USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > East Haven > History of East Haven > Part 15
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208 History of East Haven.
uncared for, which gives a very patched and uninviting appearance to the whole.
In 1866, seventeen years after the first general awakening of cemetery care, the fences needed repair- ing and painting, and the ground a general and thorough cleaning again. Miss Eliza J. Barnes com- menced a movement to do the work again by sub- scription. She enlisted Miss Sarah E. Hughes, and they canvassed to some extent, but not near so gener- ally as in 1849. They met with very ready and generous responses to their calls. Miss Hughes was so busy with her school duties that she could not devote the time to it, so the greater portion of the work was done by Miss Barnes. The fences were repaired and painted, and the south wall relaid. The action of the frost on this low ground quickly throws it out of line. The late Mr. Comfort Prout now did a great deal of renovating. The ground was cleared, the fences and gateway repaired and painted, new hitch- ing posts set outside the fence, and things improved generally. Mr. Prout so subdued the briars and brambles by mowing the ground over two or three times each year, that he secured quite a comfortable crop of hay for his work.
In 1867 Rev. Mr. Shannon, then rector of Christ Church, proposed at the annual October town meeting to have the town take the charge and care of the ceme- tery. As this was not in the call for the meeting it was ruled out. The next year he had the proposition inserted in the call, and the result was as follows: "Oct. 5th, 1868, Voted, That the sum of $50 be appropriated from the town treasury to be used by the selectmen in paying for the removal of the brush, etc.,
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The Old Cemetery.
from the cemetery, or as much of said sum as may be needed for the said purpose." But the care of the cemetery was not committed to the selectmen, only this conciliatory vote for one year.
On June 5, 1867, Mr. Samuel Forbes bought a plot of ground, with the intention of laying it out as a cemetery, which he did in 1868, under the name of "Green Lawn Cemetery." The plan of the cemetery was designed by the Rev. Mr. Shannon. This drew all those who from time to time had occasion to com- mence a new family plot, especially the younger families. Mr. Prout continued to do much individual work in the "Old Cemetery" as it was now called, and to mow off the grass from the neglected parts until infirmity compelled him to cease his labors. To Miss Eliza J. Barnes belongs the credit of doing more, and causing more to be done, than any other individ- ual, for the betterment and improvement of the cemetery up to her death in 1881.
Another period of twenty-nine years had passed, up to 1895, when things again needed attention, and a movement was organized by the late Mrs. Edwin S. Bradley to improve the condition. She was a woman who always had a heart and hand to "do good as she had opportunity." She was progressive and aggressive, a very efficient and successful worker, as well as a very pleasant one, in church and state. The drinking fountain at the corner of Main street and Hemingway avenue stands as a monument to her untiring efforts in the cause of humanity and kind- ness to animals. Her plan was to improve the "waste places," which contrasted so strongly with the well- kept lots that they destroyed the symmetrical appear-
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History of East Haven.
ance of the whole ground. These "waste places" were the graves of former inhabitants who had no representatives living in the town, or if they had, the call of blood was not· strong enough to rouse them to action, but more generally their descendants were scattered far and wide. She proposed to seek out such relatives and state the case, asking for a contri- bution to care for the graves of their ancestors or relatives. In this she was very successful. She wrote to all parts of the Union, usually receiving very courteous letters and substantial aid.
As always before on like occasions, her efforts were very cordially and quickly seconded by her towns- people-it only needed a leading spirit to take the introductory step. The ladies formed themselves into a "cleaning brigade," and with pails, mops, and scrub brushes scoured the old stones with a chemical mix- ture to remove the blackened weather stains and moss. The men from all parts of the town donated their teams and labor on May 3, 1895, to do whatever was desired. On that day 110 loads of soil were filled into the hollow, and Mrs. Bradley opened her house for a dinner to the men, the people of the town fur- nishing the dinner. The driveway round the hollow was regraded and set out with shrubs. Mrs. Bradley continued her supervision and labor through the years of 1895 and 1896, but in the spring of 1897 she was obliged to cease the care. She then turned over all her books and papers to Mr. Leonard R. Andrews, first selectman, and things limped along in an unsatisfactory manner, with little or nothing done, save individual efforts, till 1905, when from the annual report of the town, it was found that the town
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The Old Cemetery.
had paid to different individuals $25.05 under the head of "Cemetery." The town accounts ending September 20, 1906, show the expenditure of $124.32 under the same head, which indicates a new order of affairs.
The truth cannot be spoken without saying that the East Haven ladies have always shown their activity and ready cooperation in every good word and work. This is no reflection on the men, for they have ever proved themselves ready to aid and further the wishes of the ladies. In fact there is no acting independently of each other; if any good is accomplished, there must, and always should be, unity of purpose.
According to the present custom of the day, the East Haven ladies are active in club life. There are several clubs, the Mothers' Club, the Woman's Club and the Radium Club being the leading ones. All are under very able leadership, and doing excellent work in their respective lines. The Woman's Club, Mrs. Edward F. Thompson president, for several years has taken up its line of action in the direction of "Village Improvement." Mrs. Thompson is an incessant and tireless worker, for improvement in any and every line where her quick discernment and discriminating judgment sees the need. Through the efforts of the Woman's Club, Arbor day of 1903 witnessed a very interesting and memorable event, beneficial for all time to come.
Since so much had been accomplished on the Green, and the work practically ended with the biennial plant- ing of a tree donated by each governor, the Woman's Club turned its eyes towards its nearest neighbor, the Old Cemetery opposite. With commendable zeal, it
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History of East Haven.
has brought about a new order of things, interesting and seeking the aid of others within and without the club. The movement had been under discussion for some time, but took definite shape in the spring of 1906. At the annual town meeting October 1, 1906, the town appointed Mrs. Edward F. Thompson, Mrs. Leverette S. Bagley, Mrs. Frederick Forbes, Miss Charlotte A. Hemingway, and Miss Ida M. Fonda as trustees of the Old Cemetery. Their plan is to take yearly care, and raise a "Perpetual Fund" to care for it in all time to come. This of course does away with the occasional spasmodic, individual reforms which have taken place in the past and puts matters on a firm basis, giving power to collect and pay out in regular form. This brings us down to June, 1907, the bicentennial of the sequestration of this ancient ground, where we have one more noble act to record.
On Memorial day, 1907, the Old Cemetery and town were presented with a beautiful stone gateway, through the munificence of Mr. Edmund Brainard Cowles, now of Boston, but who spent several years of his early life in East Haven, and who has a long line of ancestors on the maternal side entombed within its grounds.
To the credit of East Haven it must be said, she far surpasses many towns of much larger size in her yearly memorial exercises; and it is safe to say, that for the size of the town there are no better conducted exercises in the state. For thirty years Town Clerk Calvin C. Kirkham, himself a veteran, has been mar- shal of the day and arranged the order of exer- cises, placing the wreaths on the graves, and leaving a large bouquet for the unknown dead.
THE COWLES MEMORIAL GATEWAY.
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The Old Cemetery.
This year when the decoration was completed, the whole procession halted at the entrance to the Old Cemetery to witness the impressive ceremony of unveiling the arch. The presentation was made in Mr. Cowles' name by Mr. Edward Foote Thompson. Mr. Thompson spoke briefly, in presenting the struc- ture to the township, recalling the respect and love with which the father and mother of Mr. Cowles, whose memory was thus honored, were held by all who knew them personally or by repute. He spoke of the fact that the occasion was the bicentennial of the cemetery, and dwelt somewhat upon the history of the beautiful little spot. He told of the fact that it was once an Indian fort, and then told of those who were buried there, mentioning by name many who had been prominent in the town and state. He commended the spirit of the women of the town, who had been energetic in keeping up the plots, and who have now commenced a perpetual fund for the maintenance of the Old Cemetery as it is affectionally called.
John Tyler, first selectman of the town of East Haven, responded to Mr. Thompson's words, in behalf of the town; his speech in detail follows:
"Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: This beautiful memorial gateway, which has been presented to us by Mr. Cowles of Boston, is greatly appreciated, and the grand old town of East Haven should congratulate herself upon having such good friends to aid us in beautifying her surroundings.
"To-day being Memorial day, is a fitting occasion to dedi- cate this gateway. We have just honored the brave boys of '61 to '65, who lie buried in this cemetery, by strewing their graves with flowers. This memorial gateway will always be to our citizens a reminder of the donor and a monument to
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214 History of East Haven.
the Cowles family, who no doubt are ever proud of their Connecticut ancestry.
"East Haven is further to be congratulated to-day, upon her selection of ladies who comprise the board of trustees for our cemetery, who have been so enthusiastic in their work for this memorial, under the leadership of Mrs. Edward F. Thompson. I desire to take this occasion to thank them, and as a member of the board of selectmen, I have the honor, as agent, on behalf of the town of East Haven, to accept this beautiful memorial gateway, and to assure the donor that it will be carefully guarded with pride and con- secration.
"While such a gift as this must surely be appreciated for the great beauty which it adds to our town, it is most pleas- ing to us all in a higher and broader sense; showing that those who have gone out from this place to fields of greater activity still have a warm and kindly remembrance of their native town, and such gifts will surely act as an incentive to all our residents, to emulate the example of those who have gone from us, to aid heartily in making and keeping this town in all respects one worthy to be remembered."
Following Mr. Tyler's speech of acceptance, Rev. George A. Alcott, the Episcopal clergyman, pro- nounced the benediction and the procession proceeded to the town hall, where a luncheon was served.
The gateway is a beautiful structure, of Westerly granite, the pink of its columns making a striking and pleasing contrast to the green of the hedges and lawns about the cemetery. The lines of the gateway are simple, though massive and impressive, and though the monument is magnificent it is felt that the appro- priateness of the memorial to Mr. and Mrs. Cowles cannot be overestimated.
The present generation will be pleased and very proud of this new and enduring monument, but when all now earthly shall have passed away, the finger of
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The Old Cemetery.
praise will not only be pointed to this lasting structure, but also to him who delighted to honor his ancestors. This is a growing feeling in all parts of the "Old Colonial States." Old cemeteries are looked after and provision made for their future care. Being of East Haven parentage and birth, I am happy and proud to say that East Haven is in line. The Daughters of the American Revolution (of whom there is a goodly sprinkling in this ancient town) are doing much in this work. Even the all powerful and gilded hand of business can not wrest from some of our largest cities these sacred grounds, which would be literally paved with gold, if the removal of the dead could be accomplished. Public sentiment will long preserve "Old Trinity Churchyard" in New York City, and the "Old Granary Burying Ground," "King's Chapel" and "Copp's Hill" in Boston, whose value in dollars can never be estimated.
A notable fact is connected with this venerable ground: it contains the remains of all the ministers who have ever been settled over the Congregational Church in East Haven, who have passed away-five in number.
The first minister was Rev. Jacob Hemingway, whom his native townsmen called November 20, 1704, "to give them a taste of his gifts in preaching the word." His probationary call continued two years, which seems to have satisfied their "taste," and he was engaged permanently, but was not ordained until October 8, 1711. His pastorate continued fifty years. He died October 7, 1754. It has often been said he was the first graduate of Yale College; but according to President Stiles' "Notes of Yale," he was not the
216 History of East Haven.
first graduate, but he was the first student, and for several months, perhaps the first year, the only one. He studied for two years, but for some reason was absent two years, and others graduated ahead of him.
Singular as it may seem, none of the five pastors buried here, with the exception of Mr. Nicholas Street, have descendants living in East Haven. There are four other Congregational ministers buried here, viz .: Rev. Samuel Street, Rev. John Davenport of Stam- ford, Rev. John Woodward, who assisted in the Council that compiled the Saybrook Platform in 1708. These three ceased from ministerial labor after com- ing to East Haven to reside. Rev. Lucas Hart died while in active labor in Wolcott, Connecticut, in the 29th year of his age. His married connection was with the Street family.
In most old cemeteries there are many quaint and striking epitaphs and stones, and East Haven is no exception. One which has attracted much attention is that of Mr. Edmund Bradley with its seven outlined faces representing three pairs of twins and the eldest born.
"See death removes the eldest son Just as the family's begun And three pair of twins in a short space To quicken them in the christian race." "Children of Edmund & Mrs. Lydia Bradley." Another stone which has received considerable com- ment is that of Rev. Nicholas Street, erected to his "Dear Desire."
"Here my dear Desire lies, Obscured in the dust, Thus all but virtue dies, Whose memory cannot rust."
The Old Cemetery.
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No doubt he had a fatherly as well as a husband's affection for her, as she was his bride at thirteen years of age. As time passes on, generations to come prob- ably will see quaint and unseemly things of the present day, for the face of all things changeth, and the fashion thereof passeth away.
"Our buried friends can we forget, Although they've passed death's gloomy river? They live within our memory yet, And in our love must live forever, And though they're gone awhile before, To join the ransomed host in heaven, Our hearts will love them more and more, Till earthly chains at last be riven."
CHAPTER IX.
NATURAL HISTORY.
HE town of East Haven contains about nine thousand acres of land .* The soil is generally light and sandy ; but capable of yielding good crops when properly cultivated. It is congenial to Indian corn and barley. In favorable seasons pota- toes do well. In some parts of the town rye succeeds, but it is very subject to blast and rust. By good hus- bandry the lands may be made more productive; though unhappily there is very little good pasturage in the town. There is very little clay, and some parts of the town are encumbered and disfigured with rocks and ragged barren hills.
About the first spring, or the head of Bloomary brook and the head of Claypit brook, and along the intervals of Stoney river, good brick clay may be obtained. Some of the best land lies in the fresh meadows and Cove swamp, which are now uncultivated and unproductive. Were these low lands drained, as they will be at some future period, they would be the most productive lands in the town.
Along the seashore, there is a range of granite rock, of the purest kind, but it is not found in any other part of the town. Pond Rock and the ridge west
* That was until 1882, when about one-third of its surface was annexed to New Haven.
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Natural History.
of it are green or whinstone. The same kind of rock appears in detached eminences and ridges, in some other parts of the town. Sandstone of the secondary formation commences on the Indian land northeast from the Cove and running north spreads through Fair Haven woods, and terminates on the Davenport farm. Another mass lies on the east side of the fresh meadows, and runs in a northeast direction to the north line of the town on the half-mile. The green- stone, generally, on the surface is in such a state of fracture as to be nearly useless, except the smaller fragments, which make excellent gravel for the roads. In some places the sandstone is in a state of decom- position. In the ridge north of Mullen Hill agates are found in abundance.
The plains appear to be composed of sand, coarse and fine, washed from the lands and valleys on the north, and accumulating gradually by some powerful operating cause. The salt marshes are founded upon a bottom of sand, like that of the plains adjacent.
The town is well supplied with water of an excellent quality. There are numerous springs and some fine rivulets, while Stoney river and Furnace pond [now Lake Saltonstall] afford an inexhaustible supply of water of the best kind.
The pond is about three miles long, and from one hundred yards to three hundred yards broad, and very deep.
The fisheries in the waters of East Haven are excel- lent and valuable. In Quinnipiac river, oysters are taken in vast quantities and those of a superior quality are taken in the Cove and Stoney river.
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History of East Haven.
Clams, blackfish and whitefish abound in their season. Whitefish are used in vast quantities for fertilizer.
The trade in oysters is carried to a great extent. From sixty to one hundred thousand bushels are annually imported; these are opened, put into kegs of small size, and dispersed all over the northern and western country, quite into Canada. The amount of sales for this town and vicinity is estimated at twenty- five thousand dollars during the fall and winter season. And it probably sometimes exceeded that sum .*
A considerable number of men are employed in the coasting, packet and oyster trade: but this town has suffered exceedingly by the loss of active men at sea. Farming occupies the attention of the principal part of the male population.
On October 8, 1797, great damage was done by a tornado, which passed over the center of the town. The same week, the following account of it was pub- lished in a New Haven paper :
"On Sunday evening last, between six and seven o'clock, we experienced a violent gale of wind from the westward, attended with heavy rain and thunder. The damage done in this town was not great, compared with that done at East- Haven and Branford."
"The roofs of some buildings were injured, the tops of chimneys blown off, and windows blown in, some trees and fences blown down, and a barn in the New Township removed from its foundation. At East-Haven the steeple of the meeting-house was blown down, which falling on the roof, broke through the side, where it fell, leaving only one rafter standing, and penetrating the floor, greatly damaged the seats.
* This was correct in 1824. In 1907 it reached the million point.
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Natural History.
A large new house was removed from its foundations; sev- eral dwelling houses were partly, and others entirely unroofed. A number of barns met the same fate. Three large barns were entirely demolished; the materials of which they were built were scattered in every direction. The town of Bran- ford experienced nearly the same fate. Part of the roof of the meeting-house was blown off, and all the windows on the western side destroyed; six or seven houses, a new store, and several barns were unroofed, other barns blown down, the trees in several fine orchards laid prostrate. The height of the tornado continued but a few minutes."
The same tornado is described in Dwight's Travels, with the addition of several particulars to the above account.
"On Lord's day, October 8, 1797, in the afternoon, a Tor- nado, the commencement of which, so far as I was able to learn, was at Upper Salem in the County of West- chester, and State of New-York, passed over Ridge- field, in Connecticut, and thence over Redding, Newtown, Huntington, Derby, Woodbridge, New-Haven, East-Haven, Branford, Guilford, and Killingworth; whence it directed its course over the Sound. At times it rose from the earth, and held its most furious career in a higher region of the atmosphere. Such was the fact at New-Haven, where, although its force was great, it did not blow with sufficient strength to do any material damage. At Upper Salem it destroyed orchards, groves, and buildings. At East-Haven it blew down the steeple of the Presbyterian Church, and ruined several other buildings. It left many marks of its violence also at Branford, and some other places; while in others it did little or no mischief. This alternate rise and fall of a Tornado I have not seen mentioned; nor do I remember a storm of this kind, at so late a season, in any other instance."
Another violent gale, called the Salt Storm, occurred September 3, 1821. Light showers passed in the morning; it was somewhat misty through the day,
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History of East Haven.
with a light rain about 5 P. M., the wind rising about that hour, it having been all day south and southeast. At six o'clock it became a gale, still increasing and blowing with dreadful violence until eleven o'clock, when it broke, and a calm succeeded. In this town very little rain fell; but in the region of New York a vast quantity poured down. The sand and gravel, however, were scooped from the earth and dashed against every opposing object. A salt spray covered everything within its reach, and mingling with the dirt then afloat, rendered the glass windows quite opaque, and formed a coat so firm that it was not easily washed off.
The morning light disclosed a scene of mournful devastation in the vegetable kingdom. Trees of every kind were stripped of their foliage, and also of their fruit. The small limbs upon the windward side were killed and still exhibit the deadly properties of the storm, and along the coast the fruit trees are rendered barren. Many small trees were destroyed. The shrub- bery and vegetation of the garden and the field appeared as is common after a severe and early frost. The atmosphere was loaded with a very nauseous fetor. The buckwheat was completely destroyed: the corn lay prostrate, the leaves of which were whipped into strings. The weather afterwards being very warm, the trees and living shrubbery put forth new leaves, and the fruit trees and the lilac were adorned with flowers.
The deadly effects of the salt on vegetation might , be traced twelve or fifteen miles inland; but gradually diminishing according to the distance from the shore. It having been a very dry season in this town, and the
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Natural History.
ground being very hard, but few trees were over- turned, compared with what took place a few miles north, where the ground was softer, for there great havoc was made among the tall timber.
A singular phenomenon of frequent occurrence is noticeable in this town respecting the motion of thunder clouds, proceeding from the west. The cloud advances over the harbor and approaches Fort Hill [now Beacon Hill] presenting a great and, in a dry season, a hopeful appearance of a refreshing rain. But presently it breaks* and then separates to the right and left; one part passing to the north of the village, and the other part passing down the harbor and across the south end of the town, pours down its refreshing streams upon the Sound. Sometimes no rain at all . falls upon the plains east of the hill and at other times only a sprinkling from the skirts of the cloud. Whether the hill possesses a repulsive, or the water an attractive, quality that operates upon the cloud, is a question left to the wisdom of the reader to solve.
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