Descendants of Middletown's Early Settlers to Meet in Ancestral Hometown October 17-20

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S M O S id NEWSLETTER of hethe SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. 1650-1700 Vol. 12, No. 1 www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ctsmfsd/Index.html Spring 2012 SMFSD TRIENNIAL MEETING 2012 Descendants of Middletown’s early settlers to meet in ancestral hometown October 17-20

By R.W. Bacon At right is a Editor, The Middler look down tree-lined Registration is now open for Broad Street, SMFSD’s 2012 Triennial Meeting Middletown, as seen from October 17-20 in Middletown, Conn. the corner of Middletown first-settler descen- Broad and dants, cousins, genealogists, and local Washington Sts. in an early history enthusiasts will enjoy a rich 20th-century program of lectures, research opportu- postcard view. nities, and social events in the ances- Attend our meeting in tral hometown. The schedule and October and registration form is on page 11. see Broad St. While past SMFSD meetings have in fall color. been in August or September, this year’s meeting is scheduled so that Brown of the Connecticut Gravestone early Middletown known as the attendees may also choose to attend Network. Featured this year is Ms. “Upper Houses.” the annual seminar of the Connecticut Brown’s tour of Old North Burying Friday, October 19 will be “Re- Society of Genealogists on Saturday, Ground in Middlefield, the town that search & Lecture Day” that includes October 20 in North Haven, Conn. was once the westernmost part of research periods at Godfrey Memorial Event-planning subcommittee early Middletown. Thursday afternoon Library and Russell Library. An members Marge Piersen and Sue will be a visit to the Cromwell afternoon lecture, “Middletown as a Welles have brainstormed for over a Historical Society – the present town Seaport,” will be presented at Russell year to craft a genealogy-filled and of Cromwell was the northern part of continued on page 2 history-packed program. Wednesday, October 17 is desig- nated as a welcoming “Meet & Greet” SMFSD meeting In this issue . . . day at the headquarters hotel, the convenient to CSG 2012 SMFSD Triennial Meeting ...... 1 Marriott Residence Inn in Rocky Hill, CSG Annual Seminar ...... 1 Conn., with an informal group dinner annual seminar Member Notes & SMFSD News ...... 2 in the evening at a nearby restaurant. The dates for this year’s SMFSD Meet the Conn. Society of Genealogists . . . 3 Thursday, October 18 will be Triennial Meeting were chosen so our Where They Went: “West Florida”?...... 4 “Cemetery Day,” when descendants members from distant points might Convoluted Connections to Grace Bacon . . 5 returning to Middletown will have the also attend the annual seminar of the Feature Graphic: The Jessie Alsop Map of Middlefield ...... 6 opportunity to tour a number of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists. An Early History of Middlefield...... 7 oldest in-town cemeteries that are This year the seminar is Saturday, Rum & Axes: A Window into seldom unlocked for public access, October 20, 2012 at the Holiday Inn, Early 19th-Century Middletown ...... 8 thanks to Augie DeFrance of the North Haven, Conn., just 23 miles Membership Information...... 10 Middletown Old Burying Grounds south of our headquarters hotel. Triennial Meeting Registration Form . . . . 11 Association and Ruth Shapleigh- continued on page 2 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA SMFSD NEWS later generations carried descendants to points further west. SMFSD has Three newest members on SMFSD rolls comparatively few members from Connecticut, even though there are very span the continent – east, west, & middle likely many who qualify. Could it be that our Connecticut first-settler “cousins” • Welcome new members. SMFSD stayed within the New England states take for granted the genealogical riches extends an enthusiastic welcome to from the 1620s onward – generations of in their midst? Or that our geographi- three new members since the last issue farmers, mariners, and craftsmen. Most cally distant “cousins” are more riveted of The Middler: Arlene Knappe SMFSD members appear to be descen- by the thrill of a far-off family history Shuster, LM-297, Escondido, Calif. (1st dants of families that migrated to New discovery? Perhaps an informal survey settler William Cornwall); Matthew York, Ohio, or Michigan, and whose at our October meeting is in order! Robert McCormack, AM-298, Dexter, Mich. (1st settler Isaac Johnson); choose to attend the all-day event in Fredric W. Scott, D.V.M., Ph.D., LM- Triennial Meeting North Haven. (See the separate article 299, Brooktondale, N.Y. (1st settler set for Oct. 17-20 on the CSG seminar for details.) Thomas Ranney). continued from page 1 Attendees may also research inde- • Geographical distribution of Library by researcher and author Erik pendently at libraries with Saturday membership. Your editor has always Hesselberg (co-sponsored by Russell hours, such as the Connecticut State been fascinated by the migration paths Library, Godfrey Library, and the Library or the Connecticut Historical of Middletown first-settler descendants, Middlesex County Historical Society). Society in Hartford, Conn. and by the geographic distribution of Later in the afternoon, genealogy Throughout the four days will be the avid genealogists who elect to join gives way to oenology at the Wine & ample opportunity to network and SMFSD. Perhaps this is because your Cheese social hosted by Don & Lyn socialize with Middletown “cousins” at editor’s family, on both sides, resolutely Brock. The Friday evening banquet at informal dinners and lunches apart Carmen Anthony’s Restaurant in from scheduled events. N FIRST S Wethersfield will be followed by guest Check out the schedule and registra- OW ETT T LE LE R speaker Dr. Ronald Schatz, professor tion form on page 11, then mark your D S D I D E M S of history at Wesleyan University. calendar and plan to join us this fall in

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S O S “CSG Seminar Day” for those that Triennial Meeting. 1650-1700 In town for SMFSD’s Triennial Meeting? he Mid e Sign up for CSG’s annual seminar, too NEWSLETTER of the continued from page 1 SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS The all-day (8 a.m. - 4 p.m.) seminar, entitled: “Researching at Your Local 1650-1700 – Middletown, Connecticut, U.S.A. “Enhancing Genealogical Paths,” will Town Clerk’s Office: A Storehouse of www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ctsmfsd/Index.html feature four speakers. Genealogical Treasures.” Laura Prescott of Research Services SMFSD will also be an exhibitor at Vol. 12, No. 1 Spring 2012 LLC will speak on historical context in the CSG seminar. her presentation entitled “Timelines: Registration and payment for the Please send articles, letters, news items, and corrections to: Placing Your Heritage in Historical seminar is separate from SMFSD The Middler Perspective.” Triennial Meeting registration. Pre- c/o R.W. Bacon, Editor Melvin Smith of the Connecticut registration is required by October 15. P. O. Box 489 Newburyport, MA 01950 State Library will speak on “Probate The cost is $45 if registration is (E-mail: [email protected]) Records: A Gold Mine for Genealogical postmarked before Sept. 30; $55 after Research.” Sept. 30. The cost includes lunch. SMFSD OFFICERS “Pilgrim Migrations: The Why, Reservations are accepted by mail President ...... Barbara Stenberg Vice President...... Rita Urquhart Where, and Results” is the topic of (Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Secretary ...... Margery Piersen Gregory Thompson of the Mayflower P. O. Box 435, Glastonbury, CT 06033) Treasurer ...... Mike Campbell Society. or phone (860-569-0002). Historian ...... Joseph Camposeo, the Manchester, For the latest information, visit the Registrar ...... Donald Brock Connecticut Society of Genealogists Middler Editor ...... R.W. Bacon Conn. Town Clerk, will dispense advice on research in his presentation web site at www.csginc.org.

2 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA Connecticut Society of Genealogists can take pride in its continued advocacy of vital records access By R.W. Bacon Jacobus was given membership Editor, The Middler number one in recognition of his Since the 2012 SMFSD Triennial contributions to the field, even Meeting is scheduled in October, and though he was not in attendance. since many attendees are likely to The following objectives were register for the Connecticut Society of adopted at CSG’s founding meeting: Genealogists (CSG) annual seminar “The objectives of the Society are October 20, The Middler newsletter is locating, preserving, and indexing a fine medium to offer some back- public and private genealogical ground information about CSG – and records and making such records and encourage membership in an organi- collections available to members and zation known for its advocacy of vital to the general public; acquiring records access. genealogical and historical materials CSG is a non-profit membership and contributing them to public organization with its headquarters among researchers at the Connecticut libraries or historical or genealogical and library located in East Hartford, State Library in Hartford. These organizations; encouraging and Conn. The society was founded in researchers shared the common instructing members in the art and 1968 to promote genealogical experience of meeting resistance from practice of genealogical research and research, elevate standards, and government bureaucracy when compilation; and maintaining and publish both research and educational seeking access to vital records. elevating genealogical standards.” material. According to the organiza- Humble notices on the library’s Publication of CSG’s quarterly tion’s web site, www.csginc.org, bulletin board led to a meeting of 22 journal, The Connecticut Nutmegger, membership exceeds 4000, with over interested genealogists in March began in 1969. This publication 1,000 outside of Connecticut. 1968. At a second meeting a month features articles on Connecticut Five classes of membership are later, the name “Connecticut Society genealogy, family histories, town offered, from Basic ($34 annually) to of Genealogists” was adopted. histories, vital records, cemetery Life (one payment of $680). Benefits Eminent genealogist and records, book reviews, and member include the society’s quarterly Connecticut native Donald Lines queries. CSG members can search journal, The Connecticut Nutmegger; The Connecticut Nutmegger online. the CSG quarterly magazine, Members of the New England Connecticut Genealogy News; access Historic Genealogical Society can also to members-only web site content; access page images of vols. 1-43 (all and discounts to selected books. The issues through 2010) online. blue CSG membership card is CSG is one of the founders of the recognized by town clerks through- Federation of Genealogical Societies out Connecticut, and provides and the New England Regional streamlined access to vital records Genealogical Conference. Perhaps the held in local and state archives. most longstanding interest is the The CSG Library (175 Maple advocacy of vital records access. CSG Street, East Hartford, Conn.) holds works in cooperation with Town over 5,000 books, plus more than Clerks of Connecticut to ensure ethical 18,000 pedigree charts submitted by and responsible use of records, and as members over the past 40-plus years. such, the CSG membership card The library is open Monday through signals the credibility of its holder. Friday, 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. The CSG Library was a research For additional information about destination at the 2003 SMFSD CSG membership, visit the web site Triennial Meeting. Since then, as www.csginc.org and download the SMFSD members have crossed paths membership application. The Connecticut Nutmegger, the journal of with CSG at numerous genealogical the Connecticut Society of Genealogists, CGS history. The idea of a has been published quarterly since 1969. conferences, and this year SMFSD statewide genealogical organization CSG also publishes a quarterly magazine, looks forward to renewing acquain- grew in the 1960s from discussions Connecticut Genealogy News. tance at the CSG Annual Seminar.

3 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA EXODUS FROM MIDDLETOWN: WHERE THEY WENT A shift in political winds, and some luck, could have led more Middletown families to … Natchez, Mississippi?! Editor’s Note: This is the third in by John Warner Barber (1867); and full of names familiar to Connecticut a series entitled “Exodus from The Encyclopedia of Mississippi genealogy researchers, and refer to Middletown: Where They Went,” that History, by Dunbar Rowland (1907). others from Middletown whose names explores places where descendants of The ill-fated “Lyman Colony” in escaped the records. Some brought early Middletown families removed to what was known in the 1770s as with them as many as eight slaves. in the late 18th and early 19th “West Florida,” was the brainchild of Gen. Lyman and his company centuries. Previous topics were Major General Phineas Lyman (1716- arrived at New Orleans in 1774, but Whitestown, N.Y. (The Middler, fall 1774), a native of Durham, Conn. He while they were at sea, an order from 2007 issue) and Stow, Ohio (The was a lawyer, graduate of Yale College, England was received by the colonial Middler, spring 2008 issue). and commander of Connecticut forces governor of West Florida prohibiting for the provincial British army in the the grant of more land. Gen. Lyman By R.W. Bacon French-and-Indian War (1754-1763). and company learned that they could Editor, The Middler In 1763 he went to England to begin settle only as “squatters,” and might Early 2012 has already seen the his campaign for a grant of land for lose their land in the future. They welcome republication of three classics New England veterans (the “Military continued with settlement plans about by the New England Historic Adventurers”) and their families in 17 miles north of Natchez. Genealogical Society. One of these is the new British colony of West Florida. In 1773-1774 more than 400 families The Expansion of New England: The He remained in England, separated removed to West Florida. Most went Spread of New England Settlement from his family, until 1772, when a by sea, but some traveled by flatboat and Institutions to the Mississippi royal charter was granted for land down the Ohio River, and some River 1620-1865, by Lois Kimball along the Mississippi River, near what overland through Tennessee. Mathews, originally published in 1909. is now Natchez, Miss. Gen. Lyman saw his 10-year vision For those interested in the move- The surveyor for the Lyman Colony, become a reality, but the hardships ment of early Middletown families out Rufus Putnam, reported so favorably took their toll, and he died in 1774 of New England, the familiar material on the soil and climate that families before he could cultivate his land. His is there about the settlement of central from towns all along the Connecticut eldest son died shortly thereafter. New York and northeastern Ohio. River signed on. In December 1773 Before the general’s passing, Capt. Revisiting this book, however, also two ships departed from Middletown Matthew Phelps had returned to served as a reminder of an ambitious bound for New Orleans. Enumerated continued on page 9 colonization effort by Middletowners from Middletown on the passenger and others in the 1770s that did not lists: Hugh White (who later in 1784 quite go as planned – in the unlikely led the exodus to “Whitestown” near “West Florida” destination now known the present Utica, N.Y.), Capt. ____ as Natchez, Mississippi. Ellsworth, Ira Whitmore, and ____ The following details about the Sage. Accounts of the enterprise are difficulties of the “Phineas Lyman Colony” are drawn from (1) Ms. Mathews’ book; (2) The Memoirs and Adventures of Capt. Matthew Phelps (1802), (3) The History of Alabama, and Incidentally of Georgia amd Mississippi from the Earliest Period, by Albert James Pickett (1851), (4) The Pioneers, Preachers, and People of the Mississippi Valley, by William Henry Milburn (1860); (5) All the Western States and Territories, from the Alleghenies to the Pacific, and from Middletown to West Florida? The above map shows the boundaries of West Florida under the British rule 1763-1780. In 1763 a royal proclamation limited West Florida on the west by the the Lakes to the Gulf, Containing Mississippi River, on the north by the 31st parallel, and on the east by the Chattahoochee and Their History from the Earliest Times, Apalachiola rivers. In 1767 the territory as far north as 32-28 was added to West Florida.

4 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA Connecting to Grace Bacon: A 1670 land grant, a 7th cousin, two libraries, and a hardware store By R.W. Bacon Willis E. Bacon (1867-1950) and In 1996, when Grace Bacon was Editor, The Middler Susan T. Williams (1869-1945). She still living an active, independent life A few months ago I stumbled graduated from Boston University in at age 94, she was the subject of a across an article that appeared in 1926, and later earned a second lengthy profile in the Hartford The Connecticut Nutmegger, the master’s degree from Columbia Courant Sunday magazine by Larry quarterly journal of the Connecticut University. In 1930, Boston Bloom entitled “Aging With Grace.” Society of Genealogists, in June 1974 University published her thesis, The The author was obviously smitten by (Vol. 7, No. 1). The title caught my Military Career of Israel Putnam. her life experience, world travels, eye: “Early Settlers of Middletown.” After teaching school for a few years, intellectual curiosity, outwardly- The parenthetical description was “A she spent the early decades of her focused humanity, and the atmo- talk given by Miss Grace W. Bacon, library career at the Yale Law sphere of her lifelong, book-filled former librarian at Wesleyan, at the Library. During her time there she family home. Middlesex County Historical Society, published articles in law journals on “I don’t mean to suggest that she 151 Main Street, Middletown, Conn.” topics of crime and punishment in has solved the great issues of life, or When I read the eight-page article, early Middletown. In later decades that we ought to review earlier eras I realized that I had stumbled across she was assistant librarian at in a way that would paint them, the same piece years before (connec- Wesleyan University’s Olin Library. falsely, as Paradise,” wrote Bloom. tion #1) in the proceedings of the Who did she assist? Until his retire- “But there is something to be Middlesex County Historical Society. ment in 1953, none other than learned from Grace Bacon, some- I recalled being amused at that Fremont Rider (1885-1962), library thing to be learned from people like earlier time that a Middletown first- science icon and founder of Godfrey her, particularly in a society that settler descendant and distant cousin Memorial Library (1951), the worships what is young and new and who shared my surname (connec- genealogy library which is now facelifted.” tion #2) apparently also shared the SMFSD’s nominal headquarters. “I am a chatty old gal,” said Grace obsession with under-the-radar (connection #6 – profile of Fremont Bacon, apologizing for close to a history and hanging out in research Rider in The Middler, fall 2010.) century of stories, such as her libraries. (connections #3 & #4) After Grace Bacon’s retirement recollection of baling hay in her The 1974 article is a brief but from Wesleyan University in 1967, family’s fields off Newfield Street – worthy history of the early settlement she turned her energies to organizing then a mud road – and hearing the of Middletown, a compilation from the library at Middletown’s First town whistle announce the end of various well-known sources such as Church, now known as the Grace W. World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. David Dudley Field’s Centennial Bacon Library. continued on page 10 Address (1853) and the one-and-only Frank Farnsworth Starr’s Settlers of Mattabeseck (1900). (connection #5 – F. F. Starr profile in The Middler, spring 2007.) The article is also spiced with tidbits from town records culled from secondary sources, and men- tions dozens of early settler families. But after the most recent encoun- ter with this article, I decided to find At right is Grace Bacon’s out more about Grace W. Bacon, the family home on Newfield cousin/historian that I missed during Street in Middletown as it was shortly after her my earliest research in Middletown death in 2000. Her in the 1970s. What I discovered was a father built the brick house in 1898. The lot web of connections so dense that I was part of the 1670 wonder how I avoided crossing paths land grant (297 acres) to 1650 settler Nathaniel with this 7th cousin/3x removed. Bacon. Above is Grace Grace Williams Bacon was born in Bacon’s headstone at New Farm Hill Cemetery Middletown in 1902, the daughter of in Middletown.

5 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA Feature Graphic #16 – Jessie Alsop Map of Middlefield District (1671 Grants) The map below is redrawn from a digital scan of Jessie Alsop’s pencil-drawn interpretation of the Middlefield land grants of 1671. Over many years as an avid historian of Middletown, Ms. Alsop (1875-1951) transcribed early land records, and using information and measurements gleaned from the text, created her maps. Photocopies are held at the Middletown Room of Russell Library. (Custom graphic by R.W. Bacon, 2012.) Other redrawn Jessie Alsop maps were published in The Middler in the fall 2007 and spring 2008 issues. (Note that present-day street names are added for reference.)

ROCKY HILL Note: Not all original grantees settled or improved their “North Society” Land Grants of 1671 or “Upper Houses” Middlefield lands. Settlement and growth began c. 1700. (now CROMWELL) Middlefield District, Middletown, Conn. BERLIN

Current William Cheney Town Westfield of Richard Hall PORTLAND Berlin Nathaniel Bacon voir Adder Reser George Hubbard MIDDLEFIELD South Farms Maromas THIS MAP: Middlefield Current voir Land Grants CITY of Robert Warner MIDDLETOWN Mt. Higby 1671 Reser

Daniel Hubbard MERIDEN DURHAM HADDAM Jackson Hill Rd. Jasper Clements

P Ross Road Ross Samuel Cornell eters Lane

William Ward

Meriden Rd. W John Cornell River est Edward Turner Obadiah Allen Highway Cedar St. Samuel Stow

ond Highway Black P

Main St. Hubbard St.

Land grants extended east to the “South Tier” or West River Baileyville Rd. Baileyville Henry Cole

Thomas Allen “South Tier”

Beseck Lak Current Laurel Brook Samuel Collins Laurel Brook Rd.R eser

voir Daniel Harris

Highway s n t i r James Tappin r l w n w n n n e e l w i e o t e o a l n o l p o l t r s l r t B p u o A u C S A S r a F T D e l l T h s s d e d e a d a a e

owder Hill Rd. s i i r r n g u MERIDEN e d a m a m

P n r John Hall a a o o x m a o w w m b e h h a e d d h a l T t T J O E E G A S Highway a One Inch = ½-mile (2640 ft.) N NORTH SCALE: One Mile (2") DURHAM

6 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA A look back at the early settlement of Middlefield, at the westernmost frontier of early Middletown By R.W. Bacon About the year 1700, Benjamin Middlefield, they were in no sense Editor, The Middler Miller, with his wife and several neighbors, for Allen was two miles With the discovery of the Jessie small children, came from South north of Wetmore, and Miller one- Alsop map of Middlefield and its Farms, Middletown, to settle in the and-a-half miles south, with an redraw and publication in this issue wilds of Middlefield. He located on unbridged river between, and no of The Middler, the time is just right what might have been a partially roads to connect with either. for an overview of this westernmost open field, in the extreme south part Soon, however, the families of section of early Middletown. Making of the town, not more than 100 rods Hubbard, Ward, Bacon, Stow, and the subject even more relevant is from where is now its south line. The Turner came from Middletown; SMFSD’s visit to Middlefield’s Old same year Samuel Allen came from Lyman, Coe, and Camp from Durham; North Burying ground at this year’s Middletown to a beautiful site in the Birdsey from Stratford; and Bartlett Triennial Meeting. extreme north of the town. As from Guilford. So the people in this The 13.3 square-mile area became Benjamin Miller’s place reached the section gradually increased in num- known as Middlefield because it was south line of the town, so Allen’s bers, until, in 1744, in October, the approximately halfway between reached its north line. Though four parish of Middlefield was incorporated Middletown and Durham, Conn. miles from his former neighbors, he as a separate ecclesiastical society. Middlefield became a separate town could undoubtedly see their houses, It appears that the people of in 1866, and before that was part of and they could see his. During the Middlefield, from the outset, were Middletown from the beginning, same year, Samuel Wetmore located independent thinkers, each man though it was not settled to any in Middlefield, near the center. having a will and strong convictions degree until about 1700. Though these three men were continued on page 9 Geographically Middlefield is within what is now the town of distinguished in the western part by Higby Mountain and Besek Below is a view of Black Pond in Middlefield, Mountain, part of the Metacomet located at the base of the Beseck Mountain Ridge that extends north through cliffs. At right is the gravestone of one of Connecticut and Massachusetts to Middlefield’s earliest settlers, Samuel Wetmore (1660-1746). The stone is at Old North Burying the Vermont border. At the base of Ground, a destination on Cemetery Day of the these mountains in Middlefield are SMFSD 2012 Triennial Meeting in October. several large reservoirs and ponds, including Higby Mountain Reservoir, Adder Mountain Reservoir, Beseck Lake, and Black Pond. For a concise summary of early Middlefield history, your editor cannot improve on the brief contribution of Phineas Miller Auger in The History of Middlesex County 1635-1885: “Settlement and Early History. The first settlement of Middlefield was not until some fifty years later than that of Middletown, or about 1700. The people of Middletown were undoubtedly familiar with her beautiful hills and valleys, her dense forests, her dashing waterfalls, and the abundant game and fish in her forests and streams. Yet the fertile fields of Middletown, her church, and schools, and society were such as to naturally prevent her sons from leaving their established homes at an early period.

7 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA Rum & Axes, a micro-study of American capitalism, is also a window into early 19th-century Middletown By R.W. Bacon Mass. They scouted the Connecticut from Massachusetts to Connecticut, Editor, The Middler River Valley, and chose Middletown as they observed that the class of men In the 2002 book, Rum & Axes, the a place to set down roots, comparable they identified with were engaged in Rise of a Connecticut Merchant Family, in size and geography to Lavenham. mercantile or manufacturing activities. 1795-1850, the author, anthropologist Farming was still the main occupa- In Middletown they made a point to and professor Janet Siskind, focuses on tion in the town at large, but the town socialize with the established merchant the personal correspondence and center was packed with merchants, families: “Yesterday eve we went to business records of one tightly-knit artisans, sailors, and slave dealers. Capt. Wetmore’s to tea, and met entrepreneurial family to explore the Middletown was in its heyday as a port Jehosophat Starr and his lady.” beginnings of industrial capitalism in in the West Indies trade. Class stratifi- Samuel Watkinson nurtured friend- the United States. For those interested cation was evident in wealth, educa- ships with Jeremiah Wadsworth of in Middletown, Conn. history and tion, and manners, and poverty was Hartford, and Elijah Hubbard and genealogy, however, the primary source beginning to be a social problem. After William Ely of Middletown. In this way materials interpreted by Dr. Siskind the Revolution, party politics beget he was able to place his sons in the provide a fascinating look at our suspicion, Federalists vs. Jeffersonians. lucrative shipping business in New ancestral hometown – at precisely the The Watkinsons arrived as well-read York and Philadelphia. His daughters era when so many descendants of early- as they could be about New England, married into merchant families. settler families were looking to leave. and brought with them letters of By 1798 the Watkinson brothers Rum & Axes tells the story of three introduction and some capital. The were back in Middletown, solidly set up generations of the Watkinson family, young men in the family had expected in the West Indies trade, owning who arrived in Middletown in 1795. to take up farming in the manner of several ships and dry-goods stores in The primary source records on this English gentlemen. But then they partnership with Elijah Hubbard, John family and their businesses exists discovered that in New England Watkinson’s new father-in-law. For because of happy accident: One family farmers did most of their own work. export Watkinson bought produce, member, David Watkinson, founded After visiting factories along the coast barrel staves, horses, beef, and oats. On two historical archives in Hartford, and the return he imported and sold sugar, his nephews, founders of the Collins molasses, rum, and coffee. The author Co. (manufacturers of axes), preserved notes that nowhere in the ledgers is correspondence, account books, and a there mention of slave labor, as if the memoir. Combined, the materials ships were “magical sites where horses present a multi-dimensional story. were transformed into rum.” The men’s letters were mostly about After the 1807 Embargo Act and the business, but all the brothers and War of 1812, family enterprises shifted cousins revealed individual personali- to production of cloth. In 1826 two ties. Letters from the women in the Watkinson nephews founded the Collins family deal more expansively with Co. to manufacture axes and a variety family, friendship, and the differences of edge tools. The essence of the book is between England and Connecticut. the study of management’s pragmatic, Samuel Watkinson, age 50, his wife, devolving attitude toward its labor age 51, and their 12 children, aged force. After 140 years, the company between 26 and 9, left Lavenham, closed in 1966. The mill buildings in Suffolk, England for America in 1795. Collinsville, Conn. still stand. They were an established middle class Throughout the book are excerpts family, neither rich nor poor, but were from family letters that describe their “Dissenters” from the Anglican church. activity in Middletown in the early 19th In England Samuel Watkinson was a century. One of your editor’s favorites master wool comber, purchasing raw concerns the lovable traits of Yankee wool for manufacture and coordinating independence and utter lack of defer- its cleaning, combing, spinning, Rum & Axes: The Rise of a Connecticut ence: “We have just got a new maid collection, and resale. Merchant Family, 1795-1850, by Dr. Janet servant … and also a black boy. Both Siskind, emeritus professor of anthropol- The family arrived on several ships, ogy at Rutgers University, was published promise to suit pretty well, though the eventually gathering in Marblehead, in 2002 by Cornell University Press. woman is rather too Yankyfied.”

8 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA Middletown to West Florida? She died less than a year later in April unwilling to cooperate with the continued from from page 4 1777 at age 60. Her brother, Timothy, independence movement or submit to Connecticut to recruit more families – died in June 1777 (1726-1777). Spain, they fled through the wilder- some with their slaves – from Capt. Matthew Phelps had his own ness to Savannah, the nearest British Middletown and along the Connecticut trials while his small raft remained post. But with England and the River. After some delay, a ship com- tied up among the willows at Point American colonies at war, a direct manded by Middletown’s Capt. Coupee due to his family’s illness: “the route was too dangerous. They were Eggleston sailed from Middletown in malaria of the swamps,” according to determined to avoid the colonials, but spring 1776. His passengers included historian William H. Milburn. First, they also feared hostile Indians. It is the general’s wife, Eleanor (Dwight) two of his children died, then his wife, estimated that the caravan of men, Lyman, hoping to join her husband, and he buried them at the river’s edge. women, and children covered a and five of their younger children; and With his two remaining children (a circuitous 1400 miles in 149 days. Eleanor’s brother, Major Timothy boy, 5, and girl, 10) and two hired In Dunbar Rowland’s Enclyclopedia Dwight and family. There were other helpers, they poled upriver towards of Mississippi History, he writes: “In unnamed passengers, according to the settlement. Before reaching their the year 1802, the survivors of the Phelps, “who accompanied me in my destination the raft was upset by the colony, about one hundred in number, two voyages, whose memories I shall current and the two children drowned. reorganized themselves, and peti- ever respect, although their names The remaining members of the tioned congress for a confirmation of have escaped my recollection.” Lyman family – and the “colony” – their old grants, but it does not appear The ship reached New Orleans after continued until invasion by Spain in that anything was done for them. a three-month voyage. Capt. Phelps 1781-82. Histories cite the Connecticut Thus ended this famous land venture, and his entire family were overtaken settlers as “thrifty and successful which caused a good deal of excite- by illness, so the rest of the passengers planters in the country round ment in New England at the time.” poled small boats up the Mississippi Natchez, with handsome dwellings, Lois Kimball Mathews concludes River eager to see the improvements large estates, and scores of slaves.” mention of the Lyman Colony thusly: made at the settlement. Upon arrival, As ardent Loyalists at the time of “Illness overtook many, and the the party’s minister, Rev. Elnathan the Revolution, they were courted by outbreak of the Revolution put an end Smith, died of exhaustion in the agents of the new American Congress to further additions to the colony. sweltering heat. Eleanor (Dwight) to remain neutral, but promises were There are, however, many families of Lyman was greeted by the news that broken, followed by distrust and New England origin in and about her husband and eldest son had died. skirmishes. Being British subjects Natchez today.”

Middlefield settlement … Strickland Jr., Stephen Turner Sen., worship there is no doubt many of continued from from page 7 Samuel Warner, Samuel Wetmore them were attentive to it. It is told of Sen., Benjamin Wetmore, Benjamin Governor Benjamin Miller (as he was of his own, which is a striking Wetmore Jr., Beriah, Joseph Thomas, called) that at one time in this characteristic of their descendants. Daniel, Caleb and Prosper Wetmore, period, he lost of a number of pigs At the time the ecclesiastical society Josiah Wetmore Jr., and Titus John strangely, so he watched one Sunday, was incorporated the following were Wetmore. gun in hand, to learn the source of the chief citizens: Samuel Allen Sen., These people were farmers, and as the mischief, and after a while a bear Samuel Allen Jr., Ephraim and a rule, thrifty farmers, and it is a came along in search of a pig. Mr. Obadiah Allyn, Thomas Alvord, matter of note that in laying out Miller shot the bear, and saved the Nathaniel and Joseph Bacon, John their roads and farm lines, the roads, pigs; but he was arrested, taken Bartlett, John Birdsey, John Brown, as nearly as possible, ran straight before a magistrate in Durham, and Abraham and Edward Camp, John and parallel, so that there are three fined for this profanation of the Chilson, John Chilson Jr., Joseph, principal streets running north and Sabbath.” David and Robert Coe, Gideon and south, and five original roads east Editor’s Note: The author of this Thomas Cook, John and Isaac Doud, and west. The fields, as a rule, are historical sketch (1884), Phineas Daniel Briggs, Jeremiah Gould, rectangular, and of course the lines Miller Augur (1826-1891), was born Ebenezer and Joseph Hale, Eliakim parallel. This is strikingly the case in Middlefield and had a long tenure Hale, Samuel Stow, Hawley and even to this day. of varied public service to the town. In Ebenezer Hubbard, Jeremiah Little is known of the religious and 1872 he was elected “pomologist” for Leaming, Benjamin Miller Sen., moral character of the people the Connecticut Board of Agriculture, Ichabod, Amos and David Miller, previous to 1744. Of course, their and in 1876 organized a display of Moses Parsons, John, Rockwell and connection was with Middletown, Connecticut products for the Daniel Stow, David Strickland, David and although a few miles from public Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition.

9 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA SMFSD Membership Information If you descend from a pre-1700 settler, we welcome you to join us The following are individuals (and presumably spouses & families) said to have settled in Middletown, Conn. before 1700. The list is from The History of Middlesex County (Henry Whittemore, Beers Co., 1884), derived in part from the List of Householders & Proprietors, Middletown, March 22, 1670. Names in boldface are the original 1650-54 settlers. N.B.!: This list is known to be incomplete! If you descend from a pre-1700 settler not on this list, including a Native American or African-American ancestor, please contact our Registrar about submitting lineage and references. Not a descendant? Join us in the Friends category! Josiah Adkins . . . . . 1673 Samuel Cotton. . . . . 1697 Edward Higby . . . . . 1667 Daniel Pryor ...... 1696 Samuel Stow . . . . 1651 Obadiah Allyn . . . . . 1670 Samuel Doolittle . . . 1693 Thomas Hill...... 1678 Thomas Ranney . . . 1660 Thomas Stow...... 1669 Thomas Allen. . . . 1650 George Durant. . . . . 1663 Thomas Hopewell . . 1662 William Roberts. . . . 1680 William Sumner . . . 1687 Nathaniel Bacon . 1650 Samuel Eggleston . . 1663 George Hubbard . 1650 Joseph Rockwell . . . 1693 James Tappin . . . . . 1662 William Briggs . . . . . 1677 John Elton ...... 1677 John Hulbert ...... 1669 Alexander Rollo . . . . 1697 Matthias Treat . . 1659 John Blake...... 1677 Thomas Ferman . . . 1679 Isaac Johnson . . . . . 1670 Noadiah Russell. . . . 1696 Edward Turner . . . . 1665 William Blumfield1650 Edward Foster . . . . . 1670 Francis Jones...... 1672 David Sage ...... 1662 John Ward ...... 1664 John Boarn ...... 1677 Jonathan Gilbert. . . 1672 John Jordan...... 1678 John Savage . . . . 1650 William Ward...... 1659 Alexander Bow . . . . 1660 John Gill ...... 1676 John Kirby...... 1653 Arthur Scovill . . . . . 1671 Andrew Warner . . . . 1667 Nathaniel Brown. . . 1655 Richard Goodale . . . 1671 Isaac Lane ...... 1664 Edward Shepard . . . 1687 Robert Warner. . . . . 1655 Thomas Burk...... 1670 George Graves . . . . 1650? Thomas Lewis . . . . . 1687 Joseph Smith ...... 1675 Robert Webster . . 1650 William Cheney . . . . 1655 John Hall ...... 1650 William Lucas . . . . . 1667 William Smith . . . 1650 Benjamin West. . . . . 1698 Samuel Clark...... 1676 Richard Hall . . . . 1650 Daniel Markham . . . 1677 William Southmayd. 1674 Thomas Wetmore 1650 Jasper Clements . . . 1670 Samuel Hall . . . . . 1650 Anthony Martin. . . . 1661 Comfort Starr . . . . . 1673 Nathaniel White . 1650 Henry Cole ...... 1650? Giles Hamlin . . . . 1650 John Martin. . . . . 1650 James Stanclift . . . . 1686 Francis Whitmore . . 1674 Nathaniel Collins . . 1664 Benjamin Hands . . . 1678 Thomas Miller . . . 1650 Samuel Stocking . 1650 John Wilcox ...... 1654 Samuel Collins. . . . . 1665 Daniel Harris. . . . 1653 John Payne ...... 1676 John Stow ...... 1667 James Wright...... 1690 William Cornwell 1650 William Harris. . . 1650 George Phillips . . . . 1680 Nathaniel Stow . . . . 1676 Membership benefits . . . Membership is a simple 1-2-3 procedure . . . When you join the Society of Middletown First If you are a descendant of any pre-1700 Middletown settler, and would like to join SMFSD, here is Settlers Descendants, you will receive: the easy procedure: • Two issues per year of The Middler, the (1) Send an outline/worksheet of your lineage to the Registrar. The applicant shall do their own SMFSD newsletter full of information useful genealogical research, and the resulting lineage should be accompanied by copies of reference for research about Middletown’s first settler material by generation. The Registrar seeks to verify submitted information, but does not families and local history. research family lines. • Access to the SMFSD web site which includes (2) Send a check payable to the Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants (1650-1700) for first settler profiles, genealogy resources, local the non-refundable $10.00 application handling fee. history articles, a custom-prepared annotated (3) The Registrar will review the application for approval. Documentation is required only bibliography for Middletown research, and an through the line of descent from the 1650-1700 settler. If needed, guidelines will be sent that help archive of past Middler issues. document descent by generation. (The Society will return an application if more documentation • The annual membership roster enabling you to is needed. It is the applicant’s responsibility to complete any gaps in the records.) When network with Middletown “cousins” and approved, the new member can choose to pay annual or lifetime dues: researchers across the country. (A) Annual dues (Nov. 1 to Oct. 31) are $20.00 (in addition to the initial $10.00 handling fee). • The opportunity to attend SMFSD meetings (every three years) in Middletown that include (B) A new member may elect to pay lifetime dues (instead of annual dues) based on age: Age 0-50, genealogy research, cemetery tours, library/ $300; Age 51-70, $200; Age 70+, $100. Life Members receive a certificate suitable for framing. museum visits, networking, and social events. Friends of SMFSD. Are you a history enthusiast? Would you like to receive The Middler? Join • The opportunity to participate in the us at $20 per year! organization, suggest/plan meeting activities, Please send membership inquiries & lineage information to: Donald H. Brock, Registrar, and vote on SMFSD business. Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants, 10 Windy Hill Rd., Glen Arm, MD 21057.

Convoluted connections … first afternoon at Godfrey, one of the Newfield land is the brick home continued from from page 5 librarians pointed out that some where Grace Bacon was born and Grace Bacon died in July 2000, but Bacon families lived just down the where she lived most of her life. she is still remembered fondly in same road I had worn out looking for (connections #7 & #8) Middletown – anonymous donations the library. A few years later I In the late 1970s your editor, then in continue to be made to various non- learned that this land across the road the middle of a long career in profits in her memory. She is buried from Godfrey Library and to the showbusiness, had the good fortune to in New Farm Hill Cemetery. north (297 acres) was received by meet another 7th cousin, Charles Bacon In the 1970s your editor was first Nathaniel Bacon (1630-1705) as part (1906-1985), proprietor for many years directed to Godfrey Library for of the 1670 land grants. (Nathaniel of the former Bacon Bros. Hardware on research on his early Middletown retained his original home and Main Street in Middletown. He and his ancestors. Like most first-time acreage at the north end of Main wife attended one of our performances visitors, I drove up-and-down Street, where my Bacon family line nearby, and we chatted about family Newfield Street looking for the of mariners and craftsmen lived into history and the property on Newfield vertical driveway. By the end of my the late 19th century.) Upon the continued on page 12 10 MARK YOUR CALENDAR & REGISTER NOW! Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants N FIRST S OW ETT T LE Triennial Meeting – October 17-20, 2012 LE R D S D I D E M

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S O S Join us for four days of events & research 1650-1700 The 2012 meeting of the Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants presents an opportunity to gather with Middletown cousins, genealogists, and local history enthusiasts in our ancestral hometown. Complete the registration form below, return it with your check, and then join us for a genealogy-rich program of research, stimulation, and fun. (Want to learn more about SMFSD? Google-search “Middletown First Settlers” and visit our information-packed web site.) Note that this year our meeting dates coincide with the annual seminar of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists. This event, Saturday, October 20 in North Haven, Conn., requires separate registration and payment. For information visit www.csginc.org. SMFSD Triennial Meeting Schedule (subject to change):

Wednesday, October 17: Meet & Greet Day 3 p.m. on Arrival, check-in, & registration at hotel Accommodations … More destinations of 5:45 p.m. Informal group dinner (location TBA) 8:15 p.m. SMFSD Board Meeting Make hotel reservations independently genealogical interest Thursday, October 18: Cemetery Day by contacting our meeting headquarters, the Marriott Residence In addition to SMFSD activities, here 8:30 a.m. Depart hotel for Middlefield Cemetery Inn, 680 Cromwell Ave. (Rte. 3, off are more destinations of genealogical 9-11 a.m. Middlefield Cemetery tour Rte. I-91), Rocky Hill, CT 06067, at interest to visit before or after the Afternoon Lunch (on our own) 860-257-7500 and mentioning the SMFSD Triennial Meeting*: 12:30-1 p.m. Old Riverside Cemetery tour SMFSD meeting for our group rate. 1-1:45 p.m. Washington Street Cemetery tour • Middletown Heritage Trail 2 p.m. Cromwell Historical Society • (self-guided 20-station walking tour) (Tour, early “Upper Houses” settlers program, visit to Ranney family gravesites) • Middlesex County Historical Society 6 p.m. Informal group dinner – Join your new friends! (location TBA) • City Clerk’s Office, Middletown Friday, October 19: Research/Lecture Day 8:45 a.m. SMFSD Business Meeting & Board Elections at Godfrey Memorial Library • Exploration of ancestral properties Godfrey Library orientation & update; individual research period In the Hartford area . . . 12 Noon Lunch at Godfrey Library • Connecticut State Library 1:15 p.m. Public reception at Russell Library - meet & greet Middletown guests 1:45 p.m. Program at Russell Library: “Middletown as a Seaport” by author Erik Hesselberg • Connecticut Historical Society 3-5 p.m. Russell Library orientation & individual research period • Connecticut Society of Genealogists 5:45-6:45 p.m. Wine & Cheese Social hosted by Don & Lyn Brock • Ancient Burying Ground, Hartford 7:15 p.m. Banquet at Carmen Anthony’s Restaurant, Wethersfield, Conn. Guest speaker: Dr. Ronald Schatz, Professor of History, Wesleyan University • Wethersfield, Conn. Saturday, October 20: CSG Conference Day (Separate registration & payment: www.csginc.org) • (mid-18th-century architecture) 8 a.m.-4 p.m. CSG Annual Seminar, North Haven, Conn. … or tour/research on your own) *Admission charges may apply. 6:30 p.m. Informal group dinner – Join your new friends! (location TBA) For more information contact Mike Campbell at [email protected] REGISTRATION FORM

Name: Event Registration ...... # @$32...... = Fri. Lunch at Godfrey ...... # @$10...... = Address: Fri. Banquet at CA’s...... # @$38...... = (Cost includes gratuity; excludes beverages) City/Town State Zip Code Banquet at Carmen Anthony’s Restaurant in Wethersfield includes choices from their special menu of appetizers, entrées, and desserts.

Telephone: E-mail: TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED...... $

Date arriving: Date departing: Do you need transportation to & from our events? Y N Please make check payable to The Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants.

Please check events you will attend (for planning purposes): Please note that the registration fee DOES NOT include ___Thursday Cemetery Tours ___Thursday at the Cromwell Historical Society other restaurant meals or lodging. Please make hotel reservations ___Friday at Godfrey Library ___ Friday Lunch at Godfrey ___Friday at Russell Library by calling our meeting headquarters hotel, ___Friday Wine & Cheese Social ___Friday Dinner at Carmen Anthony’s Restaurant the Marriott Residence Inn, Rocky Hill, Conn., at 860-257-7500, and mentioning ___Do you plan to register for the CSG Seminar Saturday, October 20? (separate registration) the SMFSD meeting to get our group rate.

Send this form with check to: Mike Campbell, SMFSD Treasurer, 3570 Willow St., Bonita, CA 91902 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA Convoluted connections … had nothing good to say about the new snowbanks and through the mud to continued from page 10 building supply megastores. Then he get the lowdown from the head man Street. He and his family lived on the gestured at the brick house, and said perched on top of a roaring bulldozer. opposite end of the 1670 land grant “Old Miss Bacon still lives there, but I Lucky for me he was one of the co- tract from Grace Bacon, his first cousin. don’t see her out much.” developers who could provided me (connection #9) Parts of the house, I walked up-and-down past the with all the information I needed for built by Nathaniel Bacon, Jr. (1675- Bacon farm fields – and past Grace a brief article in The Middler. Grace 1759), date to about 1700. Charles Bacon’s house (connection #10), Bacon’s house became the real estate Bacon invited me to take photos of the snapping photos as I went. If she saw office for the project. (connection houses and barns on the original Bacon me, she probably worried that “the #11 – The Middler, spring 2007.) property on a subsequent visit. poor man walking on this street A few years later, the economy About 20 years later in the 1990s, must be off his medication.” stalled progress on the subdivision. armed with a better camera, I passed In 2006, a large tract of land that The name has been retained and it through Middletown and parked on a had been in the Bacon family for over appears that sales efforts continue. side street off Newfield, not far from a 300 years was sold for development of To date about 10 homes have been late-Victorian brick home. I chatted “Bartlett Hollow at the Bacon built. Grace Bacon’s house, no longer with a 30-something man who was Homestead,” which was to be a 25- with a book-lined first floor, has been trying to start his lawn mower. I home subdivision for the over-55 set. transformed into an insurance office. mentioned that I would be taking An 1825 barn was razed to make way Change is inevitable, and time photos of what was left of the Bacon for an activities building. When I marches on with relentless regularity. family’s 1670 land grant. He brightened came upon this surprising scene But for your editor, the connections up and said he had been a longtime during a research visit to Middletown, in Middletown history and genealogy customer of Bacon Bros. Hardware, and I pulled off the road, tromped over keep getting more convoluted.

01950 MA Newburyport, • 489 Box . O . P • Editor Bacon, . R.W c/o

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