History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 125

Author: J.W. Lewis & Company (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1532

USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > History of Litchfield county, Connecticut > Part 125

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* By Rev. E. E. Beardsley, D D.

COL. GEORGE HURLBUT.

The subject of this sketch was born at Rox- bury, Litchfield Co., on the 14th of October, 1809. His family was one of the earliest col- onial stocks that came to Connecticut. Early in life he learned the hatter's trade of Col. William Odell, of Washington.

On the 7th of January, 1833, he married Miss Thalia A. Merwin, of Brookfield. Their children were Caroline S., born Oet. 22, 1833; Thalia M., born Feb. 9, 1836; Emily E., born May 7, 1839; George W., born March 10, 1841; Samuel W., born Dec. 29, 1843; Wil- liam II., born March 11, 1846; Charles W., born June 8, 1849; Adelaide A., born June 12, 1851; and Frank W., born Sept. 20, 1853.

Col. Hurlbut was engaged in the manufac- ture of hats in his native town from 1840 to

1860, and during that time acquired a hand- some property, which, by good management, has grown into a fine estate.

In 1845 he was elected a member of the Legislature of Connecticut. He was appointed postmaster at Roxbury on the election of Presi- dent Lincoln, and has held that office until the present time.

Col. Hurlbut has lived a very quiet life, and has kept himself within the sphere which he originally marked out,-to live on terms of charity with all men, to help the needy, and, so far as lay in his power, to do no wrong, nor suffer any to be done. It is believed that few men in Litchfield County will leave behind them a more unsullied record for honesty and purity of character. Certainly no one ever exhibited a more steadfast fidelity to his friends.

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THE INDIANS.

Upon the advent of the white settlers many of the aborigines still remained, clustered in the valleys along the streams and lakes, but the fearless inde- pendence and noble bearing of the Indian character were gonc. They had been too long within the reach of the enervating influence of the whites, and were peaceable, harmless, and servile.

" There seems to be much plansibility," says the late Judge Church, "in the conjecture that the race of Indians found here by our fathers was not the orig- inal tenantry of this region, but had come in as wan- dering tribes or bands from other forests, driven, perhaps, by wars to take the place of an earlier and more noble people. The tradition is, with much probability, authenticated that King Philip, the last of New England's proud sachems, and the relentless foe of the Puritans, extended his ravages on this side of Connecticut River, and that he burned, or other- wise broke up, some settlements of English and friendly Indians in the present town of Simsbury, and particularly an Indian village there called Wea- togue, the name of which still remains; and these Indians, flying from Philip, settled down upon the banks of the Housatonic, within the present limits of Salisbury and Canaan, giving the name of their former home to their new residence."

Hubbard, in his " History of Indian Wars," affirms it that the Indians as far west as Hudson's or Dutch River were concerned in Philip's wars, and Bancroft, speaking of the Indians of New England, says, "The clans that disappeared from the ancient hunting- grounds did not always become extinct: they often migrated to the North and West. The country be- tween the banks of the Connectieut and the IIudson was possessed by independent villages of the Mohe- gans, kindred with the Manhattans, whose few smokes once rose amidst the forests of York Island." The Indians of these villages spoke the same language, the Mohegan or Pequod dialect, and which was, with perhaps some variation, the language common to the Indians of New England. The Indians here were probably connected in some relation with the Stock- bridge or Mohcaconnue tribe, and perhaps made part of the tribes or clans lower down the river, at Kent and New Milford, and connected in amicable relations with the Indians who acknowledged the sachem Wyantenock as their common protector. This chief resided near the Great Falls, in New Milford. I have myself, when a child, conversed with old men who could recollect the remnant of tribes considerably populous in Weatogue, near the former residence of the White family, and on the northern margin of Wonunscopomuc Lake (now called Furnace Pond), and also on the eastern shore of Indian Pond, in Sharon.

There was, upon the first arrival of the Dutch settlers here, a well-defined Indian trail or path lead- ing from the Stockbridge tribe, along the valley of

the Housatonic, through Weatogue, to the Seaticoke settlement of Indians in Kent. Apple-trees had sprung up, and were growing along that path through its whole extent at unequal distances, accurately enough marking its course. Many of these were stand- ing when I was a youth, and some, I believe, remain to this day. Tradition has pointed out the spot, on the easterly side of Wonunscopomuc Lake, upon which the Indians held their councils and pow-wows. It is in the grove, a little west of the road leading from Furnace Village to Town Hill, and near a tall pine- tree, now standing, overlooking the lake. Frequently, when I have stood upon that interesting spot, I have attempted to eall up before me the groups of savage men who congregated on that ground. I have, in fancy, there looked upon the grave, stern face of the counselor, the fierce visage of the impatient warrior in his listening attitude, and the encircling group of women and children around. It was, and still is, a plat of romantie beanty, well fitted to call forth the innate religious feeling of those men of nature. This spot was frequently visited by wandering Indians in after-days, and the stately pine which then marked the place was long known to the white inhabitants as the Indian tree.

Although the Indians of this neighborhood were friendly, yet such was the well-known treachery of the Indian character, and so frequent were the causes of disturbance among the Northern and Western tribes, and so dreadful were the tales of savage cruelty, that the early white settlers were cantions in their inter- course with them, and were constantly on their guard against surprise and attack. A supply of ammunition was always on hand, furnished at the expense of the town, forts or block-houses were erected for defense and refuge, and the house first erected for the min- ister, and which was improved as the house of relig- ious worship, was constructed with a view to defense, and with port-holes, through which a fire of musketry could be kept up against assailing Indians. Our fathers assembled to worship God with arms in their hands; unlike us, their children, who have none to molest or make us afraid.

" One of these block-houses was erected at the junc- tion of the roads opposite the late dwelling-house of Nathaniel Church, at Weatogue, and its stone foun- dations have been visible in my day. Another, a little southerly from the present dwelling-house of William P. Russell, Esq., the first location of the Dutcher family, nearly then inclosed by deep coves and dense thickets; and still another, on the north- erly side of Wonunscopomuc Lake, not far from the present residence of Newman Holley, Esq." (1841.)

There is a tradition that a large body of Indians were defeated in the northerly portion of the town before the settlement by the whites. In the year 1676, and just before the death of the proud chief King Philip, Maj. Tallcott, of the Connecticut forces, pursued, from Westfield towards Albany, a flying

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body of Indians, who, after their defeat in King Philip's war, were flying for safety among the war- like and powerful Mohawks. These fugitives, under the command of sachem of Winnimissett, or Brook- field, were surprised on the Housatonic River, at the fording-place, a short distance south of the State line, and about fifty of their number, including their sa- chem, were either killed or taken prisoners.

There were several Indian burying-grounds in this town.

"One," says Judge Church, in his address, in 1841, " was on the eastern side of the north pond, another on the east side of the road leading through Weatogue, and a little southerly from the old burying-yard on mv late father's farm, and still another on the bank of the Honsatonic, on the old White farm. This probably belonged to an earlier race than the Indians found here by our fathers. The annual encroachment of the river by the spring freshets upon the banks frequently exposed the bones of the buried Indians, which upon exposure became dust."

THE FIRST PURCHASE OF LANDS.

The first purchase of the Indians of lands lying within the present bounds of this town was made by William White and Abraham Vandusen, Dutch emi- grants from the province of New York, supposing this section to lie within the boundaries of that prov- ince. This tract was located about two miles south of the falls.

The second purchase was made in January, 1720. by John Dlkeman and Lawrence Knickerbocker, of Livingston's Manor, New York, of a tract lying on the west side of the Housatonic River, "beginning at the Upper Falls, south of Wootauk (meaning Weatogue) ; thence, running along the side of a hill called Wooto- wanche, now called Sugar Hill, two miles to the land purchased of the Indians by White and Vandusen; thence, with a straight line, to a mile above the falls of a brook called Wachocastinork (probably the falls at Lime Rock); thence south three miles, thence east to the forks, etc."

Before the charter of the town was granted, Thomas Lamb, in behalf of the Governor and Company of the Connecticut colony, purchased certain Indian rights of land in the present town of Sharon, and in Weatogue, " for the consideration of eighty pounds and divers victuals and clothes." This deed was signed by the marks of many Indians, who described themselves as of the Indian nation belonging to Mut- tapacuck. The name of one of the signers of this deed was Tocconuc. Soon afterwards the Indians complained to the General Court that they had been defrauded by Lamb in this purchase, and a committee was appointed to investigate the alleged causes of complaint. Lamb afterwards received a grant of land from the colony for his services and expenses in the negotiation.

Thomas Knowles and Andrew Hinman, of Wood-

bury, about the same time, made a very extensive Indian purchase, including, as they probably sup- posed, nearly all the feasible land of the town, de- scribed in their deed as lying on the river, six miles in length north and south, and four miles wide east and west. These grants, however, were afterwards all relinquished to the colony, the Indian's right being considered then, as now, only as a right of occupancy, not of sale, the right of pre-emption being solely in the colony. All these grantees, however, as a compensation for their expenses, received grants of land from the colony. After the charter of the town was granted, and as late as 1742, the Indians made claim to lands here; and in October of that year Daniel Edwards, of New Haven, was appointed to purchase of the Indians two miles square, at the northeast corner of the town, and to deliver to one Toccunus two blankets to resign his claim.

THE FIRST GRANT.

The territory now including the towns of Salisbury, Sharon, Canaan, and Norfolk, before the survey of these towns was made, was known as the " Western Lands." The first grant made of lands in this town by the General Court was made to William Gaylord, of New Milford. This grant embraced nearly the whole of the Weatogue intervals. Many other grants were subsequently made before the sale of the town to pro- prietors -; among these were Woodbridge's, Lamb's, Fitch's, Knickerbacor's, Bissell's, Dutcher's, Wadsworth's, Whiting's, Hinman's, Stiles', Lewis', Newtons', Knowles', and perhaps some others.

The General Court made no grants of land here to Yale College, although in all the other towns embraced within the "Northwestern Lands" a grant of three hun- dred acres in each was made to that institution ; but as early as 1730 the trustees of the college received a deed of six hundred and twenty-eight acres of land from Rev. John Fisk and James Leavens, of Killingly, in exchange for land of equal value in that town. This land was located southeasterly of the centre of the town.

Fisk and Leavins had received from the colony a grant of this land in October, 1729.

THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS.

Settlements of white people commenced within the present limits of this town several years before the public sale of the lands. Three Dutch families from Livingston's Manor, in the province of New York, commenced the settlement in Weatogue. Their lands were purchased of William Gaylord and Stephen Noble, of New Milford, by deeds dated Aug. 29, 1720. These were the families of William White, Abraham Vandusen, and Ruluff Dutcher. They probably took possession of their lands the same season. White was by birth an Englishman, but had long before been connected with the Dutch inhabitants of the New York province. He married a Dutch wife, and

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had reared a family. He located himself upon a farm subsequently owned by Nathaniel Church, and a few rods north of the small stream which flows east- wardły across the highway to the cove below. White had several sons, who settled around him,-George, on the west side of the road, opposite his father's house; Benjamin, a little south of the brook ; Joshua, still farther south, and near the river; and Isaac, who resided with his father. Benjamin was a man of con- siderable repute. He afterwards returned to the province of New York, where he died. The other sons of William White lived and died here.

The Knickerbacor family came into the town soon after White and others. John Knickerbacor oecu- pied the Knickerbacor grant at the mouth of Salmon Kill River. Cornelius Knickerbacor, a brother of John, settled at Lakeville about the same time that John came here. Cornelius Knickerbacor's was for some time the only white family in that section of the town. He afterwards removed to Sharon.

Thomas Lamb was the first New England man who settled in this town. He emigrated from Springfield, but the precise time of his settlement here cannot be ascertained. He received several grants of land before the sale of the town. He located a tract of fifty acres at Lime Rock, upon a grant made to a Sergt. Tibbals for services in the Pequod war. He received another grant of one hundred acres on the northeast side of the Furnace pond, and after the sale of the town he became the owner of four and one-half rights. He secured the water-privileges at Lime Rock, at the outlet of the Furnace pond, at the falls west of the Centre, as well as the outlet of the pond on the mountain. He was the distinguished speeu- lator of his day. His place of residence was prob- ably first at Lime Rock, but he afterwards resided on the hill southieasterly of Lakeville. He left the town about the year 1746, and became a mariner, and re- sided successively in New Jersey, Maryland, and North Carolina.

Mr. Caleb Woodworth was the first white man who settled with a family in the neighborhood of the Ore Hill. He came into the town as early as 1738. Thomas Baylis settled at the Centre as early as 1740. John Weldon came into the town in 1740, and Isaac Voshurgh in 1742. Both located themselves in the north part of the town, near where the late Col. Elijah Stanton lived and died. Samuel Beebe settled near the Upper or Little Falls of the Housatonic about the year 1740. Within one year after the incorpora- tion of the town there were forty-five tax-paying inhabitants here. The ore-bed, the iron-works of Thomas Lamb, at Lime Rock, and the various water- privileges discovered here, probably invited emi- grants, though the appearance of the land was at first uninviting : the hills appeared barren, and with little wood to cover them,-the frequent Indian fires had nearly destroyed the timber,-and the valleys were covered with a tall and useless grass called bent-grass.

EARLY HIGHWAYS.

"Previous to the aet of incorporation," says Judge Church, " there were no public roads here, yet there were some well-defined paths. The most prominent among these was the one leading from Duteher's, in Weatogue, and following, as I suppose, the general direction of the present highway, to Furnace Village, and thence along nearly to the Ore Hill, and down through Sharon valley to Saekett's farm, in Dover, nearly west of the southwest corner of the town of Sharon. Another path Jed from the Ore Hill, and in the vicinity of what we call the Under Mountain road, to the iron-works at Ousatonie, now called Great Bar- rington. This was called the Ore path, and iron ore, in leathern bags, was transported on horses over this road from the Ore Hill to the forge. Another path connected the Ore Hill with Lamb's iron-works, at Lime Rock, and another extended from Lamb's works to the fording-place, about one-half mile below the present Falls bridge."

In the division of the town by the proprietors an allowance for roads was made over nearly all the lots, but none were actually located by them, unless it was the six-rod highway over the first division lots, across Town Hill. The first recorded survey of a highway was made Nov. 6, 1744, from Gabriel Dutcher's, in the northeast section of the town, to Benjamin White's; another, the same year, from Cornelius Knickerbacor's, at the Furnace, to Samuel Bellow's, at the eastern foot of Smith's Hill ; another, in 1746, from White's, in Weatogue, westerly to the foot of the hill, called by ns Frink's HIill. This road has been discontinued. Another, the same year, from Furnace Village to the colony line ; and another, the same year, from the centre easterly to the foot of the mountain near Chauncey Reed's, the late, and thence southerly to Lamb's iron-works. These were among the first le- gally established highways.

" The first bridge erected across the Housatonic River was the Falls bridge, for many years known ns Burrall's bridge. This bridge was built about the year 1744. Duteher's bridge was erected in 1760. A bridge at the south part of the town, about one-half mile below the present bridge, was erected about the year 1790. It was built by funds raised by a lottery granted by the General Assembly, and was long known as the Lottery bridge. It was discontinued upon the opening of the present road, called the Johnston road, leading from the late Nathaniel Green's to South Cannan, in the year 1808. Before the erection of these bridges, access to this town was difficult from the cast. There were but few fording- places upon the river, and these could only be im - proved when the river was very low, in the summer or fall. Indeed, I believe no more than one fording- place was improved, which was about one-half mile below the Falls bridge. The river could be forded with some difficulty near William Sardam's. Canoes were used for the transportation of persons, and I

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have not been able to learn whether any ferries were at any time established ; I believe there were none. Horses and cattle could cross the river only by swim- ming.

" In investigating some titles, some years ago, of lands in Weatogue, I found the prominent description of one corner of a tract to be 'Christopher's canoe- place.' I infer, therefore, that this was a well-known crossing, and near to the present residence of Ruloff Dutcher, in Canaan, whose ancestor was Christopher Dutcher.

" Perhaps there is not an ancient highway in the town which can now be accurately defined. We can depend only upon the practical location, or the dedi- cation of the highways by usage, as the legal evidence of their existence and extent.

"Rev. Mr. Crossman, in his sermon, says that the charter of this town was granted in 1745, and signed by Governor Law. This is an error. Mr. Crossman has confounded the charter of the town with the deed of confirmation, which deed was exe- cuted in May, 1745, and signed by Governor Law.

" This town was originally attached to the county of New Haven, and remained a part of that county until the county of Litchfield was constituted in 1751."

THE PIONEERS.

Thomas Newcomb resided here before the sale of the town, and was a large land-holder, and a prominent inhabitant. He presided at the first town-meeting, and was the first selectman chosen in the town. His place of residence was on the road leading from Lime Rock to Town Hill.

Cyrenus Newcomb, the first town clerk, was the son of Thomas Newcomb.

The Chipman family was numerous and highly respectable. Thomas Chipman, the ancestor, and who was the first officiating justice of the peace in the town, emigrated from Barnstable, Mass., to Groton, in this State, and from Groton he came here in 1741. He settled near Lamb's iron-works, and was a pro- prietor in the saw-mill and grist-mill there. He was a member of the first church organized here. He was appointed an associate judge of this county, but died in the summer of 1752, at the age of sixty-five, be- fore he entered upon the duties of the office. His sons were Thomas, John, Samuel, Amos, and Jona- than. Thomas, the eldest son, was one of the first elected members of Assembly. He died a bachelor here at an advanced age. John also died in this town. The other sons removed to Vermont before the Revolution.

Capt. Samuel Beebe was the first treasurer of the town. He emigrated from Litchfield; was a large land-holder in the eastern part of the town.

Benajah Williams was a selectman in 1743; he re- moved from Goshen here in 1742, and settled near the Furnace pond, and was one of the first eleven members of the church.

John Smith was one of the first elected selectmen, and a gentleman of considerable estate and respect- ability. He removed from the town, and settled at Beekman's patent, in the province of New York, about the year 1746.

Thomas Austin, the first constable of the town, was a bloomer at Lamb's iron-works, and resided in that neighborhood, and was an ancestor of the late Hon. Aaron Austin, of New Hartford.

Nathaniel Skinner was a selectman in 1743, and one of the first members of the church. He was the son of Nathaniel Skinner, Esq., of Sharon.

Deacon John Hutchinson came here from Lebanon in 1743. He was for several years one of the justices of the peace in the town. He was the third town clerk, and was elected in 1747, and held the office thirty-one years, and was succeeded in the office by his son, Asa Hutchinson, who held the same office thirty-eight years. Deacon Hutchinson was one of the first deacons of the church here.

Josiah Stoddard emigrated from Litchfield in 1743. He was the second town clerk, and for several years a member of the General Assembly. He was the father of Major Luther Stoddard, of the Revolution- ary army, and ancestor of Hon. Josiah J. Johnston, senator of the United States from Louisiana.

Samuel Moore came originally from Southold, on Long Island, to Litchfield, and from thence to this town in 1743. He settled at the foot of Barack-Ma- tiff, near Deacon Hutchinson. He was for many years treasurer of the town.

The Landon family in England was located in Nottinghamshire, on the Welsh border. That branch of it which settled here came from Southold, on Long Island, to Litchfield, and settled about one-half mile north of the village. James and Jobn Landon, brothers, came to this town in 1749. James settled in the south part of the town, near the small pond called by the Indians Non-Cook. He was one of the first magistrates in the town, and for many years a member of the General Assembly. His descendants were numerous. John Landon settled on Sugar Hill, in the east part of the town. He married a grand- daughter of William White, the first settler.

The family of Camps was an early and respectable one. Deacon Hezekiah Camp, the ancestor, came from New Haven, now East Haven, in 1746. The sons of Deacon Camp were Hezekiah, Abial, Luke, John, and Samuel.

The Chapin family for many years was numerous in this town and highly respectable. The brothers Charles and Reuben Chapin emigrated from Enfield in 1746.

Of the Binghams it was once said that they and their kindred constituted half of the population in the northern section of the town. Jabez, Silas, and Daniel Bingham came from Windham in 1750. They were the sons of Jabez Bingham, formerly of Leb- anon.

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John, Nathaniel, and Sylvanus Everts, from Guil- ford, settled in the vicinity of the Furnace pond in 1749. John was the first representative in the Gen- eral Assembly.

Thomas Chittenden, the first Governor of Vermont, and Capt. Timothy Chittenden, sons of Ebenezer Chittenden, of Guilford, settled here in 1750.

Noah Strong was the ancestor of the Strong fam- ily, once numerous here, but now nearly gone. He removed from Coventry in 1747, and settled on Town Hill. .

Joseph Bird removed from Litchfield in 1748.

Lot Norton (Ist) was a native of Farmington, the son of Thomas Norton, one of the original proprietors of the town. This gentleman was long a respectable magistrate, and oue of the most prominent of the early inhabitants.

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History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 125

Author: J.W. Lewis & Company (Philadelphia, Pa.) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1532

Author: J.W. Lewis & Company (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1532