History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 71

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

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Henry Baldwin was a Revolutionary soldier from Saybrook, Conn. He served as a private during the war, and returned home at its close with one hun- dred and fifty dollars of Continental money in his pocket. This soon depreciated in value to such an extent that he offered the whole sum in exchange for a bushel of wheat, and was refused. Not discouraged by adversity, he soon after married Jane Shipman, a native of the same town, and emigrated to Cornwall, where he became the tenant of Deacon Noah Rogers, on the farm now owned by T. S. Gold, in Cornwall Hollow.

Dr. John Calhoun, son of Dr. John Calhoun, of Washington, came to Cornwall in 1792, and in 1804 was followed by his brother, Deacon Jedediah Cal- houn, who located as a farmer in the southwest part of the town. Dr. Calhoun was a successful practi- tioner for forty-six years, and had a numerous family.

John C. Calhoun went as a clerk to Plymouth in 1832, and afterwards engaged there in mercantile business. In 1846 he went to New York, establish- ing the firm of Calhonn & Vanderburg. The firm was afterwards changed to Robbins, Calhoun & Co. As a business man he was eminently successful, rapidly ac- cumulating a handsome fortune ; but he was better known to us as a liberal-hearted Christian gentleman. His love for the quiet scenery of his native town in- duced him to purchase for a summer residence the old homestead of Parson Stone, in the village of Cornwall, about 1866. The enthusiasm with which he entered upon its improvement was only surpassed by his public spirit and liberality. The adornment of the cemetery at South Cornwall, upon which he expended one

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thousand dollars, and for the permanent care of which he gave one thousand dollars, securely invested, and the establishment of a town library, with a trust fund of two thousand dollars for its annual enlarge- ment, are examples of his judicious use of the prop- erty committed to his stewardship. He died in New York, Nov. 26, 1874.

Ebenezer Birdseye, residing in the south part of the town, had a son, Victory, who received a liberal edu- cation and became a prominent lawyer, residing in Pompey, N. Y. He represented his district in the Congress of the United States, and was appointed an especial attorney to prosecute the abductors of Mor- gan. His son, Judge Lucius Birdseye, of New York, was a graduate of Yale, 1841.

Theodore Ives, brother of Cephas Ives, of Goshen, about 1800 came from that town, married a daughter of Noah Rogers (4th), and set np his trade at North Cornwall.

Rev. Mark Ives, son of Cephas, received a liberal education, and went as a missionary to the Sandwich Islands in 1836, and remained there fourteen years, when, on account of the failure of his health, he re- turned to this country with his family, and settled as a farmer in Cornwall.

John Dean was an early settler.

Ensign Nathan Millard, father of Joel Millard, set- tled on Cream Hill.

Rev. Gurdon Rexford, a Methodist minister, and his brother, Samuel Rexford, settled on Cream Hill towards the close of the last century.

Abiel Prindle, who lived near Cream Hill Lake, was the father of Warren and Joseph Prindle. He also had two daughters,-Alice, married Mr. Barnes, and Anna. Warren had sons, Samuel and Harmanus, who still survive and have families. Joseph and Anna lived to a good old age, but remained ummar- ried. Joseph was quite a character in his day. He was an indulged boy, who played truant, and grew up a slave to a hard master, even his own ungoverned passions. In his youth he had some ambition, and aspired to the study of Latin and to making poetry. One stanza will suffice:

" Dr. Frank,

Ile felt so cruuk,

lle danced like a dandy, O!

He jumped so high

lle hit the sky,

And thought he'd got Miss Pangman, O !"

Samuel Agur Judson came to Cornwall in 1794, with his sister, Sarah A., from Old Mill, Bridgeport, and bought the farm from Mr. Thorp where Harlan Ives now resides. He had one son, Samuel Wesley, and several daughters. A few years since he went to New York to live with his son, and died there in his eighty-ninth year.

Eli Reed was a native of Fairfield County. He was a goldsmith in the time of the Revolution, and resided in Poughkeepsie. He went to New York, de- signing to remove his family there, but died, leaving a

widow and six children. Her name was Weed, and she went back to her friends in Fairfield County, afterwards removing with one of her brothers to Greenfield, Saratoga Co., N. Y. Two of her sons came to Cornwall.

Dr. Isaac Marsh was born in 1777, in Litchfield, where his ancestors had lived. His father and grand- father were also named Isaac. He studied medicine with Dr. Woodward, of Torringford, but, being of rather a nervous temperament, shrank from the prac- tice of the profession.

William Stoddard came from Woodbury, married Mary Willis, of Cornwall, May 27, 1809, and settled as a manufacturer and farmer on Pond Brook, one and a half miles from West Cornwall.

Deacon Eliakim Mallory came from Hamden near the close of the last century, and settled where Julius Hart now lives.

The Smiths have never been very numerous in Corn- wall. Rev. Walter Smith came from Kent in 1819, and in 1838 went to Ohio.

The Gold family was connected with the earliest settlement of the State. By these first settlers, for three generations, the name was spelled Gold, yet for some reason portions of the family have changed to Gould, yet most of those holding that name have no connection with the Golds .*

Rev. Cornelins B. Everest was a son of Daniel Ev- erest, who lived south of the village of Cornwall. He was a graduate of Williams College; a faithful and acceptable preacher.

The name of HIarrison' has been associated with Cornwall from the earliest period of its history. Each generation has well sustained its part in the history of the town, and they have spread laterally into many families conspicuous among the present inhabitants, while their descendants are found in many of the States.t

John Bradford came to Cornwall from Montville, New London Co., about 1772; he bought and settled on the farm now occupied by Fowler Bradford; died in 1817, about eighty years of age; married Mary Fitch, of Norwich, Conn .; his children were named James Fitch, Rachel, Mary, Abigail, Rebecca, and Eleanor.

James F. Bradford was born May 1, 1767 ; was ap- prenticed at the age of fourteen to a tanner and shoe- maker in Montville, Conn., and served seven years, and came to Cornwall soon after the expiration of his apprenticeship.

Coddington B. Crandall came from Goshen about 1826.

Joseph Chandler came from Danbury, Mass., in 1748, and settled where Agur Judson lived in 1845. He lived to be about ninety years. He had sons,- Benjamin, who was a blacksmith, went to Fairmouth,

· Sco blography of Hon. T. S. Gohl.

t For detallod history, seo blography.

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HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

Vt., and was killed at the battle of Bennington. Ab- ner in 1774 sold his place to Jethro Bonney, and went to Piermont, N. H. Jonathan lived where Jabez Baldwin lived, and went to Piermont, N. H. Simeon, after 1754, lived at New Milford. A daughter married Ephraim Patterson, brother of Matthew.

The Kelloggs were also early settlers. (See biogra- phy of Frederick Kellogg.)

The name of llart seems to be common to several nationalities. England, Scotland, and Ireland have their Harts. The origin of the name is not made known, perhaps from David's beautiful animal that panted for the water-brooks. The variety in spelling is not great ; the prevailing is simply Hart, occasion- ally Hartt, Harte, Heart, Hearte. Tradition has it that three brothers came to this country early in its settlement, and the name is prominently connected with the settlement of various places.

"Honest John Hart," as he was called, was a son of one of the brothers, and was a signer of the Decla- ration of Independence, being a member of the General Congress from New Jersey.

John Hart, second son of Deacon John, born Octo- ber, 1714, at Kensington, moved to Canaan, Conn., in 1740, and to Cornwall in 1763, where he became a large land-holder. He died Dec. 18, 1773, aged fifty- nine years.

'Deacon Solomon, third son, born Oct. 1, 1724, moved to Cornwall in 1764, making many purchases of land on the river from Cornwall Bridge to Canaan line, also largely in the present Hart school district. He built the large white house wbich stood near the present site of Mr. Isaac Marsh's residence, which was called Hart's tavern, and the locality now West Corn- wall was then known as Hart's Bridge.

Phineas Hart, of the sixth generation, third son of Deacon Solomon, born in 1758, did valiant service for his country in the Revolution. He was a pensioner of the general government. He married, and lived in Cornwall, where he had children,-Lot, Solomon, Mary, Experience, and Jane. He removed West, where his children remained. He died in Cornwall in 1728, aged seventy years.

Captain Elias Hart, fourth son of Deacon Solomon, was born May 11, 1759. He was a brave youth, and when the war for independence came, although scarcely sixteen years of age, he gave his services heartily to his country, and through seven campaigns unflinch- ingly faced the foe and met the privations of war. One inclement winter, when the smallpox was raging with fatal effect in camp, he inoculated himself, and thus came through this fearful scourge in safety. The inkstand he used after the war was a small metal flask taken from the enemy at Danbury. He served the town many years in positions of trust and honor, and received a pension till his decease, at the age of seventy-five, in 1834.

Titus, oldest son of Solomon Hart, was born in Farmington, June 4, 1754; came to Cornwall with

his father at the age of ten years. He married Esther Hand, and lived in a house where Mrs. H. M. Hart's barn now stands.

Deacon Hart was largely identified with the religious interests of the town and Litchfield North Consocia- tion ; a man of strong mind and good sense. H. Mil- ton was judge of probate, justice of the peace, surveyor, and in the winter months taught music in various places in the State. Nathan represented the town in the Legislature in 1860, and held many positions of trust in the civil and business affairs of the town ; was also member of the State Board of Agriculture from Litchfield County, and its treasurer for several years.

Deacon Samuel Adams, of the Baptist Church, came to Cornwall from New Bedford in 1800. He first lived as a tenant in the Hollow ; afterwards on Cream Hill, and finally bonght a farm of Nathan Wickwire on Waller Hill. He enjoyed little opportunity of edu- cation, but was a man of decided opinions, and well informed upon all public matters. He served an ap- prenticeship as a wheelwright at Westerly, R. I. His father was a captain of a privatcer in the time of the Revolution, and perished while in action, his vessel being blown np by the explosion of the magazine.

THE BEERS FAMILY .- England is credited with being the fatherland of the Beers, and the genealogi- cal records of the family trace back to the feudal age, under the name of Beare, which was afterwards writ- ten Bears, with a coat of arms to correspond .* The family were represented in the English army during the reign of Charles I., and received a grant of land in the north of Ireland for services rendered, and a branch of the family permanently settled in that country in 1646. John Beers, the founder of the family in this country, was accepted an inhabitant of the town of Stratford, in Fairfield Co., Nov. 25, 1678. It is supposed he was accompanied by his wife and four sons.

Matthew Beers, youngest son of Joseph Beers, mar- ried Sarah Curtis, of Stratford, and left a family,- Curtis, Silas, Menzis, Otis, Lewis, Lucinda.

Curtis, eldest son of Matthew Beers, was born in Stratford, March 25, 1789. At the age of seventeen he was apprenticed to the shoemaker's trade, and three years after purchased his time, as was customary then, and engaged to Enoch Curtis to work at his trade in Darien, Ga., where at the expiration of two years he opened a boot and shoe store. In the summer of 1812 the store was consumed by fire, leaving him penniless, and in October, 1812, he came to Cornwall, and engaged with Capt. Nehemiah Clark in the cur- ing of leather and the making of boots and shoes. Married Alice Curtis, of Stratford, Sept. 22, 1817, and in November of same year purchased, in connection with his brother Menzis, the house now occupied by

* The coat of arms are described as follows; Arms argent (silver); a bear rampant, "sable" (black); canton gules (red); crest on a garb lying fipwise (-) "or" (gold) ; a raven " sable" (black). Motto: Bear and forbear.

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Menzis Beers at Cornwall. For several years they manufactured boots and shoes for the Southern mar- ket, a brother, Lewis Beers, taking charge of the busi- ness in Athens, Ga. In 1822 he purchased a farm of Luman Hopkins, near Cornwall Bridge, and re- moved there in 1826, and engaged in farming, which occupation he followed until his decease, March 10, 1848. He left a family,-Job W. C., born July ?, 1818; Henry L., born May 9, 1823; Sarah E., born Oct. 25, 1825; Victory C., born Sept. 25, 1832.

Henry L. Beers represented the town in the General Assembly in 1872 and 1876; was selectman for some years, and held many offices of trust.

Sarah E. married Hiram Pierce, of Thomaston, May 31, 1849 ; her only daughter married Dr. Edward Brad- street, and is settled in Meriden.

Victory C. Beers married Sarah C. Harrison, daugh- ter of Myron Harrison, June 2, 1862, and has one son, George H., born July 15, 1866. He was for several years a member of the Democratic State Central Com- mittee ; represented the Seventeenth Senatorial Dis- trict in the Senate of 1870; was selected as chairman of the board of selectmen in 1876.

Menzis Beers, third son of Matthew, was born in Stratford, July 23, 1795; he permanently settled in Cornwall in 1817, and engaged with his brothers Curtis and Lewis in the euring of leather and the manufac- turing of boots and shoes for the Southern market. They opened a store in Athens, Ga., under the name and firm of C. & M. Beers & Co. Married Laura, daughter of Capt. John Pierce, Jan. 1, 1820, and has two sons,-John W., born Jan. 15, 1822; Silas C., born March 13, 1827.

In 1840, Menzis Beers engaged in the mercantile business with F. Kellogg, at Cornwall, under the firm- name of F. Kellogg & Co., which continued two years ; but in 1842 the firm of J. W. & S. C. Beers opened a store at North Cornwall for general merchandising and the manufacturing of gloves and mittens, which continued with several partners till 1860, when the business was removed to South Cornwall, under the firm-name of M. Beers & Sons.

John W. Beers represented the town in the General Assembly of 1857, and Silas C. was chosen town elerk and treasurer in 1852, which office he held continu- ously for fourteen years, and in 1867 he represented the town in the General Assembly.

Gen. Robert Sedgwick, one of the first settlers of Charlestown, Mass., was the progenitor of that family in this country. He was one of the most distin- guished men of his time, and, according to the record, " was stout and active in all feats of war." This was in Cromwell's time, and the account of his services against the French and in other public positions is very complete. Ile died at Jamaica, W. 1., May 24, 1656. Ile had five children, one of whom, William, married Elizabeth Stone, daughter of Rev. Samuel Stone, of Hartford, and had one child, Samuel, born 1667 ; died March 24, 1735, in his sixty-ninth year.

THE SHEPARD FAMILY .- Allen Shepard came to Cornwall from Newtown, with his family, in 1798. His son, Eliphalet H. Shepard, was born in Newton, 1789; married, July 7, 1813, Mary, daughter of Judah Kel- logg; died Aug. 12, 1865, leaving four children,- George H., Charles N., who resided in Brooklyn, N. Y., and died, unmarried, at West Cornwall, July 23, 1876, Elbert, and Harriett.

Elbert, born May 2, 1824, married, May 31, 1846, Cynthia L., daughter of George Wheaton, and has one son, George W., born Dec. 25, 1854.

Mr. Shepard is a farmer, residing at West Corn- wall at this time (1878) ; represents the town in the General Assembly, and has held many offices of trust. He is a Methodist, and a prominent sup- porter of that denomination ; but his generons dona- tion to the chapel at West Cornwall, and especially the gift from himself and his family of the location, will ever remain as a testimonial of their liberal Christian spirit.

Eliphalet Shepard was a Methodist, an carnest worker in that denomination ; a man pure and peace- able, and much respected by his fellow-citizens.

Dr. Joseph North resided north of the Carrington Todd place, and practiced medicine for many years. He died Sept. 22, 1848, aged seventy-six.

Darius Webb came from Warren in 1832, as agent of the Cornwall Bridge furnace, where he remained about twenty years.

John T. Andrew, a native of the county of New Haven, was born July 19, 1811 ; graduated at Yale, 1839; studied theology in the Yale Theological Sem- inary, and graduated in 1842 with the highest honors of his class. Prevented from entering upon his chosen profession by bronchial disease, after waiting two years, spent partly in teaching a select school in Corn- wall, and finding little improvement of his voice, he turned his attention to agriculture, and in 1847 pur- chased a farm near West Cornwall, and engaged in his new calling with great enthusiasm and success.

Woodruff Emmons became the owner of the Ilol- loway honse, and kept a tavern there during the Rev- olutionary war.

THE EMMONS TAVERN.

" One hundred years ago, in the centre of the town there was a tavern of some notoriety in its day, which stood near the summit of a high hill, overlooking, in a southern direction, a wide extent of country, em- bracing a beautiful valley.

" The building was distinguished by the peculiar architecture not altogether uncommon at that period in the construction of the better class of dwellings. Large massive serolls and roses of carved work orna- mented the tops and sides of the doorways, while the windows, of six-by-eight glass, were surmounted by heavy angular projecting caps. The doors were wrought with curvilinear styles and panels, sur- mounted also, like the windows, with the angular pro-

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HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

jecting caps. The body of the house was painted a light red, the windows and doors being trimmed with white. The large square chimney-top exhibited, neatly cut in a stone on its front side, the figures 1758, being the year in which the house was built. Few dwellings at the present day exhibit so elaborate a finish as appeared in its exterior. The interior was more plain. The best rooms, however, were finished with a dark, heavy wainscot, nearly half-way to the ceiling above, on three sides, while on the fourth the wood-work covered the whole. A plaster of lime mortar covered the remaining portions of the walls. On the chimney side of each of the front rooms there was a huge fireplace, with a wooden mantel-tree; in the wainscoting above there was inserted an immense panel some four or five feet in breadth. The remaining parts of the house were done with plain wooden ceilings, leaving the joists, which were neatly planed, naked overhead. The wood-work was painted either red or blue ; the latter, being considered the most genteel color, was applied to the two front rooms of the first story, the one being used for the best room or parlor, and the other as the bar-room. In one corner of the latter was a space six feet square, parted off by a ceiling four and a half feet high. This inclosure was called the bar. Around the two posterior sides of the bar were placed several shelves contain- ing various articles, of which the most conspicuous were several square bottles filled with different kinds of liquors. One was labeled " Old Holland Gin," an- other "French Brandy," and a third " Orange-peel Bit- ters." By the side of these stood drinking-vessels of various kinds, some of glass and others of pewter. A large conical loaf of white sugar, inclosed in a thick dark-purple paper, was also conspicuous, while beside it stood a large, round, covered wooden box, contain- ing many broken pieces of the same ready for use. The furniture of the bar-room consisted of a large heavy oaken table, composed of a single leaf, one or two forms or benches, and some half-dozen splint- bottomed chairs.

"The house here described stood upon a terrace some three or four feet high, sustained on two sides by a wall of unhewn stones, the entrance being up a flight of large stone steps; the side-hill position of the building rendering this arrangement quite con- venient. Just exterior to this terrace, and about thirty feet from the building, stood the sign-post, from the rectangular bar of which was suspended the sign.

" In front of this tavern was an open space or com- mon, sixteen rods in width and forty in length, called the green ; it was nearly destitute of trees, and fur- nished the ordinary parade-ground for the militia, and place for town gatherings on gala days or other public occasions. On the opposite side of the green from the tavern, and near the northwest corner, stood the meeting-house, a large and respectable-looking edifice, where all the inhabitants of the town usually

met on the Sabbath. Fronting the extreme southern part of the common or green stood the parsonage of the Rev. Hezekiah Gold; about half a dozen other dwellings completed the centre village."

WHIPPING-POST AND STOCKS.

" About six rods from the tavern, and directly in front of it, near the traveled path, stood a wooden post about ten inches square and seven feet in height, placed firmly and perpendicularly in the earth. Near the ground a large mortice was made through the post, in which were placed the ends of two stout pieces of plank, five feet in length, lying edgewise, one to the other. The under one was made immovable in the post, while the upper plank was movable up and down by a hinge-like motion. Between the edges of these planks were four round holes, one-half of each hole being cut from each plank ; the two half-circles when joined made an opening of the right size to embrace a person's ankles. On the outer ends of these horizon- tal planks were appended a stout iron hasp and sta- ples, designed when in use to be secured in place with a heavy padlock. The fixture here described an- swered the double purpose of posting warnings for town-meetings or other public notices, as well as for a whipping-post and stocks."

CHAPTER XXXI.

CORNWALL (Continued).

Congregational Church, Cornwall-Congregational Church, North Corn- wall-Cornwall and Sharon Baptist Church-Baptist Church, Cornwall Hollow-Baptist Church, East Cornwall-Methodist Episcopal Church, Cornwall Bridge-Educational-The Foreign Mission-School-Cream IJill Agricultural School-W. C. and Miss L. Rogers' School-Noah R. and E. Burton Hart's School-Young Ladies' Institute-The Alger In- stitute-Physicians-Cemeteries-Organization of Town-Representa- tives from 1761 to 1882-Soldiers of the Revolution-Soldiers of the Rebellion, 1851-65.

ECCLESIASTICAL.

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, CORNWALL.

THE organization of this church is co-existent with the incorporation of the town. The town was incor- porated in May, 1740, and at the first town-meeting, held on the first day of the following July, the first vote in regard to the religious welfare of the town, viz. :

" Voted, That the whole charge of Mr. Harrison's preaching amongst us, together with the charge of bringing him here and boarding him, we will pay out of the first tax that shall be assessed."

The Mr. Harrison mentioned had been here for a short time previously. He was the first preacher in the town. From whence he came or whither he went there is no record.

The next vote in this meeting was :

" Voted, We will send Mr. Millard to agree with a minister, and bring him to preach amongst us."

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And also,

" Voted, That said Millard do advise the ministers what sort of a man to bring to preach amongst us."

At this meeting it was also

" Voted, That we think it necessary and convenient to build a meeting- house,"

which vote was unanimous to a man.

Mr. Millard not being successful in obtaining a preacher, seven weeks after that first town-meeting the inhabitants again assembled, 18th of August, and re- newed their efforts for a minister, appointing a com- mittee of George Holloway, Joseph Allen, and Na- thaniel Jewell, to secure, as soon as possible, a preacher, to continue to them until the 1st of April, 1741,-that is, for seven or eight months. And this committee was directed to take the advice of neigh- boring ministers in the choice of such a preacher. At the same meeting it was 1

" Voted, That we will build a meeting-house for public worship 48 feet in length and 38 in breadth, and 24 feet between joints."

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History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 71

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