USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Oxford > History of the town of Oxford, Connecticut > Part 4
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"Voted that ye Worshipfull Captaine Ebenezer Jno son in Quaker's farm purchase in land not pitch'd upon or lay'd out already if he can find any such hath liberty granted him to take up according to his list that was then when ye land was pitch'd upon viz 1689" (pitched meant selected) .
In 1704 he was appointed Sergeant-major of New Haven County militia. By 1706, he is said to have transacted about all the public business of the town. In 1710, an expedition was organized to go to Port Royal and Major Johnson was commissioned Colonel, being then 61 years old. He was Representative to the General Court much of the time from 1685 to 1723. His name is included in the list of proprie- tors of the Quakers' Farm Purchase in March, 1727-8 he being the third largest holder.
He was undoubtedly a remarkable man, to whom his fellow- townsmen turned for leadership, and whom they were glad to honor, as is instanced by the action of the Town Meeting in 1707, which voted that in the meeting house he should sit alone, in the seat of greatest dignity. This was about the highest honor they could give him.
His influence must have been felt in the Oxford District, for he was chosen in 1700, in company with Henry Wooster, to run the bounds be- tween Derby, Woodbury, and Waterbury.
JOHN TWITCHELL 1st.
John Twitchell 1st was an interesting early settler, of whom Abel Gunn records: "December 9, 1700, The laying out of John Twitchel
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Old John Twitchell House on Academy Rd.
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One of the old Riggs Houses on Riggs St. Now the residence of Mr. S. Rzeszutek.
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pastur in the rocks above David Meadow, so called." It should be noted that during the course of the years, there were three John Twitchells, so to identify them, it is necessary to note their ages at the time of specific events.
The first John Twitchell was born about 1674, in Medfield, Mass. which place is about 15 miles southwest of Boston. He moved to Derby at some time prior to 1689, as 'in that year, he married Sarah Pierson daughter of Steven and Mary Tomlinson Pierson. Mary Tomlinson was a daughter of Henry Tomlinson, who with his wife Alice, came from Derbyshire, England to Milford, Connecticut in 1652. They removed from Milford to Stratford and in 1689, Tomlinson purchased land in Derby from the Indians.
John Twitchel 1st's grandmother was Mary Riggs Twitchel, whose Riggs relatives, it is said, had been living in Derby "for a number of years" prior to 1689. She was a daughter of Edward Riggs who came from England to Boston, Mass. in 1633. His son, Sergt Edward Riggs settled in Milford in 1640, and was one of the men who settled Paugaset, now Derby. So the Riggs family had been in Derby from the very start. Mary Riggs Twitchel was 69 years old in 1689 when John Twitchel married, and she may have suggested to him that he come to Derby to live.
In 1702, John Twitchell's name appears in the list of persons "drawing for lots westward of Little River and Bladens Brook". He is said to have built in 1714 the house later known as the Washband Tavern. He had been a soldier in the expedition against Canada in 1690, and it was probably upon his return that he took up his final residence in Derby. The "Washband Tavern" is the large house, still standing (1958) on the east side of the Oxford Road, in the southern part of Oxford. It was for many years the home of Mr. Albert Pope, and is so designated in the Oxford, Connecticut Tercentary Booklet. It is now occupied by Mr. Stanley Seccombe.
At the time of the building of this house in 1714, JohnTwitchel was 40 years old, and he seems to have continued to live there for some years. But sometime before 1741, he moved to Oxford Center, as the records of the Oxford Congregational Church state that on October 6, 1741, a meeting was held at the house of John Twitchel, and the evidence seems to be that this was the house on Academy Rd., still standing, until recently the residence of Mr. E. F. von Wettberg. Town records show that this house was in the possession of John Twitchel as late as 1751, and he was known to be still living in 1756.
He was one of the men who, in 1740, signed the petition to the General Assembly that Oxford be made a separate parish. His name also appears among the signers of the petition of the "North Farmers" when the Oxford Congregational Ecclesiastical Society was being formed in 1741. He must therefore have been of the Congregational faith.
see pg.3
1714 -40 1677 -
1756 IL74 82.
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SAMUEL TWITCHELL
This was the eldest son of John Twitchell 1st, who was born in Derby in 1711. He married Hannah Hinman at Southbury in 1739. The Oxford Congregational Church records state, 1741, "It was voted that the meetings on the Sabbath be held at the house of Samuel Twitchel till ye year be ended" It is not clear where this house was. The Twitchell family geneaology says that he and his wife lived in Wood- bury. He had been admitted, 1736, "to full communion" in the first church of Derby, so apparently he came to Oxford or Woodbury some- time between 1736 and 1741. Until 1731, Southbury was a part of Woodbury, so it may have been that his house was in the southern section of Southbury and so near enough to admit of its use for the Oxford services.
JOHN TWITCHELL 2nd
This was the second son of John 1st, born in 1713. About 1733, he married Ann Harger, daughter of Jabez and Ann Gilbert Harger. On June 21, 1770, "John Twitchell" signed a deed giving a piece of property to St. Peter's Church, "In consideration of the love and Goodwill that I have and do bare(sic) towards the church of England in the parish of Oxford." At that date, John 1st, if living, would have been 96 years old, and it seems unlikely that he would have changed his faith from Congregational to Episcopal between 1751 (aged 77) and 1770 (aged 96). It is probable, therefore that it was John 2nd who signed this deed, and that he was an Episcopalian.
THE WOOSTER FAMILY
The Woosters, many of whom settled early in Oxford, were an in- teresting family. The Connecticut branch were descendants of Edward Wooster who appeared in Milford as early as 1651, and settled in Paugaset now Derby. He married first, Elizabeth French by whom he had eight children, among whom were Elizabeth Wooster who mar- ried Col. Ebenezer Johnson and Abraham. Edward Wooster married second, Tabitha Tomlinson by whom he had six children, among whom was Timothy Wooster. Abraham married Mary Walker in 1697, and in 1706 they removed to Stratford township in the southeast corner of what is now Huntington. In 1722, he purchased lands on Goodhill Road in Quakers' Farm, where he erected a "mansion house" and a saw- mill. In 1733, he sold both his house and the sawmill, described as being located "near Munson's Corners", to Samuel Wooster Jr.
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Abraham is said to have been a stone mason and was living as late as 1743. His most distinguished son was Gen. David Wooster, whose services to his country are well known, but it is somewhat forgotten that he lived as a boy and young man in Oxford. He was born in Stratford, and was ten or twelve years old when his father moved to Quakers' Farm, where he apparently remained until he was ready to enter Yale College. In 1746, he married the daughter of Thomas Clapp, then President of Yale. He had a distinguished military career, both before and during the Revolution, during which latter he was shot in the action near Danbury, May 2, 1777, and died shortly afterward.
CAPTAIN JOHN WOOSTER
John Wooster, born December 22, 1719, was the son of Thomas and Sarah Hawkins Wooster, and grandson of Thomas and Phoebe Tomlinson Wooster, and great grandson of Edward and Elizabeth French Wooster. In the list of members of St. Peter's Church, Oxford in 1795, he is listed as John Wooster Esq. The title Esq. im- plies that he was a large landowner, and probably a Justice of the Peace. On June 18, 1746, he married Eunice Hull, daughter of Samuel and Anna Riggs Hull.
In the list of proprietors of the Quakers' Farm Purchase, as of 1727, the name of Captain Joseph Hull appears, as owning £366 5 shillings, and also that of Lt. John Riggs, as owning £240 18 shill- ings. They were the two largest share holders. So it may have been that John Wooster's wife, Eunice Hull, inherited considerable land from the Hulls and the Riggs, which might account for John Wooster's owning more land than the others of the Wooster family. This, of course, is only conjecture.
He was generally known as "Captain John". The Connecticut Colonial Records show that in 1767 "This Assembly do establish Mr. John Wooster to be Captain of the 13th Company in the 2nd Regiment in this colony." He was at that time 48 years old. Sharpe's "Seymour Past and Present" says of him: "Captain John Wooster probably came here near 1750, and was then keeping a large tavern on Little River, about two miles from the Falls (at Oxford and Park Roads). There had been a mill property sold there in 1747, which, from the description and the distance, is the locality near the dwelling (in 1900) of David C. Riggs" During the Revolution (long before the Oxford turnpike was laid out), it was a tavern of considerable note, and was known as the Captain John Wooster Tavern. It was torn down in 1872-73. "There was a large deer park owned by the Woosters northwest of the house, which was protected by the laws of the State." This park was undoubtedly the origin of the name "Park Road".
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Sharpe continues:
"Captain John Wooster was perhaps the first man to start an in- dustrial plant in the Seymour district. In 1760, he with three other men, (Thomas Perkins of Enfield, Ebenezer Keeney and Joseph Hull) purchased from the Indians an acre of land on the east side of the Naugatuck River at the falls, including the water privilege, for the purpose of putting up some iron works, but nothing was done until after October 4, 1763, when he with Keeney and Hull purchased more land on which was erected first a fulling mill, then a saw mill, and a grist mill. And in 1785, he and Bradford Steele leased at Rimmon Falls on the east side of the Naugatuck River a place for the purpose of building a blacksmith shop, and erecting a hammer to 'go by water'. They manufactured scythes and did other blacksmith work.
"That Captain John owned slaves, as was common in those days, is evident from the record of a town meeting, held in 1780, when it was voted 'that the authority and selectmen be empowered and directed to give certificates to Captain Holbrook and Captain John Wooster to free and emancipate their servants, Negro men, on the condition that the said Negro men inlist into the State Regi- ment to be raised for the defense of this State, for the town, one year."
THOMAS WOOSTER JR.
Thomas Wooster Jr. was born Feb. 18, 1692, son of Lieut. Thomas Sr. and Phoebe Tomlinson Wooster. He married Sarah, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Gunn Hawkins. He was a member of the "com- mittee" of St. Peter's church, Oxford in 1766, at which time he was 74 years old. In 1770, he was one of the first two lay readers of that church.
THOMAS WOOSTER 3d was a younger brother of Capt. John Wooster. He was born in 1724 and married Lois Hawkins, daughter of Eleazar and Damaris Hawkins. The genealogy of the Wooster family given in "Seymour Past and Present" says that he and his wife lived on Jack's Hill in Oxford, but a short biography in the same book says that "in the time of the Revolution, Thomas Wooster, a brother of Capt. John, lived nearly opposite the house of Capt. John.
There were several others of the Wooster family who, in one way or another were active in the life of Oxford. Among these were Timothy, born in 1670, who is said to have resided in Quaker Farms, and his name is included in the list of "Proprietors of Quaker's Farm Purchase" dated March, 1727. One of his descendants was Ruth Ann Wooster who married Phineas Terrell of Bethany. She became a benefactor of St. Peter's church. Another of Timothy Wooster's
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descendants was Arthur Wooster. In 1795, his name is included in the list of members of St. Peter's church as "Mr. Arthur Wooster", the title showing that he was highly respected. His son, Nathan Wooster was a graduate of Yale College.
ZACHARIAH HAWKINS
Zachariah Hawkins was born February 8, 1717, in Derby, son of Joseph Jr. and Elizabeth Gunn Hawkins. They resided on the home- stead of Joseph Hawkins Sr. at Derby Neck. It will be remembered that Joseph Hawkins Sr. was recorded as being one of the eight who were the inhabitants of Paugaset in 1667. In 1727, Joseph Hawkins Jr.'s name is contained in the list of "Proprietors of the Quakers' Farm Purchase", his share amounting to 201 lbs, 15 shillings. He had fourteen children of whom Zachariah was the twelfth.
Zachariah Hawkins was a shoemaker by trade. He was married four times and possibly five. His gravestone in Hillside Cemetery (Old South Burying Grounds) in Quaker Farms bears the following in- scription:
S.H. 1741 1774 M.H.
Z.H. 1806 R.H. 1786
"By this stone are deposited the remains of Capt. Zachariah Haw- kins, a worthy and respectable member of society, who in the 90th year of his age, died in faith and hope, June 27, MDCCCVI. He had 14 children who all survive him, 82 grand children and 95 great grand children. Sarah, his first wife, is buried in Derby, by whom he had Sarah and Mercy. Mary, his 2nd wife is buried 12 feet on the left of this stone, by whom he had Mary, John, Elizabeth, Elijah, Anna, Gaylord, Ruth, Silas, Joseph, Moses and Isaac. Rachel, his 3rd wife, lies close by this on the left, by whom he had Zachariah. Lydia his relict and his sons erect this monument, their tribute of gratitude, love and honor."
Sharpe's "Oxford Sketches, Part 2" gives the date under "S.H." as 1771, but a recent examination shows clearly 1741. Also, Zachariah married Mary Tomlinson in 1743, so Sarah must have died before that. The "Genealogy of the Hawkins Family" given in "Seymour Past and Present" says that Zachariah married Mary ---- August 18, 1773 after the death of Mary Tomlinson and before his marriage to Mrs. Rachel Perry, but no authority is given for this statement, and if the marriage occurred, the family apparently did not recognize it, as no mention is made of it on Zachariah's grave stone.
The grave stone of Mrs. Lydia Thomas, the last wife of Zachariah bears this inscription:
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"Mrs. Lydia Thomas, an amiable woman. She was wife of Nathan Taylor of Litchfield, and Capt. Zachariah Hawkins of Oxford. She died Aug. 4, 1820."
An article in the "Seymour Record" of April 2, 1891, says "Capt. Hawkins was one of the patriarchs of the Quaker's Farm Purchase". This statement is not strictly correct, in as much as it was his father who was one of the Proprietors. However, Zachariah became a large land owner.
In 1760, he was appointed a Captain of a "Train-band" (His ma- jesty's Militia) he then being 43 years old. He was prominent in pub- lic affairs, serving as a selectman in 1762 and continuing as such through 1766. In February of 1783, he was appointed to oversee and make a new highway from Woodbury to Derby by the Ousatonic River. This of course was on the east side of the river. The northern portion of the road was flooded when the Stevenson Dam was built and Lake Zoar formed.
Before the Revolution, "some considerable division of sentiment existed as to the propriety of engaging in a war of resistance to the mother country. This made it necessary to watch the movement of all persons throughout the country, lest enemies at home might do more harm than any abroad." So in Derby a "Committee of Inspec- tion" was formed for that purpose Dec. 11, 1775, of which Capt. Hawkins was a member. During the Revolution, he was a Tory but must have outlived it, for Judge Wilcoxson said of him in a Centennial Address delivered in 1876, "he was a substantial man of sound judg- ment and a valuable citizen". Several of his descendants still live in Oxford, active in town and church affairs.
Capt. Zachariah Hawkins' Commission
Zachariah Hawkins was appointed a Captain of a "train band" in 1760, - his commission reading as follows:
"Thomas Fitch, Esq.
Captain General and Commander in Chief of His Majesty's Colony of Connecticut in New England.
To Zachariah Hawkins, Gent. Greeting.
You being by the General Assembly of this Colony accepted to be Captain of the 13th Company or Train band in the second Regiment in this Colony, Reposing special Trust and Confidence in your Loyalty, Courage and good Conduct, I do, by Virtue of the Letters Patents from the Crown of England to this Corporation, Me there- unto enabling, Appoint and Impower you to take the said Train band into your Care and Charge as their Captain, carefully and diligently to discharge that Trust; Exercising your Inferior Offi- cers and Soldiers in the Use of their Arms according to the Dis- cipline of War: Keeping them in good Order and Government and
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commanding them to Obey you as their Captain for His Majesty's Service. And you are to observe all such Orders and Directions as from Time to Time you shall receive either from Me, or from (SEAL) other your Superior Officer, pursuant to the Trust hereby reposed in you. Given under my Hand and the Seal of this Colony, in Hartford, the 22nd day of March, in the 33d year of the Reign of Sovereign Lord George the Second, King of Great Britain etc.
Annoque Domini 1760 By his Honor's Command
George Wyllis, Secr
Thos. Fitch"
DAVID TOMLINSON
One of the most prominent men in the early 1800's was David Tom- linson, son of Capt. Isaac and Sibyl Russel Tomlinson. His great grandfather, Jonas Tomlinson, was one of the first to receive a grant of land at Paugasset on Derby Neck. In Judge Wilcoxson's 1876 Centennial historical address, he says of David Tomlinson, "He en- tered Quaker Farms an emigrant from Woodbury and that when young; I should think from information given me, at the age of 18 or 20." (As David was born in 1761, he therefore came to Quaker Farms about 1779 or 1781) "He was then placed in charge of land owned by his father." (His house was on the west side of Quaker Farms Road, a short distance north of Christ Church). "He married Lorena Bacon, daughter of Jabez Bacon of Woodbury. He was a merchant, and as such an extensive operator. He began in a small way and enlarged as he advanced, as I was told, first occupying a room in the chamber of his dwelling as a sales-room. He was remarkably successful in his business. His business as a merchant was extensive beyond that known of any other for many miles radius; and not the less so were his operations as an agriculturalist. His acres numbered 1500. What- ever the soil, he applied what was suitable to the peculiarity. Seldom did his land lie idle for lack of application. Possessed of keen dis- cernment, he at once saw as he set his eye on the spot, what he could put there. The late Judge Phelps of Woodbury remarked of Mr. Tomlinson that he was the best specimen of a patroon there was in Connecticut.
"He chartered vessels, fitted and put out to sea. Once his vessel and cargo were taken by French privateers. Such, and other losses embarrassed his estate.
"He was sent eleven times to the Connecticut House of Representa- tives, and when he died, which occurred March, 1822, aged 60 years, he was a member of the State Senate. He was quite generally known as "Squire Tomlinson". He and his wife Lorena were largely instru- mental in the building of Christ Church, Quaker Farms. Two of their great-great grandsons still live in Quaker Farms, active in church and town affairs.
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-----
David Tomlinson, Merchant, of Quaker's Farm.
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4
Lorena Bacon Tomlinson, Wife of David Tomlinson
CHAPTER 7
SLAVES IN OXFORD
It seems strange that slavery should have been countenanced in New England, which had been settled by such pious men. One writer points out that "society at that time was based on the belief that men were naturally divided into classes". Also, and still more curiously, people then held that slavery was recognized and sanctioned in the Bible. The famous Theophilus Eaton of New Haven quoted from the Old Testament book of Leviticus, Chapter 25, Verses 45 and 46 in support of his possessing slaves, - "Moreover, of the children of the strangers that do sojurn among you, - they shall be your possession, - they shall be your bondmen forever". There do not, however, seem to have been a great many slaves owned in New Haven County, - it being stated that the maximum number in 1755 was 226, and by 1800 only 80.
The earliest slaves were Indians who had either been taken in battle or who had surrendered. A law passed in 1727 directed that masters of Indian children must teach them to read and instruct them in the Christian faith. But Negro slavery began also at an early date, and it was counted a mark of social distinction to own a slave.
There is little on record to tell how prevalent Slavery was in Oxford. Among those who are reported to have owned a least one slave was Capt. Zachariah Hawkins of Quaker Farms, whose de- scendants say he owned an Indian slave woman. Also the Holbrook family, one of whose slaves was the locally well known Negro man, "Titus". The present "Moose Hill Road" included the western portion of Holbrook Road (now known as "Great Hill Road"), between Rock House Hill Road and Moose Hill Road. Just west of the junction of Holbrook Road and Moose Hill Road, a road runs eastward, known as "Titus Lane". Its junction with Holbrook Road was known as "Tites' Corners". Titus belonged to John Holbrook, and desired to enter the Revolutionary War to fight for the independence of the Colonies. As all John Holbrook's sons were in the army, Titus was persuaded to remain and help his master until the war was over, and then receive his freedom and a tract of land. This he did, and in due time it is said that Titus built a little house eastward from the corners.
Another owner of slaves was the Nettleton family.
"On a knoll west of Tite's Corners and the Four Mile Brook was a house known as the Gunn-Nettleton place. It was built by Abel Gunn whose daughter Agens narried Josiah Nettleton, hence the
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name "Gunn-Nettleton". Later it was occupied by John Riggs and still later by Abraham Scranton. It was apparently still standing as late as 1919, for it is mentioned in the 1919 edition of "Seymour Past and Present". which says, - "On the west end of the house there was a large ell containing the kitchen and other rooms. Over the kitchen was a little room where lived for many years the Negro slave known as "Black Sim". Sim was a faithful slave, and when he received his freedom, he had no desire to leave his old master (Nettleton) so he served well, remaining here as long as he lived".
As we have already related, Capt. Daniel Holbrook and Capt John Wooster were authorized to free their servants, Negro men, on condi- tion that they enlist into the State regiment for one year. This indi- cates that Capt. Wooster also owned one or more slaves.
One of the members of the Lum family is said to have owned slaves. His house was on Rock House Hill, just back of what was known (in 1919) as the Henry Treat place. A little west of the old Lum house (now gone), there was a room where it is said "the slaves of the family lived".
Another possible indication of the presence of slaves in Oxford is given in a resolution passed at a meeting of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, April 18, 1829, "Voted, that the lower slip (or pew) next the door on the south side of the church be no longer reserved for the use of the blacks, but instead thereof, the pew in the south west corner of the gallery". These Negroes, while probably not slaves at that late date, probably were so originally.
Altogether, slavery existed for some two hundred years in Connec- ticut and was not abolished by legal enactment until 1848, and the act provided that if a slave came to want, his former master would sup- port him. But it is said that slavery was virtually non-existent in Connecticut by 1816.
CHAPTER 8
TAVERNS AND TAVERN KEEPERS
Historians agree that the position of Tavern Keeper in New England in the early 1800's was an honorable one. They were appointed by the town, and were expected to, and did keep their rooms neat, have good beds, and provide good food. One traveler from France wrote in 1795 that he was amazed how good the New England tavern was. This seems to have been the case in Oxford, for it is recorded that at a Town Meeting held in January 1803 "the following gentlemen were chosen tavern keepers, Josiah Washband Jr., Reuben Bunnel, Gideon Tucker, Daniel Cande and Wait Garrett". These were all men of standing in the community.
The locations of the tavern kept by Josiah Washband and that by Daniel Cande are readily identifiable and that of Gideon Tucker may have been the one on the southern end of Riggs street, known at one time as "Back St." and the foundations of which still remain. But the taverns of Reuben Bunnel and Wait Garrett seem to have been lost in obscurity. Other taverns of record in Oxford were those on Oxford Road south of the center the one kept by Capt. John Wooster, and the other by his brother Thomas (3rd).
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