USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Vol. II > Part 34
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In 1841 the Rev. Edmund Murphy, the first priest to attend regu- larly the Roman Catholics, commenced his work in New Britain. He was succeeded in 1842 by the Rev. John Brady, of Hartford, who took charge of this parish until 1848, when the Rev. Luke Daly came here to reside. He commenced the erection of the Roman Catholic brick church in 1850. This building, eighty-four feet by twenty-five, was com- pleted in 1853 and dedicated by the Rev. B. O'Reilly. A transept seventy-five feet by thirty-two, and a chancel forty-two feet by thirty, were added in 1862. These were dedicated by the Right Rev. F. P. McFarland, Oct. 11, 1863. More recently a sacristy forty feet by twenty has been added to the rear of the church. In 1877 the brick convent on Lafayette Street was erected by the Rev. Luke Daly. He died the next year, after a successful pastorate of thirty years. He was succeeded by the Rev. H. Carmody, D.D., by whom the parochial schools were opened in 1879. These schools have a membership of about eleven hundred. St. Mary's parish, which in 1848, on the commencement of the Rev. Luke Daly's pastorate, had but twenty-five
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families, has now more than six thousand persons. Dr. Carmody died in 1882, and was succeeded by the Rev. Michael Tiernay, the present pastor of the Roman Catholic Church in New Britain.
The Advent Christian Church has a small house of worship. The Swedish Lutheran Church was organized in 1881. It has a settled pastor, the Rev. O. A. Landell, and a new church edifice.
The children in the families of the first settlers of New Britain were educated at home or at the town school in Farmington. When in 1717 the General Court made it obligatory that societies should maintain public schools, the Great Swamp Society assumed the responsibility, and made provision for schools in different parts of the society.1 On the organization of the Society of New Britain, in 1754, this society made the necessary arrangements to maintain its schools.2 After the establishment of a State school fund in 1795, and the passage of the act relating to school societies, New Britain was organized into a school society, and this body took charge of the schools.
When in 1798 the law requiring school visitors was enacted, the New Britain school society appointed to this office the Rev. John Smalley, Colonel Isaac Lee, Colonel Gad Stanley, Captain Jonathan Belden, Levi Andrews, Deacon Elijah Hart,3 James North, David Mather, and Captain N. Churchill ; selecting its most promi- nent and most intelligent men for this position. Dr. Smalley's name continued at the head of the list until 1814, when that of his colleague, the Rev. Newton Skinner, took its place. At the time the New Britain
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school society was organized it included four school districts ; namely, the East district, with a school-house on East Street ; the Southwest, David Mather embracing Main Street and all the society west from Dublin Hill to Kensington ; the North- west, extending from the foot of Dublin Hill to Farmington; and Stanley Quarter, in the northeast part of the parish. In 1803 the school committee were authorized to spend one hundred dollars in each district.
1 A committee appointed to inquire into the best plan for schools in 1718 reported, "that the society being so very scattering, and our ways so very difficult for small children to pass to a general school a great part of the year, we advise that the society be divided into squaddams for the more convenient schooling of children." The division was made, and the money was divided to each squaddam or district.
2 At a meeting held Dec. 16, 1754, it was voted, " that a school be kept in this society ac- cording to laws." A committee was appointed "to order the affairs of the school, and to use proper endeavors to procure the country money and defray the charges of the school."
According to Andrews's "History of New Britain," the townsfolk used to say, "Deacon Hart knows everything : he knows almost as much as Captain Belden."
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Two years afterward this sum was increased to one hundred and twenty-five dollars. The teachers of the winter schools were generally selected from the most intelligent and best educated farmers. During the summer they tilled the soil ; when the crops were harvested, and their labor was not needed on the farm, they taught the winter school as a matter of duty, as well as a pecuniary convenience. In the summer the young women of the best families were honored by being invited to teach, and it was their ambition to teach well. Each school district was a neighborhood, like a larger family, where cach person possessing a knowledge of the affairs of others would contribute to the welfare of all. The teacher, being one of the most intelligent and honored persons in the district, commanded the respect of all, and by an intimate knowl- edge of the home life of the children, and a quick sympathy with them in their well or ill doing, was able to inspire to high purpose, and to develop those intellectual and moral traits which make noble character. The practice of " boarding around " with the different families gave the teacher additional opportunities of acquaintance and influence.
In these district schools the common branches of reading, spelling, writing, and arithmetic were well taught; and with these, a regard for good manners and a reverence for age and authority were inculcated. If the minister, Dr. Smalley, Colonel Lee, or other honored citizen passed the school-house and play-ground during recess, play was stopped and the children, arranged in line, made profound obeisance. Regard for truth and right was taught at home and at school, the parents being careful to sustain the teacher's authority. If any thoughtless boy be- haved so as to receive punishment at school, he was sure to have the flogging repeated when he reached home. Such were the early schools of New Britain, taught, it is true, in rude structures, and with the lack of many modern helps, but so as to give an intellectual and moral tone to youth, and with the family and church help to form a generation of men and women fitted to lay well the foundations of society.
In 1807 the Southwest district was divided and the Middle district was formed. For twenty-five years the common schools were main- tained in the five districts thus organized, - generally taught by men in the winter and by young women in the summer. In 1832 the Shipman, or Sixth district was formed from a part of Stanley Quarter ; and two years later the Middle district was divided and the North Middle and South Middle were formed. In 1838 the Ledge district was formed from a part of the North Middle. The organization of the new districts led to the erection of several new school-houses, and seemed to awaken a local interest which for a time helped to make the schools efficient and successful in their work. In a few years the interest abated, and the schools were neglected, until they failed to provide the education needed. From 1845 to 1848 there were repeated efforts in town-meeting and elsewhere by the friends of education to secure a reorganization of the schools and provide for their permanent improvement ; but these efforts were unsuccessful, until in 1849 an act was passed incorporating the State Normal School. By raising a generous contribution for the building, and the offer of a suitable model school, the location of the Normal School in New Britain was secured. The three school districts near the centre of the society were then united, the schools graded, a public high school was established, and all were placed under the charge
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of the governing body of the Normal School as "model schools," or " schools of practice." At the same time the schools of the Central district were made free. Thus was established one of the first public high schools of the State outside of Hartford and Middletown, and the principle of free schools was adopted, while in other parts of the State the rate-bill was nearly everywhere in use. At that time New Britain was a parish of Berlin, with less than three thousand inhabitants and an assessed valuation of property amounting to less than a million of dollars. To Professor E. A. Andrews, the Rev. Samuel Rockwell, Seth J. North, Esq., and those associated with them, the place is much in- debted for the successful efforts which resulted in the establishment of a system of public schools, including a free high school, which has been so great a benefit to the community.
For several years the public schools were successfully conducted in intimate relation to the State Normal School ; but as the school chil- dren increased and additional school room was required, the connection became less close, and after the temporary suspension of the Normal School in 1867 it ceased altogether. By vote of the town, Oct. 13, 1873, the school districts were consolidated into one district, and placed under the control of a school committee of twelve persons appointed by the town, - the acting school visitor, by law, having immediate charge of the schools.
Though public or common schools were early established, the people did not depend upon these wholly for the education of their children. Subscription schools, private schools, seminaries, and academies were founded and maintained, to provide higher and better education for the community. Soon after the close of the Revolutionary War, or in 1784, a subscription school was established on East Street, and taught by a daughter of Dr. Smalley. Other and similar schools, which were independent of the common schools, were held in other parts of the society, usually between short terms of the district schools. The first continnous private or select school of which a record is found appears to have been established in 1813, chiefly through the agency of Thomas Lee and Seth & North Seth J. North. It was taught by Miss Almira Hart, afterward the distinguished authoress Mrs. Almira H. Lincoln Phelps.
In 1828 a private school Almira Lincoln Phelps was established in the house which had been occupied by Dr. Smalley, on East Main Street. This school was so successful that a school-room in the new house of Alvin North was erected for it. About the same Samuel Hart time a company was formed to establish an academy. Samuel Hart, M.D., Seth J. North, Henry North, Alfred Andrenz, and Joseph Shipman were the largest cash contribu- tors to this enterprise. A two-story building was erected near the meeting- house, under the superintendence of Alfred Andrews, the first teacher,
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
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who taught for two seasons. He was succeeded by Nathaniel Grover and Levi N. Tracy, both graduates of Dartmouth College. The school increased in numbers, and was for a while a flourishing academy. Four young men, all natives of New Britain, entered Yale College from this school in 1838. At the time the academy was exerting its influ- ence on the older pupils, an infant school, in the south part of the village, was awakening much interest. Previous to 1837, Elijah H. Burritt, an older brother of Elihu Burritt, had a private boarding and day school on Main Street, near the site of the opera-house. In 1843 Miss Thirza Lee established a seminary for young ladies at the corner of Main and West Main streets. Thiya Les This was quite successful until she married and re- moved from the place. Several other private schools were popular for a time, but all have been closed except the New Britain Seminary, opened in 1870, and St. Mary's parochial schools.
THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
A commendable interest has also been manifested in general educa- tion. In 1838, or before there was a normal school in this country, four thousand dollars was subscribed in New Britain to establish a
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county seminary for the education and training of teachers. The project was not executed ; but in 1850 over sixteen thousand dollars was raised by private subscription to provide a building and apparatus for the State Normal School. When the General Assembly, in 1880, voted to erect a new building for the Normal School, the town of New Britain appropriated twenty-five thousand dollars toward its construction, and occupied the old building with its public schools.
The first settlers of New Britain were farmers. To the tillage of the ground some added the preparation of staves, hoops for sugar- hogsheads, builders' lumber, and other products of the forests ; and these articles, with the surplus of agricultural products, were sent to Boston, to the West Indies, or elsewhere, to be exchanged for such commodities as were needed, and not readily produced at home. Flax and wool were converted into cloth by the hand spinning-wheel and loom, and afterward made into garments for the family. A black- smith's shop, a saw-mill, and a grist-mill were located in the settlement quite early. A few men worked at the carpenter's trade a portion of the year, and a few at other trades. Besides the work of each family making at home such articles as were necessary for its own use, and a limited production of common tin-ware, there was no attempt at manufacturing as a distinct business until after the Revolutionary War. Then other blacksmiths' shops were opened for business, and in some of them axes, hoes, chains, shovels, and other implements needed in a plain farming community were forged.
Between 1790 and 1800 a few of the more enterprising men began to inquire whether the increasing demand for manufactured articles did . not indicate that goods for other markets could be made with profit in New Britain. James North, an intelligent blacksmith and a successful farmer, conceived the idea of having a few of the young men go away to learn some new busi- ness. His own son James and two other young men were sent to Stockbridge, Mass., to become acquainted with working in brass and other metals. Upon the expiration of their apprenticeship, in 1799, two of these young men - James North and Joseph Shipman - formed a partnership for the manufacture of sleighbells. They com- menced business in the spring of 1800, in a room of the Sugden house, on South Main Street, near the residence of the late Henry Stanley. The business proved quite successful, and at the close of the year each of the young men went into business for himself. James North, Jr., continued in the Sugden house, which belonged to his father ; and Joseph Shipman established himself in one end of his fa- ther's joiner's shop, on East Main Street. Mr. Shipman's capital of fifty dollars was loaned him by the Rev. Dr. Smalley. Some of the sleigh- bells made by these men were sold in Connecticut, but a part were transported to Boston on horseback, and there found a ready market. Seth J. North, a younger brother of James, had learned the black- smith's trade of his father, but he went into business with his brother, and for a time the two worked in company. James soon removed to Cherry Valley, New York, and Seth carried on the business in New Britain. He built larger shops on the west side of Main Street, and
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much increased the amount of business. The shop in which Shipman worked burning down, he built a larger shop on Stanley Street; and afterward, near Judd's mills, he erected more extensive shops. For many years these shops of North and Shipman were the principal manufac- tories of brass goods in their line in the country, and their products were sent to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and other cities. In 1807 Seth J. North, Isaac Lee, Thomas Lee, William Smith, and Joseph Shipman formed a company for making varions articles of jewelry. This was probably the first instance in New Britain of combining the capital of a number of persons for manufacturing purposes. The business was established in a shop on the west side of the City Park, next north of the site of Rogers's block. Four of the partners had previously been separately engaged in making articles from brass and tin. The new business was continued by the company only three or four years, but it served to show what could be done with combined capital.
About 1808 Hezekiah C. Whipple, from Providence, commenced work in plain jewelry in a small way. He lived on Stanley Street, and in a year or two he had a small shop near the corner of East Main and Stanley streets, where he made plated harness-buckles, cloak-clasps, and plated wire. In 1812 Seth J. North and his brother, Alvin North, entered into partnership with Mr. Whipple and commenced a general plating business of silver and other wire. They drew out silver-plated copper wire to the size required. and then converted it into clasps, rings, curb-chains, and other small articles. They introduced the use of horse-power, - probably the first in New Britain employed for manufacturing purposes.
During the War of 1812 several other shops were opened where manufacturing on a small scale was prosecuted. The articles made were chiefly such as were required for domestic use, - as knives and forks, candlesticks, sad-irons, bureau-locks, and other small articles of hardware. When peace was declared, and importation from Europe was resumed, most of these shops were shut up, and manufacturing in New Britain was again confined to the shops of Seth J. North, Joseph Shipman, and the North & Whipple Company. Soon after 1820 business began to revive; some of the old shops were re- opened and new ones were built. From Stanley Quarter to South Main Street these shops, to the number of eight or ten, were located at irregular intervals ; and in them brass goods, small articles of hard- ware, jewelry, hooks-and-eyes, buttons, glass beads, and some other articles were manufactured. Nearly all the work was done by hand, with the assistance of a foot-lathe. In the shop of North & Stanley, on the east side of South Main Street, horse-power had been introduced. By turning the brook now flowing into the Russell & Erwin pond, Jesse Hart had secured a small water-power in a shop where the Baptist church now stands; and the small water-power at Hart's mills and Judd's mills had been partially utilized.
Near the close of this decade (1820-1830) and the beginning of the next the foundation was laid for some of the large manufacturing establishments which have given to New Britain so wide a reputation as a manufacturing city. In 1830 William B. Stanley, Henry W. Clark, and Lora Waters commenced the manufacture of machinery on
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the east side of Main Street, just north of the present railway crossing. In the latter part of the year Frederick T. Stanley bought out this company and commenced the manufacture of door-locks and house- trimmings. His brother, W. B. Stanley, soon went into partnership with him; the business was extended and a steam-engine was intro- duced. This was the first use of steam as a motive-power for manu- facturing in New Britain. The coal for the engine was brought from Middletown by teams. Westell Russell, afterward sheriff of Hartford County, was the first engineer. The business - for a time quite profit- able - was continued by the Stanleys until the financial crisis of 1837, when it was closed up at this place and transferred to the shops of Stanley, Woodruff, & Co.
In 1835 F. T. Stanley, W. B. Stanley, Smith Matteson, Emanuel Russell, Truman Woodruff, and Norman Woodruff formed a partner- ship with a capital of $18,000, under the firm name of Stanley, Wood- ruff, & Co. A tract of land west of Main Street, including most of the territory since occupied by the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Company, was bought, a dam built across the small stream, and a brick factory, eighty-two feet by thirty-four, erected for the manufacture of plate locks. This was the only factory built by this company, and it still stands, - one of the many buildings occupied by the Russell & Erwin works. On the 1st of Jannary, 1839, the Woodruffs, W. B. Stanley, and E. Russell withdrew, and Henry E. Russell and C. B. Erwin became partners in Kerry, Edussel the firm, and the name was changed to Stanley, Russell, & Co. F. T. Stanley retired Jan. 1, 1840, and the business was continued by Matteson, Russell, & Erwin until Jan. 1, 1841, when Jolin K. Bowen, of New York, became a partner, and a new company, styled Matteson, Russell, & Co., commenced business for five
years, by agreement. Mr. Matteson died the next year ; but the com- pany continued under the same name until Dec. 31, 1845, when Mr. Matteson's capital was withdrawn, and Mr. Bowen's soon after. The company was reorganized, Jan. 1, 1846, as the Russell & Erwin Com- pany, and so continued until January, 1851. In 1850 the partners bought out North & Stanley, William H. Smith, and several other firms in New Britain, and the Albany Lock and Argillo Works, Albany. Jan. 1, 1851, the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Company was organ- ized, under the general State law, with a capital of $125,000, which was soon increased to $200,000, and in 1864 to $500,000, and is now
THE STANLEY WORKS.
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$1,000,000. In 1876, to the manufacture of general hardware was added the manufacture of wood-screws, in a large building erected in 1875 for this purpose. New machinery has been added, until all varieties of screws of brass and iron are made, and also steel nails.
The Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Company was one of the first in this country to make a specialty of builders' hardware. The variety has been increased until all kinds are produced in large quantities, together with solid bronze goods for building and ornamental pur- poses. The buildings of this company cover several acres, its business being larger than that of any other company of the kind in America. Its goods are sent to all parts of the United States and to foreign countries.
In 1842, in a building which had been used as an armory, and which stood near that of the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Company, the manufacture of door and shutter bolts, and chest, trunk, door, and lifting handles, was begun by Frederick T. Stanley. In August, 1852, a joint- stock corporation was formed to manufacture wrought-iron butts and hinges. It was called the Stanley Works, and commenced business with a capital of $30,000, which has been increased at different times until it amounts to $325,000. In 1871 the extensive brick buildings on Myrtle Street, now occupied by the company, were erected. Connected with these buildings are railway tracks to the New York and New England, and the New York, New Haven, and Hartford railroads, enabling the company to receive the raw material direct at the shops, and ship the finished goods to market without cartage. The business has been largely extended by increasing the variety and varying the style of goods manufactured. By using the best of iron and steel and employ- ing skilled workmen the company have been able to compete with other establishments and furnish superior goods for the market. In 1883 the manufacture of tacks, brads, and nails was added to the other business. F. T. Stanley was president of the company from its organization until his death, in 1883. William H. Hart is now president and treasurer, and William Parker vice-president and secretary.
In 1853 the manufacture of plumbs and levels was introduced in New Britain by Thomas S. Hall and Frederic Knapp, in a building now used by the Stanley Rule and Level Company. In 1854 a joint-stock company was formed under the firm name of Hall & Knapp, with $15,000 capital, which was increased to $20,000 in 1856. The rule- making branch of the business was begun in 1854 by Augustus Stanley, T. A. Conklin, and T. W. Stanley, under the name of A. Stanley & Co. A business in Bristol with which Mr. Conklin had been connected was bought out, and the manufacture of rules commenced in the upper story of J. B. Sargent & Co.'s factory on Elm Street. The next year the rule business of Seth Savage, Middletown, was purchased and brought to New Britain : all the works were removed to the upper story of North & Stanley's hook-and-eye factory, the number of workmen was increased, and the foundation laid for a new company.
On the 1st of July, 1857, the Stanley Rule and Level Company was organized as a joint-stock company, with a capital of $50,000. In 1862 the handle business of Augustus Stanley, then on Arch Street, was bought by the company and united with the other works. In February, 1863, the company purchased of C. L. Mead, of Brattleborough, Vermont,
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