History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 86

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

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John Waddams came from Somersetshire, England, in 1650; returned to England, and came back the next spring, having a wife Susannah, and in 1656 there was given him "a house lot by the town" of Wethersfield.t This John Waddams, the first at Wethersfield, came from the same county in England where Sir Nicholas, the founder of the college, resided, and may have descended from the family of one of the uncles of Sir Nicholas, viz., Giles or Andrew Waddams.

John Waddams, son of John the first, born in Wethersfield in 1655, married Hannah -, and had a son Noah, born in the same town in 1695, who married, first, Elizabeth Sage, and second, Anne Hurl- but; had ten children when he settled in Goshen, Coun., in the spring of 1742, on a farm on the old road direct from Litchfield to Goshen Centre, his house being near the site of the brick house built by his son Seth, and now owned by the heirs of the late Samuel Ives, at which place lie died in 1783, aged eighty-eight years.

Noah Waddams, Jr., born in Wethersfield, May 17, 1726, came to Goshen when fourteen years of age, with his father, at the time the town first began to be settled, and when there were no privileges for education except by private instruction. He fitted for college, how or where is not known, entered the Col- lege of New Jersey, was graduated Sept. 25, 1754, his diploma being now in the custody of his great-grand- son, Calvin Wadhams, Esq., counselor-at-law, of Wilkesbarre; and what is a most singular coincidence, this same great-grandson was graduated at the same university just one hundred years after his paternal ancestor. Mr. Wadhams studied theology probably with the Rev. Abel Newell, then pastor at Goshen, and was ordained in 1758 the first pastor of the "Church of Christ" at New Preston, Conn., and mar- ried Elizabeth Ingersol, Nov. 8, 1758, and continued here a faithful, successful minister for ten years, when at his own request he was dismissed. Some of his descendants have remained honorable members of that community to the present time.

At that time the Susquehanna Company were ar- ranging to effect a settlement on the lands claimed by the State of Connecticut, on the Susquehanna River, within the bounds of Pennsylvania, as consti- tuting a part of Litchfield County. When, therefore, it was proposed to send a colony of forty families to that region, the providing of a pastor was considered of as much importance as that of a physician, or a person skilled in any of the mechanical branches ; and in order that this personage might not be an in- cumbrance upon an infant colony, the company made provision for his support and maintenance. At a meeting of the company held in 1768 the following

* " Chronology of Serjeants," 51-55.

t Wethersfield Records.

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action was taken : "The standing committee was di- rected to procure a pastor to accompany the second colony, called the 'first forty,' for carrying on relig- ious worship and services according to the best of his ability in a wilderness country." The proceedings make further provision : "That he shall receive one whole share or right in the purchase and such other encouragements as others are entitled to have and enjoy." This share amounted to some three hundred acres, besides the perquisites which sometimes ac- companied the grant. The company also required the colonial adventurers to provide their pastor, when they should become located upon the promised land, "with sustenance according to their best ability." When preparation was being made to start this Ply- mouth colony on their journey into the wilderness, the committee made choice of the Rev. Noah Wad- hams as their pastor, and he, being then without a parish, accepted the appointment. He was at this time, 1769, forty-three years of age, and had a family of small children. Leaving his family on his home- stead in New Preston, he embarked with his flock in the spirit of adventure which was almost a ruling passion in those times to try the perils and privations of the wilderness, on the distant shores of the Sus- quehanna, amidst the conflicting suspicions and jeal- ousies of the various Indian tribes.

Mr. Wadhams proceeded with his flock to the place of destination, where they established what is now the town of Plymouth, on the western bank of the Susquehanna, in Luzerne Co., Pa., and there he con- tinued his pastoral labors and relations, interrupted by an occasional visit to his family in Connecticut, until the year succeeding the Wyoming massacre, 1778, when he removed them to Plymouth. From this time to the period of his death, May 22, 1806, he faithfully pursued his religious duties, preaching in Plymouth and other parts of the valley. He was a man of considerahle talents, persevering and indus- trious, and as a mark of merit Yale College conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts in the year 1764. He left four sons,-Ingersoll, Calvin, Noah, and Moses, the last dying of yellow fever in 1803.

Calvin and Noah were for many years prominent business men of the town. The success of the former was remarkable, he being at his death, in 1845, the man of the largest wealth in the town, and probably there was not more than one other citizen of the county who possessed more property than he. He was a stout, athletic man, about five feet eight inches in height, dark blue eyes, and a florid complexion. He possessed an agreeable presence, even temper; was strictly temperate, very industrious, and lived in a plain, economical manner. Hle possessed sound judgment, good health, and a strong constitution, and having resolved to become wealthy, he succeeded by fair and honorable methods, not being under the ne- cessity of obtaining money by forced sales of the property of his debtors. He was, in addition to his

occupation of farmer, a private banker, and being in the habit of loaning money, it seemed to afford him more satisfaction to lend to the poor than to the rich. Having accommodated such people, he would be an- noyed when the day of payment came, and, as resort to execution was the last remedy he employed, he would often extend the time and receive almost any- thing under the name of property in payment. He was kind and indulgent to the men in his employment, but continued to superintend the work on his farm even when, in order to do it, he was under the neces- sity of riding in his carriage. Living in a frugal way, with great energy in business, he accumulated a large estate. His old homestead farm, being only a part of his estate left at his decease, but underlaid with a coal-bed, was recently sold by his family for seven hundred thousand dollars.

He was a religious man, and although educated as a Congregationalist, embraced the Wesleyan doctrines, to which he adhered to the end of his life. His home was ever open to the brethren of the Methodist Church, entertaining at quarterly meetings as many as fifty at a time; but this was not all; his hospitality was not confined to his own seet; it was broad and general, and his home was open to all. He died at a ripe age and in the full enjoyment of his faculties.

Samuel Wadhams, Esq., the only son who survived him, inherited the larger part of the estate. He in- herited also the business qualities, the even temper and kind disposition of his father, and being remark- ably methodical in business transactions, he made a wise improvement of the large estate inherited, which enabled him to leave an ample fortune to each of his children. He left three sons,-Elijah C., Calvin, and Moses, and one daughter, who married Hon. L. D. Shoemaker, afterwards a representative in Congress.

Elijah C., son of the above, is a liberally educated, thorough business man, residing in Wilkesbarre. Pa., and has the following children : Ellen Hendrick, Samuel French, Cornelia Frances, Moses Waller, Stella Catlin, Lydia French, Ralph Halliburton.

Noah Wadhams, Jr., third son of the pioneer at Plymouth, was one of the early justices of the peace of the county. He was a graduate of the famous law- school of Litchfield, Conn., under the management of Judge Reeve, and was admitted to the bar of Luzerne Co., Pa., about the year 1800, but this profession did not afford him any great attractions, and he settled on his patrimonial estate in Plymouth, where he spent the remainder of his life. He was an indus- trious, upright citizen, and his court decisions seldom found their way to the appellate courts. He was n model magistrate, and for many long years enjoyed the confidence and respect of his neighbors. He died in 1846, in the seventy-sixth year of his age.

THE RT. REV. EDGAR P. WADHAMS, of Ogdens- burg, N. Y., is descended through another branch from Noah Wadhams, the first of the name in Goshen. His great-grandfather, Jonathan, son of Noah, was

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born Oct. 18, 1730, in Wethersfield, and came to Goshen with his father's family, where he married Judith Howe, Aug. 7, 1754, and where he spent his life as a farmer. His children were Abraham, Moses, Susannah, and Lucy. Abraham married Tryphena Collins, of Goshen, Jan. 15, 1778. Their children were Luman, born Sept. 17, 1781 ; Timothy, who died in Goshen ; Noah, who lives at North Bay, Oneida Co., N. Y .; and Jonathan, who lives at East Clarkson, Monroe Co .; Abraham died in Goshen; Myra married J. Bartholomew; Orlando lives in Sangamon Co., Ill .; Lucy married John Beach, of Goshen ; Elvira married John Parker, now in Wisconsin. Of these, Luman Wadhams married widow Lucy (Bostwick) Prindle, and had Jane Ann, who married Benjamin Wells, of Jay, Essex Co., N. Y .; Lucy Elvira, who married D. S. Wright, M.D., of Whitehall, N. Y .; William Luman, who married Emeline -, and now lives on the old homestead at Wadhams' Mills, Essex Co., N. Y .; Abraham Edmond married Sophia South- ard, and died in 1856; Noah Collins died young; Edward P., born May 21, 1817.

The bishop, Edgar P. Wadhams, is a liberally edu- cated man of good qualities, having risen, by regular gradation, in the Catholic Church to the office of bishop of the diocese of Ogdensburg, which he has held a number of years; and, in the pursuit of literary tastes, he has given considerable time to the procuring of historical material concerning the Wadhams family, both at home and abroad, the results of which largely enrich the account of the family here given. His nephew, A. V. Wadhams, lieutenant United States navy, of the Coast Survey office, Washington, D. C., has rendered valuable service in the same line.

JOHN WADDAMS, SR., son of Noah the first, born in Wethersfield in 1732, came with his father to Goshen when he was eight or nine years of age. At the age of twenty-six years (1758) his father deeded him a farm of sixty acres, as he says, " for the Love and good-will I have and do bear unto my Loving son John Waddams of Goshen." This land lay ou the east side of the road, and upon it, near the high- way, this son built his house, which is still standing, about eighty rods south of where the father resided; it being in a good state of preservation, although it has been standing one hundred and twenty years. He married Ruth, daughter of Isaac Marsh, of Litch- field. She was born May 25, 1738. He was an ener- getic, successful farmer of Goshen, and died March 3, 1816, at the age of eighty-four years. An anecdote illustrative not only of his character but also of the times in which he lived is still remembered. He was remarking at a certain time, while in company, that he could write a deed for the sale of land as well as any lawyer in the county, to which a neighbor standing near objected, but he persevered in assert- ing the statement. The neighbor said, "John Wad- hams, you lie when you say it." Such a remark being regarded in those days as the greatest dishonor to a

man of character, John thrust out his arm, and his clenched hand coming in contact with the neighbor's head quite suddenly, he fell to the ground, a little astonished at the turn of matters. Mr. Wadhams being a member of the church was called on not long after by a committee of the church, who urged him to a confession of wrong-doing and sorrow for the same; but this he stoutly refused to do, not seeing that he had done wrong, but rather that he had vin- dicated his own character as a man of truth. A sec- ond committee visited him, and recommended that if he could not go before the church and make the state- ment, he might delegate another to do it for him ; but all effort was unavailing, and the church, although acknowledging that his sense of honor was perfectly right, excommunicated him because he would not say he was sorry when he was not.

Another item characteristic of the times is found in the town order-book of Goshen, that on the day of the installation of the Rev. Mr. Sherman of that town, about 1781, Mr. Wadhams furnished the cheese and cider for the lunch for the council during inter- mission of services.

JOHN WADHAMS, JR., married, April 25, 1805, Mary, daughter of Samuel Ripley, of Goshen. She was born Feb. 14, 1776. He made his home in the new house which his father had built on the then new turnpike road from Goshen Centre to Litchfield, on seventy-five acres of land that the father after- wards deeded to this son John and his brother Isaac, the house being now the residence of John M. Wad- hams. John Wadhams, Jr., was a capable business man, but never possessing good health, on account of lung difficulty, could not endure much of the regular labor required on a farm, yet he managed the enter- prise successfully. He died Sept. 3, 1814.

Mary (Ripley) Wadhams possessed a remarkable physical and mental constitution, being of a tender and kindly disposition, but of such courageous temper as seldom falls to the lot of a woman, being naturally retiring and sensitive, yet equal to any emergency. She assisted in several surgical operations of the amputation of limbs and excisions of cancers, per- forming important parts with perfect composure. When a girl she worked for fifty cents per week, never more than a dollar a week, but at the time of her marriage had five hundred dollars of her own earnings at interest. She survived her first husband, and four years after his decease married his brother, Isaac Wadhams, Nov. 26, 1818, and died Jan. 4, 1850, having been the mother of nine children by her first, and of one by her second husband.

ISAAC, son of John Wadhams, Sr., lived with his brother John on the farm which they owned jointly until the year 1818, when he married the brother's widow, Mary (Ripley) Wadhams, and continued a successful farmer, specially thoughtful and consider- ate to the poor and unfortunate. He accumulated a handsome fortune. He died Feb. 24, 1832, leav-

John m. Wadhams

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ing one son, Isaac, who continued to reside in a part of the old home, with his mother and half-sister, until his death, July 17, 1865. He was unfortunate in suffering three severe attacks of illness when a child, in consequence of which he never allowed himself to take full charge of his business without the advice and judgment of his brother, John M., who rendered the needed help in so efficient a man- ner that at his death his paternal estate had doubled once and a half.

ELIZABETH, daughter of John Wadhams, Sr., be- came the second wife of John Hatch, of New Preston, whose first wife was the daughter of the Rev. Noah Wadhams. She died in Goshen, Sept. 23, 1803, without children.

SARAH, daughter of John Wadhams, Sr., married Stephen Russell, of Litchfield, where she died of cancer, June 25, 1818, leaving two sons, John W. Russell and Isaac W. Russell, both of whom became prominent surgeons in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Isaac W. died unmarried; John W. married a daughter of William Beebe, of Litchfield, and is still living, having several children. Stephen Russell died at his son John's, in Ohio.

GEORGE, son of John Wadhams, Jr., born Jan. 28, 1806, married Angeline Parmelee, at Goshen, Nov. 26, 1836, and resided on the homestead of his grandfather until his death, Feb. 3, 1870, leaving no children.

MARY, daughter of John Wadhams, Jr., born Aug. 30, 1808, married Watts H. Brooks, of Goshen, and died Sept. 5, 1872. Mr. Brooks is a successful farmer, his home being efficiently maintained by the oversight of his youngest daughter, Amanda Collins Brooks; the elder daughter, Mary E., having died at the age of twenty years. This Goshen home is well represented in business circles throughout the State by the two sons as bankers at Wolcottville. The elder, John W., was trained to mercantile life some years, when the health of his brother, Isaac W., proving in- adequate to a collegiate course which he had entered upon, the brothers accepted an opportunity, and con- ducted successfully a dry-goods and produce store in Goshen some ten years, when they removed and estab- lished their banking house at Wolcottville, where the enterprise is still prosperous. Mr. John W. Brooks is now insurance commissioner of the State of Connecti- cut. While these two brothers were traveling recently in Europe, they made such collections of names and historical matters as have rendered this account of the Wadhams family much more complete than it otherwise would have been.

HON. JOHN MARSIL WADHAMS, whose portrait is here given, was born at Goshen, May 7, 1811, being the son of John Wadhams, Jr., and his wife, Mary Ripley. His father died when he was three years of age, leaving him, with two brothers and two sisters and a small patrimony, in care of his mother, who four years later married Isaac Wadhams, her first husband's

brother. As a result of this marriage, a son, Isaac, was born in 1821, who died in 1865 without children. The children of these two families were reared at the homestead until they severally became of age, the boy-life of John M. being occupied with work on the farm summers and attendance on the common school winters until sixteen years of age, after which two or three terms at the academy completed his school days. He early learned to " cast interest" and found it more pleasant to receive than to pay, and from observation concluded that three-fourths of the estates probated did not amount to the original sum inherited had it been left to accumulate in the savings bank ; in other words, not one of four had supported itself by its own exertion. Fifty-one years ago he kept a district school in Salisbury for four months, wages ten dol- lars a month, boarding around the district, and since for three or four years ; about that time his stepfather clothed him and paid him fifty dollars per annum for his work ; he placed his forty dollars school-money at six per cent. interest, which being compounded for fifty-one years, gives him now over one thousand dollars of school-money. This statement, while sug- gestive to the young, has a logical force, since his reckoning has never led him to change from receiving to paying interest.

His tact and good management in financial matters is shown to have been continued through life, as the tax-lists of Goshen prove at this date, while his skill in the management of the property of others, as well as his integrity of accounting and administration, is well known to the people of Goshen, and is questioned by none. One example is given. The estate of his half-brother, Isaac, which consisted mostly of scattered lots of land lying in Goshen and adjoining towns, managed by him for years as an agent, which estate, besides supporting Isaac, made the surprising increase from sixteen thousand to forty thousand dollars, which for a back country town is worthy of notice.

Mr. Wadhams since reaching his majority has been constantly trusted and honored as trustee, executor, guardian, or administrator of the estates of others, as the probate records of this district will abundantly testify, and it is probable that he has settled more estates of deceased persons than any other man now living in Goshen, with perhaps one exception.

Hle has been an office-holder almost continually for fifty years, having filled every position of trust or profit, except one, within the gift of his townsmen, being last of all for several years the town agent to fight its battles in money, if any should occur. He was for several years collector of internal revenue for the district including Goshen and adjoining towns. He served fifteen years as selectman and most of the time as chairman of the board; and it has been a fact, noted throughout the State, that the town affairs of Goshen have for many years been most frugally managed, and never more so than during Mr. Wad- hams' administration ; and many of the "old stagers"

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of the town boards outside of Goshen, from twenty to forty years ago, will call to mind their contests with him in which Goshen as a rule has been victorious.

By his skill as chairman of the board of selectmen, ably assisted by competent associates, Goshen was carried through the drafts, enlistments, and extra ex- penses of the late Rebellion without a debt or an ob- ligation unpaid.

He was a representative in 1844, and served on the committee on sale of lands ; also a representative in 1845, and served on the committee on claims as chairman ; and again a representative in 1880, and was chairman of the committee on forfeited rights. He was the senator from the seventeenth district in 1858, and chairman of the committee on the State prison.

His service in both branches of the State Legisla- ture was characterized by the same ideas of economy and careful financial management as is noted of his private and other public life. He contested all bills that had the appearance of "jobbery," and while ad- vocating every measure which looked for " the great- est good to the greatest number," took time to count the cost, thoroughly investigating every measure by the test of its merit and publie demand, though not in the spirit of parsimony, yet in such a manner as to retain the esteem and friendship of his opponents. The following article, taken from the New Haven Reg- ister of Feb. 29, 1880, a paper devoted to the opposite political party to which Mr. Wadhams belongs, illus- trates a little his relations to his fellow representa- tives : " It is hard work to properly estimate Mr. Wadhams, of Goshen, there being in him a large amount of dry humor with a strong tendency to inof- fensive sarcasm. He can hardly talk on any subject without the fun oozing out of him at every pore, and his remarks on any subject are always as eagerly lis- tened to as were those of P. T. Barnum, of the last session. Mr. Wadhams is the funnier man of the two, inasmuch as natural humor is always better than boisterous fun. He is one of the most popular men in the House, and has a host of friends."

He was born in and held to the faith of the Old-Line Whigs so long as that party kept its name, but when Americanism arose he embraced its princi- ples and became prominent in its councils, being greatly chagrined to see it merged in the Republican party.

It is proper to add that the foreign population of Goshen know no better friend, nor one they esteem more highly than he. No resident of Goshen has furnished the first home in this county to so great a number of the sons and daughters of Erin, Sweden, Switzerland, and Germany ; many of whom are to- day honorable and successful freeholders in this county.

Mr. Wadhams is not a member of any church, but since his boyhood has been a constant and liberal sup- porter of the First Congregational Society of Goshen,

contributing largely of his means and influence to- wards its success. He recognizes the ancient teach- ing "For ye have the poor with you always," and has ever been mindful that " whensoever ye will ye may do them good," as his neighbors in South Goshen and elsewhere will bear testimony.

He is known as a man of public spirit in its true sense, ready and willing to contribute of time and money to all enterprises of public benefit.

He was chairman of the committee having the management of the centennial celebration of the town of Goshen, July 4, 1876, and has been called to hold similar positions on many other public occasions. He was for two years president of the Litchfield County Agricultural Society, vindicating his standing as a successful, practical farmer of the county.

In his early manhood Mr. Wadhams was troubled with a lung difficulty which incapacitated him for severe physical labor for several years, but in his later life he has been favored with general good health. Although having measured the seventy years allotted to man, with beard and hair indicative of his stage of life, his form is still erect, and his eye as black and piercing as ever. He is the oldest living male representative of his branch of the Wadhams family ; a name which numbers at this date fifty-two representatives in Goshen.

Mr. Wadhams married Eunice W. Hodges, of Tor- rington, Coun., Oct. 30, 1837, a descendant of one of the first families of that town, who died Aug. 7, 1855, leaving three children. In 1857, December 2d, he mar- ried Mrs. Myrantha (Drake) Gillett, of Torrington, who, although coming into a family of decided energy and character, has so judiciously and kindly cared for and nurtured the home as to win the decided esteem of all, and to make it thoroughly a home of gladness.

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History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 86

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