The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Vol. I, Part 11

Author: Trumbull, J. Hammond (James Hammond), 1821-1897
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Boston, E. L. Osgood
Number of Pages: 870

USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Vol. I > Part 11

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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

a division of these lands, and Mr. Kimberley made a survey, from which it was calculated that five towns might be laid out eastward of the Housatonic River, four north of Litchfield, and one between Litch- field and the river. The deed dividing the land between the two towns bears date Feb. 11, 1732, and the proprietors of Hartford became the owners of Hartland, Winchester, New Hartford, and the eastern half of Harwinton, while Colebrook, Barkhamsted, Torrington, and the western half of Harwinton were assigned to Windsor. The Assembly passed a law providing that each tax-payer of the two towns, on their lists for 1720, should own a share, in proportion to his list, in one of these new townships, at the rate of more than three acres to the pound of his list. The lands belonging to the colony were sold, and the pro- ceeds were devoted to the support of the schools, this money being divided among the towns then settled, to remain a perpetual fund.

The settlement of Harwinton was vigorously carried on at once, and that of New Hartford a few years later; but the remaining townships were unoccupied, save by a few straggling settlers, before 1750, as until and even after that period the danger of attacks from the In- dians was sufficient to deter the people from settling in the wilderness.

In connection with this account of the western lands should be mentioned the "Hartford Riot," as. Dr. Benjamin Trumbull, in his "History of Connecticut," represents it, mistakenly, however, as one of the consequences of that long controversy. "Moreover, the charac- ter and position of some of the parties implicated gave it an importance which does not usually attach to the doings of a mob. The cause and occasion, however, have been completely lost sight of. . . . More recent writers have adopted Dr. Trumbull's version ; and no one, so far as I can discover, has been at the pains of investigating the real causes of this popular outbreak."1 The following account is condensed from Dr. J. H. Trumbull's article on the subject, which appeared in the "Hartford Evening Press," October, 1860.

Joshua, Sachem of the Niantic Indians, by his will, made in 1676, gave large tracts of land in (what now constitutes) the counties of Windham and Tolland, to certain gentlemen of Hartford, Windsor, and elsewhere, reserving a portion on Willimantic and Hop rivers for his sons. His title to the lands which he so liberally distributed was, to say the least, somewhat questionable. It was not without much hesita- tion that the will was admitted to probate, and then only on condition that the legatees should " submit the dispose and improvement of the said lands to the General Court's ordering, to make a plantation of." In 1706 the Hartford legatees received a grant of township privileges for Coventry, and in 1715 those of Windsor were authorized to lay out Tolland. Before that date Captain Jeremiah Fitch, of Norwich, had purchased a considerable tract in Coventry, deriving his title by deed from a Windsor settler who had bought from one of the Windsor lega- tees. A part of his farm was within the tract reserved by Joshua for his sons; and the last survivor, Abimelech, had willed it to Major John Clarke and the Rev. Thomas Buckingham, of Saybrook. Major Clarke brought an action, in May, 1721, against Fitch, in the Superior Court, to recover possession of these lands. Judgment was given for the plaintiff, and execution granted for the costs, amounting to £14 13s. Captain Fitch

1 Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull.

GENERAL HISTORY TO THE END OF THE REVOLUTION.

remained obstinate, the execution was returned unsatisfied, and then the captain was committed to prison in Hartford. His neighbors were indignant at this outrage on squatters' rights. There was scarcely a farm in that region over which there were not two or three conflicting titles. They resolved on a demonstration. Oct. 22, 1722, a party from the Hop River country, joined by some from East Windsor, - about fifty in all, -crossed the Hartford ferry, and, marching to the jail, demanded the immediate release of Captain Fitch. The jailer, Thomas Meakins, refused to comply with their demands, and opposed their en- trance. But a battering-ram was soon found in a piece of timber lying near by. The door was burst open, the rioters rushed in, carried off Captain Fitch in triumph, and made a general jail-delivery. Colonel William Whiting, the High Sheriff, with such assistance as he could muster, pursned and overtook them at the river-side, and made every exertion to recapture the prisoner. But the rioters, after the inter- change of a few blows and some scuffling, in which the Sheriff came off second best, all got safely on board the ferry-boat, and compelled the ferry-man to land them, out of the reach of immediate pursuit, on the eastern side. The General Assembly took immediate measures for the punishment of the offenders, and a special court was ordered to sit in Hartford for this trial, which took place in May, 1723. Fifteen per- sons were tried and convicted ; but Captain Fitch was fully acquitted of all participation in the riot, the court not regarding it as a crime that he walked out of prison with his friends when the doors were opened.

We must now resume the thread of events after the Peace of Utrecht. During the first few years after that event one of the sub- jects which most concerned the people of Hartford County was the proposed removal of the collegiate school from Saybrook, as they were very desirous that it should be located at Wethersfield or Hartford. The sum of £1,000 was offered to the college if it should be removed to Hartford ; and two of the trustees, the Rev. Timothy Woodbridge and the Rev. Thomas Buckingham, favored the plan. Dec. 18, 1716, the town of Hartford voted in favor of this proposal, and one of the reasons mentioned was, that there was little communication between the counties of Hartford and New London and New Haven, "the transporting anything by water being so uncertain." After the As- sembly had decided that the college should go to New Haven, the two opposing trustees offered a remonstrance to that body ; and having the two junior classes at Wethersfield under tuition, they held a Commence- ment there, Sept. 12, 1718, -the same day that the like ceremonies were going on in New Haven, - Mr. Woodbridge presenting the class with certificates that they were worthy to be Bachelors of Arts. He who was afterward known as the great divine, Jonathan Edwards, was one of the youths who figured on this occasion. The people of Hartford were so much gratified by Mr. Woodbridge's stout resistance to the removal of the college to New Haven that they elected him, and also the Rev. Thomas Buckingham, of the South Church, his fellow-pastor in Hartford, to represent them in the General Assembly in 1719; but they were not allowed to take their seats.

That year a new State House was built in Hartford, as an equivalent

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

to the establishment of the college at New Haven. Still, the Wethers- field school was continued, and was a cave of Adullam to which students discontented at New Haven repaired for refuge ; but finally the breach was healed. Mr. Woodbridge was chosen rector pro tempore, after the removal of Mr. Cutler, in 1722, and presided at the Com- mencement in New Haven, as he had done five years before at Wethersfield.

In 1723 the peace of the colony was disturbed by threatenings of another Indian war. Massachusetts had become involved in conflict with the Indians of Maine, and called upon Connecticut for assistance. There was also danger that the tribes on the western and northern borders would sympathize with their brethren; and in August, Major Talcott was ordered to ride upon the frontiers, from Hartford to New Milford, at the head of a body of three hundred men, scouts were sent out to range the woods from Simsbury westward to the Housa- tonic, and the friendly Indians were directed not to go hunting north of the road from Farmington to Woodbury. A Committee of War at Hartford was appointed, consisting of Colonel Matthew Allyn, Esq., Captain Roger Wolcott, Esq., Colonel William Whiting, Captain Aaron Cook, Lieutenant Nathaniel Stanly, and Captain David Goodrich ; and fifty men were sent to the advanced posts of Deerfield and Northfield, in Massachusetts. The new settlement at Litchfield suffered from this war, - some of the inhabitants deserting their new homes on account of the alarm caused from fears of Indian attacks, and also perhaps because of the arduous duties of keeping watch and ward, rendered necessary by the fear of the enemy. The western settlements were considered so exposed that thirty-two men were sent from Hartford, Wethersfield, and Farmington to their assistance. In October, 1724, the Assembly passed a law that all persons who had deserted Litch- field should forfeit their lands there, unless they returned within the space of one month after the rising of the Assembly, or sent other settlers as their substitutes. The Committee of War at Hartford was authorized to admit new settlers in the place of such deserters, and to give them the forfeited lands. In May, 1724, Indians having been discovered lurking about Litchfield, a party of thirty-two men was ordered to go from Hartford, Wethersfield, and Farmington to the aid of that town. The sum of £50 was offered for every Indian scalp produced before the Governor and Council or the Com- mittee of War. In the autumn the fears of a surprise were apparently lessened ; for the friendly Indians were allowed to hunt as formerly, " provided they wore something white upon their heads, to distinguish them as friends." But in March, 1725, there was another alarm, and the detachment in the towns of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor, two hundred strong, were ordered to be in readiness to march at the shortest notice. September 17, Captain Cyprian Nichols and a com- pany of fifty men were ordered into Hampshire County, as the Indians were reported to be preparing to attack. The next year peace was restored, and for a period of fourteen years no war with either French- man or Indian disturbed the colonists.

The wilderness lying east of the Connecticut River, being less ex- posed to hostile incursions than the western lands, naturally attracted numerous settlers. The laying out of Coventry and Tolland has already

GENERAL HISTORY TO THE END OF THE REVOLUTION.

been mentioned. Stafford was incorporated in 1719, and Bolton, - where many Hartford families were represented, - in 1716.

Hartford County, which then embraced a much larger extent of territory than now, suffered diminution a little later. Windham County was established in 1726; and in 1728 the people of Waterbury, at their own request, were annexed to New Haven County. The townships of Norfolk and Salisbury were sold at auction in Hartford, in May, 1738. New Hartford was settled earlier; but these frontier settlements were less popular, for danger from the savages was by no means at an end, and fortifications were needed for safety.

In 1740 a war with a more distant foe claimed the attention of Con- necticut, and in July, Major William Pitkin was appointed to enroll volunteers in Hartford County, and to beat up for recruits for the expedition against the territories of the Catholic King in the West Indies. This was Admiral Vernon's expedition, sent from England to capture Porto Bello and Carthagena. Although successful in capturing Carthagena, an extraordinary sickness attacked the forces, and out of one thousand New Englanders only one hundred lived to return to their homes.

France openly declared war against Great Britain in 1744, having previously assisted Spain secretly in every possible manner. The pre- vious year there appears to have been some alarm with regard to the Indians, as a Committee of War was appointed in Hartford County, consisting of the Deputy Governor, Roger Wolcott, Nathaniel Stanly, Ozias Pitkin, and William Pitkin, Esquires, Captain John Marsh, and Mr. Joseph Buckingham, to send men into the frontier towns and into Hampshire County in case of an invasion.

A great effort was made in 1745 to raise troops for the expedition to Cape Breton, of which William Pepperell was Lieutenant-general, and Roger Wolcott, of Windsor, was second in command, with the rank of Major-general. The popularity of these two commanders induced many of the better sort of people to enlist. Connecticut raised four hundred men, and sent also her sloop, " The Defence," with one hundred men for the sea-service. Great sacrifices and exertions were made by all classes, as the reduction of Louisbourg was believed to be necessary for the peace of New England. The Connecticut forces sailed from New London about the 1st of April, and. the General Assembly ordered the 3d of April to be kept as a day of fasting and prayer for the success of the expedition. The object of these prayers was obtained, and Louisbourg capitulated to the prowess of the provin- cial army, unaided by any British ships or soldiers, after a siege of forty-nine days. After the place was captured it was garrisoned by the New England soldiers, and Connecticut sent, in July, three hun- dred men to assist in occupying the town.

Meanwhile the Committee of War at Hartford were engaged in pro- viding troops for defence nearer home. A company of sixty men was raised in May, to be employed in garrisoning the line of block-houses erected in Massachusetts between the Connecticut River and the Dutch settlements at Hoosack. The next year, 1746, they built a fort in the northwesterly part of Salisbury.

Encouraged by the success of the Louisbourg expedition, another plan was made for the reduction of Canada, in 1746. Connecticut VOL. I. - 6.

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

furnished one thousand men, - Elisha Williams colonel, Samuel Talcott lieutenant-colonel ; but very little was accomplished, although the army was well provided with men and munitions of war.

After the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed in 1748, the colonists were able to turn their attention to the arts of peace, though they still suffered annoyances from the Indians, who by no means scrupulously observed the articles of the treaty. Nevertheless the frontier settle- ments increased rapidly, and by the year 1755 there were many in- habitants in New Hartford, Norfolk, Canaan, and other towns in what is now Litchfield County, that county being established in 1751.

Although Hartford County lost territory by this separation, a partial equivalent for this loss was received by the final cession by Massachusetts of the towns of Suffield and Enfield, in 1752, after a long retention, against the wishes of the inhabitants.

The French as well as the Indians disregarded the provisions of the Treaty of Aix-la-chapelle, and encroached in many places on the north- ern and western frontiers. Their design was to hem the English in and confine them to the Atlantic seaboard. But the colonists, resent- ing thoroughly this attempt to restrict their advance into the rich and fertile country beyond the Alleghanies, resolved that this frontier bristling with savage hostility should be removed, at whatever expense of blood and treasure. The English government promised assistance, and advised the colonists to unite in defence against this common enemy. In accordance with this recommendation a convention of the governors and principal gentlemen of the colonies met at Albany in 1754. Connecticut was represented by the Hon. William Pitkin, Roger Wolcott, Jr., and Elisha Williams, Esq., all of Hartford County. The next year war was openly declared between France and England. One thousand men were raised by Connecticut for Governor Shirley's expedition against Crown Point, and the Committee of War in Hartford County were empowered to assist Massachusetts in building a fort between Fort Massachusetts (now Williamstown) and the Hudson River. After this time the field of hostilities was so far removed from the borders of Connecticut that Hartford County was no longer spe- cially called upon to assist in the defence of Hampshire County ; but she furnished her full share of the men who fought at Crown Point and Ticonderoga. This long and arduous war, lasting seven years, was a heavy strain upon the resources of Connecticut. The treasury being almost exhausted in 1757, in order to raise £1000 a public lottery was opened in Hartford, and Colonel Thomas Welles, of Glaston- bury, Colonel Samuel Talcott, and Mr. Richard Edwards were the managers.

While the colonies were recovering from the effects of this long and costly war, the government in England was preparing the oppres- sive and annoying Stamp Act. When the colonies became aware of the proposed measure, they used all possible means to avert it. Jared Ingersoll, the agent sent to London by Connecticut, finally accepted the office of stamp-master for the colony. When he returned, he experienced great difficulties in executing his duties, and on the road to Hartford he was encountered by the Sons of Liberty near Wethersfield, who escorted him, five hundred strong, into that town, and then insisted on his resigning the office. With considerable

GENERAL HISTORY TO THE END OF THE REVOLUTION.

unwillingness he submitted to the mandates of the crowd, who then took him to Hartford, where the Sons of Liberty formed a semicircle round the court-house. The stamp-master was stationed in a conspicu- ous place, and compelled to read his recantation aloud, in the hearing of the Assembly and the presence of the people. In 1766 the Stamp Act was repealed, to the great joy of the colonies ; but the policy of the English government was not changed. The taxes imposed on imported articles led to the formation of non-importing associations in nearly all the colonies. Some of the New York merchants did not keep this agreement; and Sept. 13, 1770, a convention of merchants and landholders from all the towns in the colony met at New Haven to consider these matters, and also to provide for the growth of home manufactures.

The general dissatisfaction and discontent increased, the proceed- ings of the British ministry being ill calculated to allay the indignation felt in all the colonies. The Boston Port Bill raised a spirit of resist- ance everywhere ; and Connecticut, so closely connected with Massa- chusetts by ties of blood, friendship, and interest, sympathized most keenly with the distressed inhabitants of Boston and Charlestown.

In Farmington the Act of Parliament was burnt by the common hangman in the presence of a large assemblage of people. June 23, 1774, a meeting was held at Glastonbury, Colonel Elizur Talcott chairman ; spirited resolutions were passed, and a committee appointed to receive contributions for the people of Boston; and similar measures were taken in other towns.

Sept. 15, 1774, a convention was held at Hartford, composed of delegates from most of the towns in the eastern and central, and a number from the western section of Connecticut. Many strong reso- lutions were adopted in favor of the Non-Consumption Agreement being entered into by the consumers of British goods. Tea was the article of commerce most disapproved of; and after the Continental Congress had prohibited the purchase and consumption of it, those who used it had to do so by stealth, sentinels being posted at the windows to watch if neighbors or strangers were coming. March 23, 1775, Solo- mon Cowles, of Farmington, and Martha his wife, having been con- victed of partaking of that "detestable and obnoxious vegetable called East India tea," and of having allowed it to be used in their house, were obliged to sign a public confession of their errors, which was printed in the "Connecticut Courant," and to promise that they would in the future conform themselves strictly to the prohibition of Congress. And this is only one example out of many cases.

When the farmers at Lexington "fired the shot heard round the world," Connecticut sprang to arms. Hastily formed companies started at once from the following towns in Hartford County : from Hartford, four companies, under Captains Jonathan Welles, Timothy Cheney, Abra- ham Sedgwick, and George Pitkin ; East Windsor, four companies, under Captains Charles Ellsworth, Matthew Grant, Lemuel Stoughton, and Amasa Loomis; from Simsbury, two companies, under Captains Amos Wilcox and Zachariah Gillet ; from Bolton, two companies, under Cap- tains Ezekiel Olcott and Thomas Pitkin ; from Wethersfield, one, under Captain John Chester; from Enfield, one, under Captain Nathaniel Terry ; from Glastonbury, one, under Captain Elizur Hubbard ; from

MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.

Windsor, one, under Captain Nathaniel Hayden ; and one from Suffield, under Captain Elihu Kent.

The surprise of Fort Ticonderoga was planned in Hartford, mostly by Hartford County men, who borrowed money from the colonial trea- sury to defray the expense, giving their individual obligations with security. These persons were Samuel Wyllys, Samuel Holden Parsons, Silas Deane, Samuel Bishop, Jr., William Williams, Thomas Mumford, Adam Babcock, Joshua Porter, Jesse Root, Ezekiel Williams, and Charles Webb. Their proceedings were carried on ostensibly without the knowledge of the Assembly, then in session, and a committee was appointed to complete the arrangements for this daring project. This committee selected sixteen men from Connecticut, the following being Hartford County men : Epaphras Bull, William Nichols, Elijah Babcock, Captain John Bigelow, Bernard Romans, Ashbel Welles, of Hartford ; Captain Elisha Phelps and Noah Phelps, of Simsbury. This party went to Pittsfield, where Colonel James Easton, of that town, a native of Hartford, joined them with forty men from Berkshire County. At Ben- nington they were reinforced by one hundred men, and Colonel Ethan Allen took command of the expedition. The result of the attack is well known, but the initiative taken by Connecticut has not always been recognized. At the same time that Ticonderoga was taken, was cap- tured also Major Skene, of Skenesborough, a prominent loyalist, with several members of his family. They were sent to Hartford with Cap- tain Delaplace, the commander at Ticonderoga, and other officers. The remaining prisoners, forty-seven in number, came later, under the escort of Mr. Epaphras Bull. The elder Major Skene, or Governor Skene, as he was called, was also sent to Hartford by the Continental Congress. He and his son left Hartford, without liberty, July 25, but were easily found at Middletown. On their return they were removed to a " very commodious and pleasantly situated house in the West Society," Mrs. Hooker's,1 and apparently lived there in a very comfortable manner, Major French being quartered there also. Their conduct, however, did not always please the people of the West Division, and they narrowly escaped a coat of tar and feathers.

The prisoners taken at St. John's, in Canada, in 1775, were quar- tered in Wethersfield, on their parole of honor not to depart from the town.

In 1775, Colonel Erastus Wolcott, Samuel Wadsworth, Ezekiel Williams, Epaphras Bull, Henry Allyn, Colonel Fisher Gay, Colonel Matthew Taleott, Colonel James Wadsworth, Jonathan Welles, Ebenezer White, and Colonel J. Humphrey were appointed a committee to pro- vide for the prisoners of war in Hartford.

During the early years of the Revolution many prisoners of impor- tance were sent to Hartford and its vicinity for safe-keeping. A town so far inland was in little danger of being surprised by the British forces, and the people were so ardent in the cause of independence that they could be relied upon to keep strict guard over the captives. Gov- ernor Franklin, of New Jersey, was for a time in a house in South Windsor. Mayor Matthews, of New York, was brought to Hartford,

1 This house is now standing on the hill in Elmwood, at the junction of the New Britain and Newington roads, and was long known as the Mills place. Anecdotes relating to the stay of the British officers are still related by descendants of families residing in the vicinity.

GENERAL HISTORY TO THE END OF THE REVOLUTION.

but obtained liberty to stay at Litchfield, in charge of Captain Moses Seymour. Other gentlemen from New York made the journey to Hart- ford for being suspected of entertaining sentiments unfriendly to the American cause. The mayor of Albany, the postmaster, and the clerk of that county also came hither on a compulsory visit.

Epaphras Bull, of Hartford, was appointed in 1776 commissary of the prisoners of war in this State, to observe all the orders of the Gen- eral Assembly and the Continental Congress, and to make monthly returns of the condition of said prisoners to the board of war appointed by Congress.

In 1777, prisoners taken at Princeton and on Long Island were brought here, among them several Hessian officers ; and later a number of Burgoyne's soldiers, Colonel Spade, the Hessian, being one.

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The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Vol. I, Part 11

Author: Trumbull, J. Hammond (James Hammond), 1821-1897 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Boston, E. L. Osgood Number of Pages: 870

Author: Trumbull, J. Hammond (James Hammond), 1821-1897
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Boston, E. L. Osgood
Number of Pages: 870