USA > Connecticut > Middlesex County > Durham > History of Durham, Connecticut, from the first grant of land in 1662 to 1866 > Part 19
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Besides these, many enterprising and intelligent men of busi- ness, have at different times left Durham, to find a home else-
27
210
HISTORY OF DURHAM.
where, who have adhered to the principles and habits which they formed here in early life. There was Noah Talcott, the son of David, the son of Hezekiah, who went to New York, and who is mentioned in the book entitled "The Old Merchants of New York," as having been extensively engaged in business as a large cotton broker and merchant. There was Reuben Rose Fowler, who was first a successful merchant in New Ha- ven, and in Newbern, North Carolina, and then engaged in land operations, in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Up- per Canada. There was Samuel Parsons, who, after being a successful merchant in New York, returned to Durham to spend his last years. In addition to these might be mentioned Henry Lyman, Charles A. Fowler, Parsons Rose, William S. Camp, Abner Newton, and men bearing the name of Strong and of Parsons, who have done a successful business in the south.
Moses Austin, and Moses Bates, who married the sister of Mr. Austin, left Durham near the close of the last century, and went to the lead mines of Virginia, near Louisburg, if I read the letter right. I have before me an original letter from Moses Bates to the wife of Captain John Johnson of Durham, in which he describes the journey of Mr. Austin and himself from Louis- burg, down the Great Kenhawa, two hundred miles, then down the Ohio and up the Mississippi to St. Geneveive in New Spain, as it was then called. They left their residence in Virginia on the 6th of June, 1798, and arrived at St. Genevieve on the 8th of September, being just three months on their journey. Mr. Bates was called to suffer the loss of his wife, which Dr. Aaron Elliott, formerly of Killingworth, describes in an interesting and affeeting manner, he himself having married her sister.
Mr. Bates was successful in obtaining of the Spanish Govern- ment a thousand aeres of land, only for the expense of survey- ing it, for which he paid twelve dollars. He and his family seem to have prospered greatly in this wild region of country.
After the death of his wife, he married a daughter of Rev. Ichabod Camp, a native of Durham, mentioned on a previous page. He married her some years after the death of her fa- ther. She, too, he was called to lose. Her death was a tri- umphant one. Not long before it occurred, she often said, " Death hath lost its sting, and the grave its victory." A few
211
EMIGRANTS FROM DURHAM.
minutes before she died, she said, "I am going to Jesus my Re- deemer ; I shall soon be in the paradise of my God; come Jesus, come quickly. There is now no doubt. I know that my Re- deemer liveth. Farewell world, farewell terrestrial things ; " and in a few minutes expired. "These dying declarations," re- marked Mr. Bates, in his letter, communicating the intelligence of her death, " in addition to the course of life invariably pursued by her for many years, afford incontrovertible evidence of the power and reality of the religion of Jesus, and that her soul winged its way to the sublime regions of eternal felicity." Mr. Bates and his wife seem to have carried with them or inherited the religion which sustained them in their trials in that distant region.
The history of Mr. Austin is more remarkable. He obtained a grant of a league square, about sixty miles south of St. Louis, in the lead region, engaged in mining operations, laid out the city of Potosi, the present capital of Washington County. He was at one time considered wealthy, but in the general wreck of prosperity in 1819-20 he lost all his property. His attention then was turned to Texas whither he went and obtained a large grant of land from the Mexican Government, in order to estab- lish a colony on it. He returned to Missouri in 1821 or 2 for the purpose of removing his family to Texas, when he was taken sick and died in May, 1822. Stephen F. Austin went to Texas and took possession of the grant made to his father, led on a colony to the river Brazos, and laid out and commenced the town of Austin, which was afterwards the seat of Govern- ment in Texas, and obtained the patronage of the Mexican Government. Iturbide, in 1822, and Victoria, in 1824, passed laws to encourage emigration, made generous donations of land, and granted exemption from taxes for ten years, and allowed immigrants' property to the amount of two thousand dollars to be admitted free of duty. In 1832, Stephen F. Austin also car- ried a petition to Mexico for a separate Government, and after waiting several months wrote back to his constituents and re- commended the formation of a separate Government without waiting for the action of Congress ; for which he was cruelly imprisoned, and did not reach home for upwards of two years.
212
HISTORY OF DURHAM.
When he returned he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and was for a period at the head of affairs. He died in 1835. His sister, Emily M., the wife of Mr. James F. Perry, lives near Brazoria, owning as her brother's heir, a large amount of land. Mr. Moses Austin was regarded as a worthy man of great enterprise and talent. Had it not been for this enterprise and talent, the large grant of land would not have been obtained from the Mexican Government, the colony would not have been established on the Brazos, and the independence of the province would not have been obtained. It is owing to the enterprise and talent of Moses Austin and his son, Stephen F. Austin, that Texas now is an integral part of the United States. It has been stated that the place of Moses Austin in Texas was called Durham Hall in memory of his native town. Some of the facts men- tioned above are from a letter dated St. Louis, Dee. 27, 1845, to one of the connections of Mr. Austin, still residing in Dur- ham, and written by Charles D. Drake, a lawyer in St. Louis, who married a daughter of James Austin, who went from Dur- ham to reside with his kinsman, Moses Austin, first in Virginia, and then in Missouri.
MR. DRAKE'S LETTER.
"ST. LOUIS, Dec. 27th, 1845.
MR. ENOS S. CAMP, Durham, Ct.
Dear Sir :
I will very briefly explain to you, why I, who am a stranger to you, address this letter to you. My wife, a native of this State, while it was the Territory of Louisiana, born in 1812, is the daughter of James Austin, who was a native of Connec- ticut, and removed from Virginia to the Territory of Louisiana, about the year 1804, and died in this State, Oet., 1823. She learned from her father, that he left four sisters and one brother, (then follows James' connections, uninteresting)-he then ob- serves, "I will briefly give you the history of the Austin family in this region.
213
EMIGRANTS FROM DRHAM.
" Moses Austin of Durham, Ct., emigrated thence to Virginia, and thence in 1796 to Upper Louisiana, then under the Spanish Government; he was cousin to my wife's father. Obtaining a grant of land from the Government of a league square, about sixty miles south of this city in the lead region, he engaged in mining operations, and laid off the township of Potosi, the present capital of Washington County. He was a very enter- prising man, and was at one time considered wealthy, but in the general wreck of prosperity in 1819-20 he lost all his property. His attention was attracted to Texas, whither he went and ob- tained a large grant of land from the Mexican Government. He returned to this State in 1821 or 2 for the purpose of remov- ing his family to Texas, when he was taken sick and died, leav- ing two children-Stephen I., who went to Texas and took pos- session of the grant to his father and died there about the year 1835-and Emily M., who now is the wife of Mr. James F. Perry, and who lives near Brazoria, Texas, owning as her brother's heir a very large amount of land."
(Then follows a long list of James Austin's family, uninter- esting. The letter established the fact that Moses Austin went from Durham-and history established the fact, that Austin was the pioneer of Texas, and had Austin remained at Durham, Texas would have remained a part of Mexico, and Taylor and Scott would have remained in their towns. )
The letter is signed,
CHARLES D. DRAKE.
REV. MR. WILLISTON'S LETTER.
DURHAM, NEW YORK, 26th Jan., 1848.
Dear Sir :
My father being absent, and not having with him the necessary materiel (a-la-the French) for answering your letter, I have hunted up, and will now communicate the desired in- formation myself. I will adopt the tabular form, as being the best both for you and me. Here is what I have been able to gather.
214
HISTORY OF DURHAM.
EMIGRANTS FROM DURHAM, CONN. TO
DURHAM, NEW YORK.
No. of Children.
No. Hopefully
Pious.
No. Ed'ted
at Colleges.
Do. & that became
Ministers.
Mint'ts but
not col Ed
Dea. Jonathan Baldwin,
Eliab Baldwin,
8
8
Curtis Baldwin,
8
8
1
Dea. David Baldwin, Aaron Baldwin, Seth Baldwin,
6 or 7
1 (or more)
Mrs. Eunice (Baldwin) Strong,
8
4
1
Mrs. Mehitabel (Baldwin) Torrey,
8
4 (or 5)
Mrs. Ruth (Baldwin) Chittenden,
8
8
1
Dea. Noah Baldwin, James Baldwin,
5
4
Mrs. - (Baldwin) Hays,
11
8 (or 9)
Mrs. (B'n) Post, and Mrs. (Bates) Bushnell John Hull,
5
5
Stephen Tibbals,
8
5
Ebenezer Tibbals,
Walter Field and Cyrus Field,
8
0
Daniel Coe,
6
6
Daniel Merwin,
6
6
David Merwin,
8
8
Phinehas Canfield, William Hinman,
5 or 6 2
Mrs. Eunice (Merwin) Cooley,
7
5
Mrs.
- (Merwin) Smith,
Mrs.
- (Merwin) Smith,
7
7
Mrs.
- (Merwin) Lamphier,
7
2
Mrs.
(Merwin) Jewell,
2
0
-
Mrs. John Hull and Mrs. Stephen Tibbals, who were sisters of Noah and Jas. Baldwin.
Of the 30 emigrants whose names are in the table, all but 3, I believe, were professors. Those 3 were Ebe'r Tibballs, Phin's Canfield and Wm. Hinman. The most, if not all, of the pious 27, became so, it is believed, after removing to this place. Some 3 or 4 of them remained here but a few years; and much is not known of them now. In addition to the 5 college educated min- isters, add, if you please, the Rev. Orlando Kirtland, of Morris- town, N. J., who is a grandson of Daniel Coe. Of the 5 down in my table, one (the Rev. Elihu W. Baldwin, D. D.) became the president of a College,-Wabash College, Indiana. An- other of the 5 is now a missionary at the Sandwich Islands,- Rev. Dwight Baldwin.
I can learn little of the history of Rev. Sam. Merwin. He was brought up here, a son of Dan'l Merwin; who, as the table
·
6
6
1
1
0
12
7 (or 8)
1
Silas Hull,
10
6
CO
6 or 7 1 (or 2)
7
215
EMIGRANTS FROM DURHAM.
shows, had two other sons become Methodist preachers, though not so noted ones as Samuel.
I have carried the tabular information no further than to the first generation after the Durham emigrants. If extended to the grand children, it would serve still further to confirm and illus- trate that great principle of God's word-that God causes piety in progenitors to descend to their posterity like an inheritance. " Choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." "I'll be a God to thee and to thy seed after thee." "Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children." ₸
Yours, dear sir, in Christian and Ministerial bonds,
TIMOTHY WILLISTON.
REV. MR. MERWIN'S LETTER.
HEMPSTEAD, L. I., Nov. 21st.
Mr. Fowler,
Dear Sir : My brother has sent to me your letter addressed to Dr. Childs, as he had not the dates you requested. Dr. Sprague's Biography of Methodist Preachers would furnish, probably, all the information you desire.
I will copy from a biographical sketeh that I have, what may furnish the material you want.
Rev. Samuel Merwin was born in Durham, Conn., Sept. 13th, 1777. His ancestry who came from North of Wales, to this country, settled in Milford, Conn. One branch of the family soon afterwards went to New Milford. His great-grandfather, Daniel Merwin, moved to Durham, Conn. Here his grandfather, Miles Merwin, was born and buried. His own father, Daniel Merwin, was born here, and married the sister of the late Thomas Lyman of Durham. When the subject of this sketeh was seven years old, on November 4th, 1784, his father with five other families, moved into the State of New York and formed a town settlement, which in honor of their nativity, they called New Durham.
In his boyhood his soul fired with a laudable ambition for an honorable distinction in society. With such advantages as he could command he gave himself studiously to the acquisition of knowledge.
216
HISTORY OF DURHAM ..
In his 18th year he was teacher of the District School where many of the scholars were older than himself, two of them his brothers.
In his 20th year he became a decided Christian. His conver- sion was clear, his feelings ardent. He was gifted with the high- est qualities of an orator, in appearance, voice, manner, skill in commanding words and swaying the passions at will.
Thrust out by the voice of the Church and his own convic- tions, he commenced his labors as a preacher of the gospel in the M. E. Church. In 1803 he was ordained Elder, and appointed Missionary to Quebec and Montreal.
Subsequently his appointments were to the most important places in the Church, either as Presiding Elder over large dis- tricts, or stationed in our principal cities, Boston, Providence, New York, Albany, Philadelphia, Baltimore.
In 1807 he married Mrs. Sarah Janes, widow of Rev. Peter Janes, daughter of Nehemiah Clark of Salisbury, a woman of rare excellence, possessed of a beauty of person which is scarcely the gift of an age ; a mind richly endowed and a most devoted Christian. They had five sons and two daughters. All but the oldest son are still living. He closed his life and labors in Rhine- beck, after a few weeks illness, on Sunday, January 13th, 1839. His remains sleep in Greenwood Cemetery.
In person he was full six feet in height and of portly propor- tions. His voice was clear, musical and of great volume, which was perfectly at his command. His manner was in such suita- bility it always seemed in wondrous grace. His graphic and scenic powers were such that many are the incidents of aston- ishing effect upon large and cultured audiences that are narrated of him.
His Catholic and philanthropic spirit associated him with the various benevolent and religious institutions of the day. He was selected and often occupied the platform of the Bible, Sea- man's Friend, Colonization and Missionary Anniversaries. He was capable as an executive officer, as he was able and gifted as an orator. So if there was any special difficulty of administra- tion he was appointed to undertake it. This was the reason sometimes of his removal to distant cities.
There is one fact in reference to the Merwin family which I
217
EMIGRANTS FROM DURHAM.
believe is still true, that in each branch there has been a Min- ister of the Gospel.
I hope these items will afford you sufficient material for your purpose.
Yours truly,
J. B. MERWIN.
REV. DR. COOLEY'S LETTER.
GRANVILLE, January 17th, 1848. Rev. and Dear Sir :
In the early settlement of this town, the emigrants from Durham aided much to give it a good name which it has not lost even to this day. The Church was strengthened by the following additions by letter :
Ezra Baldwin, Jun., 1764.
Lydia, wife of Stephen Hitchcock, 1757.
Isaac and Susanna Bartlett, 1758.
David and Rebekah Parsons, 1760.
Wife of Roswell Graves.
Mary, wife of Benjamin Barnes, 1763.
Thomas Spelman and wife, 1756. John Bates, 1757.
Names of emigrants from Durham to Granville :
Ezra Baldwin,
David Curtis,
Ebenezer Baldwin,
Aaron Curtis,
Amos Baldwin,
Ebenezer Curtis,
John Bates,
Samuel Coe,
John Bates, Jun.,
Aaron Coe,
Jacob Bates,
Enoch Coe,
Nathaniel Bates,
John Seward, (doubtful,) .
David Bates,
Stephen Hitchcock,
Noah Robinson,
Isaac Bartlett,
Dan Robinson,
David Parsons,
Phinehas Robins,
Roswell Graves,
Timothy Robinson,
Benjamin Parsons.
pral
Among their descendants are the following educated men : Elijah Bates, Esq., son of Nathaniel; Hon. W. G. Bates, son of Elijah ; Isaac C. Bates, son of Col. Jacob Bates; Charles F. Bates, Attorney, son of Nathaniel; and Edward B. Gillet, a dis- tinguished attorney in Westfield, grandson of Col. Jacob Bates ;
28
-- -
218
HISTORY OF DURHAM.
David B. Curtis, died in the army in 1813 ; Rev. John Seward, son of Jolin Seward; Rev. Harvey Coe, grandson of Samuel Coe ; Rev. David L. Coe, grandson of Samuel Coe; Gurdon S. Stebbins, grandson of John Bates; Rev. Truman Baldwin, son of Amos B .; Rev. Benson Baldwin, grandson of Amos; Rev. Charles F. Robinson, who died at St. Charles, at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi.
In addition to educated men I may add : Hon. Anson V. Par- sons, self educated, grandson of David Parsons, now Chief Justice in Pennsylvania. The emigrants from Durham, generally were strong men. The above facts and statistics speak their commen- dation.
Col. Jacob Bates was a Lieutenant in the army, and crossed the Delaware on Christmas Eve, in the celebrated attack on Princeton.
Col. Timothy Robinson was Justice of the Peace, Representa- tive, Deacon in the Church, and for years a Father of the Town. He possessed native talents equal to any in his day. He was truly a great and good man. In the time of Shay's Rebellion, he and a company of the "Court Party," on their way to Spring- field, were met by a party of the mob, and after a skirmish near the great roek in Granville, were taken prisoners. The Colonel, as being the most obnoxious, was confined under a strong guard. Next day was Sabbath, and he read and prayed with them, and discoursed on State affairs, setting forth the moral wrong of resist- ing law by arms, especially when the people have all the power at the ballot box, of redressing their wrongs, by changing their rulers. They listened to their prisoner, for he wept and they wept. The result was, the guard became politically converted, and the next day he and his guard proeceded to Springfield in the cause of "law and order."
ANOTHER FACT .- IIe was the father of a brilliant family, all but one being daughters. A favorite daughter was connected with a elergyman in Vermont. Having taken leave and gone to her new home, scarcely had she laid aside her bridal dress, when news flew baek, as if the winds had given it speed, that their daughter had died suddenly, and that by poison from her own hand. The mother and the daughters shrieked and cried aloud for grief and agony. The father entered the room, at the
219
EMIGRANTS FROM DURHAM.
moment, and with sternness of rebuke characteristic of great minds, stamped upon the floor and hushed the tumult ; and then sitting down, with great parental kindness, commenced a train of remarks, to soothe the anguish of broken hearts, and to vindi- cate the sovereignty, goodness and tender mercy of God. The. effect was most happy.
You know the character and standing of Senator I. C. Bates. Perhaps I have given you nothing to your purpose.
I remain very truly,
Your Friend and Brother in the Lord Jesus,
TIMOTHY M. COOLEY. Rev. W. C. Fowler.
PRINCIPLES OF THE EMIGRANTS.
We have seen, in a previous chapter, what were the charac- teristics and principles of the people of Durham. In this we have seen that when they sought habitations elsewhere they car- ried with them their principles. They carried them to their new homes in Hartland and Torringford in Connecticut, among the hills of Berkshire and old Hampshire in Massachusetts. They carried them beyond the Catskill Mountains to New Durham, to Oneida County, to the Genesee River, in the State of New- York; and into New Connecticut in Ohio. They carried the same attachment to the institutions of law and order, to educa- tion and family government, the same publie spirit and habits of reflection, into the camp and the halls of legislation, to the work-shop and the farm, to the bench, the bar, and the pulpit. Those same principles carried from Durham and transmitted from father to son live still in the hearts of their descendants.
If we follow the emigrants, we shall find the same love of edu- cation transmitted to their children. In proof of this, I would cite the family of Daniel Lyman of Newport and afterwards of Providence, and the family of James Wadsworth of Genesseo, whose son General James S. Wadsworth, fell in the late war at the battle of the Wilderness. John W. Wadsworth, the son of John Wadsworth of Monroe, Michigan, and Maria (Chedsey) Wadsworth, graduated at Princeton, in 1857. Charles Chaun- cey, the son of Judge Chauncey of New Haven, graduated in Yale College, 1792, and his son Charles graduated there in 1828.
220
HISTORY OF DURHAM.
Elihu Chauncey, another son of Judge Chauncey, graduated there in 1796; and Nathaniel, another son, graduated there in 1806; and his two sons are recent graduates of Harvard College. Henry Chauncey, a graduate of Harvard College, is a descend- ant of Nathaniel Chauncey, who removed from Durham to Mid- dletown. William C. Fowler, the present writer, son of Reuben Rose Fowler, and Catharine (Chauncey) Fowler, is a graduate of Yale College. His two sons Charles C. Fowler and William W. Fowler, graduated at Amherst College. Chauncey M. Hand and Charles F. Hand, sons of Catharine (Fowler) Hand, graduated the one at Yale and the other at Williams College. Chauncey A. Goodrich, son of Elizur Goodrich of New Haven, graduated at New Haven where he was a distinguished Professor. His two sons, Chauncey and William, are graduates of Yale, and a son of the former, Edward, is now a member of Yale College. Elizur Goodrich of Hartford, son of Elizur of New Haven, is a grad- uate of Williams. Henry Ellsworth, grandson of Elizur Good- rich of New Haven, was a graduate of Yale. Rev. Charles A. Goodrich the son of Rev. Samuel, graduated at Yale College in 1812 .. Samuel G. Goodrich was the celebrated Peter Parley, whose son Francis B. Goodrich, the author of the "Court of Na- poleon," is a graduate of Harvard College. Rev. Noah Coe, son of Charles, who was the son of Abel, who was a son of Joseph and a descendant of Robert Coe, the magistrate, has two sons who are graduates of Yale, Frederick A. Coe and Samuel G. Coe. Samuel G. Whittlesey, grandson of Rev. Samuel Good- rich, was a graduate of Yale College, and a Missionary ; and his son Samuel has recently graduated at the same college. Henry Lyle, the son of Simeon Smith, has lately received a medical degree in New York. Besides these should be mentioned Joseph Hull, author of a Spelling Book, and David N. Camp, the dis- tinguished Principal of the Normal School of Connecticut.
DEED OF CAWGINCHAUG FROM TARRAMUGGUS, &C.
This writting made the twenty-fowerth of January, 1672, Be- tween Tarramugus, Wesumpsha, Wannoe, Mackize, Sachamas mother, Tom alias Negannoe, Neshcheag squa, Taccumhuit, Wamphunch, Puccacun, spunno, Sarah Kembosh squa, Marra-
221
EMIGRANTS FROM DURHAM.
gans mother and Tabhows squa of the one part, and Mr. Sam'll Willys, Capt. John Talcott, Mr. James Richards and Mr. John Allyn of the other part, witnesseth that the sayd Tarramugus, Weshumpsa, Wannoe Mackize, Sachamas mother, Tom Mese- hegens, Squa Tacumhuit, Wamphunck Puccacun spunno Sarah Marragans mother, and Tabhow's Squae for themselves and in behalfe of the rest of the proprietors of Cawginchaug, and the lands adjoining, for a valuable consideration to them in hand, payd by the sd Mr. Sam'll Wyllys, Capt. John Talcott, Mr. James Richards and John Allyn, haue giuen, granted, Bargained and sold, and by these presents doe fully deed & absolutely giue, grant, bargain, sell, enfeoffe & confirm unto the sayd Mr. Sam'll Wyllys, Capt. John Talcott, Mr. James Richards and John Allyn, their heirs & assignes, one Tract of land comonly known by the name of Cawginchaug, a butting on midle Town bownds north, Haddam Bownds east, and to runne towards the west Two miles at least or so farre as may take in all those lands granted by the Generall Court of Conecticutt, to the afoarsayd Gent'n, and on the South on Guilford bounds together with all the Timber, Trees, brush, Rivers, waters, stones, mines or min- eralls, being in the afoarsayd Tract of land, to have & to hold the afoarsd Tract of land as it is bownded with all the profitts comodities & appurtenances whatsoever, belonging thereto, unto the afoarsayd Gen'n, their heirs & assigns, & to the onely proper use & behoofe of the sayd Mr. Sam'll Willys, Capt. John Tallcott and John Allyn, theire heirs and assignes forever, and the sayd Tarramugus, Wesumpsha, & the first aboue men- tioned Natiues for themselues & in behalfe of the rest, doe cou- enant & with the sd Mr. Willys, Capt. Talcott, Mr. Richards & John Allyn, that they onely haue full power & Good right & lawfull Authority to grant, Bargain & sell the aforesad Tract of land with its appurtenances, unto the sayd Mr. Willys, Capt. John Talcott, Mr. James Richards & John Allyn, their heirs & assignes for euer, & that they the sayd Gentm, there heirs & assignes, shall and may by force & vertue of these presents from time to time, & at all times for euer hereafter, lawfully, peaceably & quietly, haue, hold, use, occupy, possess, & enjoy the aforesd Tract of land with all its rights, members, & appurtenances, & hauc receiuc & take the rents, Issues
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