USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Sharon > General history of the town of Sharon, Litchfield County, Conn. from its first settlement, 3rd ed. > Part 13
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Smith, Rev. Cotton Mather. Many allusions have been made, in the foregoing pages, to the labors and influence of Parson Smith, in laying the foundations of society and shaping the early institutions of the town, as well as in giving impor- tance to some portions of its history. It is thought that the following extract from an address, delivered by the Rev. Abel McEwing, of New London, at the centennial of the consocia- tion of Litchfield County, in 1852, will be acceptable to the reader, as pointing out facts of history and elements of character not before alluded to. It is unfortunate that the traditional error, that Parson Smith's mother was a daughter of Cotton Mather, had not been detected before the publication of Dr. McEwing's address. She was a daughter of Atherton Mather, a cousin of Cotton Mather.
" The Rev. Cotton Mather Smith was, by the original Con- sociation of the County, ordained pastor of the church in Sharon, Aug. 23d, 1755. This office he held until his death Nov. 27th, 1806. The name of Mr. Smith excites a curiosity, especially in a New Englander, to inquire after this minister's ancestry. Had he been only Mr. Smith he might have been born anywhere, or he might have descended from some man in almost any place, but when we read or hear the title or name, Rev. Cotton Mather Smith, our mind is carried back to the very early history of New England, and to some of the chief actors in its early scenes. The paternal ancestry of this pastor of Sharon we trace back to
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his great-great-grandfather, the Rev. Henry Smith, who was a minister of the gospel in Wethersfield. He was a conspicuous actor in the memorable scene of 1639, when the inhabitants of Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield constituted themselves the commonwealth called Connecticut. England, a paternal estate and an eligible position in society, he left that in this new land he might enjoy the rights of conscience. His will, published in the Colonial Records, informs us that he died in the year 1648. His great-grandson, Samuel Smith, Esq., of Suffield, married Jerusha Mather, and who was she ?
"The daughter of Rev. Cotton Mather, of Boston, grand- daughter of the Rev. Increase Mather, and great-grand-daughter of the Rev. Richard Mather, of Dorchester, who fled from England for conscience sake. The Rev. John Cotton, the very distinguished minister of the gospel in Boston, was the father of the wife of Increase Mather, and thus the great grandfather of the lady who became Mrs. Smith, of Suffield. Her son, born October 16, 1741, she named Cotton Mather, and early did she destine him for the sacred profession of his ancestors. At Yale College, when he graduated, 1751, he was distinguished for amiable temper, bodily activity, graceful manners, industry and elegant literature. His studies preparatory for the ministry were prosecuted under the instruction of the Rev. Mr. Woodbridge, of Hatfield, Mass. He became pastor of the church in Sharon fifteen years after the first settlement of that town, having for his predecessor in office Mr Searle. When Mr. Smith preached as a candidate in Sharon, a Mr. King, called Merchant King, was an admiring hearer, and with becoming enthusiasm co-operated with the people at large in compassing the settlement of the candidate. Soon after this, however, the merchant was occasionally caught drowsing under a sermon. 'How is this ?' a neighbor enquired ; ' I thought you were an admirer of Mr. Smith.' 'Yes,' Mr. King replied ; ' I am. I attended to him until I saw that he was a workman ; since then I have given it up to him. '
"Soon after his settlement in Sharon, Mr. Smith connected himself in marriage with the second daughter of the Rev. William Worthington, of Saybrook. This lady gladdened the heart of her husband, made his household happy and respectable, and added much to the efficiency and popularity of his ministry. The children of the family were six, the youngest of whom, the only son who became an adult, was the Hon. Jolin Cotton Smith, one of the governors of Connecticut.
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At the commencement of his pastoral labors, Mr. Smith found his charge a people divided in religious opinions, in habits to a great extent immoral, and scattered over a parish nine miles by seven in its dimensions. A field for usefulness this was for a young minister, who brought into it talents and influence which were appropriate. Bland and courteous in manners, sound in religious inculcations, uncompromising in moral habits and requirements, much in his study and often in the families of his people, he harmonized and reformed their faith and social habits, and gained such hold of their hearts that they retained his ministry, and gave deference to his counsels, to the close of his life. Somewhat acquainted with medicine, but more because he had the heart of the good Samaritan, he was sure to be with his parishioners when sick, and never by the sick was the presence of a minister more cordially welcomed. Religious counsels and prayers did not comprise all his ministrations on these occasions. A very distressing prevalence of the small pox at one season put all his benevolence, contrivance, activity, and fortitude in requisition. It was winter; houses for the sick could not be obtained in the parish ; seven hundred persons were subject to the disease within the space of two months. For nineteen successive days and nights, the humble imitator of Him who went about 'healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people' put not off his clothes for rest. Here was something in addition to good preaching to make a minister popular among his own parishioners.
"After he had been twenty years in the pastoral office, that great event, the American Revolution, occurred. It found Mr. Smith in the maturity of his powers, wielding within his sphere, a great influence. He had dedicated himself to the Christian ministry, but this did not make him too sacred to give himself to his country. His brethren, the Congregational clergymen of New England, were, at large, distinguished patriots, in the struggle of their nation for independence and free government. None among them in the incipient move- ments of the Revolution, or in providing for the hardships and conflicts of the war, brought the people of their charges up to a higher tone of action than did the pastor of Sharon. His sermons, his prayers, the hymns which he gave to the choir were impulsive to patriotism. When news of a battle, such as that of Lexington ; or the news of a victory, such as Burgoyne's surrender, reached Mr. Smith, he electrified his congregation by an echo of
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the tidings from the pulpit. Anxiety for the issue of the war inflamed his bosom to such a heat that this domestic action did not satisfy him. Into the memorable campaign of 1775 he entered as chaplain to a regiment in the northern army. His influence in producing order and good morals in the camp, in consoling the sick and in inspiriting the army with firmness and intrepidity attracted the attention of Gen. Schuyler, the commander-in-chief, and secured from this worthy officer a respectful friendship for Mr. Smith for the residue of his life. Few men ever made more of domestic life than the subject of this sketch. As a husband and a father he sweetened his home, elevated his family ; as a father he may be said to have magni- fied his office. Paul, an apostle to the Gentiles, sought the salvation of the Jews. Mr. Smith, a father in full to his own children, was also a father to the orphan children of his parish. Of no less than eighteen of those isolated young creatures had he the principal charge, and ten of them have often been sitting at his table at a time. The theology of Mr. Smith was that of the Calvinistic school. A polish of style and a sweetness of affection gave interest to his preaching, while fidelity to the conscience of his hearers gave it power. He was among the few pastors who lived to preach their half century sermon. He looked down upon a few of the survivors of the early years of his ministry upon the middle-aged and youth whom he had begotten in the gospel, and upon the mass whom he had indoctrinated from the Bible, and to the God of all, he said in the text chosen for the occasion-Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation .- Luke ii, 29-30. This sermon was preached one year before his death. In it he stated that in the course of his ministry he had preached more than four thousand public discourses, besides more than fifteen hundred at funerals and other special occasions. He preached for the last time on the first Sabbath of January, 1806. From this time he languished with a submissive spirit until a disease, which terminated his life Nov. 27th of the same year."
Smith, Hon. John Cotton, the most eminent citizen of the town, was a son of Rev. Cotton Mather Smith, and was born February 12, A. D. 1765. He was graduated at Yale College in 1783, admitted to the bar of Litchfield county in 1786, and mar- ried to Miss Margaret Evertson, of Amenia, N. Y., in October of the same year. Their only child, the late William M. Smith, Esq., was born in August, 1787. Mr. Smith was soon introduced into
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON.
the active duties of his profession in his native town, by reason of the pecuniary embarrassments of the community, in consequence of the Revolutionary war, and particularly from the extensive and embarrassed affairs of his uncle, Dr. Simeon Smith, who removed to Vermont, leaving the management of his extensive and complicated concerns in the hands of his young and inexper ienced nephew. Through unwearied exertions he was able to extricate the affairs of his uncle from a nearly hopeless condition by the full payment of all just demands against him, and leaving him at last in the enjoyment of a handsome estate. It is but justice to his uncle to say, that he, having no children of his own, made ample compensation to his nephew, by the bequest in his will of a large and valuable estate. He was first elected to the legislature in 1793, and was very frequently a member, and twice speaker before 1800, when he was elected a member of Congress. There he remained six years, when the declining health of his father compelled his resignation. He was immediately elected to the legislature of the State, and represented the town without intermission till 1809, and held the place of speaker at each ses- sion. He was then elected to the Council, and in the October session of the same year, was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court. In 1811 he was elected Lieutenant Governor, and in 1813 Governor of his native state. In this office he was continued till 1817, when the public voice demanded a change in the form of the government of the State, and the substitution of a written con- stitution for the less stable provisions of the Charter of King Charles the 2d. Governor Smith, not sympathizing with the majority on this question, retired to private life and lived, for nearly thirty years, a private citizen of Sharon. In public life, he was never appointed to a position which he was not fully competent to fill. As a presiding officer in a deliberative assembly he had no peer, and although while he was a member of Congress, except for one short term, he was associated in principle and feeling with the minority, he was called upon to preside in com- mittee of the whole more frequently than any other member. The late Luther Holley, an eminent citizen of Salisbury, who had been a member of the Legislature when Governor Smith was speaker, once remarked that he had never seen a man who could take a paper from the table and lay it back again so handsomely as could John Cotton Smith.
* 20
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In private life Governor Smith was a fine specimen of the polished christian gentleman. He devoted some of his time to reviewing the studies of his early life, and in the preparation of useful and entertaining articles for the more elevated literary periodicals. He was for several years President of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and of the Ameri- can Bible Society, which latter office he retained till his death, which occurred on the 7th day of December, A. D. 1845, when he had nearly reached the age of eighty-one years.
His funeral was attended on the 9th, by a large and sympa- thizing audience, and a very appropriate discourse was delivered by the Rev. Grove L. Brownell, then Congregational pastor at Sharon, from I Sam., XXV., I. At the grave, the Rev. Mr. An- drews, then of Kent, uttered the following remarks, which found a response in every heart :
" I return thanks, in behalf of the mourners for all the kind- ness you have shown to our departed friend during his sickness, and for the honors you have now paid to his memory. We all feel that a great man has fallen in Israel. Beyond the bosom of his family, in whose inmost affections his memory will be em- balmed ; beyond the circle of his townsmen, among whom most of his blameless and dignified life was passed ; beyond the border of his native State, which delighted to honor him, and which he faithfully served in many and most distinguished stations, even throughout our common country, whose counsels he helped to guide in times of darkness and peril ; and especially in the Church of God, to which he freely gave the light of his wisdom and the aid of his benefactions, will his death be mourned as a calamity. One of the noblest of the men of the former and bet- ter age has been taken from us, and 'we ne'er shall look upon his like again.' But our joy and boast this day is, not that he was a statesman of enlarged insight ; not that he was a scholar of refined taste ; not that he was a gentleman in whose deportment dignity and courtesy were so remarkably blended, 'the observed of all observers;' but that he was a meek and humble disciple of Christ, rejoicing in the consolations, reverencing the ordinances and laboring for the advancement of the Christian Faith. And we have laid him in the grave in the hope of a blessed resurrection, assured that the spirit which now rests in peace, shall, at the coming of our King, be reunited to the body, then raised and glorified after the likeness of our Lord. Amen."
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Smith, James, was from Bolton, and was one of the original proprietors. He drew the eighteenth home lot, which lay on both sides of the town street, and bounding south on the high- way leading by Dwight St. John's. Mr. Smith was the first person ever chosen constable in the town, and was elected to that office for three successive years. In 1747 he removed to the north part of North East, N. Y., where he lived to a great age.
Smith, Theophilus, was a brother of the preceding, and first lived near where Dr. Deming now lives. In 1749 he bought of Mica Mudge the grist mill known as Gay's mill, which stood near Merrills McLean's present residence. He sold this in 1757, to Colonel Ebenezer Gay, and removed to the southeast part of the town, near where Lorin Emons lived. He was one of the owners of the grist- mill and saw-mill near his house. He died in 1799. He had two sons, Theophilus and Levi, who are both now deceased. *
Smith, Samuel, was from the Great Nine Partners, N. Y., and came to Sharon in 1754. He was a blacksmith by trade, and lived on the Burr place, in the valley. He was a selectman for several years. He sold his property in Sharon in 1766, to Joel Harvey, and returned to the state of New York. He lived in the large house which was lately standing on De La Vergne's Hill, and kept a tavern there for many years.
Smith, Dr. Simeon, was a younger brother of the Rev. Cotton Mather Smith. He came to Sharon about 1756, and was a physician of extensive practice. He kept a large store of drugs and medicines, importing his articles direct from London. In 1776 he commanded a company of six months men, and was on service in the vicinity of New York. He was a large land- holder and built the large stone house now known as the Gover- nor's House. He represented the town in the Legislature at several sessions. He went to West Haven, Vt., in 1787, and there resided till his death. in February, 1804. He left no children. He was a man of great activity and enterprise.
Smith, Paul, was the youngest brother of Rev. Cotton M. Smith, and came to Sharon in 1770. He lived in the house originally built by Job Gibbs, next north of Jay S. Canfield's,
* Another brother of this family, of the name of Azariah, settled in the town of North East, N. Y., near the present residence of Douglass Clark, Esq. He was the grandfather of Dr. John W. Smith, formerly living in Sharon.
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now demolished. He was a constable of the town for a great number of years. He died March 28, 1825, at the age of ninety.
Smith, Dr. Phineas, was a son of Dan Smith, an elder brother of Rev. Cotton M. Smith. He came to Sharon when young, and resided with his uncle Dr Simeon Smith, by whom he was educated as a physician. He relinquished the practice and engaged in mercantile pursuits. He built the house owned by the late Cyrus Swan, Esq. He died June 4, 1794, at the age of forty.
Smith, Apollos, was the younger brother of Phineas Smith, who came to Sharon in early life, and resided with his uncle, Dr. Smith, by whom he was assisted in establishing an exten- sive pottery before the revolutionary war, which proved a profit- able business. He built the brick house owned by Dwight St. John. He removed to West Haven, Vt., in 1802, where he died a few years after.
Smith, Deacon Paul, Jr., was a son of Paul Smith, and was born in Suffield, in 1763. He came to Sharon with his father. and resided here until his death. He was elected a deacon of the church in 1793, and discharged the duties of that office with great fidelity and acceptance for forty-six years. He was a man of great sweetness of temper, modest and unobtrusive in his manners, and the principles of the holy religion which he professed were beautifully exhibited in his daily walk. He died without an enemy on the 30th day of September, 1838. He had sons, Seabury, Chauncey and Richard. Chauncey died in Missouri some years since.
Smith, David, was from Litchfield, and came to Sharon in 1801. He lived on the Ousatonic river, where his son, the late Hon Horatio Smith, resided. He joined the Society of Friends in 1781, and is supposed to be the only member of that society that ever resided in Sharon. He died April 3d, 1826, at the age of seventy-three. He left sons, David, John, Horatio, Ransom and Gad-the latter was a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of decided promise, who was cut off by consumption in early life.
Spafford, Thomas, was an original proprietor, from Lebanon, and drew the thirteenth home lot, on which Samuel Beecher lived. Not being satisfied with his lot he availed himself of the privilege accorded to each proprietor of throwing it into the com- mon stock, and in lieu of it laid out a home lot about half a mile
SHARON STREET ( About Midway.)
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west of the meeting house, formerly owned by Deacon William M. Smith. He died in 1752. There are none of his descendants in the town.
Spencer, Alexander, was one of the first settlers from East Haddam, and he lived opposite Dwight St. John's present resi- dence. In 1760 he removed to Oblong, N. Y., where he died the next year. He had but one son, Alexander Spencer, Jr., who was a volunteer in Arnold's expedition to Quebec, in 1775, through the wilderness of Kennebeck. He died on the march.
Sprague, Capt. John, was from Lebanon, in 1739. He drew the thirty-seventh home lot, on which the Messrs. Prindle now live. He was a selectman for several years, and what is singular
he could not write his name. The words, "John+Sprague " are mark his appended to many official documents on our records. He built the first frame house in the town. In 1748 he exchanged farms with Cornelins Knickerbacker, and removed to Furnace Village in Salisbury. He afterwards removed to Canaan, where he died in 1760. He had three sons, Jonathan, Ebenezer and John, the last of whom went to Canaan with his father. Jonathan settled where James Landon, Jr., lives, and lived to the advanced age of ninety-four. Ebenezer lived where Bird Reed lives.
Sterling, Hon. Ansel, was born in Lyme, and settled in Sharon as a lawyer in 1808, where he spent his life. As a lawyer his forensic ability was of a high order, nor was he deficient in legal science. His language flowed readily and rapidly, and sometimes his appeals to the jury were very effective. He held a seat in Congress for two terms. He died November 5th, 1853, at the age of seventy-three years, leaving a large estate to his numerous family.
Stedman, Robert, was one of the first settlers and came to Sharon in 1743. He lived on the road leading west from Anson Boland's, and the barn which he erected is still standing. In 1782 he removed to Rupert, Vermont.
Strong, Caleb, was from Colchester, in 1743. He first settled on the mountain near Calvin Jackson's, which place he sold to Thomas Day in 1755. He afterwards lived near Freeman W. Parsons.' He was a large landholder at different times, but he died poor.
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Epitaph. In memory of Mr. Caleb Strong, who died August 22, 1789, aged seventy-six.
Our mortal breath Must yield to death.
Strong, Josiah, was originally from Colchester, but lived awhile in Litchfield. He came to Sharon in 1747, and settled where Richard Woodward now lives. He died of the small-pox in 1761, leaving sons, Josiah, Elijah, Solomon, David and Joseph. He was a selectman of the town for several years. David was a lieutenant in the continental army.
Strong, Josiah Jun., was a son of the preceding, and was born in Sharon, June 16, 1758. His life was eventful as illus- trating the dangers and sufferings of a revolutionary soldier, in the course of two years active service. He enlisted into Capt. Down's company in 1776, and marched to Canada. He was taken prisoner with the rest of the company, at the Cedars, on the 19th of May following. They were released by General Arnold, on his return from Quebec, and Mr. Strong returned to Sharon. He immediately enlisted into Captain Smith's com- pany, and joined the army under General Washington. He was in the battles of White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Brandy wine and Germantown, in which last action he was so severely wounded in the leg as to render amputation necessary. He was, of course, compelled to leave the army, but he carried with him an honorable discharge from General Washington. He was placed upon the roll of invalid pensioners. He died lately at Geneva, N. Y.
Studley, Joshua, was from Hanover, Mass., in 1771. He settled in the south part of Ellsworth. He died November 22, 1810, at the age of sixty eight. He left two sons, Gideon and Ichabod.
Swain, John, was from Branford, in 1745. He lived near the place where Rossiter B. Hopkins now lives. He died in 1755, leaving sons, Daniel, James, Isaac and Jonathan.
Swan, Cyrus, Esq., was born in Stonington, in 1770. He was in early life engaged in mercantile pursuits, in the District of Maine. He afterwards pursued the study of law, and estab- lished himself in the practice in this town in 1798. He was a successful practitioner, and acquired a respectable standing at the bar. He died August 20, 1835, aged sixty-five.
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Swetland, Rowland, was the first settler on the place where Lyman Merwin lives. IIe sold his place in 1768, to Daniel Cur- tice, and removed to the Lyman place in the Great Hollow, where he died.
Taylor, Gen. Augustine, was from New Milford in 1784. He purchased of Robert G. Livingston, who had come to Sharon during the revolutionary war, the place now called the Taylor place, where he resided until 1815, when he left the town. He rose to the rank of major general in the militia, and for awhile commanded the troops which were stationed for the defence of New London, during the late war with England. He died soon after he removed.
Thurston, Amos, lived in the Great Hollow, near the school- house. He came to Sharon in 1768, and remained here until 1785, when he sold his place to Ebenezer Dibble, and removed to Ballstown, N. Y.
Tickner, William, was from Lebanon in 1739. He drew the thirty-eighth home-lot, next north of Mr. Sprague's, in Gay Street. He was a respectable man. He died in 1760, leaving sons, William, Jonathan and Daniel, who all left town soon after the death of their father,
Tickner, John, was a brother of the preceding, and came from Lebanon in 1749. He settled in the Great Hollow, on land which his father had previously bought of Bezaleel Tyler. He died at the age of forty-nine. He left sons, John, Benajalı, Elisha and David. Benajah was the father of Dr. Benajah Tickner of the U. S. navy, and of Dr. Luther Tickner, of Salisbury.
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