porter. Dr. Porter lived next north of the old red school house now owned by George Keller, and Edmund Scott lived next south, his house being where John Wollenberg now lives. Mrs. Ottilie Dickinson Mason, a direct descendant of Edmund Scott, remembers the old house which she says was very similar in construction to the Farmington Museum, with slantback roof, over- hanging second story and with pend- ants. The house remained in a bad state of disrepair and was used as a storage house and was a gathering place for boys until it was razed. The house now occupied by Gustave Wol- lenberg was built by Captain Elisha
Scott in 1785 whose son Erastus Scott was Mrs. Mason's grandfather.
Edmund Scott married Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Upson, and the George Orvis homestead which stood about where the Farmington Lodge now stands (later Gridley property), was sold by Elizabeth, widow of George Orvis, to Elizabeth (Upson) Scott, with the following agreement, not dated: "The which house and land by an agreement between Edmund Scott and Elizabeth his wife, shall belong to those children that the said Elizabeth had before she was marryed to the said Edmund and to those born that are the said Edmunds and Elizabeths to- gether to be divided equally at the end of the naturall life of the said Edmund Scott and Elizabeth his wife".
Elizabeth Scott bought the property and evidently intended that children of Edmund Scott by previous marriage should not inherit.
SAMUEL STEELE who removed to Wethersfield in 1685 was the only living son of John Steele at the time of his father's death in 1665, another son John having died 1653. Under the terms of his father's will, Samuel Steel had confirmed to him the house and tenement given him at the time of his marriage to Mary Boosey. Samuel was also given a silver bowl with three stamps on it and an S, one half of his father's books, his gold scales and weights. He lived on the east side of the (Main street) Town Path about where E. I. Taylor now lives and with his father owned a larger tract of land back of his home extending toward High street and fronting an most of the northern half of that street.
THOMAS SCOTT made a freeman in Massachusetts March 4, 1634/5 re- moved to Hartford with the first set- tlers and was an original proprietor there. He was one of the committee appointed by the General Court Janu- ary 16, 1639 "to view those parts of Tunxis Sepus (Farmington) which may be suitable for a plantation". His daughter Mary married November 7, 1644 Robert Porter and his daughter Sarah married December 15, 1645 John
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Standly. His land in the Lower meadow, without a house, he gave to John Standly. He died in Hartford Novem- ber 6, 1643. This is one of the earliest records of the transfer of land in Farmington.
JOHN STANDLY arrived in New England 1634 aged ten. His father John "died in the way to New England" and we hear nothing of his mother, who probably died in England before his departure. The father, John was bap- tized December 28, 1603, son of John and Susan (Lancock) Stanley of Ash- ford, Kent, England. He had a sister Ruth and a younger brother who died within the year. The father, John, had sailed with his two brothers, Timothy and Thomas and they each took one of the orphaned children to bring them up as their own. Timothy Standly took his niece Ruth and Thomas took young John. Captain John as he was soon known born 1624, married December 5, 1645 Sarah daughter of Thomas Scott. She died June 26, 1661 and he married (2nd) Sarah daughter of John Fletcher of Milford. John Standly had an exciting and illustrous career. He was deputy to the General Court 1659- 1696 and a soldier in the Indian War 1676. His first recorded purchase of land in Farmington was meadow or farm land. The record is dated 1645 and the land was purchased from William Goodwin. His son John who became a doctor was born November, 1647, his son Isaac was born September 22, 1660, and Timothy was born 1653. Captain John Standly lived 1651 on the Town Path or Main Street just next north of Robert Porter (whose wife Mary was sister to Sarah Standly), about in the corner of Porter Road and Main Street. Later his home was on Mountain Road halfway between Main and High Streets and his land em- braced nearly one-third of High Street with equal depth. Half of this land was exchanged with Isaac Moore, who had married Ruth Standly, John's sister. The record of this land belonging to John Standly is dated 1677, but the exchange had been made some years previous. In this exchange Standly had taken land on the east side of High
Street in exchange for a large piece of his own land on the west side of High Street which he gave to Isaac Moore.
John Standly took land on the east side of High Street extending to the edge of the mountain. Here, after his marriage to Sarah Fletcher, he built the house which is now the Farmington Museum. Captain Standly died 1706. He willed the one-half of the home- stead to his widow Sarah for her use during her lifetime, with half of the beds, cattle, barns and one-half to his son Isaac stipulating that Isaac should have the "south end or rooms of my dwelling house by Isaac Cowles home lot". Isaac Cowles lived where Norton Smith now lives.
ยท In 1711, Isaac sold all of his interest in the homestead to his brother Dr. John Standly who sold six acres and house to Ebenezer Steel in 1720. Mr. Steel willed the house to his daughter Mary (Steel) Smith wife of Thomas Smith 1722 and February 24, 1735/6 Mary and Thomas Smith sold the house and six acres to the Rev. Samuel Whit- man who had been pastor of the Far- mington church since 1706. January 12, 1708/9 his son Elnathan was born and two months later, on March 9, 1708/9 he married Mrs. Sarah Stoddard. Their son Solomon was born April 20, 1710 and when Solomon married Susannah Cole December 17, 1736 his father gave him the Standly house on Mountain Road.
Rev. Samuel Whitman died July 31, 1751. The Stanley house on High Street remained in the Whitman family, sometimes in a bad state of repair, until appreciated and repaired and used for a country home within the last fifty years. On December 1, 1839 Ann Sophia Whitman married Henry Farnum, thus bringing the property into the Farnum family. In 1922 the house was pur- chased by Mr. D. Newton Barney who, after completely restoring it and mak- ing the structure fireproof, founded and endowed the Farmington Museum. Only articles of authentic Farmington value are accepted. A small charge for admission is made. The Museum since its organization has been in the care of Miss Mary Mccarthy as curator. Mrs.
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Austin Dunham Barney is now chair- man of the Museum committee.
WILLIAM SMITH an early settler of Farmington, on or before 1655 bought the homestead of Thomas Dymon at the corner of present Main Street and Hartford Road where the Memorial Park now is, Dymon going to the moun- tain back of Colton Street, or 'ould road to Mill' to live.
William Smith died 1669. He proba- bly came from Wethersfield. In Decem- ber 1644 Will: Smith was on the jury before the Particular Court and July 9th, 1645 he was chosen 'Clarke of the band for that town (Wethersfield) and to vewe the Arms'.
He left a large family and a widow. One of his sons, Jobama, was killed in the engagement known as the "Falls Fight" at Turner's Falls above Green- field on May 19th, 1677. Another son Samuel a weaver, married March 24, 1687, Ruth Porter. They had a son Thomas who married January 14, 1724/5 Mary daughter Ebenezer Steele, and who were owners for a few years of the house now the Museum.
It is considered extremely likely that the Gleason house, so-called, now back of Mrs. Balazy's house on Main Street, is the original Smith house. Isham and Brown have dated it as an excellent example of the 17th century overhang and estimated that it was built about 1660. The house has been moved from its original site and at one time was used as a barn, later remodeled into a house. Mary Smith, a descendant of William, married Isaac Gleason. She inherited the land and her brothers, Samuel and Thomas the house, from the estate of their brother William. Samuel purchased the land, built a new house now occupied by William A. Hitchcock and converted the old Gleason or Smith house into a barn. This new house he gave to his daughter, Mary Ann Steele Smith who married Horace Cowles. Their son, Samuel Smith Cowles inherited the property. For a few years his sister Mary Ann Cowles Hardy lived there. The house next south was built by Thomas Smith and was near the street until moved back and enlarged. It is now owned
and occupied by George M. Williams.
The first record we find of THOMAS THOMSON is in 1646 when he re- ceived as a wedding gift the land at the corner of Main Street and Bridge Street with a dwelling house standing thereon, on the occasion of his marriage April 14, 1646 to Ann Welles, daughter of Governor Thomas Welles. Governor Welles had this land recorded as his own, and in the deed of gift, one-half was to his son Thomas and one-half to Thomas Thomson. Thomas Thomson was one of the seven men who organ- ized the Church of Christ October 13, 1652. He died April 25, 1655 and before May 6, 1656 his widow Ann had mar- ried Mr. Anthony Hawkins, a wealthy and prominent resident who lived on the south side of Hartford road on what is now the Carey property.
JOHN TALCOTT, an original pro- prietor and settler of Hartford and an original proprietor of Farmington, but did not live here. No house was recorded in the description of his land, which was among the earliest. He was son of Governor Talcott and brother of John Steel's first wife. His land was in the Pequabuck meadow and "the elbow" and was sold in 1665 to Moses Ventrus. He also owned a five acre piece bounded north on the Pequabuck river and south and east by his friends Samuel Wyllys and Rev. Roger Newton which he sold to Richard Brownson.
In 1650 John 'Tallycotte' had land on Town Street just north of that of John Lankton, making it approxi- mately between Oldgate and Smith Street.
THOMAS UPSON was one of the earliest settlers and proprietors in Farmington. He married in Hartford on January 23, 1646/7, Elizabeth Fuller who was his second wife. He died July 19, 1655 and his widow married Edmund Scott, the first of a long line of the Scott family in Farmington. Thomas Upson's home lot and dwell- ing house was on the west side of Main Street extending to the Farmington river, and it embraced most of the por- tion of the Porter school just south
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of the Main Building. The north half of . the Upson home lot was sold to Thomas Newell - later John Lee pur- chased the entire homestead when he married Mary, daughter of Deacon Stephen Hart.
Thomas Upson was the founder of a large family of descendants, who have formed themselves into an Upson Family Association. A monument in the old burying ground on Main Street was erected and dedicated to the memory of Thomas Upson by the Upson Family Association, August 17, 1935.
MOSES VENTRUS lived where now stands St. Patrick's church on Main Street. He bought the land partly of Nathaniel Watson, John North and Matthew Woodruff with land 'formerly of Nicholas Mason, later of Thomas Barnes' on the south. Moses Ventrus' son Moses lived there also. Moses Sr. died in Farmington 1697. He was made a freeman of the colony May 1651.
WILLIAM VENTRUS lived where now stand the Noah Wallace school and the two corner houses belonging to the school district. He had three children: Mare, born 1665, William, born 1655 and John born 1657. H later removed to Haddam. He was made a freeman of the colony May, 1654.
MR. SIMON WROTHUM (Rothum) lived on Main Street about where the H. H. Mason house, now the home of John Crawford, stands. He had a twenty acre tract of land given him by the town November 18, 1673 and on October 19, 1674 the town gave him "the east side of the mountayne near the east side of his Loot. A true coppi out of ye ould booke by me William Lewis Register April 18, 1685". On January 5, 1673 the town "then granted unto Mr. Simon Wrothum the land that was due to Thomas Hosmer ac- cording to ye grand Leavey in ye year 72 provided he settle in ye towne".
Just why Simon Wrothum bore the unusual title of "Mr." is not clear. That was usually reserved for ministers or men of outstanding achievement.
Simon Wrothum was made a freeman of the colony May 1654.
In 1676 he served as a soldier in the Indian War and some of the land granted him by the town may have been in the nature of a soldier lot. After difficulties with the church and council he appealed to the General Court to have the church and council summoned before him. This the General Court refused to do, advising him to a serious reconsideration of his ways. The church excommunicated him. He died 1689. His wife died November 30, 1684. His daughter Elizabeth married Thomas Newell November 5, 1679 and Novem- ber 25, 1679 his daughter Susana married Samuel Hough.
JOHN WEBSTER, governor of Con- necticut Colony 1656, prominent in the affairs in the Colony was an original proprietor and settler in Hartford and an original proprietor of Farmington. He left Hartford in 1659 following the dissension in the church after the death of Thomas Hooker and settled in Hadley where he died 1661. His land in Farmington was twenty acres of meadow which he gave to his son Mathew Webster February 1650. It was just north of "Indian Land".
THOMAS WEBSTER, third son of Governor John Webster, was of North- field Massachusetts and had land on Town Path which he sold in 1651 to John Standley. It was located about halfway between present Mountain Road and Porter Road on the west side of the street.
He died in Northfield 1686.
MATHEW WEBSTER, eldest son of Governor John Webster had land in Farmington as an original proprietor, on Bridge Street or the road to North Meadow Gate, about on the site of the Dr. Chauncey Brown house, now the property of Mrs. Eleanor Bartlett Skinner. Webster sold this house lot before 1666 to Joseph Woodford. Webster was made a freeman in 1645. He also had ninety-six acres in Great Meadow and twenty acres north of 'Indian Land'.
In 1665 Webster conveyed his land
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in Great Meadow to Mathew Woodruff and as a consideration Mathew Wood- ruff was to 'maintain' Webster's son John, an impotent child, and it was stipulated that the deed should not be recorded. However the deed was recorded in the Farmington Land Records on page 11 of volume 1. The Woodford Genealogy has this item as pertaining to that family.
JOSEPH WOODFORD had land on the Hartford Road next that of his father-in-law, Thomas Newell which he had bought of Matthew Webster in 1666. His dwelling house stood on 'the highway leading into the meadow' now the corner of Hartford road and College highway.
Thomas Newell lived next west, the two houses probably being rather close together. Joseph Woodford married Rebekah, daughter of Thomas and Rebekah (Olmstead) Newell. In 1706 he sold his Farmington home to Samuel Newell, his brother-in-law and removed to Avon where he founded the Wood- ford farm and family in that town. In his will he appointed his 'brother' Samuel Newell as one of the overseers of his estate. He had eight daughters and one son Joseph. The son inherited the farm.
Samuel Newell married 1683 Mary, daughter of Stephen Hart. Samuel had already received by deed of gift, the homestead of his father Thomas, thereby giving him the entire lot of ten acres with the two houses.
Joseph Woodford died 1710. His will was dated 1701.
THOMAS WELLES, governor of Con- necticut in 1655 and 1658 was an original proprietor of Farmington being among the first to have a house lot recorded. It was the first lot on the north end of the Town Path and ex- tended from the road to the Farmington river. His land, with a dwelling house on it was given as a wedding present to his daughter Anne when she married Thomas Thomson April 14, 1646. She married (2) Anthony Howkins of Farmington as his second wife.
The deed for the conveyance of the house was executed on parchment, but
was not recorded until 1713, when it was brought by Captain Joseph Hawley Welles great grandson to be recorded. The house stood until 1783 when it was replaced by the present one built by Daniel Curtiss.
SAMUEL WYLLYS, OR WILLIS, son of Governor George Wyllys was born 1632, graduated from Harvard College 1653, married 1654 to Ruth, daughter of Governor John Haynes. He died 1709. His land in Farmington was on Town Path, now Main Street, just north of Diamond Glen Brook, on the northwest corner of Main and Tunxis Streets. The house is now owned and occupied by the family of the late Charles Stanley Mason. Date of erec- tion of the house is given by Isham and Brown as 1660. Samuel Wyllys inher- ited the land from his father in 1644/5, selling to Thomas Orton in 1655. In the event that the house was built in 1660, it was built by Thomas Orton as he was owner of the land at that time. The record reads: "One psell on which his dwelling house with other houses standeth containing by estimation tenn acres butting to ye east on the highway (Main Street) on ye west on the Little River (Pequabuck) to ye north on John Warners house lot and to ye south on John Lanktons land." Orton sold the ten acres with house and buildings in 1665 to John Wadsworth.
The house was divided by a later owner, probably while in the Wads- worth family, and the north half moved to the north. It was remodeled by C. S. Mason and is now a modern colonial house, made from the ancient one. The chimney half has inside panel- ing, a huge chimney and the overhang- ing second story with drop pendants.
The house was in the Wadsworth family for 182 years until sold by the estate of Sidney Wadsworth to Egbert Cowles in 1847.
ANDREW WARNER was prominent in Cambridge where he was made a freeman in 1633, and was a deacon in the First Church there in 1634. He was in Hadley with Elder William Goodwin in 1659 and died there 1684. He was an original proprietor of Farmington
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but did not live here. His land was at the south end of Town Path, (Main Street) and was sold to Dr. Daniel Porter.
He also owned twelve acres on the Mountain near the Brownson mill which he sold before Feb. 12, 1670 to Stephen Hart senior.
DANIEL WARNER an original pro- prietor of Farmington lived at the south end of the Town Path where William Willard now lives. He sold his land and buildings to John Langton.
JOHN WARNER was twenty years of age when he arrived in New England on the "Increase" in April 1635. He was a soldier and served in the Pequot War. He was an original proprietor and settler in Farmington and joined the First church here in March 15, 1656/7, was made a freeman 1664 and in 1673 went to view Mattatuck, (Waterbury) with the intention of settling there. However, he died in Farmington 1679. His home in Farmington was next south of the John Roote place and is now owned by Anne Burr Lewis and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. William Hoppin, Jr. John Warner's first wife is unknown, his second marriage was to Ann, daughter of Thomas Norton of Guilford, and at his death he left a widow, Margaret. His children named in his will were Daniel, John, Thomas, and Sarah who married William Hig- gison and remained on the ancestral estate. His homestead as recorded January 1674 was part of Mr. Samuel Willis' home lot, indicating that Willis had lived there before removing to Mattabeset (Middletown).
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