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 4
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I am unable to give any very distinct idea of the person or character of the Rev. Stephen Steel. His death occurred one hundred and one years ago last December, and none of his cotemporaries now survive. Unfortunately, he left no publication, nor does any manuscript exist from which his intellectual and literary attainments can be estimated. He once preached the annual election sermon at Hartford, but omitted to furnish a copy for publication. The fact that he was selected for this service, is evidence that he was a man of more than ordinary ability, for in his day none but clergy- men of very respectable attainments were honored with this distinction. His correspondence with the town, and the sat- isfactory arrangements made with its agents, when his health became so much impaired as to disable him from performing the duties of his ministerial office, give unmistakable evi- dence of his conciliatory spirit, his disinterestedness and his unaffected piety. He had then been the sole minister of the town for nearly forty years, had commenced with it in its infancy, when it was nearly an unbroken wilderness, contain- ing less than twenty-five families ; had seen the population increase to near one thousand, and had the satisfaction of knowing there was not, at the time of his dismissal, a single dissenting worshiper in the whole number. The Rev. Dr. Williams, the immediate successor of Mr. Steel, told a friend of mine in 1827, that at the time of his settlement, and for several years thereafter, there was not a dissenter, nor the least want of unanimity on ecclesiastical affairs in the whole town. I could almost be willing to give in my adherence to the most rigid and antiquated puritanism, if I could once more see such unanimity among those who profess to be actu- ated by the same spirit.
36
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
The connection between the Rev. Stephen Steel and the church and society in Tolland, was dissolved by mutual con- sent on the 25th day of December, 1758. The town soon invited a Mr. Gideon Noble, and afterwards a Mr. Nehemiah Strong to preach as candidates for settlement. But the Rev. NATHAN WILLIAMS received a unanimous call from the town to settle in the work of the ministry in Tolland, on the 26th day of November, 1759,-they offering to pay him two hun- dred pounds, (six hundred sixty-six dollars and sixty-six cents,) as a settlement, and eighty pounds, (two hundred sixty six dollars, sixty-six cents,) as a yearly salary. This proposition was accepted, and the Rev. Nathan Williams was ordained April 30, 1760. He continued the sole pastor of the church and society until January, 1813, a period of nearly fifty-three years, when the Rev. Ansel Nashi was settled as his colleague. Doct. Williams continued to reside in Tolland until his decease, on the 15th of April, 1829, at the age of ninety-four years. He was born at Longmeadow, Mass., Nov. 8, 1735, was son of Rev. Stephen Williams, minister of that town, and grandson of Rev. John Williams, the celebra- ted minister of Deerfield.
The Rev. Nathan Williams, of Tolland, and Mary Hall, of Wallingford, were married October 20, 1760. The following were their children :
Nathan, their son, was born Nov. 17, 1761, died in Savannah, Georgia, Dec. 16, 1784. Eliakim Hall,
Jan. 16, 1764, died April 28, 1816.
William, 66 66 April 23, 1766.
Mary, daughter, 66 April 19, 1768, married Doct. Wm. Grosvenor, Oct. 4, 1787.
Ruth,
Nov. 11, 1770, died October 2, 1788.
Abigail,
Aug, 14, 1773, died Feb. 2, 1774.
Isaac, son Sept. 24, 1776, died April 18, 1781.
Madam Mary Williams, relict of Doct. Williams, died March 9, 1833, aged ninety-five.
Only three of the children of Doct. Williams lived to be married. His son, Eliakim H. Williams, first married Mary Burt, daughter of David Burt, of Longmeadow, Mass., Jan. 18, 1792. She died January 22, 1793. He next married Damaris Cory, of Mansfield, February 1, 1797. She died Sep- tember 20, 1801. He married for his third wife Aurelia Howard, of Tolland, January 9, 1803, with whom he lived until his death, April 28, 1816. By his last wife he had two
37
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
sons and two daughters, viz. : Eliakim and Isaac ;- and Eme- line and Mary-Damaris-Aurelia. Mr. Eliakim H. Williams always resided in Tolland, and was town clerk at the time of his death. After his death his family removed to the State of New York, where they have since continued to reside.
William Williams, son of Doct. Nathan Williams, married Sarah Burt, of Longmeadow, Mass., September 4, 1793. They had seven sons, viz. : Nathan, William, David-Burt, Augustus-Davenport, Theodosicus-Dickerman, Charles-Albert, and Mortimer-Hall. Their daughters were Mary-Burt, and Sophia-Maria. This family lived in Tolland until the year 1833, when they removed into the western country.
Mary Williams, the daughter of Doct. Williams, married Doct. William Grosvenor, October 4, 1787. They lived in Tolland until Doct. Grosvenor's death, October 16, 1798. They had eight children, only three of whom survived infancy. The names of those were Mary-Williams, Ruth and Jacob. This family removed from Tolland after the decease of Doct. Grosvenor ; and there has been no one of the lineal descend- ants of Doct. Williams, resident in the town since 1833.
The Rev. Doctor Williams holds a prominent place in the history of Tolland. He has done more than any other person to form the character of its inhabitants. He was their only minister for more than fifty years, and occupied a prominent and influential position for nearly seventy years of his life. In person he was about five feet nine inches in height ; rather stout, with a body symmetrical and well proportioned. He was easy and graceful in his manners, social in his habits, and interesting and instructive in his conversation. He was punctilious in etiquette, careful in his personal appearance, precise and select in his language, and in every way a model gentleman of the old school. As a preacher he adhered to the tenets of the old divines, was strictly orthodox as the term was then understood, but was quite liberal for the age in which he lived. He was a good scholar, well educated, with a fair intellect, and good common-sense. His public performances were very creditable, and quite acceptable to his parishioners. Several of his sermons and other religious com-
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THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
positions were printed, and will compare favorably with simi- lar productions of his associates. Several copies of them are now deposited in the library of the Connecticut Historical Society at Hartford. They were written and published as fol- lows :
In 1780. The Annual Election Sermon at Hartford.
1788. On the Design and Importance of Christian Bap- tism.
1792. On Christian Baptism and Discipline. Two edi- tions.
1793. Discourse on the Fourth of July, at Stafford.
1793. Fast Day Sermon at Tolland. Order and Har- mony in the Churches agreeable to God's Law.
1794. Funeral Sermon at the Burial of Eliakim Hall,
1795. Sermon at the Funeral of Rev. Nathan Strong, of Coventry.
Mrs. Mary Williams was a perfect model for a minister's wife. Intelligent without vanity ; complacent without syco- phancy ; devotedly pious without any forbidding pretensions, she exercised a salutary influence without any apparent effort. She taught by example as well as by precept ; and the duties of a wife and a mother were not neglected nor forgotten in the pursuit of those that belong to the visionary philanthro- pist, or the chimerical moralist. She attended to the duties of her own household, and cared for the wants of her depend- ants, feeling that her happiness was best promoted when she was contributing to the enjoyment of those around her. She was an economist, not for the purpose of acquiring wealth, but on account of the example to others. Doct. Williams pos- sessed more of this world's goods, comparatively, than 110w ordinarily falls to the lot of country ministers, but it was never ostentatiously used. His house always exhibited comforts without extravagance, and great order and neatness without luxurious elegance. Mrs. Williams made it a matter of prin- ciple to live like her parishioners, although her means would have allowed her greater comforts. She was heard to say during the last years of her life, that her children when small, always went barefooted to meeting in summer, because some in the
39
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
parish were unable to furnish their's with shoes at that season, so that no comparison could be instituted between her children and others in that respect. The principle that prompted this act, properly cultivated, would tend to restrain the practice now becoming a custom, of regarding the attire in which we are clad when in the sanctuary, as of more consequence than the services in which we are there engaged.
The Rev. ANSEL NASH was settled as the colleague of the Rev. Doctor Williams, in the month of January, 1813, and continued to be the active pastor of the church and society until the month of May, 1831, a period of a little more than eighteen years, when he was dismissed upon his own request, with the consent of a majority of the church and society.
Mr. Nash was born in Williamsburg, Hampshire County, Mass., on the 16th of January, 1788. He was the son of John Nash, of Williamsburg, and his wife, Martha Little, formerly of Granby, Conn. He graduated at Williams College in the year 1807, at the age of nineteen years. He pursued and finished his theological studies at Andover, Mass., and was licensed to preach in the year 1810. He came to Tolland in the latter part of the summer of 1812, received a call, and in January, 1813, was ordained as the colleague of Doctor Williams. His salary was six hundred dollars a year ; one hundred of which, a few years later, he generously relin- quished annually, in consideration of the pecuniary circum- stances of the society. He was married to Eunice Jennings, of Windham, Conn., on the 24th of May, 1813, with whom he lived until his death. He left no children. After he was dismissed from Tolland he was settled in the ministry in Bloomfield, Hartford County, Conn., six years, when his rela- tion with that people was dissolved, and he became the agent of the American Education Society awhile, and then the pas- tor of the first church in Rockville for about two years, when he was again dismissed. He was, at two different times, agent of the American Education Society, eight years, and supplied the pulpit in Colchester, Vermont, for about four years. While residing in Colchester, towards the close of his life, he became paralytic, and of unsound mind. In the vain hope
40
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
that he could be benefited by the medical treatment and nursing at the insane hospital at Brattleborough, Vermont, he was sent to that institution in the summer of the year 1850, where, without receiving benefit, either in body or mind, from the change, he departed this life August 11, 1851, aged 63 years, 6 months, and 26 days.
Mr. Nash was a man of marked ability. To a mind natur- ally quick and active, was added the polish of a finished edu- cation ; and aided by a memory that garnered the choicest treasures of both ancient and modern literature, he was pre- pared to acquit himself creditably on the theatre of life. His sermons were characterized rather for their logic than their rhetoric, and contained more of argument than imagination ; still they were both attractive and instructive. He could not be said to be eloquent in their delivery, but was earnest, forci- ble and serious, and particularly successful in securing the attention of his hearers. In extemporary prayer he possessed peculiar gifts. He seemed to apprehend the secret desires of the most obscure worshiper present, and would present them at the mercy seat in language that raised the mind from earth to heaven, and imbued it with that fervency which makes prayer importunate and effectual.
Some of the productions of his pen have been published, among which are a Sermon on Christian Fellowship, printed in the National Preacher in the year 1831; a somewhat ex- tended memoir of Mrs. Elizabeth Eldredge in the Panoplist in the year 1816 ; and other interesting articles in magazines and newspapers.
In social life, Mr. Nash was open, frank, and sometimes a little abrupt. He carefully noticed passing events, and was free to make them topics of general remark ; and it was some- times supposed these occupied too much of his time as a religious teacher. And yet he was never light nor trifling, and was always ready to defend the religion he professed, whenever and however assailed. His connection with secular matters, sometimes brought him in conflict with others en- gaged in similar pursuits, and was the cause of some uneasi- ness on the part of those who should have been his friends.
41
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
He strenuously maintained the right of exercising his own judgment in matters personal to himself, and yet he would not obstinately pursue a course of conduct offensive to any one, when he had reason to believe such conduct was not required by other demands than his own interest. He was forward in all efforts for public improvement in the town in which he lived-particularly those which had for their object the edu- cation of the masses. He took especial interest in the estab- lishment of an academy in Tolland ; and was for a long time chairman of the board of trustees. It may not be invidious to remark, that the academy ceased to exist about the time of Mr. Nash's leaving the town, and there has been no special effort since to revive it. He was a valuable member of socie- ty ; an intelligent and interesting preacher ; a worthy and revered pastor ; and a most constant and sincere friend.
After the dismissal of Mr. Nash, the Rev. ABRAM MARSH became the pastor of the Congregational church and society in Tolland, which position he continues to occupy. He was installed on the 30th day of November, 1831. Mr. Marsh was born in Hartford, Vermont, June 15, 1802. He was ed- ucated at Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1825; pursued his theological studies at Andover, Mass., and was licensed to preach in 1828. He supplied a church in Redding, Vermont, about two years, a portion of which time he was the principal of an academy at Thetford. He married Miss Rhoda Short, of Vermont, January 25, 1829, who died in Tolland, August 17, 1840, leaving two sons. Mr. Marsh married Miss Mary H. Cooley, of Norwich, Conn., his present wife, April 6, 1842.
As he is still the pastor of the church and society in Tol- land, it is not proper for me to say more in this place; and may the day be distant when any pen will be employed in writing his biography.
From 1723 to the present time, a period of one hundred and thirty-eight years, the Congregational church and society have had but four settled ministers, and there has been but one year and two months vacation in the office during the whole timc.
6
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THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
It has generally been supposed there were no differences of opinion on matters of religion among the inhabitants of Tol- land before the year 1791, when the Methodists made their first location in this town. Although at the time of the set- tlement of Dr. Williams, and for thirty years thereafter, the people were of one fold and one shepherd, yet it is true that the inhabitants of Tolland, in common with the other towns in New England, were seriously affected by the preaching of Whitefield and his associates about the year 1745. The Rev. Wait Palmer, one of the preachers attached to that class of the followers of Mr. Whitefield that called themselves Separatists, labored in Tolland and its vicinity in the years 1750 and 1751, and received persons to his particular fellowship through the ordinance of baptism. This Mr. Palmer, and one Rev. Joshua Morse, administered the rite of ordination to one Shubael Stearns, Jr., of Tolland, of whom I shall speak more particularly in another place. Suffice it here to say, that Mr. Stearns was a most zealous leader of the Separatists, and held no fellow- ship with the church then under the charge of Rev. Mr. Steel. Mr. Stearns left the town, with his principal adherents, in the year 1754, after which there was no particular controversy by reason of this sect. Tradition informs us that the christian charity and sound judgment of Rer. Mr. Steel did very much to control the excited feeling of the people at this time, and continue their attachment to him, and to the church of which he was the pastor.
In the summer of 1791, the preachers of the Methodist denomination first visited the town of Tolland, and succeeded in establishing a Church. The names of their first preachers were Lee, Rayner and Hull. Their preaching was attended with very considerable success, and their followers became so numerous it was found necessary to have a house for public worship, and one was built in 1794. These preachers brought with them much of the zeal and many of the practices of the Separatists ; and they attracted very great attention from the earnestness, and, what many supposed, the irregularities of their worship. This, doubtless, was the occasion of the fast- day sermon by the Rev. Dr. Williams, entitled, "Order and
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THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
Harmony in the Churches agreeable to God's Will," in which' he speaks of the confusion and disorder of some worshiping assemblies as being contrary to the will of God. The organi- zation of the Methodist church and society has continued with but occasional interruptions, in a regular supply of preachers according to the usages of that denomination, to the present time.
The Baptist church was organized in June, 1807. Their first minister was the Rev. Augustus Bolles, who was ordained their pastor in the year 1814. The services at his ordination were held in the Congregational meeting-house. He continued their minister three years. The next settled minister in this society was Rev. Levi Walker, Jr., who was ordained in June, 1833, and was succeeded by Rev. Sylvester Barrows in the year 1836, who continued their minister until the year 1841. Since the departure of Mr. Barrows, the following named gen- tlemen have supplied the Baptist church and society, viz. : Rev. John Hunt, one year; Rev. Jamas Squier, three years; Rev. George Mixter, two years; Rev. Thomas Holman, one year; Rev. Percival Matthewson, one year; Rev. Homer Sears, three years; Rev. Thomas Dowling, four years; Rev. Joseph A. Tillinghast, a little more than a year, until his death Au- gust 7, 1859; and Rev. C. L. Baker, who is now their minis- ter. They have also been supplied occasionally by other per- sons.
MILITARY.
THE first record of any military organization in Tolland is under the date of October, 1722. The General Assembly then approved of Joseph Hatch as Lieutenant, and John Hunting- ton as Ensign of the train-band in Tolland. The number in the " train-band " was probably then too small to make a cap- tain necessary. The following return, copied from the archives in Hartford, for 1725, shows the election of the first captain of the train-band in this town.
44
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
" Major Wolcott, Esq. Pursuant to that order from your- self for the drawing of the first company in Tolland, to a choice for their commissioned officers for said company in Tolland; said company accordingly met on the 20th day of April and orderly chose Lieutenant Joseph Hatch, captain ; Ensign John Huntington Lieutenant, and Joseph Pack Ensign. EBENEZER NYE, Military Clerk."
Samuel Chapman was chosen in 1735, to succeed Joseph Hatch as captain of this company. By a return bearing date September 13, 1737, it appears that the roll of this company contained the names of eighty-seven rank and file. The mili- tia were afterwards divided into two companies, called the north and south companies; the division of territory between the companies was a line nearly east and west through the town, passing across the south end of the Street; and west of the Street was represented by the road running west from the present residence of Mr. William West to Vernon line.
The extent of the participation of Tolland in the wars pre- vious to that which commenced in 1755, can not now be ascer- tained. All that is known with certainty is, that Captain Samuel Chapman, Sen., commanded a company in the expe- dition to Louisburgh, in 1745, where he died the following January ; and that Samuel Baker, son of Joseph Baker, in that, or a former war, died in captivity among the French and Indians.
In the year 1756, the colonies raised an army of seven thousand men for the purpose of aiding the mother country in an expedition against Crown point, and placed them under the command of Major-General Winslow. Azariah Wills, of Tolland, (brother of Solomon Wills, of whom I shall by and by have something to say,) enlisted under Capt. John Slap, in the service of the colonies, on the second day of April, 1756, and served until the 25th day of June following, when he was unfortunately taken prisoner, with others, by the French and Indians, between Albany and Hoosick, and carried to Canada. He remained a captive and endured great hardships until No- vember, 1758, when he attempted to return with Col. Schuy- ler and Major Putnam, but while on his journey home he was taken sick and died on the eighteenth of November, 1758.
45
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
How many others from Tolland were in this expedition I am unable to say.
In August, 1757, there was an alarm that a powerful force of French and Indians was on the way to attack fort William Henry. Volunteers were called for, and Connecticut instant- ly poured forth several thousand. On the roll of Capt. Sam- uel Stoughton's company are found the names of the following men of Tolland.
Ens. Samuel Chapman, Nathan Harvey,
Serg. Solomon Wills,
David Hatch,
Solomon Loomis, Samuel Huntington, Jabez Bradley,
Simon Chapman, Francis West, Rufus West,
Daniel Baker,
John Eaton,
Elihu Johnson,
Ichabod Hinckley,
Samuel Barnard,
Joseph Davis,
John Abbott, Jr ,
George Nye,
Samuel Benton, Jr.,
John Stearns, Jr.,
Abner West,
Timothy Delano, .
Samuel Aborn,
Amos Ward.
Thacher Lathrop,
William Benton,
Jonathan Ladd, Jr.,
28 in all.
Jacob Fellows,
But the French general, Montcalm, had prosecuted the siege with his usual vigor ; and the fort was compelled to sur- render before any of the volunteers could arrive. Those from Tolland went no further than Kinderhook, in the state of New York; and returned home, receiving pay for only fifteen day's service. Pay was allowed for four horses from Tolland to Kinderhook, £2, 3s., 9d. ; for nineteen from Tolland to Litch- field, £4, 18s., 11d .; and for two to bring them back from Litchfield, 14s., 5d.
For the campaign of 1758, Connecticut agreed to furnish five thousand men; and a company was formed in Tolland and its vicinity, of which Samuel Chapman, of Tolland, was captain. The following is a copy of the roll of his company.
*Capt. Sam. Chapman, *Jonathan Boroughs, William Hoskins,
1st Lieut. Titus Olcott, *Abner West, 2d Lieut. George Cooley, *Hope Lathrop, *Ensign Solomon Wills, Timothy Ladd, Serg. Samuel Benton, Jacob Newell,
Daniel Pratt,
Abraham Whipple, John Atchison, Oliver Chapin, Hezekiah Spencer, John Fuller, Joseph Buell,
Alexander Gowdy, Thomas Buck, Samuel Bartlett, Luke Parsons, Thomas Waters, James Kibbee, James Pease, Nathaniel Brace, Jacob Ward, Abner Peasc, John Ford, Jonathan Phelps, William Russell, *Nathan Harvey, Jonathan Bliss, *Shubael Dimick, Benjamin Shepherd,
*Lemuel Hatch, *Jabez Bradley,
*Joseph Luce,
Abijah Markham, Thomas Burns, Hezekiah Wells, Jacob Hills, Simeon Webster,
Corp. Samuel Hall, Jonathan Bill,
*Joseph Davis,
Hezckiah Waters,
Asa Wood, Isaac Hills,
Nath'n Boardman, Joshua Hutchins,
Drum'er, Henry Bowen, Jonathan Dart, 66 Charles King, Joseph Spencer, Fifer, Joseph Conant. Beriah Bronson, Privates.
Samuel Darling, Joshua Bill,
Joseph Pike, Nathan Tiffany,
*William Benton,
*Moses West,
Joshua Allen,
*John Lathrop,
*Joseph Eaton,
Jonathan Buckland, Samuel Blackmore, Jonathan. Wright, Lemuel Jones,
Josiah Fields, *Nathaniel Warren, Joseph Crocker.
Joseph Hcath,
Benjamin Burdon,
David Talcott,
Officers and music'ns, 15
Joseph Whitcomb,
Moses Thrall,
Privates, Total, ·
80
*John Barnard,
John Isham,
* 6 Jonathan Birge,
66 Abner Webb,
*Lathrop Shurtliff,
James Steel, clerk, John Gray,
*Solomon Loomis, Joseph Tilden, Joel Daniels, Samuel Carver, John Gordon,
Hezekiah King, Samuel Hutchinson, Joseph Tucker,
Daniel Brewster,
Brinton Payne,
95
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THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
Twenty-one of the above, viz. : those marked *, are recog- nized as belonging in Tolland, and probably there were others. Most of the remainder would be recognized by their names as having gone from the towns of Somers, Mansfield, Willing- ton, Bolton, Coventry, and East Windsor.
In the year 1762, the King of England made a requisition upon the colonies for troops to join in the expedition against the island of Cuba; and a company was raised in the eastern part of the State, of which Col. Israel Putnam was, by one of the then formalities of the service, nominally captain, but really under the command of its first lieutenant, Solomon Wills, of Tolland. This company went to the island of Cuba, and was present at the siege and capture of Havana, but was not in any serious engagement. When a boy, I was in- formed by a man whose name is on the roll, that after the principal fort had been undermined and blown up, so that a column of British regulars carried it by assault, this company had the sad duty to perform of clearing the fort and burying the dead. The destruction of life was very great; the dead were represented as lying in winrows. The pools of blood were so deep in some places in the fort that, as my informant said, he was compelled to step over his shoes in human gore while removing the dead. Although this company was not under fire during the whole of this campaign, the mortality of its members was unparalleled. Of the ninety-eight per- sons of which the company was composed and who actu- ally reached the Island, only twenty-two ever returned to their native land. Of the twenty-seven enlisted from Tolland and it's vicinity, only four escaped the arrow of the fell des- troyer. The names of two of these four persons were Solo- mon Wills and Edward Hatch. John Barnard, John Bur- rows, Constant Crandall, William Eaton, Aaron Eaton, Leon- ard Grover, Judah Hatch, Noah Stimson, Ezra Waldo and Oliver Yeomans, of Tolland, are known to have died on the Island of Cuba. There were no deaths in the company before the month of August. As returned on the roll, the deaths were, in August, fifteen ; in September, eighteen ; in October, eighteen ; in November, eighteen ; and in December, seven.
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