USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume I > Part 48
USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume I > Part 48
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The second priest to minister in the town came from New Haven and was Father Philip O'Reilley, who also said mass at James Hanlon's, who now lived on Academy lane. Meantime Catholicism had become established at Meriden and Wallingford was taken up as an out-mis- sion of that parish. Under this arrangement Father Teeven came as the third priest, holding worship at the house of Martin Owens. On the 12th of May, 1850, he solemnized the first marriage in town, according to the forms of the Roman church, the couple united being Philip McCabe and Ellen Maloney.
* Compiled from an account by John G. Phelan.
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
Father Hugh O'Reilley was the next priest to say mass. also at the house of Martin Owens, the north room being used, the altar being set up between the two front windows. He came to the parish in the spring of 1851, full of zeal and a determined purpose to thoroughly establish the cause of his church. Under his direction the first Catholic school was soon after opened at the Owens house and the question of building a church agitated. In the furtherance of this purpose, on the 29th of May. 1852, Father Hugh O'Reilley bought three lots of land from the estate of Philip McCabe, on which the church was finally built, the site being now a part of the Catholic cemetery.
From 1854 to 1856 Father Thomas Quinn rendered pastoral ser- vice, coming from Meriden; and Reverend Father Wallace, a young man, soon after became the resident priest at Wallingford. The Owens house having become too small and unsafe for such large meetings as assembled for mass, that service was held in " Union Hall." The Catholic population had now grown to about 150 persons, and a church being demanded it was decided to build on the lots purchased by Father Hugh O'Reilley. Means were secured and the Protestants of the town aided in raising a building fund, by generous contributions. It was thus made possible to lay the corner stone of the first church November 23d, 1857, that ceremony being performed by Father Thomas Quinn.
The building was a large frame. 40 by 60 feet, with a small vestry. Ere it was completed it was used and one Sunday in April, 1858, while Father Quinn was saying mass, a part of the floor gave away. causing great confusion and resulting in the injury of several persons. After the completion of the church, Father Sheridan became the resident pastor at Wallingford in 1859, the newly formed parish including also Hamden and Cheshire. As priest of this parish Father Charles Mc- Callion succeeded in July, 1860, but remained only a short time, as the war unsettled matters to such an extent that a separate parish could not long be maintained. Wallingford again became an out- mission of Meriden, under the care of Father Welch and so continued from 1861 until 1867. In August of that year a parish, composed of Hamden and Wallingford, was again established and placed under the jurisdiction of Reverend Hugh Mallon, who has since remained the head of the Wallingford church. His energy and devotion to the interests of Holy Trinity parish have greatly stimulated its growth, and it has made rapid strides in influence, wealth and membership, more than 2,000 souls now belonging.
Father Hugh Mallon was born in County Tyrone, October 20th, 1827, and being left an orphan, came to America at the age of 17 years. Following the occupation of a stone mason ten years, he began a long course of study in different Catholic institutions of the Union, and in 1863 was ordained to the office of priest. After serving as an assist-
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ant to various priests in this state and Rhode Island, he entered upon his pastorate at Wallingford, August 11th, 1867, and through his untiring efforts the parish has practically been made what it is-one of the most progressive and substantial in the state. Soon after his coming to Wallingford, Father Mallon bought a tract of land more centrally located than the old church site, with a view of erecting on it the future church and parish buildings. The course of a few years de- monstrated the wisdom of this action, for in a short time the old church became too small to accommodate the worshippers. Galleries built on the sides, in 1869, increased the capacity, but the work of preparing to build a new edifice was soon after begun.
In 1875 ground was broken for a new church and the foundation was laid. The funds being limited, slow progress was made, and at the end of three years only the height of the water table was reached. Meantime, on the 17th of September, 1876, the corner-stone had been laid by Bishop Galbery, in the presence of many of the priests of the state, and thousands of people gathered together from the neighbor- ing cities. While the building was at a comparative standstill, in the summer of 1878, the old church, which was becoming much dilapi- dated, was destroyed by the great tornado, August 9th, leaving the parish without a place of worship. Of the 30 persons killed and 35 injured in that great calamity, most of them were members of the Holy Trinity congregation, and those were surely days of sorrow and agony to the afflicted people of the parish. Sunday, August 11th, mass was said from the steps of the school house, which had been used as a receptacle for the dead, and "on the afternoon of that day 22 hearse-wagons, with their dead, moved in procession to the cemetery, where these victims of the unbridled tempest were laid in their long, dreamless sleep."
A temporary roof was fitted over the walls of the new church, and in the shelter thus afforded services were held until the following spring, when, with the means secured by Father Mallon, outside of the distressed parish, the work of building was resumed. By the latter part of August, 1879, the church was so far completed that it was used temporarily for worship, and by November, 1879, the base. ment of the church was finished for services, and was used until the main audience room was fully finished and dedicated, November 24th, 1887.
The general plan of the church is much the same as the one at Clougher, the ancient seat of St. Patrick, where also were the scenes of Father Mallon's boyhood days. It is of cruciform shape, the extreme length being 148 feet. The width of the transepts is 104 feet. The walls are 29 feet high, and from the floor to the apex of the roof the height is nearly 50 feet. It is supported by columns and arches, beau- tifully decorated, and the entire room is handsomely embellished with water color paintings and works of art, to typify the rites of the
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church. The windows are beautiful and handsome, one costing $300, being presented by the Young Men's Total Abstinence, Benevolent and Literary Society; while another, of like value, was purchased out of a fund left when the old St. Patrick's Temperance Society dis- banded.
The spire of the church is 190 feet high and, with a cross 12 feet in height on its pinnacle, makes the building a conspicuous object, viewed from any direction, and justly excites the admiration of those who assisted in its erection. The fine brick edifice throughout, as well as the other property of the parish, is very attractive and gives evidence of the care bestowed upon it, which makes it creditable not only to the parish but to the entire community.
Connected with the church, as means in extending the work of the parish, are the St. Vincent De Paul Society, the Christian Doctrine Society, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and the Knights of Colum- bus. Pinta Council, No. 5, of the latter order, is maintained on a sub- stantial basis and has a fine membership. It has elegant rooms in Total Abstinence Hall. This is an attractive two-story frame building, with a one-story rear extension and has a prominent location on West Centre street. It was erected in 1885 by the Young Men's Total Abstinence, Benevolent and Literary Society. The latter organiza- tion became an incorporated body, with this name, on the 18th of March, 1884, the corporate members being Thomas Brosnan, Patrick J. Quinn, Patrick J. Laden, William Hogan, John B. Roach, Thomas Paden, John J. Prior, Thomas Downey, Thomas Pahey and Edward Roach. The hall, on Centre street, has been fitted up for assembly and social purposes and the nucleus of a library has been gathered.
An older and, in its day, a very useful temperance organization was the St. Patrick's Total Abstinence and Benevolent Society, which was incorporated in August, 1871. Its privileges were suspended a few years before the organization of the above socicty was effected.
The Wallingford Community was for many years an object of great interest in the town, both on account of the religious views of its members and the prosperity which characterized its temporal affairs. The domain of the community indicated a splendid property, consisting of farm, shops and mills created largely by the thrift and enterprise of the members. These are located, along the old New Haven turnpike, a mile west from the center of Wallingford borough, along the east base of Mount Tom. The farm embraced 240 acres, much of it lying well up the hillside, so as to command a view of the Quinnipiac and its valley for several miles, north and south. Here, upon spacious and finely laid out grounds, were erected the community residences, whose large and imposing appearance make them con- spicuous objects. The largest of these is of modern architecture and contains 40 sleeping rooms. It was erected in 1876 and the buildings cost $50,000. Much of the farm was devoted to the culture of small
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fruits and orcharding, more than 1,000 bushels being grown annually. In 1889 there were orchards of 15 acres of apples, 4 acres of pears, and 2} acres of quinces. In the latter years of the community less atten- tion was paid to the farm than formerly and more time was devoted to manufacturing. A well-ordered printing office and silk mills were carried on, both enterprises being successfully conducted.
In 1890 the title to the property was still held by the community, but there was little to tell of the activity which here at one time prevailed in the field and the shop. After 1880 the transfer of the members to the parent society at Oneida began and in the course of a few years nearly all had removed or assumed new relations in life.
The community at Wallingford had its origin in 1851, when Henry Allen and his family, old and respectable citizens of the town, em- braced the teachings of John Humphrey Noyes and espoused the cause of the Oneida Communists. Believing in the truth of the prin- ciples held by these people, they determined to embody them at this place in practical life and were assisted by members of the ()neida Community to form a branch community at Wallingford. In this way Mrs. M. E. Cragin, L. H. Bradley, E. H. Hamilton and Mrs. S. C. Hamilton were most efficient aids in the first years of the community, having been thoroughly indoctrinated at Oneida. In addition to Mr. Allen himself there were his wife and four children and his sister, Miss Eliza A. Allen. B. Bristol and his family, of Cheshire, soon after joined and others were added from time to time, until, with those transferred to this place from the communities of Oneida and Willow Place, New York, there were about 50 members of all ages. After the lapse of the first twenty years there were but few accessions and the membership steadily decreased until the Wallingford Community disbanded.
One of the cardinal principles of the community was to conform as nearly as possible to the conditions of the Christian church in the Pentecostal period, when " the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common." They succeeded in applying this principle to the avoca- tions of life and the attendant property relation, establishing a fine social system, which added dignity to labor and gave better oppor- tunity for the development of natural talent. since a greater variety of occupation was offered to the member than if he had relied solely on his individual efforts. Education was ever a subject of prime interest and all the youth of the community were thoroughly in- structed, a number of them being sent to colleges, at home and abroad, while the means of obtaining an academical education were placed within the reach of all at the academy at Oneida. In all these respects the community was a success; but the application of the communistic principles to the social or family relation wasa failure. Their system
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
of " complex marriage " was so abhorrent to the general public that it found little favor and provoked, very justly, much comment and sentiment adverse to the community. In spite of the many good traits of the members, which were freely recognized, the feeling pre- vailed that they were transgressors of honored customs and civil laws and that their usages were inimical to the welfare of society. After an experimental existence of thirty years the community yielded obedience to this feeling and passed away, regretted only for its material worth.
The cemeteries in the town are generally well kept and attractive. In the early settlement it appears that one of the common fields on the "Plains," near the center of the original village, was selected as a place of burial. While the ground was not contiguous to the meeting house lot, it was near at hand, and besides being dry and clear, per- haps more conveniently accommodated the inhabitants of the town, on account of its accessibility, than any other place. To the original lot thus set aside, additions have been made until there are about ten acres in the enclosure. Many of the graves in the old part have been obliterated, but the places of a few of the early interments are indi- cated by rude headstones. A few years ago their location and the significance of the inscriptions were investigated by John G. Phelan, of the borough, and from his account we learn that the oldest stone, which is merely an irregular slab, marks the grave of William Houlte, who died in 1683, aged 73 years. He had joined the settlement ten years before, the original lot in the village set aside for John Miles having been sold to him.
A larger and more shapely, almost oblong red stone, but as rudely and simply inscribed as the foregoing one, only the initial letters being cut, shows where Katharine Miles was buried, in 1687, after having attained the age of 95 years. The Miles family was one of those to settle at Wallingford in 1670, its lot being where are now Main and Christian streets, and she must, therefore, have been already 78 years old when she took up her residence here. Descendants have ever since remained in the limits of the old town, as have also those of the two next noted below.
The grave of Abraham Doolittle, who died in 1690 at the age of 70 years, is marked by a very low but rather thick stone, whose outlines have been nicely rounded by the elements. In official matters he bore the title of sergeant, and his was one of the houses ordered to be fortified against Indian attack, in December, 1675. He was one of the original committeemen of Wallingford, a selectman for many years, and a member of the general court, being in the general affairs of the town one of its most prominent men.
The most elaborate of the old headstones marks the grave of Mr. John Moss, who died in 1707, at the unusual age of 103 years. The inscription is cut in a heart-shaped figure, and the top of the stone,
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
which is well preserved, is nicely carved. John Moss was a man of distinction in the colony, and the honors he held in life seem to have followed him in death, as indicated by this stone. He was one of the three persons in the settlement entitled to be called "Mr.," the other two being Mr. Samuel Street, the minister, and Mr. John Brocket, who was a fellow commissioner in the colony. At the age of 83 years he was one of the selectmen of the town, and there is a tradition among his descendants that he made his will when he was a hundred years old, which shows that, besides being educated and dignified, he was also a remarkably vigorous man.
The graves of some of the prominent men who died in early years are marked by new stones, to which the old inscriptions have been transferred. These epitaphs are usually very quaint and much at variance with our present style of spelling, as, for example :
" The Reverent Mr: Street Departed: This Life: Jen: ye 16 1717 Agged: 82."
On a number of stones are poetical inscriptions:
(Doctor Isaac Lewis, 1784).
" As I am now gone down to dust Five of my children came here first The rest may se as they pass by That we are now before them gone."
In July, 1742, the neglected condition of the cemetery was brought before the inhabitants of the town, when it was ordered that the grounds should be enclosed, in connection with some of the common fields near by, so that the highway to the fields, in that locality, run- ning through the cemetery, should not be stopped up, but entrance should be afforded by gates. In more recent times greater regard has been paid to its privacy, and the cemetery is now separately enclosed, with a hedge of Norway spruces, which gives it an attractive appear- ance. The town decided, April 29th, 1871, to make this improvement, which was much needed. The selectmen-E. A. Doolittle, Hezekiah Hall and William Wallace-with additional committeemen, Medad WV. Munson, Samuel Simpson and Benjamin D. Sutliff, were appointed to adjust the bounds of the cemetery and carry out the plans for im- provement. But the desire for a more secluded spot for the repose of the dead led to the establishment of
The In Memoriam Cemetery, which was dedicated October 16th, 1887, when appropriate addresses were made by Reverend J. E. Wild- man and Honorable L. M. Hubbard. The first person therein interred was Mrs. George Cook, of Talesville, December 22d, 1887. The ceme- tery is beautifully located, on the high ground in the northern part of the borough, at the intersection of Yalesville and Main streets. It embraces 73 acres which have been nicely platted by Thomas Mc- Kenzie, and improved according to his plans by the cemetery associa- tion which controls it. This was organized in May, 1887, and in 1889
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
the officers were: William G. Choate, president: Reverend J. E. Wild- man, vice-president; William M. Hall, secretary and treasurer; H. L. Judd, Reverend C. H. Dickinson, Reverend H. L. Reynolds, B. A. Treat and Horace Austin, directors. The funds for the purchase of the cemetery were contributed mainly by William G. Choate, David M. Stone. Samuel Simpson, H. L. Judd, Hiram Austin, Miss Fannie J. Curtiss, and others who were actnated by a public spirit to secure this attractive spot for the repose of the dead.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Roger S. Austin, born in 1845, is a son of Sherman and Lucy (Jones) Austin, grandson of Porter, and great-grandson of Joel Austin. Mr. Austin has been collector of taxes 16 years, has been three years deputy sheriff. and holds the office of constable. He has been five years in the ice business, and is now a member of the Wallingford Ice Company. He is a member of Compass Lodge, No. 9, F. & A. M., and of Accanant Lodge, No. 71, I. O. O. F. He married Fannie M. Pattee. Their only child is Albert S.
Michael Backes, born in Germany in 1829, came to this country in 1835. He learned the trade of a locksmith, and his natural mechanical genins led to several inventions. He came to Wallingford in 1853, and in 1875 began the manufacture of toy paper caps, and since his death in 1889, his sons have carried on the business. He was nine months in the late war, in Company B, 27th Connecticut Volunteers. At the time of his death he was a member of the court of burgesses of the borough. He married Catharine Helmsteadter. Their children are: George, Edward, Charles, Frederick, Henry, Carrie, Frank, Nettie, Catharine, John, Grace, Bertha, and one that died.
NEHEMIAH BANKS, M. D., was born in Bethel. Conn., November 8th, 1813. He was one of a large family, numbering thirteen, the children of Samuel and Lydia (Crane) Banks of Bethel, Conn. He was the sixth in order of birth. His father was a physician, so that the son, Nehemiah, was familiar from early boyhood with the general life of the physician, and hence was led, by parental example and success, to undertake the profession for himself. His English education was gained under a private preceptor, and while he himself was engaged in teaching. His special and technical education as a physician was obtained at the medical college of Yale University, from which he was graduated in 1843. Following his medical course, he located for the practice of his profession, first of all, in Cheshire, Conn. But his expanding knowledge and skill fitted him for practice in a larger town, and he accepted an opportunity of moving to Wallingford. This he did in 1852, and in 1856 purchased the residence known as the Judge Pomeroy place on Centre street. The house has since been remodelled several times and enlarged, so that from its present appearance, it could scarcely be identified as the home of its former owner.
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
Here Doctor Banks lived about 34 years, winning and ever keep- ing the high regard of all who knew him in the town. He was of a gentle nature, full of sensitive feeling, and fine nervous power, quick to apprehend, and very domestic in his habits and affections. Home was earthly heaven to him, and his family the choice companions of his heart. He was the good neighbor, beside whom his neighbors could live in peace for indefinitely long periods. It pleased him always to do them a neighborly service. He never lacked for kind words to be uttered, nor for affable manners to be shown. And his gentle, pleasing manners, as his love of truth and performance of duty, made him greatly beloved in the community.
Dr. Banks was one of those characters in whom the public is not disappointed, who are always better than their professions, who are a little ahead of promises rather than behind, and are giving surprises of genuineness, instead of disappointments to those who trust them. Hence professing to be a physician, he must, perforce of nature, be the good physician. He must be an honor to the profession, rather than wear his professional title as an honor to himself. He must be a con- stant student of the curative art. The new remedies must be exam- ined with scientific care, and treated rather suspiciously, until they have shown themselves to be worthy of confidence.
This conservative, cautious element in his nature showed itself in a certain exactness in his habits. His dress was always precisely ar- ranged, neat, clean and of fine texture. His office and the parapher- nalia of his profession were kept always in order. He knew where every instrument was, and every medicine, and book, and pamphlet, and article worth preserving. All his professional equipage was ready for use, ready for a call in haste, even to the trappings of his horse and carriage.
The same punctilious precision and care extended to the treat- ment of his patients. So sacred a thing as their health or life must not be the objects for experimentation, except within very narrow limits. An intelligent and careful diagnosis must lead up to the remedies to be employed, and those must be used whose virtues are known and not guessed at or merely advertised. His recipes were always standard, and the pharmacist must compound them as written, out of elements which have standard virtue in them. He first found the pharmacist who could be absolutely trusted, and patronized him. Doctor Banks could not rest unless he was confident that both his medicines and his directions for their use were the most approved by the learning of the profession, so his patients had the best treatment known. And since a cure so often depends on proper nursing, as well as quantity and power of medicine, he insisted on the former. Hence those employing him might be sure that he would adopt long-tried .methods, and not new-fangled notions and experimentation.
Doctor Banks abandoned himself to his profession, hence he did
7
Nchennach Banks Mb.2.
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
nothing beside. He was never found seeking political office or bid- ding for popularity in the ordinary rivalries of the town. He aimed to do the one thing, and do that one thing well. Hence he was the trusted " beloved physician." And when counsel was needed in most critical cases, it was easy to secure the most educated and skillful ex- perts of the profession. He was a member of the New Haven County Medical Society, and for many years, beginning with 1852, was regis- trar of vital statistics for Wallingford.
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