USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Woodbury > History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut : from the first Indian dead in 1659 to 1872, Vol. II > Part 51
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Just below this tree, near the highway, and near the place where stood the old Elisha Minor house, is a mammoth frost- grape vine, which is judged to be near 300 years old, having been known ever since the founding of the town, in 1672. It is forty inches in circumference, at the place where it leaves the ground, and much larger just below the surface. It is thirty-five inches in circumference, ten feet from the ground, and is in no place less than twenty-eight inches in circumference, till it separates into branches, and overspreads a large oak tree. It is now (Ang., 1871) loaded with grapes.
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The Father's Monument, as has been before stated, is located at the head of the grave of Rev. Zechariah Walker. In locating ZECARIAH WALKER AGED 63 DYED JAN 20 1699 the monument, the ashes of him- self and wife were not disturb- ed. The original head-stone, was made from a native boulder uncut. The artist gives a fac simile of it in the margin. The writer caused the original let- ters, which had become nearly obliterated by the storms of 160 years, to be cnt very deep, so that they may be legible for ages to come.
Ram-pit ITill, which is near Hotchkissville, received its name from a pit; which was dug to entrap a wolf, that had been making great havoc among the sheep. A ram was placed within it as a lure for the wolf to enter it. The bait proved sufficient. In the morning the wolf was found in the pit, and the ram, instead of being de- voured, had defended himself with so much spirit and bravery, that he had reduced the wolf to a state of great docility. The wolf was despatched, and his com- panion released.
During the 17th century, there was a custom prevailing among the Congregational socicties, (as indeed has been the case in later years) of supplying their pastors with their year's quota of wood, by what was termed a " wood-spell," or " wood bee." It was also in accordance with the custom of the times for the pastor to in- vite his parishioners " to take something to drink," on arriving at his wood-yard before unloading their wood. Rev. Mr. Wildman, pastor of the church in the South- bury society, at this time, was a wit, and fond of "cracking his jokes " on all suitable occasions. A certain poor, but jocose man, who had no team, but who liked well the customary " treat," on one occasion, took a large log on his
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shoulder, and bore it with much difficulty into the yard. His pas- tor was ready to welcome him, with the same bland cordiality as the others, and said,-" come, come, good friend, come in and drink before you unload!"
The Woodbury Library Association, founded in 1850, has gone on with its good work, dispensing light and knowledge, till its library now contains acout 500 volumes.
The south Academic Association, formed in 1851, ran " well for a season," when the shares were bought up by Mr. Parmenus B. Hulse, who taught a private academy for some years, but having a flattering call to go to New York and engage in a book agency, he sold the building to Mr. Frederick S. Parker, of New Haven, who removed it to the place formerly owned by Hon. Charles B. Phelps, deceased, and fitted it up for a first-class boarding-school, and at the same time enlarged and fitted up, at great expense, the Phelps mansion, for the purpose of accommodating the schol- ars of such a school. Rev. Alonzo N. Lewis, who had married a daughter of Mr. Phelps, opened here a boarding-school. But, having been invited to become rector of a church at Dexter, Maine, he closed his school, and rented the premises for a dweiling house. It is a very valuable property, and it is hoped that a suc- cessful boarding-school may be established there. We have a healthy location, a tidy village, an orderly community, and a most beautiful valley, with pleasant surroundings-a good place for such an institution.
Bethel Rock Lodge, No. 44, I. O.O. F., mentioned on page 339, was very successful in its benevolent mission for several years, when many members were lost by removal from town. Some oth- ers seemed to have joined the order simply to become leeches on its treasury, and interest in its fortunes waned, till the number of its members was reduced to about a dozen, when the organization disbanded, and divided its remaining funds, being about a thous- and dollars, among its members.
The Woodbury Bank, which failed in March, 1853, and was re- suscitated the same year by the stockholders' subscribing fifty thou- sand dollars, to cover losses, went on languidly for two or three years, the assets on which it had relied for full recovery becoming worse and worse, when a receiver was appointed by the Court, and its affairs were closed up. The bills were redeemed, but the stock, both old and new, proved a total loss to its owners.
The Woodbury Savings Bank and Building Association, which
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PARKER ACADEMY, WOODBURY, CONN.
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was established in 1853, was managed with prudence for several years, doing a successful business, till its deposits amounted to nearly $100,000, Litigation was then commenced against a bank of the same kind in New Haven County, and the Court of Errors decided that the method of taking bonuses, or extra interest, prac- ticed by such banks, was usurious, under the statute of the State, the penalty for which was the forfeiture of all interest upon all loans, together with the bonus. The effect of this decision was, to cause all such banks in the State to close their business, and dis- band,-ours with the rest. This bank, however, had a superior class of customers-honorable men-who, with one accord, refused to avail themselves of the decision, except in a single instance, in Waterbury, where the loan was small. On closing up its affairs, the bank returned to the owners their deposits, with interest, at the rate of about twelve per cent.
King Solomon's Lodge, No. 7, of Free and Accepted Masons, since the publication of the first volume of this work, has met with continued and cheering prosperity. It has gone on in its un- obtrusive work of charity, adding to the number of its members, and to its material prosperity. The major part of its history has been already detailed in these pages, in the account given of its Centennial Celebration, in 1865. Its increase in numbers became so great, that a larger Lodge-room was necessary,and its fine build- ing was enlarged to meet this requirement, in 1867, and the whole was repaired and refitted in a tasteful and convenient manner, at an expense of about $600.
The record of officers and admissions, continued from page 338, is as follows :-
In December, 1853, William Cothren was elected Worshipful Master, Edward W. Atwood, Senior Warden, and William R. Galpin, Junior Warden, and six members were admitted during this masonic year
In Dec. 1854, Edward W. Atwood was elected W. M., Joseph T. Capewell S. W ., and Geo. A. Capewell J. W. Ten members were received during this year, among whom was Major Samuel B. Spooner, now Mayor of Springfield, Mass., and at the hesd of the Masons of Massachusetts. Major Spoone- was principal of the Woodbury Academy, at the time. It has been no detriment to him, who has honored the craft, that he received his first instruc- tion in the " mystic rites " in old King Solomon's Lodge, No. 7.
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The writer has always been glad to remember, that he was the Master who received this friend.
At this meeting (Dec. 21, 1854) the lodge passed the following vote :-
" Voted, Unanimously, that the thanks of this lodge be presented to Brother Cothren, for his services as Master of this Lodge."
At the Dec. Annual Meeting, 1855, Joseph T. Capewell was elected W. M., George A. Capewell S. W., and Hiram Manville J. W. Six members were added this year.
At the annual meeting for 1856, John P. DeForest was elected W. M., John J. Hinman S. W., and Reuben Andrews J. W. Four members were received during the year.
At the annual meeting in 1857, Alonzo N. Lewis was elected W. M., John B. Stillson, S. W., and Renben Andrews, J. W. Brother Charles B. Phelps was invited to deliver a lecture on the Institution of Masonry, Jan. 8, 1858, at the Lodge. A large num- ber of ladies and gentlemen attended. At the close of the ad- dress, the officers elect for the year were publicly installed. Eleven members were received this year.
At the Dec. annual meeting, 1858, Nathaniel Smith was ap- pointed W. M., Joseph T. Copewell, S. W., and Reuben Andrews, J. W. Five candidates were received during the Masonic year ending Dec., 1859, among whom was Rev. Curtis T. Woodruff.
At the annual meeting, Dec., 1859, James Huntington was elected W. M., Joseph T. Capewell, S. W., and James Stone, J. W. Eight persons added their names to our list during this year.
At the annual communication, Dec., 1860, the first three officers were re-elected-and three members were added, among whom was Rev. George Rumney, Rector of St. Paul's Church. At the annual communication, Dec. 1861, John Stillson was chosen W. M., James S. Stone, S. W., and Edward N. Bishop, J. W. Four- teen members were " raised " during this Masonic year, ending at the "Feast of St. John," Dec., 1862.
At the annual election, Dec., 1862, James Huntington was cho- sen W. M., James S. Stone, S. W., and Calvin H. Downs, J. W. Nine men arrived at the "Sublime degree of a Master Mason " this Masonic year, among whom was Rev. Wm. A. Desbrisay. Rev. Mr. Silverthorne, of the Methodist church, was the Chaplain of the Lodge.
This was the year of the departure of Co. I, 19th Conn Vols.,
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for the seat of War. Co. I had quite a number of members of the Lodge. On the 2d of August, the Lodge passed the follow- ing vote :-
" Resolved, That the Lodge, out of respect and brotherly feel- ing to those of their brethren who have volunteered their services in defence of their country, present each of them with a regula- tion cap worn by the soldiers of the United States Army."
At the annual communication, Dec., 1863, James Huntington was elected W. M., Geo. Platt Crane, S. W., and Edward F. Nich- ols, J. W. Fourteen members were added to the Lodge during the year.
It will be seen, on page 838, that Rising Sun Lodge, No. 27, of Washington, had lost its charter. King Solomon's Lodge received a petition, in Nov., 1864, asking consent to apply for a dispensa- tion to renew the Lodge. Unanimous consent was given, a dis- pensation was granted by the Grand Master, and also a charter in due form, at the next annual session of the Grand Lodge. Since that time, a very flourishing Lodge has been established there, on a firm foundation.
At the annual meeting, 1864, James Huntington was chosen W. M., George P. Crane, S. W., and Edward F. Nichols, J. W., and six members were added to the Lodge.
At the annual communication in 1865, George P. Crane was ap- pointed W. M., Edward F. Nichols, S W., and Heman Botsford, J. W. Nine members were admitted this year.
At the annual election in Dec., 1866, George P. Crane was elected \V. M., Heman Botsford, S. W., and James R. Thomas, J. W. Nine members were added this year.
At the annual communication held Dec., 1867, Alonzo Norton Lewis was elected W. M., Heman Botsford, S. W., and James S. Stone, J. W. Seven elected men joined the Lodge during the year. It was during this year that the large addition, already spoken of, was made to the Lodge building, new carpets and fur- niture procured, and it became one of the most attractive Lodge rooms in the " rural districts."
In Dec, 1868, Alonzo N. Lewis was elected W. M, Heman Botsford, S. W., and Edwin Roberts, J. W. Five members were admitted this year.
In Dec., 1869, Hemar Botsford was chosen W. M., James Stone,
35
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S. W., and George Brown, J. W. Six members were raised to the "Sublime degree," during this Masonic year.
At the annual communication of this Lodge, Dec., 1870, Heman Botsford was elected W. M., George Brown, S. W, and Thomas . Bodycut, J. W. Nine members were admitted during the Ma- sonic year.
At the annual communication held next preceding the Festival of St. John, the Evangelist, Dec. 16, 1871, Thomas Bodycut was chosen W. M., James R Thomas, S. W., and Eli Sperry, J. W. The Lodge is now in a very flourishing condition, and has full work at every communication. It is seven years advanced in the second century of its existence, and well has it performed its benevolent and humanizing work.
We now bring our hurried account of the various town events to a close. We have been minute in detail, believing that how- ever trivial they may seem to the present generation, they will be of great interest and curiosity to our descendants, as is each re- corded trace of our ancestors to us.
CHAPTER IX.
CIVIL INISTORY CONTINUED-CRIMES AND CASUALTIES.
MURDER OF BENNET WARD; MURDER OF MATTHEW M. MORRISS; MURDER OF LU- CIUS H. FOOT; SUICIDE OF RALPH LINA ; SUICIDE OF COLUMBUS W. RANDALL ; THEFTS; BURGLARY OF THE FACTORY OF DANIEL CURTISS & SONS, AND THE STORE OF F. A. WALKER & Co.
LL through the ages, life has been a continued struggle for existence. All seek to advance their own in- terests, and secure their individ- nal happiness. And yet, with a singular fatality, resulting from our fallen nature, there seems to be implanted in the human heart of man a savage instinct, that ever seeks, unless overruled by a kind Providence, and a virtuous and refined culture, to destroy the life which every rational creature de- sires to preserve, and to impair the happiness which every one pur- sues. Jealousy and ambition reign supreme over all the earth. Where this instinet of destruction does not break out in acts of murder and bloodshed, it takes the scarcely less paintul direction of slander, detraction, and little lying. It seems to give the nat- ural heart delight to infliet pain, and the " work of grace " has to be long continued in the heart, to work a radical cure. All the beautiful works of nature teach a different lesson-"only man is vile."
Woodbury, as has been fully shown, was settled by as noble a band of men and women, as poor human nature could produce. The result has been, that in the two centuries of its existence, via-
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lence and murder have been remarkably infrequent. The town was 173 years old before the first known murder was committed. An account of those which have occurred in our borders follows :
On the 23d of November, 1846, Bennet Ward went into a store kept by W. B. Lounsbury, then standing near the house of Deacon P. M. Trowbridge. He was somewhat intoxicated, became noisy and violent, threatening to whip several persons who were in the store, and began to throw fire among the dry goods that were dis- posed about the store. Among those present was George W. Smith. Ward finally proposed to whip him, and Smith seized a stick of wood from the wood-box, and struck him over the left side of the head, causing a fracture in the skull five inches in length. IIe then kicked him out of the store-and he fell upon the stoop. He got up, however, and wanted to fight, but the door was shut upon him. He then went about a quarter of a mile, to an out-house of David J. Stiles, and staid there two nights, when he went to Mr. Stiles' house, and soon became insensible. In this condi- dition he remained till his death, which occurred fifty-six hours after the blow was received. A post-mortem examination by Dr. Roswell Abernethy and T. T. Seelye, showed there was concus- sion and compression of the brain, besides a chronic inflamamtion, resulting from an old injury. Smith was arraigned for murder, Feb. term, 1847. Hon. John H. Hubbard, States Attorney, and Hon. Charles B. Phelps, appeared for the State, and Hons. Leman Church, G. H. Hollister and the writer, appeared for the accused. After an interesting trial, Smith was acquitted, on the ground that he acted in self-defence.
On the 17th of July, 1861, our community was startled by the announcement that another murder had been committed in our peaceful town. Matthew M. Morris, the murdered man, a very re- spectable citizen, of ample means, and a very peaceable man, called at the house of his sister, Mrs. Osborne, where the family, including Charles Fox, the murderer, were at supper. Morris sat smo- king a eigar, and a conver- sation arose between him and Fox about mowing. Morris mentioned several who could out-mow him, to which statements, successively, Fox
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gave the lie. Very soon he left the table, went out on the piazza, and took up his coat, and laid it down again. He returned to the door of the room, where Morris was still sitting and smoking, and told him if he would come to the door, he " would fix him." Mor- ris replied, that he knew he would do nothing to him. Then Fox said if he would come there he would " set his ears up." Morris went towards the door laughing, and Fox commenced striking him on both sides of the head, and almost immediately commen- ced thrusting at him. Morris then seized Fox, and he fell over a chair on his back. Morris seized and held up his feet so that he could not strike him again; but he sat up and thrust him again with a dirk jack-knife, which he seemed to have had in his hand all the time, (though the witnesses did not see it, it being rather dark at the time,) saying " let me up." At the instant he made the last thrust, saying " let me up," Morris faltered, fell on his face, gasped three or four times, and was dead. The knife, at the last thrust, entirely severed the main artery under the collar bone on the right side, called by the doctors the vena cava. Fox im- mediately walked out, and hid his knife in the corner of the yard, where it was found the next morning, almost entirely covered with blood. He then took his scythe, and started for Roxbury, but being called back by a neighbor, who had arrived, he remain- ed till Sheriff Minor came and arrested him.
A jury of inquest was immediately called by the writer, who heard the case, and returned to him the following verdict :-
" To William Cothren, Esq., Justice of the Peace for Litchfield County, residing in Woodbury :-
" You having summoned us as a jury of inquest to inquire into the canse and manner of the death of Matthew M. Morris, late of said Woodbury, which was sudden and untimely, and the manner of which was not known, and we, having examined into the cir- cumstances of the case, do find that the said Matthew M. Morris came to his death by the hand of Charles Fox, of said Woodbury, by the use of a deadly weapon, to wit, a pocket, or dirk knife.
" Dated at Woodbury, July 18th, A. D, 1861.
Berlin Thomas,
S. B. Fairchild,
H. W. Shove, Cereno Saxton
Alfred Birch,
George Roswell,
John W. Rogers,
Alexander Gordon,
Wm. II. Allen,
Phineas A. Judson,
Win. B. Bryan,
H. C. Judson.
" Jurors of Inquest under oath."
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On the rendition of this verdict, Fox was taken before Hon. Thomas Bull, and bound over for trial to the Sept. term of the Litchfield County Superior Court, 1861. Judge Ellsworth pre- sided over that Court. Gen. Charles F. Sedgwick and the writer appeared for the State, and Gideon H. Hollister and Henry B. Graves, Esqrs., for the defence. After the evidence on both sides had been introduced, the judge called all the counsel to the bench, and told them that in his judgment the crime amounted to man- slaughter, and no more; and that if it pleased them to agree to this view, and would waive argument, he would immediately so charge the jury. The counsel cheerfully acceded to the sugges- tion of the distinguished judge, who immediately charged the jury in accordance with his views. The jury retired, and in a few minutes returned with a verdict of manslaughter, and Fox was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in the Connecticut State Prison. There is a statutory provision which allows a prisoner a certain number of weeks remission of his term of sentence per annum, for good conduct. Fox was a most exemplary prisoner, and on account of his good behavior, the term of his imprison- ment was diminished by more than a year. He was discharged in 1870.
It was left, in the order of Providence, for the people of the town to experience the sensation of a greater horror. On the morning of the 4th of March, 1856, Lucius H. Foot, a taverner of the town, was found brutally murdered, and his whole body frozen stiff, showing he had been killed the evening before. He was found under the horse-sheds of the Episcopal Church, the initial letter of this chapter giving a view of them, and of Foot entering them. Dr. Garwood H. Atwood describes minutely the condition of the body as found, and gives an insight into the nature of the murder. He says :- " We found the body of Foot in the N. E. side of stall No. 2. The body lay on the left side, with the face towards the sill, and about two feet, distant from it. Two fingers of the left hand were clinched in the overcoat pocket, and the right arm was drawn back over the head. He lay lengthwise of the sill. The right leg was straight, the left was simiflexed, and drawn under the other. His head lay in a hollow made by the fore-feet of horses. The stall was covered with tan bark, and in this were imbedded a number of stones. There were small spat- ters of blood on the sill, clapboards, and partition plank, on the north and east sides of the stall. The spatters on the sill were
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opposite the head, and two or three feet distant ; there were one or two spatters from four to six feet from the head, on the sill and par- tition. The spatters were not numerous-might have been twenty- five or thirty in the whole. Some of them were very small ; the size of a pin-head, and some were, perhaps, the eighth of an inch in diameter. There was a small quantity of blood near the outer post of the stall, and it appeared as though the body had been dragged from that point to the rear. There was blood on the un- der surfaces of the stones, which had been, turned up in the pas- sage, and out of their beds. There was a stick of hickory wood found not far from the body, with blood on one end; there was also hair on it, which looked like Foot's-was bark on one side, and blood on the bark. The face rested on a little cone of blood, which had oozed out from the wounds, and frozen. The cravat was frozen into this. We took up the body, put it into a sleigh, covered it with buffalo robes, and carried it to Foot's Hotel. The beard was frozen solid, and we could not determine the character of the wounds till we had thawed it out in a tub of hot water, fif- teen or twenty minutes. The thighs, legs, hands, face and head were all frozen. The body was entirely rigid, so much so, that it could be raised up, or carried about like a stick of wood. The left boot we got off, with difficulty, and had to rip the other quite down to the sole. He was very warmly elad. He was a strong, well-built, well-developed, robust man, weighing some 175 lbs., full of blood, aged about forty. The fat on his ribs was an inch in thickness. He was in form a noble specimen of a man.
This (producing a human skull)
is Foot's skull. I know it to be his. I assisted in disintering t last September Court. All the facial portions of this skull was knocked in, as you see. Over the left eye was a wound one ineh and a half perpendicular, and half an inch wide. In the soft parts, I could put two fingers into the brain. The second wound was
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over the angle of the left eye, about three-quarters of an inch eir- cular. The third one was over the right eye, one and a half inches long, half an inch wide. I put my finger in this wound an inch. The bones between the wounds were all loose-a comminuted fracture. The fourth wound, three-quarters by half an inch, was over the right eye; the fifth was on the outer angle of the right eye; the sixth was on the nose, which was crushed, the blow abrading that and the eye-brow. The seventh wound, one and a half inches each way, was over the right parietal bone. The per- pendicular of the wound was one and a half inches; eighth wound-the right ear was nearly torn off, and there was a frac- ture one and three-quarter inches in the bone. The ninth wound was a hole right into the brain, back of the right ear, near the juncture of the temporal and occipital bones. I could put my finger one and a half inches, right into the brain. This wound was one and a half inches in diameter. In the soft parts, the wound was one and a half inches by an inch in width. The lips of the wound gaped about an inch. The tenth wound was on the left jaw, one and a half inches wide. The jaw was broken into five pieces. The eleventh wound, a dent wound, is upon the up- per part of the right side of the head. All the wounds were nearly of the same dimensions. Cracks extended nearly across the whole skull, on both sides. The wound across the face seem- ed broader-seemed done with a billet of wood. The billet found in the stall would satisfactorily explain the making of this wound. There has been a hammer shown in connection with this case, and that, or a similar one, would better account for all the wounds on the head than anything I can think of. I thought the face wound made by a billet of wood, because a hammer would be likely to cut through the flesh of the face. All these bones (showing them) were broken, as you see them now, before we eleaned the head."
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