USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Derby > The history of the old town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1880. With biographies and genealogies > Part 62
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He frequently officiated among his people by special appoint- ment. On one occasion he was to preach on Great Hill where the church services were a rarity and the people anxious to hear him. Prayer-book exercises through, the Doctor felt for his ser- mon but drew by accident from his loose pocket nothing but his long pipe, for he was a noted smoker. Before he began to. extemporize a layman "spoke out in meeting " and said, " Par- son, if you had put your sermon with your pipe you would have known where to find it."
Dr. Mansfield was never idle. Among his diversified and arduous duties he found time to cultivate the lands about his residence, in which he took particular pride. The venerable elm that now adorns the front yard of the " old Mansfield house " at Up Town, was planted and nourished by him more than a hundred years ago, he having brought it from New Haven on horseback. The black walnut so fashionable in this age was first introduced into Derby by Dr. Mansfield. On his return from England in 1748, the year of his ordination, he brought in his pocket some of the "old England walnuts" and had them planted on the farm now owned by the heirs of the late Capt. Asa Bassett. One seed took root and grew to be a large tree, the stump of which we believe, in part, still remains. In his old age, then ninety-five, one of his parishioners (named Haw- kins) carried him some walnuts from that tree with the remark : " These grew from the seed planted by you seventy years ago."
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
The old Doctor smiled and said : " If such be the fruits of Eng- land in the vegetable world what may we not expect in the ani- mal ? "
We might call up many more pleasing reminiscences of this excellent divine. As a preacher he was earnest, persuasive and scripturally interesting. In a word, his connection with the Episcopal church in Derby for nearly three-quarters of a century largely identifies his name with her history, and the people here are greatly indebted to him for the good fruits of his long, faith- ful and untiring ministry. How striking the example, and how suggestive to the clergy of modern times, the labors of such a man. In season and out of season he went about doing the will of his divine Master. Ever watchful for the greatest good of his people he was an acceptable minister indeed. " An Israel- ite in whom there was no guile." In the language of the excel- lent Cowper :
" We would express him simple, grave, sincere ; In doctrine uncorrupt, in language plain, And plain in manner; decent, solemn, chaste, And natural in gesture ; much impressed Himself, as conscious of his awful charge, And anxious, that the flock he feeds May feel it too. Affectionate in look, And tender in address, as well becomes A messenger of grace to guilty men."
In person he was tall, venerable and commanding, and it is said of him for fifty years he scarcely changed the cut or color of his garments, which were the small clothes and shoes. He wore the large white wig surmounted with a broad flat-brimmed hat. Such was an embassador of Christ in olden times, who closed his useful labors August 12, 1820, aged ninety-six years. He still lingers in the affection of those who remember his godly example and pious teachings, with profit and comfort to their souls. A "memorial window " in the flourishing church of An- sonia holds sacred his memory. Near where was the corner- stone of the first Episcopal church edifice erected in Derby, an humble slab, leaning towards the rising sun, for over half a cen- tury has marked the place where he lies, over which many grateful tears have been shed. Through the munificence of his descendants an imposing monument has very recently been erected.
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BIOGRAPHIES.
MRS. SARAH MILLS,
Daughter of Rev. Daniel and Sarah (Riggs) Humphreys, was born in 1750, and married the Rev. Samuel Mills, and they were residing in Fairfield when that place was burned in 1779, in the Revolution, and it was where her house stood, probably, that her brother, General Humphreys, wrote his poem on the burn- ing of Fairfield, for he says he wrote it at that place. It is said that when the British burned that place on the 7th of July, 1779, she fled on horseback, having put her best feather-bed across the horse, and came to Derby. The parsonage and the church in which her husband had preached were burned to the ground. He probably was settled in Chester, where he died in 1814, and she returned to Humphreysville to reside. She married Chipman Swift, Esq., father of the Rev. Zephaniah Swift, March 8, 1819. Mrs. Ann Stephens was at the wedding festivities, and gives some interesting description of the occasion and of the bridal dress on page 454 of this book. In personal appearance, style and manners she was a good illustration of the same in her honored mother. Lady Humphreys. She was for the times highly educated, and published a volume of her poems. She died March 31, 1827, aged seventy-seven years.
REV. JOSEPH MOSS
Was the son of Joseph Moss of New Haven, and was born April 7, 1679. He was graduated at Harvard College in 1699, and received the degree of A. M. at Yale in 1702, and was en- gaged some time as teacher in the Hopkins grammar school. In the spring of 1706 he was engaged to supply the pulpit in Derby immediately after the dismissal of Mr. James, and soon after was invited to settle as pastor, but did not see fit to accept the offer, although continuing to preach there. A further offer and the urgency of the people of Derby prevailed, and he was ordained there in the spring of 1707. By the gift of lands by the town he became a farmer as well as minister, and his influence was very soon felt in the improvement of public schools. He served several years as town clerk, and after a few years his salary was placed in the form of fourpence on the pound, under which arrangement he kept the rate bills and account of the
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
payments and delinquents, and a short time before his death the town made quite an offer, providing he would surrender these old rate bills, but for what end is not known.
It was the next year after the settlement of Mr. Moss that the Saybrook synod or council met and gave expression to certain principles of church order that were then becoming quite accept- able to many Congregational people, which Rev. Dr. Bacon very appropriately says, "implied that the new form of ecclesiastical government in Connecticut was to be, in some sort, and to some extent, a compromise with Presbyterian principles." The ac- ceptance of the platform of Saybrook by the Legislature made it the state or legal platform or principles of church government, and every church that did not accept this platform was denomi- nated a dissenting church, or as in Derby the dissenting Presby- terian church, which meant the holding to the old Congregational ideas. Mr. Moss and his church took their position finally as a dissenting church, and hence probably did not practice the half- way covenant.
Mr. Moss was a very capable, well qualified and successful minister. Dr. Benjamin Trumbull says of him : " He was a gentleman of great depth of understanding and as well skilled in mathematics as almost any in the government " In his day occurred " what was known among the churches of this region as the great 'Episcopal schism.' At this time several of our ministers became dissatisfied with their 'Presbyterian ordina- tion' and desired ordination at the hands of bishops. In the historical collection of Massachusetts there is a letter preserved which was written by Mr. Moss to Cotton Mather, setting forth the facts of this episode and giving the names of the disaffected ministers. In this letter Mr. Moss pithily remarks that, although disaffected with their condition, these ministers were not so dis- satisfied that they were willing to give up their Congregational pulpits for conscience' sake, although the churches would wish to be rid of them ! "20
Mr. Moss was a man who commanded some money, as appears from several transactions recorded, and thereby exerted a larger influence both at home and abroad, and his ministerial work
2'Rev. J. Howe Vorse's centennial sermon, 1876.
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BIOGRAPHIES.
was the more highly appreciated, as is frequently the case at the present day.
Three of his brothers settled in the parish and married into the best families, which gave additional strength and force to his professional life. His pastorate continued until his death in 1731. His remains were buried in the old Up Town cemetery, near the centre. His tombstone is a short lead-colored marble slab, bearing this inscription :
" Here lyes interr'd ye body of ye Rev. Joseph Moss, ye faithful and affectionate Pastor of ye flock in this town 25 years ; a learned man, a good Christian, who departed this life January 23, Anno Dom. 1731. Ætatis Suæ, 53.
" With Holy ardor of Seraphic love
He dropt his clay and soared to Christ above."
H. B. MUNSON
Was born in Middlebury, Conn., January, 1821, and scarcely had the advantages of the district school, for he was bound out in early life to learn the carpenter and joiner's trade, where he continued until he was twenty-one years of age, so that what he had was as he says " picked up nights and Sundays." He was admitted to the bar in 1846, and soon after located in Seymour to practice his profession, where he still continues. From 1852 to 1854, he was judge for New Haven county, and for the prompt and impartial manner in which he discharged his duties he received great commendation, not only from the newspapers but from the members of the bar.
Rough-hewn, like the marble in the quarry, Judge Munson has risen to a high standing in his profession. His native tal- ents are of the first order, and before courts and jury he is a sort of sledge-hammer as an advocate. Not learned, nor pol- ished, yet he is a convincing pleader, and has succeeded far above many who have had the advantages of a liberal education. He has ably represented his town six times in the Legislature, and being a life-long democrat has exerted great influence in his party.
MAJOR THOMAS M. NEWSON
Was born in New York city, and received his early education in a private school in New Haven. He says he " graduated at
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the great practical school of humanity." He learned the trade of a printer, and became editor of a paper at the age of eighteen years. He started the first newspaper printed in Derby in 1847, and removed to St. Paul, Minn., in 1852 ; was four years in the Union army, has been lecturer and an explorer in the far West, is author of the drama of " Life in the Black Hills," which met with a quick sale of 20,000 copies.
In 1878 he established his present illustrated monthly maga- zine, one of the most popular periodicals of the West. He is a ready and forcible writer, and many of Derby's citizens will learn with satisfaction of his present prosperity, for his departure from the town was deeply regretted.
REV. CHARLES NICHOLS
Was born at Derby Narrows, in the year 1798. When fifteen years of age, his father being deceased, his mother placed him to service in the family of Dea. Daniel Holbrook, where he remained until nineteen years of age, when he engaged in teaching school. Of this, his first beginning in the world of employments, he wrote in 1878 :
" I being then a poor youth, fatherless, despondent, awkward, miser- ably equipped as to clothing. books and acquaintance with society, took charge of an academy in Huntington, Long Island, and actually began my school with prayer, making in the hearing of my stranger pupils the first prayer before others that I had ever audibly made in my life. Whether I should have taken this step had not your brother (Chipman Swift) presented the subject to my mind months previously I do not know. God meant it for good, and this step being taken in the right direction, it led to other good things It made the manage- ment of my school comparatively easy. It gained me the respect of good people. It led to my taking part in the prayer meetings of the church. It imposed a restraint upon me in reference to my word, tem- per and action. It separated me from all intimacy with profane and profligate young men."
Mr. Nichols continued in this school as teacher nearly two years, and then spent three years in the theological department of Yale college, and entered upon life as a pastor September 28, 1825. He received the honorary degree of A. M. from Yale in 1871. He was a settled pastor at Gilead in Hebron, Conn.,
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September 28, 1825, where he remained until his dismissal in October, 1856, a term of thirty-one years, and afterwards preached several years at Higganum in Haddam. He died at New Britain.
THOMAS J. O'SULIVAN, M. D.,
Was born at Preston, Conn., March 1, 1852, his early education being secured at Norwich Free Academy, Conn., and Nicolet College, Canada, from which institution he graduated. Enter- ing the University of Vermont at Burlington, he took one course of lectures and then went to Bellevue Medical College, New York, where he received the degree of M. D. and entered upon the practice of his profession at Worcester, Mass., where he remained until his removal to Birmingham in 1878, where he is engaged in a good practice.
ELEAZER PECK,
Son of Benjamin C. Peck of Woodbury, a descendant of Joseph Peck of Stratford, in the seventh generation, was born in Woodbury, Conn., in 1808. Removed to Derby in 1829 ; was associated with David Bassett in the manufacture of augers until 1845. About 1849 he left manufacturing to engage in mercantile business in the new village of Ansonia, and built the first store in that place. He continued to be a successful merchant until 1870, when on account of declining health he retired from business. He was twice married ; first to Nancy Mansfield ; second, to Louise Martentrough, both granddaugh- ters of the Rev. Richard Mansfield, D. D. He had one child by his first wife, a son, who died at six years, and five children by his second wife, who all died in childhood, except one daugh- ter, Eliza, who married A. W. Webster, Esq., and lives at pres- ent at the family residence in Ansonia. Mr. Peck died July, 1878.
GEORGE HOBART PECK,
Fourth son of Ephraim Birdseye Peck of Woodbury, removed to Birmingham in 1863, and succeeded Mr. G. H. Corlies in the drug business, which he conducted alone until 1873, when he entered into a partnership with Charles H. Coc, and the busi- ness is still conducted under the style of G. H. Peck and Co.
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
In 1866 Mr. Peck became a stockholder in the Star Pin Com- pany, a new interest just organizing for the manufacture of pins, and was elected president of the company, which office he held until 1875, when. by the purchase of stock, he became more largely interested in the business ; and upon the resignation of Mr. J. Tomlinson, former secretary and treasurer of the company, he was elected secretary and treasurer and assumed the manage- ment of the business of the company, which he still continues.
He was elected Judge of Probate, District of Derby, in 1869, 70, 71 ; was elected to Legislature in 1873 ; and has been war- den in the Church since 1866.
He was married in 1856 in Tecumseh, Mich., to Maria P. Stillson, a daughter of David Stillson formerly of Woodbury. Has three children ; Ina Gertrude, Irving Hobart and How- ard Birdseye.
ROBERT PECK
Born in Woodbury, Conn., in 1825 ; the third son of Ephraim Birdseye Peck of Woodbury, a descendant of Joseph Peck of Stratford in the sixth generation. Removed from Woodbury to Ansonia in 1870 to engage in the dry goods trade, having purchased the long established business of Mr. Eleazer Peck. He continued in trade till 1876, when he sold his stock, and soon after succeeded Scott Brothers in the job printing business in the village of Shelton, which he still continues, residing in Ansonia as before.
For a number of years one of the burgesses of the borough of Ansonia ; in 1873 was elected warden ; has been trial justice for many years, and an active member of the board of vestry of Christ's Church ; has been twice married ; first to Catharine M. Farr, of Woodbury, who died in 1854. His second wife is Sarah L. Lindley, a daughter of Ira Lindley, Esq., of Danbury, Conn. They have one child, Minnie C. Peck.
DOCT. JOSEPH PERRY
Was born at Quaker's Farm about 1727, and died in Woodbury, April 29, 1793, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. He is said to have been the third English child born at Quaker's Farm. He prepared himself for the practice of medicine and settled in Wood-
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BIOGRAPHIES.
bury about 1750. For more than forty years he was the leading physician of the town and vicinity, and was frequently called into neighboring towns in critical cases. He fitted many dur- ing his long practice for the profession he so much adorned. He also had much interest in the civil affairs of the town and was frequently engaged in its public business.21
He had a son Nathaniel, who was a physician in Woodbury, and this Nathaniel's son was the honorable Nathaniel Perry of Woodbury.
ANSON GREEN PHELPS,
Whose name occurs so frequently in these pages, was born in Simsbury, Conn., in March, 1781. His father died when he was an infant, and his mother before he was eleven years of age. He was placed under the care of Rev. Mr. Utley, with whom he remained several years, learning a trade. Mr. Phelps's father was among the first who left Simsbury to join the army of the Revolution, and served much of the time through the war as an officer under Gen. Green, and in memory of whom he named his son. His wife, mother of Anson Green, a very excellent woman, was reduced to indigent circumstances, and struggled hard to obtain a living during the war. When her husband returned, only to die, nothing was left her but worth- less Continental money.
At an early age Anson G. spent several winters in Charles- ton, S. C., where he established a branch of business. In 1815 he removed to New York city, where he became largely identified with commercial interests. His business, which was dealing in copper, tin, brass, iron and lumber, became very extensive throughout the country, resulting in the establish- ment of a branch firm in Liverpool, England. He was among the most prominent and successful business men in the coun- try. Having accumulated a fortune, he seemed to take delight in starting new enterprises, and building manufacturing vil- lages, and the people of Derby owe him more than a debt of gratitude that he was induced by Sheldon Smith to turn a por- tion of his energies towards the waste places of the town. After Mr. Smith sold his interests in Birmingham, Mr. Phelps
21 Woodbury History, I. 392.
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
was the chief pillar of support in sustaining the early growth and prosperity of the place.
Ansonia, which bears its derivative name from him, owes its existence to his persevering efforts. He interested himself apparently with no selfish ambition ; was a promoter of the public good, and encouraged progress in all directions. Those who recollect his operations in Derby, which were only a small part of his business life, can appreciate his career, in which, being incessantly employed in a great variety of undertakings. he signalized his business talent by success in nearly every- thing he attempted. Armed with an invincible self-reliance, he took counsel chiefly of himself, and often saw success where most other men predicted defeat. He had an iron will, a com- prehensive judgment and power of combination, a physical con- stitution capable of immense endurance, and by these he worked out extraordinary success. He gave liberally of his ample means to all benevolent objects, without regard to class or sect. He took no active part in politics, although a firm friend of the slave, and for many years was president of the American Colonization Society, to which he contributed largely. He enjoyed the personal esteem of many eminent statesmen, such as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and others, who were often guests at his house.
In his daily walk Mr. Phelps was a model Christian. No business relations, however important, were permitted to inter- fere with his devotions or his duties to his church (Congrega- tional) through his long and useful career. This was the crowning fact of his life, that, unlike most men in large business enterprises, he carried his religion into almost every line and department of work, and to this principle, he attributed his success. His Sunday contributions were often more in amount than that of all the congregation. He kept a diary of his religious and business expenses for fifty years. Long will the citizens of Derby hold him in grateful remembrance. He died at New York in November, 1853, in the 74th year of his age.
ALBERT W. PHILLIPS, M. D.,
Was born at Marcellus, N. Y., July 26, 1838, his early educa- tion being secured in the common schools of his native town.
Enged by Geo E. Perine, N.Y.
Che A.Kinney Mas.
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BIOGRAPHIES.
He graduated from the Hannemann Homopathic College, Chi- cago, Ill., in 1861.
At the commencement of the Rebellion he enlisted as a pri- vate in the 12th Regiment, New York State Volunteers, but was afterward appointed hospital steward of the same regiment, and later received the appointment of assistant surgeon of the 149th . Regiment New York Volunteers, and served until the close of the war, when he removed to Birmingham. He has held the office of registrar of vital statistics, and has also been an influ- ential member of the board of burgesses for several years. He has been the only follower of the school " similia similibus curantur" in the town, and has a large and lucrative practice.
CHARLES HITCHCOCK PINNEY, M. D.,
Who has been closely identified with the interests of the town of Derby over a quarter of a century, is a descendant of the ancient line of the Pinneys of Somersetshire, England.
Humphrey Pinney, his earliest ancestor in America, was nephew and heir to Edmund Pinney, gentleman, of Somerset- shire, village of Broadway, so called from being built upon an ancient Roman road which by its breadth and solidity impressed that Saxon ancestor.
Humphrey emigrated to New England March 30, 1630, and settled at Dorchester, Mass. He returned to England the fol- lowing year to prove the will of his uncle, which contained some curious provisions, among them this : A certain amount, the income of a tract of land called Pinney's ground, situated in the adjoining parish of Ile Abbott, was settled in perpetuity upon two poor people of Broadway, said payments to be made quar- terly at the family burial place, known as Pinney's tomb. The legacy is regularly paid to this day, the present holder of the property being William Speake, Esq.
Soon after the return of Humphrey to Dorchester, he, in com- pany with two other gentlemen, purchased of Tehano, sachem of the local Indian tribe, a tract of land covering the site of the present town of Windsor Locks, Conn., one-third of the town of Windsor and the southern part of Suffield. He removed to Windsor in 1635, and resided on Main street, one mile north of
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
the present Congregational church. He died in August, 1683.22
Samuel, his son, born in Dorchester about 1634, settled in Simsbury, where he lived until the town was burned by the Indians in 1676. He then removed to Windsor on the east side of the Connecticut river, now Ellington, he being its first settler, his son Samuel assisting him in the survey of the town and adjustment of its boundaries. Concerning this property in Ellington, the Hon. Judge Benjamin Pinney said recently, " I feel proud in saying that the land bought by Samuel Pinney from the Indians has never been in other hands than the Pin- neys. It is the only tract of land in that town which has never been conveyed by deed from the family descendants. Of this tract no deed can be found but the original Indian deed to Sam- uel Pinney."
Samuel Pinney, jun., was born at Simsbury in 1668. He married at Ellington in 1698 and died about 1740.
Capt. Benjamin Pinney, youngest son of the preceding, was born at Ellington in 1715, and died in November, 1777.
Eleazer, son of the preceding, was born at Ellington, Febru- ary, 1753. He was a lieutenant in the campaign against Bur- goyne, of a Connecticut corps which distinguished itself for bravery. He was at the Stillwater engagement, September 19, 1777, and at Saratoga the following October ; his corps being a part of the division that stormed the camp of Burgoyne and decided the fate of that General's army. Lieutenant Pinney, until age closed his active career, was among the most useful citizens of his town ; represented it in the Legislature ; was selectman fourteen years ; and in various positions of trust so constantly received tokens of preference from his townsmen that he was often alluded to as administrator general of Elling- ton. He died in 1835.
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