History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 148

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 148

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". " Voted, That Capt. Abel Beach, Capt. Ebenezer Coe, Capt. Noah Wil- son, Mr. Aaron Austin, Capt. Benjamin Bissel, and Lient. Nehemiah Gaylord shall be a committee to get clothing for the Continental soldiers, according to an net of Assembly, and that the committee give prizes as they judge just and reasonable.'

" At a meeting of the town held Jan. 6, 1778, 'to try the minds of the town, whether they would ap- prove and adopt the Articles of Confederation,'-

" ' Voted article by article, and adopted the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th articles, and approved the same by a very clear majority.'

"' Voted, That the selectmien let those families whose husbands are in the service have what salt they judge reasonable.' 'That the widow Preston have given to her gratis one bushel of salt, when it comes, as & free gift from the town.'

"' Voted, That Nathaniel Barber, Jr , Samnel Kelsey, Jr., Clerk Roh- erts, Ambros Fyler, Ebenezer Scovill, Ebenezer Lesch, who are now in our service to fill our qnota, and all those men who will enlist or are detached, have given them twenty shillings a month for each month they are in the service, until the first day of January next, except those who take the benefit by law provided to support their families.'

"' l'oted, That Lieut. Ebenezer Miller and Ensign Elijah Gaylord, Capt. Abel Beach, and Mr. Caleb Lyman be a committea to divide to each family the town salt according to the number of inhabitants in the towu.'

" In March, 1778, they

"'Voted, That Capt. Noah Wilson, Capt. Abel Besch, Capt. Ebenezer Coe, Capt. Benjamin Bissell, Mr. Aaron Austin, and Lieut. Nehemiah Gaylord shall be a committee to provide for those families that are left, and whose husbands are in the army, as the law directs.'

"' Voted, To appoint a committee to provide the clothing for our | qnota, and that the committee divide into six districts, and that each district provide their equal proportion, nud that Lieut. Ebenezer Miller, Mr. Daniel Hudson, Mr. Asahel Strong, Mr. Abner Loomis, Ensign Daniel Grant, and Mr. Ashbel North be a committee to divide and pro- cure their equal proportions of clothing.'

" In December, 1778, another committee was ap- pointed to procure clothing, consisting of George Baldwin, Dr. Elkanah Hodges, Ensign Benjamin Whiting, John Wetmore, Ezekiel Bissell, Jr., and John Birge.

" In September, 1779, a special town-meeting was called for the purpose, and they directed the select-

617

TORRINGTON.

men, with the committee, to borrow money, if neces- sary, to provide clothing and provisions for soldiers' families.

"In the next December, at the regular meeting, they decided that ' Daniel Dibble, Reuben Burr, Noah Wilson, Jr., and Ensign Wait Beach be a committee to take care of the soldiers' families the year ensuing.' And at the same time they appointed Nehemiah Gay- lord, Jr., Michael Loomis, Elisha Smith, Caleb Ly- man, Hewit Hills, and Eli Richards a committee to procure clothing for the soldiers for the year ensuing.

"On Dec. 4, 1780, when war matters were looking gloomy, and further call had been made for soldiers, the town appointed Lieut. Jesse Cook, Ensign Daniel Grant, Lieut. John Burr, Sergt. Benjamin Beach, Mr. David Soper, and Mr. Ashbel North a committee to proeure men for three years or during the war, to fill our quota of the Continental army ; and to leave the matter with the committee now appointed, to get the men as reasonable as they can, and for whatever they do the town will be reponsible, and will satisfy their contract with those they hire, and satisfy all reason- able expenses.

"In this year, and in 1781, it required a great effort to procure the number of men required of the town, and the votes passed were of a very stringent and thorough character, so as to meet the demands made ; extra taxes were levied, authority to borrow money given ; Daniel Grant was kept in the saddle collecting taxes almost the year round; three special town- meetings were held in 1781; the town was divided into classes or districts, and every district must fur- nish the men adjudged to be its proportion ; and the very language in which the acts are expressed indi- cate the extremity to which they were driven. Their town-meetings were like councils of war rather than anything else, and on one occasion continued (Junc 2d) in the old Torrington meeting-house until after dark, and they adjourned to the house of Ephraim Bancroft to have light to see to record the transac- tions. The great question was how to get men with- out oppression and injustice, for they say to the com- mittee 'to make out the town quota in the most equitable way and manner as they possibly can to do equal justice,' for the drafts fell so heavy that there was danger of rebellion, and, if not, who could be found to arrest a man, take him from his already suf- fering family, and drag him into the army ? One reso- lution has the ring of defiance :

""Voted, That If the militia officers neglect to detach three weeks (against the order), the town will defend from coat that may arise there- frou1.'

" That is, they must and would have a little time to do the work nssigned. This was not all: when the men were procured, the demands for provisions must be met.

""l'oted, That the clvil authority and selectmien divide the town Into four equal clunsea by the Hats, and draw lots which class shall pay the first month's beef, and ao on for the four montha.'

" This means that the authorities took a man's ox or cow whether he would or not, and sent it to the army, that those sons and fathers already there might not starve. For any such thing taken the town al- ways paid a full price ; but every ox and cow was wanted in the town, and were not for sale.

"The year 1782 came, and with it another call for men from this town, the number being eleven.

"'Voted, That the four classes as set out last year be assigned to pro- cure eleven men for one year, as follows, viz .: That the first class be divided into three classes, each to procure one man ; the second class remain as they were last year, to procure two men; the third class to be divided into three classes, each to procure one man; the fourth class to remain together to procure three men; and that the selectmen first divide and set out by the list of 1781 into four classes or equal parts, as set out last year, and then divide as aforesaid.'

" These eleven were State men, and others must be procured.

"'Voted, That the committee above mentioned be a committee to hire what men are wanted to fill our quota aforesaid of the Continental army, as well as the State men.'

" This was the last draft they had to meet, and well it was, for they could not have procured many more soldiers, unless the women had volunteered.

" In all the votes of the town there appeared no lesitancy, but great cheerfulness in meeting all re- quirements as to the army and the care of the soldiers' families at home, in hope of final and lasting success in freedom.

"Not an intimation is given on the town records of any person being disloyal to the American cause, and, as far as can now be judged, those who took the oath of fidelity to this cause, beginning in 1777, in- clude all the voters in the town at that time, and onward as they became of age or came into the town. That list is a noble showing for the town.

" Epaphras Sheldon, as colonel, entered complaint against Matthew Grant, Sr., in May, 1777, as an officer in the militia, that he neglected and hindered in the exercising of the militia, and he was summoned be- fore the Assembly; but he took the oath the next September."

TAXES DURING THE REVOLUTION.

"They were very high, and, on account of the scarcity of money, extremely difficult to pay ; and the actual suffering consequent was very considerable.

"The town tax in 1775 amounted to £27 18. 72d. for the west side, and £14 38. 2d. for the enst side, or, both, £41 48. 9}d. In 1777 the two assessments made amounted to £181 12s. 10d., or more than four times that of 1775. In 1779 they amounted to £308 48. 3d. In 1780 the amount in figures was £3054 18. 10d., which they could not have paid if the figures repre- sented hard money, but they meant Continental money, which was abundant, but worth very little. In 1781 the two assessments amounted to £506 5s. 3}d. in State money, which money was then be- coming the reliable currency, gold and silver being almost unknown practically.

618

HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

"In the collection of these taxes Daniel Grant be- came a celebrated and almost indispensable man, be- cause of his success in obtaining the money, and also in making it as easy as possible for the people.

"There was a company of troopers, or soldiers on horseback, formed in this town in 1799 or '80, who took active part in the Revolutionary service, as the records show that they received pay for such service in the same proportion as the other militia companies. Two horse-pistols are still preserved, and are in the hands of Mr. George Allyn, that were a part of the equipment of this company. They were made by Medad Hills, and bear his inscription."

OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS.

" Gen. Epaphras Sheldon was lieutenant under Col. Oliver Wolcott, and afterwards was made major, colo- nel, and general after the war.

"Capt. Shubael Griswold was lieutenant in two campaigns in the French war, in 1758 and '59, and was captain in two campaigns in the Revolution.

" Capt. John Strong was captain of the militia, and was probably in two or three campaigns.

"Capt. Amos Wilson enlisted a company, went to the war, but was taken ill by sunstroke, and returned home.

" Capt. Epaphras Loomis, probably, was elected to Capt. Amos Wilson's position in the commencement of the war, and as captain of the Torrington company was in several campaigns with the militia, and was afterwards appointed captain of an enlisted company.

" Capt. Noah Wilson was the first captain of a military company in the town, and he resigned, and his brother Amos was elected in his place, and, as near as can be ascertained, Amos resigned soon after the commencement of the war, and was not in the service long.

" Noah Wilson may have gone in the call for the militia in 1775.

"David Lyman served in the army some time, and was honorably discharged to run a grist-mill in New Hartford for the supply of the Revolutionary troops; resided in Torringford a number of years before his death. He is said to have been known by the name of Gen. Lyman.

"Capt. Jabez Gillett was in the service.

" Dr. Isaac Day, of Torringford, was appointed sur- geon's mate in the regiment of Col. Webb in 1777.

" Dr. Oliver Bancroft was in the army.

" Dr. Elkanah Hodges was probably in the army with the militia two or three terms when they were called out, as he received pay as others.

"Dr. Samuel Woodward was in the army, but probably with the militia.

" Capt. Seth Coe was a soldier in the Revolution, enlisting when but seventeen, and remaining through the war, and was probably made captain in the war.

"Levi Watson was at Danbury when it was burned by the British.

" Thomas Watson was in the State service, which he entered at the age of fifteen, and joined the Conti- nental army when but nineteen.

" Shubael Griswold, Jr., was an officer in his father's company in the Revolution, and afterwards became general of the militia at East Hartford.

" Pardon Abbott, from Rhode Island, was a soldier in the Revolution ; drew a pension many years ; lived in the old house on the little hill below the nickel- furnace in Torrington Hollow.

" Asahel Strong was conductor of teams.

" The following persons are known to have been in the Revolution for various lengths of time, some in the militia, and some of them in the regular army :

"Oliver Coe, Oliver Coe, Jr., Dr. Oliver Bancroft, Nathaniel Barber, Jr., Bushniel Benedict, Daniel Benedict, Simeon Birge, Elijah Bissell, John Dear, Noah Drake, Sr., Andrew Ely, John Standcliff, John Ellsworth, Ebenezer Scoville, Ambrose Fyler, Benjamin Whiting, Benjamin Gaylord, Jesse Whiting, Stanley Griswold, Henry Whiting, Shubael Griswold, Jr., Eliphalet Hough, Jeseph Iloskins, Sr., Samuel Kelsey, Elisha Kelsey, Nathaniel Kelsey, Samuel Kelsey, Jr., David Lyman, Epaphras Loomis, Jr., Wait Loomis, Elijah Loemis, Richard Leach, Ebenezer Leaclı, Roger Marshall, Barber Moore, Jared Palmer, Abel Roberts, Samuel Roberts, Clerk Roberts, William Williams, Stephen Rowley, John Williams."

THE WHIPPING-POST.

" This method of penalty was continued to a later day in Torrington than in some other towns, but was resorted to largely in cases of stealing. Mr. Israel Coe, as constable, whipped two men about the years 1817 and 1818,-one for stealing a piece of broadcloth at the woolen-mill, the other for stealing a silver spoon at Capt. Samuel Bradley's.

"' At a justice court helden at Torrington, in the county of Litchfield, on the 15th day of January, 1830, in presence of R. C. Abernethy, justice of the peace fer said county holding the same, Nelson Fyler, of said Ter- rington, was brought before said court by virtue of a warrant issned by the said R. C. Abernethy, . . . on complaint of Luther Cook, grand juror of said Torrington, charging the said Nelson Fyler that on the 14th day . of January, 1830, at Torringtoo aforesaid, did feloniously take, steal, and carry away one certain gold finger-ring, with a stone set therein, of the value of five dollars, tho proper estate of Ransom Iline, of said Terring- ton, against the peace and contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided; and the said Nelson Fyler, being put to plead, for plea says he is not guilty io manner and form as in such complaint is alleged. And this court having heard the evidence, as well on the part of the State as of the said Nelson Fyler, find that the said Nelson Fyler is guilty in manner and in form as io said complaint is alleged, and also find that the said riog was, when stolen, of the value of two dollars fifty cents. It is therefore considered aod adjudged that the said Nelson Fyler pay a fine of five dollars to the treasurer of the towo of Torrington, together with the costs of the prosecution, taxed at nice dollars and thirty cents, and also pay to the said Ransom Hine seven dollars and fifty cents, being treble the value of said ring stelen, as afore- said; and the said Nelson Fyler, neglecting and refusing to pay said fine and costs, shall be punished by whipping four stripes on his naked body and pay the costs of prosecution, and stand committed till this judgment be complied with.

"' RUSSELL C. ABERNETHY, Justice of the Peace.'

" The warrant for execution was granted, and de- livered to William Leach, constable, the same day ; but tradition says the prisoner was whipped, but on his way to prison escaped from the constable.

" This is said to have been the last case of whipping in the town."

619

TORRINGTON.

A PROSECUTION FOR PROFANITY.

"' To Ebenezer Norton, Esq., his majesty's justice of the peace for Litch- field County, in Connecticut :

"' Benjamin Whiting, grand juror for said county of Litchfield for the time beiog, and other iuformiog officers for said town and county, oo their oath, in the name and behalf of our sovereign lord the now king, complaint and information make against Matthew Grant, of Torrington, in said county, for breach of law, for that he, the said Matthew, being at the dwelling-house of Epaphras Sheldon, Esq., and at Mr. Ebenezer Coe'a, in Torrington, on or about the 21at day of January last past, and several of his majesty's auljects being present, the said Matthew did at the aforesaid place, in a very tumultuous and angry way and manner, did with a loud voice swear by God vainly, rashly, and in a passion and profanely, and used those vain words following : viz., "The south end of Torriogton ia as bad as hell, and that the Wilsons would all go to hell, and that they would go to the devil," and many other rash and profane worda did then and there express in a very wicked way and manner, all which the complainers say was contrary to the peace of our sovereign lord the king and the law of this colony, and pray that the aaid Matthew Grant may be proceeded with aa the law directs, made aod provided in such cases.

"" Dated at Torrington this 5th day of March, 1773.

"' JOSEPH ALLEN,

"' JOSEPH TANTER,

Evidence for the king.

"' BENJAMIN BEACH,

" ' BENJ. WHITING,

" ' NOAH WILSON,

Grand Jury.

"' ISAAC GOODWIN,

"'EPHRAIM BANCROFT,

" ' JABEZ GILLETT,

Constables of Torrington.'

" On the back of this paper is written the order for Mr. Grant's arrest, dated Sept. 23, 1773, or six months after the complaint was made, by which time the hot excitement had probably cooled down a little."

SLAVERY.

In January, 1837, a number of the citizens of this county met in Wolcottville for the purpose of organ- izing a county anti-slavery society ; but when they "began to look around for a place for the meeting of the convention," says the Rev. Mr. Orcutt, "they found every church and public and private hall elosed against them, and heard whisperings of threatenings against any who might have the noble daring to encounter the pro-slavery element of the village and of the town. At this juncture a barn was offered for the use of the eon- vention, and it was promptly accepted, and fitted for the occasion. It was not the first time that strangers found the shelter in a barn, 'because there was no room in the inn.' In that barn the friends of impar- tial liberty and justice gathered in goodly numbers, some of them the most reliable and respectable eiti- zens of Litchfield County. The barn was filled,-the floor, scaffolds, hay-mow, and stables. It was an in- tense cold day in January, and there was much suffer- ing from the severity of the weather. The conven- tion was called to order, and Roger S. Mills, of New Ilartford, appointed chairman. The Rev. Daniel Coe, of Winsted, offered prayer. After appointing a committee to nominate permanent officers, the con- vention was addressed by the Rev. Nathaniel Colver, agent of the American society, and others. The county society was then organized, and the following officers appointed : President, Roger S. Mills; Vice-Presi-

dents, Erastus Lyman, of Goshen, Gen. Daniel B. Brinsmade, of Washington, Gen. Uriel Tuttle, of Tor- ringford, and Jonathan Coe, of Winsted ; Secretary, Rev. R. M. Chipman, of Harwinton; Treasurer, Dr. E. D. Hudson, of Torringford. While thus peace- fully engaged, though suffering with the cold, and counseling together for the relief of the oppressed and the elevation of humanity, a furious mob was col- lecting in the village, and elevating their courage for their deeds of violence by the intoxicating cup. A class of men from the adjoining town, as well as from Torrington, had gathered for the very purpose of dis- turbing this meeting, if it should attempt to exercise the liberties of religious and civil citizens. This mob, after parading the streets, making hideous and threat- ening noises, gathered around the barn, and by their deafening shouts, the blowing of horns, and the ringing the alarm of fire by the bell of the Congregational church, and the display of brute force, broke up the meeting, which hastily took an adjournment. Then the old Puritan spirit was manifested by the Torring- ford people, who offered the use of their meeting-house to the convention, and it repaired to that place, and continued the session two days. The opposition in Tor- ringford, though violent, was undemonstrative, for lack of the mob element and rum, and partially from the fact that the fury of the mob had run its race in Wol- eottville. When the convention left the barn, the shouts, thumping of pans and kettles, and the furious ringing of the church-bell characterized pandenio- nium broken loose. When the people were leaving Wolcottville in their sleighs, the entire village seemed to be a bedlamı. That good man, Deacon Ebenezer Rood, was set upon in his sleigh, to overturn him and frighten his horses. This excited his righteous indig- nation, and in a voice of defiance he shouted to them, ' Rattle your pans, hoot and toot, ring your bells, you pesky fools, if it does you any good ;' then put his horses on a run and cleared himself from the gang.

" When the meeting assembled in Torringford it was inspired with new life, energy, and courage. The beacon-fires of liberty and freedom blazed much higher than they would but for the violence mani- fested in the village. Deacon Rood's spirit of defiance to the mob took possession of the whole company, and every man and woman enlisted in the cause glo- ried in the name of Abolitionist, and felt anointed for the work of preaching 'deliverance to the captives in chains.' Such was the beginning of anti-slavery agitation and times in the town where John Brown- ' Ossawattomie Brown'-was born.

" This society, moved now as well by the sense that despotism had come to their own doors and threatened the very sacredness of church and homes as by the thought of freedom for the slave, proceeded to hold monthly meetings throughout the county. These meetings were held in barns and sheds, in groves and houses, and anywhere that the people would assemble for such a purpose. It raised funds by systematic

620

HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

method, distributed tracts, books, and papers. The State Charter Oak Society was organized in 1838, and employed lecturing agents, who besides lecturing so- licited subscribers to the anti-slavery papers and scattered anti-slavery literature.

"They were opposed everywhere, and yet moved on in their work as though everybody knew they were right. They were called all sorts of opprobrious names; were proscribed and derided as ' nigger friends,' disturbers of Israel.' Some were unceremoniously ex- communicated from the churches for no crime but speaking against slavery,-the very thing that many of the fathers had done for a hundred years without ob- jection having been made. All argument with anti- slavery men started with the Bible, where the Quakers started nearly one hundred years hefore, and this brought the question into all the churches as well as committees. Some withdrew from the churches he- cause they deemed it sinful to hold fellowship with those who voted to uphold a system acknowledged to be guilty of more crime than any other system in the land.

"The opposition had but one argument, namely, it offended the South; slavery was for their interest. This argument had been gradually obtaining adher- ents from the time the Constitution of the United States was adopted. Before that some of the Southern States were as much anti-slavery as any in the North. When the South changed the spirit of proscription began to rise in the North, hence in the first meet- ing-house in Torrington there was no slave pew nor nigger pew, but in the second one there were two. These pews were located in the gallery over the stairs, hoarded up so high that when the colored people sat in them they could see no part of the congregation, and could be seen by no one in the assembly. Jacob Prince, after being made a freeman by his master, Abijah Holbrook, joined the church in Goshen, and then, being placed in such a seat, and treated in other ways by the same spirit, refused to go to church, be- cause, as he said, he was not treated as a brother, and thereafter held prayer-meetings in his own house on the Sabbath, whereupon the Goshen Church pro- ceeded to and did excommunicate him for neglect of duty. This same Jacob is said to have been as fine a looking man, head and features, as nearly any one in the town, except the color of his skin.

"Two such pews were in the old church in Torring- ford, but the Rev. Samuel J. Mills (whether as a re- buke to the spirit of caste or not is not known) always seated Henry Obookiah, Thomas Hooppo, and other tawny brethren of the Sandwich Islands, when they visited him from the Cornwall mission-school, in his own pew, in the front of the congregation, quite to the dissatisfaction of some even of that congregation."

ABIJAH HOLBROOK'S LETTER OF EMANCIPATION.

"Know all men hy these presents, that I, Abijah Holbrook, of Torring- ton, in the county of Litchfield and State of Connecticut, being influ- enced by motivee of humanity and benevolence, believing that all man- kind by nature are entitled to equal liberty and freedom; and whereas

1, the said Holbrook, agreeable to the Inws and custome of this State, and the owner and possessor of two certain negroes which are of that class that are called slaves for life, viz., Jacob Prince, a male negro, and Gione, a female, wife of snid Jacob: and whereas the said negroes to this time have served me with faithfulness and fidelity, and they being now in the prime and vigor of life, and appear to be well qualified as to understanding and economy to maintain and support themselves by their own industry, and they manifesting a great desire to be delivered from slavery and bondage,

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History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 148

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