USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Vol. I > Part 71
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Independence Day always came in with bell-ringings, firing of can- nons, and general tumult on the part of the boys. A public dinner was the chief festivity, and was eaten at an inn, as at Mr. Goodwin's in 1801, where " a respectable circle " assembled ; or, as in 1803 and 1804, in Wadsworth's Grove. The day was always finished " with sobri- ety and good order." It is not known that ladies ever spoke on these occasions; but at Simsbury, in 1804, the minister's wife, Mrs. Hallock, answered to the toast, " The Great Political Hive." Sunday schools, in their early days, often marched to Wadsworth's Grove to drink lemon- ade and listen to patriotic speeches.
In 1794 the Society of the Cincinnati, preceded by a band, marched from the State House to the North Meeting-House, to hear a prayer and an oration. Returning to the State House, they held their annual elec- tion, and then dined at David Bull's with "the greatest good humour." A large collection of ladies and gentlemen feasted under an arbor at Frederick Bull's, with " cheerfulness and temperate conviviality," and cannon were discharged between the toasts. In 1798 the Society dined at Bull's ; the military on the South Green ; the citizens at the theatre, where Messrs. Benjamin and Tudor sang " Hail Columbia" and "Adams and Liberty," and landlord Utley furnished an elegant collation : "a happy mixture of glee and urbanity " shone from the faces of the guests. In 1825, at the Centre Brick Meeting-House, William W. Ellsworth read the Declaration ; the oration was by Professor George W. Doane ; and " a hymn and ode by a lady of this city " were sung. The Hon. John T. Peters was president of the day; the vice-presidents were Thomas Day, John Russ, Thomas K. Brace, and Henry Seymour ; Gen- eral Nathan Johnson was chief marshal. The citizens dined in the Senate Chamber ; the Mechanics' Society, at Morgan's. Thanksgiving, as the writer learns from Mr. Charles J. Hoadly, had in the last century no fixed date ; but was appointed in 1775 on November 5 (Gunpowder Plot), and in 1795 on December 24. The law prohibiting " servile
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SOCIAL LIFE AFTER THE REVOLUTION.
labor" on that day was repealed about 1830. It was a solemn sea- son, and the hilarity of the young folks was held in check till evening, when they frolicked as they pleased ; played " Fox and Geese," " Grind the Bottle," "Dress the Lady," "Hunt the Lion," "Sick of My Part- ner," etc., and drew their elders into their sports. While there was no State law against keeping Christmas, the general observance is of comparatively recent date ; but in one non-Episcopal family there was a recognition of the day. The slaves of Samuel Talcott had their Yule- log, and as long as this lasted their evening jollity continued ; hence their anxiety to draw as huge a log as possible into the kitchen, and the narrow escapes the house sometimes had. The little churchi- men who now hang up their stockings there represent the sixth gen- eration that has inhabited the mansion. In 1823 the "Courant " suggested that Christmas Day be generally observed as a religious occasion, and announced that Mr. Hawes, at the request of some of his parishioners, would preach a sermon. At that time a few sprigs of ever- green or a sugar heart or two were the only symbols to be seen in the shop windows, and on the day itself few shops were closed. New-year's Day was sometimes marked by gifts of candy to the children, while Washington's Birthday was a time for military dinners and dancing- parties ; and April Fool's Day was improved, as now, by the youngsters.
But Election Day,1 the reddest-lettered in our calendar, brightened the whole year. "Good housekeepers were expected to have finished their spring cleaning long before, and fire-irons and brasses were papered and put away in the garret. As the month of May approached, the old women from Bolton or Wintonbury came in with their fragrant bundles of roots and herbs, and the spring beer was set to working, while the 'lection cake was rising and rising to make ready for the oven ; and few homes were too poor to offer these refreshments to visitors." The cake-making began a week beforehand, -this delectable compound testing the talents and strength of a cook as nothing else could possibly do ; and a Hartford family that cannot recite some tra- dition connected with it has no claims to antiquity. Mothers sat up all night to watch the batch of twelve or twenty loaves, or called their daughters long before cock-crowing to make investigations ; nay, some were known to faint from fatigue while mixing the materials.2 When the girls were not busy at these things they were getting their white dresses ready, for in those years the weather was lenient. Meanwhile the local musicians were practising. There was one famous trumpeter, about 1790, Jonas Sloan, who lived on the North Meadows, and the children used to prick up their ears long before Election week, fancying they heard his tootings and experiments.
All day Wednesday the country people poured into town, bringing their dinners with them or relying on the corner stands, where root and ginger beer, molasses candy, and gingerbread were sold. The houses were already full of visitors ; and in the parlor-opened then, if ever - or the living-room, pine boughs or branches of lilacs filled the fireplaces and a table was set with cake and wine. Hospitality was so free that the
1 The first Thursday in May.
2 It was a rich loaf-cake. A batch of twelve loaves contained, among other ingredients, twelve quarts of flour, six pounds of butter, half a pint of French brandy and half a pint of wine, one quart of "emptins," and six pounds of raisins.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
doors of some wealthy people were open to any stranger who chose to walk in and refresh himself. The sidewalks, which had been religiously swept down to the very street, were thronged, and late in the afternoon all ears were open to catch the first peal of the Centre Meeting-House bell, which began to ring as soon as the head of the procession was seen by the spy-glasses of the watchmen in the steeple. Mrs. Anstice (Updike) Lee, of Providence, who spent Election week in Hartford in 1791, wrote down her recollections in 1855.1 She rode here on horseback with her brother, as the roads were too muddy for wheels, and put up at Bull's Tavern, where she particularly enjoyed the bloated salmon.2 Of the day before election she says : -
" In the afternoon Governor Wolcott was expected to arrive. To witness the display, Mr. Pomeroy took us to the house of General Wyllys, which stood nearly opposite to the State House. The company of horse made an imposing appear- ance. The riders were dressed in caps with a brass plate, and feathers in them, short jackets or coats, short-clothes, and high gaiters. I think the color was deep blue faced with red. The horses were very fine, and Mr. Pomeroy said they were of two hundred dollars value each, which was a great price at that time. After tea, say an hour before sunset, it was announced that the Governor and procession were entering the city. When he arrived in front of the State House he alighted, ascended, and stood on the spacious front step. The military passed, and saluted him by a discharge of their pistols over his head. After the salute he walked to a public house near.
" The next day (Thursday) the procession was the longest I had ever seen. It was headed by the military ; then followed the sheriff with his sword,8 the Governor, Senate, and members of the House of Representatives, two and two ; and then singly walked President Stiles, dressed in a full black gown, cocked hat, and full-bottomed white wig. I should think there were two hundred ministers, dressed in black, and after them walked the citizens. I did not attend church on account of the crowd. The legislature convened again after service, and had refreshments, which were furnished at State expense, as I was informed. It was carried into the State House on trays."
Kendall's Travels in the Northern United States describe the elec- tion ceremonies of 1807.4
" I reached Hartford at noon, on Wednesday the 19th of May. . .. The Gov- ernor, whose family residence is on the east side of the river, at some distance from Hartford, was expected to arrive in the evening. This gentleman, whose name is Jonathan Trumbull, is the son of the late Governor Jonathan Trumbull ; and though the election is annual, he has himself been three or four years in office, and will almost certainly so continue during the remainder of his life. . . .
" The Governor has volunteer companies of guards, both horse and foot. In the afternoon, the horse were drawn up on the banks of the river, to receive him and escort him to his lodgings. He came before sunset ; and the fineness of the evening, the beauty of the river, the respectable appearance of the Governor and of the troop, the dignity of the occasion, and the decorum observed, united to
1 Abridged from her letter to the President of the Historical Society, as quoted in " Arms- mear."
2 The fish was no rarity then. A postscript in a letter of Mary Anne Goodrich's, dated April 3, 1791, says : "The flood is up, which prevents their taking any salmon, or I would have sent you one."
8 In early days, the governor when going to and coming from the sessions of the legisla- ture was preceded by the sheriff, who was bareheaded and carried a naked sword.
4 Vol. i. pp. 2-6 ; slightly abridged.
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SOCIAL LIFE AFTER THE REVOLUTION.
gratify the spectator. The colour of the clothes of the troop was blue. The Gov- ernor, though on horseback, was dressed in black ; but he wore a cockade, in a hat which I did not like the less, because it was in its form rather of the old school than of the new.
" In the morning, the foot-guards were paraded in front of the state-house, where they afterward remained under arms, while the troop of horse occupied the street which is on the south side of the building. The clothing of the foot was scarlet, with white waistcoats and pantaloons ; and their appearance and demeanour were military.
" The day was fine ; and the apartments and galleries of the state-house afforded an agreeable place of meeting, in which the members of the Assembly and others awaited the coming of the Governor. At about eleven o'clock his Excellency entered the state-house, and shortly after took his place at the head of a pro- cession which was made to a meeting-house, or church, at something less than half a mile distant. The procession was on foot, and was composed of the person of the Governor, together with the lieutenant-governor, assistants, high-sheriffs, inembers of the lower house of Assembly, and, unless with accidental exceptions, all the clergy of the State. It was preceded by the foot-guards, and followed by the horse ; and attended by gazers, that, considering the size and population of the city, may be said to have been numerous. The church, which from its situation is called the South Meeting-House, is a small one, and was resorted to on this occasion only because that more ordinarily used was at the time rebuilding. The edifice is of wood, alike unornamented within and without; and when filled there was still presented to the eye nothing but what had the plainest appear- ance. The military remained in the street, with the exception of a few officers to whom no place of honor or distinction was assigned ; neither the Governor nor other magistrates were accompanied with any insignia of office ; the clergy had no canonical costume; and there were no females in the church, except a few (rather more than twenty in number) who were stationed by themselves in a gallery op- posite the pulpit, in quality of singers. A decent order was the highest character- istic that presented itself.
" The pulpit, or, as it is here called, the desk, was filled by three, if not four, clergymen. Of these, one opened the service witli a prayer; another delivered a sermon ; a third made a concluding prayer, and a fourth pronounced a benediction. Several hymns were sung ; and among others an occasional one.1 When all was finished the procession returned to the State House. The total number of sing- ers was between forty and fifty. ... The clergy, who walked, were about a hun- dred in number. It was in the two bodies of guards alone that any suitable approach to magnificence discovered itself. The Governor was full-dressed, in a suit of black ; but the lieutenant-governor wore riding-boots. All, however, was consistently plain, and in unison with itself, except the dress-swords, which were worn by high-sheriffs, along with their village habiliments, and of which the fashion and materials were marvellously diversified. Arrived in front of the state-house, the military formed on each side of the street ; and, as the Governor passed them, presented arms. The several parts of the procession now separated ; each retiring to a dinner prepared for itself, at an adjoining inn ; the Governor, lieutenant-governor, and assistants to their table, the clergy to a second, and the Representatives to a third. The time of day was about two in the afternoon.
"Only a short time elapsed before business was resumed; or rather, at length
1 The following verse is from the "occasional hymn " sung on that occasion : -
" Hail, happy Land ! hail, happy State ! Whose free-born sons in safety meet, To bless the Lord Most High ! With one consent now let us raise The thankful tribute of our praise To Him who rules the sky !"
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
commenced. The General Assembly met in the council-room, and the written votes being examined and counted, the names of the public officers elected were formally declared. They were in every instance the same as those which had been successful the preceding year, and for several years before. This done, the lieutenant-governor administered the oath to the Governor elect, who, being sworn, proceeded to administer their respective oaths to the lieutenant-governor and the rest ; and here terminated the affairs of the election day. Soon after six o'clock the military fired three feux de joies, and were then dismissed." 1
The ceremonies varied very little from year to year. The Governor was always met at a distance from the city (as at Wethersfield, in 1791), and usually entered it at the southern end, when the South Church bell gave notice first and was followed by the Centre Church bell. In 1798 three boats " manned with fifteen Sea Captains (in allu- sion to the Fifteen States on the American Standard) brought over the Governor (Trumbull) and his suit," a band of music preceding. The vessels in the river were drawn up in two lines and gayly decorated, and the party embarked and landed amid salutes of cannon and hearty cheers from the banks. The " Connecticut Mirror " spoke of this cere- mony as " new, beautiful, and highly expressive of the respect and attachment of all classes of people to the rulers of their choice." The sermon in 1791 was preached by Dr. Dwight, and an anthem, set by him to the Ninety-second Psalm, was sung. In 1798 Dr. Backus of " Bethlem " delivered " an original, ingenious, and eloquent discourse " from 2 Samuel, xv. 4, " Oh that I were made judge in the land." In 1814 Mr. Huntington, of Middletown, took for his text Psalm cxxii. 6, " They shall prosper that love thee." In 1818, and for the first time, an Episcopal clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Doane, preached from the text, " Render therefore unto Cæsar." The sermons, it will be seen, were practical, and evidently were sometimes decidedly personal. The last was preached in 1830.
The day was not withont other attractions. Thus in 1794 Theodore Dwight delivered an oration before the Connecticut "Society for the Promotion of Freedom and the relief of Persons unlawfully holden in bondage," 2 in the afternoon at the North (now Centre) Meeting- House, and at the same place in the evening, Dr. West, of Stockbridge, preached.
In 1815 the steamboat "Robert Fulton" came up the river, and re- maining over Election Day was visited by thousands.
The parade in 1790, as we learn from the "Connecticut Mirror," was viewed with particular satisfaction, because "the Horse were in uniforms made out of the manufactures of this State ; which shows their patriotism and good sense. The Commander-in-Chief (Governor Huntington) dined in a beautiful cloth from the Hartford manufactory." A correspondent of the "Courant" presumed that this patriotic example would have great weight in introducing so laudable a fashion.
1 He did not forget to mention the Election Ball, and added that on the Monday follow- ing a second and more select one was held.
2 This existed in 1791, if not earlier, and may have been a branch of the Rhode Island Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Chauncey Goodrich was vice-president, Ezekiel Williams, Jr., assistant secretary, and Theodore Dwight, secretary. The Hartford committee of correspondence consisted of Dr. Lemuel Hopkins, Theodore Dwight, Thomas Y. Seymour, and Ezekiel Williams, Jr. New London, Windham, and Tolland counties also had committees.
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SOCIAL LIFE AFTER THE REVOLUTION.
The ceremony and splendor were gradually dispensed with. The clergymen, whose dinners had often cost " as much as one hundred dol- lars," were not allowed to dine at public expense ; then the foot-guard was restricted in the same manner; the Governor, who formerly was a school-girl's embodiment of Wallace or other hero of romance, descended from his horse, and now, as one has well remarked, is distinguished from his driver by the fact of being inside the carriage. Governor Hub- bard discarded the cockade. The members of the Assembly discon- tinned their procession about 1836, and the general parade has been of a simpler nature since 1852.
The Election, or, as it was afterwards called, the Inauguration Ball, was usually held at Ransom's, in a third-story room with a spring floor, recessed window-seats, three chandeliers, and with oval mirrors at each end. In 1797 it was given in the theatre, when the managers were Joseph Hart, Elias Morgan, Nathaniel Terry, and Henry Seymour. In 1804 they were Ward Woodbridge, Samuel Tudor, Charles Sigourney, Walter Mitchell, William Watson, John Butler, George Pierce, and Henry Wyles. Dancing began at seven, and was sometimes kept up until two. On one happy occasion the sun shone on the State House as the company broke up. The following is a fac-simile of one of the invitations which has been preserved.
ELECTION BALL.
THE COMPANY OF
Call
Is requested at Morgan's Assembly-Room, this evening, at seven o'clock
C. COLT,
S. H. HUNTINGTON,
S. TUDOR, JEI
MANA
C. MUNN,
J. TRUMBULL,
GERS, A. KILBOURN,
H. N. CURTIS,
A. HAYDEN,
HARTFORD, Max 5, 1819.
The rest of the week was observed as a holiday season in the State, particularly among apprentices, who went zealously into turkey-shoot- ings and athletic sports. In 1766 William Pratt, Daniel Olcott, and eighteen other young men living north of the bridge challenged Ashbel Steel, John Barnard, and eighteen others on the south side "to play a game at Bowl for a Dinner and Trimmings " on Friday after Election. In 1767, and on the same day, a match game of cricket was played in Cooper Lane, now Lafayette Street. "The Southside," which had given the challenge, was beaten.
The visit of Lafayette in September, 1824, was a long-remembered holiday. He was expected on the night of the 2d; triumphal arches were erected at the foot of Morgan Street and on the west side of the State House ; the Hartford Bank and other buildings were decorated with evergreens and flowers ; the State House, Phoenix Bank, and pri- vate houses generally were illuminated, and crowds walked the streets
VOL. I .- 38.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
in the rain till one o'clock; but the civilities extended everywhere on his route from Boston delayed his progress, and he was obliged to spend the night at Stafford Springs. The escort under Major Hart that went out to meet him next morning included three companies of infantry, one of artillery, and one rifle corps, and, as described by a par- ticipant, the uniforms and weapons were of all kinds, and some wore no uniforms at all. Lafayette was accompanied by his son, George Wash- ington, Monsieur Vassuer, Mr. Colden of New York, and a servant. Proceeding through Morgan and Main streets, amid the noise of cheers, bells, and cannon, he alighted at Bennett's Hotel and received the con- gratulations of the Mayor. Breakfast was furnished by the city corpo- ration, and among the guests were John Trumbull and John Caldwell, who, forty years before, were members of the corporation when he was given the freedom of the city. Four others, the Hon. Thomas Seymour, Jonathan Bull, John Morgan, and Daniel Hinsdale, were prevented by age or infirmity from attending. After breakfast, Lafayette, escorted by the First Company of Foot Guards under Major Olmsted, proceeded to the State House, where Governor Wolcott addressed him in the name of the State. A reception followed, at which the good-humored Lafayette addressed some trifling question to each one presented. If a man answered that he was married, the General would exclaim, "Lucky dog !" If the answer was " No," "Happy boy !" As the " Courant " described it, the ladies introduced " were taken by the hand in the most affectionate manner." Nearly one hundred Revolutionary officers and soldiers were present and greeted him with deep emotion. A parade under General Johnson came next, and had the weather been favor- able some four thousand men would have taken part. As it was, the reviewer, in the words of the " Courant," "discovered much satisfac- tion at the elegant appearance of the troops." The school-children marched in procession, wearing colored badges with the motto " Nous Vous Aimons, Lafayette !" but a more impressive feature was the pres- ence in the State House yard of a number of deaf-mutes, bearing the motto, " We Feel what our Country Expresses." In behalf of the school children, Dr. Comstock presented a gold medal, bearing on one side a fac-simile of the motto and ornaments on the badges ; the medal enclosed in a paper containing some verses by Mrs. Sigourney. After the re- view, Lafayette visited the house of Daniel Wadsworth, where he was shown a sash and the epaulets he had worn as major-general, -articles he had given to the late General Swift, of Cornwall, and recognized the former, which was blood-stained, as that he had worn at the battle of Brandywine. He left at half-past three in the afternoon, on the " Oliver Ellsworth," and was slightly sea-sick, according to the " Gazette," "but was not incommoded by the motion of the boat." The committee of arrangements for the celebration were John F. Peters, Gaius Lyman, Cyprian Nichols, Thomas Day, and Henry L. Ellsworth.
Fashions began to change more frequently toward the end of the last century, and to receive more attention from the press. "An ŒEconomical Association" was formed in November, 1786, by the ladies of the town
" Who, taking into serious consideration the unhappy situation of their coun- try, and believing that the calamities are caused in great measure by the luxury
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SOCIAL LIFE AFTER THE REVOLUTION.
and extravagance of individuals, hope that those Ladies that used to excel in dress . . . will endeavor to set the best examples, by laying aside their richest silks and superfluous decorations, and as far as possible distinguish themselves by their perfect indifference to those ornaments and superfluities which in happier times might become them. . . . Until June 25th next we will not purchase any Gauze, Ribbons, Lace, Feathers, Beaver Hats, Silks, Muslins, and Chintzes, ex- cept only for weddings and mourning . . . (and pledge ourselves) to dress plainly, to encourage industry and frugality in making entertainments and receiving visits, and to avoid unnecessary expense, especially in foreign articles." 1
This was subscribed to by "more than One Hundred Ladies of the first families," and was to be renewed if advisable; but as the pledge was not mentioned when the date of its expiration came around, and the merchants continued to advertise their "Tammies, Corduroys, Pelongs, and Tabby Velvets," we must draw our own conclusions.2
A bonnet from Boston or New York, about 1790, was generously handed around to be copied. We read of black satin cloaks with white linings ; of frocks of barry and London-smoke color. In 1791 Mrs. Goodrich sent from Hartford to her mother a pair of cloth shoes " almost as handsome as sattin." The Norwich belle of that year was described as wearing so small a straw hat that head, hat, and all were no bigger than the head of a great pin ; her figure was supported on the tips of her toes, and she had " a little flick about three inches long at each heel." In 1797 Mr. Fabre, of Prison Street, Hartford, suggested in the "Courant " that the young lady who still owed for an eight- shilling feather pay up quickly, to avoid further trouble.
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