History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume II, Part 88

Author: Rockey, J. L. (John L.)
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York : W. W. Preston
Number of Pages: 1138

USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 88
USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 88

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).

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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTV.

nated Grover Cleveland for president. In 1888 he was chosen the state senator from the Fifth Senatorial district, and was reelected in 1890. In these bodies he was active and influential, bringing to bear upon his public life the same energy and good judgment which he has applied to his business ventures.

Since 1845 Mr. Twitchell has been a member of the Masonic order and was several times elected as master of the Lodge in Naugatuck. Although not a member of that organization, he has identified himself with the Congregational society and supports its measures.

Senator Twitchell was married May 21st, 1855, to Lavinia, daugh- ter of Abner Mason, of South Coventry, Conn. By this union there was one child, Frank Mason, born April 7th, 1856, who was also trained to mechanical pursuits, and is now a successful manufacturer of this town. In December, 1883, he was married to Emma, daughter of A. J. Spencer, of Middletown, Conn. Both father and son are properly classed as representative men of this community, having largely con- tributed to its development as a manufacturing center and place of industrial thrift and prosperity.

WILLIAM WARD, one of the oldest native manufacturers of Nauga- tuck, was born in what is now that town March 7th, 1825. Until he was 18 years old his time was taking up working on a farm, in a comb shop, the woolen mill of William De Forest & Co., and attending for a short period the common schools of that day, his educational privileges being limited to those meager opportunities. In the spring of 1843 he went to Washington, Conn., to learn the wagon maker's trade, which occupation he followed at his native place from the fall of 1844, with a little exception, until the fall of 1848. He now removed to New Haven, where he was employed by the carriage making firm of Starr & Darrow, located at the foot of Wooster street, and was later in the employ, for a number of years, of G. D. Cook & Co., carriage build- ers, on State street, in the same city. In the spring of 1864 he accom- panied George Cook to Central City, Colorado, where he was connected with the Cook & Kimball Mining Company more than a year, when, in the winter of 1865-6, he returned to New Haven, crossing with a mule team the northern portion of what was then called the Great Ameri- can Desert.

In April, 1866, he removed his family front New Haven into the old homestead, in Naugatuck, where he has since permanently re- sided, engaging the following year with his elder brother, Lauren, in a manufacturing business which has been successfully carried on by them as L. & W. Ward. They produce a full line of brass curtain, screw and ring goods, and their industry is well supported. The brothers are recognized as being among the most useful citizens of the town.

William Ward is a lineal descendant of two of the oldest families in the state, the ancestry of both being clearly traced back to England.

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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.

Andrew Ward, the first American progenitor, on the father's side, was a son of Richard Ward, of Suffolk, England. He lived in Boston as early as 1634, being made a freeman of that town May 14th, that year. Two years later he settled in Wethersfield, Conn., where he was a member of the first church in the state, and was also a member of the first court in Connecticut. He died in Fairfield, Conn., in 1659, leav- ing a son, Andrew Ward, Jr., born in 1647, who settled in the eastern part of this county, but died in Killingworth. One of his sons, Cap- tain William Ward, born October 18th, 1678, became a resident of Wallingford, where his son, John Ward, a druggist, was born in 1714. Abel Ward, a son of the latter and grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was also born in Wallingford, July 1st, 1740. He removed to Woodbridge, where he had married Rachel Hotchkiss, September 21st, 1787, who bore him one son, Richard, the father of William Ward.

Richard Ward was raised in what is now the town of Bethany, and was married December 15th, 1811, to Roxanna, a daughter of Culpeper Hoadley (who was a revolutionary soldier), and Mollie Lewis, his wife. She was a granddaughter of Samuel Lewis, Esq., of Lewistown, Nauga- tuck, who was a son of Joseph Lewis, an early settler of the southern part of old Waterbury, who was a grandson of John Lewis, of Kent, England, who sailed in the ship " Hercules," for New England in the month of March, 1635. The children of Richard and Roxanna Ward were : Lewis, born September 27th, 1812, died in Naugatuck, August 3d, 1878; Lauren, born December 27th, 1814, now a member of the firm of L. & W. Ward, manufacturers, Naugatuck ; Maria, born Feb- ruary 11th, 1819, living as the widow of Ralph Smith at Bridgeport, Conn .; Mary, born February 17th, 1823, died August 2d, 1842 ; William, born March 7th, 1825, the youngest of the family.

Richard Ward died at Naugatuck March 2d, 1851, his widow sur- viving him until February 6th, 1865. He was a man of many excel- lent parts, of sterling honesty, industrious in his habits and possessed more than ordinary ingenuity in his mechanical pursuits. By trade he was a millwright, but subsequently he was engaged in the manu- facture of wagon spokes, pumps and clocks. In the latter occupation he invented a clock which was practically self-winding. He was also a pioneer manufacturer of lead pipe for hydraulic purposes, and was one of the first, if not the first, to draw lead pipe of continuous lengths in this country. He was one of the principal mechanics in his day and helped to lay the foundation for the manufacturing industries of this town, which have given it such a favorable position. He served as a soldier in the war of 1812.

William Ward was married May 2d, 1852, to Elizabeth A. Hine, of Milford, Conn., and the fruits of the union were three children: Em- mie E., born May 6th, 1853, married Walter P. Hatch, May 20th, 1873, and resides in Milwaukee, Wis .; Alice M., born February 4th, 1856,

William Ward

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married Charles A. Briggs, of Clermont, New Hampshire, April 20th, 1876, now living in Waterbury ; Josephine B., born October 27th, 1864, married Clarence C. Isbell, of Milford, September 10th, 1884, and now living at North Adams, Mass.

Mr. Ward has, since the organization of that party, been an active republican, serving a number of years as chairman of the Naugatuck town committee. But while taking a lively interest in the affairs of his town, he has generally refused to be a candidate for office. He was one of the incorporators of the Grove Cemetery Association, and has been for several years a trustee of the Naugatuck Savings Bank, Few public improvements have been made without his favorable sup- port. He is also well known as an antiquarian and has searched the old Waterbury records diligently for facts relating to the first settlers of what is now the town of Naugatuck. The genealogy of the Ward family has greatly interested him, and he hasextensively traced the history of his ancestors, gathering a large fund of matter, with a view to publica- tion, but on account of stress of other business duties, has been com- pelled to leave to others the completion of that important work.

Charles O. Wedge, born in Naugatuck, May 27th, 1842, is a son of Chauncey J. and Polly S. (Farrell) Wedge. They had nine children: Jane O., Adelia A., Helen M., Charles O., Franklin C., Chester J., Edwin G., Lydia P., and Leva S., of whom Charles O. was the eldest son. Chauncey J. was born in 1812 while his father was in the war. He was a carpenter and wheelwright, and was engaged in this occu- pation nearly 60 years, building many large manufactories in this and other states. Chiarles O. and Franklin C. are the only children that live in Naugatuck, and both are carpenters. Charles O. commenced to learn the carpenter trade when 12 years of age, with his father, and followed this calling for three years. In 1857, at the age of 15 years, he engaged with Lyman Bradley, the pioneer knife maker of the United States, in the manufacture of pocket cutlery, in Middlebury, Conn., and followed that occupation until 1878. Since that time he has been a contractor and builder, and has built a number of dwellings and other buildings in Naugatuck and adjacent towns. In 1865 he married Delia Palmer, of Sharon, Conn., and from this union they have three daughters: Delia A., Lena P. and Gertrude J. Delia A. was married to Henry P. Bird in November, 1888, of Shekomeko, N. Y., and resides in Danbury, Conn.

Noyes S. Wilmot, son of John and grandson of Valentine Wilmot, both farmers, was born in Naugatuck in 1830. At an early age he began work as a moulder for Tuttle, Whittemore & Co., and was superintendent of their shop for 22 years. He was one of the first moulders in this shop, beginning about 1852. He enlisted August 30th, 1862, in Company H, 23d Regiment Conn. Vol., was taken pris- oner at the battle of Brashear City, and was paroled shortly after. He was discharged August 31st, 1863. He was married in 1859 to

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Mary A. Breneiser, of Reading, Pa. They have seven children: Ed- mund B., Louisa R., Frank H., Charles E., Louis H., Benneville N. and Mary T.

Andrew Wylie was born in Elderslie, Scotland, in 1851, and came to this country in 1869. He first went to Perry, N. Y., and came to Naugatuck in April, 1870, where he worked in the woolen mills six years as a spinner. Afterward he became baggage master at Nauga- tuck station, and finally he engaged as shipping clerk for the glove company, where he has since been employed. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. of Naugatuck. He was married in 1871 to Sibley Baxter, who came from Port William, Scotland, the same year that Mr. Wylie did. They have six children living: Isabella G., Sibley D., Alexander J., Barbara W., Andrew B. and William H. They have lost two: Cath- erine J., aged 17, and Barbara, aged 8.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBURY.

Description and Natural Features .- Settlement and Settlers .- Civil Organization .- Town Officers .- Roads and Bridges .- General Interests .- Middlebury Village .- Physicians. - Quassepaug Lake .- Schools .- Religious Interests .- Cemetery .- Bio- graphical Sketches.

O RGANIZED as a parish in 1791 and incorporated a town in 1807, Middlebury received its name from the fact that it occupies a middle position between Waterbury and Southbury, from which it was mainly formed. On the north is Watertown, and northwest Woodbury, in Litchfield county; south and southeast are Oxford and Naugatuck. The town is small, being less than five miles square, with greater length north and south. The surface is elevated and broken by high hills, the chief ones being Mount Fair, on the east, Sandy Hill, on the south, and Breakneck in the northwestern part. The latter, tradition says, received its name in the times of the revo- lution, when General Lafayette, with his command, passed over it on his way from the east to the Hudson river country. In descending the steep hill, one of the oxen used in transporting goods, fell and broke his neck -- hence the name. It is a fact, however, that the name Breakneck was applied to that locality many years before the revolu- tion,* and was, no doubt, suggested by its perpendicular appearance, as viewed from some directions. Many huge rocks are scattered over the surface of the town, or appear in ledges. Most of them are granite. There are fine lands in some localities, which have been well improved. In other parts the soil is not susceptible of successful tillage, being rough and sterile, but has been used for grazing pur- poses.

Nearly the entire drainage is into the Naugatuck and the Housa- tonic. Into the latter stream flows the Eight Mile brook, being the boundary line on the west and the outlet of Quassepaug lake or pond. This is a beautiful sheet of water, with pleasant surroundings which have caused it to become a place of resort. Southeast is Kissawaug or Long Meadow pond, whose outlet, flowing into the Naugatuck, is Towantic brook. Hop brook, flowing into the same stream several miles farther north, drains the northeastern part of the town, having *See Cothren's "History of Woodbury."

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as affluents a number of small brooks. Numerous springs abound in the town.

Nearly all the present territory of Middlebury was included in the Mattatuck purchase and the early history is closely connected with that of Woodbury and Waterbury. Settlements were not made as early as in the localities along the Naugatuck and the Pomperaug and by far the greatest influx was after the revolution. Among those who claim pioneer distinction were the Bronsons, in the Breakneck section, where, in 1707, was born in the family of Isaac Bronson, the first white child. This also received the name of Isaac, who became a well-known citizen of that part of the town and was the great-grand- father of Julius Bronson, born in the same locality in 1807, and who was, in 1890, one of the few surviving old men in the town. The Bronsons were numerous and influential; but few have remained in Middlebury. Here the Abbott family settled later and descendants occupy some of the old places improved many years ago. The Tyler family lived west of the Bronsons, in what is to this day called the Tylertown district. Here was born the Reverend Bennett Tyler, D. D., who became famous as one of the old school theologians, and was president of Dartmouth College.

Ebenezer Smith was nearer the outlet of the Quassepaug, locating there about 1720. He had sons named Ebenezer, Samuel and Daniel, the former serving in the revolution. For many years they were lead- ing men in that part of the town, in which some of the Tuttles also settled in 1740, and became active in affairs of the community.

In the southern part of the town David Wooster settled about the same time. He opened a good farm and made fine improvements. The Wooster house, built before the revolution, still remains in a good state of preservation. Historic interest attaches to it on account of the fact that Chauncey Judd was there confined several days after the robbery of Captain Dayton, of Bethany,* in the revolution. The prop- erty still belongs to the Wooster family.

In 1800, or soon after, there lived in Middlebury, James Tyler, Ash- bel Munson, Abner Munson, Thaddeus Bronson, Elisha Blackman, James Porter, Jonathan Sanford, Titus Bronson, Thomas B. Wooster, Philo Bronson, Gad Bristol, Anson Tuttle, Ephraim Tuttle, Jairus Bronson, Roswell Tyler, Jacob Hall, Beers Radford, Job Wheeler, Daniel Abbott, Eli Thompson, Ebenezer Smith, Jr., Daniel Tyler, Jr., Aaron Benedict, Ebenezer Richardson, David Hine, Adonijah Scott, Samuel Benham. Jr., Daniel Wooster, Thomas Mallory, Ezekiel Stone, John Stone, Phineas Benham, Eli Hine, David Wooster, Japhet Ben- ham, Amos Benham, Enos Bradley, David Porter, Alexander Hine, Nathaniel Richardson, Simon Manville, Asahel Bronson, Augustus Peck, Roswell Bronson, John Bradley, Truman Stoddard, Horace Bronson, Daniel Tyler, Samuel Porter, Hezekiah Clark, Josiah Porter,

*See account of Bethany.

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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.

John Manville, Enos Gunn, David Mallory, Gamaliel Fenn, Edward Smith, Jr., Samuel Merrill, Jesse Roberts, Jonas Bronson, Marcus Bron- son, Caleb Munson, Lambert Munson, Seth Bronson, Benjamin Hine, Larmon Townsend, Asa Wheeler, David Abbott, Jacob Scott, Samuel Fenn, John Northrup, Uri Manville, Isaac Bronson, David Mallory. Gideon Platt, Thomas Riggs, Amos Camp, John Gunn, Asa Fenn, David Hungerford, Mark Mead, William Bassett, A. M. Northrup, Stephen Stone, Agur Bassett, Andrew Clark, Hezekiah Peck, Anson Platt, Philo Scott, Miles Newton, Henry Tyler, Alvin Tuttle, Mark Stone, Joseph Munson, Laban Hine, Nathan Clark, Caleb Nettleton, Calvin Camp, Leonard Bronson, Manville Scott, William H. Smith, Erastus Tyler, Abraham Osborne, Azubah Munson, Larmon G. Town- send, Charles Townsend, Anson Platt, Henry Townsend, Horace Man- ville, Ira Mallory, Garry Scott, Stephen S. Hawley, Chester Riggs, Al- vin Hine, Garry Wooster, Elihu Baldwin and James Williams.

In the last 50 years the character of the population has been changed, many of the old families becoming extinct and a new ele- ment coming in. The inhabitants are also less in number than 50 years ago, being less than 700.

Middlebury was incorporated as a town by an act of the October, 1807, general assembly, on the petition of Ebenezer Smith and others of the Society of Middlebury, in the towns of Waterbury, Woodbury and Southbury. The petition was filed April 24th, 1807, and the prayer was that the bounds of the town should be the same as those of the parish of Middlebury. The towns of Woodbury and Southbury con- sented to the incorporation without protest, but Waterbury objected, as the arrangement would deprive it of some of its best citizens. The question of the relative support of the poor and the maintenance of the bridges on division lines was left for decision to a commission com- posed of Andrew Hull and Rufus Hitchcock, of Cheshire: Josiah Dud- ley, of Derby, and Mark Harrison, of Wolcott. This committee was to meet at Beecher's inn, at Naugatuck, in December, 1807.

The first town meeting was held at the meeting house November 16th, 1807, and those elected were the following: Clerk, Larmon Town- send; selectmen, Eli Bronson, Aaron Benedict, Ephraim Tuttle; treas- urer, Larmon Townsend; constables, Stiles Thompson, Amos Benham; listers, Nathaniel Richardson, Asahel Bronson, Isaac Riggs, Theophi- lus Baldwin, Ezekiel Stone; grand jurors, Adam Tuttle, Titus Bronson, Ebenezer Richardson; tything men, Ezekiel Stone, Roswell Tyler; surveyors of highways, John Bradley, Hezekiah Clark, Daniel Smith, Isaac Riggs, Eli Hine, Job Wheeler, Roswell Tyler, Caleb Munson, Jr., Eli Thompson, Dan Sexton, Philo Bronson, Abel B. Bronson, Daniel Wooster, Augustus Peck.

The following committee was appointed to settle with the old towns out of which Middlebury was formed: Ephraim Tuttle, Eli Bronson, Aaron Benedict, John Stone, Simeon Manville, Daniel Smith, Eli Hine.

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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.

On the 11th of April, 1808, the town voted, by 67 to none, to become a part of New Haven county, and Captain Isaac Bronson was appointed to convey the sense of the meeting, as expressed by the vote, to the proper authorities.

On the 19th of September, 1808, David Thompson, Esq., Eli Bron- son, Larmon Townsend, Roswell Bronson and Aaron Benedict were appointed to memoralize President Thomas Jefferson in regard to the privations resulting from the enforcement of the embargo laws, which they did in a fine paper.

In 1818 Aaron Benedict was chosen delegate to the constitutional convention, and when the town voted on the adoption of the consti- tution, October 5th, 1818, but 23 favored it and 76 were opposed.

The town clerks of Middlebury have been: 1807 to 1844, Larmon Townsend; 1845 to 1852, Albert Crane; 1853, George B. Parsons; 1853 to 1857, E. S. Smith; and from 1857, continuously to 1890, Marcus De Forest.

Considering the small population of Middlebury, its roads are usu- ally in a good condition. The annual outlay for their maintenance approximates $1,000, including repairs on bridges. One of the first bridges built by the town was at the outlet of Quassepaug lake, put up in 1810. It stood a few rods above Foot's mill. The construction of the early roads was a vexatious matter. The courses were often poorly defined, sometimes in dispute and frequently modified, as the opening of new farms demanded. Moreover, the means were limited and labor not at all times available. Various methods for keeping them in repair were tried, sometimes being put in charge of many su- pervisors, and at other times being sold to lowest bidder to keep in repair. In 1855 they were placed in charge of a committee, composed of Luther S. Platt, Josiah Hine, James D. Wooster, Lester Bronson and H. F. Johnson. Ten years later Robert Camp was appointed town inspector of roads.

Since 1881 the town has had the benefit of a line of railway, the New England railroad passing through the southeastern part and having a flag station at Bradley's.

Agriculture affords the principal occupation of the people, and there are a number of rich, productive farms, with neat and well-kept buildings. Until 50 years ago a number of other industries gave profitable occupation, whose pursuit has been transferred to manufac- turing centers. There were a number of small mills and shops on the brooks, and in other localities were cooperages, hat shops and fruit distilleries, which brought large sums of money into the town. Among the hatters were the Benhams and the Tuttles, the former be- ing half a mile south of the center. But little has been done in distill- ing since 1878. Among those who formerly carried on that business were: Nathaniel Richardson, Eli Thompson, William Brown and Henry S. Wheeler. The cooperages were engaged in making casks

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for the West Indies trade, and those who had large shops were: Dan- iel Wooster, Thomas D. Wooster, Uri Manville and Burritt Manville.

There was in the beginning of the present century, at the outlet of the Quassepaug lake a mill known as Foote's, which soon after became the property of Michael Bowers. As such it became favorably known. Near the same place George Lewis and others had a small woolen mill, and at a later day satinets were made in that locality. All have long since passed away.

In the northern part of the town Daniel Abbott and others manu- factured a new kind of pump, discontinuing about 1850. At one time a large business was done. In the same part of town, on Hop brook, Isaac Bronson built a saw mill, about 1787. This was owned by the Bronson family until 1856, and Levings Abbott has since been the owner. Lower down the brook were the Moses mills, one of them being spoken of as old in 1808, when John Moses, of Massachusetts. conveyed them to Abraham Moses. Before 1820 Eli Hine was the owner, and they were last operated as corn mills. The next lower power was used, from 1845 for about ten years, by Leonard Fenn, who had an axe factory. He was a skillful workman. Later files were there made by Reagan and others. The building was destroyed by fire. Lower down the stream Otis Ellis improved a small power, about 30 years ago, and metal buttons were there made. That indus- try passed away many years ago.

At the hamlet of Bradleyville, on Hop brook, near the east line of the town, Enos Bradley built a saw mill and clothing works some time after 1795. He was a fine cloth dresser, and rough cloths were brought to this mill from all parts of the county. After his death, in 1845, Lyman Bradley manufactured here, making wagon wheels. At a later period he made pocket cutlery and disposed of this business to Samuel Root, who successfully manufactured pocket cutlery at that point. He employed a number of skilled English workmen and produced a fine line of goods. Operations were discontinued in 1887, and many build- ings at Bradleyville, in consequence, have been vacated. In other parts of the town Nathan Newton and David Wooster carried on the manufacture of wagons.

North of Bradleyville the manufacture of brick was carried on ex- tensively by Samuel French, who there erected a large brick mansion. Later Roswell Wheaton had a brick yard at the same place.

Near the geographical center of the town is the village of Middle- bury, often called Middlebury Center. It is located on a plateau over- looking much of the surrounding country, and has a pleasant and healthy situation. There are about a dozen buildings, grouped around a green of several acres, among them being Congregational and Metho- dist churches, and a two-story school building which was erected in 1814 for an academy. At the village is kept the Middlebury post office, which has a daily mail supply by stage from Waterbury.

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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.

In the earlier history of the village, whose existence began with the organization of the town, several stores and public houses did a large local business. Larmon Townsend here engaged in trade about 1808, coming from Gunntown, and successfully continued until his death about 1845. His store was on the west side of the green, and his residence the present Wheaton place. Samuel Smith began trad- ing near the same period, and in 1841 James Smith & Co. were mer- chants at this point. In later years but little merchandising has been done.

Public houses also have become things of the past. Amos Camp had an inn about 1820 and later; John Bradley kept a house where is now the Congregational parsonage; Mark Stone was on the south side of the square, and Harris Smith on the southwest corner of the green.

It is said that Doctor Abel Bronson was the first physician in the town. Doctor Stephen S. Hawley located a mile east of the village before 1800, and died in the town. Doctor Marcus DeForest has been a practitioner more than a score of years. Other physicians have been Doctors Foote, Lindsley, Norton and Crane.

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History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume II, Part 88

Author: Rockey, J. L. (John L.) Publication date: 1892 Publisher: New York : W. W. Preston Number of Pages: 1138

Author: Rockey, J. L. (John L.)
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York : W. W. Preston
Number of Pages: 1138