USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Oxford > History of Oxford, Volume 1-2 > Part 15
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1811, David Tomlinson, two terms.
1812, Abel Wheeler, David Tomlinson.
1813, David Tomlinson, Justus Candee.
1814, David Tomlinson, Timothy Candee.
1815, Charles Bunnell, two terms.
1816, Jared Hawley, Abiram Stoddard.
1817, Jared Hawley, two terms. 1818, Jared Hawley, Abel Wheeler.
Semi-annual sessions discontinued.
1819-20-21, Abel Wheeler. 1833, Nathan B. Fairchild.
1822, Levi Candee. 1834, Samuel Meigs.
1823, Elias Scott. 1835, Sheldon Clark.
1824, Joel Perry. 1836, Hiram Osborn.
1825-6, Sheldon Clark. 1837, Chauncey M. Hatch.
1827-8, Hiram Osborn. 1838, Aurelius Buckingham.
1829-30, Samuel Meigs. 1839, Hiram Osborn.
1831, Horace Candee. 1840, Sheldon Church.
1832, Samuel Wire. 1841, David M. Clark.
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OXFORD.
1842, Nathan J. Wilcoxson. 1843, No choice.
George M. Candee had 151 votes. Samuel Wire 131, scattering 44. A plurality did not then elect.
1844, Sheldon Church. 1845. No choice.
On the first ballot Joel White had 134 votes, Joseph Connor 119. Sam- uel Wire 29. scattering 8. On the second ballot White had 139; on the third ballot 145.
1846, Joel White.
1847, Everett Booth.
1848, Alfred Harger.
1849, Joel Osborn.
1850, Clark Botsford.
1851, Nathaniel Walker.
1876-7, Gideon A. Johnson.
1852, Garry Riggs.
1853, Lewis Davis.
1854, Lucius Fuller.
1880-1, John B. Pope.
1855, Ransom Hudson.
1882, James H. Bartlett.
1856, Hiram Osborn.
1883, Orlando C. Osborn.
1857, Josiah Nettleton. 1884, Smith C. Wheeler.
1858, Burritt Davis.
1885, Charles H. Butler.
1859, William H. Clark.
1886, Nichols French.
BIENNIAL SESSIONS.
1887, Glover W. Cable. 1899-1901, William O. Davis.
1889, Orlando C. Osborn.
1903-5, John B. Pope.
1891-3, Charles H. Butler.
1907, Glover W. Cable.
1895, George P. Sanford.
1909, Charles B. Johnson.
1897, Sam'l W. Buckingham.
1860, James H. Buckingham.
1861, David R. Lum.
1862, Benjamin Nichols.
1863, Robert Wheeler.
1864, Abiram Ward. 1865, George Lum.
1866, Burr J. Davis.
1867, Charles D. R. Perkins.
1868, Burr J. Davis.
1869-70, Egbert L. Warner. 1871, Burr J. Beecher.
1872, Robert B. Limburner.
1873-4. Ebenezer Riggs.
1875, Smith C. Wheeler.
1878, Harvey W. Chatfield. 1879, James H. Bartlett.
STATE SENATORS.
The State Senators from Oxford who have represented this senatorial district in the General Assembly have been as follows:
David Tomlinson, 1820-1821. Benjamin Nichols, 1875-1876.
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FREEMASONRY.
FREEMASONRY IN OXFORD.
In the palmy years of Oxford's manufacturing industries, Freemasonry flourished here, there being a lodge of Master Masons and a chapter of Royal Arch Masons. Morning Star Lodge, No. 47, was instituted October 18, 1804, and was continued here until 1848, after which it was removed to Seymour.
Eureka Chapter, No. 22, Royal Arch Masons, was instituted here October 12, 1826, with the following members present, most of them being members of Morning Star Lodge:
Samuel Wire, Jonah Nettleton, G. Rawson,
Chauncey M. Hatch,
Ebenezer Fisher,
J. Manville,
David M. Clark, William Jones,
S. Steele,
Merrit Bradley,
D. Kimberly,
Lewis Candee,
David McCuen, T. Lee,
S. C. Pottaker,
Harry Smith,
L. Smith,
G. Smith,
Lyman Riggs, A. Colt,
N. Osborne, H. Thomas,
J. Potter.
Convocations were held in Masonic Hall, Oxford, "on the second Wednesday previous to the full of the moon, in March, June, September and December of each year." The early records of the Chapter contain many items of interest, some of which show that a great change has taken place since the earlier days in the manner of conducting business. Until 1840, convocations were held quite regularly, and the Chapter seems to have been fairly prosperous. But about this time business in Oxford began to decline and the various members removed to other towns. The transfer to Woodbury of the Chapter which had been instituted in the town of Washington cut off an important jurisdiction from Eureka Chapter. For these reasons the convocations became less frequent, and at a meeting held on the 29th of February, 1844, it was "voted to ad- journ until convened by special order of the High Priest." No
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record appears of any convocations of the Chapter in Oxford after this date. The High Priests of the Chapter during its continuance in Oxford were:
Samuel Wire, 1826, 1827, 1831. Chauncey M. Hatch, 1828, 1838. David M. Clark, 1829, 1830, 1839, 1847. Henry C. Atwood, 1832, 1833. John M. Hunt, 1034, 1837.
In 1844 the Chapter "voted to adjourn until convened by special order of the High Priest," and in 1847 was removed to Waterbury. The following list of members is of value as showing some whose names do not elsewhere appear, who were sojourners in this vicinity during the years that the Chapter flourished.
Henry C. Atwood,
George D. Hine,
Washington H. Atwood,
Harry Hine,
John Barry,
William Hinman,
Ezra L. Bassett,
Gad Hitchcock,
Merrit Bradley,
John M. Hunt,
Treat Bradley,
William H. Hunter,
Shelden Bristol,
Martin Jackson,
Beach Brothwell,
Moody M. Brown,
Jesse Joy,
Henry Burton,
D. Kimberley,
Thomas Buxton,
George T. Leach,
Cyrenus Candee,
T. Lee, John Lum,
Lewis R. Churchill,
William Lum,
David M. Clark,
William Lum, Jr.
Smith Clark,
John C. Lusk,
A. Colt,
J. Manville, David McCuen,
Seth Crosby,
-Mitchell S. Mitchell.
Rev. William A. Curtiss,
Martin Moody,
Thomas A. Dutton,
Jonah Nettleton,
George Finch,
Enos Osborn, Harvey Osborn,
Ebenezer Fisher,
George Giddings,
N. Osborn,
George Gunn, - Alfred Harger,
Charles Peck,
S. C. Potaker,
Chauncey M. Hatch,
J. Potter,
William Jones,
Lewis Candee,
William T. Colt,
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FREEMASONRY.
Charles Ransom,
H. Thomas, Julius S. Tolls,
Lyman Riggs,
Harry Smith,
-Abel Wheeler,
John Smith,
-Moses Wheeler,
Willis Smith,
Nathan J. Wilcoxson,
John Snyder,
Sydney R. Wildman,
R. C. Steele,
Clark Wooster,
S. Steele,
Joseph D. Wooster.
Noah Stone,
THE GRIFFIN HOUSE, ON FIVE MILE HILL. BUILT BY SILAS SPERRY.
THE GRIFFIN FAMILY.
This family appears to have been quite prominent in the early history of Oxford. Jonathan Griffin's house was designated in 1741 as one of the places for posting notices of the Congregational society
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meetings. The society was incorporated in that year, by act of the General Assembly, but some time elapsed before the new church was fully organized and it was not until 1745 that he was "received to communion from ye Pastor and Chh of Christ in Ripton, bairing Date Oct. 27th. 1745." Mehitable Griffin, wife of Jonathan, was received from the church in West Haven under date of Jan. 22, 1746. He is mentioned in the record of a town meeting held in March, 1733, as "one of the Quaker Farms men." He died June 2, 1773, aged 82 years, and his wife died Nov. 5, 1789. One Mehitable Griffin died in Oxford Oct. 23, 1794, aged 104 years. A second Jonathan Griffin, probably son of the above, married Lydia and had two children, John and Mehitable, the latter born July 6, 1798.
Samuel Griffin was granted land in April, 1675, provided he settle and "set up ye trade of a smith and do ye town's work," and it is recorded that "Samuel Griffin, blacksmith, settled near John Hull's mill at Northend in 1682, and John Griffin in 1685." It is quite likely that the mill mentioned was a corn mill, as under date of Nov. 20, 1708, a boundary is recorded as "on the easterly side of the highway that goeth from Ebenezer Harger's to the present corn mill."
At a Derby town meeting held Feb. 9, 1680, a lot was granted to John Griffin, "with other convenient lands belonging to it as they grant to other young men, provided he settle upon the place and build and fence and attend ye town order made April 16, 1675."
Lieut. John Griffin lived opposite the old Quaker Farms ceme- tery. He fought under Gen. Wolf at Quebec and when off duty during the winter returned to his home and was a successful deer hunter.
Charles Griffin was a resident of Oxford as early as 1754, as he "owned his covenant" in the Congregational church Feb. 17th of that year, and three of his children, Catharine, John, (born Dec. 30, 1753, ) and Huldah, were baptized by Rev. Mr. Lyman, the latter two on -- II, 1756. From the Derby records it appears that he married Catharine Wisebury Dec. 4, 1751. The daughter Catharine married Abner Wolcott Jan. 8, 1772. One Hulda Griffin married Isaac Clark May 27, 1801.
Lieut. John Griffin of Oxford is mentioned under date of April 6, 1777, when his wife Dinah, from N. Cheshire, was admitted to church fellowship. In the Colonial Records, vol. xv., p. 341, is a
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THE GRIFFIN FAMILY.
record of the appointment of John Griffin as Lieutenant of the 12th Company in the 3d Regiment, and in the "Record of Connecticut Men in the War of the Revolution," p. 631, he is mentioned as in Lieut. Col. Storrs' Regiment at New York in the fall of '76. He was born at Quaker Farms in 1725 and was the first white person born in the town of Oxford. He died in February, 1819, aged 94 vears.
John Griffin had land and a home on Good Hill in 1752, as in that year a highway, (three rods wide, ) was laid out through his land, "crossing the brook below the dam and running round the south end of the pond," as appears from the records of the Quaker Farms Purchase, from which it is probable he had a mill there.
Elisha Griffin and Mary his wife lived for some years at the foot of Pisgah hill, but later moved to what was known as the Stoddard place on Hull's Hill. He is recorded as having taken the freeman's oath in Derby, April 13, 1778. He died in 1814, aged 82. His wife died Mar. 13, 1805. They had seven children:
David, d. June 26, 1777. aged 9 y.
Peleg.
Mary, bap. Sept. 14, 1777; m. Lemuel Lake of Newtown Mar. 22, 1812.
Ozias, d. Mar. 23, 1796.
John, lived near New Milford, has a son who was a missionary in Oregon.
Zalmon, m. Betsy Lewis Mar 28, 1804. He lived on the east side of the Housatonic river, about half a mile south of Bennett's bridge.
Jonathan, settled in Vermont.
Peleg Griffin, son of Elisha and Mary, lived on Hull's Hill. He In. Ist, Sally Mitchell, by whom he had two children. She died Dec. 30, 1803. 2d, Margaret Botsford. His children were:
Sophia, m. Fred Whitmore.
Charles, a sailor, d. unmarried.
Harvey, m. Maria Bristol, d. in Derby, in 1878.
William, b. Feb. 7, 1814.
Isaac, m. in New York state.
Caroline, m. Sherman Lewis of Stratford.
Several of the family were buried in an old burying ground 70 or 80 rods south of the house, on the road that leads to the river. Only one tombstone there; the Beardsley tombstone was taken
1
S
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away. Sophia was taken to Newtown when her mother died and brought up there and married Fred Whitmore of Newtown. Peleg Griffin died at Newtown, at the house of his daughter, Sophia, and was buried in Newtown. His second wife died May 22, 1841.
Zalmon Griffin, brother of Peleg, lived on the bank of the Housatonic, two and a half miles below Zoar bridge. He died in 1836.
William Griffin, son of Peleg and Margaret, and Laura Sperry, daughter of Silas and Lucinda (Chatfield) Sperry, were married in Humphreysville Dec. 30, 1839, by Rev. John D. Smith. They lived in the stone house on Five Mile Hill, shown on another page, built by Silas Sperry. She died in Oxford Mar. 3, 1905. aged 88. Their daughter, Betsy Maria, died June 25, 1860, aged 16 y, 10 m, 15 d.
Mabel Griffin of Oxford and Lewis Stanchcliff of South Britain m. Nov. 30, 1784.
Nancy P. Griffin and Benjamin F. Lines were married in Sey- mour Mar. 30, 1856.
Thomas Griffin died in Seymour Dec. 20, 1875, aged 80. One record says Jan. 10, 1876.
OXFORD PROBATE COURT.
Oxford was incorporated as a Probate District June 4, 1846, and the legislature appointed Nathan J. Wilcoxson as Judge. Dr. Noah Stone was in like manner appointed and served two years, and afterwards Judge Wilcoxson was judge from Jan., 1850 to 1866, when his term expired by limitation of age. He was succeeded by Joel Osborn who served one year, resigning on account of ill health. Nathaniel Walker followed and served for seven years.
Dr. Lewis Barnes was the next elected, and he continued for a period of twentythree years, from 1872 until 1895, until he reached the age which is the statutory limitation for the performance of the duties of the office. Walter H. Perry was then elected. His term of two years expired Jan. 6th, 1897, when he was succeeded by George W. Hoxie, who continued in that office twelve years. John B. Sanford, the present Judge of Probate, was elected Nov. 3, 1908, and entered upon the duties of the office Jan. 6, 1909.
F
185
BIOGRAPHY.
ROBERT BRUCE LIMBURNER.
Oxford has been the home of many men who have exemplified the sterling qualities of energy, enterprise, integrity, patriotism, and all the christian virtues that have made New England famous among the best in christian lands, and from whence have gone out so many to be leaders in all that is best in other commonwealths and communities, and among those whom a younger generation has delighted to honor, none stands higher than Robert Bruce Limburner, who was born in Oxford March 20, 1821, of a Scotch paternal ancestry. His father, John Limburner, (originally Lime- burner, ) was a son of James Limburner, of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, the native place of the poet Burns, and was born in 1777. When he was 18 years old, in 1795, he came to America, living first in New York, but later settled in New Haven, where he followed his trade as a cooper, which occupation brought him to Oxford about 1797. He carried on this business until 1829, when he re- moved to Derby, and from that place, in 1846, to Washington, Conn., where he died in 1860. He was a very energetic mechanic and a man of the highest principles. He married Fanny, a daughter of Henry Martin, of Woodbridge, who died in Oxford Oct. 14, 1830. aged fifty years. They had nine children, one of whom died in youth, the others attaining mature years, as follows:
Janette, born July 5, 1803, died july 18, 1812.
Mary, born May 8, 1806, married John Wooster, of Oxford.
Jane, born May 12, 1808, residence Oxford.
John, born March 20, 1810, removed to Ohio.
Lydia, born Feb. 18, 1812, married Miles Nichols, of Waterbury.
James Wallace, born Feb. 9, 1814, residence South Norwalk.
Janette, born Sept. 17, 1816, married Henry Wooding of Cheshire.
Harriet, born Oct. 29, 1818, married Alonzo Rabe, of Waterbury. Robert Bruce, born March 20, 1821.
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When Robert was nine years old his mother died, leaving him in the care of a married sister, Mrs. John Wooster, with whom he lived on the farm until he was 16 years of age, attending the district school. He was then apprenticed to learn the trade of a blacksmith, at Washington, in Litchfield county, and after serving four years, followed that occupation as a journeyman. He was employed as a machinist in the works of Herman Baldwin, of Washington, where he remained seven years. The next four years he carried on a foundry and machine shop in his own name, but later, for a number of years, was the proprietor of a wood turning establishment, which had a large output. In 1863 he removed from Washington to Southford, where he engaged in a new line of manufacture, making straw paper boards of all kinds, in which he was very successful. At the end of the seven years he sold his interest to White & Wells, of Waterbury, who built the new mill there. He then retired from mechanical pursuits, making his home in Oxford, at Red City, and giving much of his time to the public affairs of his native town.
He was called upon to serve his native town in various capaci- ties, and was alike efficient in his services in behalf of the town and of the Congregational church, of which he was one of the main- stays, serving as deacon, as treasurer, and as Sundayschool super- intendent.
While living in Washington in 1860 he had been elected to represent that town in the legislature, and in 1872 represented Oxford in the same body, being the first republican elected in twentyone years. He cast his first vote for President for Henry Clay, and had belonged to the republican party from its first organi- zation, yet he held the fullest confidence of his fellow citizens without regard to party.
He was married in 1845 to Emeline Williams, of Washington, Conn., who died in 1852, leaving a daughter, Josephine E., born in 1846, who became the wife of Samuel Buckingham, of Oxford, and had one son, Robert, dying in 1876. On March 18, 1874, Mr. Lim- burner married Ellen M., daughter of Ebenezer and Betsey (Sperry) Buckingham, of Oxford. Her father was a descendant of Thomas Buckingham, who was one of the first New Haven planters in 1637, coming there with the first colonists.
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BIOGRAPHY.
DAVID J. MCEWEN.
Another of Oxford's representative men was David J. McEwen, also of honored Scotch parentage. His ancestor, Robert McEwen, of Stratford, Conn., the first of his line to settle in this country, was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1612. He was obliged to leave Scotland because of his refusal to acknowledge the supremacy of the king, for which refusal he was prosecuted, fined, imprisoned. and his property confiscated. He, with abbut one hundred others, was banished from the country and sent to Virginia. They sailed from Perth, Scotland, in September, 1685. After being at sea some days, they were overtaken by a heavy eastern gale which lasted fourteen days. When the gale had abated they found themselves near the New York harbor. The ship was then in a sinking con- dition, and in order to save their lives they ran the ship ashore at a place called Amboy, New Jersey, Dec. 18, 1685. There they formed
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a settlement which they called Perth Amboy, after the place from which they had sailed. Mr. McEwen was a tailor by trade. In Feb., 1686, he removed to Stratford, Conn. He married Sarah, daughter of Timothy and Joannah (Birdsey) Wilcoxson, of Strat- ford, June 20, 1695. He died Feb. 24, 1739-40.
David McEwen, great-grandson of Robert and Sarah McEwen, settled in Oxford and filled a number of offices of responsibility and trust in the gift of his townsmen, and was master of Morning Star Lodge, F. & A. M., for four years. He died March 11, 1842.
David J. McEwen, son of David McEwen, lived on the plateau at the summit of the high hill between Oxford Center and Quaker Farms, where from 1846 to 1860 he kept a boarding school, and many are those who in after years remembered with gratitude the kindly instruction and New England training received there. Politically he was a republican, as a christian his preference was for the Methodist church, and as a citizen he was the soul of integrity and principle, and his judgment in affairs of the community was honored by his fellow citizens. He was married March 16, 1829, to Frances Jane Wooster, of Litchfield. They had four sons and three daughters, Louise, Jane, Virgil H., who was for many years a resident of Seymour and represented that town in the Gen- eral Assembly; Dwight, a jeweller, who located in a Southern state; Wooster B., who served his country in the war of 1861-1865; Emily, and Wilbur, a merchant in New Haven.
OXFORD
SKETCHES AND RECORDS.
PART TWO.
LE Ag'Il
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