Connecticut Historical Collections

" He was ectuciiteJ al Yale College, ami tool: the dejjree of bachelor of arts in 17x;0, before he was seventeen years of age. If is uncommon genius discovered itself early, and while he was yet a boy he read Locke on the human understanding with a keen relish. Thougii he look much pleasure in examinmg the kingdom of nature, yet moral and theological researches yielded him the liighcsi satislaction. He lived al college near two years after taking his first degree, jireparing himself for the office of a minister of the gospel. In 1722 he went to New York, at the request of a small society of iMrglish Presbyterians, and preached a number of months. In 1724 he was appointed a tutor in Yale College, and he continued in that office, till he was invited in 172G topreacli in Northampton, Massachusetts. Here he was ordained as colleague with his grandfather, the Rev. Mr. Stoddard, February 15, 1727. In 1735 his benevo- lent labors were attended with uncommon success; a general impiession was made upon the minds of his people by the truths which he proclaimed ; and the church was much enlarged. He continued in this j^ace more than twenty three years, till he was dismissed in 1750." " In August, 1751, he succeeded the Rev. Mr. Sergeant as missionary to the Ilousa- tonnoc Indians at Stockbridge, in Berkshire county, Massachusetts. Here he con- tinued six years, preaching to the Indians and the white peoj)le; and as he found much leisure, he prosecuted his theological and metaphysical studies, and produced works JCAST ^V1NDS0R. 81 which rendered his name famous thron;j;hont Europe. In January, 1758, he relnr- tantly accepted llie ollice of pres-ideiit ul'ttie colK-ge in New Jersey, as successor ol'his son-in-law, ihe Rev. Mr. IJurr; but lie had not eniered lully upoii the dulies ol' llii.s slalion, bel'ore llie prevalence ul Ihe sukiII pox iiuluced him to be inoculated, and this disease was the cause oT his death, AJarch "J-i, 17r>8, in the fil'ty fiph year ol' his age."* "The (■ollowintf is a catalogue ol Ins pubiicaiiuns : a sermon prcacheil at Boston on I Cor. i. 29, 30, 1731; a sertnon preached at JXortliampiou on Matt xvi. 17, 1734; a narrative of the work of God in the conversion ol many hundicds ol suuls in INorth- ampton, 173(J; five discourses on justilicatiun by faith alone, pressing: into the kingdom of God, Ruth's resolution, the justice of God in the dainnaliuii ol sinneis, and the excellency of Jesus Christ, 173H; sinners in the hands of an angry Gotl, a sermon preached at Enfield, 1711; a sermon on the distin^uishiiif,'- marks uf a work of the Spirit of God, 1711; tliom;hts on the revival ol religion, 171-J; a sermon at tlie ordi- nation of the reverend Robert Abercrombie, 1711 ; at the instalment of the reverend Samuel Biiell, 171ti; a treatise on religions alleclions, 17Ui; an attempt to promote agreement in prayer for the revival of religion, 1710; life of the reverend David Brainerd, 171'.l ; an iiujuiry into the ipialilicaiiuns for full communion in the chuieli, 17-11); a reply to the revcieml Solomon Willianjs' answer to the iinjniry, I7j-; a ser- mon [ueached at Newailv, 17j"2; an inquiry into the modern prevailing notions ol that Ireedom of will which is supposed to be essi-nlial to moial agency, iS:c., 17iJl; the gr( at doctrine of oiiginal sin delended, 17jM. Since his death the lollowing works have been published from his manuscripts ; eighteen sermcms, with his life, written by the reverend Dr. Hoi)kins, l7(ij ; the history of redemption, 1771; on llie naliiie ol true virtue, 116S; (.iod's last' end in the eivMlion ; thii ty t hi c sennons ; twenty sermons, 178l.»; miscellaneous obseivaliuiib, 17D3 ; miscellaneous lemarks, 17'.H'>." Ltt^jw-i^i- i'V/fA'i' iSlcainhont. John Fitch was a native of llils town. To this individual belongs the honor of havini;- constructed the fiist stetitnboat in this country. Although this honor has so generally been ascribed to Robert Fulton, yet it is a well known fact, that twenty years before the gretit experi- ment of Fulton and Livingston on the Hudson, a steamboat was con- structed and put in operatit)n in Philadelphia, under the sole direction of a then obscure and still almost unknown individutil. This person was John Fitch. He was born in the south part of East Windsor, near the East Hartford line, on what is now called the old road. He was apprenticed as a watch and clock maker, to IMr. Cheney, who car- ried on the business in the eastern part of East Haitford, now Man- chester. He married in early life and had two children ; such how- ever was the temper and unhappy disposition of his wife, that he left her, and went to New l3runswick, (N. J.) where he set up the busi- ness of clock making, engraving, and repairing muskets, before the Allen's Biographical Dictionary, 11 82 K A S T W 1 N l» S U II . devolution. When New Jersey was overrun by tlie Brltisli troops', Mr. Fitch removed into the interior of Pennsylvania, where lie eni- })loye(l liinisellin re[)uiring arms lor the Continental army. In the year \lSi>, iMr. Filch conceived the pioject of propelling a vessel !)y the A^rcc of condensed vapor. " When the idea occurred to him, as he himself tells us, he did not know there was such a thing as a steam engine in existence." In 178S he obtained a patent for the application of steam to navigation, lly unwearied exertion he succeed- ed in interesting about twenty persons in his plan, and inducing them to take shares of 50 dollars each. A boat was built in 1787. A mile was measured off in Frant or ^Vater street, and the boat was found to go at the rate of eight mites an hour. It afterwaids went eighty miles in a day. The Governor and Council of Pennsylvania were so much gratifred with the experiuient, that they |)resenlc(l them with a superb silk Hag. 7\bout this linie the company sent Mr. Fitch to France, at at the iLMpiest ol Mr. \ ail, our Cuiisui at l/Orieni, who was one of thu company, and wished to introduce the invention into I'^rance. IJeing in the mjdst of r(;volutions in that country, and as no men could be ob- taineil for the purpose of building boats, i\lr. I'^itch returned. " Mr. Vail afl(.'r\vards snijcctcd to the examination of jMr. Fitltoii, when in France, the papers and designs of the steamboat appeitaining to the company." in 1790, he made an alteration in his boat and she pcr- lormed tolerably well, but still it required further alterations. Mr. Fitch however was not able to obtain the necessary means in order to jjerfect his invention. The conviction of Fitch respecting the power of steam continued firm. In June, 1792, he addressed a letter to Mr. Rittenbouse, one of the share-holders ; speaking of steam power, he said : "This, sir, will be the mode of crossing the Atlantic in time, whether I shall bring it to perfection or not lie complains of Ins poverty, and to raise funds, he ur^es Mr. Rittcnliousc lo l)ii} his land in Kentucky, that bo might hav(; llii- liont)r of cnaMiiig him to cdiiiijlcle the great under- taking." U|)on one oi'casion he called u|)()n a smith who had worked Ujjon his boat, and al'ier ilwelling for some time u))on his favorite topic, concluded with these words : " Well gentlemen, although I shall hot live to see the time, you will, when steanditxits will be j)referix'd to all other means of conveyance, and especially I'or jjassengers, and they will be particularly useful in the navigation of the river Mississippi." He retired, when a person present observed, in a tone of deep sympa- thy, " l*oor fellow, what a pitij it is he is crazy.'" " The distress of n)ind and mortification he sullbred from the failure of his protracted ex- ertions and bis poverty were too much for him, and to drown his re- flections, he had recourse to the comnion but ileceptive renijedy, strong driidc, in which he indulged to excess, anil retiring to Pittsburg, he ended bis days by plunging into the Alleghany."* lie bad filled sev- eral small MS. books with personal and general narrative, more or less connected with his great scheme, and which he bequeathed to tlie Phil- arlelphia L/ibrary, with the proviso that they were to remain closed for Aineiiciin Ed. Edinburgh Encyclopedia. K N F 1 1: L n , 83 thirty years. Tlie books were opened in due time, and were found lo contain a ininuie account of liis perplexities and disappointments. " Of tlie boldness of his conceptions," (says a writer in the Mechanics' INlaj;- azine Jan. ld;3(),) " and'^he [jcrseverance with which he followed it up, there can be but one opinion ; and had fortune attended his eiforts, and bis means been equal to the acconiijlishnieni of bis designs, there can be no doubt that he would now hold undisputed the honor of hav- ing given to the country this most noble and useful invention." The accompanying engraving conveys a correct idea of IMr. t'itcb's boat as originally planned ; but in the one actually constiucied, he so far modi- fied this |)lan as to place the paddles ol' the boat astern. Oliver fVoIcott, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was the son of Gov. Roger Wolcott, who resided in this town. J le was born Nov. 26, 1726, and died at Litchfielil in 1797. (See account of Litchfield.) Erastus IVolcott, brother of, the preceding, was born about the year 1723. Although a plain, laboring farmer, with inconsideraliie advanta- ges as to education, he by the force of his native taleius, acquired great influence in public aii'airs. lie was appointed a brigadier general in 1777^ and went on an ex|)edition to Peekskill. lie was a member of Congress and Judge of the Supreme Court. He died in 179-3. The following inscription is from a monument in the ancient burying grouod, upwards of a mile north of the present Congregational church ; the first meeting bouse erected in East Windsor, was on the north side of this yard.