USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > History and antiquities of New Haven, Conn. : from its earliest settlement to the present time, with biographical sketches and statistical information of the public institutions, &c., &c., 3rd ed. > Part 13
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
At 12 o'clock, the General passed to the Green, and reviewed the troops, consisting of the Horse Guards, commanded by Major Huggins, a squadron of Cavalry, by Adjutant Harrison, the Foot Guards, by Lieut. Boardman, the Artillery, by Lieut. Redfield, the Iron Greys, by Lieut. Nicholl, and a Battallion of Infantry, by Capt. Bills, the whole under Major Granniss. The General walked down the whole line, shaking hands with the officers, and bowing to the men, making appropriate remarks on the troops ; and he observed that such an improvement in the appearance of the troops he had not expected.
Standing in the door of Mr. Nathan Smith, in whose house he was introduced to the family, he received the marching salute of the troops, and whilst waiting for the barouche volunteered by Mr. Street, he was introduced to the house of David C. Deforest, Esq., where, after partak- ing of some refreshments, he stepped into the carriage, and, riding to the south gate of the College Yard, was there received by the Presi- dent at the head of the Faculty, who conducted him through a double line of Students, to the Lyceum, visiting the Cabinet and Library.
Passing through Chapel and York-streets to the new Burying Ground he stopped a moment to view it. He was pointed to the graves of Humphreys, the Aid of Washington-of Dwight, the Chaplain of Par- sons, whom he remembered in the War of the Revolution. He then proceeded to the house of Professor Silliman ; here he made a short visit to Mrs. Silliman's mother, Mrs. Trumbull, the widow of the late Gov. Trumbull, who was in the family of Washington through most of the Revolutionary War.
Returning, the Students again met him, at the bottom of Hillhouse Avenue, and entered Temple-street, passing the graves of Whalley, Dixwell, and Goff, he again entered the hotel.
In a few minutes, it being past 2 o'clock, he ascended the carriage to depart. The citizens again repeated their acclamations. A squadron of horse led the way, and a long train of coaches and mounted citizens followed. Fifteen guns announced his departure. The city authorities accompanied him to the East Haven Green, and then took leave. He expressed his thanks in a very touching manner for the kind reception he had met with from the New Haven citizens.
Note .- The New York Corporation had resolved to deliver the Gen- eral in Boston, free of expense, and had paid to New Haven ; but the New Haven Committee insisted on taking him out of their hands, and furnished horses and carriages, and provided for all expenses as far as New London.
MONUMENTS, INSCRIPTIONS,
WITH
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, &c.
The CITY CEMETERY, or NEW BURIAL GROUND, Was laid out in 1796. and has now become the resting place for the remains of many distinguished persons. [See pp. 33, 34, 35.] The first object which is presented, after passing through the Egyptian gate-way, is the monument erected for Jehudi Ashmun, Esq., the first Colonial Agent at Monrovia, Africa. It is formed after the model of the tomb of Scipio, at Rome .*
ASHMUN.
First Colonial Agent AT LIBERIA, AFRICA
Ashmun's Monument.
The inscription on the sides of the monument is as follows, viz. :
Ashmun, First Colonial Agent at LIBERIA, AFRICA. Born at Champlain, N. Y., Ap. 21st, 1794. Landed in Africa, Aug. 8, 1822. Died at N. H .. Aug. 25, 1828. Erected by the Am. Colon. Soc., 1829.
Mr. Ashmun arrived in New Haven about a fortnight before his death, laboring under severe bodily infirmities,
* The monuments of Mr. Whitney (the inventor of the Cotton Gin) and of Dr. Nathan Smith are of the same form.
13
146
brought on by his labors and exposures in a tropical cli- mate for the benefit of the African Colony. His constitu- tion was so broken down by the hardships which he had endured, that the best medical skill could not save him from an early grave.
His funeral was attended by a large concourse of citi- zens, the faculty and members of Yale College, a number of the neighboring clergy, and the Governor of the State. His remains were carried to the Center Church, where an appropriate and eloquent sermon was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Bacon. Just as the services commenced, an affecting scene took place. The mother of Mr. Ashmun, in her traveling dress, came into the congregation sup- ported by two persons who conducted her to a seat. She had just arrived from the shores of Lake Champlain, to visit her son in his last illness, whom she had not seen for twelve years. But she was too late-she could only reach forth her aged hand and touch his coffin. The procession moved to the burying ground, where the burial service was performed by the Rev. Mr. Croswell, and a feeling address was given by Mr. Gurley, the Secretary of the American Colonization Society, who arrived from Washington the day before Mr. Ashmun's death. Mr. Gurley had been an eye witness, and, for a short period, the companion of Mr. Ashmun's labors in Africa. He read the last prayer that the lips of his friend uttered ; he spoke of his courage and prowess in the hour of dan- ger, the " terror of his name" in the savage tribes that surrounded the infant colony, and the important results which might be expected from his toils and sufferings.
The tabular monument erected by the Colony in memory of Gov. Eaton (see page 90), has been removed to the south-eastern part of the City Cemetery. Hannah Eaton, the daughter of the Governor, married William Jones, Esq., an English lawyer, and with her husband came to New Haven, in 1660. Mr. Jones afterwards held the office of Lieut .- Governor. He died in 1706, aged 82, and his wife died the following year. They were buried, one on the right, and the other on the left of Governor Eaton ; and to the former inscription on his
147
monument was added the following triplet, supposed to have been written by Rev. James Pierpont :
" T'attend you, sir, under these framed stones, Are come your honor'd son and daughter Jones, On each hand to repose their wearied bones."
It is much to be regretted that Governor Eaton's monument was not permitted to remain in its original position on the public square.
The monuments of several of the officers of the College were removed to the City Cemetery. The inscription on that of President Clap reads as follows :
: " Here lyeth interred the body of the reverend and learned Mr. Thomas Clap, the late President of Yale College, in New Haven ; a truly great man ; a gentleman of superior natural genius, most assiduous application, and indefatigable industry. In the various branches of learning, he greatly excelled ; an accomplished instructor ; a patron of the College ; a great divine ; bold tor the truth ; a zealous promoter and defender of the doctrines of grace ; of unaffected piety, and a pattern of every virtue : the tenderest of fathers and the best of friends ; the glory of learning and the ornament of religion ; for thir- teen years the faithful and much respected pastor of the church in Windham ; and nearly twenty-seven years the laborious and principal president of the College. And having served his own generation, by the will of God, with serenity and calmness, he fell on sleep, the 7th day of January, 1767, in his sixty-fourth year.
" Death, great proprietor of all, "Tis thine to tread out empires, And to quench the stars."
President Stiles was distinguished in every department of learning. " He was," says Dr. Dwight, " the most learned man in America at the time of his death, and was probably excelled by few in the world. A very learned Jewish Rabbi, who lived in Asia, where he corresponded for some years with Dr. Stiles, and who afterwards came to America, declared that Dr. Stiles understood and wrote Hebrew better than any other Gentile whom he had ever known." The following is a copy of the inscription upon a monument erected to his memory by the Corporation of the College :
148
" Hic jacet sepultus EZRA STILES, S. T. D., LL. D., Qui Alta Mente præditus, Eruditione omnigena imbutus, Urbanitate suavissima, Moríbus probis, Charitate, Fide, Pietate evan- gelica ; Officiis Patris, Amici, Præceptoris, Ecclesia ministri, hominis, Enitens ; suis percarus, in Ecclesia magno cultu dig- natus, Per terras honore habitus, Vixit Lacrymis Omnium Obiit ; Maii XIImo. MDccxcvto. Atat. LXVIIIVO. Ecclesia 11dæ. Nov. Port. Rhod. Ins. Pastor annos XXII ; Collegii Yalensis Tutor VI, Præses XVIII. Senatus Academicus Coll. Yal. hoc saxum posuit."
Dr. Dwight, the next President after Dr. Stiles, was one of the most eminent men who ever presided over a literary institution in this country. He was born at North- ampton, in 1752. He graduated at Yale College, in 1769. He was Tutor in this institution for six years. He was distinguished as a writer, and his " Conquest of Canaan" was finished when he was only 22 years of age. In 1777, he was appointed one of the chaplains of the Revolutionary army at West Point. In 1783, he became the minister of Greenfield, a parish in Fairfield, Conn., where he re- mained for twelve years. At the time of his accession to the Presidency of the College, in 1795, infidelity was quite prevalent in many parts of the country, and most of the students were infected with it. President Dwight, by an admirable course, invited the students in their dis- cussions to bring forward their arguments against Chris- tianity. The greater part came forward as the champions of Infidelity. The manner in which their arguments were met produced a revolution in the minds of the stu- dents. Infidelity, " unable to endure the exposure of argument, fled ashamed and disgraced." Dr. Dwight died in 1817. His " Theology" was first published in 1818, in 5 vols. The following is a copy of the inscrip- tion on the monument erected to his memory by the Corporation of the College :
" Hic sepultus jacet Vir ille admodum reverendus TIMOTHEUS DWIGHT, S. T. D., LL. D., Collegii Yalensis Præses, et ejus- dem Sacrosanctæ Theologia Professor ; Qui De Litteris, de Religione, de Patria optime meritus ; Maximo suorum et bo- norum omnium desiderio, mortem obiit, Die xI. Januar. Anno Domini MDCCCXVII. Etatis sua LXV. Ecclesiæ Greenfieldi- ensis Pastor Annos XII. Collegii Yalensis Tutor VI. Præses XXII. Senatus Collegii Yalensis Hoc Saxum Ponendum Curavit."
149
Humphreys' Monument.
The monument of Col. Humphreys, the aid of Washington, stands near the south-western part of the yard. It is of granite, and is about twelve feet in height. He was born at Der- by, in July, 1752. He was educated at Yale College, and was distinguish- ed for his literary attainments. He entered the Revolutionary army as a captain, and afterwards held various public offices. He died of a short illness at New Haven, Feb., 1818. The following inscription is upon two bronze tablets inserted into the ped- estal of his monument :
" DAVID HUMPHREYS, LL. D., Acad. Sci- ent. Philad. Mass. et Connect. et in An- glia Aqua Solis, et Regiæ Societat. so- cius. Patriæ et libertatis amore accensus, juvenis vitam reipub. integram conse- cravit. Patriam armis tuebatur, con- siliis auxit, literis exornavit, apud exteras gentes concordia s abilivit .- In bello gerendo maximi ducis Washington administer et adjutor ; in exercitu patrio Chiliar- chus ; in republica Connecticutensi, militum evocatorum im- perator ; ad aulam Lusitan. et Hispan. legatus. Iberia re- versus natale solum vellere verè aureo ditavit. In Historia et Poesi scriptor eximius; in artibus et scientiis excolendis, quæ vel decori vel usui inserviunt, optimus ipse et patronus et ex- emplar. Omnibus demum officiis expletis, cursuq ; vitæ felici- ter peracto, fato cessit, Die XXI Februar. Anno Domini MDCCCXVIII, cum annos vixisset LXV."
The above may be rendered into English in the follow- ing manner :
" DAVID HUMPHREYS. Doctor of Laws, Member of the Academy of Sciences of Philadelphia, Massachusetts and Connecticut; of the Bath [Agricultural] Society, and of the Royal Society of London .- Fired with the love of country and of liberty, he consecrated his youth wholly to the service of the Republic, which he defended by his arms aided by his counsels, adorned by his learning, and preserved in harmony with foreign nations. In the field, he was the companion and aid of the great Washington, a Colonel in the army of his country. and com- mander of the Veteran Volunteers of Connecticut. He went Ambas- sador to the courts of Portugal and Spain, and returning. enriched his native land with the true golden fleece. He was a distinguished His- torian and Poet :- a model and Patron of Science. and of the orna- mental and useful arts. After a full discharge of every duty, and a life well spent, he died on the 21st day of February, 1818, aged 65 years."
13*
150
The annexed engraving shows the form of the granite monument erected in memory of Noah Web- ster, LL. D., the author of the " American Dictionary of the En- glish Language." It is situated near the monument of Mr. Whit- ney, also that of Col. Humphreys, and is without an inscription, the word " WEBSTER" only appearing on the base of the pedestal. Dr. Webster was born in West Hart- ford, October 16th, 1758. Having finished his education at Yale Col- lege at the age of twenty, he began the business of school teaching, WEBSTER which at that time afforded but a scanty support. For a period of ten years, he struggled through many difficulties. As a relief to Webster's Monument. his mind, he undertook to prepare a series of books for schools. The first draft of his " Spelling Book" was made in 1782. His design was generally regarded as useless, and no printer would undertake the publication on his own responsi- bility. Only two of his friends, John Trumbull and Joel Barlow, encouraged him with any hope of success.
The " Spelling Book" was, upon the whole, received favorably, though it made its way slowly into schools for several years. Afterwards, when the work became more popular, its profits nearly supported his family during the twenty years which he bestowed on the preparation of the " AMERICAN DICTIONARY." This great work is an honor to the age and country in which he lived, and will transmit his name to posterity. It was first published in 1828. During the spring of 1843, Dr. Webster revised the Appendix of his Dictionary, and added some hundreds of words. It was the closing act of his life. His hand rested, in its last labors, on the volume which he had commenced thirty-six years before. After a short illness, he died, May 28th, 1843, closing a long, useful and active life in the full triumph of Christian faith.
151
Noah Webster New Haven March 7. 1836
Fac simile of Dr. Webster's Writing.
Roger Sherman was born at Newton, Mass., April 19th, 1721. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker ; and in 1743, he removed to New Milford, Conn. His early advantages were quite limited ; but having a strong and active mind, he acquired a large stock of knowledge from books during his apprenticeship. He turned his atten- tion to the study of law during his leisure hours, and so proficient did he become in legal knowledge, that he was admitted to the bar in 1754. In 1764, he removed to New Haven. At the breaking out of the Revolution, Mr. Sherman took a very decided stand in favor of the Ame- rican cause, and was sent a delegate to the General Con- gress. He was one of the most active members of that body, and was appointed one of the Committee to prepare the Declaration of Independence. He was a member of the Convention that formed the Constitution of the United States, and was a Senator in Congress at the time of his death, which took place in New ! aven, July 23d, 1793. His son, of the same name, long and favorably known as a merchant, died at New Haven, March 4, 1856, at the age of 87 years.
The grave of Jedediah Morse, D. D., the father of American Geography, is situated near that of Colonel Humphreys. He was born in 1761, at Woodstock, Conn., and graduated at Yale College in 1783. He was installed pastor of a church in Charlestown, Mass., in 1789, and was dismissed in 1821. His "American Geography" appears to have been first published in 1789, at Elizabethtown, New Jersey. In 1793, it was greatly enlarged, and pub- lished in two volumes. He published the "American Gazeteer,") in 1797 and 1804. He received the degree
152
of Doctor of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. He died in New Haven, June 9, 1826. His son, Samuel F. B. Morse, LL. D., (the inventor of the Magnetic Tele- graph,) though a native of Massachusetts, received his education here, and was for some time afterwards a resi- dent of this place.
JAMES HILLHOUSE, LL. D., distinguished for his public spirit and enterprise, was born in New London, in 1754, and graduated at Yale College in 1773. He was an offi- cer in the Revolution. He was a member of the House of Representatives, and afterwards of the Senate of the United States. He also filled various other public offices. He held the office of Treasurer of Yale College from 1782 to 1832, a period of fifty years. He died Dec. 29th, 1832, in the 79th year of his age.
DAVID AUSTIN, an eloquent preacher, and a gentleman to whom New Haven is much indebted for several public improvements, was born here in 1760. He was well fit- ted, by an accomplished education and foreign travel, to become an ornament to society, and by his ardent piety and eloquence, to be useful in the ministry. He graduated at Yale College in 1779. It is to him that Gov. Living- ston alludes in the following lines of his poem on Philo- sophic Solitude :
" Dear A ***** too should grace my rural seat, Forever welcome to the green r. treat ; Heaven for the cause of righteousness designed His florid genius and capacious mind. Oft have I seen him 'mid the adoring throng, Celestial truths devolving from his tongue : Oft o'er the listening audience seen him stand, Divinely speak, and graceful wave his hand."
Mr. Austin was naturally eccentric in his manner of thinking, speaking, and acting. His mind, by dwelling too much, perhaps, on the prophecies, became partially insane on that subject. He became a champion of the
1
153
Second Advent doctrine. He held that Christ would commence his personal reign on the earth on the fourth Sunday of May, 1796. After this period, he went round the country announcing the near approach of Christ's coming, and called on the Jews to assemble and make preparations to return to their own land. He declared himself a second John the Baptist. His extravagances increasing, he was removed by the Presbytery from his pastoral relation to the Church at Elizabethtown, N. J. He then came to New Haven, where he erected several large houses, and ten stores, for the use of the Jews, he invited to assemble here and embark for the Holy Land. Having at last, by this and other plans, expended an ample fortune, he was for a while imprisoned for debt. On his release, he gradually became calm and sane on all points except the prophecies. After the balance of his mind seemed to be restored, he preached with acceptance in various churches in Connecticut. In 1815, he accept- ed a call to preach in Bozrah. He continued to preach to his people with much acceptance till his death at Nor- wich, in 1831.
ELI WHITNEY, the inventor of the Cotton-Gin, was born at Westborough, Mass., Dec. 8th, 1765. He was educated at Yale College, and soon after he graduated, went into the State of Georgia. Perceiving the difficul- ties the planters lay under in cleaning the cotton from its seeds, which rendered it unsaleable. Mr. Whitney in- vented his " Cotton-Gin," by which one person could clean a thousand pounds in a day. Before this invention, to clean one pound daily was considered a day's work. This invention was of immense importance to the south- ern States, and " by it," says Judge Johnson, of South Carolina, " their lands were trebled in value." Notwith- standing this. Mr. Whitney declared to a friend, near the close of his life, that all he had received from his in- vention had not more than compensated him for the enor- mous expenses he had been subjected to on its account. In 1797 Mr. Whitney, being impressed with the uncer- tainty of all his hopes founded on the Cotton-Gin, turned
154
his attention to the manufacture of fire-arms for the United States. In this he was more successful. Having ob- tained a contract for ten thousand stand of arms in 1798, he purchased the site of the village of Whitneyville, about two miles from New Haven, where he erected his works. Mr. Whitney died in 1825. The inscription on his monument is as follows :
Eli Whitney, the Inventor of the Cotton-Gin, of useful Science and Arts the efficient patron and improver. Born, Dec'r 8th, 1766. Died, Jan. 8th. 1825. In the social . relations of life, a model of excellence. While private affec- tion weeps at his tomb, his country honors his memory.
CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY.
The following account of the Second Centennial Anniver- sary of the Planting of New Haven, April 25, 1838, is taken from Prof. Kingsley's Hist. Discourse.
" Arrangements having been made by a joint commit- tee of the Connecticut Academy, the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council of the city, and the Select-men of the town of New Haven, for the celebration of this anni- versary, at about half-past eight o'clock, in the morning, the citizens began to assemble near the southern portico of the State House. Scholars of both sexes, of the seve- ral schools of the city, under the superintendence of their respective instructors, were arranged on the public square, from fifteen hundred to two thousand in number. The military escort consisted of the Artillery, under the command of Capt. Morris Tyler, and the Greys, under the command of Capt Elijah Thompson. The proces- sion was formed under the superintendence of Charles Robinson, Esq., Marshall of the day, assisted by several others. From the State House, the procession, com- prising the various classes of citizens and strangers, pro- ceeded to Temple-street, up Chapel-street to College- street, through College-street to its intersection with George-street ; at which place, under a spreading oak,
155
Mr. Davenport preached his first sermon just two hun- dred years before. Here the procession halted for re- ligious exercises. Not only the streets were filled, but the roofs of the neighboring houses were partly covered, and some persons had taken their stations in the trees. The number here assembled was variously estimated at from four to five thousand. The exercises of this place were commenced by singing four stanzas of the 80th Psalm, in the version of Sternhold and Hopkins. Tune, St. Martins.
O take us Lord unto thy grace, convert our mindes to thee ; Shew forth to us thy joyfull face and we full safe shall be.
From Egypt, where it grew not well, thou brought'st a vine full deare ; The heathen folke thou didst expell, and thou didst plant it there.
Thou didst prepare for it a place, and set her rootes full fast ; That it did grow, and spring apace, and fill'd the land at last.
O Lord of Hoasts through thy good grace, convert us unto thee ; Behold us with a pleasant face, and then full safe are wee.
Near the spot where the oak tree is supposed to have stood, a stage was erected. on which the Rev. Frederick W. Hotchkiss, of Saybrook, attended by the Rev. L. Ba- con, offered prayer. Mr. Hotchkiss is a native of New Haven. His mother was a direct descendant of Gov. Jones, and thus connected with the family of Gov. Eaton. Mr. Hotchkiss was distinctly heard by the whole assem- bly, and the prayer was peculiarly appropriate, solemn, and impressive. After the religious exercises were closed. the procession was again formed, and moved down George-street to State-street, up State-street to Elm-street, up Elm-street, by the place where the houses of Gov. Eaton and Mr. Davenport formerly stood, till it reached
156
Temple-street, and then down Temple-street to the first Congregational Church, where the society, whose first pastor was Mr. Davenport, worship ; and near which spot the first house of worship was erected. At church, the following exercises were performed. The music was by a full choir, under the direction of Mr. Alling Brown.
1. HYMN. By WILLIAM T. BACON, A. B.
2. READING OF ISAIAH XXXV. By Rev. LORENZO T. BENNETT, Assistant minister of Trinity Church.
3. PRAYER. By Rev. LEONARD BACON, Pastor of the First Congregational Church.
4. ANTHEM, fron Isaiah xxxiv. 17, and xxxv. 1, 2. Words selected by Rev. L. BACON. Music composed by Rev. Prof FITCH.
The Lord, He hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line; they shall possess it forever. From generation unto generation they shall dwell therein.
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them ; the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The nations they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.
5. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. By Prof. KINGSLEY.
6. PRAYER. By Rev. EDWIN E. GRISWOLD, Minister of the Methodist Church.
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.