Following along with my
investigation into the towns of Bristol, Wolcott, New Milford, and Torrington,
I now turn my attention to the next book in the series written by Samuel
Orcutt, “The History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1880, with
Biographies and Genealogies”. This is another huge tome with approximately
1000 pages. Thus, it occupied me for several days, including building out
family trees for each of the individuals in the Biographies section to see how
many shared ancestors in Connecticut/New England history with me.
The beginning of this book is
quite interesting. Prior to the page with the number “1” on it are 80 pages of
Indian history. This starts with a description of the various rivers and
streams which make up the Housatonic (then called the Ousatonic) River and tributaries
such as the Naugatuck River. Then it goes through each of the geographic areas
and names all the tribes and their leaders. It then documents all the various
treaties signed with these tribes and whose signatures are on them. While these
various tribes claimed large tracts of land, the number of individuals in each
tribe was relatively small. For example, the Tunxis tribe roamed over the area
all the way from what is now Farmington nearly to the NY border, but they only numbered
perhaps 100 warriors and 400 individuals.
The towns which were previously
written about by Orcutt were all settled in the 1730s. But Derby, being at the
junction of two rivers, has a history which begins in 1642, nearly 100 years
earlier, when a few individuals from New Haven took up residence in the area. This
has a couple of consequences:
·
Some of the early settlers, being several
generations earlier than the other towns, did not have enough time to
intermarry, so finding common relatives with my Connecticut ancestors was not
possible in some situations.
·
Being at the junction of two waterways meant
that the town was more populous than the other places Orcutt had served
previously, so there was a higher incidence of people who had moved into the
town from other places (or other countries), also leading to more difficulty in
finding common ancestors.
·
The other places that Orcutt had served, in
addition to having fairly small populations, were only in their second
generation when the American Revolution broke out, so the number of individuals
who served in the military was fairly small. But in Derby, there were several
people with military titles among those in the biography section of the book.
The history of the town is quite
interesting to read because of all the detail it goes into. While the town was
quite small in the early years – being fewer than 100 inhabitants – they still
needed to collect taxes, support a minister, provide for a schoolteacher, etc. My
eye caught a reference to one of my ancestors, Rev. James Pierpont, when in
1706 they were having an issue with their pastor who felt he could no longer
continue. The book records the following:
“The town and the church with Mr. James desire the council of
the neighboring churches and elders in this affair and matter. The town have
chosen Mr. Pierpont, Mr. Andrew and Mr. Stoddard to give advice in the
sorrowful case between Mr. James and the town.”
Only a few pages further along,
the town was building a new church/meeting house and the book records the
details of who was assigned to sit in which seats – with the then appropriate method
of sitting men and women on separate sides of the center aisle. It’s hard to
imagine such methods being used in churches today!
I also found it interesting to
read through some of the history in 1742 in the town’s reaction to the “Great Awakening” which
occurred with the visit of the British evangelist George Whitefield to New
England in 1740. The books notes:
“The effort made by those who sustained the half-way
covenant, which method was called the Old way, and was at that time the legal
way, to stop the progress of the New way, the followers of which were called
New Lights was very arbitrary and determined, as given by Dr. Trumbull. … a
violent opposition was made in the county of New Haven, to the new lights, and
to the religious revival which had been in the country.”
But after such discussions, the
next paragraph talks about the use of a toll bridge across the river in town. Such
were the concerns of the town and church in Derby! Even this book concludes
this discussion with, “Straws tell which way the wind blows, is an old saying,
meaning that very small items illustrate character, customs and manners.”
As the history progresses through
the Revolutionary War, I was intrigued by an inclusion of the “Grand List”
which shows the expectations of the funds collected from each town to support
the war efforts. Since the allocation is based on the relative size of each
town in the state, it’s an interesting way to see which towns were the
largest/smallest in Connecticut at the time. At the head of the list is New
Haven (73K pounds), then Norwich and Farmington (66K each), Woodbury (56K), Stratford
(52K), Wallingford (51K), Hartford (48K), Middletown (42K), Norwalk (42K), and Lebanon
(41K). Derby is considerably down the list at 19K, and the smallest town in the
state is Tolland at just 1,431 pounds. Towns such as Wolcott and Bristol do not
appear on the list as they were not yet incorporated.
The change in attitude toward the
Revolutionary War can be seen in the feelings of the town residents. “At first
(1774) the whole town was loyal to the king, and entertained no thought but
reconciliation; in December, 1775, a large majority were strongly in favor of
supporting the war; in 1777, a little over one year after the Declaration of
Independence, only a fraction – not to exceed one-eighth was found in the tory
ranks.”
It was a man from Derby, Colonel
(later a General) David Humphreys, was so involved in the war on behalf of the
patriots and following the surrender of Cornwallis, George Washington said in
his letter to the President of Congress, “These returns and colors have been
committed to the care of Colonel Humphreys, one of my aids-de-camp, whom, for
his attention, fidelity and good services, I beg leave to recommend to Congress
and to your excellency.”
There is much more information in
this book than can be readily summarized in this blog. There are sections on
the creation of other towns such as Oxford, Shelton, Ansonia, and Seymour, the coming
of the railroad, businesses in town, other churches, construction of dams and
bridges, participation in the Civil War, etc. Fun fact – one pastor of the
church in Seymour from 1833 to 1834 was a man by the name of Rev. Rollin Stone.
Perhaps the rock band of the 1960s were inspired by this man?
While there are a great number of
individuals recognized in the history section of this book, I will devote the
rest of this blog to those who are listed in the Biographies section. There are
170 pages in the Biographies followed by 100 pages of Genealogies (i.e. 270 of
the 1000 pages of the book).
There are a total of 137
individuals listed in the biography section of the book. Of these, 8 do not
have common ancestors with me (identified by the underlined phrase “no
relation”), and for 4 the book does not supply sufficient information for
me to identify them or their families (many are missing birth/death dates)
(identified by the underlined phrase “not enough information”). The
remaining 125 have an ancestral connection to me through a common ancestor in
Connecticut/New England history. I share a common ancestor with 117 of them; 5
of them were not from the area, but their wives share a common ancestor with me;
and 3 have sons who married someone with a common ancestor. These latter 2
categories are identified by the underlined word “wife” or “son”.
Relationships are identified using the format “nCmX”, meaning “nth Cousin, m
times removed”. Common family members are indented. In one instance, one of my
direct ancestors is in the biography and is identified with the format G8GF,
meaning great*8 grandfather.
There are two African individuals
in the list. For one, there is no relationship to me. The other is the son of
two former slaves who had been freed (his father was a slave to one of my
direct ancestors and he took on the last name of Freeman). But he married a
white woman (there may have been no other individuals in the town at the time
with his background) and so he is a cousin of mine via marriage.
So, without further ado, here are
all the individuals listed in the biography section.
·
Joseph Arnold (1811-1884), store owner, 4C5X via
Joseph Arnold (1625-1715)
·
Henry Atwater (1819-1862), ran Birmingham Iron
and Steel Works, 4C6X via David Atwater (1615-1692)
·
William T. Bacon (1812-1881), pastor, 2C6X via
Isaac Judson (1700-1789)
·
Scott R. Baker MD (1854-1931) [off by 20 years
in the book], 6C4X via Ralph Keeler (1612-1672)
·
Leonidas Bradley Baldwin (1834-1907), pastor,
6C3X via William Bradley (1619-1691)
·
Lewis Barnes MD (1824-1908), 5C5X via William
Curtis (1618-1702)
·
J. H. Bartholomew (1814-1884), manufacturer, 5C5X
via John North (1611-1692)
·
Rev. Amos Bassett (1764-1828), 4C6X via John
Bassett (1589-1652)
o Rev.
Archibald Bassett (1772-1868), 4C6X via John Bassett
o Benjamin
Bassett MD (1825-1879), 5C5X via John Bassett
o Doc.
Martin Bull Bassett (1802-1879), 5C5X via John Bassett
o Rev.
William Elliott Bassett (1829-1881), 5C5X via John Bassett
o Royal
M. Bassett (1828-1905), Iron Foundry, 7C3X via John Bassett
·
Ebenezer D. Bassett (1833-1908), African
American, no relation
·
Ambrose Beardsley MD (1811-1884), 4C6X via
Joseph Beardsley (1634-1712)
·
George Lucius Beardsley MD (1848-1910), 5C5X via
Joseph Beardsley (1634-1712)
·
Rev. Benjamin Beach (1737-1816), 3C8X via
Richard Beach (1611-1691)
o Sharon
Yale Beach (1809-1899), son of Rev. Benjamin, paper mill, 4C7X via Richard
Beach
·
Thaddeus G. Birdseye (1810-1880), 5C5X via Joseph
Judson (1619-1690)
·
Alfred Blackman (1807-1880), lawyer, 4C6X via
John Blackman (1631-1662)
·
Frederick P. Blodgett MD (1847-1893), 7C4X via
Joseph Loomis (1590-1658)
·
Rev. John Bowers (1629-1687), G8GF
·
Rev. John Brainard (1830-1904), 9C4X via John
Fuller (1518-1559)
·
Thomas Burlock (1804-1865), grain distiller,
6C6X via Richard Belden (1591-1655)
·
Abiel Canfield (1753-1812), button mfg, 3C7X via
Thomas Canfield (1623-1689)
·
Ben. Adam Caston MD (?), practicing in Clinton, not
enough information
·
George W. Cheeseman (1823-1891), hoop skirt mfg,
wife is 5C5X via Henry Tomlinson (1606-1681)
·
Rev. Trueman Coe (1788-1858), 3C6X via John
Hopkins (1662-1732)
o John
Coe (1815-1876), leather dealer, 4C5X via John Hopkins
·
Sylvester Colburn (1806-1870), 4C7X via Edward Spaulding
(1596-1669)
o Sullivan
Colburn (1806-1876), twin, 4C7X via Edward Spaulding
o Josiah
M. Colburn, MD (1799-1882), 4C7X via Edward Spaulding
·
John W. DeForest (1826-1906), 4 years in Europe,
wrote novels, 4C6X via William Curtis (1618-1702)
·
Sidney A. Downes (1817-1890), business manager
of corset mfg, 5C5X via Joseph Beardsley (1634-1712)
·
William E. Downes (1824-1904), lawyer, 5C5X via
Thomas Hine (1621-1698)
·
Charles Durand (1820-1900), merchant, 5C5X via
Henry Tomlinson (1606-1681)
·
Dr. Hosea Dutton (1754-1826), 4C7X via Richard
Treat (1584-1669)
·
Almon Farrell (1800-1857), millwright, 5C4X via
John Warner (1625-1700)
o Franklin
Farrell (1828-1912), millwright and foundry, 6C3X via John Warner
·
Roswell Freeman (1803-1877), parents were slaves
(Quash to Agur Tomlinson (my G8GF) & Rose to Rev. Yale), fox hunter, wife
is 5C4X via John Merrill (1636-1712)
·
David French Esq (1741-1821), 2C7X via John
Bowers (1629-1687)
·
Samuel M. Gardner (1840-1880), lawyer, 5C5X via
Ebenezer Booth (1651-1732)
·
Isaac J. Gilbert (1727-aft 1790), abolitionist, 2C7X
via Joseph Peck (1641-1718)
·
Truman Gilbert (1788-1857), lumber yard, 4C6X
via Thomas Canfield (1623-1689)
·
Rev. Thomas Guion (1817-1862), 6C4X via William
Lyon (1620-1692)
·
Zephaniah Hallock (1792-1870), ship builder, 4C7X
via Robert Hawkins (1610-1704)
·
Frederick Hall MD (1842-1882), parents died when
he was young, not enough information
·
Abram Hawkins (1810-1894), blacksmith, iron mfg,
4C5X via Joseph Hawkins (1669-1732)
o William
Hawkins (1816-1881), bro of Abram, 4C5X via Joseph Hawkins
·
Benjamin Hodge (1793-1868), 4C5X via Peter
Mallory (1653-1720)
·
Josiah Holbrook (1788-1854), 4C8X via Thomas
Holbrook (1599-1677)
o Prof.
Alfred Holbrook (1816-1909), son of Josiah, teacher, textbook writer, 5C7X via
Thomas Holbrook
o Dwight
Holbrook (1817-1890), son of Josiah, much travelled, 5C7X via Thomas Holbrook
o Rev.
Zephaniah Swift Holbrook (1847-1901), son of Dwight, 6C6X via Thomas Holbrook
o Frederick
Holbrook (1854-1935), son of Dwight, teacher in WI, 6C6X via Thomas Holbrook
·
Lewis Hotchkiss (1806-1887), lumber company, 5C4X
via Samuel Hotchkiss (1623-1663)
o Willis
Hotchkiss (1803-1884), brother of Lewis, lumber company, 5C4X via Samuel
Hotchkiss
o Willis
Hotchkiss (1788-1872), 5C4X via Samuel Hotchkiss (1623-1663)
·
John L. Howe (1793-1876), doctor, mfg, 5C7X via
John Waterbury (1621-1658)
·
Gen. William Hull (1753-1825), 4C6X via James
Bennett (1618-1659)
o Joseph
Hull (1750-1826), Lt in Navy, 4C6X via James Bennett
o Isaac
Hull (1775-1843), commodore of Constitution, 5C5X via James Bennett
·
Rev. Daniel Humphreys (1706-1787), 4C7X via John
Grant (1573-1640)
o Gen.
David Humphreys (1752-1818), son of Daniel, 5C6X via John Grant
o Maj.
Elijah Humphreys (1746-1785), son of Daniel, 5C6X via John Grant
o Sarah
[Humphreys] Mills (1750-1827), dau of Daniel, 5C6X via John Grant
·
Rev. John James (1657-1729), no relation
·
Isaac Jennings MD (1788-1874), 3C9X via Joshua
Jennings (1620-1675)
o Rev.
Isaac Jennings (1816-1887), son of Isaac, 4C8X via Joshua Jennings
o Catharine
[Jennings] Parsons (1823-1919), dau of Isaac, missionary to Turkey, 4C8X via
Joshua Jennings
·
Rev. Stephen Jewett (1783-1861), 5C6X via
Francis Cooke (1583-1663)
o Pliny
Adams Jewett MD (1816-1884), son of Stephen, 6C5X via Francis Cooke
o Thomas
R. Jewett MD (1850-1885), son of Pliny, 7C4X via Francis Cooke
·
Ebenezer Johnson (1645-1726), Col in army, no
relation
·
Harvey Johnson (1798-1883), stone mason, 3C6X
via William Johnson (1640-1716)
·
Sheldon C. Johnson MD (1797-1887), 5C4X via
Isaac Johnson (1615-1675)
·
William Johnson MD (1849-1880), from PA, no
relation
·
Donald Judson (1798-1847), bridge builder, 4C6X
via Joseph Judson (1619-1690)
·
Ithiel Keeney (1755-1837), tavern owner, 3C7X
via Nathaniel Cook (1625-1688)
·
Elisha Strong Kellogg (1824-1864), killed at
Yorktown, 5C5X via Martin Kellogg (1595-1671)
·
Joshua Kendall MD (1807-1891), 6C7X via Richard
Austin (1548-1623)
·
Edmund Leavenworth (1766-1857), 3C8X via William
Beardsley (1605-1661)
·
John Lewis (abt 1779-), merchant, retired in
1840, not enough information
·
John Lindley (1816-1887), merchant, 4C5X via
Richard Nichols (1678-1756)
·
Lyman L. Loomer (1814-1892), mfg, 7C4X via
Thomas Ruggles (1558-1647)
·
Rev. Richard Mansfield (1724-1820), 3C8X via
Theophilus Eaton (1591-1657)
·
Rev. Joseph Moss (1679-1731), no relation
·
H. B. Munson (1821-1885), lawyer, 4C6X via Samuel
Munson (1643-1688)
·
Thomas M. Newsom (1817-1893), newspaper
publisher, parents from England/Canada, wife is 7C2X via Isaac Johnson (1615-1675)
·
Rev. Charles Nichols (1798-1878), 5C6X via Isaac
Nichols (1625-1695)
·
Thomas J. O’Sullivan MD (1852-1900), parents and
wife from Ireland, no relation
·
Samuel Orcutt (1824-1893), 6C5X via Stephen
Hopkins (1581-1644)
·
Eleazer Peck (1808-1878), 4C5X via Joseph Peck
(1651-1731)
o George
Hobart Peck (1834-1893), 4C6X via Joseph Peck
o Robert
Peck (1825-1884), 4C6X via Joseph Peck
·
Dr. Joseph Perry (1726-1793), 3C8X via William
Judson (1592-1662)
·
Anson Green Phelps (1781-1853), 5C6X via Edward
Griswold (1607-1690)
·
Albert W. Phillips MD (1838-1929), parents from
England, wife is 6C4X via Thomas Hooker (1586-1647)
·
Charles Hitchcock Pinney MD (1831-1893), 6C4X
via John Hall (1605-1676)
·
David W. Plumb (1808-1893), mfg of woolen goods,
3C7X via Thomas Welles (1690-1750)
·
Rev. Amasa Porter (1774-1856), 5C6X via John
Porter (1594-1648)
·
Jabez Pritchard (1741-1777), 3C6X via Samuel
Hickock (1643-1695)
·
Capt. Lewis Remer (1785-1841), parents are
German, wife is 3C6X via Agur Tomlinson (1658-1728)
o Simon
Remer (1801-1867), bro Lewis, son married Emeline Thrall (1838-1865) 6C4X
via Joseph Judson (1619-1690)
·
Col. Charles L. Russell (1828-1862), killed in
Civil War, 5C6X via Ralph Russell (1625-1679)
·
Rev. Joseph Scott (1801-1859), 5C6X via Benjamin
Scott (1612-1671)
·
Hon. Henry S. Sanford (1823-1891), minister to
Belgium under Lincoln, 5C4X via Josiah Curtis (1662-1745)
·
Lugrand Sharp (1797-1876), 5C6X via Mary Welles
(1616-1659)
·
Charles W. Sheffrey MD (1832-1892), from England,
no relation
·
Edward N. Shelton (1812-1880), bank president, 4C5X
via Daniel Shelton (1668-1728)
·
G. A. Shelton MD (1841-1927), 4C5X via Daniel
Shelton (1668-1728)
·
Rev. John D. Smith (1804-1849), 5C4X via John
Bowers (1629-1687)
·
Horace M. Shepard (1803-1832), 2C5X via Timothy
Shepard (1718-1776)
·
Sheldon Smith [Sr] (1780-1867), selectman, 3C6X
via Joseph Hawkins (1669-1732)
·
Sheldon Smith [Jr] (1797-1866), relative of
[Sr], selectman, 4C5X via John Bowers (1629-1687)
·
Bradford Steele (1761-1841), 3C6X via John
Merrill (1636-1712)
·
Ann S. [Winterbotham] Stephens (1810-1886), poet
and writer, parents from England, son married Ann Maria Sutton
(1847-1899) 5C4X via Benjamin Starr (1683-1754)
·
Abiram Stoddard MD (1777-1855), 4C7X via Richard
Baldwin (1622-1665)
o Thomas
Stoddard MD (1813-1887), son of Abiram, 5C6X via Richard Baldwin
·
Leman Stone (1750-1847), 4C8X via John Bishop
(1590-1661)
·
Doctor Noah Stone (1783-1851), 5C5X via William
Peck (1601-1695)
·
John W. Storrs (1824-1887), 6C5X via William
Parsons (1570-1653)
·
Stephen N. Summers (1812-1884), 4C4X via Abraham
Nichols (1662-1708)
·
Rev. Zephaniah Swift (1771-1848), 5C6X via Richard
Warren (1580-1628)
·
William Terry MD (1822-1908), 5C6X via Richard
Vore (1600-1683)
·
Rev. George Thatcher (1817-1878), 6C5X via John
Porter (1594-1648)
·
John L. Tomlinson (1686-1756), 2C9X via George
Tomlinson (1575-1628)
·
Hon. David Torrance (1840-1906), he and wife from
Scotland, children married others from England/Ireland, Sec of State, no
relation
·
Ira L. Ufford (1804-1846), b. Trumbull, not
enough information
·
Rev. J. Howe Vorce (1843-1896), 6C4X via John
Taylor (1641-1704)
·
Thomas Wallace (1797-1875), he and wife from
England, son married Corisanna Jackson (1825-1874) 7C4X via Francis Cooke
(1583-1663)
·
Rev. Joseph Webb (1666-1732), 1C11X via
Elizabeth Gregory (1604-1681)
·
Rev. Cyrus Banter Whitcomb (1839-1907), 6C3X via
Richard Sperry (1606-1698)
·
N. J. WIlcoxson (1805-1870), 4C7X via Samuel
Sherman (1618-1700)
·
Samuel Wire (1789-1874), 5C4X via Daniel Kellogg
(1630-1688)
·
Gen. David Wooster (1711-1777), 2C8X via Henry
Tomlinson (1606-1681)
o Col.
William B. Wooster (1821-1900), lawyer, 5C5X via Henry Tomlinson