USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Goshen > History of the town of Goshen, Connecticut, with genealogies and biographies based upon the records of Deacon Lewis Mills Norton, 1897 > Part 18
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"Boast of thy conquests, Death, our human things, The pomp of empires and the pride of kings;
But know, the saints shall burst their chains and rise To thrones celestial in their kindred skies."
Mrs. Parmelee was a consistent professor of religion, but the date of her uniting with the church is not known. In the time of the Revolution she was a very strong patriot. She felt and expressed a very strong confidence in the ultimate success of the American cause. Besides fitting out at several dif- ferent times her son, Theodore, who commanded a company of horse, for the battle field, she made with her own hands and gave at different times five blankets to the destitute American soldiers.
Samuel Nash, son of Lieutenant John Nash of Hadley, Mass., came to Goshen from Farmington. His first purchase of land was made August 1, 1745. He was appointed Town Clerk and Treasurer, December 31, 1750, succeeding Amos Thompson. He held the office of Town Clerk until December 5, 1791, 41 years, without intermission. During this time he was elected to many other offices. He was Justice of the Peace for several years. He represented the town in the General Assembly for 25 sessions, from October, 1757, to May, 1775. He was chosen deacon in 1761, and continued in this office until 1800, when, on account of his age and infirmities he was virtually excused, although there is no record of a vote being taken. He must have died about 1802, and was proba- bly buried in the old Middle Street graveyard.
Asaph Hall, the son of David, came to Goshen from Wal- lingford, the precise date not known. He inherited a large amount of land from his father. He was first chosen as repre-
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sentative in October, 1773, and last chosen in October, 1792, and between those dates attended 24 sessions of the General Assembly. The fact that he was among those chosen to direct the affairs of the country in the times that tried men's souls, is sufficient evidence of the confidence reposed in him by the people. He held the office of Justice of the Peace for many years. He was a warm patriot during the War of the Revo- lution, and, on the authority of David Hart, was with Col. Ethan Allen, at the taking of Ticonderoga, and at other times was personally in the service.
James Thompson was born in Goshen March 1, 1741, and must have been very nearly the first white child born in the town. He built and occupied for many years the house situated on the west side of West Street, facing the road which leads from that point to the residence of Mrs. Moses Lyman. The dwelling has recently been torn down. What follows relating to his life is compiled from the recollections of those who knew him, and found in letters addressed to his children after his death.
He was above the average size of men, say six feet high, and well formed. He was quick in action, cheerful in habits, kind in his attentions to children, winning their gratitude and confidence. Although a farmer, he was often engaged in building grist and sawmills. He owned and improved large tracts of land. He owned more horses than any other man in town, introduced the first pleasure wagon, and, I think, the first wagon of any kind in the town. He was active in town and society affairs. He was a slave-owner. He liberated " Old Hess " and his wife, built them a house and barn and gave them the use of as much land as they would cultivate, and always overlooked and advised them.
He was an earnest and consistent Christian, distinguished for his hospitality to ministers of the Gospel, and a pioneer in regard to the great objects of Christian benevolence. He was a liberal contributor to the Connecticut Missionary Society,
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the oldest missionary society in the country, sending the Gos- pel to the " new settlements." His wife was in complete sympathy with him in Christian benevolence and work. She was a woman of a degree of intelligence not common in those days, and, as a result of the parents' teaching and prayers, all their children have had a place in the visible church of Christ, or have died in the hope of the believer in Christ.
Captain Jonathan Buell (usually called so, perhaps, be- cause of his service in the War of the Revolution), son of Cap- tain Jonathan, was born in Goshen June 9, 1753. His resi- dence, as described by L. M. N., was " the red house on the west side of the road leading from Town Hill southerly." Mr. Norton adds: " A kind providence smiled upon the industry and economy of this man and his wife and gave them a com- petence of the things of this world. They lived happily to- gether, but had never any child. She was a member of the church here before the settlement of Mr. Hooker. She died October 20, 1828. It is from this Capt. Buell, now (Febru- ary, 1841) in his 88th year, and enjoying comfortable health, that I have received much information in regard to many other persons and things in Goshen. He died at his home February 14, 1847. This man was a patriot and soldier of the Revolu- tion. He was at the North at the taking of Burgoyne and at New York, under Gen. Washington. A sergeant in the cam- paign at New York. (Note March 1, 1848.) This Jonathan Buell was a man much esteemed and beloved. He left by his will to the American Board for Foreign Missions, the Home Missionary Society, and the Theological Institute at East Windsor, 100 dollars each. He was liberal to benevolent objects in his lifetime, and in all outward respects lived the life of a Christian, except that he never made a public profes- sion of religion. We loved him much and we are not without hope in his death."
Adino Hale, son of Justus Hale, who came to Goshen from Wethersfield about 1752, was born here in 1754; married
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Candace, daughter of Capt. Isaac Pratt. Mr. Hale was a man of very respectable talents and a worthy citizen. He was first chosen Head Constable December 5, 1785, and held that office several years. He was chosen Town Clerk December 5, 1791, and held the office until his death, in 1831, 39 years. Much of the handwriting of Mrs. Hale is to be seen upon the town records. He was first chosen representative in May, 1786, and attended thirty-three sessions of the Assembly, to October, 1804, inclusive, and many times afterwards, including the convention for the formation of the State Constitution. He was a justice of the peace for many years, and it is said of him that he was more willing gratuitously to render his service as a peacemaker than to take his fees for granting writs.
His widow, in her will, made provision for the purchase of the silver communion service now in use in the Congrega- tional Church, and gave the remainder of her property to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. They resided in the leanto house on the north side of the road leading to Torrington, about 50 rods east of the church.
Deacon Augustus Thompson was the oldest son of Mr. James Thompson, born in Goshen March 17, 1770. He united with the church under the pastorship of the Rev. Asahel Hooker, November 3, 1799. He was appointed a deacon in the church November 13, 1817, under the pastorship of the Rev. Joseph Harvey, D.D. He removed to Norwich in 1831, and thenee to East, now South, Windsor, in 1834, where he died April 7, 1851.
It was principally in Goshen and as a member of that church for thirty-five years, and under the ministries of the pastors there, that his character as a man and a Christian re- ceived its formation and came to its maturity; but his " path " as that of "the just " was in the places of his latter residence as the " shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." One who had lived near him and had long ob- served his " manner of life," wrote to his son as follows: "As
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far back as my memory extends, your honored father was an acknowledged standard of 'every-day Christian ' excellence." " A man without guile," was my father's remark of him. We should as soon have expected to see the sun turn backward from his course, as that Deacon Thompson should do an un- christian deed. His hospitality and benevolence were pro- verbial; and he experienced richly the truth, "there is that giveth and yet increaseth." In addition to his other virtues he was habitually mindful of the comfort and happiness of others, particularly of the widow, the fatherless, and the needy. He also remembered - what some good people for- get - to notice little children.
The Rev. Dr. Harvey, for many years his pastor, writes of him: " Amiableness of disposition, gentleness of manner, a sound judgment, a well-balanced mind, - constituting what is called good common sense, discrimination, and decision, were qualities which Deacon Thompson, as a man, possessed in an eminent degree. He was also distinguished for enlarged views of public affairs, and an active public spirit. In all the burdens and sacrifices required for public and social benefit, he was ready not only to do his part, but to lead the way and set the example; and was almost always the first man to move in any benevolent enterprise. In Christian liberality he was eminent, not only giving liberally, but he was judicious, dis- criminating, and cheerful in his gifts.
An a husband, a father, a neighbor, a friend; as an honest, sincere, upright man in all his intercourse with others; as just and merciful; as trusted, respected, and honored by all that knew him; his life is an epistle of integrity and piety " known and read of all men."
He devoted three sons to the work of the Gospel ministry: Rev. William Thompson, D.D., Nettleton Professor of Sacred Literature in the Theological Institute of Connecticut, now known as the Hartford Theological Seminary; and the Rev. Augustus C. Thompson, D.D., pastor of Eliot Church, Boston
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(Roxbury), Mass. Mr. Charles J. Thompson died a member of the Senior Class, Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., in 1823, at the age of 23. It may be interesting, in this connection, to mention some of the cotemporaries of Deacon Thompson, who were promient and good men in Goshen, who, like him, have long entered into rest: Samuel Norton, Sr., Deacon Jona- than Beach, Deacon Samuel Norton, William Stanley, Sr., Deacon Jesse Stanley, Israel Thompson, Deacon Daniel Nor- ton, Ephraim Towner, Samuel Lyman, Stephen Baldwin, Na- than Hale, Allen Lucas, Sr., Theodore Parmelee, Nathaniel S. Parmelee, Mineas Beach, Jonathan Beach, Moses Wad- hams, Daniel Rice, Isaac Baldwin, Eben Norton, David Hud- son, John Doud, David Hart. Some of these men removed to western New York, and some to New Connecticut, then so called, now Western Reserve, Ohio; and assisted in laying the foundations of churches and societies, modeled after the New England plan and character. It will be seen that Goshen has furnished many valuable men, not only for the maintenance of all good things within itself, but for the advancement of the interests of religion and good society in other portions of the country.
Deacon Moses Lyman, the first of the name residing in Goshen, purchased of Aaron Cook and Divan Berry, Oct. 24, 1739, two fifty-acre lots on Town Hill, bounded N. and E. by the highway; and also the proprietor's right of said Cook and half the right of John Moses. At that time he is said to be of Northampton. On April 18, 1740, he sold to Joseph Cur- tiss the northern 50-acre lot on Town Hill and the half right of John Moses. At the first town meeting, held Dec. 6, 1739, he was appointed collector of a rate of 40 shillings and " Treasurer for said money."
He held an influential position in the church from the first and " Ensign Moses Lyman " was on the first committee to treat with the Rev. Mr. Heaton to induce him to resign the pastorate. He had previously been a member of the church
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in Northampton under the care of Jonathan Edwards. He was elected deacon to succeed Deacon Gideon Thomson, in 1759. One of his contemporaries said of him: "He was remarkable for his endeavors to make peace and reconcile difficulties." He was a magistrate many years. His judg- ment was good and much depended on.
On the occasion of his death the Rev. Abel Newell, then pastor of the church, preached a sermon which was printed at, the request of the hearers. The title of the sermon: " Good Men the Strength and Defense of a People." This was the first sermon delivered on a funeral occasion in this town that ever appeared in print.
Deacon Lyman was first chosen Selectman in 1746, and represented the town in the General Assembly at fourteen sessions.
The wife of Deacon Lyman went to Northampton to finish her education when she was about eighteen years of age. The following statement was made to Deacon Lewis M. Nor- ton by her grandson, Moses Lyman, Esq .: " While at school in N. her attention was called to the great subject of her soul's concerns, and although her mind was much exercised with a sense of her need of personal religion, she was not willing to have it known. While her mind was in this state she re- ceived a polite invitation to attend a ball. She hesitated, but finally, from motives of politeness, accompanied her partner to the ballroom. She had danced once and began again when she felt, to use her own expression, " Dancing over the pit of hell," and that if she died she must drop there. She spoke to another young lady to take her place and disappeared. She danced no more. She is believed to have been a professor of religion before she came to Goshen, as was her husband.
Deacon Lyman and his wife were buried in the old Middle Street graveyard.
Colonel Moses Lyman was a farmer and lived and died at the place of his father, on Town Hill. He built the present
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brick house standing there in the summer of 1806. He held at different times every grade of office in the militia, from corporal to colonel. He was called to sustain the various town offices, and was elected selectman at several times.
He was a man of strong mind, of great promptness, energy, and decision of character, of strict integrity, careful in the ob- servance of the Sabbath, and, until he was physically disabled, punctual in his attendance on public worship. He was never connected with the church, but was a firm supporter of the preaching of the Gospel, strict in the education of his children, and constant in the duty of family prayer. Immorality of any kind always met his stern rebuke and disapprobation. He was noted for the regularity of his habits.
He had acquired sufficient wealth to enable him to indulge in the luxuries of his day, as is evident by the following fac simile " cirtificate," which entitled him to keep a " Chasse," chaise:
No 179
THIS IS TO CERTIFY, That Col, Moles Lyman of the town of Yoo hen in the County of Litchfield in the first Collection District of Connecticut has paid the duty of Two Dollars for / year to end on the 31 st day of Decembernext, for and upon a 2 wheel Carriage calle da Chasse ownedby him and the hamers used Therefor.
This certificate to be of no avail any longer than the a fore said Carriage shall be owned by the said y man unless said certificate shall be produced to a Collector
and an entry be made thereon, specifying the name of the then owner of said carriage + the time when he became possesed There of .
Given in conformity with the laws of the United States this 30 day of January A. D. 1815 -
Collector of the Revenue for the
1 st collection District of Connecticut. 239
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Moses Lyman, Esquire, son of Colonel Lyman, com- menced life as a farmer, but as early as 1788, and until 1802, he was in partnership with Benjamin Talmadge of Litchfield, engaged in buying mules, horses, and cattle for the Southern market. Mr. Talmadge furnished most of the capital, and Erastus Lyman had an interest during a part of the time. The business was quite profitable. In 1792 he built a store and commenced the mercantile business. In November, 1793, he formed a partnership with Elihu Lewis of East street, which continued until December, 1797, when the partnership was dissolved and he conducted business alone until October 12, 1802, when the partnership with his brother Erastus was formed. They continued the purchase and sale of goods until January 1, 1827, when they retired and gave their atten- tion to their farms until their death.
Mr. Lyman had, in a remarkable degree, the characteristics of his father and his ancestors; a man of commanding influence and highest standing in society, a thorough and successful business man, and a firm supporter of the church, though not a professor of religion. His manners were polished, and he was distinguished for politeness to all. Through a long course of years he successively held most, if not all, of the offices in the gift of the town. He represented the town many times in the General Assembly and long acted as a civil magistrate.
Moses Lyman, Esquire, born 1810, was widely known, not only for his business enterprise, but for the generosity and nobility of character which made him highly esteemed and honored by those who came into close relations with him. He was educated for business, and sixty years ago was engaged in extensive mercantile operations in Goshen, and when the Housatonic railroad was opened in West Cornwall. He be- came interested in the manufacture of Salisbury pig iron, and was one of the organizers of the Hunts Lyman Iron Company of Canaan, and in later years of the Cayuta Wheel and Foun- dry Company of Waverly, N. Y. About 1868 he went to
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Florida, where he made a delightful winter home near San- ford, devoting a good deal of time and money to orange cul- ture, and doing much to develop the resources of that part of the South. (The Lyman Bank, of Sanford, is named for him, and its existence is largely due to his enterprise there.)
He was a man of sound judgment, unwearying energy, and the strictest integrity. He was for many years a member of the Congregational Church in Goshen, and lived a consistent Christian life. He has left a stainless record in business and private life, and belonged to a class of men, who, in character and generation, are rapidly passing away. He held many town offices of trust and responsibility, but only during the stormy days of the civil war would he accept of a political place, when he was a member of the Connecticut Legislature.
At his death in 1883, it came true that for the first time in nearly a hundred and fifty years not one of his name was re- siding in Goshen.
Erastus Lyman, like others of his family, was a man of distinguished abilities, energetic, methodical, and successful in business, eminently distinguished for his piety and benevo- lence, and his deep interest in the affairs of the church and the town. Towards the close of his active life, he remarked to a friend that he transacted more business for others than for himself. He was the friend of the friendless, the pro- tector of the widow and the orphan, and the ready adviser of all who sought his counsel.
I think the following is from an obituary notice published after his death :- " Erastus Lyman, a man and a Christian of no ordinary stature, has fallen in our midst; of uncommon capacity and of inestimable value to the community. Self- made, or rather made by circumstances incident to a life of bold business venture in all parts of this country as it was fifty years ago; with more than an average amount of natural en- dowments, actuated under the pressure and the promptings of an indomitable purpose, he rose to prominence and an influ-
16
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ence indicative of his character. In him, as a man with re- markable physical energy, were combined great mental ac- tivity and a strong moral sense. He became associated with the prominent men of this country and state, in conducting and adjusting important business matters, and enjoyed a high reputation abroad as a counselor and an executor in financial affairs.
" We can point our young men to his regularity and punc- tuality at every place where duty called him, to his readiness for every good word and work, to his promptness in saying and doing whatever he had to say or do; and to his ready and cheerful response to almost every call of charity, and say to them: 'Go ye and do likewise.' "
Giles Griswold was the sixth child of Giles Griswold, Sr., and was born in Goshen, May 18, 1774. His early home was just about one mile south of the church at the Center, but in the year 1800, a new house was built, now known as the Pratt House, south of the present residence of Thomas Griswold. Mr. Griswold married Sarah, daughter of Ephraim Starr, and they lived in this house until the house at the Center was built, in 1833, the house given by Mr. Griswold at his death to the Congregational Society, to be used as a parsonage. Up to the time of their removal to the Center, Mr. Griswold was engaged in farming. They had no children.
This married pair were so closely united that it is not easy to write of one without including the other. They both en- joyed the confidence and the love and respect of all who knew them. They united with the church together, January 1, 1832. Mr. Griswold died October 8, 1851, of infirmity conse- quent upon old age. His wife survived him a few years. His pastor, the Rev. Dr. Perrin, said of him: " His love for Christ and His cause, his interest in this church and society, and his estimate of the worth and importance of the Christian min- istry, are indicated by his deeds, as well as by his words. A man of ardent affections and strong emotions, we have often
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known him, while engaged in prayer, lifted above the power of utterance. An allusion to the love of Christ was sure to find a ready response from his heart at any time. His last ut- tered desire amid the struggles of wasting nature was, ' that he might soon be in that holy, happy place, where God and the Saviour dwells.' "
After securing an adequate support for his widow, and forbidding the payment of any bequests during her lifetime, except such as the income of his estate would meet, and after making. handsome bequests to several individuals, he remem- bered with a liberality worthy of commendation the interests of education and religion, in the place where he had spent a long life.
To the trustees of Goshen Academy he gave $1,000, to be held in trust, and its income to be used to promote its useful- ness. To the First Ecclesiastical Society he gave all his real estate, for the use, benefit, and convenience of the pastor of the Church, but not to diminish his stipulated salary. To the , American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and to the American Bible Society, each $500, and made the American Home Missionary Society his residuary legatee.
Daniel S. Dickinson was born in Goshen September 11, 1800. He was self-educated, and, after his marriage and while engaged in teaching, studied law. He was about to ask the Court of Common Pleas to admit him to the bar, when he was informed that his admission would be opposed because he had pursued his studies in a private way, and had no office experi- ence. He then went to Albany and applied to the Chief Jus- tice of the Supreme Court, who caused him to be examined, and he was admitted to practice in all the courts of the state. This was in 1829. In 1831 he opened an office in Bingham- ton, where he continued to reside. He soon secured a large business and became a favorite with the Democratic party. He was elected president of the village in 1834, and 1836 was elected to the State Senate for four years. He was elected
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lieutenant-governor in 1842, and an elector on the Democratic ticket in 1844. He was first appointed United States Sena- tor, to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. Tall- madge. He was duly elected, when the legislature assembled, and continued to hold the office until 1851. He was a man of great natural ability, he had the courage of his convictions, was pronounced in his opinions, and as a natural consequence made warm friends and bitter enemies.
Henry Norton was born, lived, and died in the town of Goshen. From his earliest manhood until a few months before his death he was interested in its history and its prosperity. He was unselfish and public spirited, and his weekly chron- icles of events in the town, as published in the newspapers of Winsted and Litchfield, were of such special interest, and so filled with quaint allusions, that his name came to be more widely known than that of any other citizen. His ability and integrity, as well as his unselfish interest in others, and in every work or enterprise calculated to benefit the community, made him the recipient of many trusts, so that, at one time in his life, he was the trustee or agent, or representative, in one form or another, of upwards of thirty different interests in addition to those 'entirely personal. He commenced teaching when he was twenty years of age and taught eight winters, working on his father's farm and assisting his father in surveying dur- ing the summers. The most of his teaching was in the Win- chester Center and Wolcottville Academies. The writer was told by one of his pupils that, "He was the most inspiring and helpful teacher that I ever had."
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