Connecticut Historical Collections

'\0live7- Ellsworth, lA,. D., Chief Justice of the United Stales, wag born 29lh of April, 1715, and was graduated at New .Jersey college in 17GG. Devoting himself to tlni practice of l.uv, he soon rose h) the ex- traordinary energy of his mind and force of his elo(jucnci\ to di^iin- guished eminence. In 1777 he was elected a delegate to tht^ continen- tal congress, and in 1781 a])poinied u judge of the superior com t of Coimecticnt. He held a seat in the convention which formed the con- stitution of the Ignited Stales, and was one of the most conspicuous and useful in that assembly, illustrious for learning, talents, and jjatriotism. On the organization of the federal government in 1789, he was elected a meml)er of the senate, and continued in the olHce till he was appointed in 179G, chief judge of the supreme court of the United States. After discharging the duties of that station with great credit to his legal sci- ence, integrity, and eloquence, for near four years, he was a[)poinied, to- wards the close of 1799, envoy extraordinary to France. The decline of his health disqualifying him for the duties of his oHice as judge, he resigned it toward the end of the year 1600. After his return to Con- necticut, he was again elected into the council of that state, and ap- pointed chief justice of the supreme court. lie liowever declined the latter ofBce, and soon after died, November 2Gth, 1S07, greatly legret- ted, as in his life he had been admired for his extraordinary endowuumts, his accomplishments as an advocate, his integrity as a judge, his patri- 17 130 w I N n s o u , otism as a legislator and ambassador, and iiis exemplariness as a Chris- tian. c Town- Itaiise o 00 Grant Capt. ' lliW^Ty mile i Palezado T.Parsom A r/iiiiijjs < H W.Craylortl MTClark s Marshel BuPi'i/i.y pldice 1 1 2 1 l.\ ■i7 ■'•en d Rnulrt. CO Plan of the ancient Falisado Plot in JVlndsor. The above plan was copied from a larger one in the ancient records of the town of Windsor. The book from which it is taken, entitled " A book of Townc fVaijes in Hindsor,^' appears to have been first written in 1054. The present first Congregational clinrch in Windsor, (a view of which is given at ))age 124,) is situated, it is believed, near the sonlheast corner of the ioi marked 1). WiNon. Some remains oi' the ditch, which, it is believed, was L'\ca\ ateti eiilside of the palisadoes, is still visible, running along near the siunmit ot llie hill which lorms the nortli bank of the \Viiidsor or Fannington river, and passing within a few feet of the church. The fullowing is extracted fiom the recoi'd mentioned above. " 26lli. To return again to the Common wayes from the ferry at the rivulet, it ascends up upon the side of tlie bank to the house that was Capt. Mason's, and bounds west by the fence that was John Strong's — on the top of the bank, and east by Samuel MarshaH's at the foot of the bank, and then turns to the gate, and is to be three rods in breadth be- tvvixts John Strong's garden on the south, and Henry Clark's on the north. And seeing 1 am intered into the pallasadow, I will speak a little of the original of it : about 1G37 years, when the English had war with the Pequot Indians ; our inhabitants on Sandy bank gathered them- selves nearer toirether from their remote dwelling'^, to provide for their safety, set upon forty fying, and uitli palazado, wliich some particular Lord's Lempr Uiiiversal Bio-uph VV 1 N U S O 11 131 men resigned up out of tlieir propeilics for that end, and was laid out into small parcells, to build upon ; some 4 rods in breadth, some five, six, seven, some eight — it was set out after this manner: {llcrc in the record the foregoing j)lan is inserted.) Tliese building places were at first laid out of one length, that was sixteen rods, but difler as afores'! Also on all sides within the outmost fence, there was left two rods in breadth for a common way, to go round within side the Palazado, and when divers men left their places and returned to their lotts for their conveniences, some that staid, (by consent of the town,) enlarged their gardens. Soine had '2, some 3, some 4 plats to their propriety, with the use of the two rods in breadth round the outside, every one according to his breadth, only with this reserve concerning the two rods, that if in future time there be need of former fortification, to be rej)aired, that then each man should resign up the two afores'? two Rods for a way onley for common use. — Note, that in the west corner of the afores'' plott there is reserved for a conmnon Burying Ground, one particular par- cel that is six rods in breadth, all the length on one side, and one end lake it together, it is eight rod in breadth, and eighteen in length." " There goeth out of the palazado towards northwest a highway two rods wide ; when past the house ])lotts it is larger. Also from the Palazado, runs a way north easterly, called the common street, and is to be four rods wide. The following are extracts from ancient newspapers. We liear tVom Poquminuck, a pnrisli iu the wcsiern part of Windsor, tliat about lialt' an acre of ilic iurface of llie ^mouiuI llieie has lately sunk or fallen tu a consid- erable depth behiw the cuninion surface or level; not unlike to what is frequently oc- casioned by earihquakes, ihoii^li attended uiih no eruptions, either of water or fire; for which event mi naiutal caute has as yet been assigned. And it is more unaccount- able, as the [,'roi)nd tliat is sunk was not coruii,Mious to, or borderinp upon any precipice or decliviiv, nor adjacent to luiy colleoiinn of water that should occasion it lu sink. — ( "c;i iHctiL lit Joii I lull, .lu nc md' 1770. Hartford, Feb. 21th, 17G7. One night last week, a panllier having killed nine sheep in a yaid at Wirutsor, tlie owner of the sheep, one Mr. Phelps, the next morning followed the panther by his track into a thicket about half a mile froui his house, and sliot him. He was brought to this town, and the bounty of live pounds allowed by law, was paid for his head. — Neio Lundun (iazttle, No. 172. The following singular entry appears in the ancient records of the town of Windsor. Aug. llth, It;')9 — Mr. John Drake, Senr. dyed accidentally, as he was d living a cart loaded with corn to carry from his house to his son Jacob's. The cattle being two oxen and his mare, in the highway against John Gritlin's, something scared the cattle, and they set a running, and he laboring to stop them, by taking hold on the mare, was thrown upon his face, and itie cart wheele v/ent over him, and broke one of his legs, and bruised his body so that he was taken up dead ; being carried into his daughter's house, had life come again, but dyed in a short time, and was buried on the 18th day of August ; 59. 132 AV 1 N n b () It . The following inscriptions are froni monurnenls in the buryinpLjro unci back of the first Con^n-ej^iitlonal church, the first of uhicii is believed to be the oldest inscrii)iion on any tnonunient in this state. llucin; LYi.Tii Ei'iiiMi.M IIviT, fOMKTiMr-K Tk.k.iiki; to yk ciivi!(.ii or AVind^ou, who DYED SLPTKMUEn -llll, l(j-14. AVilO WIIKS Iir.E f.lVf-D WKC DliRW OVI! VITALl. IIRKaTII, "VVnO WIIKN IIKK DYKU IIIB UVI.NG WAS OVK DHAI'II, "Who Was ye stay of state, ye cin'iiLiii;.s siArt', . Alas, the ti.mes i'oiuud an ei'itai'H. TIr.uE VNiiF.ii t.Yirrii Tiir. iicjdy oe IIi:ni!y Woi.c ii;i IvuiM/M TMx, WHO ijvi.u VkIIOmi uaY of AIav, KTI.MK.S A ^L^ \ saiviis n;:. The above is a representation of the nionumeiit of the first Henry Wolcott, and a copy of the yjscripiion on iis side. The nionunient was made by his son-in-law, Matthew Grisw(;ld, ancestor of the Griswold family in l^yme. He was a stone-cutter by trade, previous to his leav- ini: Eniiland.* Here 13'etli llie body of ihc Hon. Roi,'er Wolcott, Esq. of Windsor, who for several years \v;is Governor of the Cohjiiy of Conneciicut, died May I7ih, , < yEiniis 81», ^^""" |.SaliU..sl7G7 Eartli's lii^jhest sl;ition ends in " flere he lie^" And "dust lo duil" concludeb lier noblest sm-r. To the Mieiiioi V of Olifci i:iliivi'ith, LL. D., nii a.ssisiaiit in the (.'oiincil, and a judi^c of llie Supei-U)t Couil of the Stale of Conneciicnt. A nieinber of the Convention whicli foiined, and of the Slate Convention ol Conneciicut, whieh adopted the Cun- siituiioii of llie U. Stales. — Si-nalor and Chief Justice of the United Stales; one of the Envoys e.xtraordiriary ami JNlinisters Plenipoientiary, who made the convenlion of 1800 between the United States and the French Repiitilic. Arniable and exemplary in all the relations of the doineslic, social and christian chaiacler. Pre-eminently useful in all the otliees he sustained, whose great talents under ihe guidance id' inflexi- ble integiity, consnmniute wisdom, and enlightened zeal, pla(7ed hini among the first of the illustrious statesmen who achieved the independence, and established the inde- pendence of the Aineiicjn Republic.— Born at Windsor April 2'Jih, 1715, and died Nov. 2G, 1807. MSS. iu possessioii of Judge Gnswold, of Lyi \S6 NEW HAVEN COUNTY.