History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 137

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

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"That notwithstanding the soniles of Divine Providence upon us at our first settling in this place, in which we thankfully encouraged our- selves, yet so numerous have been the frowns, and so heavy the strokes of the Almighty in the year past, and so dark is the countenance of our present state, that we have not only been brought to uncommon con- tinued distress, but even to despair of future prosperity unless relieved by your Honors' favor. In May last it pleased the Almighty to send a nervous fever among us, which continued cleven months, in which time more than one hundred and twenty persons were long confined with it; some have lain more than one hundred days, some eighty, many sixty, and few have been capable of business in forty days after they were seized with the distemper, by reason of which many were unable to plow for wheat in the year past, many who had plowed were unable to sow, und some who had sowed unable to secure it by fence, and much whent that

569

SHARON.

was ripe rotted on the ground. By reason of the sick ness of the people, which was not only exceeding expensive to the persons and families sick, but also to those who were in health, their time being taken up in tend- ing those that were sick, many of whom were obliged to suffer for want of help. Twenty are dead, many widows and fatherless children are left among us, not a man but that bas sustained loss; many wbo were more than level with the world are impoverished. The distress of the winter has been exceeding great and impoverishing. Our cattle are so destroyed that there is not a cow left to half the families in the town, aod now many men are obliged to leave their business at home and go twenty miles to labor for bread and corn, and so must continue to do uotil barvest; so that we are not now able to take up our bonds without being wrecked in our estates, some torn, others quite broke, so that not above three- quarters of us can save our home-lots and pay our purchase. Neither can we maintain our minister or build our meeting-bonse, but must quit the place or become tenants, we and our children, to neighboring rich merchants who are seeking our lande, but at their own price.

"Therefore we, a witbering branch of this commonwealth, and the poor of this colony, would now humbly pray for your Honors' assistance and gracious notice. And as our industrious improvements have been the admiration of all who have bebeld our settlement, and far exceeding any other instance of Inte plantation, we trust we may not, after three years' toil, sick ness, and want, be turned off from our lands, become ten- ants, or seek another settlement under worse circumstances thao when we settled in this place, which, that your Honors would take into your wise consideration, and upon it graciously aet towards us, ie the earnest and necessary prayer of your Honors' dutiful and humble memorial- ists.'

" The second application was successful to this ex- tent, that the time for the payment of the bonds was extended some two or three years, and thus the set- tlers were able to meet their payments without further embarrassments.

"These memorials explain how Philip Livingston and Martin Hoffman became large owners of real es- tate in Sharon at an early day, a fact which beforc was obscure. They were, undoubtedly the rich neigh- boring merchants referred to in the memorial. The representatives of Philip Livingston are still proprie- tors of the common land in Sharon.

"The first death recorded of those residing in Sha- ron is that of Miriam, the wife of William Goodrich, Jr., which occurred on the 22d of April, 1740. The following persons also, as appears of record, departed this life during the same season, viz. : Asa Rood, Da- vid Skinner, Mary, wife of Nathaniel Skinner, Esq., Deacon Hezekiah King, Benjamin Fuller, Jonathan Dunham, Jr., Daniel Bouton, Daniel Bouton, Jr.,-in all, nine persons.

" The first person born in the town after Jehiel Jack- son, before mentioned, was Saralı Bates, daughter of John and Anna Bates. She was afterwards the wife of John Randall, and lived to a very advanced age. The first marriage in the town was that of Elnathan Goodrich to Elizabeth Showers. It was celebrated on New-Year's Day, Jan. 1, 1740."

THE MORAVIAN MISSIONS.

" The diligent and successful labors of the Mora- vians for the conversion to Christianity of the Indians in Sharon is an item in the history of the town well worthy of record. This body of Christians established a mission among the Indians in this region as early as 1740. Their special fields of labor were at Shekomeko (Pine Plains), in New York, and at Wequagnoek

(Sharon) and Schaghticoke (Kent), in Connecticut. The first minister who labored here and established the mission was the Rev. Christian Henry Rauch. He was succeeded in 1742 by the Rev. Gotlieb Buet- ner, who labored in the mission until his death, in 1745, at the age of twenty-eight years. He was buried in the field of his labors, and his memory is well pre- served by an enduring monument and an appropriate epitaph. If the fact were not well authenticated as a matter of history, it would scarcely be credited now that the mission was broken up in 1745 by the gov- ernment of New York from the belief that the mis- sionaries were Jesuits and Papists, and emissaries of the Pope and the French king. On the occurrence of this event many of the Christian Indians of Sheko- meko joined the tribes of Sharon. Several clergymen labored here at stated periods up to 1749. In that year David Bruce, then the missionary here, died, and was buried in the beautiful field of his labor, on the eastern shore of the Indian pond. He was a Scotch- man from Edinburgh. He was not a clergyman in the Moravian sense, but an assistant. He acted rather as a teacher or catechist. He labored in the mission at Sharon but a few months. As everything relating to his history is interesting, a more extended notice of him is copied from Loskiel's 'History of Moravian Missioners :'

" . Brotber David Bruce wes now appointod to the care of the Christian Indians at Schaticook nod Woquagnock, who since the forementioned visit of the bishop had formed n regular settlement. Ile resided chiefly in & houso nt Woquagoock, bolonging to the brethren called Gundanseo (Lake of Graco), but sometimes resided at Schaticook, whence he paid visits to Westenhunk, by invitation of the head chief of the Mohlkan nation, sowing the ereds of the gospel wherever be came; but as he was not ordained, Bishop Camerhoff with Brother Beyold, wont again to We- quaguock to strengthen tho brethren and to administer the sacraments there. Twenty Indians wore added to the church by baptism. Brother Bruco remained in this station till his hoppy departuro out of timo, which, to tho gront grief of tho Indian congregation, took place this year. lle was remarkably cheerful during his illness, and his conversa- tion odified all who saw him. l'orcoiving that bla end approached, he callod the Indian brethren present to his bedside, and, pressing their bands to his brenst, besought them fervontly to'remain faithful unto the ond, and immodintoly fell asleep in the Lord. His funeral was com- mitted to ono of the assistants, who delivered a powerful discourse upon tho volemo occasion to the company present, among whom were many white people, who had often heard our late brother's testimony of the truth with blessing.'

"So reads the book, and so died the missionary. The exact date of his death was July 9, 1749. The missionary at Schaghtieook in 1752 wrote as follows:

"' They have pormitted mo to put a stono on Brothor David's gruve, and then inclose it with a fence.'

"The stone was in good preservation in 1825, but has since been broken into many fragments. What remains of it is in the possession of the Moravian His- torical Society of Nazareth, Penn. It contained the following epitaph :

1. DAVID BRUCE, From Edinburgh in Scotland. Minister of The Urethrou's Church, Among the Indians. Departed 1749.'

570

HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

"The Indians of Sharon having sold their lands in 1755, and dispersed to different parts of the country, the mission was then abandoned by the brethren ; but a congregation of white people built a meeting-house on the western border of the Indian pond, on land now owned by Col. Hiram Clark, and retained the services of one of the missionaries, the Rev. Joseph Powell, until his death in 1774.

" It will be observed that all the missionaries who labored here were under the direction of the Moravian authorities at Bethany, Pa., from whom they received their appointments. After the breaking up of the mission here, and the death or removal of the mis- sionaries, missionary stations were established in parts of the country west of Bethany, and for nearly a cen- tury the scene of the labors and place of the graves of the faithful and devoted missionaries in this region had passed from the knowledge of the Moravians at Bethany ; and it was owing to investigations made by the Rev. William J. McCord and the Rev. Sheldon Davis, of Dutchess County, that this field of mission- ary labor, so interesting in Moravian history, was brought to their knowledge. The Moravian Histori- cal Society, at Nazareth, Pa., on the 11th day of July, 1859, determined to mark the resting-places of the missionaries by the erection of suitable monuments, and thus to revive and perpetuate their memories, so long neglected and forgotten. These monuments were set up under the direction of the Rev. Mr. Davis, and of Benson J. Lossing, Esq., and a single monument over the remains of David Bruce is for a memorial of him and of the Rev. Joseph Powel. The inscriptions on that monument were as follows :

" On the north side :

" : JOSEPH POWEL, A Minister of the Gospel, in the Church of the United Brethren. Born in 1710, Near White Church, Shropshire, England. Died Sept. 23, 1774, At Sichem in the Oblong, Dutchess Co., N. Y.'

" On the south side :

"'DAVID BRUCE, A Minister of the Gospel, in the Church of the United Brethren, from Edinburgh, in Scotland. Died July 9. 1749, At the Wechquadnock Mission, Dutchess Co., N. Y.'

" On the east side :

"' ]low beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, That bringeth good tidings of good, That publisheth salvation.

Isaiah lii. 7.'

" On the west side :

"'Erected by the Moravian Historical Society, October 6, 1859.'

"Solemn and impressive, as well as instructive, ser- vices, performed by the Moravians from Bethany, were rendered at the dedication of that monument, on the 6th day of October, 1859. As the remains of the missionaries had been committed to the grave without the performance of the cherished rites of that body of Christians, it was deemed appropriate that those portions of the Moravian ritual which relate to death and the resurrection should be employed in the ceremonies. For the same reason, the Easter Morning Litany, which is prayed annually on Moravian bury- ing-grounds, and the choral music of trombonists, a characteristic element of Moravian obsequies, were added to the programme of religious exercises. The services were held in the open field in which the monument stands, and were performed by the bishop and several Moravian clergymen, with a select band of trombonists and choir of singers, in the presence of some seventeen hundred people. The venerable Bishop Wolle had the principal charge, and his white locks, his clerical costume, and his solemn and delib- erate utterances, with a slight German accent, of the various portions of the Moravian funeral ritual, with the earnest and solemn responses from the people, and from the trombonists, gave an indescribable interest to the ceremonies. After a historical discourse by the Rev. Mr. De Schweinitz, in which a minute history of the mission and missionaries was given, the following stanzas from the Moravian Hymnal were sung by the congregation :

"' How sweetly these our brethren sleep, Enjoying endless peace ! The grave in which their Saviour lay Is now their resting-place.

"'Naught can disturb these heirs of life,- All earthly cares are fled,- To be with Christ was their desire, And now they're perfected.

"' To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, One God, whom we adore, Be glory as it was, is now, And shall be evermore.'

" And thus ended the solemn burial services."

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR .*

"We have now arrived at the period of the com- mencement of the Revolutionary war. The citizens of Sharon, almost without exception, partook largely of the feeling which pervaded the whole country at the commencement of the struggle. Parson Smith, like the other clergymen of the day, was a most ardent and decided Whig; and his personal in- fluence contributed not a little to lead the public mind in the right channel. In his public minis- trations, too, there was mingled much of the stirring patriotism of the times. In the prayers which were offered, and in the praises which were sung, there were interspersed many allusions to the tyrannical edicts of the British king, and to the degraded

* From Sedgwick's " llistory of Sharon."

SHARON.

571

and suffering condition of the colonies. Hymns were written, and music was composed, which were used for publie worship on the Sabbath, the effect of which would seem to be to stir up martial rather than devotional feelings, and to excite in the worshipers the deepest hatred of their oppressors. The following stanza was the commencement of one of the hymns which was frequently sung for Sabbath worship :

"' Let tyrants shake their iron rod, And slavery clank their galling chains, We fear then not, we trust in God,- New England's God forever reigns.'

" The intelligence of the battle of Lexington was brought to Sharon on the Sabbath, and Mr. Smith, at the close of the morning exercises, announced it from the pulpit, and made some remarks tending to arouse the spirit of the congregation to firmness and to re- sistance. Immediately after the congregation was dismissed, the militia and volunteers to the number of one hundred men paraded on the west side of the street, south of the meeting-house, and prepared to march immediately to the seene of action. David Downs, Esq., was captain, James Brewster lieutenant, and David Gould ensign. After further deliberation, however, it was determined to send Lieut. Brewster to Litchfield, to inquire more fully into the accuracy of the intelligence, and whether the service of the militia would be required immediately. Lieut. Brew- ster* performed this mission, and learning that the British had returned to Boston, and that no pressing necessity existed for further military aid, it was deter- mined not to march until further hostile movements on the part of the enemy should render it necessary.

" The General Assembly was forthwith convened, and a large military force raised. One company was raised in Sharon and its vicinity. Samuel Elmore received a major's commission, and also had the com- mand of this company. Amos Chappell was the lieu- tenant.

" The last survivors of this company were Thomas Heath and Adonijah Maxam. Deacon Isaac Cham- berlain, Capt. Sylvanus Gibbs, and Mr. Ebe Everitt, lately deceased, were also members of this company, as were William Gray, Samuel Lewis, Jr., and David Goff. This company was attached to a regiment which marched to the Northward in 1775 for the con- quest of Canada, under Gen. Montgomery.

" Before St. John's was taken it was determined by Cols. Allen and Brown to make an attempt upon the city of Montreal with a few volunteers, if they could be obtained. The troops were paraded, and Allen marched in front of the Connecticut Line, and invited volunteers to join him. Of the soldiers who belonged to Sharon, Adonijah Maxam, David Goff, William Gray, and Samuel Lewis stepped forward and offered

to share in the perils of the expedition. It was ar- ranged between Allen and Brown that the latter should land on the island, below the city, while Allen, with about eighty men, should land above the city, and there wait until they should hear the firing from Brown's party, when they were to rush on to the at- tack. Allen crossed the river St. Lawrence with his detachment on the evening of the 24th of September, on a raft, and waited in the expectation of hearing the firing from Brown's party through the whole night, but he waited in vain. For some reason the expedition on Brown's part had failed, and the morn- ing light found Allen altogether in the power of the enemy. This rash adventurer, however, determined to defend himself to the last extremity against the seven or eight hundred men that were brought him, and he fought until twenty-five of his men were killed and seven wounded, when he and his brave as- sociates, including Maxam, Goff, Gray, and Lewis, from Sharon, and one Roger Moore, of Salisbury, were compelled to surrender. They were loaded with irons and sent to England, for the avowed objeet of receiving the sentence and punishment of traitors. The threat of retaliatory measures, however, on the part of the Americans, prevented such summary pro- eeedings against them, and after being kept in close confinement in England and Ireland during the winter, the prisoners just named were brought back to New York in the spring of 1776. They were eon- fined in an old church, with a large number of others who had been taken during the campaign at Fort Washington and other places. From this place the persons above named contrived to make their escape within a few days after they were put into confine- ment. The old church in which they were confined was surrounded by a high fence, and thus a little daily out-door exercise was allowed the prisoners. While enjoying this liberty, William Gray managed to loosen one of the long planks of which the fence was made, but did not remove it, and the appearance of things were so little disturbed by the aet of Gray that it escaped the observation of the officers in charge of the prisoners. Through the opening in the fence, thus made practicable, the five soldiers above named made their escape as soon as it was sufficiently dark to conceal their operations. They had been habited in sailors' clothes during their captivity, and on this account they were less liable to be detected. They divided into two parties, Maxam and Moore forming the one, and Gray, Goff, and Lewis the other. The three latter very soon found means to land on Long Island, and from thence passed over the Sound to the continent, and returned to their friends in Sharon. Maxam and Moore had more difficulty. They were two or three days in the city before they found it pos- sible to leave it, and after landing on Long Island they suffered much from hunger. After traveling several days they found means to embark in a boat on the Sound, and to reach Saybrook. Their return

* " This young gentleman was at this time a clerk In Col. Gay's store. Ile was originally from Windham, and came to Sharon in A.D. 1770, with his mother, who was the second wife of Capt. Calob Jewitt. He died, much lameuted, of a consumption, on the 22d day of February, 1777."

572

HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

to Sharon astonished their friends, who, having learned from Gray and his comrades the circumstance of their escape from confinement, and having heard nothing further from them, had concluded that they had been retaken hy the British. The last survivor of this band of sufferers was Mr. Adonijalı Maxam, who died at the age of ninety-seven years.

"In the campaign of 1775, Parson Smith went with the army to the Northward as chaplain to Col. Hin- man's regiment, and spent several months in the service.

"There was one soldier from Sharon who joined the expedition led by Gen. Arnold through the wil- derness of Kennebeck to Canada, whose name was Alexander Spencer. He died, however, on the march, from sickness.

"The exigencies of the times calling for a large army at the commencement of 1776, a large number of men, more than one hundred, enlisted from the town of Sharon. One company marched for Canada. It was commanded by Capt. David Downs, already mentioned. The first lieutenant was Adonijah Gris- wold, and the second lieutenant was David Doty. The last survivors of this company, which was a large one, were Joel Chaffee and Adonijah Pangman, of Cornwall. Charles Gillet, another member of the company, was killed near the 'Cedars,' so called, by a party of Indians in ambush, as he was riding along the road, having gone on some business connected with his duty as commissary. The other soldiers raised in Sharon for the campaign of 1776 were dis- tributed among three other companies, and all marched for New York, against which an attack by the British was now apprehended. Of one company Dr. Simeon Smith was captain, of another Elijah Foster was captain, and of the third, Nathaniel Ham- lin was lieutenant. These companies were in the campaign of 1776, under Gen. Washington, on Long Island, and in the vicinity of New York, and shared in the fatigues and perils of that disastrous period. David Wood, Nathaniel Buel, Josiah Coleman, Jabez Jennings, Asahel Somers, John Randall, Jr., and Thomas Ackley were taken prisoners at Fort Wash- ington, of whom Wood and Ackley died during their captivity, and Buel and Coleman on their return. The British having obtained possession of New York, Gen. Washington determined to make an effort to dislodge them during the winter which followed the unfortunate campaign of 1776. For this purpose a large military force was raised in the fall of that year for two months' service, and one company was enlis- ted in Sharon. William Boland was captain, Heze- kiah Frisbie lieutenant, and Azariah Griswold en- sign. As the period of enlistment was so short, there was no difficulty in filling the company. The survi- vors of this company were Messrs. Adonijah Maxam and Thomas Heath. New York was not attacked, and the company was discharged at Kingsbridge at the expiration of their term of service.

"The forces that had hitherto been called into the service were raised on the authority of the State. To provide for the campaign of 1777, Congress undertook to raise an army, which was called the Continental army ; and of this army, two regiments, Swift's and Bradley's, were raised in the western part of Connec- ticut. Of one company David Strong was appointed lieutenant, and he enlisted a number of recruits, one of whom, David Goodrich, was killed at the battle of Brandywine, in the subsequent campaign. Of another company Reuben Calkin was lieutenant, and a number of men enlisted under him.

" A large depot of provisions and military stores had been established at Danbury, and in the month of April an expedition was sent out from New York to destroy them. It was commanded by Maj .- Gen. Tryon, of the British army, and consisted of two thousand men. They landed at a place called Compo, in the southwest part of the town of Fairfield, and, proceeding through the towns of Weston and Redding, reached Danbury, and effected their object, which was the destruction of the stores. The most active meas- nres were taken to spread the alarm through the ad- jacent country, and to collect the militia to repel the invaders. On the evening of the 26th of April a messenger arrived in this town bringing the intelli- gence, and requiring the immediate marching of such forces as could be collected to meet the enemy. The bell commenced tolling, and it was kept tolling through the night, and it was a night of great terror and so- lemnity. Col. Ebenezer Gay, who then commanded the militia in this vicinity, gathered together as many troops as could be collected on so short notice, and marched for the scene of action ; and on the morning of the 28th reached Danbury, and, finding that the British had retreated, pursued them. The route which the British had taken on their retreat brought them on the west side of the Saugatuck River, which empties into the Sound a mile or two west of Compo, where their fleet lay. They were intercepted in their attempt to reach the bridge over this stream by Gen. Arnold, who was then in command of a few regular troops, and were guided by some Tories to a regular fording-place a little higher up, and it was while they were marching up on the west side of the stream to reach this fording- place that they were first observed by the troops from Sharon, who were endeavoring to reach the bridge, and to join the corps nnder Arnold. As the British marched by them on the low grounds which bordered . on the river, Adonijalı Maxam, who had not forgotten the injuries which were heaped upon him while a prisoner in England, begged permission of the com- manding officer to steal down the hill from the left flank and shoot a few of them. He was strictly for- bidden, however, to execute this perilous undertaking. The British marched by unmolested, and our troops took undisputed possession of the bridge. The enemy came down on the east side of the river, and, having taken ground a little to the east of the bridge, fired

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History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 137

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