USA > Connecticut > Historic towns of the Connecticut River Valley > Part 11
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The opening made by Dr. Stephauney was enlarged, or a new one made, and the top and sides were shored up with great tim- bers for the safety of the workmen. A large number of casks filled with ore taken from the hill were sent to Europe and pos- sibly to China. It was later found according to the private diary of President Stiles, of Yale College, that the mineral obtained was cobalt. Up to this time the people of Middletown and of nearby places, had no idea what had been found in the hill, as the work- men were all foreigners who did not speak English. For once at least, the inquisitive Yankee, with his ever present interrogation point, failed to obtain the information sought.
Under the date, January 1, 1787, President Stiles' diary con- tains the following entry :
Mr. Erkelens visited me full of his Cobalt mine and his China voyage. He some years ago bought the Governor's Ring, as it is called, or a mountain in the N. W. corner of East Haddam, comprehending about 800 acres, or about a square mile area. Here he finds plenty of Cobalt, which he manufactures into smalt, with which is made the beautiful blue on China ware &c. Governor Trumbull has often told me that this was the place to which Governor Winthrop of N. London used to resort with his servant, and after spending three weeks in the woods of this mountain, in roasting ores and assaying metals and casting gold rings, he used to re- turn home to New London with plenty of gold. Hence this is called the Gov. Winthrop's ring to this day. Gov. Winthrop was an adept, in intimate
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EAST HAMPTON.
correspondence with Sir Kenelm Digby, and the first chemical and philo- sophical characters of the last century - as may be seen in the dedication of 40th vol. Phil. Transactions 1740. Mr. Erkelens * * * has been at f2,000 sterling expense to no profit. He is going on a voyage to China, carrying with him 20 tons of Cobalt ore.
Whether Erkelens really went to China or not in 1787, is not known. The mine was abandoned and eventually the opening was closed by the caving in of the sides and top.
For thirty years the mine was not worked, nor did it " work " anybody till 1818, when Seth Hunt, of New Hampshire, sunk a shaft and $20,000. He obtained a half ton of what he supposed was cobalt but which an essay, made in England, where the ore was sent, proved to be nickel with only a trace of cobalt.
For twenty-four years the internals of Great Hill were not tortured by powder, pick or shovel. In the summer of 1844, Professor Shepherd, who wrote "A Report on the Geological Survey of Connecticut ", began operations with a few men for a short time, probably for scientific purposes, for there is no record that he ever attempted to turn the results of his labors into commercial value. In 1850, Great Hill found other victims, in the persons of Edmund Brown, and a few associates. Mr. Brown did a great deal of excavating and lost a large sum of money, and at the end of a year and three months gave up the work.
EAST HAMPTON.
T HE village of East Hampton, not far from the center of the Township, was settled in 1743. It is located near the charming little lake called Pocotopaugh. Its fine water power was the chief cause of the settlement being made near it. Its greatest length, north and south, is a mile and one third and its greatest width, east and west, is one mile, but so charmingly ir- regular are its shores that its shore-line is about nine miles. Twin Islands occupy a position near the center of the lake. They are about nine acres in area, and a third of a mile to the north is another island of about two acres. Twin Islands was a popular camping place and stronghold of the Indians. The lake and its surrounding was just such a lovely spot as the Indians prized.
The first occupation of the early settlers was a forge, from
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which was produced the great quantities of iron required by the many boat yards on the Connecticut, in Middletown and its neighborhood. Ore was taken to East Hampton from West Point, and pig iron, from New York and Salisbury. The original forge was given up in 1812, and in 1825 a new forge was built upon the site of the old one, where scythes were made, but this, in turn, was abandoned several years later. The forges were suc- ceeded by several factories for the manufacture of bells, hoes, brass-kettles, pistols, satinet, and several saw and gristmills. There was a time when nearly all of the sleigh bells used in the United States and Canada were made in East Hampton.
The prosperity and industrial spirit of East Hampton was very largely due to William Barton, who was born in Windsor in 1762. William Barton, the father, was a captain in Colonel Flower's Regiment of Artillery Artificers, in the Revolution and his son William was with him as assistant. He learned his trade from his father, who was armorer in Springfield in the Revolu- tionary War. At the close of the war, William returned to Wintonbury, in Windsor, and made pistols and other arms. In 1790, he went to New York and started the manufacture of articles made of brass, especially andirons. He remained there for eighteen years and in 1808, went to East Hampton where he made hand bells and sleigh bells. William Barton was a man of broad mind, who loved his fellow man. He was never so happy as when benefiting others and improving the condition of the community in which he lived and worked. He taught his trade to others and it was not long before East Hampton became a thriving and prosperous community. In 1826, Mr. Barton went to Cicero, New York, where his happy influence was strongly felt. In 1846, he returned to his old home in East Hampton to spend the remaining years of his life, surrounded by his children and the friends and neighbors who honored and loved him. His death occurred, after a long life of usefulness, in 1849.
The first Church of East Hampton was organized in 1748, and its first minister was the Rev. John Norton, of Berlin, Con- necticut, who was graduated from Yale in 1737. Using the expression with profound respect, Mr. Norton was "A Fighting Parson ", one of those many patriotic heroes of the Congrega- tional ministry in New England, who went to the front in defence
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of the British flag. in Colonial days, against the French and later, in defence of the Stars and Stripes, in the struggle for Independence.
As a class, the Congregational ministers of New England were college-bred men of strong intellects and inherited refinement, who would instinctively shun violence, hardship and death, but who possessed the New England spirit (the spirit which has made the Yankee the truest type of American manhood) so strongly, that they sacrificed everything and endured great hardships with cheerfulness, that they might inspire the soldiers with courage, through the word of God; that they might comfort and care for the wounded and sick, and commit to earth the bodies of those who fell while performing their duty to their country.
Of such was the Rev. John Norton. He was born in the Parish of Kensington, in the part of Farmington that is now Berlin, in 1716. He entered Yale and was graduated in the class of 1737, and was ordained over a small congregation in Fall Town, in the town of Deerfield, now Bernardston. This was his first parish and he was its first minister. On November 30, 1748, he was settled over the Church in East Hampton where he was minister for thirty years, his death occurring in 1778. The Nortons were of Norman descent, the name being Norville till it became Anglicised. The Rev. John Norton's great-grand- father was one of the eighty-four original proprietors of Bran- ford, Connecticut. His father, Sergeant John Norton, lived near Mill River crossing, on the road from Farmington to Middletown, where he was a farmer who was considered well-to-do. His mother was Anna Thompson, whose ancestors were among the early. settlers of Hartford and Farmington.
Fall Town was so called from the fact, that it was a grant to the men who took part in the great Indian fight, of May 18, 1676, at the Great Falls of the Connecticut (Turner's Falls) and later, its name was changed to Bernardston. On account of fear of trouble with the Indians, the little parish of Fall Town seems to have been given up and Mr. Norton dismissed, whereupon he became chaplain of a line of forts extending from Northfield, just east of the Connecticut, to Hoosic (now Adams), nearly across the Colony of Massachusetts, and along the northern border. These forts were built for defense from the French and
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Indians. They were; Northfield, Fall Town, Colerain ; Shirley, in the Town of Heath; Petham, in the Town of Rowe; and Massachusetts, in the Town of Adams, the latter being where Mr. Norton was at the time of its capture by French and Indians. Besides being chaplain of these forts, Mr. Norton preached to soldiers stationed at three small settlements. The commander of this line of forts was Captain Ephraim Williams, the founder of Williams College, who was killed in battle, near Lake George, on September 8, 1755. While Chaplain Norton was making the rounds of the forts, his wife and three children lived at Fort Shirley.
The attack, defence and final surrender of Fort Massachusetts to the French, and the journey through woods and over rivers and lakes to Canada, where he was held a prisoner for a year, was told by Mr. Norton in his diary.
On August 19, 1746, 900 French and Indians, under command of Riguard de Vaudreuil, surrounded the fort at about eight o'clock in the morning. The fort was in command of Sergeant John Hawks (who later became a colonel) and contained twenty-two men, three women and five children. Eleven of the men were sick and of the other eleven, but few were strong enough to fight any length of time, much less against an army of 900. When the attack was made Sergeant Hawks ordered that no one should fire till the enemy was near enough for the shots to take effect. At the first volley several of the enemy fell and Sergeant Hawks killed the fierce chief of the St. Francis Indians. Upon investigation, later in the day, Sergeant Hawks found that the powder and bullets were nearly used up, so orders were given not to shoot, unless there was no doubt of reaching a human target.
Toward night the enemy began to prepare a quantity of wood with which to burn out the defenders of the fort. so the Sergeant had every available vessel filled with water and placed about in the different rooms of the fort. Sometime in the day, John Aldrich and Jonathan Bridgman were wounded. As may be imagined, the night was filled with anxiety, and but little rest was obtained by those who had been fighting all day, and the sick were made worse by the anxiety and excitement. Although he does not say so, it is easy to guess from his narrative, that he
EAST HAMPTON. I37
handled a musket with the few who were able to fight. He does say, however, that he stood watch for a part of the night. The attack was renewed the following morning and Thomas Knowlton was killed by a shot through his head. At noon of the second day's fight, Vaudreuil made known his desire to parley and it was granted by Sergeant Hawks, to whom the Frenchman prom- ised the best of terms if he would surrender. Hawks said he would give his answer in two hours. Upon investigation Hawks found that there was not enough powder to last for more than a few minutes, should they make a strong attack, and although the sick men had been casting bullets and buck shot the previous day, they too, were about gone.
The sentiment of those in the fort was to stand out till the last, Mr. Norton strongly favoring continued resistance, but on account of the women and sick soldiers, it was thought best to surrender upon the following terms:
That they should be prisoners of the French and that not one person should be given over to the Indians; that the children should not be separated from their parents ; and that an exchange should be effected at the first possible opportunity. At three o'clock in the afternoon of the second day, the French commander and his officers were admitted to the fort which, manned by 22 men, II of whom were sick, had stood-off an army of 900 for 36 hours and only surrendered then, because there was not enough powder and shot left to defend the women and the sick.
Vaudreuil promised to live up to the conditions of the surren- der. As a promiser and a fighter he was a thorough Frenchman ; one of the same kind that the Dutch of the Mohawk Valley knew and loved so well, because of similar promises made and broken. The prisoners were divided between the French and their friends, the Indians.
While the arrangements were being made, some of the Indians (they had so far been kept out) pulled away the underpinning and entered the fort. When they found Knowlton's body they took the scalp and cut off the head and arms. A young French- man skinned one of the arms, roasted the flesh and offered it to Daniel Smeed to eat; the skin was made into a pouch for tobacco.
When the division of the prisoners with the Indians took place,
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Mr. Norton showed his spirit, and that his fighting blood was up, by telling de Vaudreuil, that had he supposed anything of the kind was to be done he would have strenuously opposed the surrender, for he would far rather have died fighting than to see any of the men killed while they had no chance to resist, and killed he was sure they would be if delivered to the Indians. Strange as it may seem, none of the prisoners were killed nor were they misused by the Indians. On the contrary, the pris- oners were treated kindly by the Indians and with kindness and respect by the French. Several of the prisoners who were unable to walk were carried on the backs of In- dians, and the women were carried by the French. The journey through the forest was hard and often heart- breaking, but the women bore it bravely and without complaint. In the midst of these hardships, on the sec- ond day after the surrender, Mrs. John Smeed gave birth to a daughter. The follow- ing day, August 22, Chap- lain Norton christened the little girl Captivity. While the French were unblushing liars in regard to the terms GIANT POPLAR ON JOEL WEST'S PLACE. of the surrender, they were kind and thoughtful for the
women. A frame of saplings, covered with bear and deer skins, was prepared for Mrs. Smeed and the romantically-born little Captivity. Upon this they were carried by the French.
Mr. Norton's account of the journey is simply a statement of facts and is not interesting except as it is historical and shows the stuff of which our New England men and women, yes, and infants, were made, for with such parents and neighbors it may be surmised that even little Captivity took her nourishment and slept, with as little crying as possible, and so became to her
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fellow prisoners, Little Captivating. While Mr. Norton does not hint at anything of the kind in regard to himself (it is a narra- tive of the experiences of his loved friends ; of their captors and of their journey; not an account of his feelings and doings) it is easy to read between the short sentences of bald fact, that he was cheerful, helpful and courageous. It is also easy to see that what he calls the kindness of the French officers to himself, was really profound respect and admiration for the "fighting- parson " whose brave, courageous, cheerful Protestant Chris- tianity, discovered to them the God-loving side of those God-fearing New Englanders. From start to finish Mr. Norton gives no idea that he thought he was doing anything out of the ordinary, but he does praise his fellow prisoners for their forti- tude, and the French for their kindness.
The French permitted Mr. Norton to hold service for the prisoners. When it was discovered that he was greatly in need of clothing of all kinds, some of the Jesuit Missionaries and some French gentlemen sent him all that he needed. A year was spent in captivity and on July 25, 1747, they set sail for Boston, arriving there on August 16, where Colonel Winslow made Mr. Norton his guest, so long as he remained in Boston. Not- withstanding the sickness, hardship and privations he had passed through Mr. Norton ends his narrative with :
May I never forget the many, great and repeated mercies of God towards me.
Mr. Norton's patriotic, unselfish courage was shown in the eighth year of his pastorate in East Hampton, in 1755, when the second French War was in progress, for he again joined the army and went as Chaplain on the expedition to Crown Point.
The first church building in East Hampton was a long time in being finished and even then, it was a most primitive affair, There was no vestibule or entrance hall, the doors opening directly into the church. Between the side aisles and the walls were rows of box pews and between the middle aisle and the side aisles were two rows of box pews. These pews were square and had seats around the four sides so that a portion of the congregation sat with its back to the minister and another por- tion with its sides toward him. The seats were rough boards supported by wooden horses.
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The top of the fence-like structure inclosing the box pews was ornamented by open wood work something like miniature balusters. Some of these were not tight and when turned in their sockets would give out a squeaking noise, of the kind to delight the heart of a child. It is a tradition, that an oppor- tunity to turn a loose one and so relieve the monotony of the long drawn out and tiresome services of those strenuous religious days, was seldom missed by the boys,
The pulpit was opposite the doors, on a platform long and narrow. Three or four steps at the western end of the platform led to the pulpit, which was paneled and painted white. A gallery was around three sides of the church and the choir occu- pied the front seats in that portion of the gallery opposite the pulpit. A pitch-pipe, used for giving the key, was the nearest approach to instrumental music. The two ends of the gallery contained the seats for the slaves. Attached to the posts sup- porting the gallery, which were painted blue, were sockets with drip-cups for holding the "tallow dips", or candles, by which the church was lighted at night. When extra light was needed the people brought candle sticks from their homes. Attending church in those days in the winter was a hardship as well as a duty, for there was no means of heating the building. Heat in a church was regarded as an un-Godly luxury for many years. The members of the congregation sat bundled up as for a sleigh ride. When the first talk of "improvements " was started, it called forth strong opposition, for anything like progress or im- provements in the church savored of "Popery " or even the works of Satan.
But gradually changes were made. An entrance hall was partitioned off ; the box pews in the middle of the church were removed and ordinary seats, with the sitters facing the minister, were substituted. And then, luxury of luxuries, two stoves were set up, one near the west and the other near the cast door. In the center of the church, above the heads of the congregation, was a drum into which long lengths of stove pipe entered from the two stoves. The joints of these long pipes leaked and many a garment or head covering was ruined, till finally matters were a little improved by the placing of square pans under the leaking joints. Later still, a whale-oil chandelier was put in and then
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the members began to make their pews more comfortable with cushions on the seats and carpets on the floor.
But it remained for the pretty, vivacious young wife of the Rev. Joel West to cause the sensation of East Hampton, for not only was she brought to her future home in a carriage, the first seen in East Hampton, but she had the first carpet ever seen in any home of the village. Tradition has it, from the memory of an old resident of the charming village, that when Deacon Bill had occasion to call at the parsonage, he walked around the edges of the carpet so as not to step upon so beautiful a thing.
The ordination of the Rev. Joel West in the old church, on October 17, 1792, was a great event in East Hampton. The
THE REV. JOEL WEST'S HOUSE.
Miss Betsy Brockway was greatly pleased with it and remarked in a joking way, "See, that is my house."
people came from great distances, great in those days of horse- back and oxcart transportation, and one woman, it is said, arrived at the church by sunrise to be sure to get a good seat. Among others, were the Rev. Thomas Brockway and his charming daughter, who rode over from Lebanon (now Columbia) to attend the ordination. The house which was later bought by
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Mr. West for his home, was much more pretentious than the average in the village and was delightfully situated on the shore of the lake. When Miss Betsey Brockway passed this house she was greatly pleased with it and remarked in a joking way to her companions :
See, that is my house.
She was an unconscious prophetess, for she became the girl- bride of the young minister on November II, 1794, and presided with grace, dignity and charming vivacity over the home by the lake, that she had so greatly admired. Tradition tells, that when she first appeared in church in her wedding gown, the like had never before been seen. Her hair was "banged " across her forehead and hung in a long braid down her back. She wore a bright-colored changeable silk dress. Over this she wore a cloak of red broadcloth with a hood trimmed with swansdown and on her pretty head was a white satin bonnet trimmed with swansdown. The cradle in which her twelve children were rocked is still in existence.
As has been said, music was somewhat primitive in the eight- eenth century in New England rural churches. In the spring of 1760, Captain Jonathan Alvord was selected to "set the psalm " and Seth Alvord was chosen as chorister, as were Robert Shattuck, Titus Carrier, and Bryan Parmlee. The pitch-pipe was in the form of a book, longer than wide, with a mouth piece at one corner and on the sides were slides which made the dif- ferent keys.
The part taken by the men of East Hampton, in the Colonial and Revolutionary Wars was a creditable one. As the names of the men who fought for their King and later their Country, will be of interest to their descendants, they are given here, but it is not a complete list :
Stephen Ackley
Marcus Cole
Joshua Bailey
Moses Freeman
James Bailey
Simeon Freeman
James Bill
Benjamin Goff
Recompense Bailey
Samuel Goff
Josiah Caswell
John Hailing
Titus Carrier
Daniel Hills
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EAST HAMPTON.
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Stephen Knowlton John Norton Bryan Parmlee Joseph Smith Michael Smith
Elkanah Sears William White James Webb Simeon Young
These were the men who fought for the King in the French and Indian War. Besides them, there were in Captain Savage's company ; John Bevin, Josiah Clark, Amos Dewey and Thomas Shepard. In Captain Champion's company ; Lemuel Shurtleff, Samuel Mott, and Abner Norket.
The Rev. John Norton's military record has already been given. The only reason that he was not personally active in the Con- tinental army, in the War for Independence, was, that advancing years prevented it. Among those who were in the Revolution were :
Ezera Ackley
Daniel Hill
William Bevin
Thomas Hill
Elijah Bailey
John Johnson
Joshua Bailey
James Johnson, Jr.
Caleb Cook
Samuel Kilbourn
Daniel Clark
Benjamin Kneeland, ensign
Amos Clark
Timothy Percival, lieut.
Elijah Clark
Daniel Mackall
Elisha Cornwell
Nathaniel Markham
David Cornwell
Stephen Olmsted
Nehemiah Day
Ithamar Pelton
Silas Dunham, capt.
Daniel Park Ralph Smith
Marcus Cole, ord. sgt.
Sylvanus Freeman
Samuel Sexton
Samuel Freeman
William White
Hezekiah Goff
Lazarus Watrus
Nathaniel Garnsey
Ezra Purple
Samuel Hill
Then there is that longer list of names of the heroic women who, without the excitement and the glory of battle and the courage given by numbers, sacrificed all that was dear to them, and who toiled and suffered uncomplainingly that the Cause might be helped on. Their names have never been printed and never will be, but the New England States, with their rugged
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grandeur and lovely, peaceful valleys stand as a perpetual monu- ment to them, for with-out the New England women the Nation would never have been won.
· PORTLAND.
T HERE is not, perhaps, a town in the State of Connecticut so widely known by name as Portland, the sandstone quarries of which have made it famous.
Portland was settled about 1690, by John Gill and James Stancliffe, their houses being on the river bank near what is now the principal street of the village. These two were soon after joined by William Cornwall, who made his "pitch" back from the meadow. They and their families were obliged to attend " meeting " across the river in Middletown. In 1714 a petition was sent to the General Court, signed by thirty-one persons, re- questing that they be given parish privileges. The petition was granted and in 1716, the people built a little church, forty by twenty-six feet, on the hill. The Church was organized in 1721, and the Rev. Daniel Newell, of Bristol, a graduate of Yale in the class of 1718, was its first minister.
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