History of New London county, Connecticut : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 147

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1317

USA > Connecticut > New London County > History of New London county, Connecticut : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 147

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Second and third church edifices erected on the grounds of the cemetery, under the control of the New Salem Ecclesiastical Society.

Fourth, erected in 1838, near the centre of the vil- lage. The old Methodist church which formerly stood near Music Vale Seminary was demolished in 1878.

Second Methodist organization in Capt. David H. Seaman's chapel, July 17, 1881, with ten members, under the charge of the Rev. Henry N. Brown.

The organization of the Baptist society on Gale's Hill is lost, the old building having been demol -. ished many years since, and a new house of worship built one-third of a mile to the southward on the old New London and Colchester road.

The church has recently bought the Firman place for a parsonage, and intends putting it into repair for the use of a minister.

Salem was organized into a probate district by the name of the district of Salem by an act of the General Assembly in the year 1841, and the following have been judges of the district in the order of their several elections : First, Nathan Minard ; second, John C. Daniels; third, Nathan Minard; fourth, Orramel Whittlesey ; fifth, John C. Daniels ; sixth, Orramel Whittlesey ; seventh, Austin O. Gallup; eighth, Hill Rising; ninth, Austin O. Gallup; tenth, Robert A. Williams ; eleventh, Austin O. Gallup; twelfth, Fred- erick E. Chadwick ; thirteenth, A. O. Gallup.

Many of the sons and daughters of Salem have emigrated to various sections of the country who were renowned in Christian virtues and political dis- tinction, some settling in New Hampshire, others in Vermont and New York, and, in fact, peopling nearly every Northern State in the Union.

We copy from the "Harris Genealogy" the follow- ing incident : Bertha Harris, daughter of Jonathan Harris, born in Salem, Sept. 14, 1752, married Col. John Jenkins, of Wyoming, Pa. They were married in Jenkins' Fort, Wyoming, by Rev. James Benedict, ten days before the memorable Indian massacre at Wyoming, and twenty days after Col. Jenkins, in the colonial service of the Revolutionary war, had re- turned from a long, bitter, and perilous captivity of six months among the Indians, from whom he had effected his escape.

His father came to Colchester, Conn., in 1750, and married Lydia, daughter of Stephen Gardner, a hotel- keeper on the east side of Gardner's Lake.

Among the many sad stories of the trials and perils of the pioneer settlers of our American colonies, the story of the early settlement of this lovely valley of Wyoming is the mnost mournful and memorable of all, and has a peculiar interest to the Harris family, as well as others who emigrated there. In the events and perils John Jenkins, Sr., was the recognized champion and head, the founder, leader, and de- fender of the settlement. He was appointed by Con- necticut its first general agent for the settlement of Wyoming. He was a surveyor, drafted most or all of its first public documents; was first magistrate and justice of the peace, and its first presiding or chief judge of court; was five times sent as its representa- tive to the Colonial Assembly of Connecticut from Wyoming, then called Westmoreland, and made part of Litchfield County, Conn., a circumstance which may seem a little strange to this generation.

John Jenkins, Jr., served as lieutenant in the army of the Revolution until the close of the war, and was

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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

afterwards a major and colonel of militia, sheriff of Luzerne County, county commissioner, member of Assembly, held many local offices for many years, town clerk, supervisor, etc., was surveyor-general of the Connecticut Susquehanna Company, and for some time the general agent. He settled in Exeter town- ship, on the site of the battle-ground where stood old Wintermoot fort, where he died March 19, 1827, aged seventy-five. His widow Berthia, a woman of rare mental and moral worth, endowments, and cul- ture, who had shared conspicuously in all the perils and hardships of the valley, and whose sufferings amid those wild scenes of blood and carnage were the nursery tales in years gone by in the old hive of the Harris family in New London County, she died Aug. 12, 1842, aged ninety years.

Others left their homes and went to the celebrated Wyoming Valley, where their numerous descendants yet remain, and the records of Pennsylvania show that good old New England blood courses in the veins of many of her prominent citizens, and that this was a good country to form the habits of a life of future usefulness to emigrate from. Among the many who have distinguished themselves we notice Donald G. Mitchell, who for a long time resided in Salem, on the farm now owned and occupied by Charles Henry Bailey. Here he wrote his celebrated novel, " The Reveries of a Bachelor," under the nom de plume of " Ik Marvel." He has since gained a world-wide reputation as an author, and now resides at his coun- try residence near New Haven, Conn.

If space would permit in this volume, we could give many more striking illustrations of the adventurous men and women who have gone forth to settle and populate other lands, whose high standard of moral worth and Christian virtues gives an exalted, high- toned sentiment which yet lives in their numerous descendants.

Incorporation of Salem .- At a General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, holden at Hartford, in said State, on the first Wednesday of May, A.D. 1819,-

" Upon the petition of Joseph Morgan and others, inhabitants of the Towns of Colchester, Lyme, and Montville, in the county of New Lon- don, lying within the limits hereinafter mentioned, stating the popula- tion, extent, situation, and amount of Lists included in said limits, and praying, for reasons set forth at large in said petition, to be incorporated into a distinct Town, as per petition on file, dated April 22, 1819,

" Said petition having been duly served upon said towns of Colchester, Lyme, and Montville, the parties appeared and were fully heard upon the merits of said petition ; the facts therein alleged were found to be true, and the prayer thereof granted.

" Resolved by this assembly, that all those parts of the towns of Col- chester, Lyme, and Montville lying within the following limits, viz .: Beginning at the southeast corner of East Haddam, thence running easterly by the southerly line of the late forfeited lands of William Brown to the line that formerly divided the towns of New London and Lyme; thence northerly by said line and the former east line of Col- chester to Gardner's Lake, and still northerly through said lake to the west line of the town of Bozrah ; thence still northerly by the west line of Bozrah to Lebanon corner ; thence westerly by the south line of the First Society of Colchester to the East Ilne of East Haddam; thence southerly by said East Iladdam Ilne to the place of beginning, with all the inhabitants residing in said limits, be and the same are hereby in-

corporated into a distinct town by the name of Salem, and the inhab- itants aforesaid and their successors forever residing within said limits shall have and enjoy all the powers, privileges, and immunities which are enjoyed by other towns within this State, with the right of sending one Representative to the General Assembly of the State, and said town of Salem shall pay its proportion of all debts, charges, expenses, suits, petitions, and claims already due and accrued, commenced and existing against said towns of Colchester, Lyme, and Montville respectively, or for which the said towns may respectively be made liable hereniter, by force of any claims now existing, and the poor now supported by said respective towns, who belong to such parts of said towns respectively as is hereby incorporated into the town of Salem, shall be deemed inhab- itants of said town of Salem, and be maintained accordingly, and said town of Salem shall take of the poor persons now maintained by the said towns of Colchester, Lyme, and Montville respectively such pro- portion as, counting in the Grand List of the year of our Lord one Thon- sand eight hundred and eighteen, the list of such part of said respective towns hereby embraced in the town of Salem shall bcar to the whole List of said towns respectively and no more, except as provided in case of absentees; and the selectmen of the respective towns, with the select- men of Salem, associating with them Sylvester Gilbert, Esq, in case of disagreement of the town of Ilebron, are hereby empowered to appor- tion the poor according to the rule aforesaid, and the said town of Salem shall be liable to maintain all such poor of said respective towns as are or may be absent therefrom, provided such poor person or persons at the time of departure belonged in such part of said respective Towns as is by this resolve hereby incorporated into the town of Salem. The collectors of the State taxes for the year 1819, already appointed in said respective towns, are hereby authorized and empowered to collect of the inhabitants of said town of Salem their proportion of said tax according to the lists on which the same was laid, in the same manner as though this resolve had not passed.

"The first town-meeting in said town of Salem shall be holden at the l'resbyterian Meeting-House of New Salem Society on tho third Tuesday of June next. Mumford Dolbeare, Esq., shall be the moderator of said meeting, and shall call said meeting by setting up a notification thercof on the public sign-post in said New Salem Society at least eight days before said first meeting, and in case of the death, incapacity, or absence of said Dolbeare, the duties assigned to him shall be performed by Jo- seph Morgan, Esq., aforesaid, and said town of Salem at said first meet- ing, and at all other successive meetings, shall have all the powers, priv- ileges and immunities incident to other towns in Connecticut. The officers elected at said first meeting shall hold their offices respectively until the next meeting of said town provided by law for the choice of its annual officers, and the town-meeting and the meeting of the elec- tors shall be holden at the meeting-house in the said society of New Salem.

" A true copy of Record examined by "THOMAS DAY, Secretary. " Received for record Dec. 3, 1819. Recorded by " ELIJAH TREADWAY, Register."

At a town-meeting held at the Presbyterian meet- ing-house in Salem on the 15th day of June, 1819, Mumford Dolbeare, Esq., moderator, appointed by the General Assembly : at said meeting Elijah Treadway was chosen clerk; Henry Perkins, Esq., Joseph Morgan, Esq., George Minard, Seth Lathrop, Esq., and Daniel Jones, selectmen.

Voted, John Billings be treasurer ; Mark Dodge be head constable ; Amasa Rathbun, Charles Tiffany, and Avery Morgan, constables.

Oct. 2, 1819. George Minard, David Patten, Asa Randall, assessors.

Oct. 2, 1819. Henry Perkins, Mumford Dolbeare, and Seth Lathrop, Esq., board of relief.

The above names comprise the first town officers of Salem, as appears of record.

REPRESENTATIVES FROM 1819-82.

1820, Henry Perkins; 1821, M. Dolbeare; 1822, Jos. Morgan ; 1823, E. Trendway; 1824-34, E. A. Packer; 1825, John Billings; 1826, David Patten; 1827, J. S. Ransom ; 1828, Nathan Minard; 1829, Asa Wil-

themin Williams

Roswell Morgan

609

SALEM.

cox ; 1830, John Whittlesey ; 1831, Jos. Morgan ; 1832, Chas. Hewitt ; 1833, John Whittlesey; 1835-39, Richard Tiffany ; 1836, no record ; 1837-54, Sidney Morgan ; 1838, Warren Williams; 1839-52, Richard Tiffany ; 1840, Josiah Raymond ; 1841, Orramel Whittlesey ; 1841-50, Abel Rathbone; 1843, M. W. Baker; 1844, no choice; 1845-62, D. G. Patten; 1846-65, J. C. Daniels ; 1847, Mark Dodge; 1848, Sidney Morgan ; 1849, Alfred Gallup; 1851, Wm. Tew: 1853, M. W. New- ton ; 1855-56-63, J. M. Fitch ; 1857, H. P. Whittlesey : 1858-61, D. A. Patten ; 1859, D. P. Otis ; 1860, Geo. Pratt ; 1864-68-70, J. C. May- nard; 1866, C. W. Scott; 1867, Frank Burdick; 1869-79, G. F. Allen ; 1871-73, Gilbert Murray ; 1872, C. B. Harvey ; 1874, J. C. Bushnell; 1875, W. S. Gott; 1876, F. E. Chadwick; 1877, Austin O. Gallup; 1878, Samuel N. Morgan ; 1880, F. N. Harris ; 1881, Charles T. Wil- liams.

CHAPTER LXXV.

SALEM-(Continued). BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

Henry Williams .- The subject of this sketch is a lineal descendant of the first Williams, who came from Wales and settled in Stonington, Conn., at an early day. For a complete history of the ancestry of Henry Williams, see "History of the Williams Family in Stonington, New London Co., Conn."

Henry Williams was born in the town of Stoning- ton, Conn., Oct. 13, 1796, and died at his residence in Salem, New London Co., Conn., Aug. 16, 1871. His father, Joshua Williams, was born in Stonington, Conn. He was three times married. By his first wife he had two sons, Joshua and Nathan ; by his second wife he had one son, Jabez; and by his third wife, Hannah Hurlburt, he had two sons and four daugh- ters, viz .: (1) Avery, who lost his life by drowning ; (2) Henry, the immediate subject of this sketch ; (3) Hannah, married Robert Fellows, of Stonington, Conn .; (4) Sally, married Elisha Daboll, of Groton ; (5) Harriet, married Henry Finch ; (6) Freelove H., married William H. Starr, of Groton.

Mr. Williams was a mechanic and ship-builder by trade. He died at the age of eighty years. Henry Williams received a common-school education, and at an early age began as an apprentice to learn to manufacture woolen goods, which he followed for many years. After he had become sufficiently versed in the manufacturing business he commenced in Groton manufacturing for himself, in company with one Gilbert Williams as a partner. After a few years they dissolved partnership, and Henry Williams con- tinued in the business till about 1832 or 1833, when he settled in the present town of Salem, about one- half mile from where his family now reside, on a farm known as Theophilus Morgan farm.

In 1839 he settled on the farm, where he continued to reside till his death. His farm, of some three hun- dred acres, was in a good state of cultivation, and was purchased of Deacon Warren Williams. Mr. Wil- liams was considered one of the best farmers in town. In all his business relations he was successful, and he carried into his public life the same tact and energy

that he displayed in his private affairs. He was twice married,-first to Patty A., daughter of Amos A. Niles and Anna Allyn, Dec. 26, 1824. She was born in Groton, Nov. 2, 1800. Their children were (1) Henry E .; (2) Patty A., deceased, wife of James Allyn, of Montville ; (3) Nelson N .; (4) Julia, widow of Colby Morgan. Mrs. Williams died Jan. 9, 1831. Nov. 26, 1835, he married Julia A. Niles, sister of his first wife. She was born Sept. 9, 1810, in Groton. Their children are Hannah H., Eleanor C., William F., Daniel W., Leonora, died at sixteen, and Charles T., all born in Salem, Conn.

Mr. Williams was a Republican in politics, and as such was one of the leading men of the town. He held various town offices, and was elected to the State Senate, where he was made chairman of the Com- mittee on Federal Relations. He was a man of great force of character; tender-hearted, a good husband and father, and his domestic relations were very pleasant. He was a strong temperance man. He was universally respected, and was an upright, honest citizen.

Roswell Morgan, a son of Samuel Morgan, was born in Salem, Sept. 22, 1797. His grandfather, Timothy Morgan, was a native of Groton, Conn.1 Timothy had eleven children, one of whom was Sam- uel, born May 12, 1763, in Groton. Timothy was a farmer. He died Oct. 13, 1795.

Samuel Morgan was a farmer by occupation ; mar- ried Mary Holmes, Oct. 14, 1786, and had nine chil- dren, viz. : Mary, Samuel, Zerbiah, Aaron, Hannah, Mary (2), Roswell, Timothy, and Elmira L. Sam- uel Morgan settled in Salem as early as 1793 or 1794, where he died Dec. 5, 1819. His wife died Aug. 10, 1841.

Roswell Morgan received a common-school educa- tion, and taught school several terms in Pennsylvania. He succeeded his father on the home-farm in Salem, where he lived all his life, except a few years spent on a farm in another part of the same town. His farm of two hundred and seventy acres was always in a good state of cultivation, and he was justly consid- ered one of the best farmers in town. On the 28th of February, 1830, he married Abby, daughter of Capt. Thomas Barber and Mary Palmer, daughter of David Palmer, who was killed at Fort Griswold, Sept. 6, 1781. Mrs. Roswell Morgan was born in Groton, Sept. 8, 1804.

Their children are Elizabeth, Emeline (Mrs. Simeon A. Chatman, of Groton), Jane, Samuel N., and Al- bert, all born in Salem.

In politics Mr. Morgan was a Democrat till the Re- publican party was organized, when he joined it. He held some of the town offices, but as a rule preferred the quiet of domestic life to official positions. He was a member of the Baptist Church at Colchester, Conn., and was known for his charity towards all hu-

I See history of the family in Groton.

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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

mane interests. He was a bright Mason. He died Oct. 6, 1865, and was buried at Salem, the last honors being paid him by his brother Masons.

SAMUEL NOYES MORGAN was born in Salem, Sept. 22, 1842, and after going through the common school completed his studies at Wesleyan Academy, Wilbra- ham, Mass. He has held many offices of trust in his native town. He was sent to the Legislature for the first time in 1878. He has followed successfully the business of a farmer, and is a Republican.

He married Louisa S. Davis, of Brooklyn, N. Y., Dec. 4, 1879.

CHAPTER LXXVI.

SPRAGUE.

Geographical-Topographical-Manufactures-Organization of Town- First Town-Meeting-Ecclesiastical History -- Congregational Church, Ilanover-Representatives from 1861 to 1882.

THIS town lies on the north border of the county, and is bounded as follows : on the north by Windham County, on the east by Lisbon, on the south by Nor- wich, and on the west by Franklin. Sprague is prin- cipally a manufacturing town, although there are many excellent farms within its borders.

This town in the rapidity of its growth resembles the changes that often take place in Western clear- ings. Lord's bridge, where the Shetucket was spanned to unite Lisbon and Franklin, and near which the Lord family had dwelt in quiet agricultural pur- suits for more than a century,-father, son, and grand- son living and dying on the spot,-was a secluded nook, without any foreshadowing of progress or visi- ble germ of enterprise. A grist-mill, a saw-mill, coevals of the first planters, a respectable farm-house, with its sign-post promising entertainment, and two or three smaller tenements constituted the hamlet. Only the casual floods and the romantic wildness of the river-banks interfered with the changeless repose of the scene.

Suddenly the blasting of rocks and the roar of machinery commenced ; hills were upset, channels were dug, the river tortured out of its willfulness, and amid mountainous heaps of cotton-bags the rural scene disappeared, and Baltic village leaped into ex- istence. In the course of five years more than a hundred buildings, comprising neat and comfortable houses, several shops, a church, and a school-house, grouped around the largest mill on the Western Con- tinent, had taken possession of the scene, the whole spreading like wings each side of the river, and link- ing together two distinct towns. .

These changes commenced in July, 1856, when the elder Governor Sprague, of Rhode Island, purchased three hundred acres of land on the Shetucket and laid the foundation of the great cotton-mill. In Oc- tober of that year the projector and proprietor of this

grand enterprise was removed from his work by sud- den death, and it was feared that his magnificent schemes would never be realized. But his son and nephews continued the work without intermission, filling out his plans, and even enlarging the sphere of operation, till Lord's bridge became the site of a mam- moth factory and the centre of a new town.

The great mill is nine hundred and fifty-four feet long, sixty-eight feet wide, and five stories high. The motive-power is furnished by six water-wheels, each over thirty feet in diameter. In 1864 more than eigh- teen hundred looms had been put in operation, and fourteen hundred persons were employed by the com- pany.

In 1861 the new town was incorporated by the name of Sprague. It comprises about twelve square miles of territory, taken from Lisbon and Franklin, the Shetucket running through it from north to south. It is intersected also by the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad, which gives it the advantage of direct and easy transportation. Within its bounds, besides the villages built up by the Spragues, it in- cludes the greater part of Hanover Society and the Eagleville manufacturing village on the east side of Lovett's bridge. Sprague is pre-eminently a collec- tion of mill villages.

The first town-meeting in Sprague was held June 10, 1861, and this was celebrated as the birthday of the town. Col. Ethan Allen, of Hanover, moderator of the meeting, was chosen the first selectman. The mileage, as fixed by the Legislature, is sixty-two miles to New Haven, and thirty-eight to Hartford.

Lovett's bridge and Lovett's grist-mills are old fa- miliar names originally belonging to Norwich. After the name of Lovett passed away, the fine mill situa- tion in this neighborhood became the seat of the Tar- box cotton-factory. In 1852 the place was purchased by Mr. John Batchelder and his associates, and the old mill being soon afterwards destroyed by fire, a large brick building was erected on the site and de- voted to the manufacture of seamless cotton bagging. Before the war this mill gave employment to seventy or eighty persons, men, women, and children. It has since been enlarged and transformed into a woolen- mill.

This place is now within the limits of Sprague, and is the seat of the Lisbon post-office, but is currently known as Eagleville.1 The Providence division of the New York and New England Railroad extends through the town, with a station at Baltic.

Congregational Church, Hanover. - Hanover Ecclesiastical Society was incorporated in 1761, and included a small portion of Canterbury and Wind- ham. A fund of £1400 was raised by subscription for the support of the ministry, and a church of fourteen

1 This name is said to have been suggested by the lighting of an eagle upon the cupola or summit of the belfry just before the mill was com- pleted, which the workmen hailed as a favorable omen, and named the place in honor of the royal bird.

Ethan Allen

611

SPRAGUE.

members gathered May 13, 1766, under the tempo- rary ministry of Rev. Timothy Stone. A house for worship was erected about the same time. Rev. Andrew Lee, the first pastor, was ordained Oct. 26, 1768, and continued in office, fulfilling its duties without special assistance, for sixty-two years. In 1830 the Rev. Barnabas Phinney became his col- league. Dr. Lee died Aug. 25, 1832, aged eighty- seven. Mr. Phinney was dismissed the November following.

Dr. Lee was a man of generons impulses, candid and liberal in sentiment. He was a son of John Lee, of Lyme, and born in 1745. His mother was Abigail Tully. Though a graduate of Yale College, he re- ceived the degree of S.T.D. from Harvard.

Since the dismission of Mr. Phinney the church has had the following pastors : Rev. Philo Judson, installed June 6, 1833, dismissed in December, 1834; Daniel Waldo, Edward Cleaveland, Joseph Ayer, Ebenezer W. Robinson, James A. Hazen.

REPRESENTATIVES FROM 1862 TO 1881.

1862, H. T. Potter; 1863, J. B. Bachelder; 1864-66, C. W. Scott; 1867-68, Frank Bendick; 1869, G. D. Loveland; 1870, John Nolan ; 1871, N. Smith ; 1872-73, C. W. Scott; 1874, E. R. Rowell; 1875, G. W. Love- land; 1876, P. Burns; 1877, L. Brewster; 1878, C. H. Ladd; 1879, C. Falvey ; 1880, C. D. Weaver; 1881, P. S. Cote.

CHAPTER LXXVII.

SPRAGUE-(Continued). BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

Ethan Allen, of Sprague, Conn., is a lineal de- scendant of one Samuel Allen, who settled at an early day at Hanover, Conn., where he built a saw- mill and made other improvements, then removed to Windham County, Conn., and was there engaged in farming. Samuel Allen died in Windham County. One of his descendants was Asa Allen, who had sev- eral children, one of whom was Pratt Allen, born in Scotland, Conn., married Rhoda Witter and had four- teen children, of whom Ebenezer was one. Pratt Allen was a farmer in Canterbury, Conn., and a manu- facturer of woolen goods at Hanover, Conn., with his son Ebenezer. He was a Revolutionary soldier a short time during the years 1780-81, being only about sixteen years of age. He died about 1851, aged eighty-six years. His son Ebenezer was born at Canterbury, Conn., Nov. 28, 1792. He worked on the farm and taught school till he was twenty-one years of age, when, in 1813, he settled at Hanover, in the town of Sprague, Conn., and commenced the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods with his father. The original woolen-mill was built by his father, Pratt Allen. It was destroyed by fire in 1834, and was rebuilt by him (Ebenezer). This mill was destroyed by fire in 1862, and rebuilt by his son,

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History of New London county, Connecticut : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 147

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1317

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1317