USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Cheshire > History of Cheshire, Connecticut, from 1694-1840, including Prospect, which, as Columbia parish, was a part of Cheshire until 1829; > Part 20
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
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE.
261
eral Convention of the state" (and of which the HON. SAMUEL A. Foor was Moderator). "When the constitution of civil gov- ernment for the people of Connecticut, framed by a convention of their delegates, & by their order, signed by the president and clerks on the 15th day of September, 1818, was submitted to the consideration of the qualified voters assembled in said meeting for their approbation and ratification-and the votes being taken by yeas and nays, there was in the affirmative two hundred and one yea's, in the negative twenty nine No's."
THE GOVERNOR FOOT HOUSE.
During these years the town poor had been each year practi- cally sold to the lowest bidder, no one person keeping them all, but different families taking usually one, an exception being made where there was a man and his wife, who were scarcely ever separated. In one or two cases, there seems to have been land which the owners were too feeble to work themselves, or where a widow had only the life use of it, and no money to hire help to work it; in these cases, the Town paid very little for the "keep,"
262
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE.
expecting those who took care of the land owner to get their pay from the land.
But Cheshire people disliked this method and attempts were made now and then to change. Finally it was voted that the "Selectmen be authorized to make a contract with some person belonging to this town, to keep the whole of the town poor if in their opinion it can be done for the advantage of the town," and in February, 1821, a special town meeting held "to take into con- sideration the expediency of establishing an Asylum, for the ad- mission of such town poor and other destitute persons as may be judged proper," and to "establish such laws as may be judged proper relative to the persons to be admitted, and for the 'well ordering and governing thereof," voted to establish such an Asylum, "until the last day of December next" and appointed Burrage Beach, Rufus Hitchcock, Charles Shelton, Jared Burr and Silas Hitchcock a committee "to draft a system of By-Laws" and adjourned until "April next." At this meeting the committee reported such laws for the governing and well being of the town poor as they thought proper and the report was accepted and these regulations, after reading and discussion, "passed in the affirmative."
The town had contracted with Mr. Joel Moss to maintain the town poor for the consideration of $800 from the first day of January A. D., 1821, to the last day of December, 1821, and by these rules he was allowed to employ such of the poor under his charge as were able to labor, in "some work suitable to their re- spective age, sex and capacity, to and for his own use and bene- fit"; provided, however, that it met with the apprvoal of the "Agents and Select-Men of the town" whose duty it was to be, to visit the poor once in three months, or oftener, if necessary.
In 1836 at a town meeting held in the "basement story of the Congregational church," it was voted that "the select men be di- rected to furnish a suitable supply of clothes for the poor at the expense of the Town" and the selectmen were directed to "con- tract for the support of the poor from Jan. 1837 to May Ist, 1837, and for one year from May Ist."
At a special town meeting held in Dec. 1836, this vote was re-
263
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE.
considered and this vote passed: "That the Selectmen be empow- ered to contract for the support of the poor in the town not ex- ceeding 16 months, & that whoever contracts for keeping them shall not transfer said contract to any one, but shall fulfill the same himself & said disposal of the poor shall not be at public auction." Finally, many years later, a farm was purchased and a permanent abiding place made for these unfortunate people who had been "put up at auction" and moved with their goods and chattels from one place to another year after year."I
The time of the annual Town meetings was changed this year (1821) to the "first Monday in October in each year"-and the Representatives of the Town were instructed to oppose the granting of the petition of Levi Langdon and others "praying for an alteration in the boundary line between the towns of Cheshire and Southington," but a short time afterward the town instructed Messrs. Samuel A. Foot and Silas Hitchcock its Rep- resentatives to present a petition to the General Assembly for straightening the line between the towns of Cheshire and Meriden.
Again was a "special" town meeting called on the Ist day of April, 1822, with Samuel A. Foot as Moderator. "It having been represented to this meeting that an application will be made
IExtracts from Selectmen's Ist Order Book.
"Bil To Doct gould g Norton for Doctoring the Town poor
"Bil to Moses Blakeslee for Extrodnary Expences when No. 37 I.15. 3 Mrs. Cowel Died and Coffin No. 38 3. 7.0
"Bil to peter Naman for washing for poll squaw when sick No. 64 0. 4.6
"Bill to C. Chancy Hal for taking care of
Benjamin Calog when Burnt No. 78 0.11.6
"Bill to Moses Blaksley for keeping Joshaway Cowel the 3 quarter No. 94 I. 5.71/2
"Bil to Timothy Canfield for the Selectmens expenses when they were venduing Doctr Newberrys furniture I. 2.2
"Bill to Rufus Hitchcock for cloathing for the Poor 7. 3.41/2
& for Estra Expenses for the same 2.16.I
"Bil to Capt Lucious Tuttel for a chane Lost at the Bridg
2. 3.4
264
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE.
to the next General Assembly, to be held at New Haven on the first Wednesday of May next, for the establishment of a Canal, from the tide waters in New Haven to the north line of this state, by Farmington and from Farmington to Berkshire county through the town of New Hartford. This meeting having taken into consideration the subject matter of said application and be- lieving that the laying out of said canal will be highly honour- able to this state and greatly beneficial to a large proportion of the people of the same ;- whereupon Voted, that this town do consent that the same may be done, and do hereby wholly wave all objections on account of not being cited before said General Assembly."
This canal was built and proved a most successful venture, eventually monopolizing nearly all the carrying trade of this part of the state and Western Massachusetts, and continued in exist- ence until the building of the New Haven and Northampton Railroad, which being built upon the old "Tow Path," has been commonly known as the "Canal Road."
For many years West Cheshire was known as Beachport, in compliment to Richard Beach who owned a warehouse on the canal and was there engaged in business. The building he oc- cupied was a low frame, projecting over the canal basin, and thus permitted the boats to load and unload inside the building. Several owned boats which plied the canal. James V. Fields owned a boat for carrying barytes; Nathaniel Newell a general freight boat ; very few of the boats were supplied with cabins.
"Beachport" was a busy place during the days of the old canal ; for until the building of the Naugatuck R. R., all products were brought over the hills from the Naugatuck Valley to Beachport for shipment.
Between New Haven and Southington there were twenty-two locks; but between Southington and Simsbury, a distance of twenty-five miles, there were none.
CHAPTER EIGHT.
THE SEPARATISTS-METHODIST SOCIETY FORMED-BARYTES MINES -SOME OLD ACCOUNTS-ADDITIONAL NAMES OF SOLDIERS.
In 1775 a number of people living on the "West Rocks" de- sired to have a church society of their own, so those living on the west side petitioned Waterbury, while those living on the east side petitioned Cheshire, but obtained no satisfaction. In 1778, however, a church was built on the Cheshire mountains and called Columbia church or "Society of Columbia" and the Rev. John Lewis was their first pastor ; the second the Rev. Benjamin Beach, who remained until 1798. This society was a "strict Con- gregationalist," allowing "no frivolities."
A deed dated the 26th day of March, 1795, from Abraham Hotchkiss of Waterbury quitclaims for the consideration of six pounds to the "strict Congregational church and peo- ple on Cheshire mountain" * * "for the term of nine hun- dred and ninety-nine" [years] "two certain pieces of Land lying on Cheshire mountain, one piece containing one acre with a meeting house standing on it, the other piece containing sixteen rods of Land which is at present improved as for burying Ground near by."
"To have and to hold % unto the said Church & peo- ple to be improved by them in their present Order and if the major part of the people should see cause to have Society lines & set up on the Congregational or Calvinistic Order it is the un- derstanding of me the Releasor that they are stil to hold the same privileges of the house & Land to be undisturbed by me or my heirs & Assigns for the above said term."
This was acknowledged before "John Lewis, Just Peace," and after his signature comes N B "It is the understanding of the above Grantor and Grantee that whenever the people shall think best and do actually get Established with Society Lines then the
(265)
266
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE.
above named Abraham Hotchkiss is to Receive from the people the sum of seventeen pounds Lawful Money."
The old church building of 1778 faced the north, standing near the sign-post on the north end of the green; it was "rude as a barn, the floor boards not being nailed down and the seats being but slab benches. There was neither pulpit, steeple nor bell in it, and the only fire was brought in foot stoves." The plot of land "improved as for a burying ground" lies between the present Grange Hall and the road on the east of it. There are no tomb- stones now and nothing to indicate that it was ever used as a cem- etery. In 1829 a record of the leasing of this old burying ground was made.
The "Separatists" or "strict" Congregationalists started in East- ern Connecticut about 1740. Their ideas were "That the stand- ing churches were not true churches, but anti-Christ ; that hy- pocrisy was encouraged by them and they could have no commun- ion with hypocrites. They maintained that the church should be pure. They held that the whole power of ordination was in the church. They objected to the pastor using notes, and at the same time praying for assistance in preaching. Because minis- ters studied their sermons they called their exercises 'preaching out of the head' and declared they could not be edified by it. They maintained that if a man had the spirit of God it was no matter whether he had any learning at all. They believed in special rev- elations." The first Separatists in Stonington, Conn., elected their first minister by revelation. The result of this revelation was that they "chose, ordained, silenced, cast him out and de- livered him up to Satan," all in less than one year. None of these Separatist churches are now in existence.
In 1797 a tract of land, which includes very nearly the present boundaries of Prospect, was surveyed, in order that all living within these boundaries might be taxed for the support of the "Congregational Ecclesiastical Society," the first meeting of which was held November 2, 1797. Besides supporting a church, "a society had charge of the schools and all matters connected with the welfare in general of those living within its boundaries." At their first meetings we find Jared Burr appointed constable, Jesse
267
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE.
Ford grand juror, Robert Hotchkiss tithingman, John Ford lister, Asahel Chittenden, Asa Wilmot, highway surveyors. Also four persons were appointed "choristers on the Lord's day in public worship," and a petition was sent to the honorable Assembly for a "military company in this society."
The Congregational church was organized May 14, 1798, with sixteen who entered into covenant with each other ; viz. : Ephraim Smith, Joseph Matthews, Abraham Hotchkiss, Ira Smith, Eben Hotchkiss, Asahel Hotchkiss, Thankful Smith, Lois Matthews, Hannah Hotchkiss, Phebe Hotchkiss, Esther Ford, Mehitable Byington, Damaris Tuttle, Olle Byington, Hannah Doolittle and Jerusha Hotchkiss; soon after this the old "Separatist" society dissolved and many of its members joined this church. In 1799 the land occupied by the parsonage was purchased of Eliphalet Hotchkiss by the Columbia Company ; the deed describes the land as bounded upon the west by "Columbia Green and Abraham Hotchkiss, his land and the burying ground."
The Congregational church after its organization continued to worship in the old building for three years, when it was repaired and the old slab benches replaced by the ancient style of square pews. These were twenty-four in number, twelve forming the body of the house, divided by the main aisle, running from the east large double door to the pulpit on the west side. There were also doors on the north and south sides, giving entrance to the side aisles. The pulpit was like a great goblet, hexagonal in shape, supported by a pillar. The steeple was a square structure built on the center of the north end of the house with stairs in it leading to the galleries which extended around on three sides.
In 1800 the church adopted the Saybrook platform and became a member of the consociation of the western district of New Ha- ven county.
Pastors of this church during the years 1798-1827 were : Rev. Oliver Hitchcock, Rev. David Bacon, Rev. Gideon Burt, proba- bly the Rev. Mr. Sanborn, Rev. Samuel Rich and the Rev. John E. Bray ; the first Sunday School record is found in 1822 when the church voted to appropriate $5, to be laid out by the deacons of the church in useful books to be distributed to the scholars of
268
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE.
the Sunday school according to their proficiency. The first super- intendent of this school was G. Mills Hotchkiss ; the first teachers Hannah Hotchkiss, Benjamin Hotchkiss and Sally Payne.
A tankard and two flagons were given this church by its sister church in Cheshire during the Rev. Mr. Hitchcock's ministry and a communion service by Deacon Gideon Hotchkiss, one of the most prominent men in the early history of Columbia, and first deacon of this church.
Other family names prominently connected with the early his- tory of this church and society are Smith, Ford, Clark, Tuttle, Tyler, Sanford, Peck, Platt, Payne, Morse and Gillette.I
As their numbers increased they petitioned Cheshire to allow them to be a distinct parish, and later for town privileges ; but, unmindful of its own experience, Cheshire sternly voted to op- pose any and all petitions of this kind until on May Ist, 1827, when at a special Town meeting it was unanimously "Voted that this meeting approve of the granting of the prayer of the Petition of the inhabitants of the Society of Columbia, to be incorporated into a town ; provided that a disinterested committee be appointed to apportion the support of the Paupers of the town, and that part of the society of Columbia which now belongs to the town of Cheshire, and also that the town of Cheshire shall retain their present right to two Representatives in the General Assembly of this state." No further record of any movement in regard to this important step appears, and Columbia Society at the May session of the General Assembly was incorporated as a town under the appropriate name of Prospect.
After the incorporation of Prospect a new Probate District
IIn 1898 the centennial of this church was held, when addresses were made by the Rev. Mr. Phipps and others, and it is from these addresses that much of the above has been gleaned. An amusing incident of the day was the story told by Mr. Phipps of how "the Cheshire people took away a stone for a horse block that the Prospect people wanted for themselves and carried it to the center of Cheshire where it now lies," and alluded to Cheshire as "the town with the stone upon its heart." This stone is just north of the "button ball" tree by the Town Hall, Cheshire.
269
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE.
was formed, May 27, 1829, to consist of the towns of CheshireI and Prospect and the first Judge elected was Silas Hitchcock.
In 1831 Rufus Hitchcock, who had served the town faithfully as Town Clerk from Dec. 11, 1792, until Oct. of this year, de- clined to serve longer, and it was voted at a town meeting held in Nov., 1831, "That the thanks of this meeting be returned to Mr. Rufus Hitchcock for his correct and faithfull discharge of the duties of the office of Town Clerk, while he officiated in said office."
For some time a new religious sect had been holding meetings in the town and many members of other denominations had joined their society, and in Dec., 1832, in Town meeting it was "Voted, That if it should be found that the Town of Cheshire has a good title to the land laying between the Turnpike road and the road running from Amasa Hitchcock's House to the House of Elias Dudley, and that they have full power to convey the same, they then agree to convey to the Society of Methodists in said town, so much of said land as said Society of Methodists may require to erect a house of Public Worship upon." Another meeting for the purpose of considering "the propriety of grant- ing the Methodist Society of said Town the privilidge of Erect- ing a House for Public Worship upon the Public Green" was held a week later, the former meeting having "been considered illegal." At this meeting the petition of the members of the Methodist Society was presented, also the opinion of William Bristol "whether the land asked for belonged to the Town or the Congregational Society"-he having decided in favor of the lat- ter "On motion Voted that this meeting take no order upon the subject."
For a time the Methodists here were included in with other appointments, but in 1834 the membership had so increased that Cheshire was made a separate appointment and a church building was needed ; so April 22, 1834, Amasa Preston, Elias Dudley, Joseph Doolittle, David Brooks, William Hotchkiss, Delos Hotch- kiss and A. M. Hitchcock were appointed a building committee.
ICheshire had formerly belonged to the District of Wallingford, formed in 1776.
270
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE.
A lot of land centrally located was purchased of Jairus Bunnell, on which was built a brick structure at a cost of $3,000. This was dedicated Nov. 22, 1834, by Rev. Schuyler Seager. During the working of the bartyes mines, the congregation greatly in- creased and the church and finances were in a flourishing condi- tion ; the decrease in numbers caused by the removal of so many families has made the work of the (comparatively) few left much harder ; but no diminution of ardor or enthusiasm has ever been noted.
METHODIST CHURCH, BUILT IN 1834.
In 1834 a committee appointed at a town meeting the previous year reported verbally in favor of establishing a Work House or House of Correction in town and recommended the passage of a vote that the dwelling house of Wm. Peck be purchased for this purpose, that the selectmen be the overseers of the same and ap- point some meet person to be the "Master and keeper of said Work House"; this vote was passed. This vote was passed a second time in 1835, with the insertion that "suitable cells should be erected at the expense of the town."
27I
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE.
But for all this no work house was built, and we find in 1837 that the selectmen were directed to make enquiry and report at the next annual town meeting "the propriety and expense, etc., of purchasing a House & farm for a Work House."
At a special Town meeting held Jan. 16, 1837, it was voted that this Town receive the public deposit appropriated to each town by the Legislature of this state upon the terms specified in said Act ; that an agent be appointed by ballot to care for this money ; that the half of said deposit money not appropriated for com- mon schools be for the usual expenses, and that "no sum be loaned to any one to exceed five hundred dollars."
The Act of the Legislature spoken of above was entitled "An act accepting the deposit of a portion of the surplus funds be- longing to the United States providing for the safe keeping there- of & appropriating the interest arising therefrom for the promo- tion of education & other purposes." This Act passed by Con- gress had caused much discussion and ill feeling in the United States-President Jackson did not believe the Government should have a surplus, and urged upon Congress the passage of this Act, which divided the accumulated funds in the United States Treas- ury among the different states.
Our town elected Edward A. Cornwall agent to receive from the state Treasurer and receipt for this money and during all these years the town has received the interest from its "Town Deposit Fund" without remembering or knowing possibly when or how it came into the Town's possession.
It was also during this year (1837) that the Town voted "to receive the Arms from the state according to an Act passed by the Legislature in 1836, and Benajah Beadle was appointed Com- missary to receive and care for the arms ; the selectmen were in- structed at this meeting to obtain from the commanding officer of each company "his roll for the benefit of the commissary in distributing the Arms."
An additional "Ballot Box" was now provided for representa- tives and "every voter may put into said Box the names of both representatives on one piece of paper, and said box shall be kept
272
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE.
open the same time that the other box for state officers is, viz from II o'clock a. m. to 5 o'clock p. m."
The majority of Cheshire's inhabitants were farmers; but many industries flourished also. Wooden bottles or kegs were made, there were carding, dressing and fulling works, grist and saw mills, fanning mills, and tanneries; threshing machines, wagon wheels and tin ware was manufactured; maps and pic- tures were painted. In 1880, Mrs. Wealthy (Stockwell) Bishop (b. 1786) remembered the long trains of carts that carried the products of this place to New Haven. It has been said that after the completion of the turnpike in 1801-2 it was no unusual sight to see a half mile string of carts wending their slow way with mighty loads of kiln dried grains for shipment abroad.
ENTRANCE TO BARYTES MINE AT GINNY HILL.
The opening of the barytes mines in 1835 gave new impetus to Cheshire's business interests. During the time these mines were in operation, the company opened over four miles of under- ground tunnels and sunk shafts to the depth of 480 feet, excavat- ing a million and a half square feet of earth and rock. They
273
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE.
mined one hundred and sixty thousand tons of barytes, which was sold in the market for about four and one-half millions of dollars. This work gave employment to hundreds of native and foreign miners, who were paid more than two millions of dollars for their labor. For sixteen years the operations of the mine were most successfully managed by James Lanyon as super- intendent.
In the latter part of the preceding century and during the early years of 1800 many of Cheshire's younger men started out to make new homes for themselves. Some settled in Vermont, some "out west" (as New York state and Pennsylvania were called), and still later very many went out to Ohio. Titus Smith and his six brothers, Rufus Lines and Friend Tuttle with others went in 1797 to Lawsville, Pa., so called, because Samuel Law's influence was instrumental in causing so many of his townspeo- ple to emigrate to this place. The first clearing in Lawsville was made in 1797 by James Clark ; others from this town who became noted citizens of this and other places are Samuel A. Foot, Sea- bury Ford, Peter Hitchcock, Stephen Rowe Bradley, Kensett, Seymour, Mallory, Micah Brooks, Lyman Hall, Samuel Beach, Commodore Hitchcock, Andrew H. Foot, and many more whose personal history will later be told.
The War of 1812 seems to have caused very little excitement here : no public or town records regarding it are to be found, but Cheshire was represented by Rodney Smith. Moses Bellamy, Samuel Bellamy, Silas Nelson, Micah Ward, Rufus Cook, Mer- riam Cook, Azariah Winchell, Leverett Carrington, Samuel At- water, and it is related that about one hundred men under the leadership of Gen. Andrew Hull went to New Haven and helped repair the fortifications.
The closing words of Mr. Beach's centennial address of 1880 would seem to serve as an appropriate ending for this, his later work :
"We have now reached the closing chapter of Cheshire in the past ; the record presented is comparatively commonplace. Our early ancestors lived in an age eminently practical, their powers of invention were limited. They subdued a stubborn soil, and
274
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE.
overcame a rank wilderness, peacefully ending their days, trust- ing in God and knowing that the results of their labors would be enjoyed in the future by their children.
The new generation was more progressive. As schools and colleges increased, invention was stimulated, railroads and steam- boats multiplied. Enterprising men made their mark in the world.
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.