USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Cornwall > Historical records of the town of Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut; > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48
Like the generality of his race he was addicted to intoxication, and even in the army, he was sentenced for that offence to a ride on the wooden horse in front of the regiment. While being thus transported on the shoulders of his comrades Lieut. Tanner asked him if he did not feel ashamed to be presented to the Regiment in that way. "Yes," said Tom, "I am ashamed to think that our Lieutenant must go on foot, while a poor old Indian can ride."
Here is another anecdote: Capt. Jeffers once meeting him said, " Why, Tom, I was in hopes you were dead." "Why," said Tom, " do you want the widow ?"
Very few among the living can remember him, but his revolu- tionary services and the universal kindness with which he was re- garded renders it proper that his memory should be preserved.
FARMING AND FARMERS.
Farming has ever been the general occupation of the citizens of this town. A thick and unbroken forest covered the whole town- ship. The first explorers found it difficult to select the most desira- ble locations, hence we view with surprise the choice made by many for their homes. We can hardly conceive of the labors and trials which they endured in clearing and subdning to culture these wild hills. The possession of capital gave little advantage or very slight exemption from toil and hardship. House-building, road- building, clearing of land, culture of crops, planting of orchards, destruction of noxious animals, protection from the Indians, the erection of mills, the establishment of schools and churches, and of town government, gave abundant employment for all. Popula- tion increased rapidly, both by immigration and natural growth- all supported by home-grown products. The few supplies brought with the settlers from earlier settlements were soon exhausted, and the difficulty of transportation rendered them dependent upon their own resources. The native forest, consisting largely of white
4
26
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
oak, chestnut, and hickory, indicated a strong and productive soil, adapted to the growth of Indian corn, wheat, rye, oats, grass, fruit; in fact, all the great staples of northern agriculture. Potatoes were then unknown as an article of food. Though a native of America, they were only known as a tropical product. The mem- ory of the generation just passing away reaches the date of their introduction, and for some time a store of two or three bushels was considered a full family supply. Turnips, beans, green corn, and pumpkins were the principal vegetables, while dry corn in the shape of samp or hominy, coarsely pounded in the old samp mor- tars, formed the main reliance. These mortars were made of a pepperidge log, about one foot in diameter and two feet long. The ends were cut off square, so that it stood on end, and the upper hollowed to receive the grain. The pestle was of hard wood, two feet or more in length, with a handle inserted in the side like a common hammer. These mortars are still to be found around old homesteads, having been in use even in this century for pounding corn, salt, etc.
Samp Mortar and Pestle.
As soon as mills could be erected, wheat and rye were raised in considerable quantity. The virgin soil yielded a rich return even to their rude culture. No soil exhaustion troubled them. The Canada thistle, and other noxious weeds, were unknown. The hardhack (Potentilla fruticosa) had not invaded their pastures. The apple-worm, the borer, pear-blight, peach-tree yellows, curculio, and plum-knot, were evils of which they never heard. So that they had some happy compensations to make up for their priva- tions, and, to balance the supposed necessities of the present day, when our farmers feed upon wheat grown beyond the Missouri, the cattle of Illinois and our own cattle are fattened upon the corn of the far west.
The rich grass springing everywhere where the forest was cleared, indicated the dairy as a leading branch of their hus- bandry. As soon as their family wants were supplied, the dairy furnished a product which would allow of transportation, and which, with beef and pork, has continued to be the main reliance
27
FARMING AND FARMERS.
of our farmers for supplying their outside wants. The distance of markets for the sale of produce and purchase of supplies, made a self-reliant system of mixed husbandry a necessity. Not only was the food supply homegrown, but clothing, in its material and man- ufacture, was all homespun. The farmer and his family were clad in linen spun and woven in the house from flax grown and dressed on the farm, or woolen from his own sheep, colored with native dyestuffs, as butternut or'oak, when the black sheep were too few to give the due proportion of colored wool. Shoes were from the hides of his own animals, tanned by himself, or, later, at some neighboring tannery, and made up by the traveling shoemaker, who, " whipping the cat," carried his own tools and wax, but worked up the homegrown leather with shoe-thread and pegs all grown on the farm. A wooden standard at one end of his bench provided for two candles, an extravagance otherwise not allowed- but these were of home material, tallow with a tow wick-their slender proportions revealing more clearly than any other single thing the leanness of their housekeeping.
Stoves were unknown. Fifty years count back to the time when they were as rare as open fireplaces now are. Most ample fireplaces received wood as large as could be handled, the object being to consume it as rapidly as possible. The huge chimney was a perfect ventilator; and in spite of their fatigues and toil, and lack of now called comforts, they enjoyed life with a zest surpass- ing the present. Four families in one school-district, with twelve children each (West District), made lively times-and all earned their own bread.
Acute disease often carried them off suddenly, and the feeble had little chance of life; yet their very hardships gave them strength and long lives, and strong vitality marked our ancestors. But this has no connection with farming, except as showing how farmers lived.
For stock, their cattle were small and rough, of various colors, brindle and brown being favorites ; yet many of the cows were good milkers. The sheep were a long-legged, scraggy race, with thin and coarse wool, but hardy and good nurses. The swine were especially coarse and thick-skinned, often large.
Tools of all kinds were of the rudest description. The plow was of wood, the point being of steel or iron fashioned by the black- smith, whose shop was located in every neighborhood for the con- venience of sharpening the plow-irons; the harrow home-made, with
28
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
wooden teeth; the hay and manure forks of iron, so heavy that no man now would use them; in fact, the change in farming tools has been almost as great as the change in the aspect of the township from the primeval forest to the cultivated field of the present. Yet we should make as poor work farming with the stock of a hundred years ago as with their tools. Because we have no specimens left of the former, we do not notice the change.
THE FARMERS' CLUB.
This institution, which has effected much good in this commun- ity, socially, morally, and physically, originated in the year 1846. One evening in the month of November of that year, six men, by previous agreement, met at the house of T. L. Hart, Esq., and organized this club. Meetings were held in several neighborhoods once in two weeks during the winter. The numbers increased; some addresses were delivered, and the public mind became informed and interested in the objects aimed at; which were the gathering and diffusion of agricultural and horticultural knowledge among the people.
The peculiarly social features of this club, the farmers and their wives and children meeting for social intercourse, as well as instruction, have given it a permanence and practical value that otherwise could not have been attained. The enthusiasm of num- bers has given strength to the institution. Meetings have been continued with more or less regularity every winter since its form- ation.
It is entirely beyond the reach of human calculation to estimate all the good which the organization and continuance of the Farmers' Club has produced. In a pecuniary point of view it has well paid, while in intellectual, social, and moral benefits it has accomplished still greater good. It has multiplied knowledge, improved man- ners by increasing social intercourse, eradicating those petty jeal- ousies and bickerings which are too common a source of trouble in neighborhoods. Who, that has been well acquainted with this community for the last twenty-five years, is not aware of its bene- fits ? Cherish this institution, and, while you labor for its success, you will share its blessings. Beautiful homes will more and more adorn your hills and valleys. A broader and kinder spirit of good feeling will mark this people in all their social relations; and to have a residence here will be no common blessing.
FOREIGN MISSION SCHOOL.
29
SCHOOLS.
SCHOOLS.
Foreign Mission School .- The Board of Foreign Missions, in 1816, resolved to establish a school in this country for the education of foreign youth, designing to fit them to become "missionaries, schoolmasters, interpreters, and physicians among heathen nations: and to communicate such information in agriculture and the arts as should tend to promote Christianity and civilization." For this object a farm was purchased in Cornwall, and suitable buildings erected, and a school commenced May 1, 1817, with twelve pupils.
Mr. Edwin W. Dwight, of Stockbridge, Mass., took charge of the school for one year, till Rev. Herman Dagget, of New Canaan, could be at liberty to take the post, which he held acceptably for about six years. He was succeeded in 1824 by Rev. Amos Bas- set, D. D., who continued in charge till the school was disbanded, in 1827. Rev. Herman L. Vaill was, for a time, an assistant teacher. The school was a decided success as far as its original plan was concerned, and was closed because the opportunities of educating the heathen on their own ground were opened, thus ren- dering it unnecessary and from the local opposition produced by the marriage of two Cherokee Indians with respectable white girls residing in the town.
The number of pupils in 1822 had risen to 34, representing the leading then known Indian tribes, and many of the Pacific Islands. Henry Obookiah, a Sandwich Islander, was a devoted Christian, and gave great promise of usefulness, but he died while a member of the school, Feb. 17, 1818, aged 26. A tablet erected to his memory in the cemetery at Cornwall bears this inscription:
In memory of HENRY OBOOKIAII, a native of OWYHEE.
His arrival in this country gave rise to the Foreign Mission School, of which he was a worthy member. He was once an Idolater, and was designed for a Pagan Priest; but by the grace of God, and by the prayers and instructions of pious friends, he became a Christian.
He was eminent for piety and missionary zeal. When almost prepared to return to his native Isle, to preach the Gospel, God took him to him- self. In his last sickness he wept and prayed for Owyhee, but was sub- missive. He died without fear, with a heavenly smile on his countenance and glory in his soul,
Feb. 17, 1818, Aged 26.
30
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
A sketch of his life, by Rev. E. W. Dwight, the first instructor of the school, has been published by the American Tract Society, and forms a most interesting and valuable volume for Sabbath schools. His memory is cherished by all who knew him, and the cause of missions has a stronger hold upon christians in Litchfield county, that he was permitted to bear his testimony before them to the power of the cross.
Thomas H. Patoo, another converted heathen, is interred beside him. His monument bears this inscription:
In memory of THOMAS HAMMATAH PATOO,
a native of the Marquesas Islands, and a member of the Foreign Mission School, who died June 19, 1823, aged about 19 years.
He was hopefully pious, and had a great desire to be qualified to become a missionary to his ignorant countrymen. But he died in hope of a better country.
This stone is erected by the liberality of his Christian friends in N. Coventry, Conn., among whom he first found the Saviour of sinners.
The annual commencements of the school drew together a large concourse of christian ministers and other citizens. These exercises of song and rehearsal in their various languages, then so little known, were of great interest. At this school was educated John Boudinot, the Cherokee who reduced that language to a written form. The influence of this school may be seen to-day in the advanced civilization of the Cherokees, and other Indian tribes, among whom the institutions of religion and education are most dearly cherished, and their refining effects most clearly shown.
Cornwall was selected as the location for this school from the free- dom from temptation in its seclusion, the healthfulness of its climate, and its kindly soil, and the sound moral and christian influences which pervaded the community. The same reasons have made it a favorite location for various select or private schools. The school building of the Foreign Mission School was for many years used for a select school, under the charge of vari- ous teachers, then for a public school, till it was removed, in 1873, to give place to the chapel of the First Congregational Church, erected on the same ground.
31
FOREIGN MISSION SCHOOL .- INDIAN SONG.
LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE FOREIGN MISSION SCHOOL, CORNWALL, CONN., JULY 22, 1823, by CALEB JONES. Names. Native Names. Country.
George D. Weed,
Horatio N. Hubbell,
Anglo-American, Catskill, N. Y. 66 Trumbull, Conn. 66 Tompkins, N. Y.
Joseph Potang Snow, Sár-duk.
Malay.
John C. Trepoah,
I-re-pó-ah,
Owyhee.
Robert Whyhee, Why-hee,
Mowhee.
Henry Taheete,
Ta-hée-te,
Owyhee. 66
David Brainerd,
Mak-oo-wi-hé-na,
Charles Arohekaah,
A-ro-he-kà-ah,
66
John E. Phelps,
Kal-la-ah-ou-lún-nah,
Charles Backus,
Na-muk-ka-há-loo,
Samuel J. Mills,
Páu-loo,
Woahoo.
John Newcom,
Wau-ne-mauk-theet, Stockbridge Indian.
John N. Chicks,
Pau-poon-haut,
Solomon Sabattis,
Sol-lo-loh,
Mohegan. Oneida.
Peter Augustine,
Ta-kon-o-tas,
Guy Chew,
William L. Gray,
David Gray,
Jacob P. Tarbel,
Thomas Zealand,
Ka-lá-la,
Jaines Lewis,
William Botelho,
Lieaon Ásee,
Henry Martyn Alan, William Alum,
À-lan, A-lum,
Jonas I. Abrahams,
John Joseph Loy,
Photius Kavasales,
Anastasius Karavelles,
George Fox, A-tó-Koh,
Seneca. Cherokee.
John Saunders,
David C. Carter,
Miles Mackey,
Choctaw.
James Terrell,
Isaac Fisk,
66
George Tyler,
Owyhee.
There were not only Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese, but the Cherokee tribe of Indians was there represented. Two members of this tribe became enamored with two of the young ladies of the village, offered marriage and were accepted. This created a good deal of feel- ing, and finally ended in breaking up the school. The famous John Ridge was one of the Indian lovers, and during the excitement the poet wrote the following song :
TO THE INDIANS OF CORNWALL.
O, come with me, white girl fair, O, come where Mobile's sources flow ; ' With me my Indian blanket share, And share with me my bark canoe : We'll build our cabin in the wild, Beneath the forest's lofty shade, With logs on logs transversely piled, And barks on barks obliquely laid.
Tuscarora. Iroquois. 66
New Zealand. Narragansett. Chinese. 66
Jew. Portuguese. Greek.
Bennet Roberts,
32
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
O, come with me, my white girl fair, Come, seek with me the southern clime, And dwell with me securely there, For there my arms shall round thee twine; The olive is thy favorite hue, But sweet to me thy lily face ;
O, sweet to both, when both shall view These colors mingled in our race.
Then come with me, my white girl fair, And thon a hunter's bride shalt be; For thee I'll chase the roebuck there, And thou shalt dress the feast for me : O, wild and sweet our feast shall be, The feast of love and joy is ours ; Then come, my white girl fair, with me, O come and bless my sylvan bowers.
BY SILAS HURLBUT MCALPINE.
[The following metrical essay is part history and part romance. Though it graces no volume of "Connecticut Poets," it nevertheless once had a considerable local fame, and there are many among our aged readers who will remember having read it more than forty years ago.]
THE INDIAN SONG, SARAH AND JOHN.
[Composed by EMILY Fox of Cornwall.]
Behold, there came into our town, A man of fame and great renown ;
He had thought to live in splendor here, And brought with him a daughter dear.
She was blest with beanty bright and fair, There were few with her could compare. O, 'tis hard for to relate the truth, She fell in love with an Indian youth !
He was a bright young man, we know, And with him she resolved to go. He flatter'd her to be his young dove, Till her young heart was filled with love.
Then to her mother he did go, To see whether he might have her or no. She was well pleas'd at the words of John, And consented that he should be her son.
They kept it a secret, and did not tell, How Sarah loved an Indian well; Nor was the secret thing made known, Till from his country he did return.
Her father then being out of town, And when he heard that John had come, He sighed, and for his child did mourn, Saying, O that my Sarah had not been born.
33
AN INDIAN SONG.
And when this Indian he had come, She thought her daughter was undone ; She made as though her heart would break, And it was for her daughter's sake.
She being then borne down with grief, Went to her neighbor for relief,
Saying, my sorrows, friend, are hard to tell; Our Sarah loves this Indian well.
What shall I do, what can I say ; Can I bear my child should go away ? For she is young and in her bloom,- We'll fasten her tight in a room.
O fasten her, I think to say ; She with the Indian shall not stay ; Then in distraction this fair maid did run, It was for the love of an Indian man.
Declaring if she was not his wife, Most suddenly she would end her life. Sickness on her then did fall, And for the doctor they did call.
He gave them soon to understand, 'Twas for the love of an Indian man. Unto her parents he did tell, Let her have him and she will be well.
The Reverend Vaill we would not blame; On Sabbath next he published them, But Reverend Smith feared not the law, He married this lady to be a squaw.
Highly promoted were Sarah and John, Col. Gold did them wait upon, Ile waited on them most genteel too, And seated them in his own pew.
Upon her side it does look dark, To think how she used her neighbor Clark- IIas left behind for to make sport, To think she did with an Indian court.
He went with her both night and day, While her dear John was gone away. And unto him she did not tell How that she loved an Indian well.
He being absent from his friends, A letter unto her he did send, And unto it she would not hear, But married John her only dear.
Her parents with her a piece did go, To bid their lovely child adieu- Now with her mother she must part, Which was enough to break her heart.
5
34
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
She hung upon her mother's breast, With sighs and tears did her embrace, I cannot bear, I am sure, said she, My tender mother, to leave thee.
He snatch'd her from the mother's breast, And his tawny arms did her embrace, Sarah, said he, you are mine you know, And with me you have got to go.
Now Sarah is gone and seen no more- She has gone and left her native shore- Ah ! yes, she has gone but proved unkind, And left her whole disgrace behind.
She thinks great splendor she shall sec, When she arrives at Cherokee-
She thinks great splendor there is seen, And she be crowned for a queen.
She would be disappointed of her home, To find a little, small wigwam.
And nothing allowed her for a bed, But a dirty blanket, it is said.
And this be hard for Sarah fair, Who long did live in splendor here,
To lay aside her laces and fine gowns, Her Indian blanket to put on.
'Twould sink her pride-'twould raise her shame, To follow him and carry game, And with her John must march along, Amidst a savage whooping throng.
Come all young maids I pray take care How Indians draw you into a snare, For if they do I fear it will be As it is with our fair Sarah.
And what a dreadful, doleful sound Is often heard from town to town, Reflecting words from every friend, How our ladies marry Indian men.
Now Sarah is gone-her we ne'er shall view- She's gone, and to her love proves true, O yes, she's gone, and her Indian too- Now Sarah we will bid adieu.
A Fragment of the Funeral Sermon of Rev. Herman Daggett, by Rev. Timothy Stone.
He had already, by an carly discipline, formed his mind for systemati- cal study ; and had learned the necessity of order and close application to obtain science. Having little or no patrimony to aid him, and being infirm in health, it was a great effort for him to go through a course of collegiate study. No education society then existed, to cherish the hopes of indigent and promising youth who sought knowledge. By strict
35
FRAGMENT OF A FUNERAL SERMON.
economy, and some aid from friends, he went through the regular course of four years study, in Brown's University, in Providence, R. I. His standing in college as a scholar was so respectable that an honorable · appointment was allotted him in the exercises of commencement, when he graduated, Sept. 1788. Among his fellow students in college he was much esteemed.
Mr. Daggett entered college without vital piety. But in an early period of his residence there, his heart and affections were changed by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
This revolution in the character of Mr. Daggett was the commence- ment of a course of uncommon devotedness to God. Ile no more regarded himself as his own, but as consecrated to the service of Jesus Christ. In prosecuting study, he was now incited by motives elevated above the desire of being a distinguished scholar, or of gratifying his taste for literature, or of enjoying the pleasures of science: it is true, that he did not lose his relish for these innocent enjoyments. He loved knowledge, and delighted in the cultivation of letters : but he had found the pearl of great price, and to obtain it, he could cheerfully sell all. Like Paul, he " counted all things loss for the excellency of the knowl- edge of Christ Jesus his Lord."
It is known that Mr. Daggett wrote to a considerable extent a regular journal; but a small part, however, of such manuscripts, has been seen since his decease; he no doubt destroyed many of them.
No one appeared more opposed to egotism and vanity than he, and to speak of himself.
The following lines were written by him in college, not long after he was of the age of nineteen. They express his firm confidence in the Saviour, and in the belief of his being united to Him by faith; and that he was resolved to be wholly devoted to his service.
"Come my beloved, let us go forth into the fields."-Solomon's Song, Chap. vii, 11.
This world's a wide uncultivated field,
Through which like weary travelers we pass,
Unskilled in all the dangers of the way.
Deceitful prospects open to our view To lead the simple on to vain pursuits. Happy the man, that finds a faithful friend,
A kind, compassionate, experienced guide,
With whom to travel through this wilderness, Who knows where danger is, and who can point
The way to true felicity and rest.
O Jesus ! kind redeemer, thou art He-
Thou wast in all points tempted like as me,
Thou shalt conduct me-I am wholly thine,
And thou hast shown that thou art wholly minc.
No writings are found, which give any particular account of his conver- sion. But a moral change of such vast moment, as a transition from the darkness and bondage of sin, into the light and liberty of those who are regenerated, is an event which cannot but excite a strong desire to know how such a moral revolution is effected. But " the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth : " to this declaration our Divine Teacher adds -- " so is every one that is born of the Spirit."
Everyone possessing genuine piety is born of God, having been renewed by the Holy Ghost. But to ascertain and point out the mode
36
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
of operation by which this divine agent effects such a moral change in the hearts of sinful men, is a matter greatly overvalued : and to judge of the reality of this spiritual renovation, by the circumstances which precede and accompany it, and with positiveness as some do, is both preposterous and antiscriptural. Such not only assume a wisdom above " what is written," but oppose the bible, by their traditions. That this last proposition is not unfounded, let it be considered that the bible gives us scarcely any account of the manner how the ancient saints were converted. While their holy characters are represented in a manner most striking, and in colors the most vivid ; and while faith, the fear of God, holiness, and all the virtues and graces of the christian character, are not only clearly defined in precepts, but illustrated in the examples of holy men of old; where do we find one specimen in the bible of what is called the work of conviction, unless very briefly stated, and without any particulars ?
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.