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 17
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8. Mary ; b. April 2, 1706 ; m. Samuel Moss and was living with her husband in Wallingford, in 1737.
9. Rachel; b. Oct. 4, 1708 ; unmarried in 1738.
10. Abagail ; b. 1712, and m. Joseph Hall.
JOSEPH LEWIS.
He and a brother John were sons of Joseph Lewis of Windsor and Simsbury, who died in 1706. He was the first man, an outsider and not an original proprietor, (if we except
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Mr. Peek's sons, ) that joined the settlement of Waterbury. At what precise time he came I have no means of knowing. His name is first mentioned on the Town Book, Dec. 23, 1700, at which date he was appointed one of the fence viewers. Had he been in the town much earlier than 1700, I think I should have discovered some traces of him. At what period he was made a bachelor proprietor is not clear. With the exception of Thomas Clark, he was the only one of this class of proprietors who was not either a son or grandson of an original proprietor. He settled at Judd's Meadow, on the west side of the river, where he owned, from an early date, much land, obtained by division and by purchase. The first reference made to his house was in Dec. 1714. He had doubt- less then been several years in that part of the town. His sons took up their residences near him. To Joseph, he gave, in 1728, soon after marriage, a house and lands near the Straits Mountain, valuing them to him at £150. To John he gave, in 1736, under similar circumstances, sixty acres of land with a house, estimating them " at £120 portion."
Joseph Lewis was one of the respected and substantial men of the town. He was a cloth weaver by trade, and one of a committee to settle the bounds of Woodbury, as early as 1706. He was appointed to a similar duty in 1719, and again in 1730. He was town treasurer in 1711, and many years selectman. He was the town's deputy at the General Court for fifteen sessions between 1713 and 1741. In 1724, he was called sar- geant, and early in 1738, was chosen the fourth deacon of the church, Dea. Judd being now advanced in life. In his will he gave to the church (in his own language) "twenty six pounds money due to me by Mr. Mark Leavenworth by note of hand, which I give to ye first church of Christ in Water- bury (now under the pastoral charge of ye sd Mr. Leaven- worth) to be to ye use and benefit of sd church for ever." His estate was larger nominally than that of any deceased person of Waterbury which had previously been inventoried. It amounted to £5,628, 12s. 6d., when wheat sold at 35 shillings or so per bushel.
Joseph Lewis died in the fatal year of 1749, (Nov. 29.) His son Joseph, and his eldest son John's wife, died but a few
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weeks before him. His widow Sarah (Andruss) died March 5, 1773. His son Samuel was a deacon of the Waterbury church, and afterwards the first deacon of the church in Salem, (Naugatuck.) Another son, Thomas, appears to have gradu- ated at Yale College in 1741, being a classmate of Samuel Hopkins, Jonathan Judd and Daniel Southmayd, all from Waterbury, the four making a fifth part of the graduating class. Hle became a congregational minister.
CHAPTER XII.
PERSONAL NOTICES OF THE FIRST SETTLERS, CONTINUED.
NEWELL.
THOMAS NEWELL, (Sen.,) was one of the original settlers of Farmington, a member of the church, a freeman in 1669, and one of the eighty-four proprietors of 1672. He married Rebecca, a niece of John Olmsted, and died Sept. 13, 1689, leaving an estate of £700. His widow died Feb. 24, 1697-8. Children :
1. Rebecca; b. Jan. 1643, and m. Joseph or Josiah Wood- ford. 2. Mary; b. March, 1645, and m. March 20, 1667, Thomas Bascomb of Northampton. 3. John; b. Jan. 1647. 4. Thomas ; b. March, 1650. 5. Hester; b. July, 1652, m. John Stanley of Waterbury. 6. Sarah ; bap. Feb. 18, 1655, and m. " Arter " Smith. 7. Hannah, or Martha ; bap. April 14, 1658, and m. Thomas North. 8. Samuel; bap. Dec. 5, 1660; m. Dec. 20, 1683, Mary Hart. 9. Joseph; bap. April 20, 1664, and d. 1689, unmarried.
Thomas Newell, Sen., was one of a preliminary committee who went to view Mattatuck, and one of the petitioners for "liberty of planting ye same," 1673. He afterwards signed
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IIISTORY OF WATERBURY.
the articles, taking the place of Samuel Gridley, but deelined to join the new settlement.
JOHN NEWELL.
He (or his father for him) seems to have been one of the original subscribers of 1674, the name being written " Thomas Newell, son, £100." He was one of the earliest settlers, be- ing on all the fence-division lists. He had a house and house lot on North Main street, next to Isaac Bronson, recorded, July 11, 1692, as five acres of land, north on John Stanley and Benjamin Barnes, east on common land, south on Isaac Bronson, west on highway. Newell's hill, a part of his home- stead, was named after him. If he did anything worthy to be remembered, history has taken no note of it. As early as Ang., 1694, he had removed to Farmington. He had con- veyed, in the preceding March, his house and homestead, (then bounded north on Richard Porter and Benjamin Barnes,) to Isaac Bronson. He died in 1696, without a family, his broth- ers, Thomas and Samuel, being administrators.
THOMAS NEWELL, (JR.)
He seems to have taken the right of £90 which his father subscribed for, and which was at first Thomas Gridley's. He did not, apparently, go to Waterbury as early as his brother. His name is not mentioned in the first fence-division, but it is . in the three others. IIe was among those whose rights were declared forfeited in 1682-3, but he " submitted " and regain- ed his propriety. His house was on the north side of West Main street, next east of Thomas Haneox. After Hancox left, he bought his lot (with the house) of Lieut. Judd, and added it to his own lot of one and three quarter acres, making in the whole three and a half acres. This is described Jan. 6, 1690, (1690-91,) as bounded east on John Bronson and west on John Warner, (Thomas Porter, son of Robert, is written over John Warner.)
Thomas Newell subscribed to Mr. Peck's settlement in 1689. Soon after, he followed the bad example set by Joseph Hickox, Thomas Hancox and Benjamin Jones, and left the town. He was in Farmington Nov. 6, 1690, where I hope he made him- self useful. He sold his homestead, March 2d, 1692-3, to
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Thomas Richason for £60. Afterwards, Isaac Bronson bought his right in the undivided lands.
He married Nov. 5, 1679, Elizabeth Wrothern, and died Oct. 25, 1723. His widow died Jan. 8, 1739-40. The births of the children, except Susanna, are recorded in Farmington.
Children :
1. Thomas ; b. Oct. 1, 1681. He had no family.
2. Simon; b. April 1, and baptized June 1, 1683 ; m. Mehitable Bird and Mary Wallis.
3. Susanna ; bap. April 24, 1687, and d. Sept. 24, 1704.
4. Joseph ; b. Nov. 1, 1689. He lived in Southington.
5. Elizabeth ; b. Nov. 29, 1693. She m. Jonathan Lewis.
6. Sarah ; b. Jan. 1, 1698.
7. Esther ; b. Sept. 12, 1705.
REV. JEREMIAH PECK.
He was a son of Dea. William Peck, one of the company that made the first settlement in New Haven, in 1638, and one of those who signed the fundamental articles in 1639. Dea. Peck was chosen deacon in 1659, and was one of the trus- tees of the Grammar School for many years, and died, leaving a small property, in Lyme, Oct. 4, 1694, aged 93. In his will, dated March 9, 1688-9, he names as his, the following children :
1. Jeremiah. He was born in London or its neighborhood. 2. Joseph. He was baptized in New Haven, Jan. 17, 1641 ; settled in Saybrook and afterwards in Lyme. 3. John. He in. Nov. 3, 1664, Mary Moss, and had four children, born in New Haven. He removed to Wallingford. 4. Elizabeth. She m. Samuel Andrews, and appears to have had five children born in New Haven.
Of the Rev. Jeremiah Peck, the first minister of Water- bury, I shall give a more detailed account hereafter. His house and house lot, given him by the town, were on the north- east corner of West Main street, the lot being bounded, Feb., 1693-4, easterly on David and Robert Scott, east on Edmund Scott, north, south and west on highways.
Mr. Peck's will, (which is a gift-deed,) bearing date " Jan. 14, 1696," is a document of some interest. It is recorded in the first volume of the Waterbury Land Records, page 6. It enumerates the books which seem to have constituted his
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library. They are sixteen in number, all of them of a relig- ious character. His house and house lot he gave to his son Jeremiah. His other lands, divided and undivided, in Waterbury, and his husbandry implements, he gave to Jer- emiah and Joshua, they to provide for him and his wife, “ in sickness and health, both cloaths, food and fisick," during life.
The widow of Mr. Peck lived several years after his decease. I find her will recorded in the first volume of Land Records, bearing date Oct. 7th, 1706. It reads thus :
I Joanna Peck ye relict of Mr. Jeremiah Peek give [&c.] to my daughter anna ye bigest puter platter a winscort eubard and here choys of too more platters [&] ye great table; and to annas daughter ye draw box and a too yer old hefer-i giue to jeremiahs daughter ye brass pan only they are not now to com to ye pos- esion of it till after my death [&c.]
The remainder of her estate she gave to Jeremiah and Joshua. She was still living in Waterbury, Jan. 23, 1711. Children :
1. Samuel; b. Jan. 18, 1658-9, at Guilford and settled in Greenwich. He was a justice of the peace and a prominent man of that town, and d. April 28, 1746. He is said to have had twelve children.
2. Ruth ; b. in New Haven, April 3, 1661 ; m. Jonathan Atwater, of New Ha- ven, " merchant tailor," June 1, 1681, and had ten children.
3. Caleb. He proposed to settle in Waterbury with his father, and had a grant of a house lot and other lands, provided he did so ; but he finally coneluded to ' remain in Greenwich.
4. Anna ; m. 1690, Thomas Stanley, son of Capt. John of Farmington.
5. Jeremiah. He was a freeholder in Greenwich in May, 1689, and came to Waterbury with his father. IIe had a house lot on Willow street, next to Benja- min Jones' home lot, and other lands, granted him on the usual conditions. Half of the school lot or propriety, it appears, was also given to him. In Aug. 1709, he purchased for £20 Israel Richason's house and home lot, on the corner of East Main and Cherry streets, but whether he ever lived in the house, I know not. He removed into the north part of the town a little before the Northbury society was organized.
Jeremiah Peek was collector of town rates in 1703; constable in 1713, 1717 and 1723, and a deputy to the General Court in May, 1720 and 1721. He was one of the two first deacons of the Northbury church, appointed 1739. His wife was Rachel, the d. of Obadiah Richards, to whom he was m. June 14, 1704. He d. 1752, having had nine children,-Johanna, Jeremialı, Rachel, Anna, Mary, Phebe, Ruth, Esther, Martha. All except Esther survived their father. The mother had previously died. Dea. Peek's inventory amounted to £3,702, 12s. 6d. 6. Joshua. He was the youngest son. Nothing was said about him at the
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time his father settled in Waterbury, when his brothers were provided for ; for the reason, it is presumed, that he was then a minor. "March 28, 1694-5," [a mis- take probably for 1695,] he, for the first time, had a grant from the proprietors of four aeres, for " a home lot where he can find it between this and the last of April next, he to build," &e.
Joshua Peck is rarely named and does not seem to have been of “much ac- count," as the world goes. He may have been siekly or weakly. He conveyed to his brother Jeremiah, March 6, 1728-9, all his " right, title, interest or demands in lands or propriety in Waterbury whether divided or undivided," in considera- tion of which, he, the said Jeremialı, or his heirs, was, in the words of the rec- ord, " to take care of me and find and provide for me good and sufficient meat, drink, apparel, washing and lodging, and take care of me both in sickness and in health, so long as I live with him." He died Feb. 14, 1735-6, unmarried.
PORTER.
Daniel Porter, 1st, was early in the Colony. In March, 1644-5, he was fined, by the "Prticuler Court," forty shillings for an offense against the rights of property. He was licensed to practice physic and chirurgery, in 1654, by the General Court. In 1661-2, it was ordered that his yearly salary should be paid out of the public treasury, while his fee-table was es- tablished by law. Though not an original proprietor, he set- tled early in Farmington, and was required to attend upon the sick in Hartford, Windsor, Wethersfield, and occasionally in Middletown. In 1668, he was "freed from watching, wardeing and tryneinge," and in the next year had a special grant from the Court for his services .* He was more particularly celebrated as a " bonesetter," and in 1671 his salary was increased thus :
For the ineouragement of Daniel Porter in atending the seruice of the country in setting bones, &e., the Court doe hereby augment his sallery from six pounds a yeare to twelue pounds pr annum, and doe aduise him to instruet some meet person in his arte.
Daniel Porter's name is not on the list of the freemen of Farmington in 1669, but is found among the proprietors of 1672. He died in 1690. His wife's name was Mary. Their children were : 1. Daniel; b. Feb. 2, 1652-3. 2. Mary ; b. Feb. 5, 1654-5, and m. Eleazer Knowles of Woodbury. 3. Nehemiah ; b. Oct. 24, 1656 ; m. Hannah Lum of Woodbury,
* This was a grant of 100 acres which the grantee took up near the northwest corner of Wal- lingford. It, however, proved not to be colony land, as supposed, and the Assembly granted, in 1728, on petition, to the grandsons of Daniel Porter, (Daniel Porter, son of Daniel of Waterbury, and Hezekiah Porter of Woodbury, son of Richard of New Haven,) 100 acres west of Housatonic or Stratford River. [Towns and Lands.]
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
and d. 1722. 4. Richard ; b. March 24, 1658. 5. Anne ; b. 1660-61; not married. 6. John; b. Nov. 14, 1662; m. Re- becca Woodford and Martha North, and d. 1740. 7. Samuel ; b. Oct. 24, 1665 ; m. Abigail Humphreys of Simsbury, and d. March 25, 1736. He was a doctor, and succeeded to his father's business in Farmington.
DANIEL PORTER, (JR.)
He signed the articles, (or his father did for him-" Daniel Porter for son,") in 1674. He had an old town plot lot and a meadow allotment in the beginning of the settlement, and a proportion of fence in all the divisions. His name is never mentioned on the earliest records, except as grantee or propri- etor. No reference whatever is made to his occupation till Feb. 22, 1696-7, when he is called, in a deed, " bonesetter." After this he is termed, in the record, Doctor Porter. He may not have taken up the business of his father till after the death of the latter. His knowledge appears to have been empyrical, rather than scientific. There were but few educa- ted surgeons or physicians in the country, at that day. Cler- gymen not infrequently practiced the healing art.
Dr. Porter had but little to do with the town business. He was town surveyor, however, in 1699 and 1719, and school committee in 1706. He had a house lot on the main street near the center of the village, where the Scovill House now stands, extending through to Grand street, containing about two acres. Adjoining lots are bounded on it, in 1687, but it is not then called a " house lot," acording to the custom. It does not seem to have been recorded at all. Jan. 6, 1696, the town granted him a piece of land, &c., "provided he build a tenantable hous within thre yeirs." This language by no means proves that he had not already built a house, (or bought one,) as the articles required ; nor indeed is it evidence that he did not own one at the time. Soon after he had taken a wife, his lot is called a house lot. It was bounded, in 1687, north and south on highway, west on Timothy Standley's house lot, cast on Abraham Andruss, Jr's house lot. In March, 1707-8, he enlarged it by purchasing of Abraham Andruss, son of Abraham, decd., the place next his on the east, the considera-
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
tion being £20 cash. After Porter's death, his son Thomas bought of the other heirs the whole property, four and a half acres, " excepting twenty foot square on the east side, joining the highway, to build a small house upon," which his brother James reserved for himself.
Daniel Porter's death took place Jan. 18, 1726-7. His whole estate was appraised at about £1,265; his house and home lot at £190 ; his propriety right at £45; five cows at £20. His medical library consisted of " a bone set book, 2s." Much of his property he had given away to his children during his life-time. He left a widow, Deborah. She d. May 14, 1765.
Children :
1. Daniel; b. March 5, 1699 ; mar. Hannah, d. of John Hopkins, and d. Nov. 14, 1772. Ile was a bachelor proprietor and " bonesetter," and succeeded to his father's business and skill. July 5, 1725, his father conveyed to him, his eldest son, "that he may have convenieney of building and a house lot in the town, seven and a half acres at the east end of the town, north and cast on highway, south on Mill River, west on bounds made by John Scovill, Sen., and Cap. Ephraim Warner," in 1770. This is the lot which lies between East Main street, Mill street, and the Mad River, on the northwest corner of which Porter built a house and lived.
2. James ; b. April 20, 1700. He too was a doctor, settled at Hop Swamp, and d. March 20, 1785.
3. Thomas; b. April 1, 1702. He lived on the east side of Bank street, near the Baptist church, and late in life removed to Salem. He died in Jan. 1797. He was frequently selectman, and became a captain.
4. Deborah ; b. March 6, 1703-4; m. James Baldwin.
5. Ebenezer ; b. Dec. 24, 1708 ; m. Mary, d. of John Hull of New Haven.
6. Ann; b. April 28, 1712; m. Thomas Judd and James Nichols.
RICHARD PORTER.
He was not a proprietor of Waterbury sufficiently early to have one of the old town plot lots, or an allotment of either of the four first divisions of fence. He was accepted by the grand committee, probably in 1684, having one of the smallest rights, (£50.) I do not find his name mentioned till 1686. In May, 1688, he had liberty to record his lands, hav- ing then, I suppose, complied with the conditions of a sub- scriber and proprietor. He had two acres "for a house lot," within the south meadow gate on the corner near the present corner of Bank and Meadow street, bounded, Dec. 1691, west, south and east on highway, north on Jonathan Scott. After-
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
wards, March 18, 1694-5, he bought of the widow of Abraham Andruss, Jr., for £26, a house and lot of three acres next ad- joining him on the north, "lying at ye south east corner of ye town," east and west on highway, north on Stephen Upson and south on said Porter.
Richard Porter seems to have been a quiet man, having but little to do with public business. He was, however, surveyor in 1703 and 1704, town collector in 1706, school committee in 1709 and selectman in 1713. In 1712, he was chosen "to dig the graves;" and a hard time he must have had, for the great sickness was in the town. Afterwards, he removed from the place, for what reason, it does not appear. He staid, how- ever, through the dark days of the settlement. After Dec. 1716, when he was chosen hayward, his name does not appear in the Waterbury records as an inhabitant. In Nov. 1718, he was in New Haven in the part called West Haven. He d. in 1739-40. His will, dated Nov. 13, 1738, was approved Feb. 1739-40, his son Hezekiahı being executor. In it he speaks of himself as "being weak of body by reason of age," alludes to his wife, to whom he gives his house, homestead and mova- bles, and to the heirs of Daniel of Simsbury and Samuel of Waterbury, who had received their portions. His land and rights of land in Waterbury were to be divided equally among his other children, except John was to have "a double part he not being able to shift for himself so well as the others." Estate in New Haven £154; in Waterbury £199. Debts £28,18s.
Richard Porter is called Doctor Porter on the probate record of New Haven, but never in Waterbury. Probably he took up the business of " doctoring " after his removal. His first wife, named Ruth, d. in Waterbury, Jan. 9, 1709-10.
Children :
1. Daniel; b. before his father came to Waterbury. He was admitted a bachelor proprietor Jan. 5, 1707-8, and remained in Waterbury several years afterwards ; but he finally removed without having complied with the conditions of the grant and settled in Simsbury, where he had a family. ( A son, Joshua, settled in Waterbury.) He was a doctor and d. before his father.
2. Joshua; b. Aug. 7, 1688, in Waterbury, and d. Nov. 19, 1709.
3. Mary ; b. Jan. 14, 1690-91, and was living as Mary Northrop, at the time of her father's death.
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
4. Ruth ; b. Oct. 1692, and was living as Ruth Cosset at her father's decease.
5. Samuel; b. March 30, 1695; m. Mary, d. of John Bronson, May 9, 1722. He was a bachelor proprietor, admitted in 1715. In Dec. 1722, his father deeded to him a part of his house lot in Waterbury, three acres, being the southeast part of the old homestead, southward and eastward on highway, northward on parson- age land, westward on the grantor's land. He d. 1727-8.
6. Hezekiah ; b. Jan. 29, 1696-7, and d. Aug. 1702.
7. John; b. June 11, 1700; was living with Dea. Clark in 1730.
8. Timothy ; b. Dec. 21, 1701 ; m. Mary, d. of Jonathan Baldwin, of Water- bury, Dec. 18, 1735, and Hannah Winter, Aug. 27, 1767. He had a house in the southwest quarter in 1754. In 1732, he lived in Stratford.
9. Hezekiah ; b. July 27, 1704. He was living in Woodbury in 1728, and in Waterbury when his father died.
10. Joshua ; b. Nov. 5, 1718, his birth being recorded in New Haven.
11. Richard ; b. Aug. 22, 1722.
12. Lydia ; was living as Lydia Pardee of New Haven, at her father's decease.
ROBERT PORTER.
He was a first settler but not an original proprietor of Far- mington. It is not known what relation, if any, he was to Daniel and Thomas Porter, also of F. He joined the church Oct. 13, 1652, was one of the freemen of 1669, and of the eighty-four proprietors of 1672. He first subscribed the articles for the settlement of Mattatuek, as late as May 26, 1684. His name is on the list of proprietors of 1688, and it stands first among the subscribers to Mr. Peck's settlement. He had a house and house lot on the north side of West Main street, one acre and a half, bounded, Feb. 1687-8, "northerly and southerly on high-way, easterly on Thomas Hancox his land belonging to Ensign Judd, west on John Warner his land." This property his son Thomas sold, Jan. 1692-3, to Abraham Andruss, Jr.
Robert Porter m. 1644, Mary, d. of Thomas Scott of Hartford. Children :
1. Mary ; b. Feb. 24, 1646, and m. Benjamin Andruss.
2. John; b. Nov. 12, 1648, and d. before 1686.
3. Thomas; b. Oct. 29, 1650; m. May, 1678, Abagail Cowles, and d. 1719. He was executor of his father's will, and the only surviving son and principal heir. He was a tailor by trade, lived in Farmington, and d. in 1719.
4. Robert; b. Nov. 12, 1652, and d. 1689.
5. Elizabeth; b. Jan. 11, 1653-4, and m. Thomas Andrews of Milford.
6. Joanna ; baptized Jan. 6, 1655-6.
7. Sarah ; b. Dec 20, 1657, and m. Abraham Andruss (cooper) of Waterbury, and James Benedict of Danbury.
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
8. Benjamin ; b. March 18, 1659-60, and d. 1689, leaving his widow pregnant. She m. June, 1689, Edmund Scott, Jr .*
9. Hannah, or Anne ; b. April, 1664, and m. John Browne.
10. Hepzibah; b. March 4, 1666.
Robert Porter married (after 1675) for his second wife, Hannah, the widow of Stephen Freeman of Newark, (East Jersey,) and the mother of the wife of Thomas Judd, smith. He died in 1689. The inventory of his estate was taken Sept. 18, 1689,t and amounted to £179, 14s. in Waterbury, and £79, 6s. in Farmington. The children named are Thomas, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah, Hannah.
OBADIAH RICHARDS.
Thomas Richards, the father of Obadiah of Waterbury, was early in Hartford. He was one of those who, in 1639, had the privilege of getting wood and keeping cows on the common. He soon died, however, and his lands went into the possession of his widow, who brought up the children. At her death, in 1671, the estate went to the children,-John, (born in 1631, and married Lydia Stocking,) Mary Peck, (of Milford,) Thom- as, (married Mary, daughter of Dea. Parsons of Springfield, 1691,) and Obadiah. A son, Samuel, died before his mother.
Obadiah Richards was an early but not a first settler of Farmington. He was " presented for freeman" to the Court, May, 1669 ; was one of the proprietors of 1672 ; took an ear-' ly interest in the Mattatuck enterprise ; was one of the origi- nal thirty, &c. There is evidence that he joined the settle- ment early, in the fact that he had an old town plot lot and a
* " A paper whith Edman Scote cased to be entred [on record]-the contents now follow-
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