USA > Connecticut > Tolland County > Tolland > The early history of Tolland. An address delivered before the Tolland county historical society, at Tolland Conn., on the 22d day of August and the 27th day of September, 1861 > Part 11
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13
Frederick, 66
April 2, 1767.
Grace,
September 26, 1769.
Prudence,
February 23, 1772.
Abner, son of Samuel West, Sen., married Mary, daughter of Joseph Hatch, 2d, July 3, 1760. Their children were :
Abigail,
born June 28, 1761.
William,
February 12, 1762.
Abner,
.
January 8, 1765.
Mary,
March 6, 1767.
Submit, 66
July 24, 1769.
Joseph, son of Dea. Francis West, married Joanna, daugh- ter of Jonathan Delano, May 19, 1725. His children were :
Mercy,
born April 20, 1726.
Joseph,
לו November 2, 1728.
Joanna,
August 21, 1732.
Rufus, October 1, 1735.
Deborah,
January 30, 1738.
Bathsheba,
July 9, 1741.
Ephraim,
December 5, 1747, died September 16, 1760.
Jabez, = January 30, 1761.
117
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
Joseph, son of Joseph and Joanna West, married Lois Strong, March 10, 1752. Their children were :
Joseph,
born December 21, 1752, died March 20, 1753.
Sarah,
April 7, 1754.
Charles,
May 4, 1756, died September 18, 1760.
Dorcas, 66
May 17, 1760, died August 15, 1760.
Eunice, 66 December 20, 1762.
Joseph,
June 3, 1776.
Salome,
66
February 6, 1769.
Hannah,
October 30, 1721.
Zadoc,
December 1, 1773.
Joel,
March 19, 1777.
This Joseph West was a very useful citizen. He was en- trusted with the guardianship of an unusual number of minors, not one of whom was ever known to express dissatisfaction with the management of his property. Towards the close of the revolutionary war, when the financial affairs of the town were necessarily in great confusion, and the state government had required additional duties from towns in their corporate capacity, the people of Tolland elected a board of five select- men, being two more than the usual number, and Mr. West was placed at its head, though he had, as selectman, long before, gone the customary round of office.
JOEL, son of Joseph and Lois West, married Abina Chapin, of Stafford, October 25, 1798. Their children were :
Lois, born February 23, 1800.
Percy,
January 1, 1802.
Lester, 66 July 8, 1804.
William, 66 June 3, 1806.
Alden, 66 August 27, 1808.
Chauncey,
May 22, 1811.
Elisha, .
October 22, 1813.
Eli S., 66
August 15, 1817.
Henry W., August 28, 1819, who with his family continues to occupy the farm and dwelling-house of his ancestors.
Rufus, son of Joseph and Joanna West, married Sarah Nye, November 22, 1764. Their children were :
Grace, born November 1, 1766.
Ephraim,
September 30, 1767.
Joel, 66 September 27, 1773, died in infancy.
EPHRAIM, son of Rufus West, married Ruth, youngest daughter of Doct. Samuel Cobb, December 3, 1790. Their children were :
Renda,
born October 4, 1791. June 30, 1793. 66
Rufus,
Orson,
February 1, 1796.
Carlo,
Bicknell, 66 January 10, 1800.
Sherman,
66 October 20, 1801.
Parmela,
66 September 12, 1803.
Grace,
66 October 29, 1805.
Evaline,
June 26, 1807.
Ruth,
August 6, 1809.
Ephraim,
February 11, 1812, died March 28, 1818.
118
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
Mr. Ephraim West died November 2, 1860, aged ninety- three years. Mrs. Ruth West died January 14, 1838, aged sixty-seven.
Amasa, third son of Dea. Francis West, married Amy, daughter of the first Joseph Hatch. Their children were :
Francis, born
November 1, 1731.
Oliver,
October 2, 1733.
Phebe,
September 2. 1735.
Lucia,
August 9, 1738.
Rebecca,
November 26, 1742, died December 10, 1774.
Amy,
December 8, 1741, died August 8, 1756.
Mercy,
.. September, 16, 1744.
Mehitable,
February 7. 1747, died March 24, 1755.
Amasa,
May 1, 1749.
Susan,
March 8, 1754, died March 25, 1755.
Amasa West married Bathsheba Gibbs, of Sandwich, Sep- tember 20, 1757.
Levi,
born April 27, 1760.
Francis, son of Amasa West, married Abigail Strong, of Coventry, September 13, 1751. He died June 22, 1769. Their children were:
Beulah, born September 8, 1752, died April 23, 1755.
Abigail,
January 14, 1753, died April 22, 1755.
Dorcas, 66 October 7, 1754.
Amasa,
March 7, 1757, died July 31, 1758.
Sarah,
August 15, 1758.
Joanna, 66 June 23, 1763.
Francis,
May 30, 1765.
Irena,
August 9, 1767, died April 15, 1758.
Oliver, son of Amasa West, married Thankful Nye, Janu- ary 20, 1757. Their children were :
Ebenezer, born November 23, 1758.
Anna,
July 18, 1759, died July 23, 1765.
Amy,
September 9, 1761.
Caleb,
66
July 4, 1764.
Amasa, 66 October 20, 1765.
Zebulon, fourth son of Dea. Francis West, married Mary Delano, of Barnstable, Mass., October 7, 1731. Their chil- dren were :
Mary, born September 17, 1732.
Stephen,
66 November 2, 1735.
Ann, March 19, 1738, died January 8, 1775.
Thankful,
July 14, 1740, died December 15, 1754.|
Elijah,
April 6, 1743.
Mary, wife of Zebulon West, died July 26, 1743. He married for his second wife, Mrs. Mary Sluman, February 22, 1744. Their children were :
Sarah,
born January 27, 1745, died October 19, 1750.
Prudence, February 16, 1747, died August 16, 1748.
Nathaniel,
September 5, 1748.
Jeremiah, July 20, 1753.
Desire,
August 18, 1755.
Sarab,
May 27, 1758.
119
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
It is probable that Zebulon West came into town with his father, Dea. Francis West, about the year 1720. He was admitted an inhabitant, that is, a voter, September 21, 1725. He was first elected to a public office in the year 1736, and from that time to the day of his death, thirty-four years after- wards, he was always in the possession of some place of public trust ; and no man could be found who served in more capaci- ties, or rendered more acceptable service. He was for seven- teen years one of the selectmen of the town ; he was town- clerk thirty-four years, and a justice of the peace twenty-six. He was the first person ever chosen to represent the town in the General Assembly, and represented the town at forty- three regular sessions ; being first chosen in September, 1748, and with one exception was re-elected at every session there- after until his decease. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives several sessions. He was Judge of Pro- bate for the district of Stafford, from its organization, in May, 1759, to his death. He was also one of the judges of Hart- ford County Court, several years. All these offices, except those of selectman and speaker, and with the addition of member of the council or upper house, to which he had just been elected, he held at the time of his decease.
Mr. West was rather above medium size-was exceedingly popular with the masses, yet it is said he never associated with them nor was familiar in his carriage towards them. His personal appearance was imposing, and with his deportment, commanded the most profound respect. About twenty-five years ago, a venerable lady, then nearly ninety-five years old, said to me, she had known Zebulon West very well, and had lived near him. She described him as very sedate, inclined to talk but little, but was remarkable for his good temper. When he went into a place of public resort, all present uncov- ered their heads, and conversation ceased. It should be remarked, however, that in his day respect was mutual,-that the removal of hats in salutation was customary, and that the young were carefully taught to be silent and respectful in the presence of their seniors.
In the petty prosecutions for violation of the moral law,
120
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
1
so frequent in those times, Mr. West carefully distinguished between youthful thoughtlessness and confirmed depravity ; and whenever such prosecutions arose from the disposition to annoy or revenge, he took care, as far as possible, to avoid making the law instrumental to gratify private malice under the mask of public virtue. It used to be said that " Zebulon West never did but one wrong thing,"-and that was certainly a very unfortunate one for the harmony of the town. It was the procuring by his superior influence the location of the meeting-house contrary to the just and strenuous wishes of nearly, if not quite a majority of the inhabitants of the town, at a place south of the geographical center. But notwith- standing this momentary resentment, he always exercised an almost unbounded influence in the management of town affairs, and was, through an entire generation, the principal man in Tolland. He educated three sons at Yale College ; Stephen, the eldest, was a clergyman, settled in the ministry at Stockbridge, Mass., and became one of the most distinguish ed theological writers in New England. Nathaniel, the sec- ond son, did not study a profession after graduating, but set- tled in Tolland as a farmer, was elected town-clerk after the death of his father, six years, then emigrated to Vermont. Jeremiah, the youngest son, settled as a physician in Tolland. He was a surgeon in the revolutionary army, was a represent- ative in the General Assembly ten sessions. He was also a member of the convention in 1788, and voted for the adoption of the federal constitution, and he was justice of the quorum or Judge of Tolland County Court fourteen years.
Zebulon West lived upon the farm lately owned by Bilarky Snow, in the south part of Tolland, and died on the 4th day of December, 1770, aged 65.
NOTE .- The record, so far as I have recited it, exhibits the char- acter of Zebulon West as nearly faultless, yet when the whole is seen, he will appear, to some persons at least, in a light that will throw a different shade over this fair picture. Mr. West was a slaveholder and held one of the sable sons of Africa as property. My evidence for this assertion is found in the town's book of records of births, mar- riages and deaths, from which the following is copied: " Zebulon
121
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
West's negro man Bristo, was married to Betty, Molatto woman on ye 21st day of September, A. D. 1757." This record is in the hand- writing of Mr. West, and doubtless was made by him when town-clerk.
The name of this man was Bristo Harris, who lived until April 1, 1802, and is still recollected by some of the inhabitants of Tolland.
The darkness of this shade upon the reputation of Mr. West is very much relieved, when we recollect that Connecticut tolerated and protected slavery by its laws, and that our Puritan fathers saw nothing in slaveholding, nor even in the slave-trade itself, inconsistent with the Christian character.
It may here be stated that during the existence of slavery in Con- necticut, several families in Tolland were in possession of that species of property, and that on the abolition of slavery by law, several slaves in Tolland gained their freedom. On the occupation of several islands in Narragansett bay by the British, in the revolutionary war, two or three families, with their slaves, came to Tolland and remained here until the enemy were expelled.
Pelatiah, son of Deacon Francis West, married Elizabeth Lathrop, December 5, 1734. Their children were :
Elizabeth, born September 17, 1735.
Susanna, 66
March 28, 1737
Eleazar,
November 9, 1738.
Hannah,
March 28, 1741.
Zervian, 66
August 2, 1743.
Eunice, 66 April 30, 1745.
Elijah,
March 7, 1747.
Daniel,
· July 22. 1749.
Prudence, 66 June 1, 1751.
Mary, 66 June 28, 1753.
Eleazar, son of Pelatiah West, married Olive Redington, December 6, 1761. Their children ; Charles, born October 4, 1763 ; Thankful, born November 20, 1765.
Christopher, son of Dea. Francis West, married Amy, daughter of Jonathan Delano, October 25, 1732. Their children were :
Priscilla, born August 26, 1733.
Francis,
October 30, 1735.
Jonathan,
December 30, 1787.
Jerusha,
April 27, 1740.
Miner,
January 9, 1743.
Lois,
in Coventry.
Mary,
May 25, 1750.
Solomon West, from Lebanon, married Abigail Strong, of . Lebanon, October 10, 1743. Their children were :
Solomon, born August 23, 1744.
Ruby,
August, 1747.
Abigail,
66 December 19, 1748.
Lydia, March 5, 1752, died October 28, 1772.
Esther,
March 17, 1754.
Chloe,
April 14, 1756.
' Stephen, Jorusha,
August 19, 1769.
יו Juno 6, 1763.
16
122
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
Ensign Solomon West died August 21, 1810 ; Abigail, his wife, August 12, 1807.
Solomon, son of Solomon West, married Prudence La- throp, March 22, 1770. Solomon, their son, born July 26, 1770, died August 21, 1771.
Prudence, wife of Solomon West, Jr., died November 30, 1771. His second wife was Catherine Carpenter; they were married February 29, 1776. Their children were :
Jesse, born December 25, 1776.
Prudence, 66 April 2, 1778
Sylvia, 66 November 20, 1780.
Ruby,
December 19. 1781.
Ebenezer,
April 13, 1783.
Solomon West died June 8, 1822, aged seventy-seven years.
John West came from Lebanon : Dorothy, his daughter, born October 1, 1751; Rebecca, born April 7, 1755.
Moses West married Jemima Eaton, August 18, 1751 : Dura, born January 23, 1752; Lana, born January 9, 1754; Alice, born September 7, 1757.
The children of Caleb West, whose parentage is not ascer- tained, are :
Hannah, born August 8, 1749.
Caleb, January 22, 1761.
Ira, 66 June 26, 1752.
Jonathan, 66
June 20, 1754.
Roger,
Jul. 1, 1755.
Irene, 66
-: died November, 1763.
Susanna,
Priscilla, 66 November 25, 1763.
Kitty, March 20, 1768
Ira, son of Caleb West, married -, only daughter of Col. Samuel Chapman.
Ephraim Grant, one of the town-clerks of Tolland I have spoken of in my address on the county organization. I here only trace his genealogy.
NOAH GRANT, of Windsor, was one of the petitioners for a new township, in the year 1713, and was'one of the grantees in the first deed to the proprietors of Tolland. He came to Tolland before 1720, and settled on what is now called Grant's Hill. He married Martha Huntington, June 12, 1
1717. Their children were :
Noah, born July 12, 1718, died October 16, 1727.
Adoniram,
Febru.try 21, 1721
Solomon,
Martha, יי January 29, 1723.
June 3, 1726
One Noah Grant married Susanna, daughter of Jonathan
123
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
Delano, November 5, 1746, and had one son, Noah, born June 20, 1748.
Noah Grant, on the first day of January, 1720, deeded a tract of land in Tolland to his brother, Ephraim Grant, of Windsor.
EPHRAIM GRANT married Elizabeth Cady, August 22, 1723. Their children were: Grace, born January 14, 1724 ; Eph- raim, born April 27, 1726.
Elizabeth, wife of Ephraim Grant, died November 8, 1746. He married for his second wife, Esther Ladd, of Coventry, (widow,) September 24, 1747. Their children were : 1
Eliza, born June 25, 1748.
Esther,
March 5, 1750.
Eli-ha,
March 24, 1752.
Eunice,
April 5, 1754.
Ebenezer,
August 2, 1756.
Ephraim Grant, Jun., son of Ephraim and Elizabeth Grant, married Mary, daughter of Hon. Zebulon West, December 13, 1748. Their children were :
Ephraim, born April 6. 1750. (Town clerk.)
Prudence,
66 September 19, 1752. died October 4, 1760.
Elias.
66 April 7, 1755, died October 2, 1760.
Philip,
May 30, 1757. died September 26, 1760.
Solomon, 66 March 21, 1760
Mary,
August 22. 1762.
Ann, 66 January 30, 1765.
Grace,
66 Januar: 16, 1767.
Stephen, 66
.March 9. 1770.
William,
October 24. 1773
Zebulon, 66 December 9, 1776.
EBENEZER, son of Ephraim and Esther Grant, married Phebe Edgerton for his first wife, April 22, 1779. She died Sep- tember 29, 1780. She had one child, Oliver, born 1779, died in 1794. He married Juliana Pearce, January 29, 1782. She died December 17, 1783. Ebenezer Grant married for his third wife, Edna, daughter of Hope Lathrop, December 23, 1784. Their children were :
Juliana, born November 16, 1784.
Phebe, ٤٠ August 5, 1787.
Harry,
July 2, 1789.
Edna, 66 August 1 1791.
Ebenezer, 66 June 16, 1793.
Oliver, 66 January 31, 1795.
The Grant family is now represented in Tolland by Mrs. Levi Edgerton, George M. Grant, and Edwin Lathrop Grant, with their families. These persons can trace their descent from the first settlers as well by the Lathrops as Grants, they being lineal descendants of Hope Lathrop.
SAMUEL LADD was town-clerk of Tolland six years. He
124
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
was a descendant of Jonathan Ladd, who, before 1720, was an inhabitant of Norwich, Conn. Tradition says he first came to Tolland in 1719 ; but it is certain he took a deed of Nathaniel Wallis, of Windham, of three pieces of land, dated February 11, 1720, which lands were situated in Tol- land. In this deed he is described as of Norwich, in the county of New London. Jonathan Ladd married Susannah Kingsbury, of Norwich, December 28, 1713. Their children were :
Ezekiel,
born January 31. 1715.
Elizabeth,
March 14, 1716
Jonathan,
March 5. 1718
Mary,
66 February 6, 1720.
Susanna,
February 17, 1722.
Ephraim, 66 March 26, 1728.
Zuriah,
66 March 30, 1730.
Jesse,
66
April 10, 1732.
Samuel, 66 March 29, 1734, died December 24, 1736.
Ezekiel, oldest son of Jonathan Ladd, Sen., married Han- nah Bigelow, November 3, 1740. Their children were :
Lucy,
born . May 1, 1741.
Samuel,
June 7, 1742.
Ruth, 66 January 12, 1744, died September 3, 1766.
Hannah, 66 September 6, 1745.
Daniel,
April 9, 1747.
Ephraim, 66 May 11, 1749.
Elizabeth, 6: April 28, 1751.
Elisha, 66 March 7, 1753, died December 26, 1841, at Wilbraham.
Ezekiel,
May 1, 1755.
David, 66 July 27, 1757.
Lydia,
July 3, 1761.
Eunice,
March 13, 1764, died in infancy. .
Jonathan Ladd, Jr., married Anna Tyler, June 27, 1751. Their children were :
Anna, born August 27, 1752.
Eliab,
April 21, 1754.
Abijah,
February 27, 1756.
John, 66 April 3, 1758.
Sarah, April 27, 1760.
Jonathan, 66
June 15, 1762, { twins, died August 21, 1763
Anna, June 15, 1762, 5
Jonathan,
March 20, 1764.
Ruth,
March 30, 1767.
Jonathan Ladd, Jr., died August 27, 1810. His wife, Anna, died August 19, 1803.
Eliab Ladd, son of Jonathan Ladd, Jr., married Susalla, daughter of John Lathrop, Jr., January 14, 1779. The following is their record :
Joseph, born October 22, 1779, dicd in infancy.
Luther, December 20, 1780, died in infancy.
Ariel, February 9, 1783.
Stephen, 66 November 8, 1784.
Lura, October 30, 1786, died May 22, 1816.
Roxy, September 8, 1788, dicd in infancy.
Roxy, January 29, 1790, died in infancy.
Preninds,
September 9,1791.
January 30, 1725.
Abigail, .
125
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
Eliab Ladd died December 15, 1800.
Ahijah, son of Jonathan Ladd, Jr., married Huldah Ful- ler, of Hebron, February 2, 1785. Their children were :
Lois, born November 18, 1785, died May 25, 1787.
Ahijah, February 20, 1787, died June 2, 1787.
Ahijah,
August 15, 1788
Levi,
December 20, 1790.
Joel, 66 March 8, 1793.
Ezra,
February 23, 1795, died February 4, 1810.
Alvan,
66
May 17,1797.
September 26, 1799, in Ellington.
Huidah, Daniel, June 28, 1804, died February 9, 1807.
Ahijah Ladd died April 15, 1826, aged 70; Huldah, his wife, November 20, 1834, aged 72.
John, son of Jonathan Ladd, Jr., married Esther Wood, of Somers, December 11, 1783. Their children were :
Esther, born September 15, 1784.
Luther,
May 10, 1786.
Eunice, 66
June 26, 1788.
Also, John, Maria, Laura, Lois, Lathrop and Eliab.
Samuel, son of Ezekiel and grandson of Jonathan Ladd, Sen., married Margaret, daughter of Capt. Samuel Chap- man, Sen., April 28, 1768. Their children were :
Ruth, born January 18, 1769, in East Windsor.
Samuel,
May 11, 1770 Town-clerk.
Margaret,
October 8, 1772.
Mary,
November 28, 1775.
Wareham,
April 23, 1778.
Jacob,
December 14, 1781.
Capt. Samuel Ladd died May 18, 1814. His wife, Marga- ret, died February 4, 1813.
AHIJAH LADD, Jr., son of Ahijah Ladd and grandson of Jonathan Ladd, Sen., married Almy Cobb, daughter of William Cobb, and granddaughter of Doct. Samuel Cobb, January 20, 1818. They had three sons, viz .: William Cobb, born March 26, 1820; Charles Ahijah, born March 12, 1822 ; and Theodore Stearns, born September 4, 1826.
Mr. Ladd had no opportunity for obtaining an education, other than was afforded by the common schools of his day, but by the closest application to these advantages, he obtained an unusually fair education for practical purposes. He early indicated an aptness for the duties of the sick room ; the rep- utation of his skill as a nurse, probably induced him to study medicine. He accordingly entered the office of Doct. Judah Bliss, with whom he continued until receiving a license to practice in 1813, when he established himself in Tolland, where, with the exception of two years residence in Stafford,
.
126
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
he remained until his decease, July 17, 1855, at the age of sixty-seven years.
Doct. Ladd always had a respectable practice ; in one or two branches he was decidedly superior ; was reasonable in his charges, and very indulgent to his customers. He main- tained a respectable position in society, and was a very useful man. He exercised a most wholesome influence in the circle in which he moved ; always on the side of good order and strict morality ; discountenancing all improprieties and im- moral conduct; possessing all the qualities that characterize the good neighbor ; and without exhibiting any disposition to complain or wrangle when others were more successful than himself. Conservative in all his actions and modes of thought, he seldom if ever took ultra ground on any subject, and avoided all angry and unprofitable disputations. With a kind heart and honest purposes, seeking to do right himself rather than to compel others to act according to his views and con- trary to their own, he secured many friends and was gener- ally esteemed.
SAMUEL KENT is one of the town-clerks who has passed away ; I may therefore be indulged in a few words respecting him. He was born in Suffield, Conn., November 27, 1786 ; was educated as a farmer, and at one period of his life was very successful in the application of his practical knowledge of that business. He occupied a portion of the farm now in the possession of William West, on which he made many sub- stantial improvements. He married Melicent Wills Steel, daughter of Capt. Ashbel Steel, March 3, 1812; and after residing two years in Suffield, commenced mercantile busi- ness in Tolland with Doct. Ahijah Ladd ; after the discontin- uance of which, and in June, 1819, he was appointed Deputy Sheriff for Tolland County, which office he held by successive triennial re-appointments until October, 1835-a period of sixteen years, when he resigned on account of ill-health. He continued to reside in Tolland, (with the exception of a six years residence in Fair Haven, from 1839 to 1845,) where he remained until his decease, May 28, 1854, in the sixty-eightlı year of his age.
127
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
He was two years selectman of Tolland, and on his re-elec- tion the third year, declined to serve longer. He was two years town-clerk, nearly seventeen years deputy sheriff, and nine years county jailer and keeper of the county house. Mr. Kent discharged the duties of these offices with great credit to himself, and to the entire satisfaction of the public. As an executive officer, he could not be excelled, and was very rarely equaled. He had great energy, which impelled him to do his duty promptly ; and a sympathy which invariably inclined him to leniency towards the poor and unfortunate. Sometimes, indeed, he was far too indulgent for his own inter- est, and at the commencement of his official life suffered an embarrassing loss by indulgence to an unworthy debtor. But it was one of Mr. Kent's peculiarities to meet misfortunes cheerfully ; he never complained so long as he had physical strength to carry the burden ; nor did he ever attempt to avoid any responsibility, which either the law or honor cast upon him. He was reasonably successful in business, until his health became so much impaired he was compelled to relinquish the ordinary labors of life. He was attacked with a lameness, ultimately extending to the spine, which continued, some- times attended with great pain, until his death.
In stature, Mr. Kent was about five feet ten inches in height, rather spare habit ; strait and firm in his carriage ; quick and active in his movements. He was a kind and obliging neigh- bor; social and pleasant in his intercourse ; honest and up- right in his dealings ; and ardent and sincere in his personal attachments. He deserved and received the respect and con- fidence of his acquaintance. He left two children : Eliza- beth Sophronia, born September 18, 1817, and James Steel, born July 24, 1819.
GURDON ISHAM is one of the town-clerks whose last record is made. He was the son of James Isham, of Ellington, who moved into Tolland in the Spring of the year 1796. Asher Isham, brother of James, bought a tract of Land in Tolland, of Lathrop Birge, April 10, 1793, which he sold to James Isham, March 1, 1796. James Isham, of Tolland, married
128
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
Polly Kingsley, of Lebanon, at Lebanon, April 20, 1796. Their children were :
Oliver Kingsley, born March 26, 1797, Physician in Tolland.
Gurdon,
December 10, 1800, Town-clerk, died February 7, 1857.
Shubael,
February 27, 1804, died July 22, 1825.
Mary,
July 15, 1806, married J. Lathrop, died May 2, 1838.
Gurdon Isham was apprenticed to the business of hatting, which he followed through life. He married Abigail Strong,
of Columbia, January, 1824. Their children were :
Abigail, born November 17, 1824.
Shubael S.,
January 16, 1827.
Chester C.,
March 18, 1828, died April 4, 1828.
David B.,
May 5, 1830.
Abby Jane, 66
April 13, 1833.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.