The history of ancient Windsor, Connecticut, Part 42

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: New York : C. B. Norton
Number of Pages: 956

USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Windsor > The history of ancient Windsor, Connecticut > Part 42

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

1 There are several notices of licenses granted by the court, to various per- sons to sell wine and liquors, but it is uncertain whether they were innkeepers. In 1664, the record says : " This court grants Sam'l Gibbs a license to sell nine or ten quarter casks of wine by the gallon, to his neighbors or those that will buy it ; and he freely presents the court with an anchor of the best of his wine, which the court desires him to leave with the governor."

In the lease of the country ferry, at Windsor, to John Bissell in 1648, is a clause granting him the privilege of entertaining and receiving recompense from such travelers as may not find it convenient to go to the ordinary.

2 He was assessed, in 1720, £5 for keeping tavern on the north side of the Rivulet.

TAVERNS. 473

" there would be a great crowd collected, and card-playing and drinking were not neglected."

Of the ancient taverns of Windsor proper, we have collected but few facts, and those mostly from the cobwebbed memory of garrulous old folks. More than a hundred years ago, Ser- geant Samuel Hayden kept a tavern at the house now occupied by the family of the late Levi Hayden. The old oak, under which his weary guests found a grateful shade, is still a thrifty wide-spreading tree, highly prized by certain individuals whose childhood's home is sheltered by it. Tradition whispers that Chief Justice Ellsworth, before he became known to fame, occasionally cracked jokes and cat apple pie at Sergeant Sam's, with the young men of his time.

In later years, Pickett's Tavern, which stood a few rods from the former, acquired a wide-spread fame. These taverns were located but a quarter of a mile from Windsor Plains, across which lay the great thoroughfare between Hartford and the north and east. Here the highway leaves the river, to avoid bridging the streams, and passes between the heads of the brooks which flow on one side into the Connecticut, and on the other into the Rivulet. Not a stream crosses the road in the distance of five miles, and after rising the hill the road was almost perfectly level and straight, without a house upon it. Midway, at a spring beside the road, stood an old oak, known far and wide as the Old Smoking Tree. Here travelers, and especially teamsters, 1 made a halt in summer to water and feed their cattle, and smoke their pipes. Forty years ago, an old man, bearing a knapsack marked U. S. A., who had preferred the old familiar track to the New Road, stopped at the house which once bore Sergeant Sam's sign, to ask a little refreshment before ascending the plain. While partaking of the cheer set before him, he asked many questions about the localities he had known long years before. When told that the Old Smok- ing Trec had been cut down, the ire of the old veteran was roused, and the deep curses he uttered against the Vandal who

1 A hundred years ago, much of the produce from the north which found a market at Hartford, was conveyed over this and other roads by ox teams.

474

HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

cut it, witnessed that the fatigues of another Revolutionary war would have been cheerfully undergone to bring the author of so grievous an outrage to condign punishment.

Before chimney-corners had given place to modern innova- tions, the children used to tell of a woman, who, while crossing the plains on horseback, was overtaken by a terrible shower. Her horse, which was one of the fleetest, was urged to his " speedy utmost," and from Smoking Tree to Pickett's horse- shed she was enabled to outfly the storm which poured in torrents just behind her. But, horrible to relate - her little dog, unable to keep up, was obliged to swim all the way !

All travelers, with one notable exception, whether going north or south, stopped at Sergeant Sam's, and, after his day, at Pickett's, for refreshment, whether the plains lay before them, or were already passed. The exception to this general rule was Gen. George Washington. On the 21st of October, 1789, Washington, then President of the United States, passed through Windsor, on his New England tour, and the following sentence appears in his journal of that date : " Between Windsor and Suffield you pass through a level, barren, uncultivated plain for several miles." We think it unfortunate for the plains that he did not stop at Pickett's, as he would then have had a fresher start, and we fancy would have omitted the words barren, uncultivated, and looking beyond the shrub-oak hedges which skirted the road, would have seen (with prophetic eye, at least,) large fields of Indian corn and rye, or at least have sweetened the uncultivated fields with the mention of strawberries, and the wood with whortleberries. But he had that morning break- fasted with his old friend, Judge Ellsworth, a mile or so below. We would not have the reader infer that we have any doubts about the breakfast; it was a good, substantial one, the best the times afforded, but it is not unlikely that they both discussed the affairs of the nation with more interest and solicitude than they did the breakfast which the Judge's accomplished lady had set before them.

" Capt. Dont [Jonathan] Ellsworth," kept for many years a famous tavern, half a mile north of the meeting house, on the spot now owned by the heirs of the late Joel Thrall.

475

STEALING THE BRIDE.

In later days taverns have been, at various times, kept at the places now occupied by Mr. Thaddeus Mather, Mr. Hayden Filley, Judge H. Sill, and Mr. Lemuel Welch. There was also a Bissell's Stage House above Major Ellsworth's Place, and a half-way house on the road between Windsor and Hartford, kept by the father of the present mayor of the latter place.

The subject of taverns is suggestive of the following anec- dote, illustrative of the men aud manners of days gone by. There was a custom among the young people, in the early days of Connecticut, of stealing the bride, as it was termed. When a young couple were to be married, those of their acquaint- ance who were not invited to the wedding, would sometimes combine, go stealthily to the house where the ceremony was celebrating, and, watching for a favorable opportunity, rush in, seize the bride, carry her out, and placing her upon a horse behind one of the party, gallop off with her to some neighboring tavern, where music, supper, &c., had been bespoken. If the capture and flight were successful, and the captors succeeded in reaching their rendezvous at the tavern, without being overtaken by the wedding party, the night was spent in dancing and feasting at the expense of the bridegroom. Mr. Elisha Griswold, of Simsbury, a descendant of Old Windsor, used, in his later years, to relate with much glee, the particulars of one of these bride-stealings, in which he was a principal actor. It seems that a certain couple were to be married in Simsbury, and Mr. Griswold, with others of their acquaintance, who had not been honored with an invitation, resolved upon retaliation, by steal- ing the bride. Accordingly, on the evening of the wedding, having first ordered a nice supper and engaged the music, &c., very privately, at a tavern at Turkey Hills, himself with two or three others went into the neighborhood of the bride's residence. Here they reconnoitered, but as the party was large, and the rooms crowded, they were obliged to watch for some time before the favorable opportunity presented itself. At length, however, the evening being warm and beautiful, the company gradually withdrew from the house and dispersed through the grounds and garden which surrounded it. Through a window they could see the bride, distinguished by her bridal dress, almost alone in the

476

HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

parlor. Now was their chance. One or two of the surprise party, quietly entered the dwelling by a back door - to seize the bride and bear her out to where their confederates were holding the horses, and to place her behind one of the party on horseback, was but the work of an instant. In another moment they were speeding over the road to Turkey Hills, with a swift- ness which almost defied pursuit. But to their surprise, the whole wedding party seemed also to liave sprung to their saddles, and were almost immediately in pursuit, as their loud voices and the clear ring of their horses' hoofs too plainly told. The race was exciting - their laboring horses seemed not to gain one inch on their pursuers ; but at last they reached the tavern, dismounted, carried their fair prize into the hall, and had just time to arrange the dance, when the wedding party arrived. The music struck up, the dance began -but the astonishment of the gallant captors can scarcely be imagined when they dis- covered, for the first time, that the supposed bride had on her feet men's boots, and that her steps and movements were altogether too masculine and antic to comport with the dress and known refinement of the real bride. It then flashed upon them that they had been awfully sold; the whole wedding party now came rushing into the hall, laughing and exulting with the great- est glee. It seems that the friends of the bride had suspected or learned of the attempt to be made upon her, and had purposely dressed up one of the young men and left him exposed in the parlor, having their horses also in instant readiness for pursuit. The hilarious scene that followed the denouement, was amusing. The whole thing was taken in perfect good humor, the dancing and supper were very highly enjoyed, and the company broke up and dispersed at a very late hour - the kidnappers paying all expenses. And, for years after, they had to bear the laughs and jokes of the neighborhood, for having the "lobby turned upon them."

We have heard of another instance in which the joker un- expectedly became the victim. The bride in this case was the heroine of the story. Mrs. C., of East Windsor, on her wedding night was stolen from her husband and friends, placed in a sleigh (for it was winter season), and driven by her abductors

477

OLD TREES.

to a distant tavern. While they were at table, she contrived in some manner to elude their observation for a few moments, let herself out of a back window, went to the barn, helped herself to a horse and cutter, and was far on her homeward road, before her captors even dreamed that she was absent.

The oldest tree in Windsor perhaps is the old cedar, now standing in the door yard of the Chief Justice Ellsworth house. Tradition says that it was one of the original forest trees, and that for several of the first generations of settlers, was the rallying spot for the hunters when they made a general hunt. High in its branches hung an immense pair of deer's antlers, which disappeared some 50 years since, and have never been found, although often searched after by the chief justice and others. Lt. Joseph Stiles's house stood a little north of this tree, and its foundations were dug up by the plow in the summer of 1858.

The beautiful elms in Broad Street were set out in 17551 by a respectable citizen of Windsor, who afterwards fell from grace by reason of dissipation, and was publicly whipped on two several occasions at two of his own trees. The peculiar indig- nity of the punishment rankled deep in his memory, and he afterwards, when in want of wood, cut down the trees at which he had been punished. Afterwards, in his drunken moods, he used to threaten the destruction of the remaining trees, but was always bought off by old Squire Allyn with a cord of wood and some cider.

The Old Smoking Tree and the Hayden Oak have already been alluded to. While on the topic of trees, we can not refrain from presenting an extremely interesting article by our friend Jas. Hammond Trumbull, Esq., of Hartford, which was first published in the Hartford Press, entitled :

" Early Apples and Old Cider - A Windsor Orchard, in 1650.

Josselyn, on his first visit to New England in 1638-9, found "not one apple-tree nor pear planted yet, in no part of the country, except on Governor's Island in Boston Harbor, where he procured, half a score of very fair pippins." In the account

1 The date of erection was cut on a small iron plate and affixed to one of the trees, which was afterwards in its old age blown over, and the plate was then placed on another in front of the residence of S. H. Hayden.

478

HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

of his second voyage, some thirty years later, he says that "our fruit trees prosper abundantly, apple trees, quince trees, cherry trees, plum trees, barberry trees," and he "observed with admiration that the kernels sown or the suckers planted produce as fair and good fruit, without graffing as the tree from whence they were taken; the country is replenished with fair and large orchards." On his return to England in 1671 he was told by Mr. Henry Wolcott, of Windsor (who was a fellow passenger), that "he made five hundred hogsheads of Syder out of his own orchard in one year." "Syder," adds Josselyn, " is very plenti- ful in the conutry, ordinarily sold for teu shillings a hogshead."

Mr. Wolcott's apple orchard was one of the first, and, for many years, was probably the largest in the Connecticut Valley. It was in bearing before 1649, and his cider-presses were at work in 1650. For twenty years after wards, he supplied young trees, summer and winter apples, and cider by the hogshead, gallon or pint, not only to his neighbors at Windsor, but to other towns in the vicinity, and occasionally for exportation to other colonies. The account book in which he entered, year by year, the product of his orchard, the sales of trees and grafts, the times of making cider, &c., is still extant. To save paper, or to conceal his profits from the eyes of prying neighbors, these accounts were kept in short-hand, (of the same character as that used in the volume containing notes of sermons, which was recently described in the Press). From this book are derived the following particulars, which may not be without interest to our agricultural and horticultural readers.

The first entry is:

"A note of several sorts of apples I had grown, 1649," under which the quantity gathered from each tree of the old and new orchard is carefully entered: "Of the earliest apples, 1 bushel; of 2 early sorts of sour apples in the new orchard, 1 bushel; of the summer pippin, by well, 4 bushel; of the Holland pippin, 11 bushel; of the Pearmain, 15 bushel; of the 4 trees of winter apples (off the tree next John Loomis's 2} bushel, the next 6}); 19 bushel; of the 4 trees of Bellybonds [as Mr. Wolcott spelled the name of an old favorite; Bellibone was the English form of the French Belle et bonne], 6 bushel and 1 peck; of the London pippin, 12 bushel; of Mr. Allen's green apples, in the lower side of the orchard, 2 bushel," &c. Total, for 1649, 91 bushel.

In 1650, the orchard yielded 212 bushel, the greater part of which was made into cider, which was sold at 1s &d per gallon, and &4 4s per hogshead; the apples bringing from 6s to 8s per bushel. Three bushels were " sold, at the Faire," for £1:7. 31 gallons of boiled cider sold at 2s 6d. This year, a half bushel of quinces is charged at 4s.

Bush.

In 1651,

496

producing £117:12

including Cider. £40: 5

" 1652,

452

92:18

72:10

" 1653,

1127

19:10

" 1644,

1588

479

A WINDSOR ORCHARD IN 1650.

The price of apples had gradually fallen from Ss, in 1650, to 2s 6d, and 3s in 1654; and of cider from 1s 8d, to Is 4d per gal- lon, or £1 10s per barrel. [In October, 1574, the General Court ordered that no innholder should ask more than 4d a quart for cider; so the retail price seems to have remained nearly con- stant, from 1650; though Josselyn tells us it was sold, in 1671, at 10s a hogsbead.]

In 1653, wheat sold at 4s, rye at 3s, and Indian corn at 2s per bushel. By these standards, it is easy to compare the prices of apples and cider, or other luxuries, of that day with this. Occasional credits on Mr. Wolcott's book show that he exchanged a part of the produce of his orchard for sack [Spanish wine] at 6s per gallon, white wine at 18s, strong water at 3s per quart, &c. Venison at 1s 6d for a quarter, of 9 lbs. and 3s 10d for one of 16 1bs., 32 lbs. Sugar (a rare luxury), at 7d per lb. "The forbearance of £24 for 1 year" is charged at £1 18s, or at the rate of 1s 7d per pound (72 per cent).

Here are a few entries of sales from the nursery and orchard, showing that Mr. Wolcott was doing a tolerably large business in trees and fruit at this early period.

1650, July. To Mr. Gisbert [Gysbert op Dyck, perhaps- who had formerly been commander of the Dutch Fort, in Hart- ford], 50 bush. apples, £11 17s 6d.

Oct. 18. To the same, 100 peare trees, £5.

1651. Aug. 22. " George Phelps bought halfe my thousand of young trees for which he is to pay me two pence per tree to be paide halfe in wheate and halfe in pease, in March" &c., £4. 3s 4d.

July 17. "Sold Joseph Magget [Mygatt, of Hartford] a parcel of yong trees," £22 10s.

Sept. To the same, 500 trees, £4.

1652. Sept. 14. Sold to Mr. Goodyeare [the deputy governor of New Haven], 100 bushels of apples, to be delivered presently, £20.

20 blls. cider, to be delivered the 10th of October next, £40. 1653. Wm. Edwards "owes, for a cow, 32 cider barrels to be delivered at the landing place, by Sept. 12th."

For aught we know, some of Mr. Wolcott's apple or pear trees are yet bearing fruit in their season. Our Windsor friends can tell. The old pearmain, on the Wyllys Place, believed to have been brought from England at a yet earlier date, "still lives." Almost every ancient town has its traditions of early orchards and points to at least one tree which was planted by a first settler. The May Flower is supposed to have found room, in her assorted cargo, for nearly as many nursery plants as tables, chairs, bureaux or dinner pots ; and the pilgrim fathers may have marched to their 'wilderness homes,' as

480

HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

Malcolm's army to Dunsinane, each with his tree. There is a tradition that when John Winthrop began the settlement of Pequot, now New London, in 1646, he distributed a large number of young fruit trees to the first planters. The bill or sale of a house and land there, in 1652, mentions apple, pear and gooseberry trees. Until 1852, an ancient apple tree was standing on the land of Jona. Coit, Esq., in New London, a relic of the family of one of the early settlers. It measured fourteen or fifteen feet in circumference, near the ground, and three or for persons could stand together in the hollow of its trunk. The author of the History of New London, thinks "there can be little doubt but that it was a fruit-bearing tree before 1700." It blossomed in 1852, but was blown down, in September of that year.

Gov. Endicott's orchard, at Salem, Mass., is mentioned as early as 1644, and a pear tree which tradition avers to have been imported by him in 1630, was bearing fruit, when we last heard from it, seven or eight years ago."

From inns, we naturally glide into the cognate subject of

Stores, Trade, Commerce, Etc.,

For in those early days, as now, tavern keeping and trading were often carried on by the same persons. The notes which we have gathered, relative to this subject, are exceedingly scanty, yet sufficient to show us conclusively that Windsor, in the early colonial days, was a leading commercial town and port of entry. This position it held until subsequent to the Revolution, when its neighbor Hartford " took a start " and left poor Windsor quite in the background. The WOLCOTTs were probably the first and most extensive merchants here; especially HENRY WOLCOTT, JR. JOSIAH WOLCOTT was a large merchant in 1681.

MICHAEL HUMPHREY was quite a merchant, as early as 1662. Among the papers in the State Archives are many inventories, etc., of goods shipped by his brothers Samuel and Henry Rose, merchants of St. Malo.

Captain NEWBERRY and GEORGE GRISWOLD had warehouses here in 1679 (sec addenda to chapter vii); and about the same time GEORGE and CHRISTOPHER SAUNDERS, were traders to England and the West Indies.

In 1720, Matthew Grant, on the east side of the river, was

481

MERCHANTS, ETC.

assessed £40 "for faculty and vessell;" Captain Timothy Thrall was assessed £40, and Captain Daniel White £20 for " trading." Both resided north of the Little River.

Still later, Capt ROGER NEWBERRY was a prosperous merchant in Windsor, on the place now owned by Dr. Preston of Hartford. After his death in the Cuba Expedition, in 1740, his widow received a pension from the English government, which she had transmitted to her in goods instead of money, and so continued the store many years after her husband's decease. Her account books are yet preserved in Bloomfield.

Prior to and during the Revolution - or in other words during Windsor's palmiest mercantile days - the Palisado Green was the " commercial centre" of Windsor. Here was the great firm of HOOKER & CHAFFEE, known through the length and breadth of the country for its extensive dealings and its high mercantile honor. HORACE and his brother JAMES HOOKER, and HEZEKIAH CHAFFEE were the partners. The Chaffee and Hooker houses are now standing on the eastern side of the Green ; the former retains much of its pristine appearance, the latter has been somewhat remodeled and modernized, and is occupied by Deacon Woodford. North of this, and a little back from the street, stood the old store, packing houses, &c. Their trade was large. From every portion of the country there was constantly pouring in large supplies of horses, beef cattle, wheat, and produce of all and every sort.1 Nothing seemed to come amiss to their mill ; notes at thirty days were given in exchange, and always promptly paid; while under the bank of the Little River near by,? lay many - sometimes six or seven - coasting vessels,

1 The Green was often heaped with goods of all kinds which had been re- ceived, or were being shipped. An eye witness assures us that from her window she has counted as many as thirty teams in the road waiting their turn. Old people even now love to dwell upon the theme. "They some- times retailed a hogshead of molasses in a single day," " They did a larger business than any house in Hartford at the time," are some of the expressions which fall from their lips.

2 There being at that time no bridge at Hartford to obstruct the navigation of the river, Windsor was a port of entry, and West India and other goods were, during a part of the year, landed at the Rivulet ferry.

سيناء

482

HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

and generally some larger English or West India vessels. Their trade to Liverpool and the West Indies was at that time very extensive, and during some parts of the year the Little River was quite full of vessels, loading and unloading, and the Green was lively with hearty sea-captains and bronzed and jolly sail- ors. Several of these captains resided here, among whom was Capt. NATHANIEL HOWARD, father of the late Major William How- ard. He always brought home a little stock of fine silks, and choice goods, from his various voyages, and his wife kept store in the building now occupied by the Misses Stiles. It is related of her that she was remarkable for dressing well, which excited the envy of some of her less fortunate neighbors ; and that when on one occasion she sported an umbrella, which the captain had brought from furrin parts, and which was the first article of the kind ever seen here, she was followed by several of her fellow citizen-esses, in a spirit of derision, carrying sieves elevated on the tops of broom handles, etc.1 Major Howard afterward

. traded here, and kept the post office. The business was subse- quently carried on under the name of Howard & Alford.

At MATSON'S Store, which stood a few rods from Pickett's Tavern, a comparatively large business was done, down to about the last century. A few years before this the amount of business was $40,000 per annum. They dealt largely in Turk's Island salt, which, during high water in the Connecticut, was landed direct from the West Indies and exchanged for northern produce. The old salt room of the store is still cold and damp.

There was also a store (built by Major ELLSWORTH) on the site of Dr. Wilson's present house, and one STRONG traded on the site of the second house south of the Misses Stiles.

But the palmy days were destined to pass away from Wind- sor. The Hookers lost considerable by the French Spoliation troubles. The erection of a bridge across the Connecticut at Hartford also damaged the interests of Windsor, and she gradually fell behind in the race.1 Now the only store in

1 Few vessels came up above Hartford bridge after 1820. An amusing story of the last days of the quarrel between Windsor and Hartford, to which this bridge gave rise, is still told. It seems that the first bridge erected there

483

MERCHANTS, ETC.

Windsor is S. H. Hayden's (formerly Loomis' & Sheldon's - and originally Col. James Loomis'), on Broad Street Green, and a little shop in the southwest corner of the Palisado Green, kept by a Mr. Fenton.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The history of ancient Windsor, Connecticut, Part 42

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909 Publication date: 1859 Publisher: New York : C. B. Norton Number of Pages: 956

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: New York : C. B. Norton
Number of Pages: 956