USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > The history of Waterbury, Connecticut; the original township embracing present Watertown and Plymouth, and parts of Oxford, Wolcott, Middlebury, Prospect and Naugatuck. With an appendix of biography, genealogy and statistics > Part 16
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JUDD.
Thomas Judd, ancestor of the Judds of New England, came from England in 1633 or 1634, and settled first in Cambridge, near Boston, where lands were granted him in 1634. He re- moved to Hartford in 1636 and to Farmington about 1644, where he lived till 1679, and buried his wife. He then went to Northampton and married a widow Mason, who was child- less and had a good estate. There he died Nov. 9, 16SS. Ile was the second deacon of the church of Farmington and a deputy from that town in 1657, and afterwards.
His children were :
1. William, and 2. Elizabeth. Both of them were born between 1633 and 1636, but it is uncertain which was the oldest. 3. Thomas ; b. about 1738. 4. John; b. abont 1740. Ile was a non-fulfilling subscriber. 5. Benjamin; b. about 1642 -a non-fulfilling subscriber. 6. Mary ; b. about 1644; m. June 1, 1662, Thomas Loomis of Windsor. 7. Ruth ; b. 1646-7, m. John, son of John Steele. 8. Philip; b. 1649 and baptized Sept. 2, 1649. 9. Samuel ; b. about 1653. His fath- er subscribed the articles for him in 1674. He proposed join- ing the settlement in Mattatuek and had allotments of fence in the first and fourth divisions ; but he failed at the critical time, and joined his father in Northampton, where he died in 1721.
William Judd, the eldest son of Dea. Thomas of Farming- ton and the father of Dea. Thomas of Waterbury, married Mary, daughter of John Steele, March 30, 1658, and died late in 1690, leaving an ample estate of £693. His inventory was presented to Court, Nov. 5, 1690." His widow, Mary, died
* I cannot reconcile these dates, taken from Mr. Sylvester Judd's Genealogy of Thomas Judd, with an entry on the Farmington record, which, under date of March 20, 1690-91, refers to " Thomas Judd son of William, both residents of Waterbury." Perhaps I have made a mis- take in copying.
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
Oct. 27, 1718, aged about eighty. The children's births are inferred from the baptisms, and the age given by the probate record. Their names were :
1. Mary ; b. 1658 ; m. Abel Janes of Northampton. 2. Thomas ; b. 1662, (baptized Oct. 13, 1662.) 3. John ; b. 1667, and d. in Farmington, 1710, leaving three children. 4. Ra- chel ; b. 1770; d. unmarried, 1703. 5. Samuel; b. 1673 ; m. Ann Hart, in 1710 and Abigail Phelps of Westfield, in 1725. He lived in Farmington, had children and died 1728. 6. Dan- iel ; b. 1675 ; lived in Farmington ; m. in 1705, Mercy Mitch- ell of Woodbury ; d. April 29, 1748, having had eight child- ren. 7. Elizabeth ; b. 1678 ; was living in 1718 unmarried.
All the sons of Dea. Judd of Farmington, six in number, signed the articles, first and last ; but only two became per- manent settlers of Waterbury.
LIEUT. THOMAS JUDD.
Thomas Judd, the second son of Deacon Thomas of Farm- ington, was one of the original thirty. He subscribed as Thomas Judd, Jr. Afterwards, when his son Thomas became proprietor, he was known as Thomas Judd, Sen., and finally as Lieut. Thomas Judd. He was one of the first company of settlers, and discharged promptly all his obligations as a plant- er. He shirked no responsibility, and exposed himself to no censure or rebuke. He was one of the assignees to whom the first Indian deed was made over, in Sept. 1677, and was a grantee in the other and later Indian deeds. He is named in the first division of fence, and was one of the committee to lay it out, Jan. 1677-8. IIe had a like interest and a like agency in the other divisions. After his brother William abandoned the settlement, he was more than any other single person the leading man of the infant town. He was general- ly named by the grand committee as one of the persons who were to act in their absence, in certain emergencies. In the discharge of his duties as committee, John Stanley was usu- ally associated with him. Judd's name was nearly always men- tioned first, in part, perhaps, because he was older than Stanley.
Thomas Judd lived on the north side of West Main street, next east of John Bronson, his lot of two and one quarter
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
acres, extending through to the back street, bounded, in Nov. 1687, easterly on Daniel Warner, westerly on John Bronson, &c. After his death, his son Thomas took the old home- stead.
Thomas Judd was one of the patentees in the first town patent. He was called sergeant in 1682 and afterwards, and occasionally ensign, (in copied records,) in 1686, 1687 and 1688. After Andros had abandoned the government, and the Water- bury train-band became entitled to a lieutenant, John Stanley received the commission of lieutenant, and Judd that of ensign. Why this precedence was given to Stanley, the junior in age, I am unable to say, unless he had some important ad- vantage over his friend in military bearing. However, Judd was compensated. He was the first deputy to the General Court, (in May, 1689,) and was often reelected to the office. IIe was the first commissioner of the town, and was continued in office till a law was passed requiring at least three or four justices of the peace in each county. He was then, (in 1699, or earlier,) appointed the first justice of the peace-a great honor ; and was annually reappointed till his death. In 1696, after Lieut. Stanley had removed to Farm- ington, he was promoted to a lieutenancy, the highest military office allowed in the town, till 1716. No doubt he bore him- self gallantly.
Lieut. Jndd died Jan. 10, 1702-3, "in the sixty-fifth year of his age," at a time when his assistance and counsel were much needed. His sons John and Thomas were administra- tors, and the inventory of his estate, amounting to £407, bore date Jan. 30, 1702-3. His wife, Sarah, daughter of John Steel of Farmington, died May 22, 1695, in " the fifty-seventh year of her age." They were both members of Mr. Hooker's church in Farmington, in 1680.
Children :
1. Thomas; born probably in 1663.
2. John. He received a grant of land as early as 1689-90-four acres-to be his on condition that he remained four years in the town ; but his name is rarely mentioned till after 1700. He was not a bachelor proprietor, it not being the practice to admit as such any person who had come into possession of another's right, by inheritance or otherwise ; but in virtue of the right of his father which was distributed to him, he had an addition of two forty pound rights. He was
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
surveyor in 1703 ; grand juror in 1705; townsman in 1706; town collector in 1707 ; town treasurer in 1712, &c. In Dec. 1713, he was appointed town clerk, which office he held till his death. His chirography is atrociously bad-worse even than that of his immediate predecessors in office. His last record was a part of a deed from himself to John Welton, dated and acknowledged May 5th, 1717. The record was finished by his successor, William Judd. His decease took place in the latter part of 1717, (N.S.) The inventory of his estate, amounting to £305, was taken Jan. 3, 1717-18. Capt. Thomas Judd was guardian of the four young- est children, in 1720.
John Judd had a house and house lot of one acre and a half which he obtained by exchange, March 4, 1704, of John Warner, bounded east on Jonathan Scott's house lot, north, south and west on highway. This he exchanged, Nov. 5, 1714, with Joseph Hickox of Durham, said Hickox conveying to him a house and lot of three and a half acres, lying between Cook, Grove and North Main streets, butted north, south, east and west on highways, where I suppose Judd afterwards lived.
3. Sarah ; m. Nov. 17, 1686, Stephen Hopkins, Jr., of Hartford. Her death is recorded in Waterbury as having taken place May 11, 1693, in the twenty-eighth year of her age. She left a son, Thomas, and two daughters.
PHILIP JUDD.
He was the sixth son of Dea. Thomas Judd, and m. Han- nah, d. of Thomas Loomis of Windsor. Not much is known of him. He subscribed the articles June 13, 1687, (having al- ready-in 1686-received some land grants,) being accepted in the place of his brother Samnel. He signed the agreement with Mr. Peck, in 1689, and died soon after. His death oc- curred before the expiration of the four years required by the articles of settlement, thus securing his right to his family. He was the first of the original proprietors who died in Wa- terbury. Ensign Thomas Judd and Thomas Judd, smith, ad- ministered on his estate. His inventory, taken Nov. 2, 1689, amounted to £237 in Waterbury, and £92 in Farmington. He was much in debt. The family removed from Waterbury, and the children all settled in Danbury.
Philip Judd's house lot of two acres ("yt fell to him by alot- ment") was on the north side of West Main street, next west of Joseph Hickox's home lot, and was bounded, March 27, 1708, west on Obadiah Richards, decd., east on William Hick- ox, north on common, south on highway, (no house mentioned at this date.) The lot was sold, Nov. 1711, by Benjamin Judd, son of Philip, to William Hickox, for £8, 10s., butted north on George Scott's land, and on the other sides as described above.
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
Children :
1. Philip ; baptized in Farmington, Mareh 13, 1680-81. He settled in Danbury (Bethel Society,) and died between 1760 and 1765, leaving children.
2. Thomas ; baptized May 27, 1683, and died young.
3. Hannah ; baptized in F. Oct. 19, 1684, and married Thomas Hoyt of Dan- bury. They were both living in April, 1721.
4. William ; baptized in F. July 3, 1687. He mar. Dec. 23, 1709, Mary, daugh- ter of Thomas Gridly of Farmington, where he had two daughters, Eunice and Elizabeth, born in 1710 and 1712-13. He removed thence first to Waterbury, then to Danbury. He was in the former place in 1716 and in the latter in 1717 and 1720. He appears to have been the " William Judd, tailor," of the Waterbury records.
5. Benjamin ; bap. in F. May 4, 1690. He was living in Danbury in 1711 and 1727. He became the owner of his father's £80 propriety and sold it to Timothy Hopkins.
THOMAS JUDD, THE SON OF WILLIAM.
His name is first mentioned in the Waterbury records, Dec. 31, 1685, when he had a grant of land from the pro- prietors "on ye north sid of his hous lot to bute on John Sconels thre acre lot." This house lot was one of two acres on Willow Street, north of John Scovill's, which had been granted to his father and forfeited, and then bestowed on the son. It is recorded as a part of the estate of the latter, under date of December 26, 1691, which was granted by the committee. He is next mentioned, Jan. 3, 1686, (1686-7,) and again March 27, 1687, and again Sept. 29, 1687. His name is on the list of proprietors of 1688, and he was again grantee of the town Jan. 21, 1689, (1689-90,) and again Jan. 29, 1690, (1690-91.) At the latter date, he received twenty acres of upland and other lands, with the customary provision, that he build a house and comply with the conditions of the articles .* March 20, 1690-91, he joined the church in Far- mington, and is described as of Waterbury. Sept. 23, 1690, he was chosen brander of the town, he to keep a record of the horses branded. March 15, 1691, he had a division of upland, and Jan. 20, 1692, (1692-3,) a grant on Burnt Hill. May 17, 1694, the town appointed him to stake out a grant to John Richards.
* The provision in this and other cases is not always sufficient evidence that the requirements of the articles as to building, &c., had not already been complied with. It seems often to have been inserted as a kind of form, and as a matter of safety should any dispute arise.
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
The above items, with the dates, I have given for the pur- pose of showing that Thomas Judd, the son of William, was a resident of Waterbury from the latter part of 1685 to May, 1694, in something like " a steady way." Why he was not a subscriber to Mr. Peck's £60 settlement in 1689-90, (as he ought to have been,) I am unable to say. That he was a pro- prietor during all this time there seems no sufficient reason to doubt. This would appear from his name being entered in the list of proprietors of 1688, and from a record of seven par- cels of land made in Jan. 1688-9, and Dec. 26, 1691, which lands were "granted him by the committee." The last par- cel, recorded under the last mentioned date, was " a hous lote of too acrs granted to his father as the above mentioned per- cels [the other six] were and after forfitur to him." At the last named date, too, he had a house lot of three quarters of an acre, on which his dwelling house stood, on the south side of West Main street, corner of Willow, butted north and east on a highway, south on the heirs of Benjamin Jones.
Adopting the conclusion that Thomas Judd, the son of William, was made a proprietor before 1688, receiving his father's forfeited allotments, and that he had fulfilled the con- ditions of the articles and secured his right before the record of Dec. 26, 1691, I have been much perplexed with the fol- lowing entry, made in the Proprietors' Book by Thomas Judd, Jr., and then copied by the same hand into the first volume of Land Records :-
Att a town meeting in mattatock february 25: 1695 the town granted to Thomas Judd soon of willyam judd ye a lot ment formerly granted to ye aboue sd willyam Judd provided he com and inhabit four yers in a settled or steady way from ye first of may next ensueing with the six acers granted for pastor excepted.
However difficult to conceive it, I am persuaded there is a mistake in the date of this record. Were the considerations already offered insufficient to prove it, we might find in the record itself good ground for suspicion. Waterbury was never called Mattatuck after the town was incorporated in 1686, unless by mistake ; and a mistake would not be likely to occur eight years after a change of name. Besides, there is no evidence that Judd had left town so that he could have
ympScoville
J K. ily. Printer N.
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
been properly invited, in 1695, "to come and inhabit four years," &c. I am persuaded, therefore, that the record quoted above should bear the date Feb. 25, 1685, (1685-6.)
In the extract below, Thomas Judd, son of William, is first called deacon :--
Att a town meeting in waterbury march: 27 1696 ye town gaue liberty to deac judd for ye enlarging of his shop to make use of six foots of ye highway at ye east end of his shop so long as he improue it for yt end
According to his tombstone, he was the first deacon of the Waterbury church. He was thirty-three years old in 1695, (the date of his probable appointment,) and the fact that he was selected at that early period of life for so responsible a posi- tion, with no associate in office for twenty-nine years, is a high tribute to the general good qualities of his head and heart.
The merits of Dea. Judd seem to have been in a measure unknown until about the time he was made an officer in the church. After that, and particularly after the death of Lieut. Judd, no other man in the town received such substantial evi- dence of the people's confidence and regard. He was many times townsman, school committee, rate-maker, &c. In Oct. 1696, he was, for the first time, deputy to the General Court, being associated with Lieut. Judd. Afterwards he was often the associate, in the town's representation, of Lieut. Judd, Thomas Judd, Jr., or schoolmaster, Lient. Timothy Stanley, Lieut. John Hopkins, Serg. Stephen Upson, and others, till 1733. After Lient. Judd's decease he was made a justice of the peace, which office he held . by annual appointment till 1729. During this time, he was the sole justice for Waterbury till 1725. He was one of the receivers appointed by the Gen- eral Court, in 1703, of funds collected for the Saybrook school. When the office of town clerk was made vacant by the re- moval of Thomas Judd, Jr., the deacon was chosen (April 26, 1709) to fill the place. Ile filled it, in a very poor way, till Dec. 1712. Writing (to say nothing of spelling) was, with him, the gift (better say infliction) of nature.
Dea. Thomas Judd was also a military man, and a very gal- lant one too, it is safe to say. He was made an ensign after Lieut. Judd's decease, in 1702-3, and held the place under Lieut. Timothy Stanley till 1715. He was then promoted and
11
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
became the first captain of the Waterbury train-band, the number of soldiers having reached sixty-four, thus giving the town the right to a captain.
Thomas Judd, the smith, was so called on account of his trade. He branded horses and hammered iron, in a rough way, for the settlers. His " deal post" was a place for public advertise- ments. A record made by himself, 1709-10, says-" the decons deal porst is to be estemd a sine porst for sad town." He was usually called "smith," or the " son of William," till he became a deacon, and " deacon " till he was made a cap- tain, and " captain " the remainder of his life. Occasionally, after the death of Lieut. Judd, and particularly in legal docu- ments, he is termed " senior " or "smith," to distinguish him from his cousin of the same name.
Capt. Judd, April 1, 1717, in consideration of lands at Great Swamp, conveyed to his only son William, his house and all his lands in Waterbury, except the divisions on the £100 propriety he bought of Jones. After this, he appears to have lived with his son many years; but Oct. 19, 1736, he purchased for £185 of Samuel Camp the place which Camp bought of Capt. William Hickox, six acres, with certain re- servations, where the house of C. B. Merriman now stands. Here Capt. Judd perhaps lived for a season ; but in 1739, he sold out to Rev. Mark Leavenworth, for £250.
Thomas Judd was married, Feb. 9, 1687-8, to Sarah, dangh- ter of Stephen Freeman, first of Milford, then of Newark, N. J. He died full of years and honors. Near the northwest corner of the old burying yard, a gravestone is standing on which may be read, with some difficulty, the following inscription :-
Here [lies ] the body of THOMAS JUDD, ESQ.
Justice
the
first Deacon & Captain in Waterbury, who died Jan'y ye 4th A. D. 1747 aged 79.
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
On the next stone close by, is another inscription with these words : "Sarah Judd, wife of Deac. Thomas Judd, dyed Sept. 8, 1738, in ye 69th year of her age."
There are two errors in Dea. Judd's inscription. He was not the first but the second justice, his uncle, Lieut. Judd, being the first ; and he was several years older than is stated. He must have been about 85. The inventory of his estate amounted to £2,279, 10s. 10d., being nominally larger than that of any inhabitant of Waterbury who had died before him. The currency, however, at this period was much depreciated. The silver headed cane of Captain Judd is now in the posses- sion of his descendant, Mr. Sylvester Judd of Northampton.
Children :
1. William ; b. May 7, 1689 ; bap. in Farmington, April 5, 1691, and m. Jan. 21, 1712-13, Mary, d. of Stephen Root of Farmington, where he settled, at the Great Swamp, so called, (Kensington, now Berlin.) About 1715, he returned to Waterbury, was made a £40 proprietor, and received a special grant out of the common lands, "he to fence for it." His father deeded to him, in 1717, his house and homestead, on the corner of Willow street, now occupied by John S. Kingsbury, where they both lived for many years. In 1735, however, April 12th, the son, in the way of exchange, conveyed all " his lands and buildings in the stated line of the common fence," (the place where he lived being included,) to Ebenezer Bronson, and removed to Westbury, where he d. Jan. 29, 1772. His farm lay in the southwest corner of the society, its southern border forming the boundary line. His first wife d. Dee. 11, 1751, having had nine children. He then married Widow Hope Lee, who survived him. Estate £579, 10s.
William Judd, after his return from Farmington, soon became more or less of a publie man, and repeatedly occupied posts of honor and responsibility. He was constable in 1718, 1719 and 1728; townsman in 1722, 1723 and afterwards ; school committee in 1730; deputy in 1729, 1730, 1731, 1736 and 1739 ; moderator of town meeting, 1738-9 and 1753, &c. After the decease of John Judd, in 1717, he was chosen town clerk, and continued to discharge the duties of the office till Dee. 1721, when Mr. Southmayd was appointed. He was, so far as appears, a competent and acceptable clerk. His penmanship is a great improvement on that of his immediate predecessors. In 1730, he reached the goal of military ambition, and became a captain.
2. Martha ; b. Sept. 11, 1692 ; m. 1714, Thomas Cowles of Farmington, and d. 1768.
3. Rachel ; b. Nov. 13, 1694; m. Thomas Upson, son of Stephen, and d. July 19, 1750.
4. Sarah ; b. April 23, 1697; d. Nov. 3, 1725 or 1726.
5. Hannah ; b. July 2, 1699, and d. "March 12, 1713."
6. Mary ; b. Jan 30, 1701 ; m. Timothy Hopkins.
7. Elizabeth; b. July 23, 1704; m. John Upson, son of Stephen.
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
8. Ruth ; b. May 9, 1707; m. April 26, 1727, James Smith of Farmington, and d. 1786.
9. Stephen ; b. Nov. 30, 1709, and d. June 25, 1715.
THOMAS JUDD, JR.
He was the son of Lieut. Thomas Judd, and was accepted by the committee as a proprietor, at the desire of his father, Jan. 10, 1683, (1683-4,) with £100 right. His name is rarely mentioned for several years, except as the grantee of certain lands. It is found, however, among the proprietors of 1688, and the subscribers to Mr. Peck's settlement, in 1689. He was John Stanley's successor as register or town clerk," being appointed June 4, 1696-a compliment to his penmanship, as well as his general respectability. He retained the office till his removal from the town. He was, I imagine, in his mature years, the literary oracle of the settlement. He wrote a very good, business-like hand, which, with some practice, is read with little difficulty. He was townsman in 1698, 1703 and 1704; town treasurer in 1699 and 1700, and constable in 1700.+ After the death of his father, he represented the town in the General Assembly, first in Oct. 1704, and then in the three succeeding October sessions. In these instances, with one exception, his name is entered as Thomas Judd, Jr., to distin- guish him from his colleague, Thomas Judd, the son of Wil- liam, he being, I suppose, a little younger than his cousin.
I suppose-but cannot prove it-that Thomas Judd, Jr., was the schoolmaster of Waterbury-that he taught, or tried to teach, the juveniles of the village, intellectual archery. I suppose so from the fact that he calls himself schoolmaster, in certain deeds, very soon after his removal from Waterbury, where he had spent his whole previous adult life. But his teachings could have been but moderately successful. The urchin archers of his day were not all apt scholars, idea-shoot- ing being a rather dull business, judging from their literary accomplishments when grown to manhood.
Thomas Judd, Jr., lived on West Main street, on the south
* The town clerk was always proprietors' clerk until a comparatively recent period.
t The town officers were appointed in December for the ensuing year ; and when I speak of the time that a person held an office, I generally refer to the date of his appointment.
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
side, his being the fourth lot east from the corner of Willow street. It contained two acres, and butted, Nov. 1687, north and south on highway, east on Edmund Scott, Jr's land, west on John Welton's land. He sold the place, April 1, 1701, to Robert Scott, and Scott sold it, with the same boundaries, Oct. 7, 1708, to his brother Edmund, "for a mare and colt and £5,12s." After his father's decease, in 1702-3, he became the owner and occupant of the old homestead, recorded, in June, 1705, as containing five acres, east on Obadialı Richard's house lot, west on the heirs of John Bronson, deceased, &c. He appears to have been one of the most respectable men of the town; but after having battled with adversity for twenty-five years, he turned his back upon his friends and quit the settle- ment. He removed in the early part of 1709, (N. S.,) and settled first in Farmington, (where he lived in 1712,) and then in Hartford, (in the part called West Hartford,) residing near the boundary line.
The wife of Thomas Judd, Jr., was Sarah, daughter of Joseph Gaylord, Sen. They were married April 11, 1688, by Mr. Zachariah Walker, Sen., of Woodbury. He joined the church of Farmington, July 20, 1690, where he had two children, Thomas and Sarah, baptized Oct. 12, 1690. He died Aug. 24, 1724. His wife was dead in Feb. 1724-25. Children :
1. Thomas ; b. March 28, 1690 and m. Hepzibah Williams.
2. Joseph ; }, § d. an infant.
3. Sarah ; ( b. Feb. 2, 1693, 2 m. James Willians.
4. Elizabeth ; b. Oct. 18, 1695, and m. Joshua How.
5. Joanna ; b. Sept. 12, 1698 ; m. William Scott, and died Jan. 25, 1771.
6. Joseph ; b. April 21, 1701. In 1726, he bought a house and lands of Oba- diah Scott in Waterbury, on Buekshill, where he settled.
7. Ebenezer; b. March 3, 1702-3 ; lived in West Hartford, and d. 1734.
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