USA > Connecticut > New London County > Norwich > History of Norwich, Connecticut, from its settlement in 1660, to January 1845 > Part 21
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305
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
served as President of that honorable body, during the sessions of 1779 and 1780. While in Congress his seat on the bench was kept vacant for him, and he resumed it in 1781. He held various other important offices, such as Chief Justice of the State, and Lieutenant Gov- ernor, and in 1786 was elected Governor, and annu- ally re-elected by the freemen, with singular una- nimity, until his death, which took place at Norwich, January 5, 1796.
Mr. Huntington was of the middle size, dignified in his manners, even to formality ; reserved in popular intercourse, but in the domestic circle pleasing and communicative ; his complexion swarthy, his eye vivid and penetrating. One who was long an inmate of his family said : " I never heard a frivolous observation from him ; his conversation ever turned to something of a practical nature ; he was moderate and circum- spect in all his movements, and delivered his senti- ments in few but weighty words."
His wife was the daughter of Rev. Ebenezer Devo- tion, of Windham, a charitable and pious lady, whose memory is still honored in the neighborhood where she dwelt. She died before her husband, in 1794. They had no children of their own, but adopted and edu- cated two children of his brother, the Rev. Joseph Huntington, of Coventry, the author of " Calvinism Improved." These were Samuel and Fanny Hunting- ton, who lived with their revered relatives as children with parents, affectionately and happily. They were present to soothe their last hours, to close their dying eyes, and to place their remains side by side in the tomb. They inherited from them, also, a very hand- some property.
The daughter married the Rev. E. D. Griffin, Presi- dent of Williamstown College : the son removed to
306
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
Ohio, in 1801 was chosen Judge of the Supreme Court, and afterwards Governor of the State for one term of office. He died at Painesville, Ohio, in 1817, aged · forty-nine.
Gov. Huntington preserved to the last those habits of simplicity with which he began life. In the pub- lished journal of the Marquis de Chastellux, he several times mentions Mr. Huntington with marked respect. At one time, in Philadelphia, he went to visit him with the Chevalier de la Luzerne, the French ambas- sador, and observes, "We found him in his cabinet, lighted by a single candle. This simplicity reminded me of Fabricius and the Philopemens." At another time he dined with him, in company with several other French gentlemen of distinction, and adds : " Mrs. Huntington, a good-looking, lusty woman, but not young, did the honors of the table, that is to say, helped every body, without saying a word." This silence must surely be attributed to ignorance of the language of the gay cavaliers, and not to any deficiency of good manners or conversational power.
Mr. Huntington was always a constant attendant on public worship, and for many years a professor of reli- gion. In conference meetings he usually took a part, and on the Sabbath, if no minister chanced to be pres- ent, he occasionally led the services, and his prayers and exhortations were solemn and acceptable. During his last sickness, he was supported and animated by an unwavering faith in Christ, and a joyful hope of eternal life.
This sketch cannot be better concluded, than with the earnest wish breathed by a contemporary pane- gyrist,-" May Connecticut never want a man of eqnal worth to preside in her councils, guard her inter- ests, and diffuse prosperity through her towns."
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NORWICH FALLS
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Commerce. Shipping. Men of Business. Lawyers. Gov. Griswold. Bridges. Highways. Turnpikes. Somerset Lodge. Murray. Winchester.
'THE spirit of enterprize revived in Norwich immedi- ately after the Revolutionary war, and for twelve years, reckoning from 1784, commerce flourished, and was rich in its returns. The West India trade, especially, offered a lucrative source of business. Very little flour was then brought into Norwich; it was an export rather than an import ; more being manufactured in the place than was necessary for home consumption. Considerable wheat was raised in the state, even in the eastern part, where it is now a very uncertain crop, and less profitable than most others. The following table of exports and imports for a period of fifteen months, will exhibit in a clear light the industry and enterprise which characterized this period. It is taken from a newspaper of the day.
Exports and Imports of Norwich, from January 1, 1788, to March 4, 1789, taken from the report of the Naval Offi- cer :
EXPORTS.
£
s. d. 4.8 6588
s. d.
549 horses,
value,
12
205 mules,
15
3075
205 horned cattle, "
7
1435
321 sheep,
10
160
10
566 hogs,
15
424
10
1,903 bbls. beef,
40
3806
1,774 " pork,
60
5322
25,000 lbs. butter,
6
625
30S
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
d.
92,120 cheese,
£ s. d. 4
£ S. 1535 6
8
6,600 " ham,
5 137 10
16,000 bu. grain,
2 6
2000
175 M. hoops,
70
612
10
160 M. staves,
80
640
14,600 lbs. hayseed,
6
365
576 bbls. potash,
5
2SS0
25,000 yds. homemade cloth,
2
2500
632 hhds. flax seed,
40
1264
276 tons pressed hay,
60
828
4 bbls. gingerbread,
5
20
Total,
. £34,218 6 8
IMPORTS.
European goods, value
1,500 hides,
12s.
900
7,675 bu. salt,
1s. 8d.
639
11
S
18,300 rum,
2s. 6d.
2287
10
1,271 lbs. bohea tea, 2s.
127
2
20,700 " coffee,
1s.
1045
417,200 "
sugar,
8344
Total,
£24,793 3 8
Shipping belonging to the port at this time.
Twenty sloops,
940 tons.
Five schooners, .
325
Five brigs,
545
One ship,
200
Total,
2010
S. d.
3909
112,625 galls. molasses, Is. 4d.
7540
=
In 1793, British privateers, began to seize American vessels in the West Indies, and for several years the commerce of New England suffered by these depreda- tions. Vessels were captured, carried into British ports, and by the decrees of Admiralty courts, libelled
309
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
and condemned. The merchants of Norwich shared in these perplexities ; many of their vessels were seized, and an uncertainty cast over their commercial projects. Public meetings were convened to see what could be done, and a memorial to Congress drafted April 18, 1794. A general spirit of arming in defense of the country was prevalent, and many spirited reso- lutions passed in the larger towns. In September of that ycar, Brigadier General Joseph Williams review- ed in Norwich, the third regiment of cavalry, under the command of Col. Elisha Egerton. An approach- ing war with Great Britain was then seriously appre- hended.
The storm blew over, and Norwich recovering from this temporary shock, resumed her commercial impor- tance. Four or five vessels were sometimes to be seen on the stocks at once. Story's ship yard in West Chelsea, launched ships of 200 and 300 tons burthen.
The increase of shipping for a few years after this period, was very rapid. In 1795, a list of vessels and tonnage belonging to the place, was made out in order to favor a petition forwarded to Government for the establishment of a Post-office in Chelsea. The follow- ing is a copy of this list taken from a draft in the hand writing of Joseph Howland Esq., than whom no man was better acquainted with the maratime affairs of the place.
" List of Shipping belonging to the port of Norwich, October 12, 1795.
Ship Mercury,
280 tons.
Brig Union,
130 tons.
Columbus, 200
Endeavor, 120
Modesty, 240
Friendship, 120
66 Young Eagle, 200
Betsey, 130
George, 364
Charlestown, 60
Portland
220
יו Polly, 180
Charlotte, 90
Sally 180
.
27
310
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
Brig & Sally,
60 tons. Sloop William,
70 tous
" Betsey,
90
Prosperity, 90
Schooner Polly,
90
Polly,
SO
Allen,
85
Negotiater, 90
' Elizabeth,
75
Friendship, 90
66 Chloe,
Washington,
65
& Betsey,
45
Schr. Shetucket,
70
Mary,
45
Robinson Crusoe, 120
Hercules, 70
Schooner Beaver,
60
Juno,
55
Jenny, 70
Hunter,
45
Sloop Farmer,
85
Patty,
35
Crisis,
72
Nancy,
70
Honor,
65
65
75
Bud, 35
Total seven ships, nine brigs, nine schooners, seventeen sloops == forty-two. Total 4312 tons, of which only 210 tons is owned in the old Parish, and 4102 is owned in the port or what is called Chelsea. The above does not include a number of river packets, or four New York packets."
With the progress of time, the commerce of the port has greatly declined; the articles exported are now needed for home consumption ; the maratime interest is merged in the manufacturing, and what shipping remains is employed in the coasting trade.
Among the enterprising citizens of this period, the following ranked high. Dr. Elihu Marvin, Col. Zab- diel Rogers, Gen. Williams, Thomas Mumford, Jo- seph Howland and Levi Huntington. Mr. Mumford, in his equipage, domestic establishment and table, exhibited a lavish style of expenditure. He built a new house on a large scale, and had one of the finest gardens in the State, his head gardener having been procured from Holland. The Howlands, father and son, were extensively engaged in mercantile pursuits. They afterwards removed to New York. Gen. Marvin fell a victim to the yellow fever in 179S. This fatal disease raged at that time with extreme violence in New London, but Marvin, himself a skillful physician,
311
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
was the only victim to it in Norwich. Col. Rogers died in 1807, aged 72.
John M. Breed, Elisha Hyde, Roger Griswold, and Asa Spalding Esqs., were active as lawyers and public men. Griswold was conspicuous on political occa- sions. Breed was soon called to fulfill the duties of Mayor of the new city. Hyde was deeply interested in the land purchases on the Delaware and Susquehan- nah. Spalding was industriously engaged in amass- ing a large fortune. Yet it was then no easy matter to grow rich in the practice of the law. The price for managing a case before the common pleas, varied only from six to thirty shillings, and before the Superior Court from six to fifty-four shillings.
The work of building and repairing bridges, is one that has fallen heavily upon the inhabitants of Nor- wich. The period of the erection of several has been already noted. To Whiting's bridge over the She- tucket, succeeded one built by Nathaniel Giddings in 1757, which stood a few rods south of Samuel Roath's dwelling house. The land between this house and the bridge was granted to Mr. Stephen Roath, to improve for a corn-mill. The grant was made in 1761, and it was to last seventy years.
Gidding'sbridge wassoon condemned. In 1780, anoth- er was built on the samespot, under the joint direction of Norwich and Preston ; £450, the avails of a lottery, was expended upon it. It was called the Geometry bridge, and was thoroughly repaired in 1792. The river is here 300 feet wide.
In 1817, Mr. Lathrop built the fourth bridge upon this spot, under the direction of the Norwich and Preston Bridge Company, which was incorporated in 1816. The expense was $10,000.
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312
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
In 1767, the first bridge was built over the cove, where the wharf bridge now stands. The contractor was Mr. Gershom Breed. Great objections were made to the erection of this bridge, on the ground that it could not be made useful, from the high and precipi- tous hill on each side, particularly on the cast. From Hyde's corner to the edge of the river, the declivity was then very abrupt, though the descent is now grad- ual. This is another instance, in which the work of levelling and filling up, has greatly altered the natural features of the scenery. Four years after the building of this bridge, the General Court granted a lottery, to raise money to refund to the undertakers the sum they had expended upon it, [viz : £60] to repair it, and make it wider. This bridge led to numerons meet- ings, plans and resolutions, in order to make it conven- ient and passable for teams, secure it from floods, have a good highway leading to it, make an addition on the south side, make two water-courses through it, appoint an overseer to receive wharfage, &c. For all these purposes, a second lottery to raise £300, was granted to the town in 1773.
'The bridge at Lathrop's farm having been repeat- edly carried away by the spring floods, in 1792, Nor- wich and Lisbon jointly erected a more substantial structure at this place, which was paid for by a tax. The spot is just above the junction of the Quinebang, where the river is 212 feet wide.
In the year 1790, Middle or Main-street was opened in Chelsea, at an expense of £100, part of which was paid by the town, and part by individual subscription. This was a great improvement to Chelsea, though the plan was at first vehemently opposed by some of the owners of the ground. One individual erected a build- ing directly across the western extremity, so as to close
313
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
up the throat of the street, hoping thereby to put an end to the project.
About the same time, the highways of the town plot were also very much improved. Dr. Joshua Lathrop very generously gave $300 to be laid out on the old town street, "between the brook at the corner of the meeting-house plain, and the house of the widow Reynolds." William Hubbard Esq., was like- wise a generous benefactor in this line. The road through " the Grove," from the Court-house to Strong's corner, was opened chiefly through his exertions. That very handsome street, the East Avenue to Chel- sea, was also laid out by Capt. Hubbard, or rather straitened from the old road which was of a crescent form, the ends being at the store of Thomas Fanning Esq., and the house of Rev. Walter King. The same gentleman was likewise active in improving the road to New London, persuading some to give money, some labor, and some influence, until the object was accom- plished. A company was incorporated in 1792 to make this road a turnpike, and erect a toll gate. This was the first turnpike road in the State. In 1806, it was extended to the landing, by a new road that began at the wharf bridge, and fell into the old road, south of Trading Cove Bridge. In 1812, another new piece of road was annexed to it, which was laid out in a direct line from the Court House, to the old Mohegan road.
The Norwich and Providence post road was made a turnpike in 1794.
The Norwich and Woodstock, extending from Nor- wich to Massachusetts line, in 1801.
The Norwich and Salem, leading to Essex on the Connecticut river, in 1827.
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314
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
The Shetucket Turnpike Company to maintain a road through Preston, Griswold, Voluntown, and Ster- ling, to the east boundary, was incorporated in 1829.
About 1790 freemasonry began to be popular in Nor- wich. In 1794, Somerset Lodge was constituted with great pomp. The services were at the meeting-house in the town plot. Bishop Seabury preached a sermon in the morning, from 2 Corinthians v. 1 .- " A build- ing of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." A grand procession was then formed, which passed through the town, accompanied by a band of music; dinner was served in a rural bower erected upon the plain, and in the afternoon the Lodge again proceeded to the meeting-house, and listened to another sermon, from the Rev. Elkanan Winchester, from Psalms cxxxiii. 1. " Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."
A digression may here be allowed respecting Mr. Winchester and Universalism. The doctrine of Univer- sal salvation, connected with a belief in the Trinity, and a purification from sin by a limited degree of punish- ment in another state, ending in actual pardon, and a final restoration to the favor of God, had at one period a considerable number of advocates in Norwich, though no regular society, holding to such principles, was ever formed. Allusion has been already made to the Sep- arate meetings held in the town plot society. These, under Mr. Gamaliel Reynolds, gradually took the character of Universalism. In 1772, Mr. John Mur- ray, the English Universalist, or "Great Promulgator," as he styled himself, came to Norwich, being invited thither by Mr. Samuel Post, the near neighbor and friend of Mr. Reynolds. He preached a number of times to large audiences, and gained many admirers. From this period his visits to the place were frequent.
:
315
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
The church in the town plot being in the charge of a committee of the society, who were not members of the church, he was allowed the free use of it. He also preached in the Episcopal church, under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Tyler, and held a public dis- cussion with the Rev. Nathaniel Niles, in the Congre- gational church at Chelsea.
Mr. Murray was a man of wit and humor; fluent in speaking, with the manners of a gentleman. His social powers were highly esteemed in Norwich, and though he built up no society, he left an abundance of seed sown, the produce of which might be traced through the whole of that generation.
At a later period, Mr. Winchester, who was born in the vicinity of Norwich, often visited the place, and had many warm personal friends, particularly in the First Society. The Society Committee freely gave him the use of the meeting-house to preach in, and the same courtesy was extended towards him by the Rev. Mr. Tyler. The persuasive eloquence of Mr. Winchester operated less, perhaps, in his favor, than his unblemished life, and the affectionate simplicity of his manners. His knowledge of the scriptures was so minute, his memory so retentive and amenable to his will, that his friend, the elder Mr. Shipman, whose house was his home, when in Norwich, was accus- tomed to say that if the Bible were to be struck out of existience, Mr. Winchester could replace it from memory.
During the years 1794 and 1795, " Winchester's Lectures on the Prophecies," were published in Nor- wich. The work was issued in parts ; the first two lectures were published by John Trumbull ; the re- mainder by Thomas Hubbard. Mr. Winchester died at Hartford, in 1797.
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CHAPTER XXXV.
Greatest Fire. New Meeting-House. Second Congregational Society. Falls Church. Greeneville Church. Fifth Congregational Church. Baptists. Methodists. Universalists. Roman Catholics.
NOVEMBER 26, 1793, fifteen buildings were destroyed by fire in Chelsea. This was the largest fire ever known in Norwich. It raged from six to ten o'clock P. M., wind fresh from the N. W. It broke out in a store belonging to Messrs. Hubbard & Greene, of Boston, and was supposed to have been communicated through a fissure in the chimney, to some paper rags piled against it. The meeting-house, the dwelling-houses of Lynde M'Curdy, Levi Huntington, and Benadam Denison, stores occupied by Capt. William Coit, Coit & Lathrop, and Levi Huntington, were destroyed. Two persons were badly wounded. The loss was computed at £8000.
Mr. King's congregation being thus deprived of a house for public worship, assembled for three succeed- ing months in the Episcopal church, which, with true Christian hospitality, was tendered to them by the Trustees. A room was then fitted up for a temporary place of worship, and immediate measures taken to build another meeting-house. Mr. Joseph Howland and Mr. Thomas Fanning, owners of two lots of land on the hill, opposite the dwellings of the Rev. John Tyler and Dr. Lemuel Bushnell, offered these lots, together with £17, 10s., lawful money, in exchange for the lot on which the old meeting-house stood. This
317
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
location being approved by the County Court as a suit- able site for a meeting-house, the offer was accepted by the society. A lottery was granted by the General Assembly, to raise £800, and this, together with lib- eral donations from Thomas Shaw Esq. and Colonel Joseph Williams, enabled the Committee to commence building immediately. The dimensions of the new church were forty-two feet by sixty-two. It was com- pleted so as to make the first sale of pews January 1, 1796. Precautious were taken to secure the building against fire, and among other regulations, the sexton was allowed to demand a quarter of a dollar for every foot stove left in the house after the meetings were ended. Mr. Lynde M'Curdy gratuitously ornamented the meeting-house lot with trees.
The sale of the pews for the first ten years produced from four to five hundred dollars annually,-for the next six years, reaching to 1812, on an average, about $650. Mr. King's stated salary was $450; but there was generally an annual gratuity added to this, of $100 or $150.
In the year 1810, very serious and unhappy diffi- culties arose in this church, which in the course of a few months greatly alienated the affections of the min- ister and his people from each other. The next year the Pastor, Church and Society, all united in calling a council, which met July 3, and consisted of the follow- ing persons :-
Rev. Joel Benedict, D. D., Plainfield.
Elijah Parsons and Dea. Ephraim Gates, E. Haddam.
Amos Bassett and Dea. Sylvester Gilbert, Hebron.
Azel Backus, D. D. and David Bellamy, Bethlem.
Calvin Chapin, Wethersfield.
Daniel Dow and E. Crosby, Thomson.
Dan Huntington and Dea. Chauncey Whittlesey, Mid- dletown.
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
Rev. Lyman Beecher and Hon. Benj. Tallmadge, Litchfield. " Noah Porter and Hon. John Treadwell, Farmington.
This council sat three days, the third, fourth, and fifth of July, and voted to dissolve the connection between Mr. King and the people of his charge.
Mr. King was subsequently settled in Williamstown, Mass., and after a few years of labor there, died sud- denly in his pulpit, while engaged in the exercises of the Sabbath.
The Rev. Asahel Hooker was installed Jan. 16, 1812. He died the next year, April 19, 1813, aged 49 years. This excellent man was descended from the Rev. Thomas Hooker, the first minister of Hartford, and one of the most famous of our New England wor- thics. His first settlement was at Goshen, from whence he was dismissed on account of ill health. He was distinguished as a theological teacher, and his death was greatly lamented.
The Rev. Alfred Mitchell was ordained as the suc- cessor of Mr. Hooker, Oct. 27, 1814. He was a son of the Hon. Stephen Mix Mitchell, of Wethersfield- graduated at Yale, and studied theology at Andover. He was a man of retiring manners, but a faithful and zealous preacher, and exceedingly beloved by his church and congregation. He died at the age of forty- one, Dec. 19, 1831, uttering in submissive faith, as he departed, " The will of the Lord be done."
These two last ministers lie interred in the burying ground at Chelsea. From the graves where they rest, the eye can survey the scene of their labors, and almost count the homes of that attached people, who listened with such deep attention to their instructions, and who followed them mourning to their tombs.
The Rev. James T. Dickinson, of Montreal, was
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319
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
ordained April4, 1832. Sermonby Dr. Taylor, of New Haven. July 30, 1834, Mr. Dickinson made a com- munication to the church, stating that he considered it to be his duty to become a foreign missionary, and requesting them to concur with him in calling a coun- cil to dissolve his connexion with them. The church, painful as it was for them to part with a young and beloved minister, duly appreciated his motives, and cordially acquiesced in his wishes. A council was called in August, who unanimously concurred in re- commending the dismission of Mr. Dickinson. They expressed the highest confidence in him as a minister of the gospel, and affectionately recommended him to- the fellowship of his christian brethren, wherever his lot might be cast. Mr. Dickinson received the appoint- ment of missionary to China, from the American Board, and after spending a few months in the study of medi- cine, sailed for Singapore in the barque Rosabella, Aug. 20,1835.
Rev. Alvan Bond, the present pastor, was installed as his successor, May 6, 1835. Sermon by Dr. Hawes, of Hartford.
The salaries of Mr. Hooker and Mr. Mitchell were $700 per annum. At the ordination of Mr. Dickinson, it was raised to $1000, and has since remained at that sum.
In 1829, the meeting-house was enlarged, and the . square pews made into slips, at an expense of $2250. An organ was also furnished by subscription. After this alteration, the sale of the pews produced annually from $1000 to $1800. In 1832, the debt of the society, amounting to nearly $3000, was paid by subscription.
In the spring of 1844, the meeting-house was so much damaged by fire, supposed to have been kindled by an incendiary, that the society determined to build
320
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
a new structure, instead of repairing the old. It is now partly completed; the material used is dark blue granite from a quarry in the vicinity ; the style of arch- itecture, Roman ; estimated expense, $14,000.
A third Congregational Society was organized at the Falls in 1827, and a small brick church erected for a house of worship. Rev. Benson C. Baldwin ordained pastor, Jan. 31, 1828. This connexion was soon dis- solved. Rev. Charles Hyde installed in 1830. A new church, for the use of this society, was afterwards erected on the Little Plain. Mr. Hyde continued in the pastoral charge about three years. His successors were Rev. J. W. Newton, ordained in 1834, and Rev. Thomas J. Fessenden. This society was always small and has since been merged in neighboring churches.
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