History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 146

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 146

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In 1850, Mr. Morse built, in connection with Gen. Thomas A. Davies, of New York City, a clock-factory on the West Branch of the Naugatuck River. Here they manufactured clocks, under the firm-name of Morse & Co., till they were burnt out, in January, 1855, when Mr. Morse became the general agent for the American Knife Company (in which he had a

large interest), and traveled some ten years through . various parts of the United States. He held his gen- eral agency till 1874, when he retired from active business. In his political convictions he is a Demo- crat, and as such is one of the leading men in his town. He has held various offices of trust and honor with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constitu- ents. He has been justice of the peace many years, and in 1874 was a member of the State Senate, serving on a number of committees, of which he was ehair- man. He is often a delegate to county and State conventions. On the 25th of October, 1871, he mar- ried Laura A., eldest daughter of Seth and Charlotte (Parker) Thomas, of Thomaston. He built his present beautiful residence during the years of 1869-70, and settled here immediately after his marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Morse are members of the Congregational Church at Thomaston.

ISRAEL B. WOODWARD.

Israel B. Woodward is a lineal descendant from Henry Woodward, an Englishman, who settled at Dorchester, Mass., about 1650; thence he removed to Northampton, Mass., thence to Westfield, Mass., and, in consequence of Indian troubles there, finally settled at Lebanon, Conn.

The great-grandfather of Israel B. Woodward was named Capt. Israel Woodward. He served faithfully through the French and Indian war, and was famil- iarly known as "Captain Israel." His wife was Abigail Bayard. They had seven sons and two daughters. One of these was named Abel, who married Lucy Atwater, and had several children, viz. : Reuben S., Abel, James, David, John, Russel, Jerusha, and Eu- nice ..

Abel Woodward was a captain in the Revolutionary war. He died at eighty-five years of age. His son David was born in Watertown, Conn., and married Lydia Welton, of Watertown, Conn. They had six children, viz .: Samuel W., died at twenty, David, Abby, Lydia, Israel B., and Andrew E. Mr. Wood- ward was a successful tanner and shoemaker. He was a captain of the State militia. He died Deeem- ber, 1822, aged forty-eight years, and his wife died March, 1872, aged ninety-one years and six months.

Israel B. Woodward was born in Watertown, Conn., on the old homestead, March 12, 1814. He received a common-school and academic education, spending his leisure months in his father's tannery. At seven- teen years of age he began to work for his brother David in the tannery, and worked four years. In 1835 he went to Chicago, spent some time in travel, and returned. In 1838 he went West the second time, returned to Watertown, and in 1840 entered into business with his brothers, David and Andrew, having an interest in tanneries at Watertown and Thomaston. In April, 1846, he settled in Thomaston, where he has since continued to reside. For more than forty-five

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I'm Novumance

Henry of Reynolds.

FREDERICK E. WARNER.

FREDERICK E. WARNER, son of Randal and Electa (Marsh) Warner, was born in the town of Thomaston, Conn., March 7, 1827. His father was born in Plymouth, Conn., Sept. 18, 1781, and died Nov. 25, 1853. He was twice married : first, to Ruth Atwater, and had two children who grew to maturity ; second, to

Electa, daughter of Jonathan Marsh, of New Hartford, Conn., and had four children, three of whom are living,-viz., Jonathan M., Ruth A., Frederick E., and Horace, who died at fourteen years of age. Randal Warner settled on the farm now owned by his son F. E. when a young man. He was a successful farmer.

J. EHammer

In politics a Democrat. His wife died Feb. 12, 1860, aged seventy-five or seventy-six. Frederick E. worked on his father's farm sum- mers, and attended the district school winters. He also went a few terms to an academy. He is one of the successful farmers and business men of Thomaston. He is quite extensively engaged in dealing in horses and cattle, in

which he has been successful. On the 19th of November, 1850, he married Sarah R. Lum, daughter of Bennet Lum, Esq., of Oxford, Conn. They have four children,-viz., Addie, Henry R., Wilbur L., and Nellie. In politics, Mr. Warner is a Democrat, and as such he has been a selectman of Thomaston ever since the organization of the town.

William Hudson,

609

THOMASTON.

years Mr. Woodward was successfully engaged in the tanning business. Nov. 20, 1844, he married Caroline M., daughter of Charles Everett, by whom he has had three children, viz. : Samuel W., died young; David Arthur, died at ten years of age; and Emma A., wife of Henry R. Warner, of Thomaston. Mrs. Wood- ward died March 10, 1876, and Mr. Woodward married for his second wife Mrs. Adeline E., widow of Samuel E. Hotchkiss, and daughter of J. Blakeslee, of Thom- aston, Oct. 7, 1880. In politics Mr. Woodward is a Republican. He has been an assessor in Thomaston ever since the organization of the town, selectman in Plymouth two years, magistrate several years, mem- ber of the Legislature in 1879, serving on the committee of State-house and grounds. Mr. Woodward retired from active business in 1879. Mr. and Mrs. Wood- ward are members of the Congregational Church at Thomaston.

HENRY F. REYNOLDS.

Henry F. Reynolds is of Scotch-Irish descent ; very little is known of his early ancestors. His great-grandfather was James Reynolds, who was one of the first settlers of Watertown, Conn., where he married and had a family of children, one of whom was Samuel, who was born in Watertown, Conn., married Sarah Foote, and had the following children, viz .: Jonathan, Abigail (Mrs. Fenn), Russel, Char- lotte (died young), Sarah (Mrs. Caleb Humiston), Charlotte (the second), Samuel, and Polly (Mrs. Abijah Painter). Mr. Reynolds settled in Plymouth (now Thomaston) in 1795, with his family, on the farm now owned by his grandson, Henry F. He was a member of the Congregational Church. He died at sixty-three years of age, and his wife died at seventy years of age. Russel Reynolds, son of Samuel, was born Jan. 25, 1781, in Watertown, Conn., and re- moved to Plymouth with his parents in 1795. He married Mary Castle, daughter of Amasa Castle, of Plymouth, in January, 1800. Their children are as follows : Pamelia, Clarissa, Emeline, George, and Henry F., all born where Henry F. now resides, and all are living. Russel Reynolds was a successful farmer. In polities he was a Jackson Democrat. He held various town offices, and was a member of the Episcopal Church. IIe died May 3, 1869, aged ciglity-eight years, and his wife died in September, 1868, aged eighty-cight.

Henry F. Reynolds was born on the farm where he now resides, in Thomaston, Dec. 4, 1820. Ilis ad- vantages for an education were confined to the com- mon schools of his day, working on the farm sum- mers. At nineteen years of age he left school and commenced to work by the month for his father, and continued till he was thirty years of age, when he assumed control of the farm. In 1847 he built a saw-mill, and has been extensively engaged in lum- bering ever since. He owns a farm of three hundred acres, which is in a good state of cultivation. In all

his business relations as a farmer or manufacturer of lumber he has been moderately successful. He is a lover of good music, and in 1839, at twenty years of age, he was mainly instrumental in organizing a brass band in Thomaston, called "Reynolds' Band," and for more than twenty-four years he was its fa- vorite leader. In politics he is a Republican. He has been selectman two years, and assessor several years.

Sept. 24, 1842, he married Lorinda, daughter of David Edwards, of Ware, Mass., and has one daugh- ter, Elizabeth C., born Feb. 24, 1848, married to Charles F. Williams, a druggist of Thomaston, Conn., Nov. 5, 1868. They have one son, Charles Henry.

Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds are members of the Con- gregational Church at Eagle Rock. Mr. Reynolds was principally instrumental in the building of the Congregational church at Eagle Rock. He is very liberal in all matters which have for their object the advancement of society, and the poor have in him a true friend.

WILLIAM P. JUDSON.

Deacon William P. Judson, of Thomaston, Conn., was a son of Joseph Judson, of Cornwall, Conn., and a lineal descendant of the Judsons, who were among the first settlers in Stratford, Conn. He was born in the town of Cornwall, State of Connecticut, Oct. 8, 1799, and remained there, working on his father's farın, till he was sixteen years of age, when he went to Watertown, Conn., and learned the cabinet-maker's trade with one David Pritchard. During a portion of this time he worked on the farm summers, In 1823 he settled in Thomaston, and immediately entered the employ of Seth Thomas, and was with him and his successors forty-nine successive years. During more than thirty years of this time he was superin- tendent of the case department. He retired from an active and busy life some two years before his death, which occurred Sept. 19, 1872. Early in life he made a profession of religion and united with the Congre- gational Church, of which he was ever a consistent and worthy member. About 1835, through his per- sonal efforts, assisted by Seth Thomas, Sr., and some others, he organized, and was mainly instrumental in building, the Congregational Church at Thomaston. He was a deacon in the church for more than forty years, and was always liberal to the church and char- itable towards the poor.

In his political convictions he was decidedly a Re- publiean. He held various town offices to the satis- faction of his constituents, but the main bent of his mind led him to the church, and in it we learn he worked with a will, ever trying to do his whole duty.

lle married Mary M. Bancroft, of South Windsor, Conn., Nov. 5, 1828. She was born in South Windsor, Conn., Nov. 6, 1798, and died June 14, 1862.

Their children are Hiram P., born Feb. 17, 1833;

610

HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

Mary P., born Nov. 19, 1835, married Nathan F. Smith, and resides in Williamstown, Mass .; Eliza- betlı H., born Aug. 25, 1837, married John M. Gross, and resides in Providence, R. I .; Joseph K., born Feb. 18, 1840, married Eunice M. Fenton, and has two daughters, Helen S. and Mary M .; and Wil- liam S., born Aug. 8, 1843. All the sons are at home, and are good farmers, and are quite extensively en- gaged in growing fine Jersey cattle. In politics they are Republicans.

HIRAM PIERCE.

Hiram Pierce, born in Cornwall, Conn., Dec. 27, 1800, died Oct. 17, 1875. He was the son of John Pierce, who was the son of Capt. Joshua Pierce, both of Cornwall. Hiram received a common-school edu- cation, his boyhood days being occupied with the du- ties of farm-life, afterwards teaching in the district schools of his native town. Subsequently he learned the trade of a joiner and cabinet-maker, living in Waterbury for a time, removing to Plymouth about the time of his majority to engage in the business of making clock-cases for Seth Thomas, and, in connec- tion with Deacon W. P. Judson, for some years made, under contract, all the cases for the Thomas clocks, the work at that time being done almost entirely by hand. In 1828 he married Miss Charlotte S. Ban- croft, of East Windsor, Conn., afterwards purchasing a farm in that town and removing thither, where he resided about two years, when he returned to Ply- mouth, at the solicitation of Mr. Thomas, to take charge of his office as accountant and correspondent. In addition to the clock business, Mr. Thomas also carried on the manufacture of cotton goods and farm- ing operations on a large scale, the details of which all passed through the office. He possessed a good constitution, and was a most indefatigable worker, and in looking after the varied interests of his em- ployer, outside of the office as well as in, carried bur- dens that but few men are able to do.

On the formation of the Thomas Manufacturing Company for the manufacture of brass he was made secretary of the company, and in the early develop- ment of that business had an active part. Of his rela- tion to the educational and religious interests of the town, it is but just to say that he bore a prominent part, and helped to carry the burdens and develop the best that circumstances present and prospective ren- dered possible.

In 1830 he united with the Congregational Church at Plymouth Centre, Rev. Luther Hart then the pas- tor. He participated in the movement for the organi- zation of the Congregational Church now in Thom- aston, and on its organization transferred his mem- bership to it. For more than forty years he was jus- tice of the peace, and by long practical experience, and having a mind fitted to judicial consideration, became a trusted adviser and counselor for a wide

circle. In matters of law and business he represented the town of Plymouth in the Legislature in 1861, and at various times served the town in an official capacity as assessor, selectman, etc. His character was that of a man without fear and without reproach, unostentatious, yet always felt in every effort for the improvement of the moral, religious, or political wel- fare of the people. In politics a Whig, an ardent ad- mirer of Henry Clay; in later years a Republican. He buried his first wife in June, 1848, being left with five children ; was married again, about a year after, to Miss Sarah E. Beers, of Cornwall, Conn., by whom he had one child. In later years he withdrew from the more active duties that had occupied his business life for half a century, and calmly awaited life's de- cline. Among his last efforts for the improvement of the place was the planning and securing of the sub- stantial addition to the beautiful cemetery on the hill- side, where he sleeps, awaiting the resurrection of the just. After his death the remains of his first wife were removed from the old burying-ground and reinterred by his side. His children are all married, and reside as follows : William J., married Elizabeth A. Capron, of New Britain, Conn., resides in Hartford ; Joseph B., married Sophia A. Boardman, of Hartford, resides in Hartford; Charlotte S., married Horace A. Potter, of Thomaston, resides in Thomaston ; S. Maria, married Alexander Hamilton, of West Hartford, Coun., died March 17, 1863; Edward H., married Susan C. Beers, of Stratford, Conn., resides in Brooklyn, N. Y .; Alice E., married Dr. E. T. Bradstreet, of Thomaston, re- sides in Meriden, Conn.

CHAPTER LIX.

TORRINGTON .*

Geographical-Topographical-Naming the Towo-List of Proprietors- Grand List, 1733-Division of Lots-The First Settlers and their Lo- catione-Initial Events-First Deeds of Cooveyaoce-The Indian Fort -The First School-honse-Pioneer Taverns-War of the Revolution- Proceedings of the Town-Names of Officers and Soldiers-Taxes During the Revolution-The Whipping-post-A Prosecution for Pro- faoity -- Slavery-Organization of County Anti-Slavery Society at Wol- cottville-The Convention Routed by a Mob-"Nigger Pew" io Tor- rington and Torringford Churches-Emancipation of Slaves in Tor- rington-John Browo.

TORRINGTON lies in the eastern part of Litchfield County, and is bounded as follows : on the north by Winchester, on the east by New Hartford and Har- winton, on the south by Harwinton and Litchfield, and on the west by Goshen and Litchfield. The sur- face of the town is uneven, and its soil is fertile. It is watered by the Naugatuck River and its tributaries and Still River.

The territory embraced within the limits of this

* Condensed from Rev. Samuel Orcutt's excellent and exhaustive "History of Torrington."

TORRINGTON.

611

town was allotted to the Windsor proprietors by the Legislature, and it was named Torrington at the May session of the General Court in 1732, by the following enactment :

"Be it enacted by the Governor, Council, and Representatives, in Gen- eral Court Assembled, and by the Authority of the same :

" That the first or porcel of land mentioned in said instrument of par- tition containing 20,924 acres, and bounded sonth partly in Litchfield and partly on land belonging to eaid patenteee in Windsor, called the Half Township; east and north, by land belonging to the Governor and company of the colony of Connectient, is hereby named, and shall ever hereafter be called and named Torrington."*

In 1732 the taxable inhabitants of Windsor were divided into seven companies, each owning a town- ship, taking their company names after the towns they owned. The Torrington company are specified as " Matthew Allyn, Roger Wolcott, and Samnel Mather, Esqs., and others, of the town of Windsor, patentees of Torrington." The number of these persons was one hundred and thirty-six, and their names and tax- list were as follows :

Matthew Allen, Esq.

Roger Wolcott, Esq ..

123

Capt. Thomes Stoughton.

155

Alexender Allyn ..

Benedict Alford.

Abiel Abot.

Daniel Bissell, Jr.

David Bissell.

115

Nathaniel Barber.

12 0

Josiah Barber

124 82

Nicholas Buck land.

Ephreim Bancroft, Jr.

Benjamin Barber.

Nathaniel Barbor ..

Benoni Biasel

37 12

Jereminh Birge.

Jonathan Bissel.

John C. Cross

William Cook

Nathaniol Cook

Jolını Cook, Jr.

Mary Clark

Edward Chapman

(

Jacob Drake, Jr.

Abraham Dibble.

38 10 0

Joaoph Drake ...

10 0

Isaac Davico ...

Joseph Elsworth.

21 0 0

Joseph Elgar ....

Thomas Egolston, Jr.

Abigail Eno

7 0

Stephon Winchel.

81 53

Benjamin Egelston, Jr.

37 10 0

Joseph Elsworth

2.4

16 6

Samuel Wilson.

John Wood.

30 0 0

John Williams

30 14

Ebenezer Watson.

10 0

John Wilson ..

" Recorded, March the 4th, Anno. Dom., 1733-34, by me, TIMOTHY Loo- Mis, clerk for sd. Torrington proprietors.

" The sum total of Torrington list is £6431 Os. od."

"The vote to lay out a proportionate amount of land to each proprietor was passed on the 10th of September, 1732, and on the 18th of the same month the committee appointed for the purpose proceeded to draw the lots for the proprietors.

" The lots were laid half a mile in length, and therefore every rod in width made one acre of land. In the first and second divisions there was appropri- ated one acre to the pound of each owner's list; in the third there was not quite that amount.

" In the first division there was laid out five acres

* Torrington was a hamlet on the hill called Cookbury Black, In the southern part nf Devonshire, the southernmost county In Englund. It was also the name of a village on the Torridge River, a few miles north of Cookbury Black.

£ 8. d.

Benjamin Gibbe.

5 0

Thomas Hoskins ..

Anthony Hoskins,

40 C

Ebenezer Heydon.

Mary Hoskins

Elezer Hill.

William Haydon.

Martha Holcomb

Daniel Haydon.

100

Zebulon Hoskins

26 39

0 15

Zachariah Long

Timothy Loomis

Stephen Loomis.

Joshua Loomis

Isaac Loomis ...

0 0

Moees Loomis, Jr.

Job Loomis

72 23

Rebekah Loomis ..

72 31 100

4 0 0 - 7 6

Mr. Eliakim Marshel.

John Mansfield ..

0 0

John Morton ...

Edward Moore.

Josiah Moore.

17 0

David Marshel.

1 0

0 0

Nathaniel Moore.

Hannah Newberry

Benjamin Newberry,

Ruth Newhurry

Joseph Newberry

Jacob Osborn

Benjamin Osburn

71 44 21 71

= = =

Samuel Osborn, Jr.

John Porter ...

14 G

William Phelps

91 12 0

Joseph Porter.

Sanmel Pinney.

John Phelps, Sr.

Nathaniel Pinney

Jlez. Porter ..

107 91 26 87 29 15

0 0

Hannah Porter.

G 24 75

Ebenezer Styles.

Jacob Strong ..

Remembrance Sheldon

51 30

0 O 0 15 13 C 10 0

Mary Stedman.

John Stylea.

22 40 46 13 12

Elizabeth Thrall

Ammi Trumble,

0 0

Jed. Watson ..

0 0

Mr. John Elliot.

28 10

John Winchel

0 0

Jamos Egelaton

Mr. John Fyler.

Samuel Fitch

0 0

Thomas Fyler.

Stephon Fyler.

Ebenezer Fitch.

G 0

Matthow Grant.

180 10

Joelah Gaylord.

Jonathan Gillet.

3.8

Isaac Gillet.

Francia Griawold

Daniel Griswold.

John Grayham

Samnol Gibbs.

Nathaniel Gaylord

Honry Gibbe.

119

Eleazar Gaylord.

15 0

Thomas Grant's heira.

Thomas Grant.

John Griswold ...

Nathan Gillet, Jr.

18 0

David Phelps

Joseph Phelps.

Sergt. Isaac Pinnoy.

Thomas Phelps.

James Pasen

Jonathan Pasco

Samuel Rockwell.

0 0

Thomas Stoughton, Jr ...

15 0

0 0

Sammel Strong ..

llenry Styles

0 0 0

Jobn Thrall

Simon Wolcott, Jr

John Egelston

John Wolcott

0 0 0

Robert Westland.

10 39 125 15 0

Nathaniel Stoughton

5 0 10 0 10 0 0 0 7 15 15 0 0 0 0 0 18 0

0 = 0 0 0

Joseph Barber ..

0 5 = 5 10 10 0

Mr. William Mitchel ..

94 41 04 55 54 43 74 21 30

Abraham Loomis

Jonathan Loomis.

Dea. Thomas Marshel

5 10

Ichabod Loomis.

46 29 26 0

12 12 4

0 000 0

Isaac Skinner ..

Josoph Elmor.

10 10 0

0 00

0 0

Josepti Griswold

612

HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

as a meeting-house plot, and one hundred acres as a ministry lot, and these were said to be near the cen- tre of the town.

" The lots for the proprietors, when completed, were all laid in thirteen tiers, except those in the swamp, one, on the south side of the town, running east and west, the other twelve running north and south, and, with the highways, covering the whole area of the town except the pine-timber. The swamp was laid in three tiers of lots running north and south.

"The first division was completed in November, 1734, Roger Newberry, Joshua Loomis, and Nathaniel Pinney being the committee. The second, voted to be made in March, 1736, was not completed until October, 1742, John Cook (2d), Joshua Loomis, Roger Newberry, and Daniel Bissell, Jr., being the com- mittee.

"The third division was voted in October, 1742, and was completed in December, 1750. In this di- vision two hundred and twenty acres were appropri- ated for the use of schools in the town. Samuel Messenger, surveyor, Thomas Marshall, and Aaron Loomis were the committee, and Rev. Nathaniel Rob- erts drew the numbers for the lots.

"Ebenezer Lyman, Jr., was the first permanent resident of the town. In January, 1735, his father, Ebenezer Lyman, Esq., of Durham, bought of Job Loomis lot 108, containing seventy-two acres. This lot constituted a part of the farm known ever since as the Lyman place, and upon it was built the fort, in the western part of the town. In June of the same year Ebenezer, Jr., bought the half of three acres, lot 109, on the corner, and adjoining lot 108 on the north, and erected a dwelling, undoubtedly a log house. In this house was born, June 16, 1738, so far as known, the first child born in the town, it being a daughter, and was named Lydia.

"Jonathan Coe, of Durham, married Elizabeth Elmer, of Windsor, Sept. 23, 1737, and brought his bride to Torrington, the second woman in the town. Mr. Coe had worked in the town two summers. This house must have been a log house,* and stood about eighty rods south of Ebenezer Lyman, Jr.'s, their farms adjoining. Here were two dwellings in the wilderness,-wilderness in every direction, and almost without end in every direction. The nearest place that looked like civilization was Litchfield, about six miles distant, and but few houses had been erected in that town before this time, and some of these were at considerable distance from the centre of the town, one or two being near the southern boundary of Tor- rington. At this time there were no families residing in Goshen, a few were in Harwinton, a few in New Hartford, none in Winchester.

" Abel .Beach, of Durham, bought land in company with Jonathan Coe, lot 123, containing thirty-one

acres, in 1735, where the second church was built, at Torrington green.

"In June, 1739, Daniel Stoughton bought of Abel Beach lot 82, with a dwelling-house on it, and made his home in the town, probably in that house. Joel Thrall became a settler during the summer of 1739.

" Thus did the work begin and go forward, so that in October, 1739, in their petition for religious priv- ileges, the petitioners say there 'are nine families in the town.' It is impossible to say who all these fam- ilies were. The petition, signed by twenty-five names, says these names represent 'inhabitants and proprie- tors.'

" The oldest deed recorded of Torrington lands was dated at Windsor, June 14, 1728, given by Daniel Griswold, to his ' dutiful and obedient son,' Nathan Griswold, for a right in undivided 'Western lands.' From this time to the spring of 1735 sixty deeds of rights were recorded in the Windsor company's book. Soon after the survey was made and the lots located the sales became more numerous, and were mostly to persons residing in Windsor, but in a few cases to persons residing in other parts of the State. These sixty deeds include nearly, if not all, the land sales by the Torrington company previous to the rendering of the report of the committee on the first division, in November, 1734.

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History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 146

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