The history of ancient Windsor, Connecticut, Part 44

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

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OUR ANCESTRY.

which we perhaps can never experience, and therefore can never fully understand - dwelt that glorious light of Christian love and truth which maketh free. It sustained them in the hour of trial, it humbled them in the hour of prosperity, it regulated their every action, it developed the exercise of every virtue and talent, it softened the thousand nameless little asperities of individual character, and social life, and thus contributed to the perfect and harmonious working of the whole social polity. Such was the character of the first generation.

But, as has been elsewhere aptly said, the emigration from a civilized to a new country, is necessarily a step backward into barbarism. The second generation did not fill the places of the fathers. Reared amid the trials and dangers of a new settle- ment, they were in a great measure deprived of the advantages, both social and educational which their parents had enjoyed. Nearly all of the former could write - which can not be said of their children. Neither did the latter possess that depth of religions feeling, or earnest practical piety which distinguished the first comers. Religion was to them less a matter of the heart, than of social privilege, and in the Half Way Covenant controversy we behold the gradual " letting down of the bars," between a pure church and a grasping world.

The third generation followed in the footsteps of their prede- cessors. Then came war; and young New England brought from the long Canadian campaigns, stores of loose camp vices, and recklessness, which soon flooded the land with immorality and infidelity. The church was neglected, drunken- ness fearfully increased, and social life was sadly corrupted. Bundling - that ridiculous and pernicious custom which pre- vailed among the young to a degree which we can scarcely credit - sapped the fountain of morality and tarnished the escutcheons of thousands of families. Next came the American Revolution, which merely prolonged the evil; for war, even where necessary, is always an evil. So that not until the com- mencement of the present century, can it be said, that any return was made to the purity of the first generation. And it is our solemn conviction, that all those who croak the romantic tune of " alas! the good old time," will find, on careful examin-

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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

ation, that in every respect, politically, morally, religiously, the present world, with all its vices, is no worse - nay, that it is infinitely better off - now than then.

We would not, however, be understood as saying that piety, morality or education died out after the first generation, or was wanting among their descendants. The history of Windsor evidences that religion and education were always dear to her children, and that in every generation, there have been many whose lives and characters come down to us as a blessed legacy. These good men possessed a marvelously strong faith and belief in special providences. Events which we should attribute to nat- ural causes, were by them referred directly to divine power. Wars, pestilences, victories, accidents, in short all the thousand and one incidents which make up the life of a nation or of an individual, were considered as so many direct interpositions and revelations of God's will. They prayed with a fervency which grew out of this intense faith in God's power and willingness to answer prayer. And in New England history there are many instances in which we can hardly doubt that their prayers and faith were singularly answered.

The following Windsor legend is quite to the point:

" Once upon a time " - as all good story-tellers commence- the good people in Windsor had suffered for a long time from an excessive drought, until at last, viewing it as a judgment of God upon them for some of their sins, they resolved to hold a fast day, to be spent in humiliation and prayer. In the lower part of the town dwelt a godly man by the name of Barber, to whom some of the people from up town extended a very pressing invitation to join them in this day of prayer. Mr. Barber happened to have a great quantity of hay cut at the time, and felt that he needed dry weather just then, and could scarcely spare the time to pray, while so much of it was out. But, with trne Christian good feeling, he consented to join his brethren at the upper end of the town, in their prayers for rain. When the time arrived, Mr. Barber appeared at meeting, with his overcoat on his arm (although it was clear, hot, scorch- ing weather), and on being wonderingly interrogated as to his

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REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES.

motive of bringing it, replied, that he "came to pray for rain, and he expected it." Before the day closed the rain did come, sure enough, and, still more wonderful to relate, in passing, as it did pretty generally, over the town, it passed around Mr. Barber's land, and left his hay uninjured.

Among some of the Rev. Timothy Edwards's manuscripts we find:

" A Record of Some Remarkable and Gracious answers of Prayer, Remarkable [Providences] and sonie other things of a Spiritual Nature I have met with in the course of my Life, and first of Remarkable Deliverances, Recoveries."

A few extracts will show our readers the nature of these remarkable incidents:

1. When I was a little child (as Ihave been told by my Father as I remember) I fell into a Tub of Water, and ye providence of God sent one to my Relief and y' strangely, who passing by upon Occasion, Saw me and took me out almost dead.

2. When I was a School boy I took a gun In my hand, which an Indian's hunting Gun, and as he said yt was ye owner of it, a gun that Seldom or never missed fire. This gun was charged with a brace of bullets. I held it out against one of my school- mates, John Hunter by name, who was old Goodman Mitchell's Servt. I aimed at his breast putting my hand to ye pricker, he being at about 8 foot distance, and said these wds as I remem- ber. " Oh, Hunter, if you were an enemy now how I could shoot you down," thinking no harm at all, not being aware yt ye gun was charged or if it had been that there was any danger of its going off, but the cock being half bent, went down, and it either fired or as standers by affirmed flashed in ye pan, and yet no harm ensued. Those that stood by were amazed to see how narrowly the boy escaped, and so was my father, being called in out of ye Shop, together with ye Indian, both whom very much wondered when they heard how it was. My Father looked upon it as little less than a miracle and said " If Mr. Mather's Book of Remarkable Providences had not been out before, he would have that put in amongst them." I was also much amazed and affected with God's wonderful goodness to me in Keeping of me - ] miraculously from wantonly, though [ ] killing one of my neighbors, and therefore [ ] to keep ye Record of it by me.

On another occasion he tumbled off a cherry tree and liked to have broken his neck - only he didn't; and again he came very near going under the ice while skating -if some one had not called to him and caused him to stop. And then he remembers, that when a boy at the grammar school at Hartford, he one day

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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

performed some very foolish feats of climbing on a cherry tree, by way of "bravado to show some of my mates (one of them, at least, viz: Thos. Olcott's son) how venturesome and bold I was, and yet God safely brought me down again," on to the solid earth, which was a sincere cause of gratitude to this pious man in all after life.

We have room for but one more example of the Rev. Tim- othy's hairbreadth escapes.

" When I was a school boy, as I was eating some [very] mellow peaches, the stone of one [slipped] down as [I was] sucking of 'em, and stuck in [my] throat, and [ ] speech and my breath so [ ] neither I strove [ ] couldn't, the boys seeing how it was clapt me on the back, but all would not do. I saw plainly that I could not help myself and if God didn't help I should surely die. I was very apprehensive and much afraid of death; my thoughts then I think I can remember pretty exactly, and they were these: 'Now, if God don't won- derfully and miraculously help (which I inwardly desired him to do) I shall die bye-and-bye. Death is a coming towards me apace. I am not far off from it. I have heard of dying, but" now if God be not very gracious I shall quickly know what it is, and I am afraid God will not help me. I have so sinned against him, but, oh, that He would thoughl' Thus being very sensible of my dying and dangerous condition, I, seeing strain- ing and striving was to no purpose, I was ready to despair of help though as I remember I had some little hope at least in the power and mercy of God. Only one thing the boys advised me to do, and that was to go down to the river and drink, which was so far off, that if God had not helped me, I should have dropped down dead long before I came there. However I was willing to make any experiment or take any likely course to save my life, for which I was so concerned in my mind, that I did not think of the impossibility of getting any help by doing as they advised me. Accordingly I went to my master to ask leave to go out, and by the time I came half way to him I thought with myself, "what do I go to ask leave for? I can not speak and besides my life lies upon it. I have need to make all the haste I can, I may venture to ge out without leave to save my life, and so I turned back again before I came to him and run in a fright and in haste towards the door so as to go down to the river, and when I came to the door, unexpectedly without any straining or striving at all, when I had not many moments more to live, the peach stone came out as though it went of itself. God, by his power, brought it out from me and saved my life; he helped me when I couldn't help myself, yea, and when all the men in the world couldn't help me, when I was almost past help, being just at death's door. Then I was "as a brand plucked out of the burning."

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REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES.

Such was the " frame of mind," in which our ancestors lived, labored and died. A sweet sense of God's power, presence and providence illumined all the events and providences of their earthly life. Let us take the lesson to our own hearts.

CHAPTER XXV.

WINDSOR LOCKS.

1833-1859.

The northern portion of the ancient town of Windsor, was, from its early settlement, called Pine Meadow, down to 1833, when a post office was established and the name changed to WINDSOR LOCKS, combining the good old name of Windsor with the canal improvements which were completed in 1829.

The first house was built by Henry Denslow, about the year 1662, from thirty to forty rods south of the town lock, on the point of a hill. Tradition says he was killed by the Indians, in 1676, while attending to his crops, and it is confirmed by a re- cord of the answer from an Indian prisoner to the question pro- posed by the committee of safety, " Who killed Henry Denslow ?"

Ephraim Haskell and Seth Dexter, in 1769, bought 160 acres of land, "with the saw mill thereon standing," on the site of the present one. The first clothier works in this section of the country, was built in 1769 by Seth Dexter, who moved from Rochester, Mass., to this place in 1770. The clothier's business was carried on by the family, until 1817 when David, son of Seth, sold the property to Timothy Mather and moved to Am- herst, Mass.

Jabez Haskell, who also moved from Rochester in 1770-with Seth Dexter, in 1784, built a grist mill a few rods east of the present one, which was removed to make way for the canal. The present grist mill was built in 1819 by their descendants, and the mills are still in their possession.

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WINDSOR LOCKS.

In the summer of 1776, the head of each of the nine families comprising the population of Pine Meadow, with a single exception, were in the army at New York.

In 1811, H. & H. Haskell built a distillery for the manufac- ture of Gin -- and continued the business until 1833 ; then aban- doned it.

The canal around Enfield Falls, five miles in length, over- coming a fall of thirty feet, was completed in 1829, for navi- gation and water power, built mostly by Hartford capital. The population at this time was about 300.

1831. Jonathan Danforth from New York built the foundery (now occupied by H. A. Converse as a foundery since 1844), and a small building on the north for a finishing and packing room in the manufacture of door butts, which was continued near two years, when the proprietor "struck his flag" to a cheaper imported article which came into the market. These buildings were occupied a few years in the manufacture of cotton batting, by Griswold & Co. of Hartford, Elisha Jenks of Warehouse Point, also Sexton, Woodward & Co. of the same place. In 1844, Slate & Brown, from Stafford, erected on the site of the finishing building, the present building for a machine shop, occupying it several years in the manufacture of cotton and other kinds of machinery. The building is now owned by L. B. Chapman and is occupied by A. G. West in manufacturing sewing and various other kinds of machines.

Samuel Williams, of Hartford, built a six engine paper mill just north of the Ferry-way, and failed during the financial trouble in 1837. In 1838, the mill was again put in operation under a joint stock company, by the name of WINDSOR MILLS, but for want of ballast was foundered in about two years. While the varied interest of mortgagers, endorsers and stock- holders were being legally adjusted, the property passed into the possession of the Connecticut River Company, for non-pay- ment of water rent. It was however disposed of by the parties in interest to Persse & Brooks, of New York in 1844, and by them put, and continued, in operation until it was burnt in 1856. In 1856, they rebuilt it, making an eight engine mill. This with

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two others, were transferred in 1857 to the Persse & Brooks Paper Works.

1836. Carleton of New Hampshire and Niles of Hartford built a large saw mill, and manufactured lumber several years. After the death of Mr Niles, the property was sold to J. B. Chap- man, and run by him until his death in 1847, when the business was abandoned, and it was subsequently sold to C. B. Hutchins & Co. of New Hampshire, and by them to James Outterson who converted the works into a paper mill. After the death of Mr. Outterson, it was again sold to Converse, Burbank & Co. in 1855, who removed the paper mill and manufactured manilla paper about one year. It was then sold in 1857, to Persse & Brooks. and by them the same year to the Persse & Brooks Paper Works.

1838. Haskell & Hayden commenced the sewing silk busi- ness in the old Distillery buildings (which were burnt in 1848, and rebuilt the same year), and is continued successfully by them.

1839. James H. Wells, Jr., of Hartford, built a two engine paper mill for hardware paper just south of the Ferry-way, was unsuccessful in manufacturing, sold the mill and house in 1843, to C. P. Hollister of Andover, Conn., who ran the mill on printing paper, until it was burnt in 1847. The ruins were sold, in 1849, to A. & G. Blake of Wrentham, Mass., who commenced to rebuild for the manufacture of cotton batting, but their buoyant hopes were crushed by old embarrassments, before a cover to the walls could be raised. The unfinished property was sold to L. B. Chapman, in 1850, who finished the building and sold it to Medlicott & Osgood who are now manufacturing stockinet goods.

1845. Philip & E. G. Ripley of Hartford built a rolling mill about fifty rods south of the lower (canal) bridge, for the manufacture of iron. In 1852, E. G. Ripley retired from the business, which was carried on by P. Ripley until 1856, when the works were leased to T. G. Nock for five years, but one year's business enabled him to retire. The works have not been occupied since.

1845. Josiah Rice of Hartford erected a building a few rods north of the rolling mill, for the manufacture of Wesson rifles; but, instead of rifles, cotton batting and thread were manu-

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factured by several rotating successors until 1849, when the property was sold to Apollo Willmarth of Medway, Mass .- the present owner, and a manufacturer of thread and twine.

1846. Royal Prouty, formerly from Spencer, Mass., built a house a few rods north of the town (canal) bridge for the manu- facture of various kinds of wire, blind staples and covered bonnet wire. In the fall of 1857 the public were surprised by a. a dissolving view of Mr Prouty and most of his property. The works are now occupied by W. E. Rice of Worcester.

1846. The Connecticut River Company built a large building near the locks, to rent for various mechanical purposes, but in 1847 rented the building to the Connecticut River Mills, a joint stock company owned mostly in Hartford, for the manufacture of printing cloths and umbrella goods, which was continued nine years without a dividend, when the stockholders sold out their interest to A. Dunham and others, who are successfully manufacturing a superior article of thread.

1847. C. H. Dexter built a four-engine paper mill to manu- facture manilla paper, to which he has added another engine, and otherwise increased the work.

1847. Leander Hotchkiss erected a building near the lower canal bridge, for the purpose of manufacturing edge tools, in company with Charles Dickerman of Westfield, but failing to agree, it was occupied by Hotchkiss as a small machine shop until 1849, when it was sold to Carroll & Risley and by them converted into a two engine paper mill for printing paper, and was run by them until the death of Mr Risley, when the property was sold in 1853 to S. N. Risley who carried on the business until 1857 and failed ; one of the mortgagers, John C. Ely of New York run the mill five months in 1858, then closed- the gates remaining in a statu quo condition until a fire in March, 1859, destroyed it. The ruins and land were sold in April to C. H. Dexter.

1854, 5 and 6. Persse & Brooks, built one of the best and largest paper mills in the country, fourteen 36 inch engines and three 84 inch Fourdrinier machines, with all the modern im- provements in machinery, to make first class book papers. In 1857, they obtained an act of incorporation under the name of

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Persse & Brooks Paper Works, which commenced its existence on the 1st of August, 1857, comprising three mills, store house, dwellings, &c., capital $450,000, employing about 200 hands, and making about eight tons of paper per day. The great financial crisis which commemorates this year, caused Persse & Brooks to suspend in September, but not affecting the corporation. The mills are in successful operation for the benefit of their creditors.

This year, also, the place was incorporated as a distinct town, under the name of WINDSOR LOCKS.

1859. The population of Windsor Locks is now about 1500. It contains 6 paper mills, 2 thread mills, 1 rolling mill, 1 silk and one stockinet manufactory, 1 wire mill, 1 saw mill, 1 grist mill, and a manufactory of Holbrook's school apparatus, 7 stores, 1 Congregational Church, 1 Catholic Church, and a Methodist Congregation occupying a hall.

The Congregational Church of Windsor Locks, a branch of the First Church of Windsor, was organized on the 28th of February, 1844, in the chapel built ten years before on the ground in front of the present church edifice, and since that time regularly used as a place of public worship, until the erection of the present house. Its original members were thirteen. Two others, whose letters failed to come in season for the organization, were received the following sabbath : making the number at the beginning fifteen, six males and nine females.

Rev. SAMUEL H. ALLEN, the first and only pastor, was ordained April 22d, 1846, after one year's probationary services with the church. The house of worship now occupied, was begun in July following, and dedicated on the 17th March, 1847.

CHAPTER XXVI.

WINDSOR SINCE 1800.

The history of Windsor, since the year 1800, is simply the record of a quiet, prosperous agricultural town; possessing little or no interest, and unmarked by any event more startling than an occasional flood. We have enquired anxiously of all knowledgeable persons now living in Windsor, but could gain no interesting items of the town's progress within their recol- lections. We have painfully turned over leaves of musty old diaries and memorandum books, and have diligently consulted files of newspapers, but all to no purpose. Windsor has lived and grown, but of the process of growth there is little trace left.

In the war of 1812, some considerable political excitement agitated this as well as other towns; and a volunteer company was formed, which served at New London.

From an orderly book, belonging to the late David Pinney, we extract the following list of the members of the company. From a list of privates in the possession of H. H. Barbour, Esq., of Hartford, which he kindly placed at our disposal, we have selected a few additional names designated by an asterisk:

"Fort Trumbull, February 13, 1813. Provisions drawing for 60 men, from the above date to March 1st."

Capt. Blanchard, Lieut. Jas. R. Halsey, Samuel White, Ensign Jos. Smith, H. Rawdon, Sargt. Abel Strong, Ethan Merril, Cyrus Bissell, Samuel Stiles,

Eliphalet G. Allyn,

Levi Markham,

Morris Gillespie,

Pyrannus Holcomb,

John Smith, 2d

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Sargt. Chas. P. Hempstead,

Roswell Brooks,

Calvin Adams,

Samuel Hunting,

Corp'l Richard Allyn,

Oliver Roberts,

Augustus Hoskins,

Stephen L. Wilson,

Timothy Wilson,

Aaron Smith, 1st,

J. F. Phelps,

Zenas Clark,

Amasa Bailey,

Jasper Peck,

Avery Parsons,

Luther Lewis,

Wm. Thrall,

Harlow Case,

Henry Clark, 1

Richard Allen,

Chauncey Alford,

Zenas Sikes, 2ª,

Samuel Hathaway,

Horace Sikes,

Alfred Sikes,

Samuel Huntington,

Nathaniel Snow,

Joseph Dilson,

Joel Loomis,

Timothy B. Strickland,

Fredus Griswold, 3d

Cyrus How,

Jonathan Kent,

Apollos Owen,

Roswell Cook,

Wm. Porter,

Chester Soper,

Wareham Griswold, 2ª,

Wait Hicox,

* Hez. Griswold,

Thos. W. Stephens,

* Wm. Allyn, 3ª,

Philip Barnes,

* Ethan Barker, Jr.,

Augustus Stebbins, 2

Samuel Hathaway,

* Elihu Newbury, of Winton- bury, fifer,

Austin Hall,

* Timothy Townsend.

To this we may add the name of David Pinney, orderly ser- geant.

Major Martin Ellsworth, 3 served at New London.

Cyrus Griswold3 was in the 25th regiment, U. S. army.

The late Mayor William Howard3 was also an officer in the U. S. army.

Ancient Windsor formerly covered an area of some forty-six square miles, but, by the separation of several towns from its limits, has been greatly shorn of its fair proportions, and is now bounded north by Windsor Locks; east by the Connecticut River; south by Hartford and Bloomfield; and west by Bloom-

1 On H. H. Barbour's list is named as drummer.

2 Or Gustavus ?

3 Not in the list. Added by ourselves, on good authority.

Samuel Tucker,

Daniel Marshall,

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FIRST SOCIETY.

field and Simsbury. Its surface may be considered as divided into three planes or levels; the first, broad, rich meadow land, skirted by the river; west of this, a higher level, on which the village is mainly built; and west of this, a yet higher elevation, covered with woodland, etc., extending back towards the bounds of Bloomfield and Simsbury. The soil is variable, but all of it good. The inhabitants of Windsor are industrious, well-educated and " well to do in the world "- indeed, New England contains no pleasanter town or society than Old Windsor.

Churches, schools, etc., have been described in the preceeding pages.

The only manufacture carried on in Windsor, is that of woolen goods, by the SEQUASSON WOOLEN COMPANY. This was first started in the spring and summer, of 1853, under the name of the Windsor Knitting and Manufacturing Company, and was fitted up for the production of stockinet; but, owing to private difficulties, the property was assigned and sold before any goods were made. The present company was formed in the spring of 1835, with a capital of $26,000, owned by twelve individuals. . The following gentlemen were elected officers, and held office without change until January Ist, 1859: Wm. S. Pierson, M. D., president; E. N. Phelps, secretary; F. M. Brown, treas- urer; Wm. A. Lovell, agent. The first goods were sent to market December 6th, 1855. The mill is a substantial edifice of brick, four stories high, located a little northeast of the present railroad depot, and contains three sets of machinery, driven by steam. The annual amount of production is about $75,000; the annual amount paid for labor, is about $11,000; the annual quantity of wool used, is about 80,000 lbs; the annual number of hands employed, is from forty five to fifty. The present officers are, L. B. Chapman, president; E. N. Phelps, secretary; F. M. Brown, treasurer; Wm. W. Billings, agent.

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The history of ancient Windsor, Connecticut, Part 44

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