Connecticut Historical Collections

Thompson was a I'avorile residenre ofilie Nipniiick Indians. Quinua- iiA'ifci, one of their chiefs, had a Sj)leruiid \\i;j;uam near where the present Congrei^alional cluHch now stands ; iheir strong hold, however, was on Fort hill, about three fourths of a mile easterly ; the foundations of their fortress can now be traced. The adjoining forests, now covered with ancient trees, still display their corn fields, in rows and hills, as re- gular as the best farmer would now have them. The neighboring streams and |)onds afforded theri;i great supplies of fish. The Char- gogtragogirmanchognggoiTg Pond, situaicti partly in this town, and partly in Webster, Mass. is said to be sixty miles in circumference, if- follovved in all its inilentations. It is studded with beautiful islands, and was considered the paradise of the iMpmurks ami their women. There lisli and game were in aliimdaiuH\ and ihcrr, tiny hclleveil, were the enchanted islands and l'll)siau [''ielils, the abode of departed suuls, and the residence of the Great Spirit. Tliom[)son was made a society, for ecclesiastical purposes, by the General Assembly, in their session in May, 17'2S. It was called Thompson parish, being then a part of the town of KlUlngly. The first sermon ever preached in the place was by a ]\Ir. Wales, on the first Sunday in August of that year. On Feb. 25tb, 1730, a church consisting of 27 members was organized, and on the same day the Rev. Marston Cab(jt, from Salem, JNlass. was ordained their first minis- ter. The attending cler<;y on this occasion were Mr. Coil from Plain- field, Mr. Throope of Woodstock, Mr. Fisk of Killingly, Mr. Hale of Ashford, and Mr. Williams of Pomfret. "Mr. Cabot was a man of great piety, and of most amiable and engaging manners, and a descen- dant of the famous Sebastian Cabot. He died in the midst of his labors, in his pulpit, from a fit, in 1755.^' The next minister was the Uev. Noadiah Russell, from ]Middletown, who was ordained Nov. 19th, 1757. The clergymen present were V O L U N T 0 W N . WINDHAM. 443 Mr. Putnam of Pomfret, IMr. Russell's father from Midclletown, his brother from Windsor, and Air. Gleason from Dudley. Mr. Russell also died in a fit of aploplexy, at iMendon, on a journey for his health, in October, 1795. The Rev. Daniel Dow, the present minister, suc- ceeded Mr. Russell, and was ordained in April, 1796 ; making but three ministers in 107 years. VOL UN TOWN. VoLUNTOWN was incorporated in 1719. The greater part of the tract now cou)prising the town, was granted in 1G9G to the vuluiitters in the Narragansett war, from which circumstance the town derives its name. " From the first seitlement of the colony," says Dr. Trum- bull, " it had been customary to make grants of lands to oflicers, sol- diers and others, who had been especially serviceable to the colony. Grants had been made to Major INIason, to iiis ofiicers and soldiers in the Pequot war. This encouraged the volunteers, who had j)erform- ed such signal feats in the Narragansett war, to make application to the Assembly for the grant of a new township, as an acknowledgment of their services." Voluntown is boimded n. by Sterling and Plainfield, e. by Rhode Island, s. by North Sionington, and w. by Griswold. It is about 9 miles in length, and averages more than 4 in breadth. The surface is generally diversified by hills and valleys, but there are some sections of pine plains which are level. > The prevailing character of the soil is that of a light, sandy and gravelly loam. There are 2 houses of wor- ship in the town, 1 Congregational and 1 Baptist. A Congregational church stands on the dividing line between ibis town and Sterling, and is called the " Line JMf.etimr IJousc." In the western part of the town, there are 1 woolen and 2 cotton factories. The central part of the town is about 14 miles from Norwich. ^V 1 N D H A M . In February, 1675, Joshua, son of Uncas, the Mohegan sachem, by his last will, gave unto Capt. John Mason, James Fitch, and fourteen others, commonly called Joshua's legatees, the tract containing the town of \Vininiam, which originally included the present towns of ]\lansfield and Canterbury. In May, 1636, the main street in Wind- ham was laid out, and fourteen lots for the legatees were surveyed. Other roads were made, lots sui'veyed, and purchases made for settle- Eueut ill the two following years. " Lieut. JuJni Catts* a pious puri- * His monument is still remaining in Uie bnrying ground south of ll)eVillage : the following is a copy of the inscription, viz. "In memory of Mr. John Gates. He was a gentleman born in England, ami the fust setleljer in the Town of Windham. By Ills last Will and Testament, he gave a generous Legacy to ye first church of Chrisc 444 W I N I) H A ^5 tan, who served in the wars in England, holding his commission under Cromwell, when Charles II. came to the throne, (led to this country for safety. He landed first in Virginia, where he procwred a negro servant to attend him. But when advertisements and pursuers were spread through this country, to appreiiend the adherents of the Protec- tor, he left Virginia, came to New York, and from thence to Norwich. Still feeling that he should he securer in a more retired place, he came to the new plantation, dug the first cellar, and with his servant, raised in Windham the first English iiahiiaiion, in the spring of l(jS9. The settlers, rapidly increasing, petitioned the (jeneral Court, and obtained a grant of town privileges in ^lay, 169:2. "f It was made a county town in May, 1725 ; the grand list in 17G8 was about £30,000, and the number of mhahiianis 3,500, Kd.^lirn cicw uf llindhain. The present town of AVindliam is buuiided iiorili by the towns of Hampton, Chaplin and iMansfield, cast l)y CantL-rhury, south by Frank- lin and Lisbon, and west by Et-banou and Columbia. The lowuship has a mean length from east to west of about eight miles, with a me- dium breadth of nearly six miles. The sinface of the town is gen- erally hilly, particularly the eabtern part, comprising the parish of Scot- land. The soil in the western ))art, bordering on the Slietucket. is rather light and dry ; there is, however, a considerable tract of fertile land in this section of the town. The above is a view of the central part of the ancient village of Windham. The houses are more clustcM'ed together than in most New England villages which were built at the same period, and it has been in Windham, in plate, and a generous Legacy in Land I'm- ye support of ye Poor, and another Legacy for ye ^upijort oi' ye School in said 'Town for ever, lie died in Wiudham, July ye IGih, A. D. 1097." Jo.siah Mannino. t Mr. Waterman's Ccn'.ury Seiino!!. WIND II AM. -115 remarked by travelers, that Windham, in its general appearance, very much resembles an English village. The Congregational church is seen nearly ii\ the center of the engraving. Dr. Dwight, in the third volume of his travels, in noticing this building, j)leasantly remarks, " that the spot where it is posited, bears not a little resemblance to a pound ; and it appears as if those who pitched upon it, intended to shut the church out of the town, and the inhabitants out of the church." Wind- ham village is 30 miles east of Hartford, 11 from Norwich city, and 44 west of Providence. Since the removal of the seat of justice for the county to Brooklyn, and the establishtnent of the (lourisbing village of Willifuantic, on the western border of the town, the ancient village of Windham has souiewhat declined. It is said that there were more buildings in 'Windliam village previous to the Revolution, than there has been at any time since. There are now in the jjlace six mercantile stores, and about GO d\\-elling houses. There are two houses of wor- ship, one Congregational and one Episcopal. There is one bank in the town. It is said there was originally a handsome square laid out in the cen- ter of the village. While some of the principal men were absent, and at a time when party spirit was prevailing, a vote of the town was ob- tained for selling ofF the principal part of the square for building lots, and it was accordingly used for that purpose. This is stated to be the cause of the singular situation of the church, and the clustered appear- ance of the vilhigo. The Rev. Samuel Whiting^was the first minister in Windham ; be was born in l(i70, and was the son of the Rev. John Whiting, minis- ter of Hartford. He received his early education from his father, and afterwards linished his education for the ministry under the direction of the Rev. James Fitch of Norwich, there being no college in Connecti- cut at that time. At the first town meeting in Windham, June 11th, lGl):i, it was voted to apply to i\lr. Whiting to carry ou the work of the ministry. Previous to this, those whose circumstances would admit, used to attend meeting at Norwich, the distance of twelve miles, in a rough and unsubdued road. " Tradition says, and from the records it ap- pears it may say correctly, that the first sermon Mr. Whiting preached at Windham, was-on the first day of the week, and the first day of the year, from the first chapter of the Bible, and from the first verse." In INIay, 1G93, as an inducement to tarry with them four years, they of- fered him £50 a year, an allotment through all the division lots, and to build him a house two stories high and 18 feet square. The land was laid out to hiui, and for the first year, instead of a house, they added XIO to his salary. In 1G9G, they built him a house; in 1G97, they gave him a call to ordination. In 1699, it was repeated, and 80 loads of wood added to his salary. In December, 1700, he was or- dained, and the first church was gathered. His salary was afterwards raised to £lOO, and his wood. In 1725, being on a visit to his friends, he was suddenly seized with the pleurisy, and died at the house of the Rev. Mr. Collins, of Enfield. He was the father of 13 children, 8 sons and 5 daughters. 446 \V 1 N U 11 A M