USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Cornwall > Historical records of the town of Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut; > Part 20
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199
CORNWALL HOLLOW.
Hollow to resist the application, as well as the chagrin and disap- pointment which prevailed when the town voted to set off the ap- plicants according to their request. My uncle Benjamin was the collector of the tax which was levied to build the new school-house, and a lawsuit to test the legality of his levy on the property of Joel Harrison was tried before the Superior Court at Litchfield. The levy was sustained by the judgment of the court.
The school-house which stood till within a few years on the site of the present house, was built, I think, in 1804. I am told that the district records, which would fix the date precisely, are lost. The first and last clerk of the district whom I knew in that office, was James F. Bradford, and the first moderator of a school-meet- ing at which I was present, was Ozias Hurlbut. The teachers, whose school I remember to have attended in the old school-house at the foot of Ford Hill, were Dr. Everest, whose father lived in the South Society, my uncle Roderick Sedgwick, Gilman Hurlburt, Almira Hurlburt, and Clarissa Steele. The first school in the new house was kept by Henry Baldwin. Miss Steele kept the last school in the old house, and the first summer school in the new. Her subsequent history was eventful. In the summer of 1806 she was employed to keep the school on Canaan Mountain, and there a maniac of the name of Isaac Baldwin attempted to assasi- nate her in the school-house, after she had dismissed her school for the day. He belonged to Litchfield, was of a highly respecta- ble family, and a graduate of Yale College of the class of 1801. He seems to have entertained a passionate fondness for Miss Steele, which, in his state of mental derangement, she could not recipro- cate, and in desperation determined to take her life. He entered the school-house at the close of the school, and with a knife in- flicted several dangerous wounds upon her face and neck, nearly cutting off the lower part of an ear, but her resolute resistance, and the coming in of two or three women whom her cries had alarmed, prevented the consummation of his purpose. She lin- gered a long while between life and death at the house of Joshua Munson, and finally recovered a tolerable degree of health. She had been an inmate of my father's family, and went from our house to the Mountain school. I went to see her two or three days after she was injured, and found her under the care of Dr. Humphrey of Norfolk, a young physician who had just commenced practice. Soon after her recovery she became the wife of Dr. Humphrey, but she lived but a little more than two years after her
200
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
marriage with him. I was living in Norfolk at the time, and was present at her bedside when she breathed her last. Baldwin fled to the mountain north of the school-house, but was arrested within twenty-six hours after he had attempted to take the life of Miss Steele. I remember to have seen him in a day or two there- after on his way to Litchfield on horseback, under the care of Sheriff Landon, with his hands pinioned behind him. He was tried for the act, but was acquitted on the ground of insanity, but was kept in confinement till his father removed to the West and took him with him.
About the year 1780 General Sedgwick erected a forge on the stream which runs through the east side of the Hollow just above where it enters the meadow lands, and there grew up a small business hamlet. Large quantities of iron were manufactured from the Salisbury ore, and two dwelling-houses were erected near the forge, which afforded accommodations for several families of the operators. A shoemaker's shop was also built, where that business was carried on 'by Benjamin Palmer, who came to the Hollow from Barkhamsted. This last mentioned building was occupied one summer for a neighborhood school, which was kept by Mrs. Bierce, wife of Joseph Bierce, who was also a shoemaker, and lived in one of the houses in the hamlet. This school I at- tended, being then probably about seven years of age. Joseph Wilcox here erected his first blacksmith's shop and commenced working at his trade, which he followed many years, and also oc- cupied, with his family, one of the houses I have spoken of. He afterwards removed his shop and changed his dwelling-house up the hill to the turnpike road, directly opposite my father's, and kept it in operation till 1807, when he removed to Huntsville, or Ireland, as it was then called. This shop was a great place of re- sort for the men of the neighborhood on rainy days, and all the common topics of the day, public and private, received ample dis- cussion and appropriate criticism. After Mr. Wilcox removed to Canaan the shop was carried on by Dudley Henderson, afterwards of Goshen, and when he gave it up the blacksmith's business in the Hollow ceased to be prosecuted. The forge was destroyed by fire in 1803, as near as I can remember, and the buildings which stood around it gradually disappeared, and not a vestige of any of them now remains.
General Sedgwick also erected a grist-mill on the same stream, about sixty rods above the forge, which did a good business ac-
201
CORNWALL HOLLOW.
cording to the extent of its accommodations, there being but one pair of stones in it. I have heard my grandfather say that it yielded him one hundred bushels of grain annually clear of all de- ductions. The house built for the miller was the first built on the east side of the Hollow, which stood in Cornwall. As early as 1770 Jeremiah Harris had built a house over the Goshen line where Mr. Lawton lately lived, and owned a farm of about one hundred and thirty acres. He sold this to General Sedgwick in 1783. The farm contained all the land which was owned by my uncle Henry, now owned by Erastus Merwin, which lies in Goshen, and extends around the saw-mill pond, and up to the hill east of it. The first miller was a Mr. Ensign, the next was Theron Beach, uncle of the late Theron Beach, Esq., of Litchfield, who, when the mill was still for want of custom, used to weave cloth for the neighbors, his loom standing in the upper loft of the mill. The miller's house was the one occupied by Joseph Wilcox after he removed up the hill, and was much enlarged by him.
The next house after the miller's, erected on the east side of the Hollow, was the one erected by my grandfather for my uncle Henry, and it is the one now owned by Erastus Merwin, Esq .; and in that house I was born, my father and mother living in the same house with his brother while their house was being built. My uncle Henry kept a tavern for several years, and in his house all the dancing parties were held which I ever knew of in the Hollow, and they were not infrequent in my early days. The next house on that side was that erected for my father, and next to that the house by the saw-mill, which were all on that side till the Wilcox family removed their habitations. General Sedgwick apportioned to each of the three sons I have mentioned, John, my father, and Henry, more than one hundred acres of land, and built a new house and barn for each. The mill of which I have spoken was carried off by a freshet in 1805-6. The immediate cause of its destruction was the breaking away of the saw-mill dam above it. A heavy rain produced such a pressure upon the dam that it yielded, and the rush and roar of the waters was terrible. The turnpike bridge, a small saw-mill which had been erected by my uncle Henry, and the grist-mill, were all borne off like a feather upon a gale of wind. The millstones, which weighed more than a ton each, were carried more than twenty rods, and deposited in the bottom of the stream. In 1816 they were purchased by Captain Jonah Lawrence, of North Canaan, and placed for use in a mill which he built that year.
26
202
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
General Sedgwick also erected a saw-mill on the spot where that owned by Mr. Merwin now stands, before the commencement of the present century. This mill stands in Goshen, within a rod of the line, but the house attached to it is in Cornwall. This mill, from my earliest memory, was under the care of Jephtha Merrills, a man of singular habits, and of a certain kind of drollery, which gave him a considerable notoriety. He was the most perfect mimic I ever saw. He would imitate to striking perfection the voices of men, women, and beasts, and could set off by droll descrip- tions anything and everything that fell under his observation. He was a soldier of the Revolution, and was at the battle of Long Island, and exposed to all the perils of the retreat to and from New York, and I have often been entertained by his graphic descriptions of the scenes of those trying days. His manners and deportment were in strong contrast with those of his wife, who was a mother in Israel-one of the excellent of the earth.
There was, from my earliest recollection, a small local congrega- tion of Episcopalians, who had stated worship after the forms of that denomination, either in the Hollow, or in the next neighbor- hood above in Canaan. The meetings were generally held at the school-house, but during one summer they were held at Joseph Wilcox's, and during one winter they were held at Zadock Wilcox's. They were conducted by a lay reader called Deacon Howe, although I am not aware that he ever held that office. Occasionally, the priest from Litchfield would visit them and administer the sacrament, and the service was kept up as long as Deacon Howe was able to carry it on, and before he gave it up he was assisted occasionally by Captain Reuben Wilcox. I became so familiar with that form of worship as contained in their ritual, by attending those meetings, that I have retained it ever since, and when I worship with Episcopalians I can anticipate every successive change in the service. I believe the Episcopal worship has not been celebrated in the Hollow for many years.
The Methodist circuit preacher visited this locality at a very early period. The only early Methodists in the Hollow were Ozias Hurlburt and his wife, Joshua Saunders and his wife, and the wife of Joab Hurlburt; but on the hills of Goshen, adjacent, there were several families of that order, and the meetings were well attended. But the principal supply of preaching at the Methodist meetings was by the Rev. Henry Christie, a local preacher, who for many years held stated religious services in the Hollow and its
203
CORNWALL HOLLOW.
vicinity. Mr. Christie lived where the late Henry Baldwin lived, and was a tailor by trade. He was the son of an officer in the British army who came to this country in the time of the old French war, and I have heard him say that he was born in Albany, where his father was then stationed. Sometimes, and most of the time, the meetings were held at the school-house, sometimes at the house of Ozias Hurlburt, and during one summer at the house of David Smith, at the Hollow Hill in Goshen. The minister received frequent contributions as the reward of his labor, and the rich west- side farmers, Lient. Riley, Philo Collins, and Thomas Beach, were not stinted in their donations. Mr. Christie was a man.of moder- ate abilities as a preacher, but was of an excellent spirit. His ser- mons were without method or point, but his prayers were free, fluent, and fervent, and he is entitled to a grateful remembrance by the people of the Hollow for honest service and faithful labor. He removed to Ohio in 1837.
The Congregationalists in the Hollow did not number very strong in the early years of this century. There was occasionally a conference meeting, and the only persons whom I remember as taking part in them were, my grandfather, Mr. Daniel Harrison, and Mr. Ichabod Howe. Mr. Hawes, Congregational pastor of North Cornwall, occasionally held service at Mr. Harrison's, but the principal meetings of that order were at the center of the parish.
Nearly fifty years ago stated meetings were commenced here by the Rev. Mr. Talmadge, a Baptist clergyman, who was a good, sound, sensible preacher, and whose labors were well adapted to advance the cause of religion and sound morals in the neighbor- hood. The enterprise of this worthy denomination was such that they erected, many years ago, a beautiful house of worship, and it is among the most pleasant incidents of my visiting the Hollow during these later years, that I can know that so appropriate a place has been provided, and that evangelical christian worship is constantly maintained. Christian ordinances are the best conser- vators of public morals.
I have now accomplished, as far as I am able to do it, the pur- pose I undertook in gathering up some historical facts and inci- dents relating to the neighborhood in which I was born. I am well aware that the work has been very imperfectly done. Very few of my old acquaintances remain to assist in bringing up to memory the scenes of other days, or the men of other times. It is
204
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
nearly fifty years since I ceased to have a home among you, and you must be well aware that great changes-perhaps more notice- able to me than to you who have remained here-have taken place here during the currency of that period. The face of nature, it is true, is unchanged. The same sun still comes up from behind that spur of the Green mountain range that came up fifty years ago, and looking at his fair face to day, I do not perceive that he has grown dim with age during that period. The same mountains still lift their summits to the storms and defy the thunderbolts, and the same beautiful streamlets reflect the moonbeams, and fertilize the valley; but in other respects the changes and vicissitudes which mark the progress of human affairs toward the final consum- mation of all things are going forward here as they are elsewhere. Be these changes what they may, or how they may, I shall never cease to cherish with fond emotions the memory of my early expe- rience in this pleasant locality, and to say from the heart :
O, give me back my native hills, Rough, rugged though they be, No other clime, no other land Is half so dear to me. The sun looks bright, the world looks fair, And friends surround me here ; And memory, brooding o'er the past, Gives home its tribute tear. -
Though far from home, the heart may still Reflect surrounding light,
When stranger smiles enkindle love, And stranger hearts delight ; Yet, oh, they call the memory back, As meteor-like they glide, To tell how kind our early friends, How dear our old fireside.
My native hills, still dear to me Wherever I may roam, With lofty pride and cherished love, I'll think of thee, my home. For rooted in thy rock-bound sides The noblest virtues grow, And beauty's choicest flowers are cull'd From out thy highland snow.
Then give me back my native hills, Rough, rugged though they be, No other clime, no other land Is half so dear to me. Affection's ties around my home Like ivy tendrils twine, My love, my blessings, and my prayers, My native hills, are thinc.
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205
SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION.
SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION.
I cannot give even the names of many of our revolutionary heroes, but brief reminiscences of a few are here presented.
Phineas Hart was a pensioner; lived to about eighty years; when over seventy, walked a journey in one week of over three hundred miles. He lived and died at a house on the Canaan road, a little north of James Reed's.
CAPT. EDWARD ROGERS,
the father of Col. Anson Rogers, was an officer both in the French and Revolutionary wars. He held a captain's commission during the latter. He was a man of good judgment, genial manners, and kindness of heart. Whilst he lived his house was ever open, and made welcome to the old soldiers, some of whom might almost be said to have lived there. A copy of his will, now before me, dated April 27, 1757, bequeathing £100 to his five sisters, and the residue of his estate to his brother Noah, was made as stated when he " was bound on the expedition against the French." With such a docu- ment in hand, we realize the dangers of our forefathers. He was a country merchant, a farmer, a manufacturer; he had a potashery in Cornwall, and made potash in 1775, as the books show in the purchase of ashes and the sale of potash, and long engaged in both military and civil service. His papers, still in possession of his descendants, show his abundant labors, and in lack of a complete list of soldiers furnished by Cornwall, we give a mileage list of his company, also an alarm list, which is marked as Capt. Rogers's company, though the names of other captains are attached to it. Some erasures and some additions on the list as here printed, in different ink, indicate it as having done duty for some time. This contains all the names on it:
An Abstract of the Mileage of Capt. Edward Rogers' Company in late Col. F. Gay's Regiment, returning at the end of the campaign.
MILES
MEN'S NAMES.
DISCHARGED AT
RETURNING TO
DIST'T.
Edward Rogers, Capt.,
Northı Castle,
Cornwall,
77
6: 5
Hezh. Andrews, Lieut.,
do.,
Canaan,
87
7: 3
Joel Hinman, Ensign,
clo.,
Woodbury,
55
4: 7
Joshua Parmele, Sergt.,
do.,
Cornwall.
77
6: 5
Wm. Avery,
do.,
do.,
Sharon,
77
6: 5
Jacob Williams, do.,
do.,
Canaan,
87
7: 3
Simeon Barns, do.,
do.,
Woodbury,
55
4: 7
Timothy Doughty, Drummer,
Philipsborough,
Sharon,
83
6:11
Samuel Darrow, Fifer,
Norwalk,
Canaan,
5:10
£0:6 : 5
Nathaniel Hamlin, Lieut.,
do.,
Sharon,
206
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
MEN'S NAMES.
DISCHARGED AT
RETURNING TO
DIST'T.
Timothy Knapp, Corporal,
Norwalk,
Cornwall,
60
5: 0
. Gershom Dormon, do.,
North Castle,
Sharon,
Canaan,
20
5:10
John Demmin, do ..
North Castle,
Woodbury,
55
4: 7
Solomon Emmons,
do.,
Cornwall,
77
6: 5
Timothy Rowley,
do.,
do.,
6: 5
Joseph Brown,
do.,
do.,
6: 5
Daniel Harrison,
do.,
do ..
6: 5
James Wilson,
Norwalk,
do.,
60
5: 0
John White, Sen.,
Philipsborough,
do ..
83
6:11
James Sterling,
Norwalk,
dlo.,
60
5: 0
Ichabod Brown,
North Castle,
do.,
6: 5
Benj'n Carrier,
Philipsborough,
Canaan,
93
77: 9
Roswel Fuller,
North Castle,
do.,
87
7: 3
Samuel Partridge.
do.,
do.,
7: 3
David Whitney,
do.,
do.,
87
7: 3
Peter Tooley,
Norwalk,
do.,
70
5:10
Nehemiah Smith, .
Norwalk, do.,
Canaan,
70
5:10
John Whitney,
North Castle,
do.,
87
7: 3
David Lawrance,
do ..
do.,
87
7: 3
Uriah Williams,
Norwalk,
do.,
20
5:10
Luke Rowland,
Norwalk, do.,
do ..
70
5:10
Samuel Franklin,
North Castle,
do.,
87
7: 3
Elisha Forbbs,
do.,
do.,
7: 3
Lewis Hurd,
North Castle, do.,
Woodbury,
55
4: 7
Solomon Reynolds,
do.,
55
4: 7
Simeon Rood,
Norwalk,
do.,
40
3: 4
Timothy Johnson,
North Castle,
do.,
55
4: 7
Andrew Coe,
North Castle,
Woodbury,
55
4: ₸
John White, 2d,
North Castle,
Sharon,
77
6: 5
Elnathan Knapp,
Norwalk,
Sharon,
60
5: 0
Thomas Hamlin,
Norwalk,
do.,
60
5: 0)
William Robinson,
North Castle,
do.,
7
6: 5
Joel Jackson,
Norwalk,
do ..
60
5: 0
Sluman Abels,
Philipsborouglı,
do.,
83
6:11
Peter Pratt,
North Castle,
do.,
77
6: 5
David Simons,
Philipsborough,
do.,
83
6:11
Gamaliel Pardee,
Norwalk,
do.,
40
5: 0
Adam Wagner,
do.,
do.,
55
4: 7
Nathan Bristol,
do.,
do.,
55
4: 7
Ephraim Herrick,
do.,
do.,
55
4: 7
Justus Jolinson,
do.,
do.,
55
4: 7
Dead.
in Captivity,
William Jakways,
Norwalk,
Canaan,
5:10
Samuel Sirdam,
do.,
do.,
70
5:10
Isaac Cool, Samuel Williams,
do.,
do.,
70
5:10
North Castle.
do.,
87
7: 3
A list of the Number and Names of such as are of the Alarm List who have their abode within the Limits of the fourth Company or Trainband in the 14th Regiment in the State of Connecticut :
Col. Ileman Swift,
Capt. Thos. Porter,
Elijah Hopkins, Jonathan Crocker,
James McClary, Nehemiah Barsley,
5:10
Ebenezer Pardee,
Dead.
Asa Smith,
do.,
70
5:10
George White,
do.,
do.,
87
7: 3
John Curtice,
North Castle,
do.,
7: 3
Jonathan Blinn,
do.,
(10.,
87
7: 3
William Fellows,
do.,
do.,
7: 3
Asa Cole,
do.,
do.,
John Cusehoy,
Dead.
David Franklin,
Dead.
· David Douglass,
in Captivity.
Samuel Lamson,
Dead.
Daniel Coon,
North Castle, do.,
do.,
77
6: 5
Cornelus Hamlin,
do.,
77
6: 5
Asa Hamlin,
North Castle,
do.,
David Hicock,
North Castle,
Woodbury,
55
1: 7
Daniel Potter.
do.,
do.,
55
4: 7
Lemnel Gillet,
James Daley,
6: 5
Daniel Harris, do.,
Norwalk,
Francis Brown,
do.,
do.,
6: 5
6: 5
do.,
5:10
Aaron Brownell,
MILES.
207
SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION.
Lieut. Ebenezer Dibble, Elnathan Patterson,
Silas Clark,
Lient. Matt. Patterson, Sherman Patterson,
Kitchel Bell,
Ensign Benoni Peck,
Hezekiah Barsc,
Samuel Bassett,
Abraham Payne,
Josiah Patterson,
John Dibble, 2d,
James Barse, Samuel Sawyer,
Thos. Dean,
Sele Abbott,
Timothy Cole,
Hezekiah Carter,
Job Simmons,
Noah Bull.
David Lindsly,
Jesse Jerrards,
38 in number.
Samuel Sawyer,
Rufus Payne,
John Millard, Jr.,
John McHannah, 33
Peter Rumer,
Samuel Abbott, 38
John Carter,
Jethro Bonney,
John Sprague,
Abel Abbott, 74 Capt. Rogers's Company.
CORNWALL, 17th March, 1777. pr. JOSHUA PIERCE, Captain of the Company.
Capt. ROGERS.
"The subjoined order for teams shows that the pressure of mili- tary necessity was felt even among our hills :
These Lines are to Sertify all whom it may Conserne that I the Sub- scriber was sent by Mr. Isaac Bauldwin A. D. Qt. to Edward Rogers with a desir for him to Procure ten teames in this Place to tranceport one Hundred Barrels of flower to Litchfield on next Sabooth Day if the teams Cannot be procured no other way they must be pressed.
CORNWALL, April 9, 1779.
pr. Jos. GREGORY.
The following Act of the General Assembly, found among the same papers, shows the pressing necessities upon the country at that time, in a clearer light than I can in any other way:
At a General Assembly of the Governor and Company of the State of Connecticut, holden at Hartford, (by special Order of his Excellency the Governor,) on the 7th Day of April, A. D. 1779.
An Act for ascertaining the Quantity of Grain, Flour and Meal in this State, and thereof to make provision for an immediate Supply of Bread for the Army, and the necessitous Inhabitants of the State, and for securing other necessary Articles for the Army.
Be it enacted by the Governor, Council and Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That an exact account shall be taken of the number of persons belonging to each family in this State, and of the quantity of wheat, meslin, rye and Indian corn ; and of all the flour and meal made of such grain, in the possession of every person in this State, in manner following, viz .: That the Select-Men in each town by themselves, or such persons as they shall appoint, shall, by the twenty-ninth day of April instant, give warning in writing or otherwise, to all the heads of families and other persons in their towns, to make and return to them, on or before the sixth day of May next, a true account, under oath, (or affirmation if of the people called Quakers,) of all the wheat, meslin, rye and Indian corn, and of all the flour and meal made of such grain, which they have in their possession, and to whom
Jolın Dibble, 3d,
208
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
the same belongs, on the twenty-ninth day of April aforesaid ; and also an exact account of the number of persons each family consists of, on penalty that each person who refuseth to give a true account of his or her grain, flour and meal, as aforesaid, shall forfeit to and for the use of this state, double the value of such grain and meal as any such person hath, and is found to be possessed of on said twenty-ninth day of April, and also the sum of one hundred pounds lawful money, to be recovered by bill, plaint or information, which oath shall be in the form following, viz. :
" You A. B. do swear, (or affirm) that this return by you made, con- tains a just and true account of all the wheat, meslin, rye, Indian corn, flour and meal, made of either of said kinds of grain, you had on the twenty-ninth day of April, 1779, in your possession, being either your own, or the property of any other person, and the number of persons of which your family consists, according to the best of your knowledge. So help you God."
Which oath may be administered by an Assistant or Justice of Peace, or any Select-Man, within the town to which he belongs. That the Select-Men of each town, by themselves or such person or persons as they shall appoint, shall receive said accounts so returned, and enter them in a book, or roll, keeping each family and its number of persons, with the kinds and quantities of such grain, flour and meal returned, as the stores of each family, or on hand, in distinct columns; and of all persons having such grain, flour or meal in possession at the time afore- said, with the footing of the sum total of the inhabitants, and of each kind of the aforesaid grain, flour and meal in each town, on the twenty- ninth day of April instant ; and such book or roll so made up, shall be lodged with the town clerk in such town, by the tenth day of May next, and a true return of the sum total of such inhabitants, and of each kind of such grain, flour and meal aforesaid in each town, shall by the Select- Men be made from the footings of rolls aforesaid, entered in separate columns according to the form hereto annexed, and transmitted to his Excellency the Governor, by the fifteenth day of May next.
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