USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Litchfield > Sketches and chronicles of the town of Litchfield, Connecticut : historical, biographical, and statistical : together with a complete official register of the town > Part 23
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T salu salu den hou cons Dec Day an B crea ton (acc L. S
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THE PRESS AND POLITICS
freely blended with the most scathing ridicule. This was "bearding the lion in his den." It was not long before Osborn was indicted, tried and convicted, of a libel on Julius Deming, Esq. Osborn and his partner, Ashley, were both subjected to a fine, in default of the payment of which, both were committed to the County Jail. Ashley was soon liberated; and Osborn might have been had he complied with the terms of the court. But, as he himself expressed it, "the only alternative offered him, was to have either his body or mind imprisoned, of course he remained in confinement." His friends regarded him as a martyr to his political fidelity. It was published far and wide throngh the columns of the democratic journals, that his health was sinking from confinement "in a damp and loathsome cell:" that a maniac charged with murder was thrust into the same cell with him, &c. On the 4th of July, 1806, a meeting of the democrats of Litchfield was held at Phelps' Hotel, at which a committee of three was appointed "to repair to the prison and learn the true situation of Mr. Osborn, and his treatment since his imprisonment, and to report at an adjourned meeting." At the adjourned meeting, on the 14th, the committee reported, in substance, that they had visited Mr. O. at the jail : that he was confined in the same room with two crim- inals, both charged with capital offences ; that his room was formed of damp and rag- ged stone walls, in which the air was impure, stagnant and offensive, and so dark that it was difficult to distinguish one's features ; that his friends were generally denied admission to his room, and could only have intercourse with him through the outer grate of the prison; that his health was failing, &c .. &c. From this date, the com- mittee visited the prison from time to time, and issued their weekly bulletins through the columns of The Witness. In vain Sheriff Landon denied the truth of the com mittee's original report, The story of Osborn's persecutions went abroad over the land. The democracy of distant States held indignation meetings, at which Osborn was extolled, the Connecticut Courts denounced, and the Litchfield federalists execra- ted At length it was resolved to have a grand ovation in behalf of Osborn, at Litch- field-and the 6th of August was fixed upon for the celebration. The great day finally arrived, and with it came an immense concourse of democrats from this and other States. Day-break was greeted with the discharge of one gun at the head of North street, a responsive discharge an the flag-staff on the Public Green, and martial music until sun-rise. At Sun-Rise, 17 guns were fired-with martial music. At 11, the procession moved in the following order, viz.,
MILITARY-commanded by Major Stephen Ranney ; Lieut. Swett, U. S. Officer sta- tioned at Springfield, acting as Marshal, John M. Felder, as Adjutant, and Chauncey Hotchkiss, as Quarter-Master-consisting of
Cavalry, commanded by Captain Carter. Band of Music.
Matross company from Danbury, commanded by Lieut. Ambler, do. do. of this town, commanded by Capt. Bissell.
do. do. composed of boys, in white uniform.
Light Infantry, commanded by Captain Shethar. Infantry, commanded by Captain Grannis.
do. commanded by Lieut. Stone.
do. commanded by Ensign Norton. Two of the Committee of Arrangements. Clergy and Orator, General TIMOTHY SKINNER, President of the Day,
Moses Seymour, Esq.,
John Weich, Esq.
Vice Presidents of the Day,
Ozias Lewis, Esq,
Six of the Committee of Arrangement, Marshals of Connecticut and Vermont, Collectors of New Haven and Middletown, Citizens generally.
The procession passed under Osborn's prison window, with heads uncovered, each saluting the prisoner with a passing bow, and the military giving him a brigadier's salute. Notwithstanding the hatred with which many of the congregationalists regarded democracy, the society's committee had generously tendered the use of their meeting- house for the occasion. Thither the procession wended. The services in the church consisted of a prayer by the Rev. Asahiel Morse, (Baptist,) of Suffield ; Reading of the Declaration of Independence, by Jonathan Law, Esq,, of Cheshire; an Oration, by David Plant, Esq, of Stratford, [since member of congress and lient. governor]: and an Address by Joseph L. Smith, Esq, of Litchfield.
Before the arrival of the procession at the church, an occurrence took place which created much ill-feeling and comment at the time. Messrs. Champion and Hunting- ton entered the church, and were proceeding up the aisle toward the pulpit, when (according to Mr. Champion's statement,) he was seized near the shoulder by Joseph L. Smith, Esq, a member of the committee of arrangements, who pulled him around,
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HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD.
saying-" You have no business here, and must go out of the house." Mr. C. replied, that he was an old man, and wished for liberty to sit in the pulpit, assuring him that he would make no disturbance. Mr. Smith grew more boisterous, and the two cler- gymen withdrew. Mr. Smith and his friends published a very different version of the story; while the federalists reiterated that Smith had at first boasted of the exploit, and declared that he would have called the military to his aid if it had been necessary in ejecting the intruders. Mr. Champion seems to have taken the matter very seri- ously. "I was much afflicted," he wrote, " at being cast out of the House of God, where I had worshipped almost 54 years, and could expect to be there but a few days more. These reflections crowded into my mind, when ejected and retiring from the place where God's honor had dwelt."
At the annual election in October, 1805, it may be remarked, not a single democrat had been chosen to the Legislature in Litchfield county; and the federalists had not been backward in taunting Osborn about the "revolution" which it was said he had boasted he would produce in this region. At the annual election in May, 1806, the tables had been partially reversed by the election of two democratic Representatives from Litchfield by a vote of 314 to 308. A portion of the democratic enthusiasm in behalf of Osborn, is attributable to an appreciation of his services in producing this result .
As an incident of the celebration, it is mentioned that during the day, a placard was displayed on the door of one of principal Hotels, bearing the significant words- " NO DEMOCRATS ADMITTED HERE." Some gentlemen from a distance put up, as was their custom when this way, with an intimate friend, who chanced to be a rank federalist. He soon enquired if they had come to attend the celebration; and on be- ing answered in the affirmative, he abruptly replied-"Then you cannot be accommo- dated at my house. As old friends, I should have been glad to see you; as democrats I want nothing to do with you!" Such was the spirit of the times.
When the services in the church were over, the procession was re-formed and pro- ceeded to a large Bower which had been erected in the meadow on the south side of East street, nearly opposite the Jail, where a cold repast had been prepared by Capt. Phelps. Seventeen regular toasts were drank, accompanied by the discharge of can- non and music from the band. Among them were the following:
"Justice-May false witnesses, perjured judges, and packed juries, be banished from its courts."
"Selleck Osborn-Like Daniel in the lion's den, he is teaching his persecutors that the beasts cannot devour him." [3 cheers.]
" Liberty of the Press-Litchfield Jail its stronghold." [3 cheers. ]
" The Political Clergy-If there were twenty Gods, perhaps some one miglit ap- prove their services; but the ONE God wants no political pastors." [3 cheers.]
" The memory of our departed friend, Ephraim Kirby-His virtues will live while our memory lasts; his merits shall be known to posterity."
" Litchfield Jail-Our votes will level it as the ram's horns did the walls of Jeri- cho." [6 cheers. ]
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The Witness complains that the name of Major Seymour was stricken from the roll of Justices of the Peace for this county, by the Legislature, (May 1807,) because of his participation in the 6th of August celebration.
In June 1807, The Witness gives the following summary of the suits against Messrs Osborn and Ashley, viz .:
" Fine and costs in libel suit with J. Deming, Esq., $346 46
For publishing case of Tallmadge & Wolcott vs. General Hart, with comments thereon, fine and costs, 605 98
For slandering Thomas Collier, 522 00
(Besides cost of complaint in favor of Mr. Ashley against Thomas G. Collier, which complaint the county court dismissed.)
Aggregate, $1,474 44
Osborn was not the only man involved in libel suits in those days. The Hon. Tap- ping Reeve, and Capt. Thomas Collier of the Monitor, were both indicted before the U. S. District Court at New Haven, for libeling President Jefferson; and the Rev. Dan Huntington, of this village, recovered $1,000 from Maj. Babcock, of the Hartford Mercury, a democratic paper.
The Witness was discontinued in the summer of 1807-having been published about two years. Selleck Osborn was a native of Danbury ; and, after leaving Litchfield, published The Delaware Watchman, at Wilmington, Del. A volume of his Poems was published in Boston. He died in Philadelphia in 1826.
The Litchfield Monitor was discontinued in 1806-having been published by Mr. Collier for 22 years. Thomas Collier (son of Richard) was born in Boston, Feb. 20, 1760, and died in Binghamton, N. Y., 1844. On leaving this town, he resided for sev- eral years in Troy. In June, 1799, an orphan lad of 14 years, named John C. Wright,
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from Wethersfield, entered the Monitor Office as an apprentice, remained with Mr. Collier until of age, married his daughter Mary, and for some time published a paper in Troy. Having been admitted to the bar, he settled in Steubenville, Ohio, in the winter of 1809-'10; and in 1831, he removed thence to Cincinnati, where the venera- ble couple are still living. Mr. Wright has been State's Attorney, member of Con- gress, U. S. Attorney for the District of Oliio, and Judge of the Supreme Court. In 1834, he received the degree of Doctor of Laws from a Kentucky college.
The Litchfield Gazette was commenced in January, 1808, by Messrs. Charles Hos- mer and Oliver Goodwin, both from Hartford. The Gazette was discontinued May 17, 1809. Mr. Hosmer returned to Hartford, where he is still engaged in mercantile bu- siness, and has been for many years the Recording Secretary of the Connecticut His- torical Society. Mr. Goodwin remained in this village as a bookseller and stationer until his death in 1855.
Isaiah Bunce came to this town soon after, and commenced The Litchfield Journal, the name of which was changed to The Litchfield Republican in 1819-which, in turn, was succeeded by The Miscellany, a small quarto, in July, 1821. In Septem- ber, 1822, Mr. Bunce commenced in this village the publication of The American Eagle, which he removed to New Haven in March, 1826. Mr. Bunce was a man of enterprize, and established a Bookstore, Reading Room, and Circulating Library; and was for a few years a Justice of the Peace.
The Litchfield County Post was established in 1826, by Stephen S. Smith, from Poultney, Vermont. He disposed of the establishment to Joshua Garrett, who, after publishing the Post for a few weeks, sold out to Henry Adams in 1829. Mr. Adams soon changed the name of the paper to THE LITCHFIELD ENQUIRER, which it still bears. After editing and publishing The Enquirer for about thirteen years, he was accidentally drowned, while fishing, by breaking through the ice of Bantam river, near the entrance of that stream into Bantam Lake. Mr. A. was a son of the late Joseph Adams, Esq., of this village, and was a talented and popular editor. His broth- er, Charles Adams, Esq., succeeded him in the publication of the Enquirer. From 1845 to 1853, the paper was conducted by P. K. Kilbourn. H. W. Hyatt and E. C. Goodwin afterwards successively became proprietors of the establishment. The pres- ent publishers are Messrs. Adams and Betts. The Enquirer is now in its 34th volume.
Nov. 3, 1833, Melzer Gardner, from Hartford, commenced The Litchfield Democrat, which was discontinued in September, 1834. Subsequently, while editing a paper in Richmond, Va., Gardner was shot on board a steamboat near that city, by a man to whom he had given offense by an article which he had published.
The Litchfield Sun was commenced by John M. Baldwin, (a native of this town,) in February, 1835; sold out to S. G. Haycs, of New Haven, in Sept. 1837, who discon- tinued it in April, 1839.
In January, 1840, Charles E. Moss & Co. commenced The Mercury, which was transferred to Josiah Giles in the following August. It was discontinued some time in 1842. The Mercury was soon succeeded by The Democratic Watchman, also pub- lished by Mr. Giles, which was discontinued in 1844.
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In 1845, J. K. Averill commenced the New Milford Republican, at New Milford; in September, 1846, he removed his office to this village, and changed the name of his paper to the Litchfield Republican. W. F. & G. H. Baldwin, Albert Stoddard, and Franklin Hull, successively continued the publication of the Republican. In 1856, the office was removed to Falls Village, where the paper is still continued under tlie name of The Housatonic Republicall.
All these papers, it should be remarked, were published weekly.
OUR PARKS.
Our East and West Parks, which now add so much to the beauty of our village, were graded, enclosed, and planted witli trees, in the summer of 1836. During the preceding year, the subject had been considered by our citizens, in connection with several natives of this town residing in New York city, and the sum of $600 was readily subscribed for the object. On the 2d of January, 1836, a special town meet- ing was held-Roger Cook, Moderator, and George C. Woodruff, Clerk pro tem. At this meeting full permission was granted to the committee appointed by the subscrib- ers of the fund to enclose and "improve as they shall sce proper," that portion of the Green or Highway at present enclosed in the parks referred to. One of the most cfli- cient and active members of the first Park Committee (and who, perhaps, did more than any other person in raising the Park Fund,) was the late Dr. J. S. Wolcott, of this village, a son of tlie last Gov. Wolcott.
On the 4tli of October, 1858, the town voted that the inhabitants of this village ' have lcave to construct, without expense to the town, a l'ark in the common ground between the East and; West Parks, in such suitable place as a committee appointed by this meeting shall designate, in such way as shall not materially interfere with travel.'
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258
HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD
The Litchfield Law School.
This institution was established in 1784, by TAPPING REEVE, Esq., (afterwards chief justice of the State, and LL. D.,) who was the sole Principal until 1798, when the Hon. JAMES GOULD, LL. D., became associated with him. "This was the first in- stitution of the kind in the country; and, as its conductors were learned and eminent men, it attained a wide-spread renown. From 1820, Judge Gould conducted the School alone for several years; when the Hon. Jabez W. Huntington became his as- sistant. In consequence of the failing health of Judge Gould. it was discontinued in 1833. Up to that time the number of students had been 1,024-every State then in the Union having been represented. Of this number, 15 became U. S. Senators; 50 members of Congress ; 40 Judges of the higher State courts: 10 Governors of States; 5 members of the National Cabinet, (Messrs. Calhoun, Woodbury, Mason, Clayton and Hubbard;) 2 Judges Supreme Court United States, (Henry Baldwin and Levi Woodbury ;) 1 Vice President of the United State, (John C. Calhoun;) and several Foreign Ministers-among whom is the Hon. John Y. Mason, our present Ambassa- dor to France.
At the annual dinner of the." Story Association" of the Cambridge Law School, (Mass.,) in 1851, the following reference was made to our Law School. Mr. Loring, like scores of his fellow-students, married a Litchfield lady.
Judge Kent gave-
" The first-born of the law schools of this country-the Litchfield Law School. The Boston bar exhibits its rich and ripened fruits. By them we may judge of the tree and declare it good."
Hon. C. G. Loring, replied. He began with expressing his regret that there was no other representative from the Litchfield Law School present to respond to the compli- mentary but just notice of that institution.
"I do not remember, said he, to have ever been more forcibly reminded of my younger days, than when looking around upon our young friends in the midst of whom I stand. It recalls the time when I, too, was a student among numerous fellow students. It will, probably, be news to them and many others here, that thirty-eight years ago, which to many here seems a remote antiquity, there existed an extensive Law School in the state of Connecticut, at which more than sixty students from all parts of the country were assembled,-every State then in the Union, being there represented. Ijoined it in 1813, when it was at its zenith, and the only prominent establishment of the kind in the land.
The recollection is as fresh as the events of yesterday, of our passing along the broad shaded streets of one of the most beautiful of the villages of New England, with our inkstands in our hands, and our portfolios under our arms, to the lecture room of Judge Gould-the last of the Romans, of Common Law lawyers; the imper- sonation of its genius and spirit. It was, indeed, in his eyes, the perfeetion of human reason-by which he measured every principle and rule of action, and almost every sentiment. Why, Sir, his highest visions of poetry seemed to be in the refinement of special pleading; and to him, a non sequitur in logic was an offense deserving, at the least, fine and imprisonment-and a repetition of it, transportation for life. He was an admirable English scholar; every word was pure English, undefiled, and every sentence fell from his lips perfectly finished, as clear, transparent, and penetrating as light, and every rule and principle as exactly defined and limited as the outline of a building against the sky. From him, Sir, we obtained clear, well-defined, and accu- rate knowledge of the Common Law, and learned that allegiance to it was the chief duty of man, and the power of enforcing it upon others his highest attainment. From his lecture room we passed to that of the venerable Judge Reeve, shaded by an aged elm, fit emblem of himself. He was, indeed, a most venerable man, in character and appearance-his thick, gray hair parted and falling in profusion upon his shoulders, his voice only a loud whisper, but distinctly heard by his earnestly attentive pupils. He, too, was full of legal learning, but invested the law with all the genial enthusi- asm and generous feelings and noble sentiments of a large heart at the age of eigh- ty, and descanted to us with glowing eloquence upon the sacredness and majesty of law. He was distinguished, Sir, by that appreciation of the gentler sex which never fails to mark the true man, and his teachings of the law in reference to their rights and to the domestic relations, had great influence in elevating and refining the sentiments of the young men who were privileged to hear him. As illustrative of his feelings and manner upon this subject, allow me to give a specimen. He was dis- cussing the legal relations of married women: he never called them, however, by so inexpressible a name, but always spoke of them as, "the better half of mankind," or in some equally just manner. When he came to the axiom that "a married woman has no will of her own;" this, he said, was a maxim of great theoretical im-
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SOUTH FARMS SOCIETY.
portance for the preservation of the sex against the undue influence or coercion of the husband; but, although it was an inflexible maxim, in theory, experience taught us that practically it was found that they sometimes had wills of their own-MOST HAP- PILY FOR US.
Wc left his lecture room, Sir, the very knight errants of the law, burning to be the defenders of the right and the avengers of the wrong; and he is no true son of the Litchfield School who has cver forgotten that lesson. I propose, Sir
The Memories of Judge Reeve and Judge Gould,-among the first, if not the first founders of a National Law School in the United States-who have laid one of the corner stones in the foundation of true American patriotism, loyalty to the law.
SOUTH FARMS.
From 1740 to 1767, the people residing in the southern section made several unsuc- cessful applications to the Legislature-first, "to be annexed to the north society of Woodbury; second, to be allowed what were termed "winter privileges; " and, finally, to be set off as a distinct ecclesiastical society. In December, 1760, the in- habitants of South Farms, having obtained permission of the Legislature "to enjoy the privileges of a winter parish for three months in a year," asked the town to be re- leased from a part of their tax for building the meeting-house on the Hill. Whereupon it was voted in town meeting, that "in case South Farms shall become a distinct ecclesiastical society within forty-five years, the town will pay back to said society the money advanced by said winter parishioners toward building said meeting- house." In 1761, the Legislature voted that the inhabitants of South Farms "bc allowed to have the Gospel preached to them for four months in the winter season, and shall have liberty to build a meeting-house; " and three years later, they votcd to build a winter house 35 feet long, 25 feet wide, with nine feet posts, "provided Jus- tus Gibbs will do it for £70: 10."
In 1767, the society of South Farms was duly incorporated, and its inhabitants have since transacted their ecclesiastical and educational affairs separately from those residing in other portions of the town. The act of 1857, it should be remarked, restores to the town all business relating to schools. The first person buried in that part of the town, was Mr. James Stoddard, who was killed at the raising of a dwell- ing house. I have already given specimens of the orthography of certain portions of the town records. The records of South Farms's Society were by no means an improvement upon them. For instance, on the 14th of March, 1759, the society voted "to pay Charles Woodruff six shillings for Bears to carry ye dead." In 1769, it was voted " that we think the sealing ordinances arc equally sacred, and any person that is qualified for one is qualified for both." In 1770, "voted that we approve of the church vote, viz., that conversion should not be a term for admission for church communion." In 1776, the town granted to Thomas Waugh, and his heirs forever, the right to use a certain burying ground in South Farms for pasturing, "provided he or they shall keep up and maintain convenient bars for the people to pass and re- pass for the purpose of burying their dead." In 1785, a new and commodious church was erected. In April of that year, the society voted that " tlie mccting-honse com- mittee shall have good right to furnish Rum, Grindstones and Ropes, sufficient for fram- ing the meeting-house according to their best discretion," and in June, an overseer was appointed to direct the issue of liquor at the raising, and a vote at tlic same time was passed that said overscer "shall give two drams a day to the spectators, one a little before noon, and the other a little before niglit." The present church was built in 1844. The present pastor, Rev. David L. Parmelee, was settled in 1841.
President DWIGHT, of Yale college, (in liis Travels,) gives the following interesting facts relative to this parish, and the Academy which formerly flourished there :
" Immediately above Watertown lics South Farms-the southern part of Litchfield. This parish is principally a collection of hills, which are high, moist, and excellent grazing ground. The surface is pleasant, the houses good farmers' dwellings, of which a little village is formed around the church. The inhabitants are industrious and thrifty; and distinguished for good morals, good order, and decency of deport- ment. A flourishing academy has been raised of late, ahnost solely by the efforts of James Morris, Esq., who is at once its founder and preceptor. This gentleman, soon after he had finished his education at Yale College, became an officer in the American army, in which he continned throughout the revolutionary war. After the peace, his parents and his patrimony being in this place, he was induced to establish himself here for life. At his return, he found the inhabitants less enlightened and less refined than those of many other parts of the state. What in this country is perhaps sin- gular, they regarded him, both as a man liberally educated and as an officer, with suspicion and alienation. At the same time he perceived, with not a little mortifica-
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