History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 150

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

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" About the year 1800, Capt. Elisha Hinsdale came from Canaan to this place and engaged in the manu- facture of scythes and axes and general blacksmith- ing. Here were made in large quantities for those days the celebrated ' clover-leaf' scythe and axes, and were carried in wagons to water transportations. Soon after, or about the time the Hinsdales came to this place, Josiah Appley became a resident, and

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finally the owner of much of the property of the place. He built a grist-mill a little north of Hol- brook's, on the Hall Meadow brook.

" Abijah Holbrook died in 1812, and in 1814 his widow, Mary, sold the homestead, grist-mill, and saw- mill to Erastus Lyman and Thearon Beach, of Goshen, for two thousand one hundred and fifty dollars, and removed from the place to Western New York. In 1816, Elisha Hinsdale sold his lands to his brother, Deacon Abel, and removed West, and from that day all business interests in that locality have taken the down-hill course until only one old mill building is left, and that looks as if ready to tumble down any day. There are two dwellings that are occupied, which are the only things that show signs of life ex- cept the trees, which grow with a thrift almost sur- prising to Connecticut people. The little graveyard, filled with graves, stands on the bank of the river, and is very beautiful, because of its quietness, in its almost unbroken solitude, where the tumult of the great city will never disturb the ashes that rest there, while the wild birds of the woods will sing their mar- velous songs above the dust of some of the noble sons and daughters of the honored pilgrims."

HART'S HOLLOW.

" About a mile above Holbrook's mills, at a place called Hart's Hollow, in the edge of the town of Go- shen, quite a business was conducted in making clocks about 1820; a number of buildings were erected, and for a time the place assumed considerable importance, and as the natural outlet of the place was through Torrington, the place seemed a part of Torrington, and the inhabitants usually attended Torrington church.

TORRINGTON HOLLOW.

"This locality was originally known as Poverty Hollow, subsequently Cotton Hollow, and, finally Tor- rington Hollow.

" In February, 1813, Elijah B. Loomis, of New York, and Elisha Loomis and Abner M. Warriner, of Tor- rington, entered into partnership, and built a mill or factory for the purpose of manufacturing cotton, woolen, and other goods at this place. The factory was located near the bridge on Goshen turnpike, and was built in 1813. The next January other persons entered the partnership, under the name of the Tor- rington Manufacturing Company, and the firm con- sisted of Elisha Loomis, Elijah B. Loomis, Abner M. Warriner, John W. Walker, Christopher Pierce, James Green, and William Dexter, the stock being cight thousand dollars.

" In the next September it was mortgaged to David Wadhams and David Thomas, of Goshen, to procure capital to insure success in the making of goods. This business enterprise, like the first woolen-mill at Wol- cottville, does not appear to have had any great success in making money, for it struggled along some years under disadvantages, yet with much apparent effort,

but did not prosper. The cotton was spun in the mill, then sent abroad among the farmers to be woven, and although it brought new work to many homes, it is doubtful if every one who undertook to weave made a success of it, and with all the difficulties attending the work, there would have been no success but for the high price of the cloth, which sold from thirty to forty cents per yard.

" A store was also put up in connection with the factory, or about the same time, and was conducted by Mr. Green.

"In 1827 the cotton-factory was sold for debt, and changed hands several times until it came into the hands of Erastus Hodges, and as he had found success in nearly every enterprise he had undertaken, he pushed forward this with money and much energy, and he also interested himself largely in the making of clocks about the same time. Norris North engaged in the clock business about 1820, and Mr. Hodges be- came interested with him, if he was not a partner. The clocks were made at first in Harvey Palmer's old carding-machine, then in a part of Ormel Leach's grist-mill, and after that in a building called the clock- factory. Mr. Hodges also took the store of James Green, placing his sons in it and in the mill, to giye them a start in business life. The store was removed to Wolcottville previous to 1834, and continued some time by these sons, with the aid of their father.

"In 1835 the brass-foundry was started by Mr. Hodges and others, and the buildings were located below the bridge on the east bank, where they are now in a falling condition. This business was started with the purpose of making brass kettles by the bat- tery or hammering process; the preparations for the work were quite ample, and an agent was sent to Eu- rope to procure men and machinery, and considerable quantity of machinery was shipped from Europe, but the vessel was wrecked and all was lost. Calamity and disaster attended nearly every effort in this under- taking, and after a little time the brass business at this place was purchased by Israel Coe, then of Wol- cottville, engaged in the same enterprise.

" After some years these buildings were fitted for smelting ore, in hope of obtaining nickel; but the metal was not found to exist in sufficient quantities, or the process of separation was too costly to make it profitable to continue the work.

" After the business of making cloeks was discon- tinned, a lock-factory was established, in which George D. Wadhams, Mr. Goodwin, and Edmund Wooding were interested and engaged. When the lock business was closed, the buikling was used for making skates until the skate company removed. .

"In 1869, Chester L. Smith, from Litchfield, pur- chased this property, which the skate company had vacated, and commenced the manufacture of toys. After one year he began the making of sleds for chil- dren, which business he continued with success until his decense, in August, 1876. Since then his sons,

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Ralph R. Smith and Chester L. Smith, have con- tinued the same business.

WRIGHTVILLE.

" Wrightville, a cluster of a dozen houses, was the outgrowth of the scythe-factory, organized in 1852 as a stock company, mostly of farmers, for the purpose of manufacturing scythes and hoes, with a certified stoek of six thousand dollars, the stockholders being Uri L. Whiting, Robert Wright, Albro W. Cowles, Rodney Brace, George W. Loomis, Daniel A. Grant, William A. Grant, Augustus Grant, Daniel Brown, Charles Hotchkiss, Frederick A. Griswold, Phineas North, Rodney Pierce. The officers were Phineas North president, with Rodney Brace, Albro W. Cowles, Charles Hotchkiss directors. A commodions building was erected of stone, and machinery for con- ducting the work in an advantageous manner was placed in the building. The company subsequently failed."

BURRVILLE.

This hamlet is located in the northeastern part of the town, and its history is thus given in Orcutt's "History of Torrington":

" Elias Gilbert, of New Haven, bought land at this place of David Soper in 1812, on the west side of the river. This he sold the next year to Isaac Gilbert, with 'bark-house and tan-vats' on it. In 1816, Newton Rossiter bought land of David Soper, on the east side of the river, and in 1817 he bought of Chester Loomis a hammer-shop, which had been owned by Isaac Gilbert, and was probably built hy him. In 1818, Mr. Rossiter bought Isaac Gilbert's tannery, and engaged in the tanning and shoe busi- ness extensively, and hence the name Rossiterville, by which the place was known a number of years.

" In about 1828 or 1829, Mr. Rossiter, having ex- changed with the State of Connecticut his property at this place for 'Western lands,' removed West. The old tannery is now owned and used by Mr. J. M. Burr as a grist-mill and shingle-mill.

" Bricks were made at first on Torringford Street, near the old Burr tavern, and afterwards two or three kilns were established between that place and the Hollow, one of which, near Burrville, is still contin- ued by Mr. John M. Burr. The Haydens, also on Torringford Street, made large quantities of bricks.

" While the tannery was in successful progress, Mr. Milo Burr entered upon the work of reducing the pine-timber then covering the valley at this place to lumber. For this end he had three saw-mills in full operation a number of years, and the larger part of his success in life resulted from this lumber trade. Other enterprises he pursued with much energy, and for the hope of public good, the enlarging of the place ; but most of these efforts were to his own dis- advantage, while the pinc-timber brought some com- pensation of comfort.

" In 1851 he built a dam on the mountain west of

the village, and constructed what is well known as Burr's reservoir, a most beautiful sheet of water, in the woods among the rocky hills. The place and scenery are as wild and lonely as any civilized crea- ture could wish, except as to extent. Once the dam gave way, and the rushing waters came down the mountain gorge with such a noise as to give warning, and no lives were lost except one little child. The water in the reservoir is as clean and clear as is ever secured for family use, and the people of Burrville can have water with a hundred feet pressure in their houses at very little cost. On the brook leading from the reservoir to the village, near the latter, Mr. Milo Burr built in 1854 a large building to be used as a manufactory. This was occupied some time by Mr. Gale, under the first patent for putting up condensed milk by preserving with sugar. He began this work at Wolcottville, but removed to this place, as one reason, because of the purity of the water here ob- tained. He removed to Dutchess Co., N. Y., where his enterprise is in most successful operation, it hav- ing become of great importance to the people of large cities.

"On Saturday, May 12, 1877, this building was con- sumed by fire.

" Newton Rossiter, while conducting the tannery, kept a small store, probably in his own dwelling. Afterwards Capt. Milo Burr and Beach Baker removed the store building once used at Greenwoods Street for a people's store to Burrville, and Mr. Baker kept a store for a short time. Nelson Roberts took this store in 1848, and conducted it fourteen years, and then sold it to Lewis Johnson, who remained in it two years, and sold to Mr. E. S. Minor, who is still the merchant and railroad agent at the place. There is a post-office at the place, Mr. John M. Burr, post- master.

CHAPTER LXI.

TORRINGTON (Continued).

Congregational Church, Torrington-Congregational Church, Torring- ford - Wolcottville Congregational Church - Methodist Episcopal Church, Wolcottville- Trinity Church, Wolcottville - St. Francis' Church, Wolcottville-Baptist Church, Newfield-Methodist Episcopal Church, Newfield.

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY .*

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, TORRINGTON.

THE first movement towards the organization of this church was a memorial presented to the General Assembly by Daniel Stoughton in October, 1739, asking to he organized into a society, and that taxes might be imposed for the "support of a gospel min- istry." This memorial was signed by the following names : Jacob Strong, Jr., Ebenezer Lyman, Jr., Wil- liam Grant, Jonathan Coe, Daniel Thrall, Isaac Hig-

* Condensed from Orcutt's "History of Torrington."

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ley, Joseph Beach, Joel Thrall, Abel Beach, Ebenezer Coe, Nathaniel Barber, William Cook, Amos Filley, John Cook (2d), Hezekiah Griswold, Daniel Stough- ton, Joshua Loomis, Thomas Stoughton, Jr., Jacob Strong, William Bartlett, Samuel Bartlett, Abraham Dibble, Jr., Joseph Phelps, Aaron Loomis, Samuel Phelps.

Torrington was made a town, with town privileges, in October, 1740, and thereby became an ecclesiastical society, and a tax of twopence on the pound for the support of preaching was granted.

In the next spring another tax of twopence was granted, but in the autumn it was changed to three- pence on the pound, for the purpose of raising a fund towards building a meeting-house.

An extra tax to raise five hundred pounds for the settlement of a minister was also ordered by the As- sembly, which was a much larger amount than many ministers received, if the money was anywhere near par at that time. Another tax was granted in 1744, and one in 1750, for the support of the gospel in the town. These taxes seem burdensome in repetition and amount, but the people were quite willing to pay them. The first petition states that some of the sign- ers lived in Windsor, "but, being desirous of having their lands improved as fast as possible, they were willing to be taxed."

No information is given as to the success of this effort to secure the preaching of the gospel before October, 1741, but as Nathaniel Roberts was gradu- ated in 1732, and was probably through his theologi- cal studies before 1739, he may have preached here some time before he was settled as pastor.

The only records of the organization of the church are those written by Mr. Roberts, the first pastor. He introduces the matter and gives the record thus :

"Here I sbali observe some things concerning the church in Torring- ton in ye county of Hartford.

" Ist. It was first planted October 21, 1741, by Mr. Gralnm, Mr. Hum- phrey, Mr. Leavenworth, Mr. Bellamy.

"2d. The first dencon that was chosen was Ebenezer Lymnn (Sen'r.), and was set epart to the office by prayer, and laying on er the hands of the pastor of said church, January 1, 1742.

"3d. The first ancrament that ever was administered in the church was Janunry 3, 1742, and the communicants who were then members of the anid church; the number was seventeen ; Dea. E. Lyman and his wife, E. Lyman, Junr., and his wife, E. North and his wife, J. Coe and his wife, Jacob Strong and his wife, Abel Bench und his wife, Nathaniel Barber and his wife, John Cook und his wife, Asuhol Strong."

In regard to his own marriages, he does not tell what his wives' names were before marriage, nor where they resided, though he gives the number of the day of the week on which the marriage occurred. He calls himself Mr., and not Rev., as he does also Mr. Hum- phrey and Mr. Bellamy, never using Rev. to a min- ister. Mr. was then the aristocratic class name, ap- plied to persons only in certain stations in life.

According to this record, the first marriage cere- mony he performed was July 8, 1747, over six years after he was ordained, and the next one occurred two years and a half afterwards, and therefore, to all ap-

pearance, marriages were not numerous in Torrington in those days.

The record of baptisms runs in the same style :

"January ye 3, 1741-2, I baptized a child for Isaac Hygly, and ber name was Susannah."

" August 29, 1742, I baptized a child for Nathaniel Barber, and his name was Nathaniel."

The church was organized at the house of John Cook, the house yet standing and known as Deacon John Cook's. Tradition says that Mr. Roberts was ordained in Deacon Cook's house. Mr. Roberts says the church was organized Oct. 21, 1741, and that he, as the pastor of the church, ordained the first deaeon, Jan. 1, 1742, or two months after the organization of the church. It is not probable that two meetings of such a nature, one to organize the church and another to ordain the minister, would be held within so short a time, and therefore it is quite clear that the ordina- tion took place at the time of the formation of the church, and that the meeting was held in John Cook's house, and the services conducted in a regular form by the ministers named by Mr. Roberts. It is also probable that Mr. Roberts, being unmarried, was residing with John Cook at the time, and remained there until his marriage, two years afterwards.

The first recorded act preparatory to the building of a meeting-house was the increase of the tax from two to threepence on a pound, in 1740; the surplus, after paying the minister's salary, was to be placed in the hands of Capt. Joseph Bird, of Litchfield, to be "improved by him as best could be" until the in- habitants should engage in building the house, when it was to be used for that purpose.

In May, 1746, the Assembly appointed Ebenezer Marsh and Joseph Bird, of Litchfield, and Nathaniel Baldwin, of Goshen, a committee to locate a site for a meeting-house, and report to the next session of that body. Upon that report, rendered October, 1746, the Assembly

" Resolved, That the place to build a meeting-house in said town, shali be about thirty rods northwurd ef the house of Ebenezer Lyman, Esq., in the cross highway, which runs east and west, where said committee have set up a stake with a fargo heap of stonea about it, the sills of said honse te inclose said heap of stones."

In the following winter a frame was erected on this site, thirty feet square, with eighteen-feet posts, under the directions of a committee appointed by the town. At this stage of the house somebody thought the house too high, and this committee was dismissed and an- other appointed, who cut down the posts to eight feet in height. A memorial was then carried to the As- sembly, which stopped the proceedings of the town, restored the first committee, and ordered the house to be built with eighteen-feet posts. An execution was granted against the persons who cut down the posts of the house, and a fine of twenty-one pounds six shil- lings and fivepence imposed upon them. These pro- ceedings delayed the building of the house more than a year.

A new memorial was presented in October, 1748, for

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a change of the site; a committee was appointed to look into the matter and report, which they did in May, 1749, and the place was established at a stake within the south line of a lot belonging to John Whi- ting, between sixty and seventy rods northward of the place which was heretofore affixed for a meeting- house, so as to include the said stake within the sills of the said house.

The meeting-house was built at the place last desig- nated, and was standing there in October, 1751, when the road was laid running northwest from the meet- ing-house. It was a framed building, cighteen-feet posts, and thirty feet square. How it was covered is spoken of as a mystery, as something about the house gave it the name of the Hemlock church. It was built and seated, in the gallery and below, in the simplest manner. It is said that the seats were made of slabs, flat side up, with sticks for legs. This is tra- dition. Deacon John Whiting's account-book, still preserved, tells us that he was engaged at different times for many years to 1781 in repairing the seats to the meeting-house. Therefore it is probable that the seats were not stationary, and for that reason were soon out of repair.

During the summer of 1786 a meeting-house was built as individual property, and was thus owned about sixteen years, when it was made over to the Congre- gational society, then the established legal body. It was located a little north of Capt. Abcl Beach's tav- ern, at the place known for many years afterwards as Torrington green. It was two-story, having two rows of windows on each side ; one side of the house faced the south. The belfry, built a few years after, with a high steeple, was on the west end of the building, jut- ting out from the body of the house so far that the west door was on the south side of the belfry. There was a door on the south side of the building, and one on the east end. One of the conditions on the part of the society when Mr. Gillett settled here, in 1792, was that this meeting-house should be finished inside. In the "Church Manual," by Rev. J. A. Mckinstry, we are told that this steeple was built in 1797, and the bell put in and the house thoroughly repaired. As to this bell, tradition says that the inhabitants contrib- uted one hundred silver dollars, which were sent to the maker and the silver put into the bell.

The following have served this church as ministers from its organization to present time : Rev. Nathaniel Roberts, ordained October, 1741 ; died March 4, 1776. Rev. Noah Merwin, ordained Oct. 25, 1776; dismissed Nov. 26, 1783. Rev. Alexander Gillett, installed May 23, 1792; died Jan. 19, 1826, aged seventy-seven. Rev. William Ripley Gould, installed Feb. 28, 1827 ; dismissed Feh. 12, 1832. Rev. Milton Huxley (sup- ply), 1833 to 1842. Rev. John A. Mckinstry, or- dained Oct. 5, 1842; dismissed 1857. Rev. Charles B. Dye (supply), one year. Rev. Sylvanus Marvin (supply), four years. Rev. Jacob H. Strong (supply), Nov. 12, 1865, to 1869. Rev. Michael J. Callan (sup-

ply), one year and a half. Rev. Samuel Orcutt, (supply), one year and a half. Rev. Charles P. Croft was a supply in 1876.

Ministers raised .- Rev. Timothy P. Gillett, Rev. James Beach, Rev. Luther Hart, Rev. Abel K. Hins- dale, Rev. Miles Grant.

Deacons .- Ebenezer Lyman, chosen in 1742, died in 1762, aged eighty ; John Cook, chosen in 1755, died in 1779, aged sixty-one; John Whiting, chosen in 1764, died in 1820, aged ninety-two; Wait Beach, chosen in 1794, died in 1810, aged sixty-four ; Abel Hinsdale, chosen in 1802, died in 1851, aged eighty-six ; Dr. Elijah Lyman, chosen in 1814, died in 1819; Guy Wolcott, chosen in 1821, dismissed; Marvin Barber, chosen in 1822, died in 1840, aged forty-four ; Giles Ward, chosen in 1838, died in 1845, aged seventy-six ; Rodney Pierce, chosen in 1846; Lorrain Hinsdale, chosen in 1850, removed ; Frederick P. Hills, chosen in 1869; Lyman R. Pond, chosen in 1877.

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHI, TORRINGFORD.

Preaching services were held by Rev. Nathaniel Roberts, on the east side of the town, six Sabbaths in 1744, and also in 1755, and the next year the preach- ing was measured by the amount they paid to the society. The town vote, however, gave them the privilege of having preaching four months that year, and released them from paying for the support of Mr. Roberts. The meetings at this time were held in the house of Nehemiah Gaylord and Shubael Griswold.

" In 1757 a petition was sent to the Assembly, signed by nineteen persons, asking the liberty to have preaching such part of the year as they were able, and to be released from supporting Mr. Roberts. The number of families in that part of the town at that time is stated to have been about twenty. The following were the petitioners : Abraham Dibble, Jonathan Kelsey, Jonathan Gillett, Joshua Austin, Shubael Griswold, Benjamin Matthews, Nathan Kel- sey, Nehemiah Gaylord, David Birge, Ebenezer Win- chell, Charles Mather, Aaron Yale, John Burr, Jane Loomis, Benjamin Bissell, John Birge, Samuel Dur- win, Thomas Dibble, Ephraim Dibble.

"At a meeting, held in Oct. 27, 1757, a committee was appointed to hire a minister, and a vote was passed to raise ten pounds for defraying the expense in so doing.

" In April, 1759, the town expressed its willingness by vote that four tiers and a half of lots in the eastern part should be made into a society, and in May next the people asked the General Assembly to incorpor- ate a society to include these tiers and the western tier in New Hartford ; and if this could not be granted they asked that the people might be exempt from paying in New Hartford, and be allowed to support preaching in the eastern part of Torrington. They entreated for the privileges of a society, though they were scarcely able to support preaching in an honor-

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able manner, if the privilege was granted them. This request was denied.

"In October, 1759, they presented another petition, which was denied, and the next spring they renewed this petition, which met with the same result.

" In 1761, New Hartford gave its consent that four miles of the west tier of lots might be annexed to East Torrington for the support of the gospel. After this full consent of both towns, and their earnest en- treaties heretofore, they were under the necessity of petitioning the Assembly at four successive sessions before they obtained their request.

"The society was incorporated in October, 1763, under the name of Torringford ;* the territory in- eluded four and a half tiers of lots on the eastern side of the town and the western tier in New Hart- ford, four miles in length. The half of another tier was afterwards added, and thus the society continued for many years.

" At the first meeting after the incorporation they say : 'The inhabitants of "Torringford" (using the society name for the first time) being convened to- gether, holden Dec. 21, 1763.' They seem to use that name with satisfaction, and well they might, for they had petitioned long enough to obtain it; and then they proceed to make arrangements for regular meet- ings and to elect officers for the year, who were as fol- lows: Deacon Jonathan Kelsey,t Moderator; Nehe- miah Gaylord, Clerk of the society ; Deacon Jona- than Kelsey, Samuel Austin, and John Birge, Society Committee ; Jabez Gillett, Society Collector.

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History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 150

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