\ \ the university of Connecticut libraries 3 =1153 D1E3A373 5 GAVLORO RG THE MEMORIAL HISTORY HARTFORD COUNTY CONNECTICUT St^ee-^ THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY CONNECTICUT 1633-1884 EDITED By J. HAMMOND TRUMBULL LL.D. President of the Connecticut Historical Society IN TWO VOLUMES Vol. I. HARTFORD COUNTY TOWN AND CITY PROJECTED BY CLARENCE P. JEWETT BOSTON EDWARD L. OSGOOD PUBLISHER 1886 v. \ Copyright, 1886, By George Draper. All rights reserved. y SRntbcrsttg IDuss : John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. EDITOR'S PREFACE. " rTlHE initial point of the history of the Colony and State, -*- and especially of the ' Towns upon the River,' whose planters framed the first constitution of Connecticut and laid the foundations of her civil and political institutions," is, as was said in the first announcement of these volumes, the issue of the Earl of Warwick's grant, known as the " Old Patent " of Connecticut, March 19, 1631 (March 29, 1632, new style); and the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of that date seemed a fitting occasion for the publication of a "Memorial History " of a county whose earlier history is inseparable from that of the Colony and State. Difficulties of obtaining such co- operation as was required to insure the permanent value and interest of the work, unavoidable failures and delays in securing promised contributions, as well as other causes which need not be mentioned here, have postponed the completion of the History until now, — a few weeks after the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the first organization of civil government in Connecticut, by the first meeting of the Court of Commis- sioners for the River Towns " holden att Newton" (now Hartford), April 26 (new style, May 6), 1636. The delay, however much to be regretted by the publishers and the editor, has not been to the disadvantage of the completed work. It has enabled the writers to avail themselves of the results of the census of 1880, and thereby, in many particulars, VI PEEFACE. to advance nearly a decade on information attainable in 1881 ; it lias secured important contributions which could not earlier have been had ; and, so far as the wants of general readers are concerned, it has added to the immediate interest of the history without detracting from its permanent value. In undertaking this work the publishers, at the suggestion of the editor, stipulated that, " in typographical execution and in the fulness and excellence of the illustrations, it should be equal to its model," the "Memorial History of Boston." That this engagement has been carried out to the letter we think will not be questioned. Hartford, June, 1886. PUBLISHERS NOTE. rpHE publishers of the Memorial History of Hartford -*~- County take pleasure in presenting to its subscribers — after numerous inevitable delays — a work of two handsome volumes, several hundred pages larger than the prospectus called for, which they believe will in other respects also equally exceed the public expectation. Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull, the accom- plished scholar and historian, who has been its editor from the beginning, has carefully superintended its execution. He has read, annotated, and corrected every page of the great work except the chapter in Vol. I. by Miss Mary K. Talcott on the "Original Proprietors," which is made up largely from his own notes and memoranda. And it should be added here that Dr. Trumbull's many and very valuable notes upon the early his- tory of Hartford have been put by him at the disposal of the various contributors engaged upon their special topics. Dr. Trumbull's peculiar fitness for this task is recognized by all who know him. It was the unanimous wish of the many gentlemen interested in the work when it was projected, that he should take such charge of it ; and in his editorship the book has received the corrections and approval of unquestionably the leading historical authority in Connecticut. It will be found to be fully and handsomely illustrated ; and in addition to the portraits included in the text, there will be found about seventy fine steel portraits, especially engraved for this work, of citizens of the county, living or dead, including viii PUBLISHER'S NOTE. such representative men as Dr. Bushnell, Dr. Gallaudet, the Wolcotts, Gideon Welles, John M. Niles, Marshall Jewell, Colonel Colt, Noah Porter, Dr. Barnard, Noah Webster, Elihu Burritt, Chief Justice Williams, Dr. Trumbull, Junius S. Morgan, James Goodwin, and many others. The only essential change in the work since it was projected has been its embellishment by these portraits and many views, which were not originally contem- plated, and which the subscribers receive without additional expense. The entire artistic superintendence of the work, from the beginning, has been with Mr. A. V. S. Anthony, so long at the head of the art department of the well-known firm of James R. Osgood & Company ; and this is a sufficient guaranty of the high quality of the work. The publishers take this opportunity to express their grati- tude to Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull, and to his assistant Mr. Charles Hopkins Clark, for their labors upon the work, and also to the numerous contributors who have lent their valuable services to making up a suitable memorial history. The publication of this work was undertaken by James R. Osgood & Company, and upon the dissolution of that firm all their interest therein was transferred to Mr. George Draper. The undersigned, one of the partners in the late firm of James R. Osgood & Company, is acting as the representative of Mr. Draper in the publication of this History. EDWARD L. OSGOOD. CONTENTS AND ILLUSTEATIONS. fart I. — £hc County CHAPTER I. Page General Description op Hartford County. By Charles L. Burdett . . 1 Illustrations : Map of Hartford County ; Trap Dyke at " Stone pits," 2. CHAPTER II — Early History. Section I. — Indians of the Connecticut Valley. By J. Hammond Trumbull, LL.D ' 11 II. — The Dutch Traders on the River ; and the House of Hope. By the Bev. Increase JV. Tarbox, D.D 15 III. — How the River Towns came to be Planted. By the Rev. Increase N. Tarbox, D.D 19 CHAPTER III. — The River Towns, 1635-1666. BY THE REV. INCREASE N. TARBOX, D.D. Section I. — Organization of Civil Government 37 II. — Character and Social Position of the Settlers ... 45 III. — The Pequot War. — The Code of 1650, etc 49 IV. — The Charter of 1662. — Union of the Colonies, etc. . 59 CHAPTER IV. — The Colonial Period. Section I. — The Andros Government. — The Charter and the Charter Oak. By Sherman W. Adams 63 Illustrations: The Andros Seal, G4; Governor Andros, 66; Site of the Charter Oak, 69; The Charter Oak, 71. Section II. — General History of the County. By Miss Mary K. Talcott 73 X CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. CHAPTER V. Page The War of the Rebellion. By John C. Kinney 89 CHAPTER VI. The Bench and the Bab. By Sherman W. Adams 105 Illustrations: The County Court-House, 111; The Hon. Richard D. Hubhard, 118. CHAPTER VII. The Medical Histoby of Habtfobd County. - I. By Dr.W.A.M.Wninwright 135 II. By Dr. E. B. Hooker 149 Illustbation : Dr. Horace Wells, 14G. CHAPTER VIII. Habtfobd in Litebatube. By Professor Henry A. Beers 155 Illustrations: S. G.Goodrich, 102; Mrs. Emma Willard, 163; Henry H. Brownell, 167 ; Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, 169 ; Charles Dudley Warner, 170; Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), 171. CHAPTER IX. — The Militia and Independent Companies. The Militia. By Sherman W. Adams 175 Illustrations : The State Arsenal, 177 ; Colonel Thomas H. Seymour, 186. Habtfobd's Independent Militaby Companies. By various Contributors 189 CHAPTER X. Feeemasonby, etc. By J. K. Wheeler, Stephen Terry, and others . . . 195 CHAPTER XI. Emigration. By the Rev. Increase N. Tarbox, D^D . . 201 CHAPTER XII. The Geowth of the County. By Charles Ilojrtins Clark 207 Hartfobd County Tobacco. By Fred. S. Brown 215 Illustbations : Shoestring Tobacco, 216; Connecticut Seed-leaf, 216. CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XI Hart II.— Jtartford, £omt and R/\ V\i 5 I ,*# £\/^'#" / Vest SimSb-rttoxK/S /ift / \o .-> V r EJ> L D titer \b