The history and genealogies of ancient Windsor, Connecticut, Vol. I, Part 17

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Hartford, Conn., Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard company
Number of Pages: 1038

USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Windsor > The history and genealogies of ancient Windsor, Connecticut, Vol. I > Part 17

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We connuenee, then, at THE PALISADO GREEN, the veritable shrine of Windsor history and romance. Very pleasant it is, as we see it now in the warm sunset light of a summer day, lined with noble trees, behind whose waving travery neat and elegant dwellings assert the presence of happy homes. On this spot, more than two centuries ago, our fathers dwelt. Here, protected by the rude log defense which their own hands had thrown up, they slept secure from savage foe. Here stood the meeting-house wherein the gentle Warham and the earnest Huit preached

1 The map here given is not the same as that published in the first edition of this work, but is a copy of a later and corrected one, prepared by Mr. d. H. Hayden for the Memorial Hist. of Hartford County, 1886.

136

HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

and prayed. Here, too, was the little village graveyard close under the palisado wall, where, one by one, they put off life's toils and cares and laid them down to an eternal rest.

The history of this interesting locality is as follows:

Upon the breaking out of the Pequot war, in 1637, the Windsor people, as a precaution against surprisal by the Indians, surrounded their dwellings at this spot with a fortification or palisado. This con- sisted of strong high stakes or posts, set close together, and suitably strengthened on the inside, while on the outside a wide ditch was dug, the dirt from which was thrown up against the palisades, and the whole formed a tolerably strong defense against any slender resources which the uncivilized Indian could bring to bear against it. It was, of course, necessary to keep a constant guard within the enclosure, to prevent the enemy from climbing over or setting fire to the palisades. It was the fatigue of supplying these watches that so exhausted the men (as Mr. Indlow sorrowfully wrote to Mr. Pynchon during the absence of the Pequot expedition ), "that they could scarce stand upon their legs."

The whole length of this line of palisades was more than three- fourths of a mile, enclosing an irregular parallelogram of considerable extent. From the southwest corner of the burying-ground it extended along the brow of the hill overlooking the Farmington east ward to the Meadow Hill. ' This south line was 60 rods long: and along the south side of the passage leading from the meeting-house to the burying-ground are now (1891) to be seen the remains of a ditch, believed to have been a part of the south line of the fortification. Its west line extended northward 69 rods along the brow of the hill west of the burying-ground. Its east line ran along the brow of the Meadow Hill, 80 rods northward, and its north line ran across from hill to hill near the present residence of Mrs. Giles Ellsworth, and was 50 rods in length.

When the first palisado was built, those who had their home lots within its limits resigned their title for the benefit of the whole commu- nity. Matthew Grant, for instance, says that he originally had six aeres, but resigned it all up except where his buildings stood. This was the case with others. The following Plan of the Palisado was drawn in 1654 by Matthew Grant, who was at that time recorder. He thus dis- courses concerning it :

- -

137

PLAN AND DESCRIPTION OF THE ANCIENT PALISADO.

Town house.

Cap!

Egelston

Grant

Hi Way

Dible

7: Parsons

Philups

W. Gaylord

Against the Meadow.

Fyler

Burying place

D.Wilton

Rivulet. Plan of the Ancient Palisado Plot in/ Windsor, 1654.

And seeing I am entered into the palisado, I will speak a little of the original of it; about 1637 years, when the English had war with the Pequot Indians, our inhabit ants on Sandy Bank gathered themselves nearer together from their remote dwellings. to provide for their safety, set up on fortifying, and with palizado, which [land] some particular men resigned up out of their properties for that end, and [it] was laid out into small parcels, to build upon; some four rods in breadth, some five, six, seven, some eight -it was set out after this manner:

" These building places were at first laid out of one length, that was sixteen rods, but differ [in breadth] as aforest. Also on all sides within the outmost fence, there was left two rods in breadth for a common way, to go round within side the Palizado." to the rear of the building lots. This left an open space in the center (marked W in the plan) nearly 20 rods wide and 30 rods long.

When peace was again restored. " divers men left their places [in the Palizado] and returned to their lots [outside] for their conveniences. Some that staid (by consent of the town) enlarged their gardens. Some had 2, some 3, some 4 plats to their own pro priety, with the use of the two rods in breadth round the outside, every one according to his breadth, only with this reserve. Concerning the two rods, that if, in future time there be need of former fortification, to be repaired, that then each man should resign up the aforess two rods for a way only for common use. Note, that in the west corner of the aforest plat there is reserved for a common Burying Ground, one particular par cel that is six rods in breadth, all the length on one side, and one end take it together. it is eight rod in breadth, and eighteen in length."

This plan shows the division of lots and owners seventeen years after the Pequot War. We now propose to show its distribution and inhabit- ants previous to 1650.

VOL. 1 .- 18

Palizado Plott.

ME Clark

Marshel

Strony

138

HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

Along the southerly side of the Palisado, beginning with the bury- ing-ground in its southwest corner, we find the lots of FRANCIS GIBBS, THOMAS BASSETT, WILLIAM HILL, and Lient. DAVID WILTON. These lots cover the ground now occupied by the new part of the burying-ground, and by the First Congregational Church. Also, on land now occupied by the road to the bridge and the residence of the late Misses Stiles, etc .. were the lots of Sergt. WALTER FILER and THOMAS THORNTON, the latter lot being that now known as the Deacon Morgan place, and occupied by Dr. Samuel Wilson. Past this place, a road turned down out of the south- casterly corner of the Palisado, to the meadow- the old Rivulet Ferry road - as it does even now.

Beginning at this road, along the easterly side of the Palisado, as we go north, were the lots of Capt. JOHN MASON ( present Howard place), HENRY CLARKE ( Fowler place), Rev. Mr. HUIT (Chaffee place). Sergt. STAIRES, GEO. PHILLIPS ( about Holcomb place ). W.M. HUBBARD, MATTHEW GRANT, and the Tows HOUSE, located where the present Congregational parsonage now stands.

The Tows HOUSE lot was originally Nicholas Denslow's, who resided thereon during the Pequot war. He sold it to Capt. Samuel Marshall. who "dabbled in real estate" considerably in those days, in 1654 ( though not recorded until 1656) ; and he sold it to the " inhabitants of Windsor, for a town house" (probably it had been previously rented by them for the same purpose). In the deed it is described as his - dwell- ing-house, barn, orchard, and land about it one acre more or less," together with a wood lot of twenty aeres, etc., which the said inhabitants were " forever, fully and freely to enjoy for the benefit and entertainment of a minister successively." Shortly after, however (Feb. 10, 1656-7), at a town meeting, it "was called into question the legalness of the record of the town house, whereupon it was voted that the Townsmen should canso the whole town to meet as conveniently as they would, giv- ing sufficient warning of the particular occasion to each man engaged in the purchase, that so there might be a joint debate for future settling of it. Also, in the meantime, Matthew Grant [ who occupied the adjacent lot ] was appointed by vote to see to the preserving of the house and orchard, and when any fruit came to ripeness the Townsmen should have the dispos- ing of it for the benefit of the Town " ( Town Arts. i. 33). The orchard, indeed, seems to have been a more important matter than the house, and hence the property is frequently designated as the " Town Orchard."

The matter dragged somewhat. for, "September 28, the Town met to answer the appointment on the 8th of June before, but in the meeting little was done, but only the major part manifested themselves desirous to have the house soll, and every one to have his pay returned back to him which he had laid out, if the sale of the house would reach to it," and

139

THE TOWN HOUSE AND BARN.

the presumptive evidence is that the sale did not take place. The same town-house was in existence in 1669-70, when it was refitted and occu- pied as a meeting-house by the party under the Rev. Mr. Woodbridge. Six years later it was in a ruinous and dilapidated state, and the refusal of the town to repair it " upon a town cost," formed a serious " bone of contention" in the ceclesiastical dissensions which raged so fiercely at that period. It was occupied by the Woodbridge faction until the settle- ment of the controversy in 1681 ; and was then "finished and made suitable " for the residence of Rev. Mr. Samuel Mather, who became the pastor of the reconciled and united churches. At the end of another decade, however, the building had outlived its usefulness, for, " at a Town Meeting in Windsor, the 28th of December, 1692. it was voted that the Town would not repair the town house. At the same meeting, it was voted to give to Timothy Thrall. Sen', the town house." But the lot has ever since been used as the parsonage lot.

On the same lot, perhaps, was the TOWN BARN, a very necessary ac- commodation as a place of deposit to which the inhabitants could bring the corn, peas, wheat, etc., in which they paid their taxes. Probably it was the old barn on the place, mentioned in Marshall's deed of sale to the town : for in January, 1659, "it was voted that the town barn should be put to sale, and that Mr. Allyn and Mr. Clarke should do it on behalf of the Town;" but they evidently did not effect a sale, for in December of the same year, it was " agreed by the Town that the town barn shall be repaired and thatched." Finally, De- cember, 1659. the old barn was sold to Sammel Marshall for £13 10x., ho is to "give bill for the payment, either in wheat, pease, Indian corn, or pork at £3: 10%. the barrel."

The north line of the town-house lot marks the northern boundary of the P'alisado, and here, says Matthew Grant, " also from the Palisado, runs a way northeasterly, called the common street, and is to be four rods wide "- the present main street.

Across, on the west side of this " common road" as it emerges from the Palisado, we come, on the northerly side of the Palisado, to the lots of JOHN TAYLOR, THOMAS NOWELL, and BEGAT EGGLESTON. Separ- ated from them by a little lane, and in the northwest corner of the Pali- sado, were the lots of ELIAS PARKMAN and Capt. AARON Cook, and another lot of Mr. Init's. In the course of time, the shape of the interior of the Palisado has become a long triangle instead of a square, and these lots on the west and north sides (viz., Taylor's to Huit's) are now repre. sented by the Dr. Pierson place and Dr. Wilson's former place of residence.

South of the Pierson place was the road leading westerly, thus described by Matthew Grant : " There goeth out of the Palisado towards

140

HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

northwest a highway two rods wide ; when past the house plots it is larger." This leads out towards Sandy Hill and to Hoyte's Meadow.

South of this road, and on the westerly side of the Palisado, were the lots of MICHAEL TRY and NICHOLAS SENSION ; south of Sension's was a lane, marked on the old Palisado plan, which was evidently the access to the burying-ground. Huit's place is the present Gen. Pierson place : Sension's and the lane, the present Wid. Anson Loomis' property ; which brings us to our point of beginning, in the Palisado Green.

The ancient MEETING-HOUSE stood in about the center of the open central space, the spot being marked by a telegraph pole in front of the Pierson residence. About seven rods in front of Michael Try's lot, as originally laid out, and facing the western side of the meeting-house. stood the BLACKSMITH'S SHOP. This was three or four rods in the rear of the present Pierson honse. We learn from the Town Acts (Bk. i. 4), that, in 1650-1, March 17th, " the Town did order by a vote that there shall be a plot of ground laid out within the Palisado by Thomas Par- son's house to build a house for the Smith upon it." The smith. thus favored, was probably Thomas Mattock, who, by a previous vote of the town, had been granted an appropriation of $10 to " help him set up his trade in the town, provided he continued his trade." If not, he was to refund it again ( Town Acts, Bk. i. 4). From some unexplained eanse, however, Mattock seems not to have settled in Windsor. Tahan Grant, son of our old friend Matthew, is the first blacksmith on record, and or- cupied the place " by Thomas Parsons," granted by the town. In 1662. he purchased from Parsons' widow, Lydia, her dwelling-house, with the land about it (about three acres, part of the present Pierson estate ), and had " also, by gift of the town, a small parcel of land near about } of an acre in the street that lies between that which he bought [i. e., in front of it] and the smith's shop. He has all the breadth against his own [property ] and [it ] runs according to the range betwixt him and Walter Gaylord [Sension lot ], up to range with the foreside of the shop, and is 6 rods, 2 feet in breadth as it faces against the Meeting-house:" by which we are to understand that he was permitted to extend his lot east into the Palisado common about seven rods, in a line with the east side of his smith's shop, which faced the meeting-house.

Next south of this lot of Grant's there stood (though at a period subsequent to the date of the Palisado map) a BARBER'S SHOP, kept by James Eno, who came to Windsor about 1646. In the Land Records, under date of Nov. 28. 1663, is " recorded the grant of a stray of land of James Eno in the Palisado, to build him a shop upon to barber in, and he has now built it." This grant was one rod in breadth next to that of Tahan Grant's, and ran back a rod till it met Walter Gaylord's fence. which was its west bonnd. It will be seen, therefore, that it was quite a

1 !

JEGGLESTON

NOWELL

TAYLOR.

TOWN .

PARKMAN

GRANT

COOKE

HUBBARD

PHILLIPS.

TRY.

MEETING

HOUSE

STAIRES

HUIT.

H.CLARKE

GROUND.

: BURYING

F. GIBBS.

BASSETT.

HILL.

WILTON

FILER

THORNTON

RIVULET

PLAN OF THE PALISADO (ENLARGED BY J. H. HAYDEN). (By courtesy of the publishers of " The Memorial History of Hartford County.")

OLD STONE FORT, OR STOUGHTON HOUSE.

MASON

SENSION.

PALISADO.

HUIT.

141

'THE OLD FORT, OR STOUGHTON HOUSE.

small lot, bounded northerly by Grant, west by Gaylord, southerly and easterly by the Palisado Common.

Having completed our survey of the Palisado, we pass out at the northeast corner, along the "common road"? or " Main Street," trac- ing the lots of the following early settlers (the houses of most being on the east side of the highway, between it and the river ). THOMAS DEWEY, Capt. AARON COOKE, WILLIAM HOSFORD, NICHOLAS DENSLOW. Mr. STEPHEN TERRY, Mr. GEORGE HULL, THOMAS BUCKLAND, Dea. WILLIAM ROCKWELL, JOSEPH CLARKE, and ROBERT WINCHELL. where we come to the present Bissell's Ferry road.

Then we come to the home-lots and residences of JOSHUA CARTER, WILLIAM TILLY, WILLIAM HANNUM, RICHARD SAMWAYS, PHILIP RANDALL. THOMAS HOLCOMB, THOMAS GUNN, and " Ancient " THOMAS STOUGHTON. whose stone house. or " old Stone Fort," as it was called, deserves a special mention.

This ancient edifice, (which, in 1859 - while we were engaged in pre- paring the first edition of this work -was only remembered by Miss Lucretia Stiles, and one or two other very aged persons.) was situated about a mile north of the Congregational meeting-house, on the east side of the street, opposite to and a few rods north of Mr. Lemuel Welch's residence. It stood back from the road, near the brow of the hill overlooking the meadows, where an old well still marks the spot, - the building itself having been pulled down about 1809. From the description of the before-mentioned old people, living in 1859, we " recon- structed" a picture of the old building which will afford the present generation a pretty fair idea of its appearance.

The Old Fort, or Stoughton House, was composed of two portions, one builded of stone and the other of wood. The stone part, which was probably somewhat the oldest. stood parallel with the road, and its walls were constructed of heavy, nnent stones, pierced with two small diamond-paned windows, set in lead, and with numerous lurking port- holes, which peeped suspiciously out from under the eaves of the high- peaked roof. At the northern end, or gable, of the house, a gigantic chimney was built into the wall. At the east, or back part of the house. as we should now consider it, was the door, framed of heavy oaken tim-

1 Roads, which at first were barely passable, were located where they could be most easily built. Streams which needed bridging, or swamps, were to be avoided at the ex- pense of distances. The records of Windsor, under date of 1656, define the street or road running north from the Palisado, as "four rods wide as far as any house lots are laid out. viz., to the upper side of William Hayden's lot." The serpentine course of that road is not because of swamps ; but, as each of the first settlers north of the Pali- sado built his house and barn near the brow of the meadow hill, the road was built to accommodate the settlers, rather than the generations of travelers who were to come after them.

142

HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

bers, strongly studded and clinched with iron spikes; and bearing. if we may credit tradition, sundry suggestive hacks and ents of Indian toma- hawks.

Joined to, and at a right angle, with this stone building, with whose front its gable end was parallel, stood the larger and more modern frame dwelling - in general appearance similar to the other part, except that its windows and doors were more numerous ; and in its huge chimney was a stone on which were rudely seulptured the initials T. M and the date of its erection, 1669. These were the initials of THOMAS and MARY (Wadsworth) STOUGHTON, his wife, whose descendants retain the prop- erty unto this day.

Since our first edition was published we have received. through the kindness of Mrs. Waldo Hutchins, of New York city, a description of "the Old Fort," written in 1802, when it was still standing, by Oliver Ells- worth, Jr., son of the Chief Justice. He says, "This ancient building is still inhabited and in a pretty good state of preservation, having been covered probably several times. The old frame still remaining is very large, strong work, and the old walls of the house, in many places now remaining, were built only of mud and stones filled in between the joists or timbers, and then on the outside covered over with boards. The north front of the house is built of stone. On the chimney is marked the time when the present stack was built, viz., " 1669," with the figure 3 upon the same chimney, denoting, it is said by people living in the neighborhood, that this is the third stack of chimneys built since the house was raised, the first stack said to have been very rough."

But if the exterior of the Old Fort was grim and quaint. its interior seems to have left upon the minds of those who knew it a still stronger impression of mysterious and romantic interest. They love to dwell upon the pleasure which they experienced as children in roaming about its rambling apartments; in climbing the ancient winding stairway, which even in their day was " tottering to decay," thus endangering both life and limb to obtain the happiness of a peep through the loop-holes in the wall. They particularized especially the many queer nooks and dark corners with which the place abounded, as well as divers grim and euri- ous prints and articles of furniture which excited their childish wonder and admiration. The old house also contained an ancient helmet and piece of armor, undoubtedly used by some valiant Windsor soldier in the Pequot wars; but these valuable relies, as they would be to us now, were sold, ignobly sold, to a peddler, for - mention it not in antiquarian ears -old iron ! Shade of valiant Thomas Stoughton, or possibly even of Worshipful Major John Mason! this steel cap and breast-plate which perhaps protected thy stalwart form in the "battle's heat and roar," sold, regardless of its inspiring associations, at one cent and a half a

1 |

143

OLD ELLSWORTH AND STILES HOUSES.

pound! A curious bow and sheaf of arrows, of gigantie proportions, were also contained in the building, and afterwards passed into the Ells- worth family, but are now lost.

Above Stoughton's were the places of ANTn. HOSKINS, WILLIAM GAYLORD, GEORGE HULL, HUMPHREY PINNEY, JOSIAH HULL, JOHN ROCK- WELL, JOHN HAWKES, ANTHONY HAWKINS, PETER TILTON, RICHARD OLD- AGE, JOHN, FRANCIS, and THOMAS STILES, WILLIAM GAYLORD, Jr., which brings us to the old Bissell's ferry-road.

The lands of the Stiles brothers and of Wm. Gaylord comprised what afterwards passed into the hands of Lient. Josiah Ellsworth, and is still held in that family. Oliver Ellsworth. Jr., writing in 1802. speaks of a fort, or fortitied house, which stood " about a mile and a half North of the Little River, and abont a quarter of a mile West from Connecticut River [on, or near the meadow bank] within a few rods of the house of Oliver Ellsworth, Esq" (the Chief Justice, his father). This - Ells- worth Fort." as he calls it. " appears to have been inhabited by Sgt. Josiah Ellsworth, grandfather of Judge Ellsworth, who has been told by an old man in Windsor. now about 90 years of age, that he remembered his (i. e. Deacon Hayden's ) mother' telling him that she had been down to the okl fort to sleep nights; for it is said that the inhabitants of the town were in dread of Indians at times for many years after the settle- ment of the place. The remains of the old Ellsworth house or fort are still visible in the hollow of a cellar a few rods south of the house of Judge Ellsworth."

Mr. Ellsworth also records that " at that time [i. e. the time referred to by the tradition which he is recording in 1802] there was a house which stood a little North of Judge Ellsworth's, inhabited by one STILES, who lived an old bachelor, within the memory of my uncle David and my father: this house, my unele says, was used as a fort originally, as appears probable from the following circumstance, viz. : that the sides of the house were built of timbers put one by the side of the other com-

' Deacon Hayden's mother was Anna Holcomb, born at Poquonock, 1675 (time of " King Philip's War"), was married to Sergt. Samuel Hayden, 1704. They lived at flayden Station, opposite the present residence of Samuel B. Hayden, nearly a mile north of the " Fort " here designated. I have a story of this great-great-grandmother of mine which I think may be of interest in this connection. When her first child (born 1706) was an infant, a man reputed to know too much about witchcraft came for her husband to go to watch with a sick neighbor ; she demurred because theirs was the last house, and she was afraid of the Indians. The witch-man upbraided her for objecting, and the husband went, and the dear old grandmother " raked up the fire." pushed the bed back against the wall. and went to bed with her baby between herself and the wall. Waking in the night, the baby was gone. "Raking open the fire " and lighting her candle, she found little Anna lying under the bed fast asleep, close to the wall where she had fallen: and the bed was so close to the wall that the mother could not get her hand between them. J. 11. HAYDEN.

1.14

HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

partly, then covered over the timbers quite thick. However my father [the Chief Justice] thinks this was only the mode of building at that time." 1

The Stiles referred to was undoubtedly THOMAS (son of Henry, son of Sgt. Henry, son of John the emigrant, born 1690, and who died aged about 70), thus spoken of by Miss Lucretia Stiles (who d. 1879, æ. 92). " There was a man by the name of Thomas Stiles, that my grandmother used to call 'I'nele' when she spoke of him. He had a farm and a lonely house on Rocky Ilill. I do not know that he ever had a family, but I know that in the after part of his life he lived almost alone there. His house was standing when I was a child, and I used to visit it often. It was a ruin then." Mr. Oliver Ellsworth, Jr.'s, manuscript further says, " All, or about all of these lots in our neighborhood belonged orig- inally to the Stiles', even our own lot."

Above the old Bissell's ferry-road dwelt JOHN BISSELL, Sr., JOHN DRAKE, Mr. JOHN ST. NICHOLAS'S lot, THOMAS GILBERT, and WILLIAM HAYDEN, the then "outpost " of the Windsor settlement to the north. Above him and beyond the crossing by Gunn's Brook, the road divides into two, one " running northwesterly to Norwoet." Northampton ; the other through the upland " to Pine Meadow," present Windsor Locks.2

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The history and genealogies of ancient Windsor, Connecticut, Vol. I, Part 17

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909 Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Hartford, Conn., Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard company Number of Pages: 1038

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Hartford, Conn., Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard company
Number of Pages: 1038