USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Woodbury > History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut : from the first Indian dead in 1659 to 1872, Vol. II > Part 53
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On the 30th of July, 1862, the town voted a bounty of $100 to volunteers. On the 23d of August, this bounty was raised to $150. On the 8th of September, the town voted to give the nine months men $200 bounty, and if enough patriotic citizens of the town came forward as volunteers to save the disgrace of a draft, then the volunteers were to receive a bounty of $250. July 25, 1863, a bounty of $300 was voted to drafted men, who should serve. On the 10th of August, this vote was re-affirmed, and a further vote passed, authorizing the Selectmen to furnish, at the expense of the town, a substitute for each drafted man, who did not want to go to the war. On the 30th of November, 1863, Orestes Hick- ox was appointed recruiting agent, and committees for each school district were appointed to solicit subsciptions, to aid in the filling of the quota of the town. On the 24th of Dec. 1864, the town voted $300 to each man who should put in a substitute in advance, on a regulation then in force, granting that privilege to military subjects.
A gentleman of the town kept a record of what the town con tributed in men and money, to the defence of the country, and
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
has furnished the following items. Under the call for 75,000 three months' men, there were six volunteers. Under the call for 500,000 three years' men, forty-three; under the call for 300,000 three years' men, thirty-two; under the call for 300,000 nine months' men, sixteen ; under the call for 000,000 three years' men, eighteen ; under the call for 200,000 men, one; substitutes fur- nished under all calls, seventeen ; commutations paid, sixteen; volunteers engaged at Bridgeport, fifty ; total for town, 200. The total quota of the town under all the calls was 192. So that eight more were furnished than the quota. The town paid for thirty- two volunteers for the 19th Regiment, $3,200; for sixteen volun- teers to the 28th Regiment, $4,000; for substitutes to fill draft of 1863, $2,725 ; commutation and bounty, $4,800; volunteers to fill next quota, $2,155 ; substitutes, $2,400; other war expenses, $760 ; total, $20,040.
The list of soldiers for Washington is as follows :-
Ames, John,
Colle, Alfred,
Allen, William,
Clark, Sheldon,
Aberton, Geo. H.
Cone, Wm. H.
Armstrong, Henry,
Churchill, David,
Bailey, John,
Crane, Joseph W.
Benedict, John,
Dickerhoff, Charles,
Black, William,
Darzin, John,
Black, Gustavus H.
Davis, Richard,
Barnum, Russell T.
Davis, Wm. H.
Bryan, Edward F.
Duskey, Charles,
Barton, Henry A.
Dewey, John,
Brice, Benjamin N.
Duggan, Charles,
Bennett, Robert,
Ellis, William,
Blauvelt, James,
Eiche, Christian,
Bashley, Charles,
Flesor, John,
Barney, Wm. C.
Ferris, James A.
Bemns, John,
Fox, Lucius,
Cogswell, Watson,
Fox, Shelden,
Cogswell, John J.
Fearn, Wm. P.
Cogswell, Robert,
Francis, Joseph,
Calhoun, Henry A.
Flynn, Michael,
Calhoun, Simeon H.
Flynn, James,
Calhoun, Edgar W.
Farley, John,
Crow, Matthew,
Foster, John,
Collins, Jeremiah,
ยท Culler, William,
Fitzgerald, Patrick, Ford, Remus F.
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
Goodyear, Charles,
Galpin, Charles E.
Glover, Julius A. Ifateh, Calvin B.
Man, James, Muller, Christian, Mitehell, Abner W. Mellon, Wm. E.
Hull, Edward,
Noble, Charles, Nettleton, Jay T.
Hall, John G.
Hall, Thomas,
Nizzer, John,
Holyendorf, Alexander,
Nichols, Franklin,
Hanser, Oloff,
Nicholas, John,
Hollister, Dwight,
Perkins, Harley,
Hollister, Fitz G.
Pardon, Jesse,
Hollister, Lewis,
Reno, John T.
Hamlin, Levi A.
Ross, August,
Hamlin, Platt A.
Riley, John,
Hamlin, John M.
Smith, Edmund,
Hamlin, Lewis,
Smith, James,
Hamlin, Lewis G.
Sullivan, Jerry,
Jones, John,
Titus, Jerome,
Johnson, Peter,
Thompson, James,
Knowles, Joseph F.
Taylor, George E. Williams, Burr,
Kenney, Elmon C.
Williams, Charles,
Libunr, Frank,
Williams, John, 2d, Williams, Philip,
Lewis, Jacob S.
Loveridge, Romulus C.
Worden, Homer G.
Logan, John H.
Whittlesey, Timothy,
Morse, Charles,
Whittlesey, Alfred N.
Morse, John,
Warner, Chauncey L. Warner, Frank, Jr.
MeNally, William,
McCarthy, Robert,
Wright, David B.
MeMahon. Daniel,
Watrous, Wm. J.
Marks, William,
Ward, George,
Meramble, John W.
Whitehead, John B.
This town has been prospered for the last twenty years. Busi- ness of all kinds has increased, and now that the Shepaug Rail- road passes near the village, it will doubtless make still more rapid advancement.
It is quite a place of resort for summer visitors, who enliven
Kenney, Noxon E.
Weston, Theodore J,
Mallory, Truman,
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
the "social circle" of the town. But the great attraction, that which adds more than any one thing to the material prosperity of the town, is Gunn's Boarding School for Boys. This institution was commenced by Mr. F. W. Gunn, as a private enterprize, in 1839, and has been continued, with a slight interruption, till the present day. It has become the most successful educational insti- tution in Western Connecticut. Mr. Gunn has a method of gov- ernment and instruction peculiar to himself, and has received the patronage of some of the most eminent persons in the United States. He is beloved by his pupils. Some two or three years ago his former pupils re-assembled on the hill of "old Judea," formed a " Gunn Alumni Association," and had a week's festivities, with the intention of renewing the same as often as the year re- turns. Mr, Gunn spends the summer vacation "in camp " at " Point Beautiful," on Lake Weranmang, when and where the " boys" have their gala days in various sports, boating and fishing on the lake, and " enjoying themselves generally-" The artist gives a faithful representation of the lake, from the North-east, with a view of "Gunn's Encampment " at the " far West."
A few extracts from the "Litchfield Enquirer " and "Hartford Post," of 1869, will give a more distict idea of Mr. Gunn and his school :-
" There is a little town neslting among the hills of Connecticut ten miles from the Railroad, ten miles from everywhere, removed from the noise and bustle of the world, slumbering in a bowl and surrounded by mountains, which bear such a fancied resemblance to ancient Palestine, that the early Puritans called the place Ju- dea, and named the adjoining town Bethlehem ; but the revolu- tionary descendants of the Puritans changed the name in honor of the father of his country, and called it Washington,
" This village of Washington is more like an ideal town than any- thing real. It differs from any place you know about, and that is the reason why I have decided to tell you concerning it. The only approach to it by public conveyance is from New Milford a drive of ten miles over a very hilly road. The coach in which you make the transit was not brought over in the May- flower, but was sent out on the next ship. It is really refreshing to take a seat in such an ark, after a Railroad journey, and to find that your fellow-passengers are at once prepared to enter into a lively conversation, just as was the custom in coaches in the early stages of civilization. The driver is a gentleman of property who
F. W. GUNN'S SEMINARY, WASHINGTON, CONN,
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
has had the contract for carrying the mail since time immemorial, and consequently knows all the inhabitants of the country far and near. He is an agent for the transaction of all kinds of errands ; ont of every farm-house peers a face in anxious expectation of a letter or a return for that crock of butter sent on the last trip. Newspapers are thrown over the front gate, letters are picked up from the horse-block ; parcels, bundles, boxes, bags, women and children are gathered as we proceed, until the coach is like a New York omnibus, with plenty of room inside.
"The occasion of my visit was a reunion of the old boys at Mr. Gunn's celebrated school. I had heard so much about the school that I was anxions to see it in its gala days, when the passed boys were to return to visit the scenes of their childhood, and the pres- ent boys were then to welcome them. Forty old boys; some of them lawyers, doctors, clergymen, merchants ; but all boys, even now, returned to Alma Mater, and were welcomed by forty boys who are only younger in years, but not a whit younger in feeling ; and the youngest, jolliest, happiest of the lot, was the teacher and founder of the school.
" I have not in many a year witnessed such a scene of innocent and genuine happiness as was apparent at this school. It is a boy's paradise. The moral tone of the school is its distinguishing feature. Any one guilty of deceit or fraud, is warned by his com- panions to report himself to the head-master ; if he neglects to do so, he is at once informed upon by his companions. Instead of its being mean to report a misdemeanor, it is here regarded as an offence against the whole boy community to permit a misdeed to go unpunished. The methods of punishment pursued at the school are entirely original, and generally arise on the spur of the mo- ment. A little boy makes too much noise; he is ordered to take a horn to the village green, and to blow a blast at the four corners of the church; or he is sent a mile over the hill to the Moody barn ; or he helps rake hay for half an hour in the fields, or cleans some bricks that are required for building. One day a boy stole some apples from a poor widow ; he was sent the next day to pick up stones from her field as a punishment, but the widow's heart softened, and she made him come in to dinner, and stuffed him with good things and sent him home. A little boy was caught ducking a cat in the rain-water hogshead; up steps the teacher behind him,, and, seizing him by the seat of his breeches and the nape of the neck, plunges him in after the cat, to show him how
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IIISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
it feels. Such things as bullying and fagging are not tolerated. There are no rules, no forbidden games; everything that can afford amusement is tolerated at proper times and in proper quan- tity. The master of the school is unable to distinguish between the good Dr. Busby and the wickedness of ordinary playing cards, and so the boys play whist, if they know enough, openly and in the parlor. The sinfulness of dancing and the orthodoxy of ca- listhenics are metaphysical distinctions; and the boys have a dance when there is time for it and they feel like it. Those who are old enough have breech-loading rifles, and they are taught how to use them, as the master of the school is one of the best shots in the country. The older boys learn all about the haunts of animals. They know the track of the woodchuck, the racoon, the fox, and can tell the name of a bird from its song, its nest, or its egg. They roam the forests on Saturdays, and fish and hunt, and bathe in the mountain streams; some trusty big boy accom- panies the smaller ones, and no party goes away without the knowledge of the teachers. All the boys wear good stout wool- len clothing, which necessarily meets with numerous rents and tares, but is kept in order by Aunt Betsey, whose needle and patch-work are in constant demand. Such a beehive, such exube- rant spirits and shouts of happiness, constantly bubbling up and running over, as this school exhibits, it has never been my lot to witness before.
" Mr. Gunn's long career and marked success as a teacher, are deserving of something more than a mere passing notice. Shortly after his graduation from College, he started an Academy school at his native place, in 1839, which with a few years interval he has kept up ever since. Commencing with a day school, he began after a time taking boarding scholars. As their number increased he has made one addition after another to his dwelling house, till now he has nearly fifty boarding in his own family. During the past season he has added another story, in which is a large, well- lighted, well-ventilated, school-room.
" Of the character of so old and well established an institution, it is hardly necessary to speak. Mr. Gunn is a born teacher, with that remarkable faculty for interesing pupils in study, which Nor- mal Schools may improve, but cannot give. He has excellent methods of play as well as of study for young folks, and early recognized a fact, now becoming generally understood, that the developement of boys' bodies is as much a part of the teacher's
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
duty, as the developement of their minds. Taking into conside- ration, also, the additional and most important fact, that with him the boy finds a home, as well as a school, we are not surprised at the evidences of increasing prosperity that strike us at each return to the old institution. One other fact we can hardly pass by without due reference. From the outset, Mr. Gunn was an out- spoken Abolitionist. At that time the Abolitionist was distrusted and disliked, if not persecuted as a disturber of the peace. The effect on the school was for a time disastrous. The number of pupils diminished ; and, for a year or two Mr. Gunn taught at Towanda, Pennsylvania. Returning, the school was started again, and from that time its prosperity seems steadily to have increased. Prominent Anti-Slavery people remembered a co-worker, and at different times sons of Henry Ward Beecher, Mrs. Stowe and John C. Fremont, have attended this school. Of late, too, many have not only ceased persecuting the prophets, but have become prophets themselves, so that the social condition of an abolitionist is now by no means as lamentable as it was thirty years since."
The present population of the town, by the census of 1870, is 1,563, a loss of 96 since 1860.
ROXBURY.
Rev. Austin Isham was pastor of the church at the date of the last edition, and until the first Tuesday in June, 1863, when he was dismissed, having been pastor of the church twenty-three years. During the year following, the Church and Society were supplied by the Rev. Oliver Stone Dean, a young man of superior abilities and power as a preacher.
On the 6th day of June, 1864, the church and society, by their vote, gave the Rev. Oliver Stone Dean, of Putnam, New York, a call to settle as pastor, and appointed Charles Beardsley, Edwin G. Seeley, and Frederick W. Lathrop, a committee to inform him of the votes of the society and church. This call was accepted by Mr. Dean, and he was ordained and installed pastor of the church and society, July 6th, 1864. He continued pastor for three years and one month, and then handed in his resignation, which was relectantly accepted, and was dismissed, Dec. 17th, 1867, though he left some months before he was dismissed, and went to preach in Kalamazoo, Mich., where he is now settled. The fol- lowing year, the society employed about all the "Theologs " in
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
Yale College. I will not undertake to give their names, " for they are legion."
Among the number, however, the society selected the Rev. Juba Howe Varce, a young man in whom the society and church were very well united ; he preached nine months, when his health failed him, and he had to leave. The society again resorted to Yale College for a few Sabbaths for a supply, when the Rev. Arthur Goodenough, who had been preaching in Ellsworth, this State, was hired for a year or more, but when his time expired, Nov., 1870, he left, and has since been settled in Winchester, in this State. The society is now drawing from Yale, the old School of Prophets."
The baptisms which have been recorded since any authentic re- cords have been kept, are 440. This record goes back to 1795, and down to the present time.
The revivals which have taken place in the church since the last one named in your edition, have been somewhat frequent. The church was visited by the Holy Spirit in 1832, and forty-two were added to it. In 1833, eleven were added. In 1836, ten were ad- ded. In 1838, twenty-two were added. In 1843, eighty-four were added. In 1852, eight were added. In 1854, twelve were added. In 1857, five were added. In 1858, seventeen were ad- ded. In 1863, thirteen were added, and in 1867 twenty-five were added. Some others have been added by letter, and some few in other years not enumerated above, by profession. Some have been dismissed by letter, and some have gone to parts unknown, and have been erased from the church records. Many have died, leaving upon the church records, February, 1871, 174 members.
Deacon Sheldon Camp and deacon Aaron W. Fenn, are the present deacons. Deacon Sheldon Camp was elected, April, 1857. Deacon Aaron W. Fenn was elected, October, 1858. 1
From the other churches of the various denominations in the several towns, the author has received no reports.
As soon as it was announced that the rebels had fired upon Fort Sumter, the old spirit of " seventy-six " was observed in this town, and true to their Revolutionary instincts, the young men sprang to arms. Many a voice joined in chorus with that of Jeremiah T. Bronson, who was one of the first volunteers, and gave his life for his country; in the words,-
" My country calls, and I must go,
To protect our flag through weal or woe."
1 The date, 1731, on page 276, should be, 1741.
.
HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
1415
The first volunteer from Roxbury who was mustered into the ser- vice was Seth Warner, a blood descendent of Col. Seth Warner, of Revolutionary memory, and well did he sustain in the field the glories of the old blood. Other good men and trne followed, and made an honorable record. Their names should be written in let- ters of gold. The list follows ;-
Allen, William,
McKenney, John,
Addis, Seth H.
Meirs, Henry,
Bradley, Edson,
Nicholson, Cyrus F.
Bradley, Ira S.
Neeson, John,
Beach, F, W.
Oviazt, John M.
Beers, Harmon,
O'Neil, James,
Bronson, Jeremiah T.
Prindle, Capt. Cyrus E.
Booth, Charles F.
Roche, Lewis,
Booth, Henry A.
Rueck, John,
Camp, Oliver,
Smidt, Henry,
Carrans, Daniel,
Squire, John J.
Donovan, Jeremiah,
Sullivan, Jeremiah,
Dickson, David,
Smith, Henry,
Deacons, Henry,
Smith, Wm. H.
Fenn, Robert L.
Thompson, Fred.
Glenn, James,
Tencey, James,
Hurlbnt, Roger L.
Tracey, James,
Hurlbut, Charles H.
Tyrrell, Charles F.
Holland, James B.
Vanderbeck, Albert,
Hubbard, Roger E.
Wessels, Peter,
Hull, John D.
Williams, John,
Judd, Capt. Lewis,
Wright, John,
Jackson, Charles,
Wright, Charles,
Lake, George,
Wells, John,
Lewis, David,
Wells, Henry,
Lucas, Israel,
Walker, William
Miller, David,
Walker, George R.
Miller, Frank,
Warner, Geo. W.
Miller, Peter,
Warner, Seth,
Morriss, Lieut. Wm. E.
Whitehead, Botsford,
Madigan, Michael,
Woodruff, John.
May, Fred.
To aid in putting these soldiers in the field, the town voted, Aug. 8, 1862, a bounty of $100 to each volunteer. On the 1st of
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
August, 1863, a bounty of $300 was voted to each drafted man, under the Act of Congress of 3d March, 1863. The last war town meeting was hold Sept, 21, 1864-when it was voted to as- sume and pay all the expenses that had been incurred by individ- uals in procuring their substitutes during the existence of the war. This covered the whole ground, and there was no further need of town meetings.
The total amount paid by the town for the war, was $16,057.25 -by individuals from their private means, about $4,000.
The population of the town by the census of 1870, was 920-a loss of seventy-two from the census of 1860. These inland towns are constantly losing their population-their best young men, by western emigration.
From the North Congregational and Methodist churches, the writer, after repeated and earnest solicitations, has received no report. The history of the North Congregational church, since the last edition, was substantially given in Rev. John Churchill's very acceptable address at the Bi-Centennial of the old Ist Church, in 1870. Since this gentleman's resignation, some four years ago, the North Church has " heard " about 100 candidates to insure the " acceptable preaching" of the " word " to that people, and within a few weeks the Rev. Mr. Wyckoff has been by them ac- cepted and settled, with the general concurrence of the people, and with the belief that he will do an acceptable work in that promising vineyard of the Lord.
Our Methodist brethren are laboring hard in their " Zion " for the salvation of souls, with very good success.
The Roman Catholics have not yet a church edifice in this town for their religious services, but they have the "liberty " of our commodious Town Hall, with the consent of all the " Protestants," and have services there as often as priests can be obtained to offi- ciate.
ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, WOODBURY.
By request of the writer, the following items have been fur- nished by Rev. John Purves,-Ministers since 1852 .-
Settled.
May, 1853. F. D. Harriman,
July, 1856.
C. T. Woodruff,
Mar., 1860. George Rumney,
Apr'1, 1860. John Purves, M. A.
Dismissed. June, 1856. Jan., 1860. Dec., 1863.
ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, WOODBURY, CONN.
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
From April, 1863, to March, 1871, there were baptisms, 101- 86 children and 15 adults-45 persons confirmed-64 added to the communion, and 60 lost from it .- 62 Burials, and 33 Marriages.
In 1871, there were 80 families, 104 communicants, 16 Sunday School Teachers, 73 Scholars. In 1855 the Church edifice, erected in 1785, was altered, repaired and beautified, under the direction of Mr. Walter P. Marshall. The Centennary of the settlement of the Rev. John Rutgers Marshall, the first Rector of the parish, was in November, 1871. Within the five years previous to 1871, the parish lost several of its venerable and most valuable mem- bers-three of its Wardens-Benjamin C. Peck, Gideon Botsford, and Benjamin Doolittle; also Ephraim B. Peck, James Moody, Phineas A. Judson, and many others, by death and by removal.
While these pages are passing through the press, the Centen- nial Anniversary of St. Paul's Church is being celebrated. Rev. John Purves, the Rector of the Church, has very kindly furnished the writer with an account of the proceedings, which here fol- lows :-
" COMMEMORATION SERVICES .- The parish of St. Paul's, Wood- bury, Litchfield county, Conn., is one of the oldest in the diocese. From 1723 to 1771, it had occasional services from the Rev. Mr. Pigot, the Rev. Dr. Johnson, of Stratford, the Rev. Mr. Beach, of Newtown, and other missionaries of the Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign parts.
" The parish was organized as an Episcopal Society in 1740. In the autumn of 1771, the Rev. John Rutgers Marshall, who had been educated with a view to the Dutch Reformed ministry, but had conformed to the Church, went to England, and having re- ceived Holy Orders at the hands of the Bishop of London, re- turned to Connecticut as a missionary of the Society, and was set- tled at Woodbury. Mr. Marshall exercised his ministry in troub- lous times. He suffered persecution and bodily injury at the hands of men whose hearts and minds were ignorantly prejudiced against the Church, but he patiently endured and peacefully dis- charged his sacred duties, laying foundation principles of Apos- tolic faith in the hearts and minds of many.
"In 1785, by the liberal use of his own means, he commenced the building of the present church edifice, but he did not live to see it fully completed. In the year 1789, while yet in the full vigor of his powers, in the eighteenth year of his ministry, and
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
in the forty-sixth of his age, Mr. Marshall was removed from his earthly labor to await the heavenly crown.
It was to commemorate the centennary of the settlement of the Rev. Mr. Marshall in Woodbury, that, on the 6th day of Sep- tember, appropriate services were held in the church he was in- strumental in erecting, and in the chancel of which, some years since, a memorial window inscribed with his name was placed.
" The former rectors of the parish still surviving, the descend- ants of deceased parisioners, and all its friends, were invited to be present. The old rectors, much to the regret of all, were Provi- dentially prevented.
" The day was beautiful-a full attendance crowded the church. As the bishops and clergy entered, the congregation rose, and united in singing the hymn-" Come, ye faithful, raise the anthem."
The Rt. Rev. John Williams, D, D., LL.D., Bishop of the Dio- cese, was accompanied by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Venables, Lord Bishop of Nassau-a grandson of Dr. Moss, Bishop of Bath and Wells, one of the consecrators of Bishop White-followed by the clergy, most of them in surplices ; the Rev. Drs. J. L. Clark, E. E. Beards- ley, and D. H. Short, and the Rev. Messrs. Moody, Welton, Peck, Russell, Clark, Nelson, Marvin, Pierce, Baldwin, Aely, Bishop and Purves, the rector of the parish.
"Morning prayer was conducted by the Rev. J. L. Clark, the Rev. Professor Bissell, and the Rev. Dr. Short. The XXIVth se- lection was then sung, Bishop Williams commenced the commun" ion service, Bishop Venables read the Epistle, and Bishop Wil- liams the Gospel. The LXth psalm was then sung, after which Bishop Williams preached from the text, Psalm xliv. 1, ' We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what Thou hast done in their time of old.'
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