History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 42

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 42

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" When she was eighty-four years old she often rode on horseback from her home, two miles, to the village, went to the store, then stopped

nt my father's to rest, and then rode home alone. She was eighty-nine at ber death.

" During the war my Aunt Diana, one Monday morning, received an invitation to a wedding just one week from that evening; she must, therefore, have a ' new gown.' The only store in the town was south of the burying-ground, near Torrington line, nearly four miles distant. My grandmother rode over the hills to the store, where she found a pat- tern of chintz which she could have for eleven and a half yards of checked woolen shirting for soldiers' wear; but could not buy it with 'Continental bills.' The old lady returned about one hour before 'sun- dowo' and told her story. " We had,' says my aunt, ' wool, cards, wheel, net, loom, and blue dye all in the house, but not a thread of yarn. That night, before I went to bed, I carded, spun, washed, and put into the dye- tub one run of yarn, and so the work went on; the cloth wae wove, the ' gowo' pattern purchased, made up, and worn to the wedding at the week's end. I have often seen this gown; and in 1843 I slept under a bed-quilt, made principally from its remains, in n good state of preserva- tion.

"On another occasion, years afterwards (within my own memory), this Aunt Diana, being engaged at her cheese-tub, heard the cry of n chicken at the open door; looking out she perceived a large hen-hawk pounced on a poor fowl, her back towards her. With a long cheese-knife in her hand she sprang lightly forward and sat down over the hawk, took him by the hend and, with her knife, cut it off. 'Ile acted as if he felt ashamed when I was doing it,' she said, when she told me the story. Often have I played with its great talons.'

" Aunt Dinna, afterwards wife of Deacon Theophilus Humphrey, of Canton, was almost ninety-one yenrs old at her death, Dec. 11, 1843. Sho was remarkable for her piety and talents; was educated beyond what was common nt that early period ; had spent three years at school in New London."

Dr. Josiah Everitt was probably the first physician in the town. He studied medicine with Drs. Bird, of Bethlehem, and Hall, of Woodbury, and settled in Winchester as a physician, living first in the store building, recently torn down, that stood in front of Mr. Theron Bronson's new store at Winchester Centre, and afterwards, through his remaining life, in the house now occupied by his son, Noble J. Everitt, a quarter of a mile south of the Centre. He served as captain of a company of Connecticut troops in the Northern army in the first year of the Revolutionary war. He died, Feb. 5, 1829, aged eighty.

Andrew Everitt resided with his mother in the old homestead until her decease, and continued to own and occupy it until 1809, when he sold it, and re- moved to Vernon, N. Y., where he died.

Jonathan Coe, of Torrington, purchased one hun- dred acres of land at the south end of the third tier, first division, lying immediately north of the farm of Deacon Seth Hills, in 1764, which remained in his family ninety-nine years. In 1765 he conveyed one- half of this lot to his son Oliver, and the other half to his son Robert.

Oliver Coe moved on to the south half of the above lot at or soon after the date of his deed, and occupied the same until his death, Dec. 31, 1775, at the age of thirty-seven. He served in the Continental army, under Capt. Sedgwick and Col. Hinman, at Ticonde- roga, in 1775; was discharged November 20th; was taken sick on his way home near Lake George ; pro- cured a horse on which he reached home November 28th ; and was confined to his bed with the camp or typhoid fever until his death, five weeks afterwards. Robert Coe settled on the north half of the hun-

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WINCHESTER.

dred-acre lot aforesaid, and remained until 1768, when he sold out to his brother, Jonathan Coe, Jr.

Jonathan Coe, Jr., known as Ensigu Jonathan Coe, moved with his father and mother in 1768 on the farm until then occupied by Robert Coe, where Jonathan Coe, Sr., died. He removed to Winsted in 1796, and resided until near his death in the house afterwards occupied by Col. N. D. Coe. Ensign Coe may be con- sidered the father of the Methodist denomination in the town, having been perhaps the earliest convert and a consistent and earnest supporter of the order through his life.

Oliver Coe, Jr., owned and lived on the Henry Drake farm, near Torrington line, in the second tier, first division, from 1805 to 1814, when he moved to Hudson, Ohio, and died there Aug. 14, 1825, aged sixty-one. He served on several tours of duty in the Revolutionary war, and on the breaking out of the Indian war agaiu enlisted for three years, and served in Gen. Harmer's campaign down the Ohio, and was one of seven survivors of Col. Harden's detachment which was cut off by the Indians on the headwaters of the Scioto in the fall of 1791. He also served as military guard of the surveying party that surveyed the Ohio Company's purchase ; after which he returned to the place of his nativity and became a thrifty and wealthy farmer, enjoying in a high degree the respect and confidence of the communities in which he lived.

Gershom McEwen and family, consisting of Mary, Sarah, Robert, Samuel, and Gershom, came in to this town from Stratford, Conn., in 1766, when he bought of David Austin the farm now owned by Mareus Mun- sill, about a quarter of a mile south of Winchester Centre. He was called of "Winchester" in 1773. He owned and occupied land next south of Sylvester Platt's farm until his death, Aug. 31, 1794.

Enoch Palmer, from Farmington, came to Winches- ter in 1767, and lived in the late homestead of Adam Mott, Jr., which stood on the site of Noble J. Ev- critt's house, next north of the Robert MCEwen house, now owned by Marcus Munsill, until 1773, when he removed to a farm on the old north country road, near the Wallen's Hill school-house, where he died in 1795.

Simeon Loomis was here in 1767.

Aaron Cook, from Torrington, purchased in 1767, and occupied during his life, the lot at the southeast corner of the second tier, first division, immediately north of the Preston reservation, and lived on the south part of Blue Street. He died May 19, 1804, aged fifty-nine.

Eleazer Smith had a child born in Winchester in 1768, but is named of Barkhamsted in a deed of June 22, 1770, conveying to him land at the angle of the old road to Winchester Centre, north of Sylvester l'latt's. He built and occupied the old house recently torn down that stood cast of the north and south road, opposite the turn westward of the road to the Centre. In 1791 he sold to Thomas Spencer, Jr., after which

his name disappears. He had ten children born in the town.

Noah Gleason, from Torringford, bought a house and lot of John Smith in 1769, on the east side of Blue Street, near Torrington line, which he occupied until about 1776.

Noah Gleason, Jr., owned and occupied land ad- joining his father, on the west side of Blue Strect, from 1783 to 1787, and afterwards on the Brooks road.

Daniel Grover, of Stratford, a shoemaker, bought in 1769 a lot of land at the parting of the Norfolk and Brooks Street roads, in first tier, first division, which he occupied, living in a house near N. T. Loomis, until 1785. He had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot.

Joseph Hoskin, from Torrington, came to Win- chester probably in 1769, and lived on a road border- ing on Torrington line, at the south end of the third tier, first division. He served as trumpeter in the cavalry detachment that went down from Litchfield County to Long Island, whose gaunt appearance, rusty equipments, and pacing horses excited the ridi- cule of Washington's army, until their good service in the battle and retreat from Brooklyn Heights made them better appreciated. He was a kind- hearted, jovial man, as was indicated by his lifelong sobriquet of " Unele Joe." IIe died in Winsted, De- cember, 1818, aged eighty-two.

Reuben Tucker, from Bolton, bought lands adjoin- ing Norfolk line on both sides of Mad River in 1769, on which he resided after 1770 until his death in 1811, at the age of sixty-four. He left a large family of children, most of whom removed from the town early. His son, Isaac Tucker, lived in the town as late as 1830. Mr. Tucker built the first saw-mill on the site near the Norfolk line, now owned by the Brooks'.

Timothy Grover, brother of Daniel, owned land south of and adjoining Daniel's, which he occupied until his death, in 1780.

Capt. Jonathan Alvord, of Chatham, came into the town in 1770, and lived in a house, long since taken down, near the northwest corner made by the Dug- way road where it turns west to Winchester Centre, until he sold out to Rev. Joshua Knapp, in 1773.

Eliphaz Alvord, Esq., son of Jonathan, above named, came to Winchester in 1770, and following the marked trees to the land he had purchased, cleared and planted a garden and built a log house in three weeks, and then returned and moved his family and effects to his new home, carrying one child in his arms and another behind him on one horse, his wife riding another horse with an infant in her arms, while their effects were drawn on an ox- cart. He afterwards built, opposite his first log house, on west side of the Dugway road, a red lean-to house, a little north of the line of the road westerly to the Centre, in which he resided during his remaining life.

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HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

Both houses have long since disappeared, and no new structures mark their sites.

He was chosen town clerk at the organization of the town in 1771, and continued to hold the office, with the exception of two years, until his voluntary resignation in 1819. His records are a model of ac- curacy and penmanship, and the vote of thanks for his faithful services was well merited. In 1779 he was appointed the first justice of the peace in the town, and held the office until disqualified by age, discharging the duties with equal ability and recti- tude. If in doubt as to the law of any case before him on trial, he almost invariably went to Litchfield and consulted Judge Reeve or some other able coun- sel before deciding the points. His cases were inva- riably recorded at large, with great precision, and in perfect legal form, even to the taking of recog- nizances and administering of oaths. His records give a better insight to the prevailing habits, customs, and vices of his day than can be obtained from any other source.

Warham Gibbs, from Litchfield, came into the town in 1770, and lived on the east side of a road, now discontinued, running southerly from Winches- ter Centre, by the first meeting-house, to the Luther Bronson place. The road, the house of Mr. Gibbs, and the old meeting-house, and all other traces of civilization in that vicinity, except a few ancient apple-trees, have disappeared for near half a cen- tury. Mr. Gibbs was moderator of the first town- meeting, and the first constable of the town; also frequently appointed "to assist in reading the psalm" on Sundays, and to discharge other public trusts and duties. He went to Ticonderoga and Canada in 1775 and 1776 as lieutenant and captain, and did other service in the Revolutionary war. He removed from the town in 1780.

Lewis Wilkinson, from New Milford, with his sons, Jesse and Levi, came to Winchester in 1770, and lived until 1773 on the farm on the Brooks road,-after- wards owned by Abram Andrews,-and afterwards, until 1784, on the farm on the west side of the Brooks road recently owned by Nathan Tibballs.

Jesse Wilkinson, son of the above, lived on lands adjoining his father's, in a red lean-to house.

Levi Wilkinson, son of Lewis, lived between his father and his brother Jesse, on the west side of Brooks road, until 1789.

Samuel Wetmore was born in Middletown, Middle- field Society, March 13, 1692; married, June 21, 1722, Hannah Hubbard, born July 21, 1700. He came to Winchester at the age of seventy-nine years, in 1771, and settled with his son, Samuel Wetmore, Jr., on the farm now owned and occupied by his great-great- grandson, Deacon Abel Samuel Wetmore. He died Dec. 30, 1773, aged eighty-one, and is said to have been the first person whose remains were deposited in the Winchester burying-ground.

Dr. Truman Wetmore, married, Oct. 18, 1799, Sylvia

Spencer, daughter of Thomas; she died March 27, 1800, and in her memory he added the name "Spen- cer" to his Christian name, Dec. 27, 1800; he married (second) Elizabeth Jarvis; she died May 7, 1844, aged fifty-eight; he died July 21, 1861, aged eighty-seven. Soon after the death of his first wife he began the study of medicine, under Drs. Woodward, of Torring- ton, Moore, of Winsted, and McEwen, of Albany, N. Y. Receiving his diploma in 1802, he commenced practice in Vermont, but in 1806 returned to Winchester, and in the following year, on the breaking out of the spotted fever in this county, he was the first who treated it successfully. He was a well-read and suc- cessful physician of the old school, a poet of local celebrity, a musical composer (some of his tunes being still retained in the worship of the churches), a man of genial humor and tender feelings, and a chronicler of olden times to whom the compiler is largely indebted. He continued in practice until the age of seventy-five. His residence until about 1828 was on the south side of Cooper lane, about half a mile west of the Centre, and during his remaining life in the old parsonage house now owned by his son-in- law, Leonard B. Hurlbut.

David Goff's name is on the petition for incorpora- tion of the town, dated Aug. 4, 1767, but it does not appear that he was ever a land-owner, nor is his resi- dence ascertainable. He was an early member of the church, and is occasionally named on the records as holding subordinate town offices. From an affidavit of Col. Aaron Austin, accompanying a petition of Goff for compensation for military service, it appears that he served as sergeant in Capt, Griswold's com- pany, in an expedition to Canada in 1775, and that in 1776 he and his son enlisted in the company of which Austin was captain, and that in the retreat from Can- ada in that year he was the means of saving the army from destruction, by devising and carrying out a plan of getting the boats up the Chamblee rapids by means of drag-ropes, with men on the shores to tow them, instead of carrying them and their freight a circuit of some miles by land, as had been the custom, which it was impossible to do without teams, of which the army was destitute. It appears by the same document that he was afterwards a lieutenant in the Continental army. It also appears by Sedgwick's "History of Sharon" that he resided in that town during a part of. the Revolutionary period.

Capt. Benjamin Benedict, from Danbury, was here in 1771, and was chosen a surveyor of highways at the first annual town-meeting. He built a saw-mill on the south side of Mad River, above the bridge, nearly all traces of which have now disappeared.

Capt. Timothy Benedict, from Danbury, named in his first deed, Timothy Benedict, Jr., bought in 1771 the eastern half of the lot originally purchased by Capt. Benjamin Benedict, lying on both sides of Mad River, and inclosing the Danbury school-house, on which he resided until his death. His wife, Mrs.

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WINCHESTER.

Lydia Benedict, died in this town Feb. 21, 1824, aged ninety-five. The land records show that he had three sons, Timothy, Jr., William, and Joshua, who came with him to Winchester and to whom he conveyed portions of his land.

Timothy Benedict, Jr., owned land on both sides of Mad River east of the highway and running south from the Danbury school-house, and lived on the cast side of the road, nearly opposite the Danbury bury- ing ground, until his decease.

Timothy Benedict, son of Timothy, lived and died (March 29, 1820) on the easterly side of the turnpike above the tell-gate.

Deacon Nathaniel Dutton came here from Wood- bury in 1771. He remained two years, and then re- turned to Woodbury.

Daniel Platt and John Bradley were here in 1771.

Lemuel Stannard, Jr., from Saybrook, is a signer of the petition for incorporation of the town in 1771. He was born April 13, 1750.

Abel Stannard, supposed to be the son of Lemuel, Sr., bonght in 1779 a lot lying immediately north of the Little Pond, and built and lived in a square-roofed house on the road running along the east side of the pond.

Lemuel Stannard, Sr., from Saybrook, is grantee, in 1778, of a lot in second tier, first division, near Reuben Chase's, which he conveyed to his son William in 1789, describing it as his homestead. In 1796 he is alluded to in a deed as "Lemuel Stannard, late of Winchester, deceased."

William Stannard occupied his father's homestead until 1790, when he sold ont to Col. Ozias Bronson ; and afterwards owned land in Danbury Quarter, which he conveyed to his father-in-law, Peleg Sweet, in 1800.

Setlı Stannard married, Nov. 13, 1785, Martha Preston.

Ezra Stannard, son to Lemuel Stannard and Ruth, his wife, owned in 1793 and 1794 the Humphrey farm, on the east side of Long Pond, south of the Pratt farm, which he sold to Levi Ackley and Ozias Spencer.

In 1771 all the inhabitants, with the exception of some half-dozen families, were west of the old South country road, a section not exceeding one-sixth part of the township. The whole population, as stated in the petition of April 4, 1771, is twenty-eight families and one hundred and seventy-nine souls within the society of Winchester, and only four families without the society and within the town. The "Danbury Quarter," embracing the four half-mile tiers in the northwest corner of the town, is, as yet, nearly un- occupied. The four families located without the so- cicty are on the North country road, at the northeast corner of the town, and will be again referred to.

The following new inhabitants are found on the re- cords of this year in Ohl Winchester Society : Thomas Spencer, Alexander Leach, John Corey, Levi Bronson, Roswell Coe, Elisha Smith, Samuel Hurlbut, and Reu- ben Thrall.

Thomas Spencer, from Saybrook, in 1772 moved on to the farm recently purchased of Bronson and Mun- sill by Rufus Eglestone, lying north of his homestead, and bordering on the west side of the Long Pond south of Sucker Brook. The house which he built aud occupied during his remaining life remained standing until the winter of 1862-63, and then yielded to the wintry blasts. He was a prominent man of the town, and nine of his children became heads of large and influential families ; but of more than twenty of his descendants now residing in this town not one bears the name of Spencer. He was born Jan. 16, 1736, O. S., and died May 1, 1807, aged seventy-onc.

John Spencer, oldest son of Thomas, in 1784 bought of David Austin thirty-nine acres of land in the heart of the west village of Winsted, embracing all of Main Street from Camp's Block southerly and easterly to Clifton Mill bridge, and the whole of High Street, Elm Street, the Green Woods Park, and adjacent streets. He entered on this purchase, cleared a few acres, and built a log house, on the flat near the corner of Elm and Main Streets, before any bridge had been erceted across Mad River at Lake Street, or any road opened south of the bridle-path now known as Hins- dale Street. Despairing of ever having access by a road and bridge to the civilized part of the town, and unwilling to rear a family in this savage region, he sold his purchase for three dollars an aere, and bought a two-hundred-acre farm in Danbury Quarter, lately owned by Edward Rugg, then a well-populated section of the town, on which he lived until 1799. He died in Oneida Co., N. Y., Feb. 14, 1826.

THE PIONEER FORGE.

Thomas Spencer, a millwright by trade, lived until about 1795 in a house that stood on the east side of the Dugway road, nearly opposite a road that turns west to Winchester Centre village. In 1795, in com- pany with Benjamin Jenkins and James Boyd, he built the first forge in the town, on the " Old Forge Site," on which the grinding works of the Winsted Manufacturing Company now stand. He also built a store, in which he traded in company with Hewett Hills, on the depot grounds of the Connecticut West- ern Railroad Company, on the north side of Lake Street ; and also the rear part of the tenant-house on south side of Lake Street, directly opposite the store- building, in which he lived until his removal to Vernon, Oncida Co., N. Y., about 1801 or 1802. He died at Vernon, N. Y., about 1828.

Capt. Grinnell Spencer settled in Winsted, and first lived on a high hill about one hundred rods west of the Spencer Street road, adjoining his original orchard, which can be seen from the west village of Winsted. About 1808 he built and occupied until his death the house on Spencer Street road now owned and occupied by his son-in-law, Amos Pierce. He improved more than two hundred acres of land as a dairy-farm, and for many years spent his winters

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HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

in Charleston, S. C., 'as a dealer in cheese. He was an energetic, public-spirited, warm-hearted man, al- ways the foremost to turn out and break the winter roads, to attend upon the sick, or to relieve the misfor- tunes of his neighbors. He died March 5, 1843, aged seventy-four.

Alexander Leach, a Scotchman, came from New Haven to Winchester, and owned a farm in the Dan- bury Quarter, immediately north of the Edward Rugg farm. He died in 1777.

Alexander Leach, Jr., lived on the homestead as late as 1791.

William Leach also lived on the homestead for many years, and afterwards in other parts of the town. He served in the Continental army, and drew a pension. He died, probably, after 1830.

John Corey, from Goshen, owned and occupied in 1772-73 a part of the W. F. Hatch farm on the Little Pond, and probably soon after left the town.

Lieut. Thomas Hurlbut, immigrant, ancestor of Capt. Hurlbut, of Winchester, belonged to the first company that garrisoned the fort at Saybrook in 1636. Ile served and was wounded in the Pequot war in 1637 ; settled in Wethersfield, and is supposed to have died soon after 1671.

Capt. Samuel Hurlbut, from Newington Society (Wethersfield), came from Torrington to Winchester, and first purchased, with his brother-in-law, Levi Bronson, the Artemus Rowley farm, near Torrington line, in the third tier, from whence he removed in 1774 to the Centre, and built the red lean-to honse which stood on the site of his grandson's (Samnel Hurlbut) present dwelling, where lie lived until his death, March 23, 1831, at the age of eighty-three. He began the world as a carpenter and joiner; after- wards became a tavern-keeper, at a period when " the landlord" stood next in rank after the minister and merchant, at the same time managing a large farm and a saw-mill, and in later years engaged with liis sons Samuel and Lemnel in country trade.

Gen. Leonard Hurlbut, oldest son of Capt. Samuel, lived and died in the house recently occupied by his son-in-law, William H. Rood, about a mile northeast- erly from Winchester Centre. He was a large dairy- farmer.

Samuel Hurlbut, Jr., second son of Capt. Samuel, weut into trade at Winchester Centre in early life with Chauncey Humphrey, and afterwards, in com- pany with his brother Lemuel, continued the business until his death, at the age of seventy-four.

Lemuel Hurlbut, youngest child of Capt. Samuel, was endowed with a hardy constitution, a manly per- son, pleasing address, and a sanguine .temperament. His perceptive faculties predominated over his intel- lectual, and his tastes ran to fine animals and highly- cultivated lands. Though a large trader, he was rarely seen at the desk or behind the counter. His department of the business of the brothers S. & L. Hurlbut was to receive and market the cheese, of

which they were extensive purchasers, and to cultivate and improve their lands.

Stephen Hurlbut, born Dec. 12, 1760, half brother of Samuel, from Wethersfield, Newington Society, came into the town about 1782; he bought and settled on a lot of land south of and near Rufus M. Eggle- ton's. He died April 14, 1807, aged forty-six.

Martin Hurlbut, from Wethersfield, came, when a boy, to live with his half-brother, Capt. Samuel, and continued to reside in the town until his death, April 5, 1810, at the age of forty-seven.

THE PIONEER MERCHANT.

Deacon Levi Bronson, from Berlin, married, Oct. 25, 1769, Hannah Hurlbut, sister of Samuel, and came with him to Winchester. He built the Artemus Row- ley house, in which he lived until about 1795, when he moved to Catskill, N. Y. A cotemporary says of him, --

" Mr. Bronson was a large and prosperous farmer, and withal a mer- chant. Ilis goods for trade he mainly bought of Sheldon Leavitt, of Bethlehem. He made a large amount of potash. His store was in his dwelling-honse,-the first, and for many years the only, store in the town."

Capt. Roswell Coe came from Torrington and bought a farm in the southwest part of the town, which he oc- cupied until 1789, when he returned to Torrington.

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History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 42

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