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 6
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The following named persons, citizens of Tolland, were offi- cers in the army of the Revolution, viz. :
Samuel Chapman, Colonel of the twenty-second Regiment of militia, from May, 1775, to May, 1792. His regiment was at New York in the year 1776, and performed a tour of duty of two months. He was in the service at other times.
Solomon Wills was Colonel during several tours of duty, either of State or Continental troops.
Ichabod Hinckley was a captain in the continental line.
Elijah Chapman (afterwards sheriff) was a captain in the continental line ; and a part of the time in Lafayette's light infantry.
James Chamberlin was a captain of cavalry two campaigns.
Amos Fellows commanded one of the Tolland companies at New York.
Lieut. Lathrop, of the militia, was in active service.
Ichabod Griggs, ensign of the Tolland militia, campaign at New York.
Joshua Griggs, adjutant. His services were principally at Roxbury, New York and Saratoga.
There were two companies of militia in Tolland in 1776, both of which were in Col. Samuel Chapman's regiment at New York. But at this time only the names of the officers above given can be ascertained.
The following are the names of the persons, citizens of Tol- land, who died in the various wars prior to the close of the revolutionary war in 1783 :
Samuel Chapman, Sen., Captain, died at Louisburgh, Jan- uary, 1746.
Samuel Baker died in captivity among the French and Indians.
Azariah Wills died during his return from captivity, Novem- ber, 1758, aged 25.
William Benton died at Oswego in 1760, aged 35.
Samuel Huntington, Ensign, died at Lake Oneida, August 18, 1760, aged 32.
. 8
58
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
Constant Crandall died at Havana, Cuba, August 27, 1762. Noah Stimson, do. Sept. 13, 1762, Æ 20.
Jonathan Burroughs,
do. " 7,
Wm. Eaton, son of William,
do. Oct. 18,
Æ30.
John Barnard, son of Dr. Thos.,
do.
John Burrows,
do. 66
Aaron Eaton,
do. 66
Judah Hatch, son of Ichabod,
do. 66
Æ 42.
Oliver Yeomans,
Ezra Waldo,
do. 66
Leonard Grover,
do.
66
Reuben Heath, son of Isaac Heath, died at Roxbury, Mass., September, 1775, aged 20.
A Mr. Scott, of Tolland, died at New York in 1776, before the city was evacuated.
Ichabod Griggs, Ensign, died at New Rochelle, N. Y., Sep- tember 30, 1776.
Moses Barnard, son of Dr. Thomas, died at New Rochelle, October 15, 1776.
Azariah Benton, son of Daniel, died in a prison ship near New York, December 29, 1776, aged 22.
Amos Fellows, Captain, died in captivity in New York, February 17, 1777.
William Hatch, son of Joseph, Jr., died at Chatham, New Jersey, March 26, 1777, aged 30.
John Lathrop, son of John, was killed by a sabre cut at Horseneck, December 10, 1780, aged 18.
Heman Baker, Jr., died of small pox, at East Hartford, on his way from captivity.
Samuel Steel died in 1780.
Luther Delano died in 1780.
Aaron Steel, son of James, died in New Jersey.
Amos Cobb, son of Samuel Cobb, M. D., was killed at the White Plains.
The above are collected from the records. It is known there were many others, particularly at New York in 1776, but their names can not be ascertained.
It is impossible to estimate with accuracy the number of men
do. 66
59
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
belonging in Tolland who served in the army of the revolution. The quota usually assigned to it was from sixteen to twenty-one. I understand this did not include those who served in the cavalry. There can be no doubt that the town constantly had no less than twenty-five men in the field, besides those who served in what were called the short levies, and when the entire military force of the town went on some alarm or emergency. Nearly twenty can be enumerated as having gone from the present limits of the fifth school district; and probably more than one hundred and fifty persons, residents of Tolland, comprising nearly every man of suitable age and strength, participated in that struggle by marching against the enemy. Several persons were in the field during almost the entire war, among whom Capt. (afterwards Gen.) Elijah Chapman, Jonathan Luce, Isaac Fellows, Solomon Eaton, and Elihu Johnson are remembered. Several times almost the entire active male population was absent in the army, and ordinary work upon the farms was done by female hands. Elderly ladies sometimes spoke of their share of it in earlier life, as if it was among their most interesting recollections. I have heard a venerable lady, daughter of one of the revo- lutionary officers of Tolland, relate that she, assisted by her younger sisters, frequently yoked the oxen, and harvested the autumnal crops with their own hands. These necessary out of door duties had not the effect of producing masculine habits in those who engaged in them, or in making them less useful and agreeable in their proper sphere. In the instance above alluded to, they detracted nothing from the eminent social refinement and feminine graces of the individuals spoken of.
Although Tolland furnished its full proportion of men in the revolutionary contest, and although so many of them perished in the service, yet I have not been able to ascertain either by record or traditionary evidence, that any were slain in battle, except Amos Cobb and John Lathrop, before refer- red to. The record of John Lathrop's death, in the town- clerk's office, is as follows : "John, the son of John Lathrop, and Lucy his wife, departed this life December the 10th day,
60
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
1780, by the sword of the enemy at Horseneck." He was under eighteen years of age, and was struck dead by a blow on the head with a sabre, by a dragoon. Col. Solo. Wills, to whose wife Mr. Lathrop was nephew, assisted in wrapping him in his blanket and laying him in the grave of the soldier.
Nor is there now any evidence that any Tolland soldier received any dangerous wound, or so severe an one as to occasion his dimissal from the service.
Several kinds of domestic manufacture were attempted in Tolland in the revolution. Linen cloth was then made in families from flax, and exclusively used for summer clothing. There was a family named Morey who lived at the south end of the village street, near the residence of the late Jeremiah Parish, Esq., who used to print this home-made linen for ladies' dresses. The cloth being first whitened, was then impressed with figures engraved on a thin board very similar in size to the hand-cards used in those days-the impression being entirely done by hand. The only color distinctly rec- ollected was a dark brown. It is much to be regretted that none of this cloth or the stamps have been preserved as most interesting revolutionary relics.
There was also an attempt to manufacture molasses from green corn-stalks, ground in a common cider mill, and pressed like pomace of apples. The particular mill used for this pur- pose stood just back of the site on which was afterward built the house in which Col. Elijah Smith kept a tavern for half a century.
In the south-west part of the town resided Mr. Titus Baker, a blacksmith, and his brother, Mr. Joseph Baker, who pos- sessed great natural ingenuity in the mechanical arts. In the scarcity of muskets, they contrived to manufacture a number, (it is not known how many,) which, though clumsy and heavy, were reputed to be serviceable weapons. The makers estimated that the labor bestowed on one of them amounted to the time of one man a fortnight.
During the war there were several instances in which Brit- ish prisoners were sent to Tolland for support and safe keep- ing. In the year 1781, when the progress of the war in the
61
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
South rendered it necessary to remove the army of Burgoyne from Virginia, where they were sent for cantonment after their surrender, many of them were removed into Connecti- cut. Companies of Hessians were quartered on the prem- ises of Col. Wills, lately the property of Jonas Green ; also at the house now occupied by Theodore Chapin. At one time, two Hessian officers had a dispute and arranged for a duel, which was only prevented by the assurance that in case of the death of either, our laws would in due season, without fail, send the survivor after him.
A party of English officers were lodged in the house of Deacon Elijah Chapman, (now occupied by Daniel Chapman,) and were there while Yorktown was besieged, and a son of Dea. Chapman was a captain of Lafayette's Light Infantry employed in that siege. These officers were always repre- sented by those who remembered them, as making a splendid appearance, and as being very courteous and gentlemanly in their limited intercourse with the inhabitants of the neigh- borhood.
In concluding the general subject of the revolution, it should be remarked that there were no tories in Tolland. With the exception of two or three odd, crusty, eccentric men, who generally opposed what others approved, and who being in the main respectable persons, whose whimsical oppo- sition was generally amusing, there was entire unanimity in Tolland from the first manifestation of opposition to the tyranny of England until the final establishment of American Independence.
Most of the citizens of Tolland who were conspicuous in the war of the Revolution were the descendants of the first settlers. Among these, the name of CHAPMAN is prominent. They were the descendants of Simon Chapman, who was one of the original proprietors of the town. He lived in Wind- sor and owned several tracts of land in Tolland, but his soul Samuel, (the progenitor of all of the name in the western part of the town,) settled, about the year 1725, on a tract of about forty acres, lying south of a pond called Shenipset pond, deeded to him by John Huntington, of Tolland. To
1
62
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
this tract he made great additions from adjacent lands, and his sons still more, until the three brothers, besides out-fields, owned a tract extending two miles or more from south-east to north-west, though of less, but irregular breadth. It was not until about thirty-five years ago that this tract, on which were eight houses, seven of which were of first-class size, and all inhabited by families of the name, began to crumble away and fall into the possession of others. Capt. SAMUEL CHAP- MAN, the first settler, (whose decease at Louisburgh has been mentioned,) was grandson of Mr. Edward Chapman, who came from England, settled in Simsbury, and lost his life at the storming of Narraganset Fort in December, 1675." He was the only justice of the peace in Tolland for nine years, and was for eleven years a selectman. Very reliable tradition speaks of him as possessing many estimable qualities, among which was that of being an excellent neighbor. He first lived in a house situated above the entrance of the road that runs south from the fifth district school-house. He then built the house now owned and occupied by Mr. Oliver Eaton, and which, though nearly one hundred and twenty years old, is still in good re- pair and elegant condition-promising fair to outlive the present century.
Capt. Samuel Chapman had three sons and five daughters, all of whom married and settled in Tolland. The sons be- came the wealthiest men in the town, and until superannuated, were among the most active, influential, public-spirited citi- zens.
SAMUEL, eldest son of Capt. Samuel Chapman, was a very eminent citizen, and a very remarkable man. He was a cap- tain in the French war, and colonel of the twenty-second regiment of Connecticut militia during the entire war of the revolution. He was at New York with his regiment in 1776, and when the American forces evacuated that city, his regi- ment, stationed near Kip's bay, with the brigades of Parsons and Fellows, animated by their colonel, did not participate in the shameful panic of the American troops on that occasion, but made an orderly and honorable retreat. He was also in several other tours of duty ; his personal courage and aston-
63
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
ishing hardihood were proverbial among his soldiers. His frame and nerves seemed as if made of iron, (for example, he never wore mittens in the coldest weather,) and such was his mental temperament, that disasters which would discourage even superior minds, only aroused his undaunted spirit to more fearless action. Few men could be found so unflinch- ing in moments of danger ; and his firmness and energy never faltered under any circumstances. The almost unexampled number of times he was elected a member of the General Assembly, exhibits the regard in which he was held by his townsmen ; his was the master spirit that brought the citizens of Tolland into unanimous and energetic action in the revo- lutionary contest. Col. Chapman was one of the most wealthy men of Tolland, carried on a large business besides farming ; would give employment to a poor man who wanted work, regardless of advantage to himself ; and even embarrassed his estate by becoming responsible for the debts of the unfortu- nate.
In person, Col. Chapman was rather under the middle stat- ure, with blue eyes, and his voice was remarkable for its loud- ness and energy. He was what is called a great reader, was rather taciturn, and of studious habits. He never laughed, and a smile seldom lighted up his austere countenance.
Col. Chapman was born in Windsor, a few years previous to his father's settlement in Tolland ; and occupied during his life the house before-mentioned as built by his father. He died March, 1803, aged 83 years, regardless to the last of inclemency of weather or his own personal comfort. He was found dead in his bed. Such was his apparent health and uncomplaining habits, that the disease which occasioned his death, was only a matter of conjecture.
Col. Samuel Chapman married Sarah White, of Bolton, September 20, 1750.
Their children, five in number, were :
Ruth, born October 9, 1751.
Sarah,
January 15, 1753.
Samuel, 66 April 10, 1755, died July 15, 1756.
Samuel, 66 August 18, 1757, settled in Ellington.
ELIAKIM CHAPMAN, the youngest son of Col. Samuel Chap- man, married Roxalana, daughter of Col. Solomon Wills, who
64
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
died November 24, 1783, after which he married Nancy, the sister of his first wife. He had several children, one of whom, Mrs. Joseph Bishop, is a resident of Tolland. He always resided on his father's farm, was a colonel of militia, repre- sentative in the General Assembly, selectman, and a useful citizen.
ELIJAH, second son of Capt. Samuel Chapman, married Sarah Steel, daughter of Rev. Stephen Steel, of Tolland, May 28, 1747. He died - - aged - years. She died
Their children, twelve in number, of whom eleven lived to maturity, and most of them to old age, were :
Joanna,
born
May 16, 1748.
Reuben,
December 8, 1749.
Sarah, 60 July 23, 1752, died in infancy.
Elijah, 66 July 13, 1753.
Ashbel,
66 June 28, 1755.
Sarah, 66 April 1, 1757.
Ruth, 66 February 20, 1759.
Esther,
April 8, 1761.
Roxana,
November 14, 1763.
Aaron,
September 17, 1765.
Dorcas,
September 25, 1767.
Daniel, 66 September 23, 1769.
Of the sons, REUBEN, the oldest, married Mary, daughter of Doct. Samuel Cobb, April 21, 1774, and died October 25, 1776, of consumption, occasioned by hardships suffered while in the revolutionary army, leaving only one child-a son named Solomon, who was born July 3, 1775; whose grand- children still occupy the lands of their forefathers.
ELIJAH, second son of Dea. Elijah Chapman,-captain in the revolutionary army, sheriff of Tolland county, &c., received an extended notice in the History of Tolland County, published in the Tolland County Record, which it is unnecessary to repeat here. He married Sarah Keeler, of Ridgefield, a lady of unusual worth, and his home and place of his death was in a house (now owned by John Doyle,) which he built on the land of his ancestors. He was the father of Elijah Chap- man, first cashier of Tolland County Bank, who united an unusual elegance of manners with an excellent character, and who died at Akron, Ohio, in 1849, aged fifty-nine years.
ASHBEL, third son of Dea. Elijah Chapman, married Miss Lord, of Marlborough, and continued through life on lands received from his father. His sons were: Col. Ashbel Chap- man, lately of Tolland, deceased, who always resided on the '
65
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
paternal acres ; Col. Carlos Chapman, now of Windsor Locks; and Col. John B. Chapman, late of Warehouse point, deceased.
AARON, fourth son of Dea. Elijah Chapman, resided during life in the house built by the first Capt. Samuel Chapman, for his son Elijah, father of Aaron, and in which he (Elijah) had resided after marriage, all his life,-the same house being now owned by Daniel, son of Aaron. Dea. Aaron Chapman married a Miss Buel, of Marlborough, and died in December, 1842, aged seventy-seven years, leaving two sons-Novatus and Daniel.
SIMON, youngest son of Capt. Samuel Chapman, married Eunice Preston, April 22, 1762. He died in 1823, aged ninety - years.
Their children were :
Eunice, born February 23, 1763.
Simon,
66 June 17, 1764, died December 25, 1767.
Henry, 66 March 31, 1776, died April 11, 1775.
Simon, 66 February 12, 1768.
Nathan,
66 November 5, 1769.
Hannah, 66 August 23, 1773.
Eunice, wife of Simon Chapman, died April 12, 1775. He married for his second wife, Lydia Carlton, of Tolland. Their children were :
Alexander, born February 14, 1780.
Jacob,
August 29, 1782.
Lydia, 66 July 9, 1784, died July 27, 1784.
Ariel,
June 24, 1786.
William,
April 19, 1789.
Erastus,
April 19, 1792.
Lydia, 66 November 13, 1795.
SARAH, daughter of Capt. Samuel Chapman, married Na- thaniel Kingsbury, March 16, 1737, and died July 14, 1794. He died June 23, 1796. Nathaniel Kingsbury was a son of Nathaniel Kingsbury, of Coventry, settled. in Tolland about the time of his marriage, on lands granted to him by his father-in-law, and on which his posterity continue to reside. Nathaniel Kingsbury was a deacon of the church in Tolland many years. The children of Nathaniel and Sarah Kingsbury were :
Hannah, born January 25, 1738.
Sarah,
February 15, 1739.
Three in succession who died in infancy.
Ruth, born October 7, 1750.
Nathaniel, 66
May 5, 1753.
Jabez, 66 March 10, 1756.
Samuel, 66 February 2, 1763.
Jabez, son of Nathaniel and Sarah Kingsbury, married
9
66
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
Anna Hatch, daughter of Joseph Hatch, 2d, August 15, 1776. He died March 25, 1844, aged eighty-eight years. His wife died June 12, 1842, aged eighty-three. Their chil- dren were :
Sarah, born December 18, 1776.
Mary, 66 January 1, 1778, died February 7, 1778.
John, 66 October 28, 1782.
Jabez Kingsbury was many years deacon of the Congrega- tional church, was a justice of the peace twelve years, was six years a selectman, and was elected to the General Assem- bly three sessions, discharging his various public and private duties with unusual ability. He was one of the few who can carry on a very extensive farming business with perfect suc- cess, and without noise, hurry, or confusion.
Col. John Kingsbury, son of Jabez and Anna, married Sally Dimock, November 1, 1804. She died December 11, 1819, aged 37 years. Second wife, Sally Edgerton, November 1, 1821, who died April 20, 1824. Col. Kingsbury married for his third wife, Mary Brigham of Coventry. Their chil- dren are :
John Brigham, born October 1, 1826.
George Henry,
November 22, 1828.
Col. John Kingsbury died in March, 1861, aged seventy- eight years.
RUTH, daughter of Capt. Samuel Chapman, married Elea- zar Steel, as before stated in the notice of the Steel family.
HANNAH, daughter of Capt. Samuel Chapman, married Stephen Steel, Jr., as also previously noticed.
MARGARET, daughter of Capt. Samuel Chapman, married Samuel Ladd, April 28, 1768, and died February 14, 1813. He died May 18, 1814. Their children were :
Ruth, born January 18, 1769.
Samuel,
May 11, 1770.
Margaret, 66 October 8, 1772.
Mary, 66 November 28, 1775.
Wareham, 66 April 28, 1778.
Jacob, 66 December 14, 1781.
MARY, daughter of Capt. Samuel Chapman, married Solo- mon Loomis-the date I can not find. She died February 24, 1774, aged forty-two years. Their children were :
Simon,
born March 7, 1758.
Solomon,
September 27, 1760.
Luke, April 11, 1764, died April 27.
Epaphras,
September 10, 1768.
67
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
The Chapman family has been eminently distinguished in civil as well as military life. Capt. Samuel Chapman, the first settler, was the only justice of the peace in Tolland for nine years, holding the office at the time of his death, and was selectman eleven years.
Col. Samuel Chapman was elected to the General Assem- bly forty-three times, when the election of members was twice a year, and attended at fifteen special sessions of that body. He was a member of the convention in January, 1788, and voted for the adoption of the present constitution of the United States. He was two years selectman, and twenty-six years, (from 1772 to 1797,) a justice of the peace, when there were but two justices in the town.
Dea. Elijah Chapman, (also captain of militia,) was four times elected to the General Assembly, and eight years select- man.
Gen. Elijah Chapman, (captain in the revolutionary army and major-general of the militia,) was sheriff of Tolland county twenty-three years, and a member of the legislature two sessions. For his biography, see county history.
Capt. Ashbel Chapman was justice of the peace, holding the office at the time of his death, selectman three years, in the Legislature four years, and was a member of the conven- tion in 1818 which formed the present constitution of the state, and voted in the affirmative upon the question of adopt- ing that instrument.
Dea. Aaron Chapman, (of the Baptist church, of which he was the deacon, leader, and principal support for many years previous to his death,) was a selectman three years.
Col. Eliakim Chapman was in the General Assembly one year, and one year a selectman.
Simon Chapman, senior, was selectman two years.
Simon Chapman, Jun., was a captain of militia, a deacon, (which title in those days superseded the other,) and four years a selectman.
Col. Ashbel Chapman, son of Ashbel, was representative one year, and justice of the peace ten years, holding the office at the time of his death.
68
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
Col. Carlos Chapman was selectman one year, representa- tive two years, sheriff of Tolland county two years, and four years a justice of the peace.
Novatus Chapman was representative two years, justice of the peace four years, selectman three years, sheriff of Tol- land county three years, clerk of the courts one year, and judge of probate for the district of Tolland four years.
For nearly seventy years there has been a family of Chap- mans in Tolland, distinct in descent from the foregoing, but descendants from Robert Chapman, one of the earliest and principal settlers of Saybrook. I allude to the late Capt. Ezra Chapman, whose residence was in the village of Sknug- amug. He was the son of Ezra Chapman, who was an ensign of Capt. Horton's company of artificers, in Col. Baldwin's regiment in the revolutionary contest, entering the service for the war, August 6, 1777, and continuing therein until his death, September 1, 1778. His only child-Ezra, of Tolland, was born in Hebron, March 26, 1773; was apprenticed to the trade of a blacksmith, (which was that of his father,) and when of age settled in Tolland, where he resided until his death, February 18, 1851, at the age of seventy-eight years. In the apparent enjoyment of his usual health, and while seated at his fireside, he fell into that sleep that knows no waking. Capt. Chapman married Lydia M. Whittlesey, July 6, 1797, by whom he had four children, two of whom still survive, and (with their children and grandchildren,) are citizens of Tolland, viz. : Capt. Sherman Chapman, born January 23, 1803, and Mary, wife of Ansel S. Barber, born March 30, 1805. Mrs. Lydia M. Chapman died December 14, 1806, and Capt. Chapman married for his second wife, Abigail Morgan, May 20, 1809, by whom he had seven chil- dren, one of whom, Mrs. Mason Agard, is now a resident of Tolland.
Capt. Ezra Chapman was a man of some prominence. He was quite early made captain of a militia company in Tolland, was a selectman six years, a justice of the peace six years, and a member of the General Assembly two sessions. He was a very industrious man, honest and upright in his deal-
69
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TOLLAND.
ings, and in every way a worthy citizen. He read more than ordinary men, reflected much, and was very happy in ex- pressing his ideas upon paper. He had a ready pen in draw- ing the ordinary written agreements used among his neighbors, and excelled in his epistolary efforts-many of his letters bearing marks of thought and scholarship.
WILLS or WILLES. This is one of the names that stand prominent among the early settlers of Tolland. Joshua Wills was an inhabitant of the town of Windsor. His name appears on the petition of the Windsor men for a new town- ship, bearing date May 9, 1713, and presented to the General Assembly at its ensuing session. It also appears as one of the inhabitants of Tolland, on the petition relative to Cov- entry lands, presented May session, 1718.
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