USA > Connecticut > Historic towns of the Connecticut River Valley > Part 15
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So wrote Noah Porter, Jr., in 1840, who later became President of Yale.
From its settlement, Farmington was a farming community. It was the unusual fertility of its meadow lands and the unceasing supply of water from the river and streams that first attracted settlers. It was a farming community of the highest class for while the fathers and sons cultivated their fields industriously, and to the greatest possible profit, they did not fail to cultivate their minds and manners as far as it was possible. They lived close to Nature and, therefore, close to God, and this very prox- imity to the Creator and His handiwork made them the highest type of Nature's gentle-folk.
When not employed in their official capacities, the ministers and magistrates worked side by side with their sons, their hired men and the slaves ; always in lead, doing even more work than those whom they employed or owned. As one of Farmington's finest sons, Governor John Treadwell, has expressed it .
They have been content to eat their bread in the sweat of their brow; and it was honor enough to be esteemed the first among equals.
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The only means of transportation for individuals up to about 1750, was the horse, with saddle and pillion behind for the woman. But in that year the Rev. Timothy Pitkin brought home the daughter of President Clap of Yale College, as his bride. When it was known that they were coming in some kind of a machine on wheels, the greatest interest was excited among the entire com- munity. The older men of the community went out to meet their minister and his bride. When they saw the four-wheeled phæton, one of the older men exclaimed in his excitement : " I see the cart, I see the cart ". It was Farmington's first sight of a pleasure carriage.
Up to about the time the war with Great Britain began, there was but one store in Farmington, but after peace was declared a commercial spirit began to assert itself to the hurt of the simple society. For, with the accumulation of something like wealth by a few persons envy, heart-burn and dissatisfaction with the simple, clean life that was characteristic for so many years, began to show itself. In 1803, there were $125,000 invested in business enterprise in Farmington. There was, however, a gain through trade and consequent greater intercourse with the outside world and this gain was the broadening of the ideas of the people, in regard to quite proper and innocent social pleasures and amuse- ments. But commercialism did hurt that charming simplicity which was a part of Farmington's life. In 1802, Governor Treadwell deplored the increasing commercial spirit somewhat strongly as follows :
The farmer is thrown into the shade; he feels that riches, as the world goes, give pre-eminence. In liomely dress and covered with sweat and dust, with weary steps returning from the field, he sees with pain the powdered beau rolling in his carriage * * and feels himself degraded. The young ladies are changing their spinning-wheels for the piano forte and forming their manners at the dancing school, rather than in the school of industry. Labor is growing in disrepute.
While this view of the change was of a somewhat low-spirited nature, it was at the same time quite true. The fact still remains, however, that the fine qualities of the early settlers have de- scended down through nearly two centuries and have made Farmington notable in New England.
Up to 1825, Farmington had but one religious denomination
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within its bounds and that was, of course, the Congregational. In 1825, a Methodist society was organized and in 1834, their church building was erected.
Farmington was the home of many of New England's promi- nent men. Perhaps the most notable were the Hon. John Tread- well, Governor of Connecticut, and the Rev. Dr. Noah Porter, who, as president of Yale College, was the personal acquaintance of nearly every undergraduate, and the best friend of every one of them.
John Treadwell was born in Farmington, on November 23, 1745. He prepared for Yale and was graduated in the class of 1765, and then began to study law. The profession had no attractions for him so he never presented himself for the neces- sary examination for admission to practice. A life of public usefulness seemed most attractive to him, and it proved to be the life he was best suited for. In the autumn of 1776, he was elected to the General Assembly as the representative of Farm- ington and, with the exception of one session, was continued in that office till 1785. Then he was elected as one of the Assistants and continued in that office till 1798, when he was appointed Lieutenant Governor. When Governor Trumbull died in 1809, he was appointed by the Legislature to the office of Governor, and at its next session his appointment was renewed for the following year. Besides these high offices, Governor Treadwell was for twenty years, Judge of the Probate Court; for twenty years, a Judge in the Supreme Court of Errors; for nineteen years, a member of the Corporation of Yale College ; and for three years, Judge of the County Court. He was for many years also a member of the Prudential Committee of Yale.
Governor Treadwell's interest in public education was great and it may be said with truth, that he had more to do with the organization of the public school system of Connecticut than any other individual. He was regarded by the people as being a man of unquestioned honor and wisdom in the affairs of the State, of which he possessed a more intimate knowledge than any other man.
His interest and efforts for the honor, dignity and systematic order of the Church, were as great as was his interest in the State. Governor Treadwell became a member of the Farming-
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ton Church at the age. of twenty-seven, and the parish found, on the two or three occasions when harmony was disturbed and seri- ous discord was threatening, that his advice and example were of the greatest value. His ecclesiastic offices were numerous as were his civil offices. He was the first chairman, and one of the original trustees, of the Missionary Society of Connecticut and he continued in these offices till advancing years caused him to refuse reappointment. He was the first president of the Ameri- can Board of Foreign Missions and one of the commissioners who drew up its constitution. He was president of the Board till his death.
The Rev. Dr. Noah Porter described him in 1840, as: "A man not possessed of brilliant genius or extended erudition, or com- manding elocution ; that he had not the advantages of birth, patronage, personal attraction or courtly address ; that he did not possess the power of delighting society by the brilliancy of his fancy, nor of swaying public assemblies by the eloquence of his appeals; that in the common sense of the term, he was not a popular man and yet he had a moral and intellectual greatness which carried him superior to all obstacles, in the path to emi- nence ; so that, with no advantages above what thousands enjoyed, he united in himself, in a perfection rarely found, the characters of a jurist, a civilian and a divine."
In a less general degree, John Treadwell may be compared favorably with Judge James Duane of New York. What James Duane was to the young Nation in, the Revolutionary period, and to the Episcopal Church ; John Treadwell was to the young State and Congregational Church. He died at the age of seventy- seven, on August 18, 1823.
BERLIN.
A LTHOUGH the settlement of the district now compris- ing the Town of Berlin is ancient, that town did not come into existence till 1785; a mere infant, of one hundred and twenty odd years, in comparison with the surround- ing towns. It was originally a part of Farmington, from which town it was set off as the second society (church society) in 1712, and was given the name of Kensington and the Rev. Mr.
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Burnham, the first minister, was ordained that year. Kensing- ton consisted of fourteen families. In all, about one hundred individuals, including children and infants. Before the settle- ment of Mr. Burnham, these people were obliged to go ten miles or more to the church in Farmington. They did so cheer- fully, many of the women carrying their infants all that weary distance, because they must attend worship and could not leave the little ones at home. Kensington was divided in 1753, when the society of New Britain was formed, and again, in 1772, when the society of Worthington was formed. In 1785, Berlin was incorporated as a town, portions of Wethersfield and Middle- town being included within the bounds of the new town. In 1834, the Borough was formed and the bounds extended two miles north and south and one mile east and west.
Tradition has it, and nothing definite in history has been found to the contrary, that an Irishman named Patterson (probably a " Blue-nose ") settled in Berlin, or Kensington as it then was, in 1740, and made the first tin-ware on the Continent of North America. Patterson - there seems to be uncertainty as whether his name was William or Edward - was a tinner and soon after he settled in Kensington he began to manufacture tin-ware and continued in that trade till the commencement of the Revolution, when it was suspended for a time, as he could not obtain the raw material. After the Colonies had won Independence, the trade was continued by the young men who had learned it from Patterson. In the early days, when Patterson was the only tin- ner in the Colonies, he would make up as much of the ware as he could carry in a basket and then tramp over the surrounding country, from hamlet to farm and from farm to hamlet, selling the new kind of utensils, which the women found most con- venient. The value of the business became known and soon others took it up and so it spread all over the country. But the demand could not be supplied by hand baskets, so larger baskets were carried on horseback, and then two-wheeled carts were used. Finally, that institution peculiar to New England, the 1ed, four-wheeled, tin-peddler's wagon, came into existence and every tiny settlement and the intervening farmhouses, of New England and eastern New York, were visited by these tin- peddlers who, besides tin-ware, carried notions useful to the
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housewives. These peddlers were a welcome sight to the farmer and his household, as they were for many years the only source of news from the other parts of the country and from the out- side world. Speaking generally, these tin-peddlers were the social equals of the people whom they traded with and, also speaking generally, they were of superior intelligence. The very fact that they "took to the road " showed a disinclination to re- main in the ruts and a desire to see the world, or as much of it as their horse and four-wheeled, red cart could cover, between Easter and Thanksgiving. So, being shrewd, they stored their memories with all the important and interesting news, and while they were imparting it to the news-hungry families, they made their bargains, gave the smallest possible price for the rags they took, and charged the largest possible price for the tin-ware and notions they gave in exchange. This was purely a matter of business with the peddlers; and as for their customers, they re- ceived full value for the excess they paid for tin, as the news of the outside world which they received, saved them from utter stagnation. It is a notable fact, that the foundations of many of the greatest fortunes in the East were laid by these same merchants-on-wheels. And many of the great merchants of New York, Boston and some of the smaller New York and New England cities, in the period just after the Revolution, were farmers' sons who had been stimulated to something better than their placid, turnip-like existences on the farms, by the informa- tion given by the tin-peddlers, in regard to the opportunities in the towns. The Yankee peddler was a man worth knowing ; the scum of Europe which has succeeded to the business, are things to be shunned.
Berlin will always be notable as the home of the tin-ware industry, one of the most profitable businesses of the first half of the nineteenth century.
HARTFORD.
T HE families who settled the Hartford and New Haven Colonies were of a superior class socially to those of any other portion of New England, speaking in general terms, and many of them were well provided with this world's goods. The majority were families of gentle birth whose for- tunes were on the wane, because of their politics or their unwav- ering adherence to their religious convictions, in Old England. But above all other things, they were notable for being among the finest representatives of Anglo-Saxon blood on the face of the Earth.
They were Christian families beyond doubt, but they went to the antithesis of what they left, and had suffered loss of fortune and martyrdom for, and became stern, and even unlovely in their Christianity. The words; " Fear God " were more often spoken by them than those other words ; " Love God ", and their children were brought up " in the fear of the Lord". It is doubtful, had they been differently constituted in their religious devotion and manner of life, that New England would ever have come into existence and, if it had, that it would have become the corner- stone of the United States ; and the people the personification of the best American manhood and citizenship. So, while the people of New England have become the most ardent of God-loving peoples, they began in the Fear of the Lord.
One of the most notable of these God-fearing men was the Rev. Thomas Hooker, a learned, profound and brilliant preacher, of Clemsford, in Essex, England, who for non-conformity was subject to fines, imprisonment and persecution, by that class of Christians which then professed to love God rather than fear Him. So great was Thomas Hooker's fame that forty ministers, all of whom were conformists, took up his cause and petitioned the Bishop of London not to make it necessary for him to leave his native land, but without avail.
As a preacher of the Gospel his fame was wide, for he pos- sessed the brilliancy that attracted the intellectual, the simplicity
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that appealed to the simple and the power that convinced both classes of the truth of the Gospel that he preached. Emi- nent persons, among them the Earl of Warwick, came from great distances to hear him preach and many were willing to hazard life in a new, strange and wild country, to continue in the benefits of his teaching.
Thomas Hooker fled to Holland to escape the fines and im- prisonment that would have overtaken him had he remained in England. Soon after his people were deprived of his presence they began to long for a place to go, where they could live in freedom of worship with their beloved minister. They naturally thought of that new continent in the west, whither others had already fled and had made settlements. In 1632, a large number sailed for New England and settled in Cambridge - then called Newtown - and those who had arrived a little before them and had settled in Weymouth, joined those of Newtown. The Rev. Thomas Hooker, having been made acquainted with their plans and their earnest desire that he would join them as their minister, left Holland for Newtown. He brought with him as teacher of the Gospel, Samuel Stone, who was a lecturer in Towcester, Northamptonshire, England. He and his company arrived at Boston on September 4, 1633. In that company of 200, were Cotton, Goff and Haynes, who later became Governor of Connecticut. Mr. Hooker immediately went to Newtown and was welcomed by his people. On October II, after prayer and fasting, Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone were ordained as the minister and teacher of the community.
The Connecticut Valley was already known to the people of Plymouth, Boston and Newtown, through the Indians who had tried to induce the English in those places to go to it for settle- ment, and from a few hardy pioneers, of whom John Oldham was the chief and most notable. So, when in 1634, Newtown and the neighboring settlements began to suffer from a lack of food and other necessities, through the steadily increasing popu- lation, Hooker and Stone and their people naturally looked toward the beautiful river where the land was so fertile, and fur- bearing animals so numerous. It seems strange now, that 270 years ago those Massachusetts towns could possibly have been over populated. Of course there was area sufficient, but the
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difficulty was, that the people lacked the necessary knowledge for making the soil produce food.
This proposed exodus aroused the Massachusetts authorities. Forgetting that they had left their homes in England for the greater freedom hoped for in the new world, the people of Massa- chusetts strongly opposed the inherent right of Thomas Hooker and his people to go whither they pleased. But finally, in 1635, the General Court, which had absolutely no right to interfere in the matter or to dictate as to the movements of individuals or companies, graciously granted permission for the removal to the Connecticut Valley. In 1636, Thomas Hooker, Samuel Stone and one hundred men, women and children, started through the wilderness, in which there was not even an Indian trail. When it is remembered that many of the company were persons of gentle birth, who were totally unacquainted with work or hard- ship, their sufferings may be realized. The fact that breeding imparts courage, fortitude and the power to accommodate oneself to all conditions, is emphasized by this enterprise. They drove before them cattle, the milk of the cows forming their chief sustenance. Mrs. Hooker was carried on a litter. Arriving at the beautiful valley they settled at Suckiaug and named their settlement Newtown after the place they had left behind, but in February, 1637, the name was changed to Hartford, in honor of Samuel Stone, that being his birthplace in the Old Country. Both Stone and Hooker were University men, they being graduates of Emmanuel College at Cambridge.
The land was purchased by the original white proprictors from the Indian, Chief Sequasson, the original proprietor. The Pequots naturally resented this and, no doubt, they were excited to hatred of the English settlers by the Dutch traders. The Dutch generally got along well with Indians. They had no compunctions about selling them rum. If the thirsty Indian had a good supply of exceptionably fine pelts for trade, the Dutch trader often gave the rum, so that the bar- gain for the pelts would be much more advantageous for the trader, because of the muddled condition of the Indian's mind.
The Pequots knew very well, that unless the English were somehow got out of the way, the time was not far distant
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when they would be humiliated in the sight of the hated River Indians, and would also be under the control and sub- ject to the laws of the English. An Indian chief to the Dutch was an Indian chief; to the English he was a heathen who must be converted to Christianity and taught the ways of civilization, and made to live as nearly in conformity with those ways as possible. Another cause for Pequot hatred of the English was, that with the English behind them the River Indians would refuse to pay further tribute to the
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Pequots. So Thomas Hooker and his friends found them- selves and their homes. in daily danger from the cruel Pe- quots, and finally the Pequot war came upon the people. They met it with the same energy and determination not to fail, with which they met every difficulty, danger or under- taking. Hartford's share in it was creditable; as was that of other settlements which took part in war. Coming so soon after they had effected their settlement, and before they had had time to become accustomed to Indian fighting; in
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fact before they had become fully accustomed to the new conditions in which they were living; it is a wonder that the English were not annihilated.
The danger from attack by small bands of Indians at unex- pected times was so great, that the General Court formed a guard, armed and provided with at least two rounds of am- munition each, which should attend public worship at the meeting-houses on Sundays, under the command of two sergeants, one of whom sat inside the church with the guard, near the door, while the other acted as sentinel outside the church. This custom obtained in nearly every settlement in Connecticut.
Finally, on May 1, 1637, after about thirty settlers had been killed by Indians, the General Court met and declared a war of extermination against the Pequots. As the matter to be considered and decided upon was of so great import- ance, the towns, for the first time, sent committees to the General Court. The men on the committee were; The Messrs. Chaplin, Geffords, Hull, Mitchell, Sherman, Talcott, Whiting, Webster and Williams. The Magistrates of the Court were; The Messrs. Ludlow, Phelps, Swain, Steel, Wells and Ward. Of the ninety men to be raised in Hart- ford, Wethersfield and Windsor for the army that was to exterminate the Pequots, Hartford's quota was forty-two, and the Rev. Samuel Stone was the chaplain. When the Yankee of early days awoke, ate or went to sleep he asked for the blessing and protection of Almighty God, and so they did, on this occasion. When the little army of much less than two hundred men started from Hartford down the river to the Pequot country, their faithful minister stood on the bank of the river surrounded by the wives, mothers and sweet- hearts, whose fortitude was as great as the men's courage, and called down upon them God's blessing and protection, and His strength, that they might fight to win. They fought and won and when they returned to their homes the pro- prietors of Hartford granted to them twenty-eight acres of land known as " Soldier's Field ", in grateful appreciation of their services. Some authorities claim that this was the first act of the kind in America.
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The success of this war made the English the masters of the Indians and forced them to obey certain laws that were passed, regulating their relations and conduct with the whites. Hartford, however, was by no means finished with Indian dangers. In 1642, it was discovered that the River Indians and Narragansetts had concocted a joyous little plot to kill all of the English, but vigorous action on the part of the authorities, in putting the Train Band in effective condition ; in communicating with the authorities of Massachusetts and restricting the " comings " of the Indians (they might go where they pleased, even to the devil) ; the plot came to naught.
The restrictions regulating the " comings" of the Indians were rigid. They were not permitted to enter Hartford in bands, small or large, and absolutely no Indian was allowed in the town at night. No Indian was allowed to enter a house, except that of a magistrate and then, only a sachem and but two other Indians with him. It was against the law for a settler to sell a dog to the Indians or to go to their wigwams, in the South Meadows, to trade with them, nor could the whites sell arms or powder to them. Finally, the conditions were greatly improved, and the entire defeat of the Pequots removed the greatest cause for alarm, but did not entirely remove the danger from fanatical, revengeful Indians who, considering the settlers to be interlopers and land-robbers, thought whitemen's scalps a pleasing offering to Kiehtan, their " Great Spirit ".
Such eminent historical writers and students as John Fiske and Alexander Johnston and other men of equal repute, give Hartford the unique and enviable reputation of being the place in which the first written constitution of the world, " as a permanent limitation on governmental power ", as Professor Johnston ex- presses it, was conceived and brought forth.
Again quoting Professor Johnston: "The common opinion is, that democracy came into the American system through the compact made in the cabin of the Mayflower, though that instru- ment was based upon no political principle whatever, and began with a formal acknowledgement of the king as the source of all authority. It was the power of the crown ' by virtue ' of which 'equal laws' were to be enacted, and the ' covenant' was merely
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a makeshift to meet a temporary emergency : it had not a particle of political significance, nor was democracy an impelling force in it. It must be admitted that the Plymouth system was acci- dentally democratic, but it was from the absence of any great need for government or for care to preserve homogeneity in religion, not from political purpose, as in Connecticut. It was a passive, not an active system; and it cannot be said to have influenced other American commonwealths. Another though less prevalent opinion is, that the first democratic commonwealth was the mother colony of Massachusetts Bay. On the con- trary, it is not difficult to show that the settlement of Connecticut was itself merely a secession of the democratic element from Massachusetts, and that the Massachusetts freemen owed their final emancipation from a theocracy to the example given them by the eldest daughter of the old commonwealth."
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