USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Vol. I > Part 28
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88
Hartford County has had no little influence upon the live-stock interests of the country. The sight of the first woollen mill in New England, which was in this city, suggested to General David Humphreys the value of raising our own wool ; and in 1802, when he was Minister to Spain, he introduced in this country a large flock of the Spanish merino sheep. Mr. John A. Taintor, a prominent citizen of Hartford, is said to have imported to Hartford, in 1846, the first French merino sheep, though another account names Mr. D. C. Collins, also of Hart- ford, as the first importer. Mr. Taintor was influential in introducing Jersey cattle in this country, and sent over to Hartford the first Jersey herd 2 ever brought to the United States.
In 1796 Hartford County had 55,378 acres of " ploughing land," and the State had 264,507. In 1880 the "improved land " in Hartford County alone was 264,724 acres. The agricultural products of the county have been as follows, at five stated periods, in the past forty years : 3-
1 As late as 1820, Hartford County had but 655 "riding carriages," and there was not one in Burlington or Hartland. Hartford had 160, East Windsor 66, Berlin 64, Wethers- field 62, and Windsor 60.
2 The importation was the result of a chance conversation. Mr. Taintor, when about to sail for England, was in the office of Beach & Co., in Hartford, and Mr. Daniel Buck suggested to him that he bring home some Jerseys. He said he would visit the island if a purse were made up sufficient to make the purchase worth the while. Accordingly he was commissioned to buy twelve. Messrs. Taintor and Buck each took three, and those who took one each were Messrs. George Beach, Elisha Colt, Austin Dunham, and Lawson C. Ives. The cattle came over safely in 1850 on the ship "Splendid," and founded the "Splendid " strain of Jerseys. They were not selected for color, but were bought, regardless of cost, on their more material qualities. Since that time the county has always been remarkable for its fine cattle. The herd of John T. Norton, in Farmington, was famous for years, and now Bristol, Glastonbury, Manchester, Wethersfield, and in fact a great many of the towns, have more than a local fame for their choice herds of Jerseys and of other valuable breeds.
3 The statistics of tobacco for this same period are given in the special article on that subject.
214
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
1840.
1850.
1860.
1870.
1880.
Buckwheat, bushels.
66,571
37,888
33,920
17,203
20,447
Corn, Indian,
66
278,863
381,744
336,143
217,502
337,109
Potatoes,
66
517,775
490,387
384,103
450,158
542,522
Oats,
219,084
210,954
176,582
119,335
83,261
Rye,
177,516
150,031
120,419
69,387
86,578
Wheat,
13,449
5,260
8,523
6,458
5,233
Hay, tons
70,193
80,817
87,721
95,615
104,715
Wool, pounds ..
122,365
65,503
32,804
25,925
22,117
Cattle, heads.
35,632
30,687
36,194
35,692
40,166
Sheep, heads ..
48,414
12,386
8,000
4,961
It will be seen that all the cereals, except Indian corn, have declined largely, - wheat and rye each one half, oats three fifths, and buck- wheat two thirds, - while the product of wool is not one fifth what it was in 1840. Hay has steadily increased, and potatoes are cultivated more abundantly than heretofore.
Manufacturing began early in the county, and its beginnings and its diversities have been already spoken of in this article. It struggled against many obstacles, and did not assume large importance until after 1840. In that year the employés of manufactories in the county numbered 4,040, and the capital invested was a trifle over $3,000,000. Twenty years later the capital exceeded $11,000,000, and after another twenty years it exceeded $27,500,000, while the number of employés had grown from 4,040 to 20,951. The following table shows the devel- opment of the manufacturing industries of the county : -
Establishments.
Capital.
Employés.
Wages.
Material.
Product.
1840
$3,161,369
4,040
1860
405
11,171,000
12,354
$16,827,000
1870
1031
21,260,000
19,103
35,000,000
1880
880
27,691,000
20,951
$3,676,000 9,316,684 8,457,000
$8,157,000 17,543,000 18,502,000
34,609,000
Besides the growth of Hartford itself, this period has seen the devel- opment of New Britain into a great producing centre, whose goods are known around the world, and has seen the silk-works of South Man- chester, the axe-works of Collinsville, and the carpet-works of Thomp- sonville come forward to rank among the first of their kind in the country. Southington, too, and Windsor Locks, with their products, have come into prominence, and the paper interests, long established, have vastly increased in importance. The taxable property in the county is reported at $86,000,000, or nearly one quarter the valuation of the whole State, which at the same date is $350,000,000.
ChatHopkins black
215
HARTFORD COUNTY TOBACCO.
HARTFORD COUNTY TOBACCO.
BY FRED. S. BROWN.
TOBACCO has been a product of Hartford County since its settle- ment, and was a favorite crop of the Indians previous to that time. In the settlement of Virginia, tobacco was one of the first articles of traffic, as its use was general among the early settlers, and it was exported to England and Holland. It was held in higher esteem than that raised in Connecticut, as it was adapted for snuffs and smoking in pipes, which constituted the general requirement at that early period.
As early as 1640 an act was passed in Connecticut restricting the use of tobacco to that grown in the colony. In 1662 a duty of two- pence per pound was laid upon all tobacco brought into Connecticut. By 1753 it had become an article of export, and inspectors were ap- pointed to examine that which was intended for shipment. But at no period previous to this century did the yearly production of tobacco in the Connecticut Valley amount to any considerable quantity. It was sold for from three to four dollars per hundred pounds. It is within the last forty years that the reputation of Connecticut tobacco for cigar- leaf has been established.
Its natural locality seems to be in the river towns of Hartford County. Previous to 1830 its culture was general, but in very small quantities compared with the amount produced since that time. It was about this period that it began to be raised in larger quantities at Ware- house Point by the proprietors of the distilleries there, who had a surplus of fertilizers from their establishments, which they utilized in that way. From Hartford County its culture has extended into all sections of the State. It has also been extensively produced in the valley of the Connecticut River in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire, its quality and character changing in a measure after passing the State line.
The special use of the Connecticut seed-leaf is for wrappers, -the out- side covering of cigars. Those leaves that are not suitable for wrappers are, if they have sufficient surface, used for inside wrappers or binders for the filler of the cigar, and those that will not answer for this purpose are called " fillers." But these last do not maintain the same superior rank for their purpose that the wrappers and binders do for the use they are put to. There is no special flavor to Connecticut tobacco ; and so a cigar, filled with Havana tobacco and covered with a Connecticut wrapper, will maintain nearly the same flavor and quality that it would have were it all Havana tobacco, except that it may be a trifle milder, which in most cases is agreeable to the smoker. When the Havana filler is deficient in burning quality, a Connecticut wrapper adds greatly to its value.
The original tobacco of this county is a long, lance-shaped leaf, with the veins running at an acute angle to the stem. It was known as the " shoestring tobacco," from the length and narrowness of the leaf.
216
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
This is objectionable, as the veins are so close together and run so nearly parallel to the length of the leaf that they give a coarse appear- ance to the cigar which it covers. The quality of the nat- ural tobacco is good ; it will hold its elasticity and kid-like softness much longer than the cultivated sort, and will go through a " sweat " without becoming tender, and on this account will produce more wrappers. It, however, has been superseded by a much longer and broader leaf produced by introducing seed from other States and countries.
The name "Connecticut seed-leaf tobacco " was first applied to the product of the new seed when it was put on the market, to distinguish it from the narrow or "shoestring" sort. The increased demand for cigar- leaf has extended its production from the valleys of the Connecti- cut to New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, and other West- ern States; so that the distinct kind from each State has become a staple in the markets, each known by its peculiarities.
There is no other section of the country that can produce so many pounds of tobacco to the acre as some of our Hartford County lands. An ordinary yield in a good season is from eighteen hundred to two thousand pounds to the acre ; and from that to twenty- eight hundred pounds, which is sometimes secured in some sections of the county, though for this the most favorable conditions are re- quired.
The writer has before him an abstract of an account of five crops of tobacco raised by Jones Brothers, of South Windsor, which is as follows :
Crop of
Acres, rods.
Pounds.
Pounds per acre.
Sold for
1866
2
88
7,147
2,802
$4,200.00
1868
5
11,870
2,374
6,401.10
1869
5
120
13,722
2,386
9,743.65
1871
7
80
19,472
2,596
12,387.65
1873
12
20
30,820
2,542
11,960.75
32
148
83,031 @ 532 cts. + 1b. = $44,693.15
It will be observed that these are not all consecutive crops ; those intervening were ordinary in amount and quality. The object in quot- ing this is to show what number of pounds the land is capable of pro- ducing, and what has been realized for the crops under the most favorable circumstances. The writer was the purchaser of one of these crops, for which he paid seventy-five cents per pound for the wrappers ; and the following season, when they were in condition to be worked, he sold them for one dollar per pound to a manufacturer of cigars, who
217
HARTFORD COUNTY TOBACCO.
found that from the extreme fineness of the leaf, it produced a thousand cigar-wrappers at a less cost than that of the same number of wrappers from ordinary tobacco at ordinary prices. Thus the extraordinary amount paid for the crop was justified by the favorable results. The prices paid for good tobacco in this county at that time were from twenty-five to forty cents per pound. The same goods previous to 1860 and at dates subsequent to those just quoted have been sold at much lower prices. The amount of fertilizer required to produce a large crop is from eight to ten cords per acre. This is frequently brought from the stables of New York and Boston, and delivered here on the dock or at stations at from eight to twelve dollars per cord.
Experiments in the use of seed from Havana tobacco 1 have been made from time to time, since 1840, with no favorable results until recently. The product for the first two or three years from this seed is a small leaf resembling Havana very much in size and texture, but not finding favor with manufacturers, as it would not cure by the same means and as readily as that raised from other seed. It is now demonstrated that the crop raised from seed of the fourth year of plant- ing makes a very desirable leaf, and its culture is being extended as it grows in favor. The leaf is about two thirds the size of what is known as Connecticut seed-leaf, and as it grows more closely together will, under favorable circumstances, yield a ton to the acre.
The census report of 1880 gives the following as the product of Connecticut seed-leaf tobacco for the years cited : 1840, 471,647 pounds ; 1850, 1,267,624 pounds ; 1860, 6,000,133 pounds ; 1870, 8,328,798 pounds ; 1880, 14,044,652 pounds.
The following is the product of the crop of 1879 through the State by counties : -
Acres.
Pounds per acre.
Fairfield
802
Pounds. 973,933
1,214
Litchfield .
1,586
2,211,151
1,394
Middlesex .
573
906,753
1,582
New Haven
167
215,195
1,200
New London
19
29,622
1,500
Tolland
405
666,634
1,646
Windham
2
1,850
925
Hartford
5,112
9,039,514
1,768
By this it will be seen that Hartford County produces sixty-five per cent of all the tobacco grown in the State, and over one hundred and twenty pounds more per acre than any other county. The average product of the State is sixteen hundred and twenty-one pounds per acre, which is a larger yield than that of any other State in the Union. Of the twenty-eight tobacco-growing States in the country, Connecticut stands sixth in the value of the crop ; and there were but nine States in 1879 that produced more tobacco than was raised in Hartford County.
In 1843 Peruvian guano was first introduced as a commercial fertil- izer. About the first experiments with it were on the tobacco-fields of Cuba, at the time when all of the better class of cigars manufactured
1 The United States Government frequently distributed Havana seed among the farmers, and the product is known in the market as " Havana seed."
218
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
in this country were from Cuban tobacco, which was of most excellent quality. Its only trouble was its deficiency in wrappers. To increase its size and stimulate its growth, guano was used. It had the desired effect, but at a loss of the fine burning quality and flavor. From that time there has been a gradual falling off in the use of Spanish tobacco for wrappers in this country ; so that at this time they are rarely used, successfully, by any of our cigar-manufacturers.
It was from the introduction of the use of guano on the tobacco- fields of Cuba that the demand for Connecticut tobacco for wrappers began. The German cigar-manufacturers were the first to develop the quality of Connecticut tobacco for wrappers, as their first purchases were packed in parcels of about four hundred pounds each. These were much larger than had been the custom, and this method proved to be what was requisite to enable the tobacco to pass through a " sweat- ing " process during the voyage to Germany, which changed it, so far as its quality was concerned, into an entirely different article from what it had been known to be up to that time. Previous to this, what was packed to be sent away was in small irregular-sized boxes, such as had been used for dry goods and other merchandise. In 1830 three hundred bales of about one hundred pounds each were shipped from Warehouse Point. The bales were made with strips of boards, fastened around the four sides with strops made from hoop-poles. It was thought neces- sary to pack it light, and in such quantities that it should not heat, or sweat; though later it was demonstrated that this process was just what was required to develop it. The new method adopted by the Germans of packing and curing soon brought it into favor, and from that time the manufacturers of cigars in this country have to a great extent relied upon Connecticut tobacco for wrappers. Of late years the quality of that produced in some sections of the State has been injured by the growers who use guano in part as a fertilizer ; and it is for this reason more than any other that they find the trade looking for a sub- stitute for Connecticut wrappers in some of the new products that have lately appeared in the markets.
Hartford County tobacco produced on proper soil, with natural fertilizers, is the best burning cigar-leaf raised, and there is hardly a limit to the demand for it. When improper fertilizers are used, it is done at the loss of burning quality, which brings it to the level of any low-grade tobacco. A good burning wrapper will make a good cigar, and a manufacturer can afford to pay an extra price for that rather than work a wrapper that will not burn well, were he to receive the latter for nothing.
Before the demand developed for Connecticut tobacco, its product was confined to a few towns in Hartford County, and most of it was worked into cigars by the female members of the family of the grower. The cigars made were known to the trade as "Supers," " Long Nines," and " Short Sixes."
The Supers were rolled as cigars now are, with the exception of a twist that would kink the wrapper at the end and prevent it unrolling, which was the method of finishing the heads of all cigars up to 1839, when the first specimens of " paste heads " were imported from Havana. The Long Nines were a long, thin cigar, about the size of a new lead- pencil, looking something like a Catalpa-bean pod. They were made
219
HARTFORD COUNTY TOBACCO.
by the wrapper being rolled lengthwise of the filler, with the edges pasted the whole length of the cigar, in the same way as the cheroots of Manila are made. The Short Sixes were made in the same way, and were about two thirds the length of Long Nines. They were made with more care and of better material, as they were intended for the home trade. They could always be found on the bar of the country tavern, free to the guests after a meal; but to the local frequenter of the house they were sold at two for a cent.
The Supers were sold in bulk to the storekeeper, in exchange for store goods, for from a dollar and a quarter to two dollars per thousand. They would then be packed into cigar-boxes, labelled and branded, and again be " traded " for goods to some wholesale dealer in the city ; and by him they would be distributed into all sections visited by the sailor or trader. The Long Nines were always done up in bundles of twenty-five or fifty, and held together with three bands of bast, one at each end and one in the middle of the bunch. They were packed in barrels which would hold about five thousand each, and were usually sent to Boston, and from there found their way into all the fishing and seaport towns along the coast. The storekeepers usually paid the farmers for this sort from seventy-five cents to a dollar and a quarter per thousand. A good hand would make from eight to ten hundred per day of the Supers, and a third more of the Long Nines and Short Sixes.
As the tobacco was not taken into the account in calculating the cost of these cigars, the day's wages would be estimated at all they received for them when sold ; and, as money was scarce in those days, the cigars produced by the families answered as a good substitute for currency. These were receivable in any of the local stores for whatever was wanted ; and it was not infrequently the case that all the dry goods and groceries that were necessary for a farmer and his family were purchased with the cigars rolled by the farmer's wife at such times as she would not be employed by her household duties. After the great demand for Connecticut tobacco had developed, the trade of making cheap cigars by the farmers gradually lessened ; and the internal- revenue tax put an end to the whole business.
In addition, there were a few establishments that employed more competent hands and worked tobacco that had improved somewhat by age. Such cigars were handsomely packed, and were supplied to the trade as " Half Spanish." They would be sold at from four to five dollars per thousand by the box, and were retailed at the stores for one cent each. Many of these were made at Suffield, where there were some firms that dealt largely in the local furs of New England. To collect the skins, young men were employed as pedlers, who visited all sections of New England, New York, and New Jersey, with wagons loaded with gunpowder, wooden clocks, cotton yarn, indigo, and cigars. The powder was manufactured at Enfield and the clocks were made at Bristol. With such goods as these the young fellows, who were then known as " Yankee pedlers," but would be now known as " drummers," would start out ready for a trade or " dicker " for anything that offered, but principally for furs, which were the object of the trip.
As early as 1810 Simeon Viets, of West Suffield, had a large establishment in that place, employing as many as twelve or fifteen
220
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
females at the work. About this time he made purchases of Spanish tobacco, and then employed a cigar-maker from Cuba to work it. This was the first Spanish tobacco worked in Suffield, and the Cuban was the first male cigar-maker employed there. From this beginning the town obtained a great reputation, and became famous for the number of men employed at cigar-making, and the large quantities of Spanish tobacco that were brought there to be worked and sold to the trade generally. For a long time after the development of our seed tobacco, Suffield was the centre from which most of it found its way into market, and was visited by dealers from all parts of the country for their sup- plies. Not alone was domestic tobacco sought for, but the better grades of Spanish tobacco could be found there in large quantities.
Frequently Messrs. Allen Loomis and Parkes Loomis would unite with their neighbors, King and Birge, and go into the market and buy up entire cargoes of Yara tobacco as it arrived, and take it to Suffield, where it would be stored in the cellars of quiet, unbusiness-like farm- houses, which would be visited by manufacturers from New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, who were in want of this particular kind of tobacco, that could not be had at that time in any other market. This was not an uncommon occurrence between the years 1845 and 1860.
After the war and the internal-revenue laws, that at first seemed so stringent on the manufacturers of cigars and tobacco, the trade seemed less desirable to the old dealers in Suffield, and by degrees much of it left the town, and has been concentrated in extensive establishments in the large cities east and west, some of which are now employing as many as two thousand persons each. There are still some respectable establishments engaged in the trade in and about Suffield, but they are small in comparison to what they were previous to 1860.
The old house of Oswyn Wells, that had its first beginning in the town of Glastonbury, should be mentioned in any history that gives an account of the development of the tobacco trade of Hartford County. He was one of the first to engage in packing tobacco for the trade, and for a long time there were many manufacturers in the county who would never purchase their supplies except when cach package bore his initials, "O. W.," which was a guarantee that it was " Connecticut seed-leaf tobacco," grown in Hartford County, and of the best quality. His trade developed into such proportions that it became necessary for him to establish packing-houses in several towns in the county, with his principal store in Hartford. After his death it was continued by his son, whose recent death leaves the trade without a representative of the name that has done so much for its development.
Fred.S. Brown
part II. - Dartford, Town and City.
CHAPTER I.
SECTION I.
SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN.
BY SHERMAN W. ADAMS.
THE FIRST ARRIVALS. - LAND TITLES AND DIVISIONS. - THE NAME OF HARTFORD, ETC.
A N account of the earliest English settlers of Hartford is included in Dr. Tarbox's paper, " The Exodus and the First Comers " (pp. 29-36), and in Miss Talcott's notices of the Original Pro- prietors (pp. 227-276), in this volume ; but we may add here a few lines stating general facts. On the 9th of June, 1634, as we are told in Winthrop's "History of New England," " six of Newtown went in the Blessing (being bound to the Dutch plantation), to discover Connecticut River, intending to remove their town thither." So that in 1634 there was a present intention of the Newtown people to migrate to the place afterward planted by them, now Hartford.
A few people from Newtown (afterward called Cambridge), reached Suckiang early in 1635; and in November about sixty are said to have arrived. The very earliest of these immigrants formed the company thereafter known as " Adventurers ;" and to them belonged the section known in our records as Venturers' Field. The tract contained about thirty-five acres, and is situate on the west side of the present Albany Avenue, being now traversed by Garden Street. The Adventurers were about twelve in number, and their names, so far as known, were as follows : -
John Barnard, Richard Goodman, Stephen Hart, Matthew Marvin, James Olmsted, William Pantry, Thomas Scott, Thomas Stanley, John Steele, John Talcott, Richard Webb, William Westwood.
Mr. Talcott is generally supposed not to have reached Hartford until 1636 ; but the records strongly indicate that, either in person or by representation, he was here as an Adventurer. But some of the earliest comers of 1636 may have been included in that class.
More Newtown people arrived in the early spring of 1636; and in June of the same year came the Rev. Thomas Hooker, with about a hundred people, including women and children. The Rev. Samuel Stone was of this party. About this time a deed of cession was obtained from Sunckquasson, " Sachem of Suckiage." In it, as is supposed (for the original deed was lost), was a reservation permitting the Indians to occupy a section in the South meadows, near the Dutchmen's land ;
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.