USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Vol. II > Part 18
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Specific mention should be made of John Pease, Sr., " the Father of Enfield." He was probably born in England in 1630, and came to America with his parents when a child. His father died soon after reaching Massachusetts, and John seems to have been left to the care of his grandmother. She lived but a short time, however, after the death of John's father, and in her will ordered that " John Pease shall be given freely to Thomas Wadeson, that he shall dispose of him as his own child." He married Mary Goodell, of Salem, Mass., as his first wife, and Ann Cummings, of Topsfield, Mass., as his second wife. Mr. Pease settled as " a yeoman," in Salem, Mass., and there remained until his removal to Enfield in 1681. Here he resided until his death, July 8, 1689. He was active in everything that concerned the welfare of the new settlement, and was especially prominent in religious affairs. His descendants have always been numerons in the town, and some of them have been among the most influential and honored of the citizens of Enfield.
John Pease, Jr., son of the preceding, was the most prominent man in the early history of Enfield. He was born in Salem, Mass., May 30, 1654, and removed to Enfield in 1681. When a boy he was appren- ticed to a carpenter and joiner. This occupation he probably followed
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until his departure from Salem. He was foremost in every enterprise that sought the welfare of the town, and was almost constantly in offi- cial position. He was the first constable in the place, and held the office for many years. He was appointed "land measurer" of the town, was elected one of the selectmen at the first town-meeting, and was the first captain of militia in the place. He married Margaret Adams, of Ipswich, Mass., Jan. 30, 1677, and died in Enfield in 1734.
Elisha M. Pease, son of the Hon. L. T. Pease, was born in Enfield, Jan. 5, 1812. He was a descendant of John Pease, the first settler of Enfield. He received an academical education, studied law, and in 1834 went to Texas, where he resided until his death, in August, 1883. Mr. Pease took an active part in public affairs almost from the begin- ning of his residence in Texas. He was one of those who met in coun- cil to consider the expediency of taking up arms against Mexico. After Texas had declared her independence he was for a short time in active military service. He then settled down to the practice of the law. After holding several minor offices he was in 1853 elected Governor of Texas, and held the position for four years. When the spirit of re- bellion began to rise, Governor Pease announced himself a Union man, and so remained through the war. He suffered much in consequence of his positive loyalty. His life was threatened, and he was com- pelled to live in retirement, where he lacked many of the necessaries of life. At the close of the war he returned to the practice of his pro- fession. In July, 1867, he was appointed Provisional Governor of Texas by General Sheridan. Governor Pease held this office until the reorganization of the State government in 1870. From that time until his death he lived in private life. He possessed talents of a high order, and in all his official acts was high-minded and patriotic. He married Miss Lucadia Niles, of Windsor, in 1850, who with two chil- dren survives him.
The man who more than any other left his mark upon the history of Enfield was Orrin Thompson. The influence and results of his life demand a special and full tracing of his career and character. Mr. Thompson was born in Suffield, March 28, 1788. In the year 1800 his father, Matthew Thompson, moved to Enfiekl. In 1805, Orrin, after spending some time at the academy in Westfield, Mass., went to Hart- ford to serve an apprenticeship as clerk in a store. There he remained for several years, and acquired that knowledge and those habits of business which marked his after life and were largely the secret of his success. Upon reaching his majority Mr. Thompson went to Jewett City as clerk for a manufacturing company, where he remained for two or three years. There he was drafted into the militia during the War of 1812, and was sent to Stonington when that place was threatened with attack by the British fleet.
In 1814 he returned to Enfield and began business for himself in a store which stood where the First Congregational Church now stands. In this business he was successful. But the opportunities were too narrow for his energy and ambition, and so in 1821 he went to New York and entered the firm of David Andrews & Co. This firm was engaged in the carpet-trade. There Mr. Thompson found a field for the exercise of his powers. By his force and skill he increased the
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business of the firm fivefold, and secured for himself a prominent place among the leading merchants of New York.
While prosecuting his business in the latter city he conceived the design of manufacturing his own goods. His boldness soon led to the attempted execution of his plan, and his love for his old home caused him to fix upon Enfield as the place for the trial of his experiment. In 1828 Mr. Thompson organized the Thompsonville Carpet Manufac- turing Company, and for it obtained a charter from the legislature of Connecticut. The works were located near the mouth of Freshwater River. Workmen were brought from Scotland, and the mills were soon in operation. Success marked the enterprise from the first. The works were soon enlarged, and new grades of carpeting manufactured. As a result of this success a busy village sprung up, which in a few years became the centre of the population of the town. In the year 1840 Mr. Thompson purchased the carpet-factory at Tariffville, and organized the Tariff Manufacturing Company, which also carried on a successful business. The product of these looms soon acquired a national reputation. The wealth of Mr. Thompson rapidly increased, and he became one of the few millionnaires of his time in Connecticut. In 1851, however, his long-continued success was broken. A series of disasters reduced to bankruptcy the companies with which he was con- nected. He first attempted to revive the Thompsonville Manufacturing Company, but in this he failed. He then interested himself in the organization of the Hartford Carpet Company. This corporation pur- chased the property of the former organization, and in 1854 started the mills, under Mr. Thompson as superintendent. This position he held until 1861, when he resigned, and retired from business. In his well-earned retirement he continued till his death, which occurred at Milford, Jan. 31, 1873. Mr. Thompson was married in 1815 to Miss Love Lusk, of Enfield. Mrs. Thompson died in 1847.
Mr. Thompson was especially thoughtful of those in his employ, and this interest manifested itself even after his retirement from business. His moral qualities were of a high and marked order. His religious convictions were deep. His faith in God was steady, and, especially after his reverses, strong and comforting.
Harry Allen Grant was born at St. Simon's Island, Georgia, Jan. 23, 1813. His father had been a surgeon in the English navy, but resigned his position and purchased a large plantation in Georgia, upon which he passed the rest of his life. The son was sent North, at the age of seven years, to be educated, and afterward returned home for only brief and occasional visits. He was graduated from Union College in 1830; he studied medicine in Baltimore, and began practice in Albany, New York, where he remained only three years ; then, his wife, formerly Miss Louise Bloodgood, having died, he went to Europe for further study. There he spent four years, mostly in Paris, giving his time largely to the study of surgery under the direction of the most skilful surgeons of Europe. On his return home he began the prac- tice of medicine in Hartford. Dr. Grant's thorough training and his skill in surgery very soon gave him a prominent position in the medi- cal profession. His practice extended throughout all the surrounding region, and he was frequently called from a distance for consultation
Alterando
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or for the performance of difficult surgical operations. After twelve years in Hartford, ill health necessitated his retirement from profes- sional service. He removed to Enfield, having purchased the place of Mr. Orrin Thompson, whose daughter he had married, and there he remained until his death. Soon after his removal to Enfield he went to Europe for medical advice and treatment, and returned with health nearly restored. For many years he exerted a wide and beneficent influence. When the War of the Rebellion broke out, Dr. Grant, though a Southerner by birth, and having many friends in that sec- tion, took a decided stand for the National Government. For a short time he was Surgeon-General of the State under Governor Buckingham. Afterward he was appointed surgeon for the examination of recruits for the army. In 1862 he was elected as one of the representatives of Enfield in the General Assembly. He also held the office of Collector of Internal Revenue for some time. In 1864 he was chairman of the delegation from Connecticut to the Republican National Convention at Baltimore, and was made one of the vice-presidents of the convention.
In all positions Dr. Grant was faithful and efficient. He was a man of broad and fine culture, of courtly manners, of tender sympa- thies and generous deeds. The poor, the sick, and the young were the special objects of his regard and kindness. He strove to make his life a practical illustration of Christian truth. He died Nov. 30, 1884. His wife and two sons survive him.
Another prominent name in the history of Enfield is Augustus G. Hazard. Mr. Hazard was born in South Kingston, Rhode Island, April 28, 1802. When he was six years of age, his father, Thomas Hazard, who was a sea captain, removed to Columbia, in this State. There Augustus worked upon a farm until he was fifteen years old. His opportunities for attending school were very slight. At fifteen he began to learn the trade of house-painting, and in this business con- tinued until he was twenty years of age. He then went to Savannah, Georgia, and became a dealer in paints, oils, and other merchandise. He built up a large business, and prosecuted it with great profit to himself until 1827, when he removed to New York and became agent and part owner of a line of packets between the latter city and Savan- nah. At the same time he carried on a large commission business in cotton, zinc, and gunpowder.
In all these undertakings he was eminently successful, and gained the means and experience which enabled him to undertake and manage prosperously the great enterprise of his life. About the year 1837 he became interested in the powder-works of Loomis & Co., in the eastern part of Enfield. In 1843 he organized the Hazard Powder Company, and became its president and manager. Soon after, he re- moved his family to Enfield, and continued a resident of the town until his death, on the 7th of May, 1868. While Mr. Hazard was residing in Savannah he became connected with the military organizations of the State, and acquired the title of Colonel, by which he was generally called during his life. In the year 1822 he was married to Miss Salome G. Merrill; of West Hartford, who survived him. She died in 1880.
In the conduct of his business Colonel Hazard was shrewd and energetic, and by it he accumulated a large fortune. He was deeply
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interested in politics, and for several years was chairman of the Whig State Central Committee. He was a warm personal and political friend of Daniel Webster. Upon the disruption of the Whig party he became a Democrat in politics. During the war for the suppression of the Rebellion, and afterward, he was a stanch supporter of the Union cause. Colonel Hazard was a man of large public spirit, ready to aid with his counsel and means whatever promised any good to society. In the village of Hazardville, which was built up by the large business which he controlled, and which perpetuates his name, he took a decided interest. He gave several thousand dollars to erect a building for a library and a public hall.
James Dixon was born in Enfield, Aug. 5, 1814, and died in Hart- ford, March 27, 1873. He was the son of William Dixon, who for many years was a attual, two Dx on Four Chy prominent and in- fluential citizen of the town. James was graduated from Williams College in 1834, and soon after began the study of the law in his father's office. Being admitted to the bar, he removed to Hartford and entered upon the practice of his profession. He soon became quite prominent at the bar, and gave promise of cmi- nence. But his taste was decidedly for politics, and after a few years he gave up his law practice and became a politician in the full sense of that term. In 1837, when only twenty-three vears of age, he was elected from his native town a member of the State House of Repre- sentatives. He was also a member in 1838, and again in 1844. He was elected a Member of Congress as a Whig, and served from Dec. 1, 1845, till March 3, 1849. In 1854 he was again a representative in the State Legislature, and at the session of that year was a candidate for the nomination as United States Senator, but was unsuccessful. Two years later he was again a candidate, and by a combination of Know-Nothings and Republicans was elected. He served in the National Senate from March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1869. In 1866 he was promi- nent in the attempt to organize a party upon the basis of the political principles of President Johnson. This action put him out of sympathy with the Republican party. In 1868 he was nominated by the Demo- crats for re-election to the Senate, but was defeated. Later in the same year he was nominated by the same party for Member of Con- gress, but was again defeated. Upon the expiration of his term in the Senate he retired to private life, and there remained in feeble health until his death. His wife was a daughter of the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Cogswell. Her death occurred several years before his. Mr. Dixon had a taste for literature, and had he chosen a literary life, would doubtless have achieved marked success. He published a number of poems in "The New England Magazine," at Boston, and was a frequent contributor to the "Connecticut Courant," of Hartford. In its files may be found many of his best writings.
XII. FARMINGTON.1
BY NOAH PORTER, D.D., President of Yale College.
I' TT was in 1640 that the township of Farmington began to be occu- pied by white settlers, principally inhabitants of Hartford. A few of these were members of the church which Thomas Hooker organ- ized at Newtown (Cambridge), in Massachusetts, and a few years before had transferred to the valley of the Connecticut. Among the three vines which were planted in this genial valley, Hartford was conspicuous, and from this central stock the plantation of Tunxis was the first vigorous shoot. We can readily believe that the enterprising planters who had been tempted to the valley of the far distant Connecticut by the tidings of its fertile and sunny meadows would not be long insensible to the in- dications of other meadows beyond the blue line of mountains which they could here and there desery over the billowy forest to the west- ward, the suggestion of which would be confirmed by the speculations of the occupants of the palisade fort at Windsor in respect to the sources of the Tunxis River, which rolled smoothly at their fect.
We are not told who was the first adventurer who dared to penetrate the intervening forest and gazed upon the lovely vision of the meadows enclosed by the Tunxis and the Pequabuck, near the centre of which arose the smokes of a considerable Indian settlement, and along the borders of which stretched the attractive slopes which are now occupied by the village. No chronicler is needed to assure us that the vision when reported awakened the most serious thoughts in the minds of the residents of Hartford, and that these thoughts very soon matured into a plan for the speedy occupation of this inviting valley.
It appears from the Colonial Records, that on Feb. 20, 1639-40, the report of the committee appointed in January "was delayed to the General Court," and that on June 15, 1640, " the particular Court " " was ordered to conclude the conditions for the planting of Tunxis." The agreement with the Indians respecting the possession of Hartford, which was renewed in 1670, speaks of the original grant from Suncquasson, which grant " was by him renewed to the Hon. John Haynes, Esq.," and " other the first magistrates of this place and
1 The historical sketch is largely composed of selections from " An Historical Discourse, delivered by request before the citizens of Farmington," Nov. 4, 1840, by Noah Porter, Jr. ; also, " An Historical Discourse delivered at the Celebration of the One Hundredth Anniver- sary of the Erection of the Congregational Church in Farmington, Conn.," Oct. 16, 1872, by Noah Porter, D. D., President of Yale College ; also, "Sketch of the Character and Pastorate of Noah Porter, D.D., Pastor of the church in Farmington."
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enlarged to the westward," etc., which enlargement with his former grants " was made in the presence of many," etc. ; and several years after, " about the time of the planting of Farmington in the year 1640, in writing, between the English and Pethus, sachem or gentleman of the place," etc. The following settlers served as grand jurors ; namely, William Lewis in 1641, John Porter and Thomas Orton in 1643, John Porter and William Smith in 1644, Anthony Howkins in 1645. In 1645 the town received its charter as an independent commonwealth.1
The territory of this township was bounded on the east by the three river towns; on the north by Simsbury, subsequently settled ; on the south by Wallingford, subsequently incorporated ; and on the west by the western woods, within which Harwinton was the first incorporated town. This territory now includes the following towns : Southington, which was the first to be detached as a separate township in 1779; nearly the whole of New Britain and Berlin, 1785; Bristol, 1785; Bur- lington, 1806 ; Avon, 1830 ; Plainville, 1869; and parts of Wolcott, Harwinton, and Bloomfield, formerly Wintonbury Parish.
The number of actual settlers at first was small, but it gradually increased, until in 1645 Tunxis received its present name, and became a taxable town, with " the like liberties as the other towns upon the river for making orders among themselves." Its first tax in 1645 was £10. We can more readily describe than realize the scene that pre- sented itself to the few settlers who separated themselves from the flourishing towns on the Connecticut, and had come here to dwell alone. Between them and their homes lay a continuous forest. They were in the midst of a large and warlike tribe of Indians, the largest of any of the tribes in the vicinity of the Connecticut. The huts of the natives were scattered here and there, while a large and central settle- ment appeared on the east bank of the river, where now stands their monument, the silent and the only witness that they ever were here. Across the hills upon the southeast there was established upon the Mattabesett a portion of another tribe, from which this river had its name. Much of the descending slope from the mountain, along which now runs the village street, was more or less densely wooded ; in some places it was moist and even marshy. At its foot lay the open meadow. Beyond was the western forest, its border darkening the western hills quite down to their base, the terror of the Indian and the white man ; for along its unknown tract for hundreds of miles roamed the dreaded Mohawks, to whom all the tribes in this region were tributary. The Mohawks were fierce and warlike, the terror of all the New England
tribes. From the banks of the river which bears their name they roved hither and thither upon their errands of conquest ; now surprising a native settlement upon the Sound, or breaking in on a defenceless tribe on the branches of the Connecticut. The terror of the Mohawk rendered the presence of the English desirable, and disposed the Indians in all this region to a peaceable demeanor.
Under these circumstances the settlement began. From the pass in the mountain through which runs the present road to Hartford, to the original meeting-house lot, lots of five acres were laid out for dwellings ;
1 See Colonial Records, vol. i. pp. 133, 134.
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those along the main street were bounded west by the river-bank, and were divided by the street, the houses being at first erected on its western side. South of this the lots were laid out in larger or smaller divisions, still bounded west upon the river. As new settlers came in they received lots as the gift of the town, or purchased them from the older proprietors. In the year 1655, fifteen years from the date of the original settlement, the number of ratable persons in the town was forty-six, and the grand list of their estates was £5,519, while the number of ratable persons in Hartford was one hundred and seventy- seven, and the sum of their estates was £19,609.
The map here inserted gives a view of the village and its inhabitants near the end of the seventeenth century.
During the first sixty years the village was gradually increased, till in 1700 it is supposed to have consisted of nearly as many houses as at the present time. In the year 1672, thirty-two years after the date of the original settlement, the proprietors of the town, at that time eighty-four in number, took possession of all the land with- in the limits of the town, and ordered a division on the following principles.
They measured from the Round Hill in the meadow, three miles to the north, two miles sixty-four rods to the east, five miles thirty-two rods to the south, and two miles to the west. The lands within the parallelo- gram bounded by these lines were called the " reserved lands," large portions of which had already been taken up, and the remainder was reserved for " town commons, home-lots, pastures, and pitches, conven- ient for the inhabitants," and a common field enclosing the meadows ; while all without these lands was surveyed and divided to the cighty- four proprietors, according to their property as shown in their lists for taxation, with a double portion for Mr. Hooker, and a various increase for all those whose estates ranged from £10 to £70. The surveys and divisions in the western section of the town were made first, by dividing the whole into six divisions, of a mile in width, including the highways between, and running eleven miles from north to south. Each of these tiers was divided according to the estate of cach, by lines, so that each man had lots a mile in extent from east to west, and varying in width according to his property. The division of the other portions of the town was conducted in very much the same manner. The surveys were made at different periods, and they constitute the basis of all the titles to land within the towns that have been severed from the original township.
In 1685, the year of the accession of James II., on application to the colonial legislature, a patent was granted, confirming in a formal manner, and by legal phrase, to the proprietors of the town, the tract originally granted in 1645.1 At this time the colonists were greatly alarmed at the prospect of royal encroachments upon their chartered rights, and the formal confirmation of the charter of this town was dictated by their fears, as a necessary security against threatened danger.
The following is a list of the owners of house-lots, prepared in 1840 by the Rev. William S. Porter, from the records in Farmington and
1 This patent was founded on the charter of Connecticut, granted by Charles II.
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Hartford. The letter " S." denotes actual settlers, nearly all of whom had previously lived in Hartford : -
Mr. John Haynes, Esq. ; Mr. Samuel Wyllys ; Mr. Edward Hopkins; Mr. Thomas Welles ; Mr. John Steele, S., died in 1664 ; Mr. John Talcott ; Mr. John Webster ; Elder William Goodwin, S., died in 1673 ; William Pantry ; Thomas Scott ; Deacon Andrew Warner, S., removed to Hatfield ; John White ; Stephen Hart, S., died in 1683 ; William Lewis, S., Register, died in 1690; the Rev. Roger Newton, S., removed to Milford ; Thomas Webster ; Matthew Webster, S. ; Nicholas Mason ; Thomas Barnes, S., died in 1688; John Pratt ; Renold Mar- vin ; Matthew Marvin ; John Brownson, S., removed to Wethersfield, and died in 1680; Richard Brownson, S., died in 1687 ; George Orvice, S., died in 1764 ; Thomas Porter, S., died in 1697 ; Francis Browne ; John Warner, S., died in 1679 ; Thomas Demon, S., removed to . Long Island ; John Cole, S., removed to Hadley ; Deacon Thomas Judd, S., removed to Northampton ; Thomas Upson, S., died in 1655 ; Deacon Isaac Moore, S. ; John Lomes, S., removed to Windsor ; William Hitchcock, or Hecock, S., soon died ; John Wilcock ; Nathaniel Watson.
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