USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume I > Part 83
USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume I > Part 83
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
The first church having become too small, a second building was erected in 1770, upon the site where the present church stands. It was a high structure, 42 feet square, and having galleries, was quite commodious. But in 1795 it was found necessary to enlarge it, and a steeple was also added. Owing to the above proportions, this gave the building an awkward appearance, and was not to be commended architecturally, as the steeple appeared more prominent than the church. After the lapse of about forty years this building was re- moved to give place to a new brick edifice, which was put up under the rectorship of Reverend E. E. Beardsley, and which was conse- crated August 1st, 1840. In an enlarged and greatly improved form, that is the building which is now the church of the parish. To the original structure a new chancel was added in 1864, which was moved back in 1875 to admit the new transepts to the church, built that year. At the same time the ceiling was ribbed. In 1881 the interior of the church was beautified and artistic furniture and memorial windows supplied. In the tower was placed a fine-toned bell, weighing 3,874 pounds, which was the gift to the church of Mrs. P. S. Beers and her daughters, Mrs. N. S. Platt and Mrs. M. N. Chamberlain. In 1886 the Reverend Doctor Horton presented a brass pulpit, and in 1889 the church received as a gift a handsome brass lectern from Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Hitchcock, as a memorial to their daughter, Emily. These improvements were the means of creating a desire to see the church placed in a still better condition, and in the fall of 1888 a warm friend of the parish, residing in Brooklyn, N. Y., George A. Jarvis, offered to bear one-half of the expenses of whatever improvement might be made. The parish decided to build a new front to the old church, 18 by 60 feet and two stories high, which would form church rooms and a chapel. The old tower being removed, a new tower of stone and brick, 70 feet high, massive and attractive, was added. The corner stone of this was laid by Bishop Williams, July 11th, 1889, and con- tains the contents of the old stone, laid in 1839, with appropriate addi- tions. The entire improvements, completed in the fall of 1889, have placed the building in a thoroughly good condition, and it has become one of the best country churches in the state. Great credit for the successful completion of the work is due the young rector of the parish, Reverend J. F. Sexton. The entire church property and rec- tory are worth $20,000.
Connected with the church is the well-kept St. Peter's Cemetery, embracing in 1889 several acres, and which is controlled by the vestry of the parish. A cemetery fund, established about 25 years ago, has been increased to $2,000, and its income permits the grounds to be kept in good condition. The cemetery contains some fine monuments, and there are interred among many other loved ones, the pioneer minister, Reverend Reuben Ives, Reverend S. H. Turner, of the New York
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
Theological Seminary, and the honored Doctor Bronson, who first gave the Episcopal Academy the character it enjoys.
For a long period after the establishment of the academy the head of the school was also the head of the parish, an arrangement pro- nounced by Doctor Beardsley as not advantageous to the church, as there was too great a diffusion of interest. After the ministry of Reverend Samuel Andrews had terminated, in 1786, Reverend Reuben Ives became the pastor of the parish in 1788, and continued about thirty years, serving, also, in connection, other neighboring churches. He was a son of the Zachariah Ives before named, and was born in Cheshire in 1762. At the age of 24 he graduated from Yale, and the same year was admitted to deacon's orders, at Derby. He was a de- voted minister and a great lover of music, being one of the first to introduce chanting in Connecticut. He died October 17th, 1836. From 1820 for the next five years the church was supplied by Doctor Bron- son, principal of the academy, and the assistant teacher, Reverend Asa Cornwall. After 1825 the latter alone was the minister several years. From 1828 to 1834 the clergy were Reverends Henry M. Mason, C. F. Cruse and Doctor Judd. Since the latter period the following took charge of the interests of the church: 1835, Reverend E. E. Beardsley; 1841, William F. Morgan and Frederick Miller; 1843, E. E. Beardsley; 1848, Joseph H. Nichols; 1852, Hilliard Bryant; 1865, Julius H. Ward; 1868, E. M. Pecke; 1873, W. B. Buckingham; 1876, O. H. Raftery; 1886, J. Frederick Sexton, having been the rector since June of that year. In furthering the work of the parish he published the " Rector's As- sistant," an attractive church magazine, setting forth its needs, and being also intended as an aid to devout life.
In November, 1889, the parish had 138 families, which supplied 226 communicants. The Sunday school had 90 members, and Julius Moss was the superintendent. Joseph Moss also served many years in that capacity. The wardens were Joel Moss and Julius Moss, the former serving at the age of 92 years. Lloyd Moss and Ralph Guilford were wardens in former years. Howard T. Moss was the treasurer of the parish, and Milton C. Doolittle the clerk; the vestrymen were: Timothy Guilford, Henry S. Frost, Richard Valentine, Silas E. Jeralds, Charles T. Hotchkiss, Joseph P. Moss, J. Norris Barnes, Alexander W. Welton, Charles L. Russell, Jr., and J. William Moss.
The parish sustains a branch of the " Church Temperance Society," a chapter of "The Brotherhood of St. Andrew," a Young Ladies' Guild, aid and missionary societies, and is active in all those good works which characterize a live Christian church. In 1889 the amount of moneys raised for all purposes was more than $2,000.
The Cheshire Methodist Episcopal Church was erected in 1834. As early as 1809 a class of Methodists was organized at Wallingford, which had among its members persons living in the town of Cheshire. In 1819 the first Methodist church in Hamden was built, and among
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
its worshippers were also persons belonging to Cheshire. About the same time Ransom Johnson, a devout local preacher, expounded the word of God to a small class in the school house on Cheshire street, and later held Methodist meetings in the village, where he had the zealous cooperation of Amasa Preston, whose pious life is still re- membered in the southwestern part of the town. In 1825 preaching was established in southeastern Cheshire, and since that year the town has been a part of the Methodist itinerancy.
The appointment at the village was permanently taken up by Reverend Lucius Baldwin, in 1829, and from the preaching services in the old school house has sprung the present church. The circuits in those days were large, and comprised so many appointments that meetings were held only at long intervals. In 1832 old Hamden cir- cuit embraced not only the three classes of that town, with 71 members (some belonging to Cheshire), but those of Woodbridge, with 36 mem- bers; Prospect, with 45 members; Salem and Naugatuck, with 24 members; Cheshire, with 36 members; North Haven, with 18 mem- bers; Branford, with 10 members; and Wallingford, with 11 members.
April 22d, 1834, the membership at Cheshire had so much increased that it had become a separate appointment, and the question of build- ing a church was taken up. On that day a building committee was appointed, consisting of Amasa Preston, Elias Dudley, Joseph Doo- little, David Brooks, William Hotchkiss, Delos Hotchkiss and A. M, Hitchcock. A lot of land, centrally located, was purchased of Jairus Bunnell, on which was built a brick structure, having the church architecture of that day, at a cost of $3,000. This was dedicated No- vember 22d, 1834, by Reverend Schuyler Seager. Repairs on the building were made in 1859, at a cost of $1,200; in 1872, costing $800; and more recently, in the past year, which have placed the house in a comfortable condition. In 1881 a large fund was raised for the pur- pose of building a new church, but inability to agree upon details and the removal of many members caused the project to be abandoned. A parsonage was secured in 1866, at a cost of $2,500.
Elias Dudley was the first class leader at the Center, and among the early members was Damaris Judd, who joined in August, 1833, and was faithful until his death, in April, 1880. Amasa Preston was one of the most active early members, and James Lanyon, the superin- tendent of the Baryta mines, sustained a similar relation in the more recent history of the church. His influence greatly strengthened the church, and a large proportion of the English miners became mem- bers of it. After the suspension of that interest, the membership was much diminished by the removal of the miners. In 1889 there were 107 members reported. Notable revivals in the history of the church occurred in 1851, 1859, 1864, 1867-8, 1876 and 1881. In September of the latter year scores of persons were converted.
The church has for many years maintained a Sunday school, which
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
is largely attended, and had, in I889, Alfred S. Bennett as its superin- tendent. George R. Johnson was the secretary of the board of trus- tees, and the church property was valued at $5,000.
The ministers of the church, as appointees of the several confer- ences with which it has been connected, have been the following: From New Haven and Hamden circuit : 1825, Reverends Heman Bangs and J. Leach. From Hamden circuit: 1826, Elias Crawford; 1827, Lucius Baldwin. From Hamden and Humphreysville circuit: 1828, Eli Barnett and N. Kellogg; 1829, Eli Barnett and L. Baldwin; 1830, J. Nixon; 1831, Smith Dayton; 1832, J. Hudson.
In 1833 Cheshire circuit was established and has since been main- tained as a division of the conference: 1833-4, Reverend Asa Bush- nell: 1835, Hart F. Pease: 1836-7, J. A. Sillick; 1838, W. W. Brewer; 1839, C. F. Peton: 1840, A. F. Beach; 1841-2, Ira Abbott; 1843, J. B. Beach; 1844, S. W. Smith; 1845, S. W. Smith and G. A. Hubbell; 1846, J. E. Searles and R. H. Loomis: 1847-8, A. S. Hill; 1849, G. L. Fuller; 1850, Charles Gorse; 1851, Charles Gorse and A. S. Hill; 1852-3, L. P. Perry; 1854, supplies; 1855, B. Redford; 1856-7, L. Beach; 1858, C. Chit- tenden: 1859-60, H. N. Weed: 1861-2, Ira Abbott: 1863-5, F. B. Tower; 1866, supplies; 1867-8. Edward Cunningham; 1869, W. W. McGuire; 1870-1, E. S. Hibbard; 1872-4, David Nash: 1875, J. O. Munson; 1876-7, William Bryant; 1877-8, James W. Dean; 1879-80, Albert Booth; 1881. William R. Webster; 1882, Caleb Parker; 1883-5, A. V. R. Abbott: 1886-8, W. L. Holmes; 1889. G. A. Viets.
St. Bridget's Church (Roman Catholic) was erected in 1859. Nearly forty years ago Father Tevens and other Catholic priests vis- ited the town to encourage the adherents of their religion, occasion- ally saying mass at their houses. One of the first services of this nature was at the house of Michael Garde, about a mile below the Center, and those attending were chiefly miners who had but recently come to Cheshire. Mass was said later in Baldwin's Hall (now part of Hotchkiss & Allen's store) by Father O'Reilly, and soon after a more permanent place of worship was found in the hall of the tavern of Martin Brennan, where services were statedly held until the church was erected. The movement which led to its building was started by Father Hugh J. O'Reilly, who purchased one acre of land in the northern part of the village, of Michael Garde, for church and ceme- tery purposes. On this lot the corner stone of a plain edifice was laid, in the summer of 1859, by Father Quinn, of Meriden. On Christmas of the same year it was first used to celebrate a mass appropriate to the day, by Father Callan, also from Meriden.
In 1883 the church building was improved and beautified, a small turret being added and stained glass windows supplied. An appro- priate re-dedication by Bishop McMahon followed, November 4th, 1883, and it has since been attractively kept. In 1889 the members of the corporation were Hugh Brennan and Michael Mulvey.
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
Cheshire has never been a separate parish, forming a part of a parish composed of the churches in Hamden, Southington or South Meriden. In 1889 it was connected parochially with the two latter churches, and Reverend Father Moore, of South Meriden, was the priest of the parish. The only resident priest at Cheshire was Father Drea, who lived in the Beadle place and served from liere the churches at Hamden and Southington. At St. Bridget's mass is said every Sunday, and there are about 25 families connected with the church.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Isaac Hobart Barnes is a representative of one of the oldest fami- lies in Cheshire. He was born in 1826 and is descended from John, born 1795; James, born 1773; Ambrose, born 1745; and James, who died in New Haven. Ambrose came to Cheshire in 1756 and settled on the farm that has been in possession of the Barnes fam- ily ever since, and a part of which is now owned by Isaac H. Am- brose married Beulah, daughter of Isaac Blakeslee. James married Margaret Bell, daughter of Elisha. John married Roxanna Peck, danghter of John. Isaac H. married Delia T., daughter of Samuel Clark, of Milford, Conn. The family are Episcopalians.
John R. Barnes, born May 20th, 1867, is a son of James, born July 17th, 1829, died February 3d, 1870; grandson of John, and great-grand- son of James, born April 16th, 1773. James, second, married Sarah E. Pennewell. They have two sons; J. Norris, born March 12th, 1858, and John R. These sons are engaged in fruit growing in company with N. S. Platt, under the firm name of Barnes, Platt & Barnes. Their farm contains 100 acres. They make a specialty of raising peaches and other small fruit. They started their peach orchard in 1881 and have harvested three full erops of fruit from it.
Benajah Beadle, born in Cheshire in 1815, died October 5th, 1890, was a son of Alford, who was born in Wallingford and settled in Cheshire about 1810. He raised a family of four sons, of whom Bena- jah was the third. His father was a carriage-maker, and built the second one-horse wagon made in Cheshire. Benajah learned the trade of carriage-maker and followed it for 52 years. In all this time he was not away from his shop to exceed one month at any one time. He retired in 1886 and his son now carries on the business. Benajah was married in 1837 to Julia A. Hitchcock, of Cheshire. They had two sons, Henry and Edgar.
Sherman Blakeslee, born in Watertown, Conn., in 1815, was a son of Maning Blakeslee, who moved to Prospect when Sherman was an infant, and died about 1833. He had eight children, of whom Sherman was the third. His early educational advantages were limited, but in after years he educated himself and was a good business man. He was essentially a self-made man, with good common sense and native ability. He engaged in the manufacture of Britannia ware, and after-
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
ward he was in the mercantile trade in Yalesville, Conn., about six years. He then moved to Cheshire and was connected with the John Mix Manufacturing Company 11 years, after which he again engaged in the mercantile trade in Cheshire. He remained in this place 14 years, when he retired on account of ill health about 1882. As a busi- ness men he was noted for his integrity, square dealing, honesty and uprightness. He was a quiet and unpretentious man and devoted him- self strictly to his own affairs. He married Nancy M. Mix in 1838. They had five children: Sherman, born 1840; Lauren, born 1841; George WV., born 1844; Etta M., born 1846; and Laura E., born 1863. Lauren died in the 17th year of his age and Etta at the age of 19 years. Mr. and Mrs. Blakeslee celebrated their golden wedding in October, 1888. He died August 1st, 1891, at his home, after an illness of some months, at the age of 76 years, and leaves a wife and three children-Sherman, George and Laura.
Rier Bristol, born in 1811, was a son of Uriah. They were both born in Cheshire. Rier married Abigail Munson, of Cheshire, and had three children: Antoinette, Alfred and Abbie. Alfred died in 1884. Antoinette married William S. Bates, of New York, who died in 1874. Rier Bristol died in 1871. He was engaged in agriculture and in manufacturing. He inherited the farm where a part of the baryta mines in this town was located. The two daughters live on the old homestead.
Jesse R. Brooks, born in Cheshire October 1st, 1820, was a son of Jesse, grandson of Henry, and great-grandson of Henry, whose father, Thomas, was son of Henry. They were descendants of Henry Brooks, who came from England about 1670, settling first in New Haven. The family came from Cheshire, England. Five gen- erations have lived on the farm where Jesse R. now lives in Mix- ville. He has always been engaged in farming. He has been deacon of the Congregational church in Cheshire about 26 years. He has been twice married; first to Sarah C. Blakeslee in 1845. She died in 1852, leaving no children. His second wife was Louise A., daugh- ter of Anson Smith, of Cheshire. They have two children. The elder, Reverend Jesse W. Brooks, Ph.D., D.D., of Brooklyn, N. Y., a graduate of Rutgers College and Union Theological Seminary, mar- ried Louise B. Upham, and has three children. Jesse R. Brooks' younger son, Henry S., is at present engaged with his collegiate studies.
Samuel Hull Brooks, born in Cheshire in 1826, is a son of David, born in Cheshire in 1791; he a son of Reverend David, born in Cheshire in 1744; he a son of Enos, born in Cheshire in 1708; he a son of Lieutenant Thomas Brooks, born in Cheshire in 1678; he a son of Henry, who settled in Cheshire about 1705. Samuel H. Brooks is a direct descendant of Abram Doolittle, one of the organ- izers of the town of Wallingford about 1670. Two brothers, Henry
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
and Thomas, came from New Haven and settled in Cheshire in 1705, and named the town Cheshire after Cheshire, England, their native place. The first church service held in Cheshire was at the house of Henry Brooks. Micah, a son of Reverend David Brooks, moved to Western New York, and was elected to congress from there. He was known as General Micah Brooks. David, the father of Samuel H. Brooks, married Linda Hull, and had nine children. Alonzo, the eldest, died in Brooks Vale in 1887. David, the second son, went to Philadelphia and was engaged in constructing the first telegraph line in the country, with S. F. B. Morse. He became widely known as an electrician, and invented an underground cable, for which the West- ern Union Telegraph Company paid him a large sum. Samuel H. went with him to Pennsylvania, and remained there about 15 years. He had charge of the telegraph office in the capitol at Harrisburg. He returned to Connecticut after the death of his younger brother, Edwin M., to the old Brooks homestead in Brooks Vale. This farm has remained in the possession of the Brooks family since 1736. On the farm is an immense rock, known as Scott's Rock, under which is a large cave in which the regicides Whaley and Goffe were secreted for some time. Samuel Hull Brooks married Mary Eliza Mather, of Troy, N. Y., a descendant from Cotton Mather. They have four chil- dren: Eliza Mather. Linda Hull, Heman Mather and Mary Mather. Brooks Vale was so named by Mr. Samuel Brooks, about 1847. His brother, Edwin M., was the first postmaster there, and Samuel suc- ceeded him. in 1860, continued until 1885. His neice, Miss Ella M. Brooks, danghter of his brother, Alonzo, now has charge of the office. The Hull family came from Derbyshire, England, and settled in Wal- lingford about 1687. The first of the name was Doctor John Hull, from whom descended: Joseph, born in 1668; Caleb, born in 1695; Samuel, born in 1730; Samuel, born in 1759; and Linda, mother of Samuel Hull Brooks.
Daniel A. A. Buck, born in Tunbridge, Vt., in 1840, is a son of Eri P. and Mary S. Buck. He removed to Weir Village, Mass., when five years old. At the age of 16 years he went to Clinton, Mass., where he learned the trade of watchmaker and jeweller, remaining there seven years. Later he followed the same business about twelve years in Worcester, Mass. He invented the Waterbury watch in 1878, and went to Waterbury and helped to organize the Waterbury Watch Com- pany, remaining with that company seven years. In 1885 he came to Cheshire to superintend the Cheshire Watch Company, with which he was connected for two years. In 1888 he organized the D. A. A. Buck Company, for the manufacture of toys and novelties. The works of this company are at West Cheshire. Mr. Buck is president of the company. He was married in 1864 and again in 1881. He has two children by the first marriage-Nettie M. and Arthur A .- and two by the second-Ashley M. and Irving W. Mr. Buck is a member of the
P. J. Capewell
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
Masonic order, and is president of the Republican Club of Cheshire, and a member of the Republican League of New Haven. In his younger days Mr. Buck invented and built the smallest steam engine in the world; engine, boiler and pump stand on a gold dollar. It was exhibited at the Centennial Exposition of 1876, and attracted much attention. He has taken out as many as thirty patents on his inventions.
GEORGE J. CAPEWELL, son of Mark A. Capewell, was born in Bir- mingham, England, in 1843. The family removed to this country in 1845, and settled at Woodbury, Conn. The father was the founder of the business out of which grew, in later years, the Capewell Manu- facturing Company of Woodbury, manufacturers of hunters' goods. George J. removed in 1859 to Waterbury, Conn., where he was em- ployed by the Scovill Manufacturing Company until 1860. He then entered the employ of Charles Johnson, manufacturer of fine machin- ery and tools, and continued with him until August, 1862, when he re- moved to Cheshire and assumed the duties of mechanical manager of the cloth button department of the Cheshire Manufacturing Company. About 1866 he invented the self-fastening cone button, the manu- facture of which has become an important and profitable industry.
In the early part of 1870 Mr. Capewell engaged in manufacturing goods of his own invention, principally the Capewell Giant Nail Puller, an article which has become well known all over the civilized world. He also invented a number of other articles previous to 1876, when he began experimenting with automatic horse shoe nail ma- chinery, on which alone upwards of thirty patents have been granted him in this country and Europe. His latest patent on machinery of this description was granted in Europe in 1887. Mr. Capewell is vice- president and superintendent of the Capewell Horse Shoe Nail Com- pany, of Hartford, Conn., capital $200,000. On the 31st of December. 1889, he organized two companies in England-the Capewell Horse Shoe Nail Company (Limited), and the Capewell Continental Patent Company (Limited)-and is a director in both these companies. In ad- dition to the above he is also interested in several other manufacturing industries.
Mr. Capewell was married March 20th, 1864, to Garafelia Hull of Cheshire. Three children have been born to them: Ida G., born in 1866: Mary A., 1871; and George J., Jr., 1876. In political preference Mr. Capewell is a republican, and the family are members of the Epis- copal church.
EDWARD AUGUSTUS CORNWALL .- For nearly a hundred years the Cornwall family has been identified with the affairs of Cheshire, the subject of this sketch being in his lifetime one of its foremost citi- zens. The ancestor of the family in this town and the father of Ed- ward A., was Doctor Thomas Tryon Cornwall, who located here as a medical practitioner in 1794. He was a son of Abijah Cornwall,
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
one of three brothers who emigrated from England in the last cen- tury and settled in Portland, Conn. In his practice here he was very successful, especially in the treatment of cancer, his fame bringing him patients from all parts of the state and from New York. To properly accommodate them he built, in 1816, a large house, a part of which was used as a sanitarium. In a remodelled condition this building is now the house of his great-grandson, Doctor Edward T. Cornwall.
Not many years after his location in Cheshire Doctor Thomas Tryon Cornwall married Lucinda Foote, the talented daughter of Reverend John Foote, the second minister of the Congregational church in the town. This young lady was so highly educated by her father that, at the age of twelve years, she passed a preliminary examination for ad- mission into Vale, from whose instruction she was debarred by her sex. Her certificate, signed by President Ezra Stiles of Yale, showing that she was mentally qualified to enter the college classes, has been preserved by the Cornwall family, and is a curious relic. Of ten children born to this couple, but four attained mature age, viz .: Doctor John A., a practitioner in Hamden and Cheshire, who died in 1825, aged 28 years; Lucinda, who deceased as the wife of Doctor Charles Shelton, of Cheshire; Abigail, who died at the age of twenty years; and Edward Augustus, born November 21st, 1802, an account of whose life follows.
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