USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > The town and city of Waterbury, Connecticut, from the aboriginal period to the year eighteen hundred and ninety-five, Volume I > Part 35
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John Smith 8 George Welton, 10 Ebenezer Richards, . 9
Thomas Foot, 9 Samuel Judd, 5 William Scovill, 6
Samuel Thomas, 8
Gershom Scott, 5
Thomas Judd, 4 Thomas Hikcox, . 5 James Smith, 2
Moses Bronson, II Samuel Luis, 9
Thomas Richards, 9 Samuel Hikcox, 12
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EARLY WESTBURY.
Caleb Clark, 9 Ebenezer Baldwin, . 3
James Brown, 8
Daniel How,
9 Jonathan Prindle, 7 John Warner, .
4
John Andrews, 6 Stephen Scott, 4 James Williams,
7
William Andrews, 3 Obadiah Scott, 4
George Nichols,
6
Jonathan Scott, 3
David Scott, .
5
James Belemy,
I
Jonathan Scott, 7 Nathaniel Arnold, IO
Richard Seymour,
4
Eleazer Scott, 3 Ebenezer Warner, 5 Jonathan Garnsey, . 10
Jonathan Foot, . 5
In 1730 the highway up the valley to present Watertown and to Waterville ran over the Naugatuck river, into and across Steel's meadow and up on Steel's plain. On the plain it divided and the Waterville, or Pine Hole branch, followed the valley of the Nauga- tuck river on the east side of Edmund's mountain, crossing the river into Hancock meadow-while the Watertown branch went to the west of Edmund's mountain and followed the valley of Steel's brook, substantially to Watertown.
The second house built northwestward of Waterbury -centre, was erected before 1715 at present Oakville, by young Thomas Welton, who was the son of John, the planter. He married, in 1715, the record tells us, Hannah Allford and built a house on the north side of Steel's brook, against the upper end of Ben's meadow, and southwest of Turkey brook. This was at the fork of the Woster and the Scott's mountain roads, and was a lonely habitation, with the unbridged river between it and possible succor from the town in time of trial. Here, it is thought, Thomas Welton began house- keeping with his young wife, for, hereabout, lay his farm and the land "on Turkey brook northeast of his house where said Welton formerly ploughed," and here probably occurred the first death in Oakville, for Thomas died in 1717. His house seems to have been left desolate until the coming of Isaac Castle in 1724, who lived in it four years; sold it in 1728 to Deacon Judd, and moved up to Twitch Grass Meadow. Deacon Judd almost immediately conveyed it to James Williams, who, in close connection with his brother Daniel, built the first mill at Oakville before November of 1729. Even at that date, there must have been an old mill there, for in a deed given by John Warner to James Williams, land is sold "lying by the new mill."
The traveler passing over the "Road to Woster " at any time from 1721 to 1735 would find Ebenezer Richardson living in the house next above the one built by Thomas Welton, and, in so far as we have investigated, the same house still stands and has been known for two generations as the "Esquire John Buckingham place." What befell Ebenezer in the building his house or other- wise we do not know, but the General Assembly ordered the con-
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
stable not to demand his tax rate for 1720-because of the great distress to which his lameness had reduced him-but he got the better of it evidently for he was a born wanderer and Pine Meadow (Reynolds Bridge) called to him in 1737 with clarion tones to come up higher. He could not resist either the call or a good chance to sell out, for he left his house and barn and two hundred acre farm to James Brown, the faithful lover of the Church of England, and the inn-holder of Judd's Meadow, and went up higher. If we had any evidence to support the fact, we should write that probably Brown built the large house and pursued his calling in it. He ultimately conveyed it to his son Daniel, who sold it to Richard Nichols. As a token of his adherence to the Church of England, we may note that "the listers" for the year 1737, gave, as the last item in James Brown's tax list, " 2 acrs meddow Amen." Dr. John Warner, a son of the soil, came back from Stratford and before 1724 built a house, which was across the highway from the Ebenezer Richardson house. Mrs. Richardson and Mrs. Warner were sisters. On the summit of the hill "south of Lower Wooster," and south of what was formerly the Candee place Samuel Thomas lived. A few years later he died-a soldier in his country's service-at Cape "Britton." His house was on the main Watertown road just below the "cross " road that comes from Bunker Hill (past Woodruff's) to the Watertown road, and was formerly known as the "Road to Watertown by James Brown's." Samuel Judd settled between the forks of Turkey brook on the upland from whence you can see the valley of the brook to the point of its union with Steel's brook. A house place, supposed to be his, still remains in the orchard back of the house once known as the Eleazer Woodruff place, and later as the Sunderland place. It is on the old "Road from Westbury to Bucks Hill"-now, the road from the East School house to Watertown.
Of the Scott family -Stephen's house occupied the present site of Deacon Dayton's or J. R. Hickcox's house, which is just above Cranberry brook; Eleazer lived opposite St. John's (Roman Catholic) church; Gershom, on the east side of the highway above the present railroad station, between it and the Methodist church; Jonathan, Jr., above Gershom's house and on the same side of the road ; Jonathan, Sen., it is believed, on the site of and possibly in the house so long known as the Wait Smith house, which is now standing and in good repair. Daniel, the youngest son, lived with his father. Obadiah Scott lived on the western slope of Hikcox hill, on the road from Westbury to Buck's hill and near the foot of the hill. This he sold to the Rev. John Trumbull,* who later built
* Mr. Trumbull, in his later years, owned a number of houses. The one on the east side of the highway is the one pictured, and which tradition points to, as the one built by him.
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a house below Stephen Scott's on the west side of the highway probably represented on the Waterbury sheet of the United States Geographical Survey by the house mark just below Cranberry brook, and below the Deacon Dayton house. David Scott also lived on Hikcox hill.
The ancient Scott's Mountain-not the hill now called by that name-is the culminating dome of four upward steps to which the names of Welton's hill, Pattaroon hill, Hikcox mountain and Scott's mountain were early applied. On Scott's mountain, described as "a hill between Woster swamp and Buck's meadow," Jonathan and David Scott had lands laid out in 1690, but the names of Scott's mountain, Hikcox mountain, and Pattaroon hill, date from 1703. Each eleva- tion is marked by a depression, not visible when regarded from certain points of observation. Standing on West Main street and looking up the meadows Scott's mountain rises on the view in a fine broad sweep of upland that attracts instant attention. The ponderous mass of hills, whose highest uplift is Scott's mountain, rises to a height of 920 feet (or sixty feet higher than our Long and Chestnut hills). There are few higher elevations within the radius of its distance from Waterbury centre. It was so named from grants of land made upon it in 1690 to Jonathan and David Scott; to Jonathan to induce him to settle here, and to David to encourage him to remain here. Its present name, Nova Scotia hill, is not inappropriate as the Scott's possession upon and around it became extensive and important, but no evidence has been found that a Scott settled upon the mountain at an early date. The first house mentioned as being on Scott's mountain was Deacon Thomas Hikcox's, in 1728. In 1731 John Judd sold to his brother Thomas forty-five acres, with a house on it. The first house on Pattaroon hill was built by Daniel Williams in 1730. The exact date when Jonathan Scott and his son Jonathan went to present Watertown and built their houses is unknown. In March, 1722, Jonathan, Jr. had land laid out northward of Scott's mountain -described as "east of that called Nonnewage on a brook that falls into Obadiah's meadow," and the same day "across Steel's brook, northward of Woster Swamp on the falls of sd brook." At the latter place the two Jonathans, father and son, built a saw mill, but it is not men- tioned until 1725. Jonathan Sen. built another mill on the eastward side of Wooster Swamp. This we learn when a highway was laid out from Oakville, at Ebenezer Richardson's house, over the top of Hikcox hill to Jonathan Scott's mill. At about the same date, there was one laid out to the upper mill.
One of the earliest mortgages of land in Watertown was on sixty-seven acres of the farm of Nathaniel Arnold, Jr. "The
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
Honourable the Governor and Company of this His Majestie's English Colony of Connecticut In New England In A merica" lent to Arnold seventy-five pounds money, on the 20th of May 1734, for which Arnold was to pay on the first of May 1742, "seventy-five pounds in silver at twenty shillings per ounce Troy weight, or in Gold, or true bills of publick credit on the Colony."
As early as 1736 John Guernsey left the Village, selling his house and lands to John Smith of East Haddam, who then removed to Waterbury. Other land owners in the Village, whose names were new, were Jonathan Kelsey, "Zakeriah" Tomlinson, Jonathan Guernsey, Samuel Umberfield of West Haven, and Samuel Baker of Branford, who built a house there which he sold in 1736 to Thomas Foot for three hundred and ten pounds current money.
The above rapid survey of Watertown and its vicinity at a date before the formation of the Ecclesiastical Society of Westbury, imperfect as it is, affords us a glimpse of a prosperous community, whose founders were already moving on to new territory. Like other first settlers Jonathan Scott, Jr., felt the impulse to move on, and in 1742 removed to Reynolds Bridge, where he bought the house and farm of Ebenezer Richardson, who had made up his mind to "go west," to Middlebury. The house was the very site of the present red house so long known as the Reynolds homestead.
It was in October of 1738 that the Society of Westbury was incorporated. The number of families enumerated at that time was thirty-seven, whose names have been given. At the close of 1739 nine men had been added to the population. They were Joseph Guernsey, Daniel Scott, Nathan Baldwin, John Warner, Jr., Stephen Welton, Edmund Tompkins, Edward Scovill, james Nichols, Samuel Brown, and Abraham Andrews. The inhabitants of Westbury parish must have numbered nearly three hundred, when in 1739, Mr. John Trumbull* a young man of twenty-five years-was invited by them to take charge of their church. Mr. Trumbull was graduated at Yale College in 1735. Dr. Bronson tells us that he sometimes fitted young men for college after he became minister at Westbury-" that his attainments as a scholar were respectable, that he was sound, shrewd and humorous, but, that he appears not to have been distinguished as a preacher-that the great influence he acquired over his people was obtained by his generosity, his hospitable manners and friendly intercourse. If one of his parishioners had lost a cow or had met with a similar calamity he would interest himself in the matter, head a subscrip-
* This name is, in our records, spelled Trumble-Trumbull not appearing until 1768 when Mr. Trumble's nephew-cousin, the Rev. Benjamin Trumble, adopted that form of the word.
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tion for his relief and persuade others to sign the same. It was said of him that if one of his people turned Episcopalian, he would buy his farm."
Mr. Trumbull is described as a stout, athletic man, fond of horses -the life of the man who was not fond of horses in that day of utter dependence on horses must have been full of bitterness-a lover of innocent sports, and willing, if tradition be reliable, to add his skill and strength to help the side of his parish boys in games of contest with the "Town Spotters." It is said "that the contestants met at some half-way place (doubtless the Buckingham place, or James Brown's inn, for we find that Brown did pay five pounds for his ' faculty' of inn-keeper after his removal to Oakville), and carried on their doubtless somewhat brutal game of wrestling, during the autumnal evenings, around a fire." The story is told that on one occasion when the last of the Westbury champions had been laid low, a stranger-Mr. Trumbull in disguise-was dragged in to meet the victor, and that the stranger caught his antagonist's foot and threw him on the fire.
The victor immediately disappeared. " Great," adds Dr. Bronson, " was the exploit and great the mystery of the affair; but the secret finally leaked out. The story reached the ears of Mr. Leavenworth-the new incumbent of the First Church Society-who the next time he met his brother 'Trumble' (both men not long past their college days) rebuked him, particu- larly, for throwing his rival upon the fire-by which his clothing and flesh were scorched. Trumbull agreed that he had been guilty of levity, but, as for the scorching, he thought it his duty to give his (Mr. Leavenworth's) parishioners a foretaste of what they might expect, after sitting under his preaching."
Rev. John Trumbull was born in Suffield in 1715, and was the son of Jonathan or John (on our records Jon Trumble), whose ancestor from England, settled in Ipswich in 1645. He married July 3, 1744, Sarah, the daughter of Mr. Samuel Whitman of Farm- ington. They had seven children. John, the fourth child and second son was born in April of 1750, and in September of 1757, if the Connecticut Gazette of that month and year may be relied upon for the fact, had passed a good examination for admittance to Yale College, although but seven years and five months old. His mother had given him instruction in the Latin language, and his father had taken him through a course of preparatory study, which cul- minated in a journey to New Haven for the examination. The lad's biographer gravely notes that "during all this time"-his first seven years-"he was a boy and liked boyish sports." The Gazette adds-" but on account of his youth his father does not intend he shall at present continue at college." It is pleasing to learn that
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
after he was graduated at Yale, and at the age of sixteen, young Trumbull liked to sit in the highway and scrape up sand-hills with other children. We are told * that Mr. Trumbull was ordained at the house of Deacon Hikcox, about two miles eastward of the churches. Samuel Hikcox, who was Deacon Hikcox at a later date, was living at the time on Pattaroon hill, in the house built on the hill in 1731 by "Daniel Williams, miller." Four years before he was married, Mr. Trumbull bought of Obadiah Scott, for £300, "his home lott on which he then dwelt and all the buildings then erected-west on highway north on Obadiah Scott, east on Dr. John Warner, south on David Scott." This was April 29, 1740, and Mr. Southmayd recorded the deed of sale the same day. The house stood on the western slope of Hikcox hill, on the road from Westbury to Buck's Hill near the foot of the hill. Mr. Trumbull, at a subsequent date, which date has not been learned, built a house just below Cranberry brook, or below Deacon Dayton's house of to-day. In this house it is supposed his children were born. The illustration herewith of the house is copied, by the cour- HOUSE BUILT BY THE REV. JOHN TRUMBULL, 1740 OR LATER. tesy of Edwin Whitefield from "The Homes of our Forefathers, Rhode Island and Con- necticut," wherein the date of the house is given as "about 1725," which must be some twenty years too early.
In October, 1738, the Parish of Westbury was incorporated. On the first Monday of December the first parish meeting was held. By a two-thirds vote, it was decided to build a meeting house, and, perhaps, by a unanimous vote, to seek permission of the General Assembly to embody in church estate. In May of 1739 a committee was appointed to repair to Westbury and decide for the people where the meeting house should stand. In October, the committee (Wallingford men) reported that they had repaired to the parish, and "had set up a stake with stones laid unto it in the southwest corner of Eliezer Scott's barn lot, near to the road or intended high- way that ran north and south." The Assembly established the place above described "to be the place where said society should build their meeting house for the worship of God."
* Connecticut Historical Collections. John Warner Barber, 1838.
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EARLY WESTBURY.
In December of the same year the proprietors held a meeting and gave to the committee for laying out highways in the north- west quarter full power "to widen the highway where Westbury meeting house was appointed to stand so as to accommodate the house with a suitable green, and to award satisfaction to the owners of the land that the enlarged highway should take from." The land laid out in accordance with the above permission was ten rods on its south side; ten, on its east side; eleven, on its northern side, and eighteen, on its western side. On this land, without having obtained a deed of it, the Westbury people proceeded to build. April 6, 1741, they had already set up the frame for a meeting house, for, at that date Eleazer Scott executed a deed of sale "to Mr. John Trumble, Capt. Samuel Hikcox, and Lieut. Thomas Richards, and the rest of the inhabitants of the Presbyterian order, one piece of land on which they have set up a frame for a meeting house for the carrying on the publick [worship] of God in said society in the above sd order." This meeting house green was bounded "north on Eleazer Scott's land or the land set for a burying yard, east on the Burying yard, south on the highway or Stephen Scott's land, and west on land left for a highway."
The autograph deed of sale of the first burying yard in Water- town lies before me. Its date is the same as that of the sale of the meeting house place. In it, Eleazer Scott, for six pounds in money already received of the town of Waterbury [the proprietors], con- veys to "the Second Society in Waterbury known by the name of Westbury parish, a certain piece of land for a burying place lying by the meeting-house place the east side of sd place-the east side 17 Rods; the north end 6 Rods; the west side 13 Rods & the south end 9 Rods, with a triangle on the north end of the Meeting- house place of 22 Rods of Ground." The date when this cemetery was first used is not certainly known, but, as its deed of conveyance coincides with that of the meeting-house place, and, as our Town records give the date of the death of Hannah Richards, the wife of William Scovill, as occurring on April 1, 1741, and as that name is the first of seven names given in a record made by Deacon Timothy Judd of deaths in Westbury before July of 1743, we may believe, in the absence of conflicting evidence, that this grave made in the spring time of 1741 for Mrs. Scovill was the first one in the hill-side place of burial that overlooks Wooster Swamp. One can almost see that long procession, without hearse, without carriage, winding its way down from Scott's Mountain and across the swamp-the low bier covered with "funeral cloth " or pall, reverently borne by neighbors and friends to its resting place. It is safe to write that around that grave clustered the entire community-for its members
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
were not so numerous that one could drop away and leave no sign of departure, and the ties of common toil and care and joy still knit together the lives of the grandchildren, even as they had done the lives of their sires. Like unto that first burial in Naugatuck in 1709-this was that of a young wife and mother. As the bundle of straw, according to custom, was dropped into the grave, and the skeleton shadow of the meeting-house frame fell over it, four young children clustered near. One of the number-a boy of nine years named James-was destined to fill an important and high position, for in him lay dormant the Reverend James Scovill, missionary of the Church of England to his native town, and the Society of West- bury.
THE NORTHBURY SOCIETY.
While we have lingered at Westbury, the Up River people living within two-and-a-half miles of Barnabas Ford's house have not been idle. Men like the Blakeslees, whose grandmother we are told " would take her child in her arms on Sabbath-day mornings, travel from North Haven to New Haven, hear Mr. Pierpont preach, and return again after meeting " were not the men to do less than their grandmother had done, especially when, as we have seen, horses were plentifully distributed throughout the township; whereas she is supposed not to have had one in her Sabbath-day journeys to the House of God.
Nevertheless, with petition, prayer and promise, twenty-six men besieged Town and Assembly until even the Court wavered and yielded in so far as to grant the Up River people permission to have and to pay their own minister all the year for two years, and to pay no tithes to the First society during that time. John Bronson and Obadiah Warner were the only petitioners representing the planters.
Having received their inch of privilege in October, 1738, these importunate demanders asked an ell of liberty in October, 1739. They were at court in season, and for once everything moved in their favor, for a committee was appointed to visit the town, and, in consultation with the First society, to overlook the Up River terri- tory and report. The report was made at the same session. The committee said that they had viewed and duly inquired into the circumstances of the inhabitants and believed them to be able and sufficient to bear parish charges and become a distinct society. The limits recommended began at two white oak trees known by the name of Two Brothers at the northeasterly corner of Westbury society, followed the West Branch to the river, the river to the mouth of Spruce brook a little below Upson's island; from that point a straight line to the falls of Hancox brook; from thence a
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EARLY WESTBURY.
straight line to the south side of Mr. Noyes' farm lying on Grassy hill, thence a due east line to Farmington line, then north by that line to Harwinton bounds and Litchfield bounds to the first bounds mentioned. Within the above bounds, the society or parish was incorporated-to be known and called by the Parish of Northbury.
The thoughtful reader will at once recognize that the formation of the above societies would necessarily involve the own in cost, trouble, and well-nigh hopeless endeavor to determine the respect- ive bounds of the new societies with Farmington, Hartford, Har- winton and Litchfield. It had not been the custom to perambulate the bounds year by year, and in process of time old landmarks became lost, forgotten or obliterated. So long as the margins of the towns did not conflict in anyway and the lands lay in commons, slight deviations made comparatively little difference. Out of this difficulty arising from uncertain and lost bounds and mutual care- lessness, town-line roads led the way.
In May of 1741, the indulgent General Assembly had occasion to repent having yielded to the prayers and petitions of Northbury and to wish that it had relied upon the wisdom of the First society, for a plaint went up to it "of the broken and confused circum- stances" that the parish of Northbury was under in all its public affairs. It had neither any regular society meeting nor officers, and that it might "not be further involved in difficulties and ruined," Col. Benjamin Hall, and Capt. John Riggs of Derby, were appointed to repair to said society with full power to govern the people and direct them into the ways of propriety and peace. The society and all the inhabitants thereof were required " to conform themselves to the advice and direction of the committee in every respect, on pain of incurring the great displeasure of the Assembly."
The temptation to linger along the ways trod by the Northbury people during the pastorate of the Reverend Samuel Todd is most alluring; for place, pastor and people furnish abundant and unique material for the pen of the gleaner, who will surely not omit to mention (unless it has already been given), that the first paragraph of the Northbury Church records now extant (November 27, 1765) contains the following vote: "Any member of Regular Standing in the Church of England shall be admitted to Occasional Communion with us in this church for the time to come." The second announces that " the Church of Christ in the Society of Northbury was formed . about the year 1739. The Rev. Samuel Todd was pastor of the Church until 1764, then was dismissed from his charge. After which, he Refused giving the Church any account of their proceed- ings under his pastoral charge-their Remaineth no Record."
CHAPTER XXVI.
UNION SQUARE-DEATH OF ABRAHAM ANDREWS-NEW INHABITANTS- FIRST BRIDGE OVER THE NAUGATUCK RIVER-LEASE OF SCHOOL LANDS-SCHOOL MONEY-MR. SOUTHMAYD'S GIFT TO NORTHBURY -THE REV. JONATHAN ARNOLD OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND RECEIVES MINISTERIAL TAXES-THE REV. MARK LEAVENWORTH- OXFORD PARISH ORGANIZED-CHURCH OF ENGLAND MEN OF 1748. -THE "GREAT AWAKENING"-THE REV. JAMES DAVENPORT- MISSING RECORDS-THE MINISTRY LANDS-EXCHANGED FOR LAND AT THE CLAY PITS-SCHOOL FUND-KILLING DEER-REBUILDING THE BRIDGE-THE CASE OF JOSEPH GENNINGS.
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