History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Part 65

Author: Whittemore, Henry, b. 1833; Beers, J.B. & Company, publishers
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 818

USA > Connecticut > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men > Part 65

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Their children were: Elizabeth, born December 3d 1740, married Dr. Samnel Gale; Catharine, born Inne 21st 1742, married Mr. Atwater; Mary, born February 3d 1744, married Mr. Rodfield; Juliana, born November 4th 1746. married Mr. Hubbard; Hannah, born April 12th 1748, died Nov- ciber 26th 1797. Their two sons, Samuel and Benjamin, and a daughter, died in inlaney

Samuel Gale, the son of John Gale, a brother of Dr. Benjamin Galc, was born in Goshen. March 3d 1743. When a youth he entered the office of his uncle Benjamin, in Klllingworth, to pursue a course of reading to fit hlin for the practico of medicine. He began his profession as a phy- stelan with his uncle, whose eldest daughter, Elizabeth, ho married.

The oppressivo measures of the British ministry to coeree the people of the colonies to submit to arbitrary taxation caused him to take np arıns In behalf of the burdened colonists. Given a captaincy by Gover- nor Jonathan Trumbull, May Ist 1775, he honorably acquitted himself of hls commission. At the close of the Revolution he was affected as many other New England men were with the contagious lever of cmigration that was spreading In The towns and villages along the Atlantic border.

Early In August 1787, he departed in a sloop from Killingworth, with hits wife, five sons (Benjamin, John, Samuel, Roger Townsend, and William) and two daughters, to reside at Lansingburgh on the Uppor Hudson. But the vessel when it entered The Hadson was so Impeded In Its progress up the river by adverse winds and storms that it did not reach Van der Heyden's Ferry, the site of Troy. until the beginning of September. Anxious to know whether or not the house for which he had proviously bargalned was occupied, he hustened to Lansingburgh. There he learned that the honso was rented to another settler. On his return to the sloop, Jacob D. Van der Heyden, the owner of the farm adjacent the Ferry, persuaded him to settle on some part of his land as several other omigrants had done. Accepting the proferred use of a part of Jacob D. Van der Heyden's house until he could select a site

and build on it a dwelling. Dr. Gale shortly thereafter began the erec- tion of a weather boarded building on the west side of the river road, now River street, and on the second lot south of the present fine oť Ferry street. and on its completion resided in it with his family until 1798, when he removed to his second home in Troy, No. 119 First street. where he and his wife and all their children, except their sons, John and Samuel, died, and whore their daughter, Sarah, lived until her death in 1862.

Dr. Gale's skill as a physician quickly obtained for him a considerable practice among the settlers of Troy and the farmers of its neighbor- hood. In the organization of the First Presbyterian Church he took a leading part. He was clected one of the first trustees of the society, December 31st 1791, which office he held for a number of years. He was also one of the charter members of the first lodge of masons established in the village in 1796, Apollo Lodge, No. 49. His useful life was termi- nated by death, January 9th 1799, when he was fifty-six years old.

His two sons, Benjamin and John, established themselves as mer- chants in Troy. His third son, Samuel, born in Killingworth, in 1772. was graduated by the Medieal Society of Vermont. May 9th 1792, and was licensed to practice medieine in Troy, April 12th 1798 He after- ward removed to the West Indies where for a time he followed his pro- fession. On his return to Troy. he changed his vocation to that of an apotheeary. Subsequently he was appointed postmaster of Troy, the duties of which office he discharged from 1804 to 1828. When the Rens- selaer Medical Society was organized in Troy, July 1st 1806. he was made its treasurer. He was a member of the first board of directors of the Rensselaer and Saratoga Insurance Company, incorporated in 1814; also one of the managers of the Troy Savings Bank, incorporated in 1823, and also one of the directors of the Farmers' Bank of Troy. In 1811. he married Mary, the daughter of Ezra Thompson of Dutchess county. He died July 21st 1839, leaving two surviving sons, E. Thompson and John B. Gale, The former, born in Troy, April 27th 1819, having grad- uated, in 1837, a civil engineerfrom the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, travelled thereafter extensively in the United States. In 1840. he became one of the firm of Brinkerhoof, Catlin & Gaic, hardware inerchants. In August 1811. he sailed to Europe, where he remained travelling until November 1842. On his return to the United States, he again actively engaged in the hardware business. In February 1843, the firm was changed to E Thompson Gale & Co. In 1853, it became Catlin & Sexton, Mr. Gale being a silent partner. In 1859, he terminated his connection with the firm, but several years afterward his son, Alfred de Forest Gale entered as a partner, the firm name being changed to Lane, Gale & Co. From 1850 to 1859, Mr. Gale was a director of the For- mers' Bank of Troy, incorporated In 1801. In 1859, he was elected presi- dent of the institution, which office he retained until 1865, when the Farmers' Bank and The Bank of Troy, tho two oldest banks in the city, were consolidated under the name of the United National Bank of Tray. Hle was then elected president of the new institution, which position he still holds.

When the construction of the Troy and Boston Railroad was projected in 1848, Mr. Gale greatly furthered the undertaking by his influence and subscriptions. In 1849, he was elected one of tho directors of the road. Since the organization of the Troy Gaslight Company in 1848. he has been one of Its directors. Sinee 1859 he has been yearly chosen a director In the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad Company, and for many years n direc- tor in the Saratoga and Schenectady, and in the Albany and Vermont Railroad Companies. He has also for n number of years been the thst Vice-president of the Troy Savings Bank. At present he is the president. of the board of trustees of the Troy Young Men's Association. In 1854, he married Carolire de Forest, a daughter of Benjamin de Forest, a prominent merchant of New York city before his decease in 1:50. Mr. Gule's wife died in 1864. and hisoldest son, Alfred de Forest Gule, in 1877. The surviving children are three daughters und one son, Edward Court- land Gule, a recent graduate from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The fatter is now the only mate descendant living, except his father and nucle, of Dr. Samuel Gale. Mr. Gale's brother, lohn B. Gale, of the Inw-firm of Gale, Alden & King, Is a resident of Tray.

TOWN OF CROMWELL.

BY REV. M. S. DUDLEY.

TRACES OF THE INDIANS.

V ERY little is known in regard to the occupancy of the territory now embraced in the town of Crom- well, previous to the coming of the first white settlers. It belonged to the same Indian tribe that lived in Middle-

town. The chief of the tribe, at this time, was Sowheag. His castle was in Middletown, not far from Indian Hill. His territory was known by the Indian name of Matta- besett.

Tradition says that there was once an Indian burying ground on the banks of the Connecticut River, in the southern part of the present village. Human skeletons have been discovered, while making excavations for cel- lars. Captain Abijah Savage used to find these Indian remains, together with kettles, bowls, and other imple- ments of stone, when digging up the earth in his ship- yard. The reputed site of this Indian burial place is be- low South street, along the river, and between the river road and the turnpike. The abundance of stone axes and arrow heads found in the meadows west of the turn- pike, on land owned by Bulkley Edwards, would indicate an Indian camping ground not far from the site of the present village.

Judging from implements of Indian construction dis- covered at various times, there was formerly an Indian village or encampment in the Nooks, near the bank of the river, on land now owned by Charles P. Sage. This point is nearly opposite Gildersleeve's Landing.

Indian arrow heads, stone axes, pestles, and similar articles, abound in this vicinity. Beyond this, there are few evidences of the red man's habitation.

SETTLEMENT.

The early history of this town is closely identified with that of Middletown. The first settlement of Middletown began about 1650, on the north and south sides of Little River, and west of the Connecticut or Great River. These settlements were as near together as practicable, but, owing to the wide meadows on the north side of Little River, the two groups of first settlers were about two miles apart.

The committee, who first visited this region, to pros-

pect for settlement, reported that fifteen families might obtain subsistence. A much larger number were on the ground within one year. In September 1651, town privileges were granted to the colony. In 1653, the place was first called Middletown. The original town- ship included land on both sides of the Connecticut River. The towns of Portland, Chatham, Middlefield, and Cromwell were included in the township.

Cromwell embraces the part of Middletown lying north of Little River. It is bounded on the south by that river, west by Berlin, north by Rocky Hill, formerly a part of Wethersfield, and east by the Connecticut River.

The first settlers occupied land along the Connecti- cut or Great River, near the Little River Meadows in- cluded in the southern part of the village.

Among the families who settled on the north side of Little River, were the following, many of whom are represented by lineal descendants, at the present day: John Kirby, Anthony Martin, Thomas Ranney, David Sage, John Savage, Samuel Stocking, Samuel White, Thomas Wilcox, and John Wilcox. Martin, Savage, Stocking, White, and Wilcox came from Hartford; Ranney from Scotland; Sage from Wales.

The two settlements were distinguished, at an early date, as Middletown, Upper Housen (Houses), and Lower Housen (Houses).

The following is Dr. Field's account of the first settle- ment made in Cromwell, called till 1851, Upper Houses or Upper Middletown:

"A part of the early inhabitants settled in Upper Houses, and almost all these erected their dwellings in the lower part of the village, on the street midway between Middlesex Turnpike and the river (now called Pleasant street.) These were: Nathaniel White, Samuel Stocking, George Graves, Robert Webster, Joseph Smith, Daniel Harris, John Martin, John Savage, Thomas Ranney, David Sage, and John Kirby. Between the upper and lower settlements intercourse was main- tained by a ferry across Little River."

The social condition of the early settlements was pe- culiar, and is an interesting study. As shown by the quotation from Dr. Field's address, the first settlements

243

CROMWELL-UPPER HOUSES.

on these lands was in a compact village community. This was for protection and social advantages. The original proprietors each took a small lot at the center for a homestead. They then divided the outlying commons into larger lots or farms, and distributed them at various times, as the lands were surveyed and occasion de- manded.

The method of assembling the people for public wor- ship by the use of the drum continued long after the necessity of a military guard was passed. It was the practice in this place, certainly as late as 1736, eighty- six years after the first settlement.

The following votes from the records of the "Upper Houses " Ecclesiastical Society are of interest as referring to this custom, and showing the duties of the drummer to belong to the sexton:

"At a meeting of ye society February 15th 1715, the society agreed with Sam Stowe to beate the drum and sweep the meeting house for the year ensuing, and to look after the doors, for one pound, five shillings money, or as money."

At a meeting held December 17th 1724, " The Society agreed to give Nathaniel Ranney 15 shillings for beating the drum."

At a meeting held December 14th 1735, " The Society agreed to give Nathaniel Ranney 16 shillings for beating the drum for the year ensuing, if he can be obtained. Otherwise the committee to hire one as cheap as they can to beate the drum on Sabbath days and other days of public meetings in said Society."

These entries continue year after year for several years, probably till the matter was left to the society's committee without a record of the vote of transfer. There is a record of a vote taken November Ist 1736, in regard to collecting money to pay the expense of “ beat- ing the drum and sweeping the meeting house."

PARISH OF UPPER HOUSES.

The separate history of Upper Houses, or Cromwell, begins with the organization of a new parish, known at first as the North Society of Middletown, in 1703. The distance between the two settlements and condition of the meadows in times of high water caused great incon - venience at certain seasons. This led to early efforts to secure church and school privileges. At a town meeting held May 5th 1690, the town granted the

"North part, by reason of distance that if they pro- vide a sufficient master there, then they to have part of the rate which shall be raised for that purpose, and if they do not provide in that caus, then to pay their whole proportion to the scoall of the town, that is for six months."

There was an earlier vote taken in February 1683, to the same effect. Whether the condition in this vote was complied with is not certain. This was the first town action toward a separate school for Upper Houses.

In the same year of the above vote , and at the same meeting, May 5th 1690, action was taken that contem- plated a separate parish. At this time, a piece of swamp land was "confirmed " to Mr. Russell. It was IO acres,

"Against hornet bay at the east end of that swamp, and south of the river, and that the remainder of that swamp land to lye for a parsonage til our neighbors on the north side due stand in need of it, on that side, for the use of the ministry."

It was not, however, until 1703 that the action contem- plated by this vote was consummated. In January of that year, the town granted the people of Upper Houses the liberty to have a minister and " meeting hous " sepa- rate from the people on the south side of the Little River. They were to maintain the gospel at their own charge. They were within six months or one year, at the utmost, to procure an orthodox and approved minis- ter. Unless this was done, they were chargeable for the gospel in the old parish.

At the May session of the General Court, the parish of Upper Houses, Middletown, was incorporated.

"May 1703 Whereas it had been made to appear in this Court that at a town meeting in Midletown or meeting of the inhabitants of Midletown, the 18th day of January [702-3, upon the request of that part of the said inhabi- tants living on the north side the riverett or little ferry river there, by a voat of the inhabitants of the said towne, there was a libertie and priviledge granted to those the said inhabitants thereof living on the north side of the said riverett, at their own proper cost and charge to build a meeting house, and to procure and settle an orthodox minister of the gospel amongst them and to maintain and uphold the publick worship of God amongst them there; and the said inhabitants on the north side the said riverett having thereupon made application to this Court, praying that they may have a confirmation of the said libertie and priviledge, and that by an act of this Court they may be made a distinct parrish and societie by and of themselves, with all such liberties, powers and priviledges, as other societies and congrega- tions in this colonie generally have and do enjoy.

"Be it therefore enacted by this Court and the authoritie therof, and it is enacted:

" That all those persons that now are and hereafter at any time shall be dwellers and inhabitants on the north side of the said riverett in the said towne of Midletown, are and hereafter shall be one intire societie and parish by and of themselves, and shall have and enjoy all such powers, liberties and priviledges, as other societies and congregations in this Colonie generally have, or by lawe may have, enjoy and use, for the choosing collectors and levying of rates and money for the charge, settlement and maintenance of their minister, and upholding the publick worship of God among them, from time to time as need shall require."

Although there was no separate church organization till January 1715, the parish organization dates from the year of incorporation. It was provided, by the Assem- bly, that the new parish should pay its rates to the old society until such time as it had a settled minister. Whether, in the interval between the incorpation of the society, and the organization of a church with a settled minister, the people continued to worship with the parent church and to pay their rates there is not certain. Soon after the parish was formed, a church building was erected and so far finished as to be fit for occupancy.

From 1703, this parish, known as the North Society, or the Second Ecclesiastical Society of Middletown, man- aged its church and school affairs separately. All other

244

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

local matters requiring action were under the direction in March 1870, the town issued bonds to the amount of of the town of Middletown until the establishment of a $28,000. The debt of the town in 1877 was $35.514; in 1884, the outstanding debt was $31,200. Deducting the surplus in the treasury, it was $28,283. separate township, in 1851. About the time that the new parish was formed, the population is estimated at 250. The following is the list of the tax payers, with There are frequent traces in the records, and some re- liable traditions of slave holding. their rates: James Brown, £22.00; Widow Butler, 6.00; Joseph Butler, 13.10; Nathaniel Clark, 46.14; Daniel The names of slaves appear in the earlier church records, showing that they were baptized and received into full communion. Clark, 65.10; Serj. Clark, 71.17: John Clark, 46.00; Isaac Cornell, 24.00; Joseph Crowfoot, 18.00;Samuel Frary, 69.00; Roger Gibson, 45.10; Samuel Gibson, 72.00; In a will executed by Mr. Joseph Smith, son of Rev. Joseph Smith, first pastor of this church, September 20th 1768, there is the following bequest. . After naming his five sons and giving them his real and personal estate, he says: "I give them equally my negro man Cloip or Peter. But they or either of them shall not sell him out of the family unless by his own choice, and if he should live to want support more than he can earn by his own labors, he shall be comfortably provided for by my sons at equal expense, if they don't otherwise agree." David Hurlbut, 37.00; John Kirby, 30.00; Samuel Lucas, 35.00; William Mark, 25.00; Margaret Ranney, 3.10; Ebenezer Ranney, 48.18; Joseph Ranney, 61.05; John Ranney, 30.05; Thomas Ranney, 120.15; Widow Ranney, 6.10; Widow Sage, 24.00; Timothy Sage, 79.05; John Sage, 150.00; Capt. John Savage, 89.02; Thomas Savage, 41.10; William Savage, 73.00; Hannah Scovil, 27.10; Mary Scovil, 15.00; John Shepherd, Edward Shepherd, 79.00; Samuel Shepherd, 21.00; Daniel Stocking, 59.05; Samuel Stow, 39.05; Thomas Stow sr., 42.00; Thomas Seats in the gallery of the church, south side, were set apart for the use of slaves, and the southwest corner of the old cemetery was assigned as their last resting place. Stow jr., 43.00; John Warner sr., 77.19; John Warner jr., 75. II; Joseph White, 85.00; Ensign White, 85.10; John White, 18.00; Hugh White, 42.00: Daniel White, 49.17; Jacob White, 88.00; Israel Wilcox, 148.05; John Wilcox, 57.05; Francis Wilcox, 59.05; Samuel Wilcox, 77.00; Joseph Whitmore, 44.00. Total, £2,586.03. Whole number of names, 50.

Allowing five persons to each tax payer, we have 250 as the population of Upper Middletown Society.

INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN.

About 1850, the subject of organizing the second par- ish into a new township was agitated. At first, the move- ment met with considerable opposition from the town, but finally, April 28th 1851, the town voted that it was inexpedient to oppose the North Society in seeking to have said society set off as a distinct town, and instructed its representatives in the Assembly to give aid in secur- ing incorporation.

In the spring session of the Assembly, 1851, the town of Cromwell was incorporated. The list of voters fur- nished by the town clerk of Middletown, to the first town clerk of Cromwell, in March 1852, contained 214 names.

The first town clerk was Samuel G. Wilcox. The first selectmen were Selden G. Ely, Lorenzo H. Treat, and Henry Ranney. The first town representative was Mar- vin R. Warner, chosen to represent the town in the As- sembly of 1852.

The population of the town, at the time it became a separate parish, in 1703, was estimated at 250; in 1850, when the town was incorporated, the population was 1,275.

Soon after the first settlement of Middletown, the sec- tion north of Little River began to be called " Upper Houses," or vulgarly "Upper Housen." When it was made a separate parish, it was designated in the official documents as " The Second Ecclesiastical Society of Middletown." Frequently in the reports of the Society it is called " North Society." When a post office was established, this part of the town was known as " Middle- town, Upper Houses." This continued to be the post office address until about 1820, when it was shortened to "Upper Middletown." In 1851, this parish was incor- porated as a separate town under the name of Cromwell. The following is a summary of a thorough canvass of the town made in January and February 1878, by a Bible distributor under the direction of the Middletown and Vicinity Bible Society, and the superintendence of Rev. W. H. Gilbert, agent of the American Bible Society:

Whole number of families, 373; American, 211; Foreign, 162; Irish, 85; German, 51; English, 14; vari- ous, 12; total population, 1,617; Protestant families, 257; Roman Catholic, 116; average size of family, 473.

The following extracts, from the public records, may be of interest to future generations:

" At a special meeting of the Inhabitants of the town of Middletown held on the 28th day of April 1851, agreeable to notice given, it was

"Resolved, That it is inexpedient on the part of this town, to take any measures in opposition to the petition of Elisha Treat & others of the North Society, to the next General Assembly of this State praying that the said North Society may be set off as a distinct Town. Resolved That the representatives from this Town & the Senator of this District be requested to promote & aid in procuring the granting of the petition of Elisha Treat & others in the next General Assembly." >

The annual expenses of the town, in recent years, have been about $10,000; the indebtedness is about $30,- 000. The larger share of this debt was incurred in aid- ing the construction of the Hartford & Connecticut The act of incorporation is as follows: Valley Railroad. In November 1868, the town voted to " Upon the petition of Elisha Treat & others, inhabit- ants of Middletown, in the County of Middlesex, pray- subscribe for 2,200 shares of the capital stock of this road. A few more shares were taken at a later date, and, ing for reasons therein set forth that said town of Mid-

245

CROMWELL-INCORPORATION-TOWN OFFICERS.

dletown be divided, and a new town incorporated therefrom, as per petition on file will more fully appear: " Resolved by this Assembly, That all that part of the town of Middletown lying northerly and easterly of a line beginning at high-water mark on the east bank of the Connecticut river, at a point due east of the Sebethe or Little river, where said river empties into the Con- necticut river, thence directly to the middle of said Sebethe or Little river at its mouth, and thence follow- ing the middle of said river to the point where said river forms the boundary between the towns of Berlin and Middletown, with all the inhabitants residing in that part of Middletown lying northerly and easterly of said line be and the same is hereby incorporated into a sep- arate town to be known and called by the name Crom- well. And the inhabitants aforesaid, and their successors forever, residing or belonging within said limits, shall have, retain and enjoy all the rights, powers, privileges and immunities enjoyed by, belonging to or incident to any other town in this State, except only that said town of Cromwell shall have the right of sending one representative only to the General Assembly of this State. The expense of constructing, maintaining and repairing all bridges crossing said Sebethe or Little River, between said towns of Cromwell or Middletown, including dry bridges and causeys wherever necessary on either side of said bridges, or either of them, for convenient access thereto, shall be equally borne by said towns of Crom- well and Middletown; and if the Middletown and Berlin turnpike shall ever be discontinued, and the mainten- ance of the same with the bridges now belonging to said turnpike, shall devolve on said towns, or either of them, the expense of maintaining the bridge on said turnpike across the said Sebethe or Little River, including neces sary dry bridges and causeys on either side thereof, for convenient access thereto, shall be borne equally by the said towns of Cromwell and Middletown.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Part 65

Author: Whittemore, Henry, b. 1833; Beers, J.B. & Company, publishers Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 818

Author: Whittemore, Henry, b. 1833; Beers, J.B. & Company, publishers
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 818