Connecticut Historical Collections

" Antl no sooner was lie [Mr. Lord] gone from her, but it mrncd in lier miutl — The Lecture is ended, and the service all ouer, and I am nut licukd ; lo/iat is becuvic of intj faith, nolo? Won't ii be with me as it used to be! \ViiL-ifU|ion a cloud ol'j;renl iliiik- ness came over her, for a minute or two; in which lime ^-he was led again into Iierself, to see what a poor unworthy ciealnre she was, and had some such thoughts ol the wis- dom and goodness of God's will, thai she felt a disposition lo be as God would have her be. Then those words were rejieated to her — // thou irilt btliccc, thou shalt sec the glory of God. By which her darkness was carried oft', and nndcrlhe influence of this word n,iii\ she seemed (;is she expiessed it) tu be w ln'liy iiiki ti out ui herself, into the hands of God, and enabled to believe thai he could and wi.uld laal her. hnniedialely upon which, she fell a strange irre^i.^Illllc iiioliun and shaking, wiiich began liistuilh her hands, and quickly spieading over her whole I'lume ; in which time she leli a kind of weight upon her; a soil of racking of her Irame ; everv joini, as it were wtjrking ; and as if she was with hands squeezed logeiher in her weak' places. As this trembling went oir, her pains weni with it, and she fell strung, especially in the seal cd lile, where she had been most remarkably weak; and from ihence strenglii ditlused itself all over her animal frame, into her hips, knees, ankles, »S:c. .She fell siroiig and well, as if she had no disease upon her, and was under no dilliculty. And as she had this sensation of new strength and freedom, she felt as if she was a raising up, and niusi rise; and immediately r«i'(? i^;^ and walked away Simons; the people, with evideni spriglilliness and vigor, 10 the astonishment of herself and those about her. She weni this time near 16 feel, crying out, ' Bless the Lord Jesus, ichu has healed me!' But was soon damped ■wilh this ihonght, thai she was only in a phrenzy, and not healed ; and the more so when Mr. Lord (surprised at seeing her walk thus, whom he had just before lel't im- potent and overcome loo, so that she could hartlly talk) did observe to her that she was in a phrenzy, and accordingly took hold of her and led her to tlie bed, and bid her sit down ; yea, even thrust her down. But she eould not be confined there ; feeling yet fitrongand at liberty, she quickly rose up again, with those words in her mind, 1 have laved thee with everlasting love, and with the high praises of God in her moiiih. Her soul being filled with such admiration and love, as she declared was inexpressible. Now she walked several times across the room with strength and steadiness; which even constrained the people lo think and say, verily, this js the power of (.iod ! And they wondered, and praised the same. And it was about six o'clock in the afternoon, when the thing was aone, at which they all marvelled, and having united in a prayer, i» 0 M F 11 r. T . 437 and in praise, on lliis remarkable occasion, ihcy were dismissed to theirseveral liomes, iiiiTi wondering and rejoicing al \vl);ii ihi-ir oyes had beheld, and their ears had heard that day." The following Inscriptions are from monuments in the grave yard west of the Con^a-egaiional church. In memory of the Rev. Mr. Joseph Coil, V. D. M. first pastor of ye chli. of Christ in Plainlield, who continued in his ulliie '11 yenis. Ubiit. July ye 1, 1*50, JE. 77 years. # The good man needs no eulogy, his nienioiial is in heaven. The Rev. Jncl licnc- dirt, D. D., born al Salem, state of New York, Jan. 17-15, dieil at Plninlield, Feb. 13lh, 18l(). Religion that cheers the death scene, endears tiie se|iulcher. Filial allecliou reai'ed this monument, to indicate the s)h)I vvhcre the du.>l of a Father jejiose.s. In memory of Capt. John Cady, of Plainfudd. lie uas of an engaging aspect and deportment : his genius, natinally i-levaied, waN cultivated by reading aijcl iiiiercourse with mankind, lie had a happy facilily in llie disjtaich of business; was e.xeinplaiy in the discharge of every social duty, civil or domesiic. A prulessor of the christian faith, a blessing to mankind. He rests not here; he was drowned returuiug from New York, Nov. 'JSth, 1783, in the 40th year of his age. The glory of man is as ilie llower of the Field. To the memory of .(ohn l^arnesi .Milk'i. This stone is erected by the family of the late Anthony nraillunl, Fsq. 1 lc was a niuive o| (lermany, and belonged to the troops under Uen. ningo\iie, Imt lIk-sc iIilmi- home for the rest ol his davs, and alter a long course of kind ami laiihlul scrvicu., died fVlj. 1 l;!i, 171(J, aged til) years. poMFU i:t. PoMFUET was fii'St sellled in IGSO, and incorporated as a town in 1713. " In October, 1()S7, a grant of hinds, coiinuonly called the Ma- shmnor/uet purchase, was made by the (j'cneral Assembly, to Major .lames Fitch, Lieutenant AVilJiain Ivuggles, Mr. John (lore, Mr, John Pierpont, iMr. Juhn Cliandler, Mr. J^'iijaiuin Sabin, Mr. Samuel Craft, Mr. John (Jiosvenor, Mr. Jose[)h Grillin, Mr.' Samuel and John Kug- gles, antJ Mr. Nathan W^ilson. The most of these planters were from Roxbury in Massachusetts. Some of tlumi moved on to the lands be- fore the grant was made. At the session in May, 1713, the inhabitants were incorporated with town ]>rivileges. The name was changed from Mashamotjtiet to Pom fret. Pomfret is bounded n. by AVoodstock and Thompson, e. by the (^uintiebaug, separating it from Killingly, s. by Brooklyn and Ilamp- ton, and w. by Ashford. Its length from east to west is about seven miles, and its breadth about five. It is divided into two societies or parishes, Pomfret and Abington. The surface of the township is un- even, and diversified by hills and vales. The lands, though somewhat stony, are rich and jjroduclive. The soil is deep, strong and fertile, and admirably adapted to grazing. Butter, cheese and pork are ^tlie staple productions of the town. There is an extensive cotton factory at Pomfretville, a little village on the Quinnebaug, at the northeastern corner of the town. 438 P O M V a K T . South view of (he Fricnda' Meeting lluuac, Vomfret. The above is a south view of the Friends' meeting house, situated upwards of a mile south of the central part of the town, a little off the main, and on a cross road. It is encircled by forest trees, within the edge of which it is situated, and has an air of seclusion from the world ; both the situation and form of the building are novel in their appear- ance. The two doors, in a kind of porch seen in front of the building, are the entrances into the meeting house, the men taking one, and the women the other. Tiie house inside is partly divided by a partition, the men occupying one part of the house, and the women the other. There are four otiier houses of worship in the town, 2 Congregational, 1 Baptist, and 1 EjMscopal. The most populous ]v,irt of the township is in the vicinity of (lie Kapiisi tdiurcli, which is 7 miles iiom Brooklyn, 40 from llarttbrd, 30 li(MU Providence, i27 from INorwich, and (iO from Boston. There are o post o/hces in this town, one in the central part of the town, one in Abington, and one about 3 miles s. e. of the Con- gregational church in PomAet, in a place called Pomjrct Landing. This' last place is said to have derived its name from the circumstance, that in ancient times a tavern used to be kept here, atvvhich young men from Woodstock, Piovidence, and other places, used to stop, or land^ and in some instances remain two or three days, carousing, &lc. The following is a representation of the entrance of the celebrated "Wolf Den," rendered so famous for the exploit of Gen. Putnam. It is in llie society of Abington, about two miles southwest from tlio Congregational church. The following is from Gen. Humphreys' Life of Putnam. "In the year 1739, lie [Gen. Putnam,] removed from Salem to Pomfret, an inland fertile town in ConnecliciU, Ibriy miles east of Hartford: having- here purchased a considerable tract of land, he applied himself successfully toagiiculture. " The first years on a new farm, are not however exempt from disasters and disap- pointments, which can only be remedied by stubborn and patient industry. Our farm- P O M F R E T . 439 rntnaiiis H'olf JJcn, romfret. er, sufliciently occupied in building an house and barn, ffUing woods, making fences, sowinf^ t^iain, |ilautiii;^M)rcli;irds and lakinj,' caic ol' his slock, had to encounter, in turn, the cahiniities occasioned by a drought in suniiner, bkisl in harvest, loss of cattle in winter, and the dcst)laiiun of his sheep-fold by wolves. Jn one night he had seventy fine sheep and goats killed, bcsitles many lambs and kids wounded. Tliis havoc was Committed by a she wolf, which with her annual whelps, had for several years infested the vicinity. The young were commonly de^trclyed by the vigilance of the hunters, but the old one was too sagacious to come within reach of gun shot; upon being closely pursued she would generally fly to the western woods, and return the ne."tl winter wiih another Inter of whelps.