USA > New York > Chenango County > Norwich > History of the first one hundred years of the First Congregational Church, Norwich, New York, 1814-1914 > Part 10
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He was present at the dedication of this church, December, 1874.
As an illustration of his quaint humor-he came out of the church after service one Sunday behind Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Johnson. He said, " I never can get a chance to walk up with either of you, for you are always together. I wonder if you would even let me sit on the fence and see you go by."
COL. EZRA HEWITT AND MRS. HARRIETT AU- GUSTA (RANDALL) HEWITT.
There have been three men prominent in the history of this church, who were typical Connecticut Yankees- Truman Enos, born in Winsor; Benjamin Chapman, born in Saybrook; Col. Ezra Hewitt, born in Stoning- ton. A fourth can be added in the person of John Hammond, born in Newport, R. I. He had marked Yankee characteristics, but not as unmistakably pro- nounced as in the others. He had great energy and knew how to do things; but had not much skill in finding out new ways of doing them,-improving on the old ways. This is not said in dispargement of Mr. Ham- mond at all, for he was a very valuable man to have in any community,-very industrious, and he did not stop and throw down his tools when difficulties arose. He
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always knew what a thing cost before he bought it and he seldom bought what he did not need because it was cheap. These qualities belonged to the other three, but they had some which he did not. They made their own circumstances and compelled circumstances to come their way. Discouragements they used as stepping stones to higher achievements and to a wider outlook.
A fifth name might be added who had not a drop of Ne wEngland blood in his veins and probably never saw Connecticut until he had come to manhood; but he had many of the pronounced Yankee characteristics of the other four men. This man was David Maydole, a man who by his energy and the impulse of his person- ality built up a business in this small inland village which is today known in every country on the face of the earth. If he is not entitled to be named a Yankee, the name is a misnomer. A sketch of him will be found at page 78.
Col. Ezra Hewitt was a Connecticut Yankee. There was no doubt about it. A stranger could not talk with him five minutes without guessing his ancestry and his traits of character. He had no use for shams nor doubt- ful expedients and spoke right out what was in his heart; and there was in his heart very little beside what was good. He was born in Stonington, Conn., October 7, 1795. His father was Elias Hewitt and his mother was Desire Hull. He grew to manhood in the place of his birth; and I am sure if we knew his history during those years-1795-1829-we would find it very inter- esting, for he must have been a boy who " did things." He married December 8, 1829, Miss Phoebe Esther Randall, daughter of Col. William and Martha (Chees- brough) Randall. Her grandfather, John Randall, was in the Revolutionary War and her father was in the War of 1812; and took a prominent part in framing the Connecticut State constitution.
Ezra Hewitt was a very active man of 34 years. He
First Congregational Church History
had been elected two or three times to the Assembly and was a Colonel in the State Militia. He was also Selectman in Stonington. September 16, 1839, his wife died. They had no children. After a year or so he came to Norwich, N. Y., and sought the hand of Miss Harriett Augusta Randall, daughter of Col. John and Hannah (Snow) Randall, who lived on South Broad street about where is now the residence of J. S. Sturde- vant. The same house in which Col. Randall then lived is still in use, having been moved to the south corner of Frances avenue and occupied for several years by Judge W. F. Jenks. Col. Randall was a son of Capt. John Randall who emigrated to Norwich from Stoning- ton in 1797. He married November 25, 1806, in Ston- ington Hanah Snow, daughter of Abraham and Eliza- beth (Hale) Snow. This Mrs. Snow was the one whose counsel and prayers led to the conversion of Truman Enos in 1811. Just when she came to Norwich is not recorded, but I am confident that it must have been about 1809 or 1810, and that she was then a widow, her husband having died not long before she emmigrated. She probably sold out the property in Stonington and came with her two sons, Henry and William, and they made a home in Norwich. The two sons were bach- elors. It will be remembered that she and her daugh- ter, Mrs. Randall, were constituent members of this church, Mrs. Randall's husband's father, Capt. John Randall, was a constituent member of the Baptist Church of which he husband became a member later. Mrs. Randall could not be a Baptist; no more could he be a Congregationalist; so they agreed to disagree; and every Sunday they would start for church together from their home; but when they reached West Main street corner, she would swing off and go to her own church and he would go on to his. This was evidently a mutual agreement, for Col. Randall paid the same amount yearly in both churches. Into this unselfish
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and Christian family came Col. Hewitt for a wife in in the person of the daughter, Harriett Augusta, who was a cousin of his former wife. He was accepted, and they were married in the family home July 6, 1843, and went to Stonington. He was 48, and she was just half his age.
Not long after they returned to Stonington, the State election was held, in which Col. Hewitt was a can- didate for State Senator as an " old line Whig." The district was strongly Democratic, but he was very pop- ular and the Whigs hoped for victory, but he was beaten. Had he been elected, no doubt the future of Norwich would have been very different from what it has been, for Col. Hewitt, it is very probable, would not have become a resident of the village-at least, not at this time, and perhaps never. When he found that he was defeated, and probably urged very strongly by the host of relatives of Mrs. Hewitt living in Norwich as well as by herself, he closed out his property in Ston- ington and moved to Norwich. His first wife was a niece and his second was a grandniece of Rev. Jedediah Randall, who died in Norwich, on Washington's birth- day, 1844. August 8, 1843, Col. Hewitt bought from Samuel Randall, an uncle of his wife, the farm on the North Broad street hill, now owned and occupied by Howard D. Newton, for which he paid the very modest sum of $2,609.00. This farm was Mr. Randall's home. The house was an unpretentious one which, I think, he built several years before. It was, however, not suited to Col. Hewitt's tastes, so he moved it back some rods and built a new one on the same site, in which he lived the remainder of his life. They moved into it in May 21, 1845. March 30, 1846, Col. and Mrs. Hewitt united with the First Congregational Church; he by letter from Stonington and she on confession, and they soon come to be very loyal to it. It did not take long før Col. Hewitt to " get to work " in the church; for at a
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Society meeting, held June 15, 1847, Jeduthan Hitch- cock, Ezra Hewitt, Abner W. Warner, Hiram Weller, and Benjamin Chapman were appointed to sign a call which the meeting had just voted to present to Rev. Daniel. Clark, Jr., to become the pastor of the church. These men were also to prosecute the call at a meeting of Chenango Presbytery the first Tuesday in July, 1847, at Norwich. At the same time Messrs. " Hitch- cock, Warner and Hewitt be a committee to determine what shall be required of the sexton;" and that " the same committee report at an adjourned meeting on Tuesday next, what repairs they consider necessary and proper to be made to the house of worship of said Society." At a meeting held June 28, 1847, it was voted to shingle the roof and repair the steeple, paint and make any repairs or alterations which the committee see fit." Hitchcock, Hewitt, Chas. A. Thorpe, Hiram Weller and Warner were made such committee; and $600.00 was placed at the disposal of the committee; and they were to make all contracts and see that the work was properly done. Col. Hewitt was made chair- man. The next meeting, July 12, 1847, was of the society for the election of four trustees, as no election was held in 1846. Col. Hewitt was elected one of the four. At a meeting, December 8, 1847, he made a report of repairs and money expended. The cost over-ran the appropriation by $20.88. Four pews which had belonged to Joseph S. Fenton (he had, probably, bought them when the church was built) but which Benj. Chapman and Col. Hewitt had bought for the society when Mr. Fenton was leaving for Palmyra, N. Y., where he was to make his home; these were placed in Col. Hewitt's hands to sell.
There was no election in 1848, '51, '52 and '53. In 1854 Col. Hewitt was again elected a trustee. There was no election in 1855; but in 1856 he was selected to fill a vacancy of one year. In 1857, he was elected for a
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full term and again in 1860; but resigned, February 20, 1862, and was not again elected a trustee. There is no reason given in the record for the resignation. It was during the time when the church was being finished. He had been elected five times. The above record shows that he had the confidence of his fellow members to a remarkable degree. He still remained very active in the work of the church and in many ways showed his loyalty to it. He was seldom absent from any of the services; or from any of the business meetings. He never shirked any duty laid upon him by the church. He was rarely absent from prayer meetings and rarely allowed the meeting to close without a prayer or an exhortation, and usually both. In every prayer he used the phrase " Almighty God," several times, spoken in his vehement style of speaking, which to a stranger would be startling. In this and in his vigor and his un- tiring energy he very much resembled Truman Enos. Both were " Boanerges " as truly as James and John. At one time, being designated with him as a committee to raise some money for some purpose, we sallied forth on our quest. It was like Saul and Jonathan-Jonathan was the armor bearer; Col. Hewitt did the execution. We brought in the money all the same.
He was always ready to do more than his share of the work in almost anything he was called upon to assist in doing for the church; and whatever the work, he did it as well as he knew how; and he was never at a Ioss to know what needed to be done. He was thoroughly honest and trustworthy. When in 1852, the church decided to own a parsonage, Col. Hewitt was the man to secure it. In the winter of that year he bought the home of Ralph Johnson, now 295 North Broad street. Rev. Samuel W. Bush was the pastor at that time, and he occupied the house about April 1. Rev. Hiram Doane followed early in 1856, remaining until 1860. The next year came Rev. Samuel Scoville in June. He was
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not married and the parsonage remained empty until November. In September, Mr. Scoville married Miss Harriet E. Beecher, and they did not come to Norwich until November. During this absence of the pastor, Col. Hewitt, as committee, made extensive repairs in the house, at a cost of about $4,000.00; so that Mr. and Mrs. Scoville opened it late in the year with a " house warming." A very large company assembled to greet the pastor and his bride; and all were enthusiastic in praise of the bride and groom. From that time on, while Col. Hewitt was able to be about, the days were very rare that did not see in some of the hours " Old Gray," or " Old Duke," waiting demurely at the hitch- ing post, though never hitched, for the sturdy Colonel and his kind-hearted wife to finish their call. The old buggy, more often than not, had contained in its ample storage room under the seat, several bundles of "things from the farm" for the pastor and his family, to whom this worthy couple very soon came to be " Uncle and Auntie Hewitt " and so remained as long as life lasted; and they are affectionately remembered by the same titles by the pastor's children who remain.
Col. Hewitt was not a wealthy man according to the present day meaning of the phrase; but he had a competency large enough to supply their needs and benevolences. There was always a young man who cared for the farm and a maid to care for the house so that they were not often obliged to remain at home. They had a family horse-" Old Gray," which was as reliable as his master; and a low, easy, covered buggy which had ample room for the large-hearted and stout- bodied owners; and, mysteriously, for any " goodies " which their ever-thoughtful hearts put in for the par- sonage, or for some needy or shut-in one whom they were knowing of down town. Later " Old Gray " died, and by some means, I don't remember how, Colonel found an almost exact counterpart; and " Old Duke "
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came to be as well known as " Old Gray " had been. Both would stand wherever they were left without hitching, as long as the principals desired them to; and neither would go faster than "a dog trot," unless coersive measures were applied; and as soon as the application ceased the dog trot was at once resumed. Both were white all over.
One winter evening, however, contrary to all prece- dent, ""' Old Duke" decided to start a sensation. He had been left standing in front of the parsonage. It had got to be rather late when the principals termin- ated their visit, and Duke was nowhere to be seen. " Lordymassy ! where's Old Duke?" shot out the Colonel like a catapult. No answer. The couple walked home-Duke was not here. There was a sensation sure. A thorough search was made, which located Old Duke, cutter and all intact, quietly waiting in the par- son's garden. I am sure that the good Colonel forgave him-if he wouldn't do it again. There is no record nor remembrance that the old fellow failed to keep kis promise.
" Lordymassy" was Colonel's exclamation for a sudden surprise or to clinch an argument; but for violent indignation " John Rogers!" spoken with great vehemence, seemed to give him the greatest satisfac- tion. Just at dusk one summer evening as " Old Gray " was creeping up the hill on North Broad street, about opposite Judge Ray's house, some miscreant ran behind the buggy and reaching through, under the seat, caught Mrs. Hewitt by the ankles. She screamed and Colonel bounded out with whip in hand, but " the grabber " had vanished " and was no more seen." The Colonel was heard to exclaim with great explosiveness " John Rogers !!! if I could only get hold of him, I'de thrash him." As no one appeared to claim his promise, the worthy couple were drawn home by " Old Gray," the
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Colonel in very explosive words, the meanwhile, voice- ing his indignation.
I am sure that no more public spirited man ever lived in Norwich. He was intensely loyal to his country and was the same to his adopted home. I never heard him, and I am sure no one else ever heard him say that he had any desire to return to Connecticut to remain. He did not seek public office and seldom had one thrust upon him. He was street commissioner for a few years, but, though he attended to the duties to the best of his ability, he did not seem to care to take any means to hold it. He was born to command; and it was this quality which made him Colonel of militia in Connecti- cut.
He was in 1855, President of Chenango County Agri- cultural Society and he took great satisfaction in assist- ing in its work and making it a success. He secured Phineus T. Barnum as speaker at the Fair, which was held on the Guernsey lot on West Main street. He got a large farm wagon and had a new box put on it of unpainted boards. On the morning of the day that Mr. Barnum was to speak, Col. Hewitt hitched twenty-one yoke of fine oxen to his new wagon, stood up in the front of it with a long whip in his hand and directed the drivers of which there was one for each yoke, the whole led by the Norwich Cornet band. He came down North Broad street and swung up in front of the Eagle hotel, at which Mr. Barnum was being entertained. In a few minutes the speaker, the officers of the society and several citizens " got on board," and the cavalcade at the command of the president, with a " Haw Buck, Gee Bright," swung out into the street on its triumphal way to the grounds, followed by many farmers and others in carriages with their families.
Col. Hewitt had rugged health and a tremendous amount of energy; qualities which gave him the power to bring things to pass. In this he showed his Yankee
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blood. There was an acre or so of swamp land in a meadow back of his house which he had no use for and he was bound to reclaim it, but how ? That was the prob- lem. He studied it thoroughly. He somehow got hold of a big subsoil plow. Then he got six yoke of oxen and hitched them to the plow and had five or six men to guide the plow and it went through the muck beam deep. When he was done the muck was all the other side up to the sun. He had performed a miracle; and that is about what " Yankee" means. He was never satisfied to let things drift. In this he was a good second to Mr. Enos; but he was a better educated man than Mr. Enos and was not at all bigoted; although what opinions he had he held very firmly and did not hesitate to affirm them when he thought it necessary. He was as strong a Con- gregationalist as Mr. Enos, but did not hesitate to unite with this church when it was under Presbyterian control; but when it came to vote as to whether or not it should fully return to Congregationalism, he voted that it should and signed his name to the declaration and stood by his vote firmly, but without anger or malice; and tried in brotherly love and forgiveness to win back those who had withdrawn. He was a tower of strength to his pastor, Mr. Scoville, in his efforts at reconciliation. He and his wife were among those who forgot the past and with loving devotion, voted to take away all bars to reunion.
He died after a lingering illness, June 28, 1879, in the home on the hill, aged 83 years. He was ready to go and prayed that it might be God's will that he should go quickly. He was buried in Mt. Hope.
Mrs. Harriet Augusta (Randall) Hewitt, was the wife of Col. Ezra Hewitt. She was born September 20, 1819, in Norwich; she was therefore 24 when she mar- ried. She was strong and healthy; a bright and cheer- ful young woman, with a marked ability to make friends and keep them. She was the seventh of the nine children
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of her parents. Col. John Randall, her father, was a prosperous farmer. His children were fairly well educated, but they were also taught that life did not consist in having an easy time, or spending all one's time and efforts on one's self. These lessons Mrs. Hewitt very thoroughly learned, so that while she did care for her own assiduously, she gave just as assiduous care to many, many others who were in need of it; and countless blessings were poured upon her head from the hearts of those whom the great world passes by. She had also learned how to keep house. " Aunt Hannah Randall," her mother, not alone by word but by example, taught her and her five sisters, this important lesson and in after years they all made good in that department of their education; so that when Harriet set up a home in the new house which her husband had built, she was not long in demonstrating that she was equal to the task and had no hesitation in undertaking it. We have seen how her grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Snow, was the bright light in the dark- ness in Norwich in 1811, when she was able to send a ray into the soul of Truman Enos and open the door of his heart to Christ. Mrs. Hewitt inherited a good deal of her grandmother's devotion to that ideal; so that when she with her husband united with this church, and promised devotion to the Master through life, it was not a prefunctory answer to a question; it was the giving of the life unreservedly to a most noble purpose; and her future life only perfected the gift and sanctified it. They were not fighters for a tenet, but loyal soldiers for the Christ to win men to His standard. She was not long in making the effort. There is no record when she entered the Sunday school, but she must have been in it several years when she was married and continued right along, for in 1857 she was elected assistantsuper- intendent and was continued in that office until 1874-
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17 years. Before that she had taught the infant class for several years.
She was also a very efficient worker in the women's organizations. She was a constant attendant at the weekly prayer meetings, and later years her voice was often heard in them, by either a few words out of her own experience or some verse of Scripture, so voiceing a thought which she hoped might be helpful to some burdened soul. She was always willing to do anything which ought to be done. It was pathetic when her son died and in a year and a week her husband, and left her with no one to carry on the farm. She was thus forced to leave her pleasant home which she had built up through the 36 happy years of her married life. Her one child, William Snow Hewitt, had been born in that home in 1848 and reared to honorable Christian man- hood in it. But now both were gone and the home was broken up. Oh the tragedies of life! Will we ever know the reason of it all! After a while she sold the farm and belongings for less than half it was really worth, and taking with her her granddaughter, Miss Annie, procured rooms and board down town. Miss Annie had lived at the farm since the death of her mother, Hattie PerLee Hewitt, so now she remained to be a companion and to care for the grandmother, who loved her as a daughter.
Mrs. Hewitt, from the first of her having a home of her own, had a large circle of relatives and a larger circle of friends. All these Col. Hewitt very soon met and by his whole-souled cordiality won their esteem. Later he raised turkeys, chickens, ducks and geese, and many a turkey or chicken-pie dinner was given to the large table full of guests. Whatever fowl it was that was served, it came on whole and Colonel standing at the head of the table would carve it. It was his pride to be the best carver in Norwich. He would force the large two-tined carving
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fork into the carcass astride the breast bone, hold it firmly with the left hand. Then with the right hand grasp the large carving knife, which he had ground to " a razor edge," and by several deftly exe- cuted cuts completely dissect the whole carcass without withdrawing the fork, until the operation was finished. He knew every joint and separation of the bones and every place where a cut ought to be made to facilitate the serving. When all was done and the different pieces were laid in order over the spacious platter, Colonel would deliberately glance around the table and selecting the oldest lady, say, " Mrs. X., what part of the fowl do you prefer?" The part designated was quickly transfered to a plate and passed. The same process was followed until all were served. It was a very novel and interesting sight to see him carve a twenty-five pound turkey, and it was not an uncommon occurrence at that table, either. There was nothing about the anatomy that he did not know. After all the guest were filled (I speak advisedly !) then came mince and cream (yes, it was cream-home made, too,) pie, made by the deft fingers of the hostess. Did anyone but she ever make such a cream pie? " I trow not." Other fine cooks in Norwich, who had eaten them and had the recipe from Mrs. Hewitt herself, tried time and time again-the result was a good pie, a very good pie, but it was not Mrs. Hewitt's pie. The " how of it " I cannot tell. It simply did not have Mrs. Hewitt's brain in it. There were not many fancy culinary concoctions at the Hewitt's dinners; but there was a whole lot of good, substantial, well-cooked, appetizing food which one could not help eating almost to satiety. After reading the foregoing the natural conclusion will be that the Hewitt's were good feeders, and the conclusion will be the right one, for they both had sound bodies and robust health so that eating was a pleasure.
While they were building their house they boarded
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with my father and mother. Before going to bed, the Colonel would often ask for a bowl of milk and a piece of apple pie. He would first cut the pie into small pieces and dump it into the milk, then eat it with the spoon. I thought it a very funny mixture, and the first chance I got when mother wasn't looking, I tried it on. I wished that I was a man like Col. Hewitt so I could have it when I wanted it.
At all of the Hewitt's repasts " The feast of reason and the flow of soul " was as much a feature as the viands. Both the Colonel and Mrs. Hewitt were great jokers and they never were at a loss for something to say. As a consequence there was never a dull moment at any of their functions. They were often guests at social occasions all about the village. Wherever they went they carried joy and gladness. Do not such lives fulfill, in part at least, the law of Christ?
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