USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Wolcott > History of the town of Wolcott (Connecticut) from 1731 to 1874, with an account of the centenary meeting, September 10th and 11th, 1873 and with the genealogies of the families of the town > Part 27
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While in his store, he held the office of postmaster fif- teen years, from 1853, and has since received a good share of honor in various offices in the town,-standing
349
SIMEON H. NORTON.
several years as first selectman, going once to the legis- lature, and has been for several years, and is now, a jus- tice of the peace. He has been called on to serve as ad- ministrator of estates, drawing deeds and wills, and other like documents, to a large extent, and continues to re- ceive a high degree of confidence from his fellow-citizens.
When twenty-three years of age he married Sarah Ann, daughter of Capt. Levi Hall, of Wolcott, with whom he spent thirty-five years of happy wedded life, until her death, in 1872. Of his wife's Christian life and death he speaks in the highest terms.
In politics, Mr. Norton has been a Democrat, though not a strong partizan, and at the breaking out of the late war, he took the ground that the rebels, having taken up arms against the government, should be put down by force of arms, and sustained the efforts of the United States for the accomplishment of that end. His only son, twenty-one years of age, enlisted, and fell at his post, May 3d, 1863, in the terrible battle of Chancellors- ville, where several of his Wolcott friends also fell.
DR. JOHN POTTER.
Dr. John Potter came to Wolcott and established him- self as a physician about the year 1780, and was trusted and respected many years as a physician and citizen. He was active in the Ecclesiastical Society, and sustained a large share of the responsibilities of the offices of the same ; and so far as the records show, or the friends re- member, he acquitted himself in all things as a faithful man in his profession, and a worthy citizen. He mar- ried Lydia, the daughter of Deacon Aaron Harrison, than which family there was none more honorable in the community.
His children grew up around him in honorable, and active employments, but when the glory of Wolcott began to decline, they removed west, and last of all, the Doctor went, also, saying he went " west to die, not to live," for his days were nearly run. He was of the progressive kind of physicians, for when it was noised abroad that inoculation by kine-pox would secure the community from the dreadful ravages of small-pox, he at once pe- titioned the town for the privilege of introducing the practice of vaccination. His children and family are very kindly remembered by some of the older people of the town at the present time.
350
REV. NATHAN SHAW.
Rev. Nathan Shaw, son of Solomon and Betsy (Dil- ingham) Shaw, was born in Abington, Mass., June 3d, 1788. In 1796 his father removed to Cummington, Mass., where, under the instruction of Rev. James Briggs he prepared for college. He studied theology one year at Andover Theological Seminary, and with Rev. Alvan Hyde, D. D., of Lee, Mass. Having performed, for a year, missionary labor in Berkshire County, Mass., he was ordained, in 1820, over the Congregational church in West Stockbridge, Mass. In 1826 he was settled over, or served the church as stated supply, in Curtisville, Stockbridge, Mass. He subsequently supplied various churches in Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 1831, on the fourth of July, the Society in Wolcott voted to hire him four months, and before that time expired they voted to hire him one year. The probability is that he preached here nine or ten months only. After leaving Wolcott he was engaged among the Osage Indians, under the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. He died in 1865.
35I
SETH THOMAS.
Seth Thomas was the son of James Thomas, who married Maria Ward, of West Haven or Orange, Conn., and removed to Wolcott. James came from Scotland to this country. Seth Thomas is said to have been born in Wolcott, where he lived until about the year 1810. He was a man of few words, but of great energy and perse- verance in any employment in which he engaged. His father was a cooper, but he turned somewhat naturally to the trade of a carpenter, in connection with which, probably, he obtained some knowledge of mill property and manufacturing interests. He was apprenticed to Mr. Daniel Tuttle, of Plymouth, and in consequence of his quiet attention to his duties, and want of boyish vanities, he was called, by some of the wild lads of Wolcott, "Daniel Tuttle's fool." As in many cases, so in this- history shows who are wise and who are fools.
Mr. Thomas engaged in the manufacture of clocks in the firm of Terry, Thomas & Hoadley, at Hoadleyville, in about the year 1810, where he continued three years. It is said that previous to this engagement he made an offer for the purchase of the mill property of Mr. Daniel Byington, at Wolcott, and desired the town to open a road direct to Cheshire for the export of goods that might be manufactured by him. But the spirit of enter- prise had not come upon the people of Wolcott, and Mr. Thomas being discouraged as to the location, went to Hoadleyville and thence to Plymouth Hollow, now Thomaston. It is possible that this proposition to come
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SETH THOMAS.
to Wolcott was made just before going to Thomaston. Had he received suitable encouragement, the enterprising village of Thomaston might have been in Wolcott instead of Plymouth, for the water power in Wolcott is pro- nounced by competent judges to be superior to that of Thomaston. About the year 1813, Mr. Thomas pur- chased some property of Mr. Heman Clark, in Plymouth Hollow, containing a small manufactory of some kind, and here commenced, on his individual responsibility, the making of clocks. In this business he had great success ; and about 1830, he built a cotton manufactory, which, after some years, was reconstructed into the clock making business. Such was the prosperity of his enterprises that about 1850 a joint stock company was formed, which resulted in the enlargement of the business so as to establish depots for the sale of goods in different parts of the world. The present capital stock in use is half a million of dollars. The branch depots are located in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and London.
Thomaston now numbers two thousand inhabitants, and is an enterprising, thriving village. Such has Wol- cott lost, and such has Plymouth gained, and such are the results of the energy of one man.
24
REV. BENONI UPSON, D. D.
Dr. Benoni Upson was born in "Farmington Part" of what is now Wolcott, Conn., February 14th, 1750. His father was Thomas Upson, who resided one mile north of the Meeting house in Wolcott. His mother was Hannah Hopkins, of Waterbury, sister of the celebrated Dr. Samuel Hopkins, of Newport, R. I. He graduated at Yale College in 1776, and was ordained pastor of the church in Kensington April 21st, 1779. August, 1778, he was married to Livia Hopkins, daughter of Joseph Hopkins, Esq., of Waterbury. Their children were eight, viz : Gustavus, Laura, Henry, Livia, Laura, Sophia, Sally, William. Of these but one was living in 1863. Dr. Upson was for fourteen years fellow of Yale College, from which in 1817 he received the honorary degree of 'Doctor of Divinity.
Rev. Royal Robbins in his notes upon the history of the church in Kensington, as given in "Contributions to the Ecclesiastical History of Connecticut," p. 412, speaks of him as a "wise and benevolent man, a lover of peace, and a peacemaker, and distinguished, with his family, for hospitality. In the sermon preached by Mr. Robbins at the funeral of Dr. Upson, he describes him as "in social intercourse highly agreeable,-courteous and attentive to all, his address at once dignified and easy, agreeable and cheerful in his feelings, companionable and concili- ating, tender and gentle." He says, also, that he was "a valuable friend and counsellor ; in his intellectual character, possessing a clear understanding and ready wit ; a man of information and of great native sagacity,
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REV. BENONI UPSON, D. D.
admirably acquainted with human nature, and cau- tious and wary, prudent and discreet."
Rev. Mr. Hillard, in a letter, speaks of him as "a most accomplished gentleman. He was regular in his attend- ance upon the ministry and ordinances of religion, after as well as before giving up his ministerial labors,-being for several of the last years of his life the oldest man usually seen in the congregation. He was buried in the East burying ground, Kensington. The inscription on his monument is as follows : "Rev. Benoni Upson, D. D., native of Waterbury, Conn .; Graduate and Fellow of Yale College ; Pastor of the Church of Christ in Berlin ; . Ordained April 21, 1779 ; Died Nov. 13, 1826, aged 76 years."
REV. HENRY E. L. UPSON.
Rev. Henry E. L. Upson was born in Wolcott, May 2 I, 1831, and was a twin brother to Harriet Arabella Frances Upson. He was baptized by the name of Henry Eugene Loomis, and was the son of Thomas and Jerusha Upson, and grandson of Esquire Charles and Mary (Moulthrop) Upson. His early school days were spent at the Centre District school of Wolcott. of which he gave some reminiscenses at the Centenary meeting. He was fitted for college at Lewis Academy, in Southington, and entered Yale college in 1855, from which he graduated with honors in 1859. He was one year in the Andover Theological Seminary, and two years, nearly, in Yale Theological Seminary, at New Haven. While in the Seminary at New Haven he was appointed, August 7, 1862, chaplain of the Thirteenth Regiment of Con- necticut Volunteers, by Governor Buckingham, and was ordained June 22d, and joined his regiment in New Orleans, where he remained to the fall of Fort Hudson. He distinguished himself by gallant conduct on several occasions, and received special commendation from his superior officers for efficient efforts for the physical com- fort of the soldiers, while earnestly exercising his office as a minister among them.
He resigned his chaplaincy and left the service of the United States August 7, 1863, to become the pastor of the Congregational church in New Preston, Conn., where he was installed September 23, 1863, in which place his labors have been ordinarily successful, and where he still continues to preach.
357
REV. HENRY E. L. UPSON.
He married Miss Abbie A. Platt, daughter of Prof. Merritt and Abigail (Merwin) Platt, of Milford, Conn., October 13, 1863. He is the only Upson, descended from Wolcott, who is now in the ministry, so far as we know. Dr. Benoni Upson was great-uncle to Henry, and spent a long and successful life in the ministry. Rev. A. J. Upson, D. D., of Albany, N. Y., professor in Union College, being a descendant of the Waterbury Upsons, and of the same original family with the Wolcott Upsons.
REV. ISRAEL B. WOODWARD.
Rev. Israel Beard Woodward was born in Watertown, Conn., December 4th, 1767. He was the son of Israel and Abigail (Stoddard) Woodward, and great-grandson, on his mother's side, of Rev. Anthony Stoddard, the set- tled Congregational minister of Woodbury, Conn., for sixty years. He was graduated at Yale College in 1789, at the age of twenty-two, and was ordained pastor of the church in Wolcott in June, 1792. From the time of graduation to his settlement, he had three years for theo- logical studies, but where he pursued these, or whether he did or not, regularly, we have not learned ; but we have no doubt that one of his cast of mind would avail himself of such advantageous preparation for so great a work. From the first the majority of the people of Wolcott were greatly pleased with Mr. Woodward, for his style of preaching was quite the opposite of his pre- decessor, Mr. Gillet. Mr. Gillet never indulged in re- marks that would create a smile, but Mr. Woodward was a man of cheerful spirit, and his natural turn of mind would make a pleasing reply or remark, in little matters in conversation, which was relieving and agreeable to most persons, and the aptness and appropriateness of his illustrations in the pulpit would sometimes create a smile in the audience ; yet he was sedate and quite serious, and this sharpness of perception and application of truth in a cheerful way made him an acceptable preacher to most persons. It was, I apprehend, the pleasant witicisms of ordinary times, turned into sarcasms in the exciting politi-
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REV. ISRAEL B. WOODWARD.
cal times of Mr. Thomas Jefferson, that offended some of Mr. Woodward's parishioners who withdrew from the support of the church at that time ; and yet there are indications that Mr. Woodward's most earnest church members, who became very zealous in politics, influenced more persons to leave the Society than he did ; for they declared their belief, that if Mr. Jefferson was elected president, the religious liberties of this country would be at once annulled, and persecution would reign instead ; and there are those living now who have heard their fathers repeat these sayings as given by Mr. Woodward's strongest church members. There can be no doubt of the honesty and uprightness of these men who opposed Jefferson, for Jefferson was commonly reported an infidel, and infidelity was a great enemy and persecutor of the Christian church in the sixteenth and seventeenth centu- ries, both in England and in America. And the po- litical excitements immediately following the revolution were nearly as effective on the minds of the people as was the revolution itself, and Wolcott, which had suffered severely in the loss of its men in the war, could not for- get how dearly it had bought Freedom. And had not Mr. Woodward endeared himself to the people by dignity of character, and a cultivated mind, and also by a hearty sympathy with them in all their trials and privations, the loss of support to the church would doubtless have been far greater than it was. Mr. Woodward was the strong band of union in those days, though the people knew it not ; yet he could not maintain his position without saying something on the political questions of the day,-for a large majority of the people were Feder- alists, and opposed to Mr. Jefferson's politics. And this may have been the reason why he sent to the Society's annual meeting in November, 1800, a proposition to be dismissed. He may have found it so hard to harmonize the conflicting elements, that he was greatly discour- aged, and preferred to be relieved from the distressing
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HISTORY OF WOLCOTT.
situation. When he requested to be dismissed, the parish meeting voted a committee to go to him and "inform him that the Society, for various reasons, wish not to act upon the proposition by him made as to a dismission ; particularly as they are well pleased with his perform- ances as their minister, and are by no means willing for a dissolution of the pastoral connection between him and them." These words, "by no means," tell no more than the truth for the men of the Society.
One of the present parishioners relates that he has heard his mother say, many times, that Mr. Woodward was the best man she ever knew. Mrs. Woodward is said to have been a kind and noble woman, much esteemed by the people. A colored girl was employed in the family. A short time after Mr. Woodward's death she became displeased at some request of her mistress, and retorted by saying, "I wish you had died instead of Mr. Woodward." This girl, living in New Haven some five years since, told the fact to a person who was at the late Centenary meet- ing, and as she told it she repeated the good qualities of her late master with much interest and feeling. Yet such a man and minister, so kind-hearted, sympathetic and feel- ing in religious life, and in regard to the sorrows of men, was, in the common expression used, "full of his jokes." The old superstition that a Christian should never laugh, is one of the darkest errors of the Roman Catholic Church, and found no countenance in the life of this good man.
SOME OF MR. WOODWARD'S JOKES.
A man with a pig under his arm passing Mr. Woodward's house one morning, saw Mr. Woodward in the yard, and ad- dressed him with "Good-morning." Mr. Woodward's ready re- ply was: "Good-morning, gentlemen, both of you."
It was customary in those days for minister and people, all, to use intoxicating drinks, and Mr. Woodward and his church mem- bers kept up this custom, not discerning the fearful consequences of such a practice. On one occasion Mr. Woodward sent his
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REV. ISRAEL B. WOODWARD.
work boy to the store for a bottle of whisky. The boy returned with the bottle, when Mr. Woodward asked him what kind of liquor he had brought. He replied the store keeper said it was whisky. "Have you not tasted it?" said Mr. W. "No," said the boy. "Then," said Mr. W., "you shall have none of it, to pay you for not tasting it."
The next time he sent him on a like errand he asked him the same question ;- "What have you?" "Rum," said the boy. "How do you know ?" "I drank some, and treated the company at the store,"- and the half empty bottle indicated that the com- pany was rather numerous.
Mr. Woodward being so ready at repartee, the people learned to reply to him in the same way, and were much pleased when they could catch him with a pleasant word. He hired a man to work for him, and the man came to engage in the work about ten o'clock in the morning. Mr. Woodward said: " Rather late, Mr. H-, to begin a day's work." Mr. H. replied : "It is about the time you usually begin work for me," referring to Mr. Woodward's preaching on Sabbath.
He was very fond of children, taking them on his knee and kissing them. There is a woman now in the parish whose mother, when a little girl, hid from Mr. Woodward many times, when he came to her father's home, so as not to be kissed.
The students in his school enjoyed his pleasant ways very much, and hence they came to look upon him as a father, as well as a teacher, and the tenderness with which the poet, Mr. Maxwell, speaks of him is seldom equaled. Mr. Woodward wore a cue in the old style on the back part of his head. One Sabbath this cue was left at home and observed by the students. Mr. Woodward's little dog, that would follow him anywhere, if allowed, was at home; the students put the cue or "switch of hair" on the dog's head, and let him out the door. The dog went direct to church, mounted the pulpit stairs, in presence of the audience, sat down at the pulpit door. facing the audience, and there remained until the bene-
362
HISTORY OF WOLCOTT.
diction. The children of the audience, big and little, had hard work to keep sober faces during that service. Not- withstanding the pleasant witicisms and cheerful manner of life of Mr. Woodward, he is said to have been a man of. much dignity of character, and highly respected in his parish and by all who knew him in neighboring parishes.
Of his students no list can be obtained, and but few persons now living remember the names of any of them. Mr. Stephen Upson, of Waterbury, who became one of the most celebrated lawyers of the State of Georgia, "pursued his classical studies for a time with Mr. Wood- ward."
Mr. J. G. Percival,* the poet of considerable celebrity, pursued his studies, for a time, with Mr. Woodward. A Mr. Peck, from New Haven, was here, and cut the initials of his name and the date on Mr. Woodward's " door- stone," in 1803, where they still remain.
Mr. William Maxwell, of Virginia, attended school at Mr. Woodward's, and on hearing of his death, composed an elegy of great pathos and beauty, on Wolcott and Mr. Woodward. This poem was read at the late Centenary meeting, and might properly be placed as one of the papers of that occasion, but I place it in connection with Mr. Woodward's name because of its beautiful memorial character, and the appropriate honor it does his memory.
This poem is secured by the very great favor of the
* James Gates Percival, the poet, was born in Berlin, near Hartford, Conn., on the 15th of September, 1795. He entered Yale College, when fifteen years of age, and graduated in 1815, with the reputation of being the first scholar of his class. He received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from Yale Medical school, in 1820. He published several volumes of poems and miscellaneous prose writings. He was appointed assistant sur- geon in the U. S. army, in 1824, and acted as professor of chemistry in the Military Academy at West Point. This position he resigned, and for two years subsequently he superintended the printing of the first quarto-edition of Dr. Webster's American Dictionary. Few men possessed higher poetical qualities than Percival. He died in 1856. See National Fifth Reader, p. 23S.
363
REV. ISRAEL B. WOODWARD.
Hon. L. W. Cutler and Judge Curtiss, of Watertown, Conn.
Mr. Woodward owned land in several parts of the town besides his home at the Centre. He owned a consider- able part of a distillery that was constructed in the old mill where Mr. Ira Hough ground bark for tanning purposes; but very little is known of this distillery, except the fact of its short existence.
Mr. Woodward belonged to the militia of the county in some office, probably that of chaplain, and the follow- ing letter explains itself somewhat, while it furnishes some characteristics of the man .*
WOLCOTT, Sept. 7, 1803.
MR. STANLEY:
I send you by the bearer, Mr. Lucius Tuttle, my old beaver. I want you to display upon it a little military skill. I have no use for it except on brigade or regimental reviews. That old despot, Poverty, sternly forbids me to lay out ten or twelve dollars for a hat to be used but once a year.
Now. sir, I am little acquainted with the mechanical operation of furs, nevertheless, I will presume to give you my ideas. The hat you will find torn about one inch and a half directly in front, and a small breach made on the left wing. I have supposed that a surgical operation need first be performed, and perhaps a piece taken out in front, which would make the angle more obtuse and in less danger of pricking people on public occasions. It is my wish, not to have my hat drawn directly perpendicular in front, nor to have the point of the cock sunk to a horizontal direction, ending in abstract sharpness. But I wish it to incline about thirty degrees from a perpendicular, and terminate half way between the form of a cap-a-pie military hat and what its name is. To speak in plain English, I want it made decent for a chaplain, remote from either extreme.
As to the looping, binding, or trimming the hat, you will act your own judgment, and indeed, in all you do to it. All I would
* The letter in Mr. Woodward's own hand writing is still in the posses- sion of Mrs. Mark Tuttle, of Wolcott.
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HISTORY OF WOLCOTT.
do, is to express my wishes, believing you will wish to gratify them. It doubtless wants a thorough dressing, and if you can do it so as to make the hat answer, I should be glad you would undertake it, if not, to return it by the bearer.
I should be glad to have it done so that I might obtain it within fifteen or sixteen days. By complying with the above request, you will much oblige me, and shall receive a just compensation.
From, sir, your humble servant,
MR. W. STANLEY.
ISRAEL B. WOODWARD.
The address on the outside of the letter is,
MR. WHITING STANLEY, HATTER,
CHESHIRE.
Mr. Woodward married about the time of his settle- ment, "Sally," the daughter of the Rev. John Smalley, D. D., of New Britain, Conn., an accomplished woman, of whom we hear no complaints, and who survived her husband some years, and on whom the parishioners of Wolcott used to call with pleasure, years after she left Wolcott, and while she lived in New Haven or East Haven.
In the summer and fall of 1810 the typhoid fever pre- vailed fearfully in Wolcott, beginning in the family of Mark Harrison, Esq. The disease was so uncontrolable by the physicians that the people of the community feared to go near a house where it prevailed. Mr. Woodward, true to his pastoral relations and his natural kindness of heart, visited the sick and bereaved, admin- istering comfort as best he could in such a trying time. As a consequence, the fever "set in," and on the 17th of September, 1810, he closed his labors and sufferings on earth, and entered the, to us, great unrealized future. He was forty-three years of age, and left no family besides his wife.
His death made a great vacancy in the community,
365
REV. ISRAEL B. WOODWARD.
nearly or quite all lamenting him as their great and true friend, and feeling that his place could not easily be filled in the sacred office of minister and pastor.
WOLCOTT .* AN ELEGY.
In these green shades where soft Eliza t flows To soothe her own dear poet in his woes ; While ev'ning gales from yonder willows breathe The balmy sighs that dying flow'rs bequeath, Thus let me rove, forgotten and alone, To muse on sorrows that are all my own. Alas ! the guardian of my early days, The fond inspirer of my tuneful lays, Long cherished object of my filial love,- My Woodward leaves me for the realms above ! And I am left, thro' long succeeding years, To mourn my loss with unavailing tears. Then come, sweet muse, resume the lyre again, And teach my heart a sad lamenting strain ; Some soothing air to whisper soft relief,- At once indulge, and tranquilize my grief. And thou, sad memory, to sorrow true, Restore the scenes my happy childhood knew ; Those faded scenes thou only canst restore, Now past forever, and beloved the more. High on a mountain all unknown to Fame, Tho' grac'd with Wolcott's venerable name, The village bloom'd in her serene retreat, And smil'd to see the clouds beneath her feet. Such scenes of old the saintly hermit sought, - Retreat for Penitence, and pious Thought ; Where Faith might love to breathe a parting sigh,
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