Connecticut Historical Collections

morning when he awoke, he found the bark rolled up so closely that it was with some difficuhy he could extricate himself. It is also related, that one of the first settlers, by the name of ]3rown, was so straitened in his circumstances, that he sold one of his children (a son) to one of his neighbors, for a barrel of pork, in order to obtain something for the rest of his children to subsist on. Some of the most respectable in- habitants of the town are the descendants of this child. Mr. Trumbull, the first minister of the town, was ordained at the house of Deacon Hickox, about two miles eastward of the churches. The widow Judd, now fl837j living, at the age of almost 100 years, was baptized by Mr. Trumbull, a few days after his ordination, being the first child bap- tized in the place. rth view of t/tt Tiuinbnil llu iiteriown. The above is a representation of the house where John Trumbull, Esq. the celebrated author of M'Tingal, was horn. This house is now owned by Mr. Pitcher, and is about half a mile below the Congrega- tional church, on the east side of the Waierbury road. A large elm is seen in the distance. The business [)art of the town was formerly near this spot. The churches were first erected near the burying ground. Johu Trumbull, ihe auiliur, was ilie son o(;\ cliTgymnn ofihesame nanu-, and born April 21th, HdU. Ho was an only sun, and ol'a dolicale andsiclJv constilutiun. lie received llie strictest care from his mother, who \v;!^ n woman ol super!. n education for those of her day ; yoiiii;^ Trumbiill f<ave eailv mrinifrsiatidiis of liis |.oelical turn. He was ctlucated at Yale College. In 1771, he with his liiend Dr. afterwards Tresi- dent Dvs^ight, were chosen tutors. In 177;}, lie was admitted tolhe bar in f Vmnecticut, but soon removed Ins residence to Hoston, where he continued his studies in the oflicc of John Adams, afterwards President. Tlie Hevolnlumary .'-tru^'gle wa« then com- mencing, and Trumbull euteied with waimili into the controversy. He relumed to' Conneetieul, and be.tran praclice at ilie bar in New Haven, in 1771. In 1775, he wrote the first part of his M'Fiiiiral, which was immeaiaiely publislied at Philadel- phia, where Congress wa.s then silling. He removed to Hartford in 17H1, wheie he hxed his residence. The poem M'Fingal was completed and published in Hartford, in 1782. In 1801, he was appointed judge of thesuperior eoiut nf Cuiinecticut, which o/Fice he held till 1819. In 18i25, he removed to Detroit, to leside with his daughter, wliere he dLed in 18:J1. '' iVl'Fingal is a burlesque poem, directed against the enemies of American liberty, and holding lip to particular scorn and contempt, the tone-, and the British odicers, naval, military, and civil, in America. It is a merciless satire thiuughotit : Avhatever \V 1 N C U K S T E n. 601 it touches, it transforms; kings, ministers, lords, Lisliops, generals, judges, admirals, all take their turn, and become in llie liglit or associations in which they are exliibiled, allerlately the objects ul'our merriment, hatred, ui scorn. So wedded is the author to his vein of satire, that even M'Fmga), the Iriend of iingiand, and the champion of the tories, is made llie undisguised scolfer of both them and their cause. The ttorv of M'Fingal is this: tlie liero, a Scotcliman anti justice of tlie peace m a town near Ijos- ton, and who had two gifli by virtue of his birth, '• rebellion and the second sight," goes to a town meeting, where he and one Ilonorius make speeches at each other through two whole cautus. At the end of the second canto, the town meeting breaks up tuinultuously; and the people gather round a liberty pule, erected by the mob. Here M'l-'ingal makes a virulent speech of near two hundred lines, at the end of which lie is pursued, and brought back to the liberty pole, where the constable is swung aloll, and M'i-'ingal tarred and feathered. iM'L'ingal is set at liberty ; he goes liome, and at night makes a bjieech to some of .his toiy liicnds in his cellar, extending through the rest of the poem, leaving only room t(j icll that the mob bioke olf his ad- dress in the middle by assaulting the house, and ftlTingal escaped to Boston. These are all the incidents, and this the whole story of a poem of foui cantos, and consisting of some thousands of lines."* The following inscriptioti is copitBtl front a iiiominient in the yard a little distance north of the TriinihuU hotise. Sacred to the memory of the Rev. John Trumbidi, A. M. Senior Pastor of the church o( Christ in Wcstbury; and one of the l-'cllows uf the corporation of Yale College, who died Deer. i:ith, ITfcl?, in the seventy thud year of his age, and the Ibrty eighth of his ministry. If distinguished learning, imlusliy and abilities; the most uii- alfected piety ol heait; the lirmesi atlachiucni to the doctrines of the gospel ; the most unblemished moral character; a studious attention and friendship to the people of his cliarge; the most cheerful hos|iiialily to his liiends; and ardent charily to the poor; which rendered him respectable in lile, and in a firm reliance on the merits of the Re- deemer, raise(l his niin(l above the fear uf Death; can render the memory of the de- ceased dear to the siiivivors, and ail'oid a wi)iiii\- c.v:iin|ile to posterity; Go reader ami imitate his virtues! Kcliuld the u])nght man I His end is Peace. WINCHESTER. This township was laid out into distinct lots in 1758. It helonged to patentees in Hartford, was incorporated as a town in 1771, and the yeivr alter the Kev. Joshini Knapp was oniained the fust tninister. Wnichester is bounded n. by Colebrook, w, by JNorfolk and (Joshen, E. by Barkhainsted, aiul s. by Torritigton. It is G miles in length, antl more than 5 in breadth. "The townshij) is situated in the evergreen district of the state," and is hilly and mountainous. Its geological char- acter is primitive, the rocks and stones consisting of granite, mica slate, and other primitive formations ; the soil is a hard, coarse, gravelly loam. The lands adbrd very good grazing, and the making of butter and clieese constitutes the principal agricultural interest in the town. There are 4 houses of worship, r.i Congregational, 1 JMethodist, and 1 Universalist. The borough of Clifton, (formerly >Vinsted, West village,) in the town of Winchester, was incorporated in 1832. It is a nourishing vil- lage, consisting of about (JO or 70 dwelling houses, and 4 mercantile stores. The village is principally built in a narrow valley, on the banks of a mill stream, called Wad river, which is a tributary of Farmington river. The valley at this i)Iace is but barely of sufficient width to ad- mit of a street, with buildings on each side, the ground rising itninedi- ♦ ivettell's Specimens of American Puetry, vtd. 1. 502 Wl N C n E 3 T K K, '.::^iU''' f^^^m''^A^^i:0^] Surl/i citw of (.'lij'tun, li'inchc-ttr. ately on every direction. \Vest\\ar(I of the luiiiii :^tl•eet in tiie village, a road i)asses up a stet'p hill for nearly a quarter of a mile, where, upon an elevated plain, is an interesting lake or pond, which is one of the largest bodies of water in tlie state, being 3^ miles in length and three fouilhs of a mile in breadth. The outlet of this lake presents a novel scene ; it consists of a small stream, comi)ressed within a narrow clian- nel, and literally tossed from rock to I'ock till it unites with Mad river. IMost of the manufacturing establishments in the village are situated on this outlet, upon which there are some of the best natural sites for hy- draulic works in the slate. In this village are four large sythe facto- ries, 1 machine shop, and 5 forges. The ore to supply these forges is brought from Canaan, kmit, and SalisUiu'y. There are two churches in the village; 1 for iMethodist.s ami I for Univer.salists. Tlie IMetho- dist church is the buikling seen in the central ])art of tlie engraving, with a spire. The Congregational church, in the ceiural part of the town, is situated about 4 miles southwest of the village. The following shows the appearance of Winsted, (or the East village,) as seen from a sandy bluir, directly south of the village. In this place is an extensive clock factory, 1 axe factory, owned by an incorporated company, and one large woolen factor)-, and an iron Ibundery. The Congregational church is seen in the centra! part of the engraving, dis- tant from the iMethodist church in Clifton aboul three fourths of a mile. The clock ami axe factoi'ies are situated north of the church, in that part of the village called JVIiitutgvillc ; the clock factory is just seen in the distance, near tlu; church; the post office is in this village. "Win- sted is 20 miles from ilartfbrd, d9 froui New Haven, 17 from Litch- field, 9 from AVolcottville, and G from IJitclicocksville. Winchester (as has been stated) lies within the "evergreen district," so named from the forests of hemlock and other everirrecn trees with \V O U ]) B U 11 V 503 ^^»^ StSS£ac£SaKnu South view of ft'instcd, (Vinchcsttr. which it abounds. Thesti " Green Woods" present one of the most impressive scenes which can be found in an American forest. The branches of the trees are thickly covered with a deep green foliage, closely interwoven over head, nearly excluding the light of the sun. The scene forcibly reminds the contemplative traveler of the words of Thomson, in liis celebrated hynjii : "Oh, talk of IJiui in sulilary ^-loonis! AVliere, o'er tlic Juclc the scarcely waving' pine Fills llie brown shade with a rLli''iou.'i au u." AVOODniMlY, "TiiK Legislature, in 1(J72, granted liberty to I\lr. Sherman, IMr. Win. Curtiss, and their associates, to make a jilantation at Pomperaug. Such a number of sclllements had been made there in about two years, that the AsstMubly in May, 1G7J, enacted that it should be a town by the name of AVoodbury."