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 24
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260
HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD.
tion, that they were in many instances ignorant and vicious. As he had been absent from his early youth, his influence among them was to be created. With a disposi- ion, which cannot be enough commended, he determined to commence in form the work of a general reformation. After various experiments, sufficiently discouraging, among those who have arrived at middle age, he turned his attention to their children; and hoped by communicating to them the advantages of a well-directed education to furnish their minds with both knowledge and virtue, and thus to transform their character into amiableness and worth. For this benevolent purpose he founded the institution which I have mentioned. In this Academy it has, from the first, been the commanding object to inculcate the best principles of morality and religion, and to require of the students an unexceptionable deportment. The youths of both sexes, usually assembled here from various parts of the country, are in number from 40 to 70. Mr. Morris has had the satisfaction of seeing his expectations more than realized. Not only were the benefits of his design realized by the inhabitants of South Farms, but they are spread also through most parts of the country, and extensively through this and the neighboring states. This is one among the proofs furnished by experience of the power possessed by an individual, of spreading around him, if properly dis- posed, the best blessing of society."
St. Paul's Masonic Lodge.
The first Charter of this Lodge was obtained from the R. W. Joseph Webb, " Grand Master of Masons in America," then residing in Boston, and bears date June 1, 1781. It was granted on petition of the following persons, viz, Rev. James Nichols, John Watkins, Thomas Philips, Eaton Jones, Benjamin Hanks, John Collins, Noah Blakes- lee, Wm. Durkee, Daniel Starr, John Colvill, Jonathan Kettle, Josiah Norton and Adino Hale-about half of whom belonged in this town, the remainder in Goshen and Harwinton. The first meeting of the Lodge was held June 13, 1781-the Rev. Ashbel Baldwin presiding as Master. The following other officers were chosen-Benjamin Hanks, S. W .; Eaton Jones, J. W .; John Collins, Treasurer; and J. Kettle, Secre- tary. On the 15th of October, 1790, the Lodge received a new charter from the Grand Lodge of the State, in which it is designated as " St. Paul's Lodge, No. 11." It has numbered among its members some of our most eminent citizens.
The following the present officers of the Lodge :- David E. Bostwick, W. M .; F. D. Beeman, S. W .; Levi Curtis, J. W .; Charles L. Webb, Treasurer; Wm. H. Cross- man, Secretary; Henry A. Hull, S. D .; George Munger, J. D .; Edward Crossman and George Horace Baldwin, Stewards; Sheldon Munger, Tyler.
TOWN DEPOSIT FUND.
This fund was derived from the Surplus Revenue in the Treasury of the United States, which, by an act of Congress passed in 1836, was distributed among the seve- ral states in proportion to their representation in that body. The share belonging to Connecticut was, by order of the Legislature, apportioned to the several towns in the state according to their population. The amount thus given to Litchfield was $11,444.50. The town appointed Isaac Lawrence to be Treasurer, and Theron Beach and George C. Woodruff to be Managers of the Town Deposit Fund. On the 9th of April, 1838, the town voted to appoint a committee of seven to direct in what manner the interest of the Fund should be divided among the several school districts of the town; and Messrs. Putnam, Kilbourn, James M. Pierpont, Dan Catlin, William Bas- sett, Edward Pierpont, Frederick Buel and O. S. Seymour, were appointed said com- mittee. The Fund is invested in promissory notes, secured by mortgage, and in town orders. The annual interest is $686.67, which is appropriated to the support of schools.
MINERAL SPRING.
In August, 1820, James Pierce, Esq., announced in Silliman's Journal of Science that he had discovered a valuable Mineral Spring on the eastern slope of Prospect Mountain, in this town. The waters of the Pool (as it was called,) soon became celebrated for their medicinal virtues, and a House was erected near by for the accom- modetion of visitors. In March, 1821, it is stated in Silliman's Journal that the wa- ters of this spring had "effected cures of obstinate rheumatic complaints that had resisted ordinary remedies ;" and that they had " been sent for weekly from Hartford, and were considered equal to those of the Stafford Spring." The Pool is now more often visited by the lovers of wild and picturesque scenery, than for its waters.
ILLUSTRIOUS GUESTS .- I have elsewhere referred to the visits of Washington and LaFayette to this town. In 1807, Jerome Bonaparte, with his young American wife, came ' with coach and four,' and put up at Catlin's Hotel. About 1820, the Hon. Martin Van Buren came here on a visit with his friend, Judge Skinner-spending the Sabbath, and attending Dr. Beecher's church. July 16, 1832, the Hon. John Quincy Adams arrived in town and spent the night here.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.
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"LITCHFIELD, October 30th, 1797 .- We the subscribers, having at our own ex- pense, erected a Church in the Western Part of Litchfield, and being desirous of forming ourselves into an Episcopal Society, hereby lay before, request, and peti- tion the meeting of the First Episcopal Society in said Litchfield, to give their con- sent to this request, and in future exempt us from paying taxes to the First Episco- pal Society-upon condition of our organizing and taxing ourselves. All of which we submit to said meeting in brotherly love.
Isaac Kilbourn,
Philander Westover,
Joseph Burgess,
David Kilbourn,
Chauncey Kilbourn,
Benjamin Bissell, 3d,
Sylvanus Bishop,
Heman Kilbourn,
Hicks Smith,
Solomon Kilbourn,
John Kilbourn,
Chauncey Denison,
John Landon,
Benjamin Doolittle,
Phineas Smith,
Jesse Kilbourn,
Reuben Smith 2d,
David Westover,
John Tryon,
James Adams,
Wait Smith,
Heber Stone,
Newell Miller, . Remembrance Landon,
Abel Clemons,
James Kilbourn,
Arunah Blakeslee,
Anson Smith,
Nathaniel Smith 2d,
Jacob Kilbourn,
Lumbert Johnson,
Levi Kilbourn, ·
Frederick Hunt,
Daniel Haskins
Simeon Palmer,
Samuel Woodcock,
David Kenney,
Elisha S. Munger,
Thaddeus Stocker,
Joseph Westover,
James Glass,
Noah Stone, 2d,
Horace Stone,
Samuel Hazen,
Nathaniel Smith,
James Lee,
Jehial Gates,
Benjamin Johnson, Jr.,
Jonathan Bishop,
N. B. The above petition was granted the 6th day of November, 1797.
SETH LANDON, Society's Clerk."
Miscellaneous Items.
BENEFACTIONS .- The lot on which stands St. Michael's church, in South street, was the gift, in 1809, of Samuel Marsh, Esq., of Norfolk, Va., a native of this town.
The Town Clock in the tower of the first church, was presented to the society by the late Dr. Abel Catlin.
Mr. Nath'l Bosworth, (a member of the West Episcopal society of this town,) died in 1801, leaving a bequest of £100 for the purchase of a bell for the West Church. The bell purchased with this sum is still iu use in St. Paul's church, Bantam.
In 1843, Messrs. Hugh P. and Garry Welch presented the Episcopal society in Milton with the bell which is now in use in the church of that parish.
Mr. Solomon Marsh, soon after the completion of the first Episcopal church-edifice in this village, presented that socicty with an Organ at a cost of $800.
Asa Hopkins, Esq., a native and resident of this town, died in 1838. In his will, he gave the use of his property to his wife during her life. At her decease, (after the payment of certain legacies,) he bequeathed the residue of his property to the congre- gational church and society in Northfield. Mrs. Hopkins died in 1855. Tlic whole amount received by the said church and society, from Mr. Hopkins' cstate, is $10,000.
EXECUTIONS .- It is believed that no native of Litchfield was ever convicted of murder; and that wilful murder was never committed by or upon a white man, with- in the limits of this town. In 1768, an Indian named John Jacob was hanged for the murder of another Indian. In November, 1785, Thomas Goss, of Barkhamsted, was executed for the murder of his wife. In these days he would have been acquitted on the ground of insanity. On the plea that his wife was a witch, he split her head open with an axc. Though at times apparently rational, he sometimes declared that he was the second Lamb of God-that lie was brother of Jesus Christ-that he wns the child born of thic woman, mentioned in the Revelation of St. John, 'before whom the dragon stood ready to devour the child;' he forbid his counsel to apply for a re- prieve; declared the sheriff could not hang him, &c. May 8, 1780, Barnet Daveu- port, aged 20 years, was executed for murder and arson in Washington. Residing ns a laborer in the family of Caleb Mallory, he entered the sleeping room of Mr. and Mrs. Mallory at midnight and beat then to death with a club; and their little grandchild shared the same fate. After robbing the house and setting it ou fire, the murderer fled, leaving two other persons asleep who perished in the flames. These persons, it is understood, were executed in Gallows Lane, in this village. Other convictions for capital crimes have taken place before our courts, but these are the only individuals who have ever suffered the extreme penalty of the law in this county.
Jeremiah Kilbourn,
Samuel Denison,
Jesse Stoddard,
Milo Hunt,
A true Copy of Record.
Samuel Carter,
Orange Kilbourn,
262
HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD.
JAMES WATSON, from this county, graduated at Yale college in 1776; was lieu- tenant of a revolutionary company raised chiefly in Litchfield. After the war, he settled in New York-became wealthy, was Speaker of the House, state Senator, Naval Officer, and U. S. Senator; and died in 1806. Where was he born ? The late Douglas Watson, Esq, (assistant clerk of our courts,) expressed to me his belief that he was born in this town. In a retired little grave-yard, about half a mile south of Bantam Lake, is a red sandstone tablet bearing the following inscription, viz., "To the Memory of Mr. John Watson, who died November 9, 1781, in the 74th year of his age. Berthyah Watson, his widow, died Jnne 24th, 1792, in the 85th year of her age. This monument is respectfully erected by James Watson, their youngest son." The Hon. James Watson died in New York in 1806.
Obituaries.
In Litchfield, April, 1773, Col. Ebenezer Marsh, Esq., aged 72.
In Litchfield, Dec. 3, 1805, Capt. William Stanton, aged 78-commander of a com- pany in Sheldon's regiment of light dragoons in the Revolution, and for more than 40 years a resident of this town.
In Litchfield, July 30, 1802, Reynold Marvin, Esq., aged 78-King's Attorney for the county previous to the Revolution.
In Litchfield, June 6, 1821, Capt. Joseph Mansfield, aged 84-an officer in the regi- ments of colonels Meigs and Douglas in the Revolution. He was from New Haven, but settled in this town soon after the war.
At Spadre Bluffs, on the Arkansas river, near Little Rock, Aug. 1, 1822, Colonel Matthew Lyon, aged 75-a native of Wicklow county, Ireland. In 1761, at the age. 14, he came to this country poor and friendless, and was sold to pay his passage, to Mr. Hugh Hannah, of Litchfield, (who is said to have lived at tlie time on the farm owned and occupied by the late Mr. Grant Wlckwire, a mile south of Bantam Lake.) Mat. was rough and independent; and Hannah was a severe disciplinarian, and not unfrequently applied the rod to his refractory servant. At length an altercation en- sued-Mat. threw a mallet at the head of his master, and fled. He was soon heard from in Vermont, where, among the hardy mountaineers, he became a leader. He was Deputy Secretary to the governor and council, clerk of the court of confiscation, Representative in the legislature, colonel of militia, editor of a newspaper, associate Judge of the Rutland county court, and, in 1796, was elected to Congress; and re- elected in 1798. Removing to Kentucky in 1800, he was returned to Congress from that State from 1803 to 1310. He married a daughter of Gov. Chittenden of Vermont. His son, Chittenden Lyon, who was for eight years a member of congress from Ken- tucky, was one of the most popular men in that State; and from him Lyon county was named. Precisely how long Lyon lived in this town, is uncertain. In one of his ad- dresses to his constituents, he says-" After living ten yenrs in Connecticut, from my 15th to my 25th year, I removed to a new settlement in Vermont." Were all of these 'ten years' spent in Litchfield ? Hannah was living here eight or ten years after Lyon first took his seat in congress, and was fond of talking about him; attributing his success in life to the corporeal lessons which he had given him. The price paid by Hannah for Mat. was a pair of stags valued at £12-a fact which gave rise to many a coarse jest at the expense of the latter .
At Jackson, Mississippi Territory, Sept. 1827, Col. Stephen Ranney, U. S. A., aged 68-formerly for more than 20 years, a resident of Litchfield.
In Litchfield, Sept. 16, 1839, the Hon. Phineas Miner, aged 60-a distinguished mem- ber of the bar of this county, and late member of congress.
In Phelps, Ontario co., N. Y., July 17, 1841, Colonel David McNiel, aged 53-late a Judge of the court of common pleas for that county. He was a native of this town.
In Cazenovia, N. Y., May 14, 1842, Jesse Kilbourn, aged 64, a native of Litchfield. For more than 25 years he was in public life in that town-as Trustee and President of the corporation of Cazenovia, Postmaster, Representative, &c.
In St. Augustine, Florida, May 24 1846, Col. Joseph L. Smith, aged 70-formerly a colonel in the army, and more recently U. S. Judge of the Eastern District of Florida. From 1800 to 1817, (except a year or two,) he resided in this town. He married a daughter of the Hon. Ephraim Kirby.
In Geneseo, N. Y., Nov. 28, 1846, Samuel W. Spencer, Esq., aged 76-a native of Litchfield. He had been a magistrate, and Surrogate of Livingston county.
In Litchfield, January 19, 1852, Miss Sarah Pierce, aged 84. In 1792, she established the Litchfield Female Academy, which became one of the most celebrated institutions in the country. She remained connected with it until 1832-though for a few years previous, her nephew, John P. Brace, Esq., was the Principal. More than 2,500 young ladies and misses were members of the Academy. It was incorporated in 1827. The successors of Miss Pierce have been Misses Swift, Jones, Heyden, and others.
In Hartford, Nov. 10, 1858, the Hon. Amos M. Collins, aged 70-an eminent merchant and philanthropist. From 1843 to 1846, inclusive, he was Mayor of the city of Hart- ford. He was a son of Dea. Wm. Collins, and was born in Litchfield, March 30, 1788.
263
BIOGRAPHY.
BIOGRAPHICAL ADDENDA.
CHILDS, Samuel R., M. D., (son of Mr. Timothy Childs,) was born in Dutches county, N. Y., September 25, 1800. When the sub- ject of this sketch was about five years old, his father purchased the mansion and farm now known as the Childs Place, four miles north of the Litchfield Court House, and at once removed his family there. . Dr. Childs graduated at the Medical College in Pittsfield, Mass., and subsequently pursued his studies at the Institution connected with Yale College. In May, 1825, he commenced the practice of his pro- fession in this village, and remained here until January, 1832, when he removed to the city of New York, where he soon had an extensive and lucrative business. He was appointed Physician to the City Dis- pensary, one of the Surgeons of the Eye and Ear Infirmary, Physician to the Bellvue Hospital, Health Officer of the city, &c. Though en- thusiastically attached to his chosen profession, and one of its most learned and skillful practioners, his energies have not been devoted exclusively to it. In 1838, he was appointed one of the Commis- sioners of the Croton Water Board. The magnitude of the work com- mitted to their care will be appreciated, when it is known that it required the expenditure of some $10,000,000, all of which passed through their hands. He was long a member of the Board of Edu- cation ; and two or three times he was nominated for Congress in the Third District, but declined. In 1840, and again in 1S53, Dr. Childs visited Europe, pursuing his professional investigations in the various hospitals of that country. With an ample fortune, he has retired to a beautiful residence near Saratoga Springs. Colonel HEMAN W. CHILDS, his brother, after being for several years a merchant and manufacturer in Litchfield, removed to New York in 1834, where he was chosen a Representative, Collector of the City Revenue, and Commissioner of Strects and Lamps ; he died in 1851,
GALPIN, Robert E., (son of Mr. Amos Galpin,) was born in Litchfield ; settled in Stockbridge, Mass., where he still resides. Bc- sides holding various town offices, he was chosen a Representative in 1844 and again in 1845 ; and for the last twelve years, he has been a Justice of the Peace. In 1852, he was elected President of the Housatonic Agricultural Society.
STOWE, Mrs. Harriet Beecher, (daughter of the Rev: Lyman Beecher, D. D.,) was born in Litchfield, and married the Rev. Dr. Stowe, now Professor in the Theological Seminary at Andover. She is the author of The May Flower, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Dred-a Tale of the Dismal Swamp, Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands, &c. Each of these works, except the first, is published in two volumes. Uncle Tom's Cabin has had a much more rapid sale than any other American work. Her tour through England and Scotland, a few years since, was like a continued ovation. Wherever she went, she was welcomed with public addresses, private invitations, assemblies and festivals ; indeed, the aristocracy and peasantry seemed to vie with each other in their efforts to do honor to their distinguished guest. No other lady from this side of the ocean was ever received by them with such enthusiasm.
264
HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD.
WADSWORTH, General Elijah, was born in Hartford, Nov. 14, 1747 : settled in Litchfield previous to the Revolution ; was Captain in Sheldon's Regiment of Light Dragoons during nearly the entire war. In 1795, he associated himself with Messrs. Ephraim Kirby, Elijah Boardman, Uriel Holmes, sen'r and jun'r, and Samuel A. Law, in organizing the Connecticut Land Company and purchasing the Western Reserve; and the town of Wadsworth, in Medina coun- ty, was named from him. On the 15th of September, 1802, he started from Litchfield with his family for Ohio, arriving at Canfield on the 17th of October-thus making the journey in 33 days. In January, 1803, he was elected Sheriff of Trumbull county ; and about a year later, he was appointed by the Legislature Major General of the 4th Division. By the surrender of Hull in August, 1812, the defense of the entire North Western Frontier of Ohio devolved upon General Wadsworth. He soon organized a force 1,500 men from his Division, placed them under the command of Brig. Gen. Perkins, who reported them to General Harrison. In November, General Wadsworth re- turned from the frontiers in feeble health-having reached the age of . 65. In the summer of 1815, he had a paralytic shock which dis- abled him thereafter, He died in Canfield, Ohio, Dec. 30, 1817, in his 71st year. He married Rhoda Hopkins, of Litchfield, Feb. 16th, 1789, and had five children, all born in this town. One of these, FREDERICK, of Akron, Ohio, was Major and Inspector in the war of 1812; has since been Sheriff of Portage County, Senator, &c.
WRIGHT, George F., the celebrated artist, was born of Litch- field parents in the adjoining town of Washington, and was brought up from childhood in this town. In 1856, he received a commission from the Legislature of his native State, to paint the portraits of all the chief magistrates who have filled the executive chair of Connec- ticut. This important and interesting work he accomplished in such a manner as to give universal satisfaction. These portraits now adorn the Senate Chamber at Hartford. Mr. Wright has since spent two years at Rome and Munich, during a large part of which time he was a pupil of the celebrated Kaulbach. He is the inventor of an entirely new system of coloring, which is said by competent judges to be superior to anything hitherto in use. A well known amateur, writing recently from Europe to the New York Home Journal, says -" I saw in a studio, a few days since, two small works by a Connec- ticut artist named Wright, which impressed me by their wonderful beauty of color. I hesitate not to say, that one of them equalled any piece of flesh painting I ever saw, and I know of no approach to them in modern art. If these two productions are fair specimens of his system and powers, there has been no greater colorist since Titian." Mr. Wright is now pursuing his profession in Hartford.
WESSELLS, Henry W., Major U. S. Army, (son of Dr. Ashbel Wessells,) was born in Litchfield, February 20, 1809, graduated at West Point in 1833, and entered the army as brevet second lieutenant. He was actively engaged in the Creek war, in the Florida war, and in the war with Mexico: For his gallant services in the latter war, he was promoted to his present rank, and the Legislature of Connec- ticut, in the name of the State, presented him with a splendid sword.
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