USA > Connecticut > New London County > Norwich > History of Norwich, Connecticut: from its possession by the Indians, to the year 1866 > Part 60
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70
A Baptist church with 100 members was organized at Greeneville in 1845, and a house of worship erected the next year. The first pastor, Rev. D. B. Cheney, was succeeded in April, 1847, by Rev. Lawson Muzzy.
In February, 1854, during the pastorate of Rev. Niles Whiting, the church was consumed by fire. It was replaced by an edifice of brick, at a cost of $5000. The new church was dedicated Dec. 21, 1854; sermon by Rev. J. B. Swan.
Mr. Whiting, the pastor, to whose perseverance and energy the success of the enterprise was largely indebted, did not live to see the new church completed. He died Oct. 13, 1854, in his 43d year.
The membership of this church has never risen much above or fallen far below its original number, 100.
* Mr. Denison is author of "Notes on the Baptists of New London County," and of various communications to periodical works in the line of historical research, particu- larly in regard to the formation of churches.
t Historical Discourse, by Rev. Samuel Graves. Norwich, 1865.
-
602
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
Methodists.
A grave-stone in the Chelsea burial-ground records the death of Capt. Moses Pierce, who was drowned May 4, 1781, aged 61; and of Mrs. Thankful Pierce, his relict, who died Feb. 3, 1821, aged 92; to which is added :
"She was a mother in Israel, and the first member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in this town, who, like Lydia, first heard the preachers, and then received them into her house."
This lady, while on a visit to some relations in Tolland in the year 1796, met with the Rev. Jesse Lee, a noted preacher in the Wesleyan connection, and became deeply interested in his preaching. Shortly after- wards, on his way to Boston, Mr. Lee stopped at Norwich, and preached the first Methodist sermon at her house. The ground was well-prepared, advocates and well-wishers of the new doctrine having been for several years looking forward to this result.
Other preachers followed, and classes were soon formed both at Chelsea and Bean Hill. At the latter place, Capt. James Hyde and Mr. William Lamb were the most noted among the carly converts. In Chelsea the society enjoyed for a while the fostering care of Mr. Beatty, a resident of the place, at whose house there was always preaching once a fortnight. But in 1804, Mr. Beatty, with several of his friends and their families, removing to Sandusky, the society seemed to be threatened with utter extinction,-the only members of note that remained being two aged women, Mrs. Pierce and Mrs. Davison. They were however kept to- gether, and their numbers enlarged, principally through the exertions of a young man, who became an exhorter, class-leader, and finally a local preacher in their connection. This was Rev. D. N. Bentley, who for fifty years may be regarded as the main pillar of the Methodist Church in Chelsea. His wife, Mrs. Letitia Bentley, was also devoted to the same cause, assisting in the class-meetings, and welcoming the messengers to her house with Christian hospitality .*
In 1811, a church was organized at Mr. Bentley's house, consisting of eleven members, and five years later a chapel was built for public services upon Wharf bridge, which was swept off and destroyed by a freshet of the river in the spring of 1823.
In May, 1825, a small church was dedicated at the Falls village, and for several years the members from the Landing resorted thither for pub- lic worship, forming but one church and society.
* " Died in this city, Nov. Ist, (1853,) after much suffering, which she endured as "seeing Him who is invisible," Mrs. Letitia Gardner, wife of Rev. D. N. Bentley." Norwich Courier.
603
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
The Methodist church in East Main street was dedicated June 18, 1835 ; sermon by Dr. Fisk of the Wesleyan University. This building, in size and convenience, far surpassed the previous accommodations of the society in Norwich. It has since been enlarged and refitted.
The Methodist society on Bean Hill for many years held their public services in the venerable building which had served successively and alternately for a classical academy, a free school, and a Separatist con- venticle. In this extemporized chapel, many of the early noted itinerants preached in their rounds. Here Lee, Asbury, and other messengers of the church, proclaimed their message. Here Maffit delivered one of the first of his flourishing effusions on this side of the water. When the eccentric Lorenzo Dow was to preach, the bounds were too narrow, and the audience assembled in the open air, upon the hill, under the great elm.
The present Methodist church on the hill was erected in 1833.
The church belonging to the Third Congregational Society, after the disbanding of that society in 1842, was purchased by the Methodists, and is their present Sachem street church. This is the strongest Methodist society in Norwich, and the only one that numbers a hundred members. They have five churches, and report a membership in all somewhat above four hundred.
The Free Methodist Church in Main street stands upon the site once occupied by an Episcopal and afterward by a Congregational church. The trustees are bound to keep the sittings free. This church was gath- ered in 1854, and held its first meetings in a large hall upon central wharf. Its early ministrations were conducted chiefly by the Rev. L. D. Bentley, a son of Elder D. N. Bentley, who follows the footsteps of his father as a preacher in the Wesleyan connection.
There is still another Methodist society within the bounds of Norwich, viz., at Greeneville, which began about the year 1850, and in the course of a few years reached a membership of more than 100 members. It then declined, and was left without a pastor or a convenient place of wor- ship for six or eight years, until 1864, when the number of members was reduced to twenty. It has since revived ; a new house of worship has been built, which was dedicated April 7, 1864. The membership has largely increased, and the society is active and prosperous.
Two preachers of considerable note in the Methodist denomination were natives of Norwich : Rev. Edward Hyde and Rev. B. Hibbard. Mr. Hyde was one of those fervent, heavenly-minded men that seem to have been formed after the model of the apostle John. Mr. Hibbard was an enterprising itinerant during the first thirty years of the present cen- tury. A memoir of his ministerial life, written by himself, has been published.
604
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
Universalists.
The doctrine of universal salvation, or the restitution of all things, was successfully introduced into Norwich between 1816 and 1820, through the persuasive eloquence of Rev. Edward Mitchell and Rev. Hosea Ballou. These preachers made repeated visits to the place, and attracted large audiences.
Mr. Ballou's first sermon (in August, 1817,) was delivered in the church of the First Society, and at its close the Rev. David Austin rose and in his impassioned manner uttered a protest against the doctrine. His remarks were discursive and flowery, but like all Mr. Austin's public addresses, charming to the ear. Mr. Ballou's subsequent discourses in Norwich were delivered at the Landing, in the Methodist chapel upon the wharf bridge.
In 1820, a Universalist society was formed, bearing the title of a "So- ciety of United Christian Friends in the towns of Norwich, Groton, and Preston." The committee that prepared the constitution was composed of one from each of the places named. The preparatory meetings were held in Preston and Poquetannock.
Under the patronage of this society, a church was erected at Norwich, and dedicated July 12, 1822; the services being conducted by the Rev. Edward Mitchell of New York. This edifice stands in a beautiful and conspicuous situation at the corner of Cliff and Main sts., East Chelsea .*
No church organization at that time took place, but the pulpit was occu- pied by temporary ministers engaged by the society, the first being the Rev. Charles Hudson, from 1821 to 1823.
A church consisting of eighteen members was organized Feb. 6, 1838, and the society incorporated in 1842, under the name of First Universal- ist Society in Norwich. About the same time the old church edifice was demolished, and a new one erected on the same site, which has since been much enlarged and improved.
No house of worship in Norwich has a position so open and command- ing as this.
This society has had a succession of eight or ten ministers, with short pastorates of two or three years cach.t
* Mr. Samuel T. Odiorne contributed liberally to the erection of this church, and after his death, in accordance with his expressed wish, a mortgage upon the edifice of $900, which he held, was canceled. Mr. Odiorne died in 1824.
f For further particulars respecting Universalism in Norwich, see the Historical Ser- mon of R. O. Williams, pastor, delivered May 5, 1844.
605
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
Summary of Churches.
4 Congregational.
5 Methodist.
3 Episcopal.
1 Universalist.
3 Baptist.
1 Roman Catholic.
The Episcopal Society at Yantic have hitherto held their services in a hall belonging to the Factory Company, but they are now looking forward to the erection of a handsome church. The number of families reported in this society is fifty-five. The church is now in charge of Rev. E. L. Whitcome.
Rev. Z. H. Mansfield was rector of this church from 1854 to his de- cease. He was a native of Norwich, graduated at Trinity College in 1836, and died April 10, 1858, at the family homestead, in the same room where he was born. His age was 47. He was deeply interested in the cause of education, and several years of his life were devoted to the instruction of youth.
The following clergymen of the Episcopal Church are natives of Nor- wich city :
Rev. Alfred Lee, Bishop of Delaware.
Rev. Thomas H. Vaill, D. D., Bishop of Kansas.
Rev. James A. Bolles, D. D.
Rev. John A. Paddock.
Rev. Benjamin H. Paddock.
Rev. Alfred L. Brewer.
The manufacturing establishments at Greeneville have been the means of alluring foreign laborers to the place. St. Mary's Catholic Church was built many years since for the accommodation of the Irish, the most numerous of the foreign emigrants. It originally seated about 800; it has been twice enlarged, and now holds more than 3000. Rev. Daniel Kelley, pastor.
This society is understood to be engaged in collecting funds and making arrangements for erecting a much larger and more magnificent church in the city.
The large admixture of foreigners in the present population of the city is clearly shown by the registry of marriages. In 1863 the number re- ported was 184; in 1864, 180.
Both parties American in 1863, 96
In 1864, 89
66
77
One of the parties foreign,
23
10
Colored persons,
6 4
Foreigners " 59
CHAPTER XLIX.
MANUFACTURES.
THE enterprise of the inhabitants in the line of manufactures has been frequently mentioned in the course of this history. But the subject will here be retraced, and various undertakings chronicled in their order, as far as data for this purpose have been obtained.
Iron-works were established in the parish of New Concord in 1750 by Capt. Joshua Abell and Nehemiah Huntington. They contracted with Robert Martin of Preston, to become the overseer or operator of their works, engaging him to make and refine Iron into Anconie, to be done workmanlike, and binding themselves to remunerate him with 100 lbs. of bar iron for every 200 Anconies he shall make.
Elijah Backus commenced a similar work at Yantie nearly at the same time. These are supposed to have been the first forges erected in New London county. They manufactured blooming and bar iron for anchors, mills, and other uses.
In the year 1766, cutlery as a business made its appearance, and various implements of husbandry, that had before been imported, were manufac- tured in the town. The Backus iron-works obtained great repute, and during the Revolutionary war all kinds of iron-work necessary for domes- tic use, and various instruments of warfare, were made and repaired at the Yantic forges.
The same year a pottery for the manufacture of stone-ware was estab- lished at Bean Hill, which continued in operation far into the present cen- tury, seldom, however, employing more than four or five hands.
The making of linseed oil was commenced at Bean Hill in 1748, by Hezekiah Huntington. In October, 1778, Elijah and Simon Lathrop gave notice in the New London Gazette that they had erected an oil-mill at Norwich Falls, and were ready to exchange a gallon of oil for a bushel of well-cleaned flax-seed.
In 1786, Silas Goodell set up another oil-mill near the falls. This was probably the same mill that in 1791 was owned by Joshua Huntington.
Lathrop's mill was destroyed by fire Nov. 9, 1788. The loss was esti- mated at $1500, a considerable quantity of oil and flax-seed being con- sumed. It was rebuilt the next year.
607
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
In these mills flax-seed was used to produce the best kind of oil, but inferior kinds of seed were often substituted. The three mills together produced about 9,000 gallons annually, which sold at three or four shil- lings per gallon.
During the Revolutionary war, iron-wire and cards were made at the falls, under the supervision of Nathaniel Niles.
Edmund Darrow established at the same period a naillery, which con- tinued in operation nearly to the close of the century.
The business of weaving stockings was begun in 1766, under the pat- ronage of Christopher Leffingwell. William Russell, an Englishman, was the first operator. For many years it was a small concern, limited to two or three looms. But in 1791, Leffingwell had nine looms in opera- tion, producing annually from 1200 to 1500 pair of hose, and employing in the manufacture worsted, cotton, linen, and silk. The silk hose ranged in value from 12s. to 20s. per pair. Gloves and purses were also woven at these mills, the whole business employing only five operatives.
At a later period the business was continued successively by Louis Baral, Leonard Beattie, and William Coxe, all foreigners, and still later by Jeremiah Griffing, a native of New London.
Stocking-looms were not only employed here, but constructed. Before 1790, looms that had been made in Norwich were set up at Hartford and Poughkeepsie,-two at each place. Looms were in operation at that period in New Haven, Litchfield, and Wallingford, and it is not improba- ble that these also were made in Norwich.
To accommodate his stocking-looms and other utilitarian projects, Col. Leffingwell built, after 1780,* the range of shops called Leffingwell's row. In 1785, wool-cards were made by James Lincoln in Leffingwell's row.
Paper. In the early manufacture of this article in Norwich, Christo- pher Leffingwell stands pre-eminent. His mill upon the Yantic, near No-man's Acre, was erected in 1766. This was the first paper-mill in Connecticut ; Leffingwell's mill, in a short period, produced various kinds of paper for wrapping, writing, printing, cartridges, and sheathing. The quantity annually turned out was estimated at 1300 reams, the prices varying from 4s. 6d. to 45s. per ream. Ten or twelve hands were em-
* Not after 1790, as stated ante, page 512, which is an error.
t Not the first in New England. There was one at Milton, Mass., in 1733, as ap- pears from an advertisement of that date in a Boston paper :
"In Milton, near the Paper Mill, A new built house to rent :
Ask of the Printer and you will Know further to content."
608
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
ployed .* At the outset of this undertaking, a small bounty was granted by the government, to continue for three years. It was not renewed.
After the year 1790, Andrew Huntington engaged in the manufacture of paper, and erected a new mill upon the Yantic, either on the site of Leffingwell's old mill, or very near it. Ebenezer Bushnell was for a few years his partner.
Chocolate Mills. Christopher Leffingwell was first in this department also. His chocolate-mill was in operation in 1770. Another was erected in 1779 by Simon Lathrop. They were both moved by water-wheels, and could be tended each by a single workman. The chocolate made was of the best quality, and the quantity produced was estimated at 4,000 and 5,000 pounds annually. It sold in considerable quantities at 14d. per lb .; retailers asked 18d.
Clocks and Watches. This business was commenced in 1773 by Thomas Harland, a mechanician of great skill and efficiency. His watches were pronounced equal to the best English importations. In 1790 he had ten or twelve hands in constant employ, and it was stated that he made annu- ally two hundred watches and forty clocks. His price for silver watches varied from £4 10s. to £7 10s. As at that period watches were far from being common, and it was even a mark of distinction to wear one, Mr. Harland's establishment was a center of the business for a considerable extent of country.
Barzillai Davison, 1775, N. Shipman, Sen., 1789, Eliphaz Hart on the Green by the court-house, and Judah Hart at the Landing, in 1812, though not probably to any great extent manufacturers, were yet "work- ers in gold and silver," and offered for sale handsome assortments of jew- elry and time-keepers.t
Between the years 1773 and 1780, four fulling-mills with clothier's shops and dye-houses went into operation : one in the parish of New Concord ; one in Franklin ; a third at the falls, "near Starr and Leffing- well's works adjoining the Paper Mill;" and a fourth on Bean Hill.
* This paper-mill excited great interest in the community. A private letter written in October, 1767, says of it :
" The Paper-mill at Norwich is plentifully supplied with rags, and has full demand for its paper. Mr. Throop tells me he has viewed it when at work ; that it is a curi- osity ; that they mould and make ready for the Press about ten sheets per minute by the watch."
The statistical report of Connecticut for 1812 shows that 40 gold watches and 1650 of silver were then owned in the State.
609
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
In a statement made of the industrial pursuits of the town in 1791, in addition to several establishments already noticed, are the following items:
Two nailleries, or machines for making nails, employing eight or ten hands.
Fifteen blacksmiths, who make annually about 50 dozen scythes, 150 dozen hoes, 50 dozen axes, and other implements for domestic and agri- cultural use.
Three distilleries.
Two tobacconists.
Two braziers, and a bell-foundry.
Cotton. In 1790, Dr. Joshua Lathrop established a cotton-factory in the town-plot. He began with five jennys, one carding-machine, and six looms. This machinery was afterward increased, and a great variety of goods manufactured, probably to the amount of 2000 yards per year while the project was continued. In 1793, the firm was Lathrop & Eells. The following is one of their advertisements, March 19, 1793:
"Lathrop & Eells have just finished a variety of Cotton Goods, consisting of Royal Ribs, Ribdelures, Ribdurants, Ribdenims, Ribbets, Zebrays, Satinetts, Satin-Stripes, Satin Cords, Thicksetts, Corduroys, Stockinetts, Dimotys, Feathered Stripes, Birds- Eye, Denims, Jeans, Jeanetts, Fustians, Bed Tickings that will hold feathers.
"The above Goods are well finished, and for durability undoubtedly superior to European manufactured. Gentlemen, merchants and others, who feel disposed to en- courage home manufactures, are invited to call and see for themselves, and may be as- sured they shall be supplied as low as they can furnish themselves from any quarter."
This business could not be made remunerative, and after a trial of eight or ten years was discontinued .*
The manufacturing spirit had been called into exercise to meet the exi- gencies of the Revolution. Before that time the country had been depend- ent upon England for all articles that required combination, capital and machinery for their production. When the intercourse with Europe was renewed, and commerce again brought the lavish results of foreign labor to our shores, the crude manufactures of the country declined, most of the imported articles being cheaper than those made at home. The spinning- wheel and loom still kept their place in families, fulling-mills and carding- machines were patronized, ropes and nails were made; but as a general fact, the work-shops and factories of the country were in Europe. The
* The two buildings occupied many years by Lathrop & Eells and Coit.& Lathrop, one for a factory, and the other for sales of drugs and merchandize, stood near toget ier on the town street, west of the present residence of Mrs. W. C. Gilman. They were similar in construction ; each had a projecting roof, and at one time they were painted blue with white trimmings.
39
610
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
spirit and enterprise of Norwich had been wholly diverted into the chan- nels of commerce, and future prosperity seemed to be expected only from the ocean.
At the commencement of the present century, the paper-mill at the falls was the only establishment of any kind in Norwich worthy the name of a factory.
The Norwich Falls district, now so busy, bustling, and crowded with inhabitants, was then a wild, secluded hamlet, consisting of two or three old mills and the dwelling-house of Elijah Lathrop. Beautiful was the place for all the purposes of romance and lonely meditation,-renowned for echoes and evergreens, the chosen resort of moonlight parties, curious travelers, and wandering lovers,-but the Genius of Manufacture had only marked it for his own ; he had not yet erected his standard and mar- shaled his legions in the valley. In relation to manufactures, and in some respects it would apply to the whole business of the town, this was a period when old things passed away, and all things became new.
Hemp. In the year 1803, Nathaniel Howland & Co. erected a build- ing at the falls for hemp-spinning. Mr. Timothy Lester was engaged as machinist ; the best of hatcheled hemp was used, and the warps were spun by a recently improved machine. Looms were soon introduced, and duck and canvas offered for sale in 1804.
The Howlands appear to have been stimulated to this undertaking by a visit from Mr. Baxter, a noted hemp-spinner from Great Britain, who was engaged in introducing the manufacture of cordage and duck, by machinery, into this country. He came to Norwich to survey the situa- tion, and was satisfied with its facilities, but was not himself sufficiently encouraged to remain and conduct the experiment .*
Col. Howland's mill kept on its way for a few years, employing from twelve to twenty hands, and throwing a considerable quantity of hempen cloth into the market. He was encouraged in his operations by the gov- ernment. Proffers were made to him to supply the navy upon cash advances, and a small bounty was granted by Congress for every bolt of duck produced. But the business could not withstand the pressure of the times, and was overwhelmed in the general wreck of mercantile affairs, connected with the embargo and other commercial restrictions of that period.
Manufactures at the Falls. The rise of manufactures after this period is intimately connected with several prominent individuals who removed to the place from other parts of New England.
* Reminiscences of G. S. Howland, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Norwich Jubilee, p. 298.
1
611
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
Calvin Goddard in 1807. William Williams in 1809.
William C. Gilman in 1816. William P. Greene in 1824.
These all in their first coming to Norwich were connected with the manufacturing interest at the Falls. Though not natives, they are wholly identified with the place, and by their enterprise and their liberal and enlightened course as citizens, have contributed largely to its prosperity.
Mr. Goddard was a lawyer and statesman, connected with the manu- facturing interest only as a proprietor and patron. Having projected an establishment at the Falls, he purchased in 1809 the old Lathrop house and mill-seats of that district, the saw, grist and oil-mills, with the ancient distillery and tannery lots and privileges, and formed a partnership with William Williams, Sen., of Stonington, and his sons, (Wm. Jr. and Thos. W.,) under the firm of William Williams Jr. & Co., one of the younger partners taking the principal agency in the business. In common par- lance, however, the firm was Goddard & Williams.
This company set up the machinery necessary for grinding and bolting "Virginia wheat and Southern corn ;" imported their grain, and obtained William Weller, an experienced miller from Pennsylvania, for their fore- man. They kept two or three sloops in their employ, sailing to Norfolk, Petersburg, Fredericksburg, and Richmond.
In 1812, they fitted out the schooner Ann and Mary, and sent her to Cadiz with flour. This was their only foreign adventure. The war with Great Britain throwing obstacles in the way of trade with the South, the flour business was broken up, and the company turned their attention to the manufacture of cotton cloth.
The Howland duck-factory was changed by this company into a cotton- mill, which began to run in December, 1813, preceding by a few months the cotton-factories at Jewett City and Bozrahville. They began with carding and spinning, giving out the yarn from the factory to be woven in hand-looms, but after three or four years the power-loom was introduced, and they turned out mattrasses, nankeens and shirtings in a completed state.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.