History of New London county, Connecticut : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 76

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 76

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"Dec. 1774. Mr. Samuel Gager, of Norwich, from a conscientious re- gard to justice, has lately liberated three faithful slaves, and as a com- pensation for their services, leased them a very valuable farm on very moderate terms. Mr. Jonathan Avery also emancipated an able indus- trious negro man, from the same noble principle."

An act of the Legislature, prescribing the rules and regulations under which emancipation should take place, was passed in 1777, and several instances of liberation, in accordance with the provisions of this statute,3 are on record at Norwich, such as :

" Liberty given by the select men to Jabez Huntington, Esq., to eman- cipate a negro man named Guy, Oct. 2, 1780."

" Liberty to Col. Joshua Huntington to emancipate his negro servant, Bena, June 26, 1781."

But whether slaves or freemen, the Africans of Nor- wich have always been treated with forbearance and lenity. They have been particularly indulged in their annual elections and training. In former times the ceremony of a mock election of a negro Governor created no little excitement in their ranks. The ser- vants for the time being assumed the relative rank

3 Capt. William Browne, a noted loyalist of Salem, Mass., connected with the Winthrop family of New London, was the proprietor of a large tract of land lying south of Colchester, which formed almost a parish of itself, and was called by the owner New Salem. It is now in the town of Salem, Conn. A portion of it under cultivation had been leased for a term of years, with nine slaves as laborers upon it. When this land was confiscated in 1779, on account of the Toryism of the proprietor, thie slaves petitioned the Legislature, through Benjamin Huntington, the administrator on confiscated estates, for their liberty. The petition was not granted, but the slaves had the benefit of the new laws regulating emancipation, and it is supposed that they were all set free sooner or later.

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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

and condition of their masters, and were allowed to use the horses and many of the military trappings of their owners. Provisions, decorations, fruits, and liquors were liberally surrendered to them. Great electioneering prevailed, parties often ran high, stump harangues were made, and a vast deal of ceremony expended in counting the votes, proclaiming the re- sult, and inducting the candidate into office, the whole too often terminating in a drunken frolic, if not a fight.

A very decent gravestone in the public burial- ground bears this inscription :

"In memory of Boston Trowtrow, governor of the African tribe in this town, who died 1772, aged 66."

After the death of this person "Sam Hun'ton" was annually elected to this mock dignity for a much greater number of years than his honorable name- sake and master, Samuel Huntington, Esq., filled the gubernatorial chair. It was amusing to see this sham dignitary after his election, riding through the town on one of his master's horses, adorned with plaited gear, his aides on each side, a la militaire, himself puffing and swelling with pomposity, sitting bolt up- right, and moving with a slow, majestic pace, as if the universe was looking on. When he mounted or dismounted his aides flew to his assistance, holding his bridle, putting his feet into the stirrup, and bow- ing to the ground before him. The Great Mogul, in a triumphal procession, never assumed an air of more perfect self-importance than the negro Governor at such a time.

We must not leave this subject without recording the name of Leb Quy, a native of Africa, and a trusty Continental soldier. He served during three years of the war, and was one of the town's quota in 1780 and 1781.

An Old - Time Love - Story .- "From a Justice's Book of Record of Ebenezer Hartshorn, one of His Majesty's Justices of ye Peace, New London County, Conn. : Abert Page, of Havorhill, in ye province of Massachusetts Bay, and Dorcos Fillmore, of Norwich, in New London County, in ye Colony of Connecticut, and presented themselves for marriage without proof of being published as the law requires. This court refuses to joyne them in marriage this 15th day of Oct., 1759.

"On ye 16th day of October, 1759, ye above Abert Page and Dorcos Fillmore appeared to my office in Norwich with a certificate from Ira Post, one of His Majesty's grand jurors, and certifyes that he read a publishment of ye intended marriage of ye above named standing on ye stepstone at ye door of ye First Society meetin house in sd. Norwich three Sundays running, so they were joined together in marriage by me this day and went forth. EBENEZER HARTS- HORN, Justis of Peace."

The Bi-Centennial Celebration .- The two hun- dredth anniversary of the town was celebrated by a magnificent festival of two days' continuance, occu- i was not delivered.

pying Wednesday and Thursday, 7th and 8th of Sep- tember, 1859.

The arrangements of this great jubilee had been planned with a wise forecast. A committee of prep- aration had been for a year in office; invitations had been extensively circulated, and a general enthusiasm prevailed among the sons and daughters of Norwich and their descendants, far and near, to honor this in- teresting birthday. It was aptly termed the great Golden Wedding of the town, kept in remembrance of the hallowed union of the Puritan emigrant and his wilderness bride two hundred years before.

" Here where the tangled thicket grew, Where wolf and panther passed, An acorn from an English oak In the rude soil was cast."

A vast fraternity, genial intercourse, cordial fellow- ship, and lavish exchanges of thought and fact were confidently expected, and seldom are joyful anticipa- tions and enlarged plans so fully realized.

The weather seemed adapted to the occasion. The season in all its bearings harmonized with the festal robes and outdoor encampments with which the in- habitants prepared their dear old homestead for the reception of its guests. A general glow of happiness pervaded every countenance. The absentees, the wanderers, the distant relatives, friends, and neigh- bors assembled. It was a mighty gathering, but yet far more orderly and quiet than a customary militia muster or political convention. It was an ovation, hilarious and triumphant, but not tumultuous. The devotional element was not perhaps sufficiently prev- alent to chime with the principles of " two hundred years ago ;" but, on the other hand, there was no bac- chanal accompaniment, no rude disturbance to break the swell of a note of music or the sound of a speak- er's voice, and it was said not a solitary case of ine- briety was observed during the whole festival.

The most conspicuous features of the celebration were these :

The decoration of the streets and buildings, and the erection of a wide-winged tent upon the Parade.

A grand procession, military and civic, half a mile in extent, that made the tour of the town, with ban- ners, bands of music, and exhibitions of trades and professions, many of them in active operation.

Two historical discourses of lasting value and interest.

Two descriptive addresses of an oratorical charac- ter,-impressive and eloquent in a high degree.

A dinner, with numerous toasts and speeches.

A closing ball at the great tent on the Town Park or Parade.

The various exercises were interspersed and en- livened with original poetry and good singing. A descriptive poem by Anson G. Chester, of Syracuse, N. Y., was one of the expected entertainments of the festival, but owing to the severe illness of the poet it

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NORWICH.

It was estimated that at this celebration fifteen hundred flags were spread upon the wind, not only those of our own country, but the motley emblems of all nations. Several magnificent arches were erected at prominent points. A very tasteful arch in Frank- lin Street represented two clasped hands, 1659 and 1859, with the motto, " A Hearty Greeting."

Gen. David Young was the chief marshal of the ceremonies. Governor Buckingham presided in the assemblies. Ex-President Fillmore was the most dis- tinguished guest. The bi-centennial discourse was by Daniel C. Gilman ; the discourse on the life and times of John Mason, by Hon. John A. Rockwell. The other addresses, or more properly orations, were by Rt. Rev. Alfred Lee, Bishop of Delaware, and Donald G. Mitchell.

The speakers were all natives of the town, and had the same object in view,-gratefully to commemorate the scenes and influences by which they had been nurtured. It was beautiful to see with what variety of touch they struck the key-note, producing with great diversity of tone entire harmony. The faithful historic record, the biography of the founder, the chastened retrospect, and the graceful survey of the two centuries of the town's life presented by the ora- tors, each in his own characteristic style, converged upon the same theme, Norwich, our home.

Many interesting incidents were connected with this great festivity. The corner-stone of a monument to the memory of Mason, the conqueror of the Pe- quots, was laid in Yantic Cemetery. A dinner was given by Gen. Williams to the Mohegans, of which more than sixty of the remains of that tribe partook. Mrs. William P. Greene, as a memorial of the cele- bration, presented a house and grounds to the Free Academy, for the residence of the principal, valued at seven thousand dollars. Mr. Giles L'Hommedieu, the oldest native-born American in the town, was then in his last illness, and the procession passed the house where he lay in reverential silence. He died six days after the celebration, in the ninety-fourth year of his age.

A history of the celebration, including the prelim- inary measures and a registry of the various commit- tees, with the addresses, poems, hymns, speeches, and particulars of interest connected with the great festi- val, was published by John W. Stedman, of Norwich, in a well-executed, attractive volume, entitled "The Norwich Jubilee." The work was compiled, printed, and published by Mr. Stedman ; the paper was manu- factured at the Chelsea Mill, and the whole book, in its print, binding, and illustrations, is a Norwich pro- duction. As a memorial volume it is of enduring interest. Its contents are so comprehensive as to render it unnecessary to give in this history anything more than the foregoing brief outline of the two grand red-letter days of the bi-centennial commem- oration.

The year 1859 was the bi-centennial anniversary of

the signing of the purchase deed, and of the prelim- inary steps taken by the proprietors in laying out the town, but the anniversary of the actual settlement, when woman arrived upon the ground and homes were constituted, was more definitely the year 1860.

Uncas and the Indian Graves .- "The ancient In- dian cemetery, heavily shadowed with a native growth of trees, is now little more than an inclosure for the Uncas monument.

" During the summer of 1833, Gen. Jackson, Presi- dent of the United States, with a part of his cabinet, made a tour through a portion of the Eastern States. The citizens of Norwich had long been desirous of erecting some memorial of respect for their 'Old Friend,' the Mohegan sachem, and they suddenly decided to celebrate the visit of the President by con- necting it with the interesting ceremony of laying the corner-stone of an Uncas monument.

"The Presidential party came from Hartford by land, arriving by the Essex turnpike in open coaches, with a brilliant escort of cavalry that had gone forth to meet them. Vice-President Van Buren, Governor Edwards, of Connecticut, Maj. Donelson, and Messrs. Cass, Woodbury, and Poinsett, Secretaries of War, Navy, and State, formed the party. They arrived at three o'clock P.M., paused a few moments at the falls, and then advanced to the cemetery, where a great assemblage of the inhabitants, military companies, bands of children with banners and mottoes, and a few scattered Indians from Mohegan received the visitors with martial salutes and joyful acclama- tions.

" At the cemetery, where all stood with uncovered heads, N. L. Shipman, Esq., in behalf of the associa- tion, gave a brief sketch of the family of Uncas and the existing condition of the tribe. The President then moved the foundation-stone to its place. It was an interesting, suggestive ceremony; a token of re- spect from the modern warrior to the ancient,-from the emigrant race to the aborigines. Gen. Cass, in a short but eloquent address to the multitude, observed that the earth afforded but few more striking specta- cles than that of one hero doing homage at the tomb of another.

"The ceremony being concluded, the children sang a hymn and the Presidential party passed away, pausing again at the Landing for refreshments, and embarking from thence in a steamer for New London.

"Though the corner-stone was thus auspiciously prepared, no funds had been obtained or plans ma- tured for the erection of the monument. The ladies at length took hold of the work and brought it to a successful issue. Embracing the opportunity of a political mass-meeting which assembled at Norwich, Oct. 15, 1840, in honor of Harrison and Tyler, they prepared a refreshment fair, with generous enthu- siasm arranged and filled their tables, took their station as saleswomen, and with the profits paid for the monument.

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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

" It consists of a simple granite obelisk, with no inscription but the name,-

" UNCAS.1

"The raising of the shaft and fixing it upon the foundation-stone was the occasion of another festival. This was on the 4th of July, 1842, at which time Wil- liam L. Stone, of New York, delivered an historical discourse on the life and times of the sachem.2

" Among the persons present in the tent where the address was delivered werc ten citizens of the place over seventy-five years of age: Erastus Perkins, 89; Samuel Avery, 88; Scabury Brewster, 86; Christopher Vail, 82; Bela Peck, 82; Ichabod Ward, 80; New- comb Kinney, 80; Benjamin Snow, 77; Nathaniel Shipman, 76; Zachariah Huntington, 75.

" The whole space inclosed as the Uncas Cemetery, and probably the ground for some distance upon its border, is thickly seeded with Indian graves, though but very few inscribed stones or even hillocks remain. The only inscription of any particular interest is on the grave-stone of Samuel Uncas, one of the latest of the Uncas family that bore even the nominal title of sachem, and who died not long before the Revolu- tionary war. The cpitaph, written by Dr. Elisha. Tracy, reads thus :

"'SAMUEL UNCAS.

""" For Beauty, wit, for Sterling sense, For temper mild, for Eliquence, For Courage Bold, for things wauregan, He was the Glory of Moheagon, Whose death has caused great lamentation, Both'in ye English and ye Indian Nation.'"

Col. Mason's Monument .- A monument to the memory of Col. Mason was erected near the old Post and Gager burying-ground, on the street leading from Norwich Town to Bean Hill, with the following in- scriptions.

At the base of the monument is cut the name Mason, and on the tablet in the centre, following Mason's full name and title, are these :

"Rev. James Fitch, John Peaso, John Tracy, John Baldwin, Jonathan Royce, John Post, Thomas Bingham, Thomas Waterman, and Robert Allen."

On the western base is the following inscription :

" Major John Mason, born in England, died in Norwich, January 30th, 1672, aged 73."

Above this is a tablet bearing the names of

" Sergeant Thomas Leffingwell, Richard Wallis, Thomas Adgate, John Olmstead, Stephen Backus, Thomas Bliss, John Reynolds, Josiah Reed, Richard Hendys, and Christopher Huntington."

On the north face are the names of

) The Rev. Mr. Fitch, in 1675, wrote this name Unkus. Before the monu- ment was completed, G. L. Perkins, Esq., who had charge of the under- taking, wrote lelters to Noah Websler, the philologist, Thomas Day, Secretary of the State of Connecticut, and Col. Willlam L. Stone, a dili- gent investigator of Indian history, to Inquire what they would consider the most eligible mode of spelling the name to be inscribed on the obe- Ilsk. They all concurred in recommending the modern orthography,- Uncas.

2 Published afterwards In a small dnodecimo volume, ontitled " Uncas and Miantonomoh."

" Ensign William Backus, Francis Griswold, Neh. Smith, Thomas Howard, John Calkins, Richard Edgerton, Thomas Post, and John Gagor."

The southern face bearing the following:

"Samuel ITide, William Hido, Lieut. Thomas Tracy, Morgan Bowers, Robert Wade, John Birchard, Simon Huntington, Stephon Gifford, and John Bradford."

The Soldiers' Monument .- At a meeting of the citizens of Norwich, held at Breed Hall on the 14th of January, 1869, it was resolved "that a committee of seven be appointed to solicit and collect funds for the erection of a monument to the Norwich soldiers and seamen who fell in our late war for the preserva- tion of the National Union." The committee con- sisted of Hon. W. A. Buckingham, Amos W. Pren- tice, John T. Wait, Rev. M. McG. Dana, Dr. C. B. Webster, James L. Carew, Edwin P. Avery, E. P. Slocum, and Misses Elizabeth Greene and Eliza Per- kins. The committee did not make much progress ; so at a town-meeting on the 3d of October, 1870, the subject was again brought up and disposed of by lay- ing a tax of " fifteen cents on one hundred dollars of the assessment list of the town," and appointing a committee to expend it in the erection of a suitable monument to the memory of the soldiers and seamen of the town in the great Rebellion. William A. Buckingham, John T. Wait, and James A. Hovey were appointed this committee. A contract for a monument was soon made, and in the spring of 1873 it was put in place at the head of the Great Plain. The monument is of a light granite, from Westerly, R. I. Its design is that of a colossal statue of a Union soldier supported on a massive pedestal. The statue is twelve feet high, and the entire height of the mon- ument is twenty-seven feet six inches. It measures ten fect square at the base. Its cost was about eigh- teen thousand dollars. The inscriptions on the sev- eral sides are the motto of the State, the names of all those from this town who fell in active service, and these words on the front, "Erected by the town of Norwich in memory of her brave sons who volun- tarily entered the military service of the United States and lost their lives in defense of the national government during the Rebellion."

Norwich City Water-Works .- At the May ses- sion of the General Assembly of the State, 1866, the charter of the city was so amended as to give the city the power to supply itself with pure water. This amendment was accepted by the city, and in October of the following year a site was selected for a reservoir and the work commenced. The reservoir is a natural basin between the Scotland road and Canterbury turn- pike, one mile east of Norwich town green, through which a small tributary stream ran to the Yantic River.

Fire Department .- The present organization of the fire department is as follows :

Joseph B. Carrier, chief engineer, fire marshal, and superintendent fire-alarm telegraph ; Assistant Engi-

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NORWICH.

neers, L. W. Greenburg, A. W. Park, W. T. Farring- ton.

Wauregan Steam Fire-Engine Company, No. 1, 180 Main Street .- - - -, foreman ; Walter T. Atch- inson, first assistant ; Charles Tracy, second assistant ; A. T. Boone, secretary and treasurer; Sidney L. Smith, engincer; George S. Towne, stoker.

Niagara Hose Company, No. 2 .- Thomas Cunning- ham, foreman ; , first assistant ; Edward Ho- ran, second assistant ; John Looby, secretary ; Frank N. Ranger, treasurer.

William M. Williams Steamer, No. 3 .- Felix Cal- Jahan, foreman; William Danahy, first assistant ; John Danahy, second assistant; Frank Case, secretary ; Frank McKcag, engineer ; Morris Welch, stoker.

Blackstone Hose Company, No. 1 .- A. S. Barbour, foreman ; Charles E. Rogers, first assistant ; Ezra B. Howard, second assistant ; John W. Burke, secretary ; Charles A. Williams, treasurer.

Norwich Hose Company, No. 4 .- Joseph N. Du- chett, Jr., foreman ; John Coffee, first assistant ; Wil- liam G. Tripp, second assistant; G. H. Wilbur, secre- tary ; William Noss, treasurer.

Neptune Steamer, No. 5 .- Howard L. Stanton, fore- man; Charles L. Perry, first assistant; George H. Stanton, second assistant ; Patrick F. Kelley, secre- tary and treasurer.

Wauregan Hook-and-Ladder Company .- Joseph B. Corey, foreman ; Henry B. Lewis, first assistant ; Herman S. Case, second assistant; Blyden Hedge, secretary ; Joseph B. Corey, treasurer.

Independence Hose Company, No. 6 .- John P. Murphy, foreman ; Joseph Kennedy, first assistant; James B. Ward, second assistant ; P. J. Sheridan, sec- retary ; M. F. Kane, treasurer ; James Cox, steward.

Shetucket Steamer, No. 7 .- Patrick Barry, fore- man; Martin Carroll, first assistant ; James Rigney, second assistant; John Foley, secretary ; Thomas J. Connor, treasurer ; William H. Bell, engineer ; John Reynolds, stoker.

Yantic Fire Company, Yantic .- Paul Smith, fore- man; Arthur P. Gleason, first assistant ; David Smith, second assistant; Charles H. Carpenter, secretary and treasurer.

Court-House, City and Town Hall .- On the 24th of April, 1865, a town-meeting was held to discuss the subject of petitioning the Legislature to make Nor- wich the sole shire town of the county. At the same meeting a committee was appointed to select a suita- ble site for a new building for county and town pur- poses to take the place of the house then recently burnt. This committee consisted of John T. Wait, Lorenzo Blackstone, James A. Hovey, James Lloyd Greene, Amos W. Prentice, John W. Stedman, John T. Brown, Jeremiah Halsey, Augustus Brewster, H. H. Starkweather, and Henry Bill. Subsequently the town voted to instruct this committee not to take definite action until the Legislature had decided the shire town question.

The action of the Legislature was adverse to the petition of the town, and the whole matter of a new building was postponed till the General Assembly of 1869. Then an act was passed giving the town of Norwich, the city of Norwich, and the county of New London power to combine for the erection of a build- ing for town, city, and county purposes, with no other restriction as to the cost of the same except that the county should not expend to exceed the sum of twenty thousand dollars. The same act superseded the town committee appointed to select a site for the same by placing that duty in the hands of the select- men of the town of Norwich, the mayor of the city of Norwich, and the commissioners of the county of New London.

Early in 1870, all the parties in interest having agreed to procced with the work, and fixed upon a site for the building and plans for the same, the work commenced. It was not till the spring of 1873 that any portion of the building was ready for occupancy. The first session of the Superior Court in it was opened on the 11th day of November of that year.

The building stands at the junction of Broadway and Union Streets, facing Otis Square. It is one hundred and ten feet from front to rear, and one hun- dred and eight feet wide. It is three stories high (in- cluding the basement, occupied by the city for police purposes), with a French roof. The main cornice is fifty-cight feet from the ground. The tower rises twenty-nine feet from the roof. The basement story is of cut granite ; the other stories are of pressed brick with granite trimmings. The cornices and tower are of galvanized iron, and the roof is covered with tin. The cellar is the whole size of the building, and con- tains the steam boilers for heating the building, coal- bins, etc. The basement floor is occupied by the cells for a lock-up, a police court-room thirty by fifty, and spacious rooms for all the ordinary police business of the city. On the first floor are the offices of the town clerk and other town officers, the county clerk's office, the probate office, the office of the chief engineer of the city fire department, the Common Council cham- ber, twenty-eight by forty-five, and the offices of the mayor, the city clerk, and water commissioners. On the floor above are the town hall, forty-eight by sixty-two, in the rear, and the court-room in front, forty-five by fifty, with ample anterooms, library-rooms, sheriff's office, etc. Each story is supplied with water-closets, fire-proof vaults of large dimensions, extending from the ground, and every convenience for the accommo- dation of business and the personal comfort of the oc- cupants of the building that modern ingenuity has devised. The tower contains a clock with illumi- nated dials, which are lighted up by night, and a 3000-pounds bell, which is used by the clock, and also as an alarm-bell. Water, gas, and heat are carried to every room in the building. The interior finish is of yellow pine, chestnut, and black walnut.

The plans of the building were by Burdich & Ar-

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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

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History of New London county, Connecticut : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 76

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