Holmes Family of Killygordon, Ireland

Robert & Delila Holmes

2007-11-11T12:03:00.004-05:00

The General Assembly opened the northwestern parts of Connecticut to settlement in the 1720s when it arranged to sell public lands. Soon, immigrants were attracted to the area to work as weavers at the carpet companies.

In those days, Tariffville was also known as Gaylordsville after an early mill owner. The use of protective tariffs to support the cost of American goods over imported European encouraged the production of a two-ply ingrain carpet, which competed with foreign mills and was more affordable. The waterpower provided by the Farmington River made the location ideal for post-Federalist industry and encouraged the establishment of other textile factories.

The influx of Scottish weavers and then Irish mill workers made Tariffville a bustling community with hotels, taverns, stores and churches and multiple rail lines. One of the earliest cemeteries abuts St. Bernard's Cemetery. Some state records refer to it as the Old Tariffville Cemetery and others call it the Non-Sectarian Cemetery. [See Old Tariffville Cemetery Posting.]

David, James and Robert Jr., the sons of Robert and Delila Holmes, were the first of our ancestors to settle in this area of Connecticut. On their 1840 petitions for naturalization, David, James and Robert, Jr. claimed to have immigrated to America in 1832. Their parents followed with sisters Jane and Eliza on 6 May 1835, arriving at Castle Garden, NY aboard the packet ship Saint Andrew and were headed toward Hartford, CT [perhaps to William].

Sometime between their arrival and the 1840 US Census, Robert and Delila took up residence in Tariffville (Simsbury) where Robert went to work at one of the mills as a carpet weaver. A document dated August 1849 gives us an indication of where their residence was located:

"... convey to our son Robert Holmes Jr., for the sum of $150.00, rights and title to a certain dwelling house in which we now live and the buildings contiguous and belonging thereto and the enclosure of land on which said dwelling house and buildings stand, situated in the village of Tariffville in said Simsbury in the rear of the row of the red buildings in said village reserving for ourselves the occupation and use of described premises so long as we both or either of us shall live." He signed with a "T" and she with an "X".

Robert "Robin" Holmes, described by his descendants as a "handsome old gentleman" who was "very powerful", was born in Ireland 1767 and died June 1856 in Simsbury, CT. Delila Holmes was born April 1782 in Ireland. Remembered as being "small in stature," it is said she loved to read and quote poetry to her grandchildren. She died 22 March 1867 in the home of son James at 83 Spoonville Rd., East Granby, CT. Their graves can be found in an old corner of St. Bernard's Catholic Cemetery. [NOTE: "Robin" is a pet form of Robert.]

All seven children of Robert and Delila were born in Ireland, probably Killygordon, between 1809 and 1826. Pictured below at the first Holmes Family Reunion at Congamond Lake in 1891 is [Front] Elizabeth Holmes-Pomeroy, [Seated] Jane & William Holmes and [Back] Mary & James Holmes and Jane Holmes-Burnett.

Unless otherwise indicated, the following events took place in the state of Connecticut:

WILLIAM HOLMES was born 12 Nov 1809 and died 28 Aug 1892 in Suffield. He married Mary E. McCleary 27 Jan 1830 in Urney Parish, Co. Tyrone, Ireland. Mary was born there about 1808 and died 23 Jun 1845 in Suffield.

William remarried to Jane Austin, the daughter of Thomas Austin and Parmelia Loomis, on 5 Mar 1846. Jane was born 28 Dec 1813 in Suffield and died there 28 Jan 1900.

The 1860 census shows William running a boarding house in Tariffville (referred to as the "Alms House" in his obituary). Almshouses were provided for town poor in 90 CT towns and some were in operation as late as 1906. Paupers maintained by the state were cared for in a private almshouse at Tariffville, which was commonly known as the "state almshouse."

Children of William and Mary: Rebecca S. Holmes, Robert H. Holmes, Elizabeth M. Holmes and John C. Holmes.
Children of William and Jane: William F. Holmes, Louise Holmes and Olivia Holmes.

DAVID HOLMES was born about 1809 and died about 1858 in Simsbury. He married Melinda Phelps, the daughter of Warren Phelps and Rachel Wright, 8 Feb 1835 in Simsbury. Melinda was born in Simsbury 14 Aug 1815 and died there 14 Aug 1840. Their marriage record reads: "David 2nd marr. Melinda Phelps, both of Simsbury, 8 February 1835, at the house of David Holmes, by Rev. Harvey Ball of Suffield." David remarried to Hester Brown on 22 May 1842. Hester was born about 1801 in Ireland and died in Simsbury 31 Mar 1895.

After David's death, Gamaliel Austin, the son-in-law of David's brother William, was appointed as guardian to Nancy J. Holmes.

Children of David and Melinda: Delilah M. Holmes and Nancy Jane Holmes
Child of David and Hester: David Holmes

JAMES HOLMES [pictured here] was born 12 Jul 1814 and died 4 Oct 1896 in East Granby. He married Mary McRoy, daughter of Thomas McRoy and Isabell McFadden, 24 Jul 1837 in East Granby. Mary died there 3 Nov 1903.

From East Granby, the evolution of a Connecticut Town: "Some who remained in Turkey Hills did acquire property either through inheritance or purchase. Irishman James Holmes purchased the house at 83 Spoonville Road where his mother died in 1867."

Their children: James Alexander Holmes, Isabella Emaline Holmes, Robert John Holmes, Margaret Elizabeth Holmes, Jane Louise Holmes, Thomas Henry Holmes, Samuel David Holmes, James Albert Holmes, Mary Ella Holmes and Alice Burnett Holmes.

ROBERT HOLMES JR. was born 4 Apr 1815 and died 13 Feb 1858 in East Granby. He married Eliza Ann Barrett, daughter of Henry Barrett and Sophia, 28 Mar 1839 in Simsbury. Eliza was born 14 Nov 1815 in CT and died in Simsbury 15 Apr 1891.

Robert worked as a tavern keeper, possibly for someone else. The tavern may have been on the main road, probably Rt. 189 ... there were several inns and taverns (and later a hotel) on that road. It was the path for cattle drovers near the Farmington Canal and later the railroad.

Their children: David H. Holmes, Ellen E. Holmes, Charles Robert Holmes and Cyrus E. Holmes.

REBECCA S. HOLMES was born about 1819 and died 16 Mar 1853 in Suffield. She married William H. Remington 18 Jun 1843 in Simsbury. William was born 29 May 1809 in Suffield and died there 3 Aug 1881. Upon Rebecca's death, her sister Jane took in and raised young Rebecca.

Their children: William H. Remington, Jr. and Rebecca Jane Remington.

JANE HOLMES [pictured here] was born about 1823 and died 16 Jul 1897 in Suffield. She married Appleton Burnett 25 Jan 1846 in Simsbury. Appleton was born in MA about 1818 and died in Suffield 23 Jul 1888.

ELIZABETH "ELIZA" M. HOLMES was born 18 Mar 1826 and died 10 May 1902 in Suffield. She married Oliver Pomeroy II 19 Nov. 1845 in Simsbury. Oliver was born 1818 in Suffield. He died there 1879.

Their children: Charles G. Pomeroy, Jane E. Pomeroy, Luther D. Pomeroy, Eloise D. Pomeroy and susan E. Pomeroy.

Contae Dhun na nGall

2007-11-10T16:52:00.000-05:00

Located in the northwest of Ireland, Donegal is one of three counties in the province of Ulster that did not become part of Northern Ireland. The name means "the fort of the foreigners" [a reference to the Vikings] and was named after the former administrative center of Donegal Town. When first created, it was sometimes referred to as "Tir Chonaill" after the Tyrconnel earldom it succeeded.

Donegal shares a border with only one county in the Republic of Ireland, the north Connacht province county of Leitrim. The rest of its border is shared with the counties of Londonderry, Tyrone and Fermanaugh. This isolation has led to Donegal people and their customs being considered distinct from the rest of the country and has been used to market the county with the slogan "Up Here It's Different". Lifford is the county seat, but the largest town in Donegal is Letterkenny.

Rich in history and one of the country's most beautiful regions, Donegal is renowned for scholastic works and has a wealth of monuments, historical ruins, forts and castles which bear witness to the ecclesiastical, cultural and often turbulent history of Donegal over the centuries. The most attractive features are the inland mountain ranges, spectacular sea cliffs, glens and lakes. The long and rugged coastline is carved into intricate patterns by the wild Atlantic Sea and indented by long bays and loughs such as the fjordlike Lough Swilly on which Ramelton is built.

The language spoken in Donegal is distinctive and shares traits with Scottish Gaelic. In the Irish speaking area [Donegal Gaeltacht] it is of the West Ulster dialect while Inishowen [which became English-speaking in the early 20th century] used the East Ulster dialect. Scots is still spoken to a degree in the Laggan district of east Donegal. Donegal Irish has a strong influence on Irish speakers across Ulster, who find themselves speaking a dialect noticeably different from the Irish most commonly spoken and understood in Dublin and elsewhere throughout Ireland. Donegal is truly a linguistic pot pourri.

Killygordon is located in the parish of Donaghmore, barony of Raphoe, Co. Donegal, Ulster. It's on the road from Stranorlar to Strabane, 3 miles east of Stranorlar and stands in the vale of the Finn.

On March 20, 1622 partly as a result of complaints from Ireland and partly as a consequence of the English government's determination to make of Ireland an efficient administrative unit, at once solvent and secure, a comprehensive Commission was issued for the investigation of the state of the country. One of the most important tasks of this Commission was to examine the charters and covenants of the undertakers in the plantation and to see how well they had been performed "either in matter of profit or safety". They were also to ascertain "the quantity of ground in payment of the rents" reserved to the King; the buildings undertaken; the leasing of lands; and the deliberate breach of covenants. Finally they were to propose suitable action to remedy defects and abuses; on all these matters the Commissioners were to deliver certificates into the English Chancery.

Herein we find a description of a 1,000 acre plantation in "Killangerdon" inhabited by Captain Ralph Mansfield and his family:

"Captain Ralph Mansfeld hath built a house near the river of Finn, of lime, clay and stone, 60 ft. in length, and 20 ft. wide with some returns, 2 stories high, slated, some of the partitions and floors not finished, with a bawn adjoining to the forefront of the house, 120 ft. square and 9 ft. high, with 4 flankers, 15 ft. square apiece, with birch timber and thatched, wherein Captain Mansfield's son's wife and family dwell.

Near thereunto he hath erected a village consisting of 10 cottages thatched, inhabited with British, and about half a mile from the river, he hath erected another village cinsisting of 8 cottages which are decayed, and two of them without any tenants in them: Freeholders - 2; Leaseholders for lives - 1; Leaseholders for years - 5; British men present - 18, whereof armed - 11."

Go to http://www.finnvalley.ie/history/donoughmore/index.html to read a memoir written by Lieutenant I.I. Wilkinson, Lieutenant Royal Engineers. Received 18th April 1836. it provides a wonderful, in-depth report on the Parish of Donoughmore, Co. Donegal.

Donegal today is one of the least populated counties in Ireland with only 130,000 inhabitants. The road signs are often written in Gaelic which, according to our cousin Scott Holmes after a visit there, "makes navigation a bit more interesting, as if it's not already a challenge to drive on the left side of the road with the steering wheel on the right side of the car, especially in a turnabout with traffic flowing counter-clockwise!" Cattle and sheep farming, together with fishing and textile industries, are the main means of making a living and have been for at least 200 years.

Over the past four centuries, hundreds of people have left Donegal to make a life for themselves in the new worlds of North America and Australasia. Those emigrants included both Ulster Scots and people of Gaelic stock. Among them our ancestors, Robert and Delila Holmes.

A Connecticut Invitation

2007-11-09T14:53:00.000-05:00

The Hartford Carpet Company
by Curtis L. Holmes

A significant waterfall is formed where the Farmington River cuts through a gorge in the mountains and makes its turn east to join the Connecticut River at the town of Windsor, Connecticut. In early years this location was simply called "the falls" and later called Griswald Village. By the 1830s this land came to be called by its present name, Tariffville.

At this site was the energy potential to power a large manufacturing facility. One of the early groups to recognize the importance of this waterpower was the carpet weavers. In the 1820s the New England Carpet Company erected a factory at the falls and began production of carpets. Shortly after, the Tariffville Manufacturing Company took over its operation and expanded its production by adding several more buildings along the river. A 1,000-foot canal was constructed which conducted water to the mills. This provided the power to drive the machinery. By this time the mill was called the Hartford Carpet Company and it retained this name for many years. At first only carpets were produced. Later, with additional facilities, coarse woolen clothing was woven.

The Hartford Carpet Company became one of the largest in the country, employing over 300 workers. It turned out over 300,000 yards of fine, super fine, three-ply and Venetian carpeting. Hearthrugs and Brussel carpets were later added to the product line. Another 150 workers produced 600,000 yards of tweed and jeans. At this time the mills were at their peak production.

The town of Tariffville had about 1,000 inhabitants. The whole Simsbury, Connecticut area had a total population of only 2,221. The skilled work force necessary to support this operation was not readily available in this area. Immigrants from many countries were invited to come to Connecticut to work in the mills. Many of these people came from Ireland.

Of special importance to us were the families of Robert and Delilah Holmes who came from the parish of Killygordon in the county of Donegal and Thomas McIlroy who came from Ballymoney in the county of Antrim. Both families immigrated to America in the early 1830s.

James McIlroy, the first of the family to arrive in Tariffville, changed the name McIlroy to McRoy. Legend says that there were two James McIlroys in the Simsbury area and straws were drawn to see who kept his original name. Apparently our family lost. I do not know how many family members originally worked in the mills, but apparently the only two to remain in the carpet business for an extended period of time were Robert Holmes Sr. and his son James. Robert worked as a carpetman his entire life in Connecticut. At the age of 77 he still called himself a carpetman. James Holmes worked in this trade until the late 1850s when he purchased a small farm in East Granby, Connecticut. He remained a farmer the rest of his life.

There have been several stories handed down concerning these mills. One such story relates to how Tariffville got its name. Apparently the woolen carpet mills were constantly pressuring Congress to impose import duties on woolen goods to protect the domestic markets. This became such a nuisance to Congress that these men were called "the men from Tariffville".

As the prosperity of the mills grew and the number of employees increased, many markets for other products also flourished. One such market was for farm produce. Farmers would fill their wagons with potatoes, corn and other vegetables and fruit and drive to the carpet mills where they would sell them to workers on their way home from the factory.

Unfortunately times change and Tariffville's prosperous identity with carpet production came to an end with a disastrous fire on June 10, 1867. Many of the factory buildings were destroyed along with a portion of the town. [Read more about the fire at http://www3.gendisasters.com/connecticut/86/tariffville,-ct-carpet-fire,-jun-1867.] The Hartford Carpet Company promptly sold its Tariffville property to the Connecticut Screw Company which erected buildings and brought in new machinery. However, this company failed before it could recover the large expenditure of money it spent equipping the plant.

In 1881 the property was purchased by the Auer Silk Company with a capital investment of $200,000. The company planned to manufacture dress goods, tapestries, upholstery products, curtains, etc. The name was then changed to the Hartford Silk Company. The dam across the Farmington River was rebuilt, new buildings erected and a sizable amount of modern machinery purchased. Hundreds of employees were hired to work in the plant. Just when the company achieved a prosperous position and the future looked promising, the superintendent of the company absconded with the company's funds and fled to Canada. Later another company tried to mke silk thread but it also failed.

The town of Tariffville went the way of the mills and dwindled in size until the town of Simsbury exceeded it in population. Members of the Holmes and McRoy families became farmers. Some left the area and made their homes as far away as Almont, Michigan.

[Curtis is descended from Robert & Delila Holmes through James Holmes & Mary McRoy>Robert John Holmes & Martha Camp>George Hiram Holmes & Amy May Colvin>and Frederick Colvin Holmes & Katherine Lane Spinney.]

Grandchildren

2007-11-07T16:40:00.001-05:00

Unless otherwise indicated, all of the following events took place in the state of Connecticut.

William Holmes & Mary McCreary

Rebecca S. Holmes was born 27 Nov 1832 in Ireland and died 15 Jun 1915 in Suffield. She married Gamaliel S. Austin 24 Oct 1850 in Suffield. He was born 15 Jul 1827 in Suffield and died there 16 May 1902. Gamaliel was appointed as guardian to Nancy J. Holmes (daughter of David & Melinda) in 1858.
Robert H. Holmes was born abt. 1835 in Ireland or Suffield and died there 18 Jun 1856.
Elizabeth M. Holmes was born abt. 1840 in Suffield.
John C. Holmes was born abt. 1842 in Suffield and died there 26 May 1872.

William Holmes & Jane Austin

William Holmes, Jr. was born Jan 1847 in Suffield and died aft. 1910. He married Alice (Unknown) abt. 1871. She was born Jan 1851 in MA and died aft. 1910.
Louisa Holmes was born abt. 1848 in Suffield.
Olivia Holmes was born abt. 1851 in Suffield.

David Holmes & Melinda Phelps

Delilah M. Holmes was born 1837 in Tariffville and died 2 Jul 1869 in Windsor. She married John Burns II 11 Sep 1856 in Bloomfield. He was born 1829 in MD and died 29 Sep 1895 in Windsor.
Nancy Jane Holmes was born 1840 in Suffield and died 13 Mar 1868 in Windsor. She married Joseph J. Jones 10 Oct 1859 in Hartford. He was born abt. 1835 in Windsor. Joseph was wounded at Antietam, NC 17 Sep 1862 and a POW at Plymouth, NC 20 Apr 1864 where he died 2 Sep 1864. He is buried at Andersonville national Cemetery, GA (Grave #7570).

David Holmes & Hester Brown

David Holmes was born Mar 1847 in Simsbury and died there Sep 1847.

James Holmes & Mary McRoy

James Alexander Holmes was born 28 Apr 1838 in E. Granby and died there 22 Aug 1839.
Isabella Emaline Holmes was born 4 Jul 1839 in E. Granby and died 17 Apr 1907 in MI. She married Edgar C. Wheeler 5 May 1867 in E. Granby. He was born abt. 1841 in Manchester and died in MI.
Robert John Holmes was born 16 Feb 1841 in E. Granby and died 23 Mar 1923 in Avon. He married (1) Martha Camp 10 Nov 1868 in Plainville. She was born 7 Aug 1847 in Plainville and died 26 Mar 1879 in Plainville. He married (2) Catherine J. Burt 24 Dec 1880 in Plainville. She was born 10 Sep 1839 in Scriba, NY and died 2 Jan 1910 in Avon. During the Civil War, Robert enlisted as a musician in Company B, 16th Infantry Regiment CT 14 Aug 1862. He was captured at Plymouth late Apr 1864 and held prisoner at Andersonville, GA May-Sep.; a prisoner at Charleston, SC Sep-Dec and then Florence, SC; paroled 16 Dec 1864; and discharged 7 Jul 1865.
Margaret Elizabeth Holmes was born 20 Sep 1842 in E. Granby and died 14 May 1906 in CT. She married James McNeal 30 Nov 1871 in E. Granby. He was born abt. 1843 and died Jan 1913.
Jane "Jennie" Louise Holmes was born 7 Apr 1844 in E. Granby and died 1932. She married Charles M. Owen 2 May 1865 in E. Granby. He was born abt. 1828 in Suffield and died aft. 1880.
Thomas Henry Holmes was born 27 Dec 1845 in E. Granby and died 11 Jul 1907. He married Louisa A. Shaw. She was born abt. 1850 in Ireland.
Samuel David Holmes was born 27 Apr 1847 in E. Granby and died there 3 Sep 1847.
James Albert Holmes was born 9 Apr 1852 in E. Granby and died aft. 1900 in Longmeadow, MA. He married Minnie Louise Potter 1884. She was born abt. 1855 and died aft. 1900 in Longmeadow.
Mary Ella Holmes was born 14 Mar 1854 in E. Granby and died 1921. She married Charles W. Bates 15 Jan 1879 in E. Granby. He was born Oct 1852 in E. Granby and died 1922.
Alice Burnett Holmes was born 27 Jan 1861 in E. Granby and died there 5 Aug 1863.

Robert Holmes, Jr. & Eliza Ann Barrett

David H. Holmes was born 1840 in Simsbury and died there 10 Aug 1875. He married Sarah P. Burns 27 Apr 1866 in Simsbury. She was born abt. 1848 in Thompsonville. During the Civil War, he enlisted as a private in Company E, 10th Infantry Regiment CT 14 Oct 1861. He was wounded at Kinston, NC 14 Dec 1862; promoted to full Sergeant 7 Feb 1864; reinlisted in Company E 7 Feb 1864; promoted to full Sergeant 1st Class 1 Nov 1864; promoted to full Lieutenant 2nd Class 27 Jan 1865; and resigned Company E 30 May 1865. Sarah filed for his war pension 11 Sep 1886.
Ellen E. Holmes was born 15 Jan 1842 in Granby and died 29 Apr 1924 in Holyoke, MA. She married Eugene Clydon Alderman 22 Jan 1860 in Simsbury. He was born 18 Mar 1840 in E. Granby and died 3 Jun 1915 in Holyoke. Upon the death of Eugene, Judge Edward Holcomb Stiles wrote the following to Ellen's son George: "I have spoken of your father as the first of my youthful playmates. Your mother may be reckoned among the female ones. I am probably the only one living who knew well her father and mother. I recollect them as plainly as though they were before me, and also her brother David. Her father, Robert Holmes was an excellent and honorable man, as was her mother as a woman. He died in his prime while I was yet a boy. 'Little Ellen Holmes', how plainly I remember that dainty little girl as a child. Give her my love and ineffaceable remembrance."
Charles Robert Holmes was born 18 Dec 1846 in Granby and died 29 Apr 1928 in Springfield, MA. He married (1) Alice E. Lemley 20 Nov 1875 in Simsbury. She was born 29 Sep 1855 and died aft. 1930. After ther divorce, he married (2) Charlotte "Lottie" E. Eminott aft. 1880. She was born 22 Apr 1858 in Davenport, IA.
Cyrus E. Holmes was born 15 Sep 1849 in Granby and died there 17 Sep 1849.

Rebecca S. Holmes & William H. Remington

William H. Remington, Jr. was born Nov 1849 and died 28 May 1852.
Rebecca J. Remington was born 1853 in Suffield and died there 18 Sep 1921. She married Horace D. Austin abt. 1873 in Suffield. He was born abt. 1850 to Benjamin Remington and Mary Hale. Upon the death of her mother, Rebecca was raised by her Aunt Jane. Horace remarried to his first cousin, Sarah A. (Unknown) in 1854.

Jane Holmes & Appleton Burnett

No children of their own. But after the death of Jane's sister Rebecca, they took in and raised her daughter Rebecca.

Elizabeth "Eliza" Holmes & Oliver Pomeroy II

Charles G. Pomeroy was born Dec 1847 in Suffield and died there in 1868.
Jane "Jennie" E. Pomeroy was born 5 Aug 1853 in Suffield and died there in 1873.
Luther D. Pomeroy was brn May 1857 in Suffield and died there in 1928. He married Ida May Gardner abt. 1883. She was born 1854 in Suffield and died there in 1933.
Eloise D. Pomeroy was born 1859 in Suffield and died there in 1864.
Susan E. Pomeroy was born 1863 in Suffield and died aft. 1900. She married John L. Ingram.

The Mysterious Marthy Holmes

2007-11-07T10:42:00.000-05:00

The ghost of "Marthy" Holmes has haunted us throughout our Holmes family research. While we may never know who she is, the following facts establish a connection to our ancestors!

Buried in the Old Tariffville Cemetery next to Robert and Delila is a woman named "Marthy" who died 6 Sep 1846 at the age of 62.
(Daliah) Holmes, Ann Jane Holmes of Ireland and David Holmes of Michigan are named in the distribution of "Miss" Martha Holmes' estate.

So far, we've not found a record of Marthy arriving in America through any port researched. Nor have we been able to locate a will, suggesting she died suddenly. The distribution of her estate was not finalized until two years after her death:

Distribution of Estate

Pursuant to an order from the Hon. Court of Probate for the district of Simsbury dated the 12th day of August 1848 to us directed for the distribution of the estate of Martha Holmes late of Simsbury, deceased. We have distributed sd estate in the following order this 25th Day of September 1848. George Sandford and David Holmes of Simsbury held a bond for $1000 pending distribution.

Set to DAVID HOLMES of Michigan one third part of the dwelling house belonging to sd estate situated in sd Simsbury in the village of Tariffville: $30.00
Set against note DAVID HOLMES of sd Simsbury balance due on sd note: $20.96
Carpet 1.00 1 Do. 4.00, 1 broom 00.8: $6.08
Total $57.04
Set to ANN JANE HOLMES of Ireland one third of sd Dwelling House: $30.00
Thomas Smart's note for $27.00
Set to DALIAH HOLMES the wife of Robert Holmes of Simsbury, one third of sd Dwelling House: $30.00 [&] lot of wearing apparel 2.10: $32.10
1 clock 1.50, 1 rocking chair 0.82, 1 table 1.00, 1 bedstead 0.75, 1 cloak 1.50: $5.57
Set crockery 0.34, 2 chairs 0.75, 1 bonnet .25, 1 turban 1.50, 1 band box .16, 4 shawls 1.00: $4.00
Pr sheets .50, 1 bed spread .42, 3 comfortables .50, 1 feather bed 3.00, cord 1.35: $5.77
Stove and fixtures 5.00, 1 bureau 5.00: $10.00
Total $57.04

Received in Court October 26th, Allen Penney, James Trainor, Distribters under oath

Civil War Years

2007-11-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

“One must fight to preserve a natione”

There were 132 men who fought in the Civil War whose military records list them as having come from Granby. The first of these to enlist was Everett Griswold, 1st Regiment Connecticut Volunteers, on April 19, 1861, only seven days after Fort Sumter was fired upon. Other enlistments quickly followed, some men enlisting independently, but the majority enlisting in groups of five or more, often mustering into the same unit.

The first of our ancestors to enlist was David H. Holmes, the son of Robert Holmes Jr. and Eliza Ann Barrett. David enlisted as a Private in Company E, 10th Regiment Connecticut Infantry on October 14, 1861. He was wounded in the thigh by a rifle ball at the Battle of Kinston, NC on December 14, 1862. Unfit for service for 30 days, the company surgeon suggested he be, “permitted to go North.”

He was promoted to Full Sergeant on February 7, 1864; Full Sergeant 1st Class on November 1, 1864; and Full Sergeant 2nd Class on January 27, 1865. His letter of resignation was signed at camp in Richmond, VA on May 30, 1865:

“Sir, I have the honor to herewith tender my resignation as 2d Lieut. 10th Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, U.S.A. for the reasons hereafter noted. I have a small farm in the state of Connecticut, which at the present time is in a very ruinous condition from the fact that I have no one to attend to it except a widowed Mother who is entirely dependent upon me for support, and is suffering severely at the present time in a pecuniary (sp?) sense from my absence. Also for the reason that I have a title to other property now in litigation to secure which my presence is absolutely necessary. I certify on honor that I am not indebted to the U.S. on any account whatsoever, and that I am not responsible for any government property except that I am prepared to turn over to the proper Officer on the acceptance of my resignation and that I was last paid by Major Dorman (sp?) U.S.A. to include the 24th day of January 1865. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, David H. Holmes.”

10th Regiment Infantry Service

Organized at Hartford, CT October 22, 1861.
Left State for Annapolis, MD October 31 and duty there until January 6, 1862.
Burnside's expedition to Hatteras Inlet and Roanoke Island, NC, January 7-February 8.
Battle of Roanoke Island February 8.
At Roanoke Island until March 11.
Moved to Newberne March 11-13.
Battle of Newberne March 14.
Duty at Newberne until October.
Expedition from Newberne October 30-November 12.
Action at Rawle's Mills November 2.
Foster's expedition to Goldsboro December 11-20.
Kinston December 14.
Whitehall December 16.
Goldsboro December 17.
Moved from Newberne to Hilton Head, SC, January 26-29, 1863.
Camp at St. Helena Island, SC, until March 27 and at Seabrook Island, SC, to July 6.
Skirmish Edisto Island June 18.
Expedition to James Island July 9-16.
Battle of Secessionville July 16.
Assault on Fort Wagner, Morris Island, SC, July 18.
Siege operations against Forts Wagner and Gregg, Morris Island, and against Fort Sumter and Charlestown, SC, July 18-September 7.
Capture of Forts Wagner and Gregg September 7.
Operations against Forts Sumter and Charlestown until October 25.
Moved to St. Augustine, FL, October 26, and duty there until April, 1864.
Ordered to Gloucester Point, VA, April 20.
Butler's operations on south side of the James and against Petersburg and Richmond, VA, May 5-28.
Occupation of Bermuda Hundred, VA, May 5.
Port Walthal Junction, Chester Station, May 7.
Operations against Fort Darling May 12-16.
Battle of Drewry's Bluff May 14-16.
On Bermuda Hundred front May 17-July 21.
Action Bermuda Hundred June 2.
Petersburg June 9. Walthal Junction June 16-17.
Siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond June 16, 1864, to April 2, 1865.
Demonstration on north side of the James July 27-29.
Deep Bottom July 27-28 and August 1.
Strawberry Plains August 14-18.
Duty in trenches before Petersburg August 25-September 27.
Movement to north of James September 27-28.
Chaffin's Farm, New Market Heights, September 28-30.
Darbytown and New Market Roads October 7.
Reconnaissance on Darbytown Road October 13.
Battle of Fair Oaks October 27-28.
Johnston's Plantation October 29.
Detached for duty at New York City during Presidential election of 1864, November 2-17.
Duty in trenches before Richmond November 17, 1864, to March 27, 1865.
Movement to Hatcher's Run March 27-28.
Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9.
Assault on and fall of Petersburg April 2.
Pursuit of Lee April 3-9.
Rice's Station April 6.
Appomattox C. H. April 9.
Surrender of Lee and his army. Duty at Richmond, VA, and in the Dept. of VA until August.
Mustered out August 15, 1865.

Regiment lost during service: 13 Officers and 109 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded; 5 Officers and 155 Enlisted men by disease. Total 282.

With the exception of Alexander Pattison, each of our Civil War soldiers spent some time in New Bern, North Carolina [called Newberne back then]. During their stay, they may have taken a break to enjoy some entertainment at this opera house. Located on the lower floor of St. John's, it was occasionally used by the Union troops for homemade productions.

As you can see from this May 24, 1864 playbill, the troops gave old St. John's a name more to their liking!

John Burns II was the husband of Delilah M. Holmes (daughter of David Holmes and Melinda Phelps). He enlisted as a Private in the 16th Regiment Infantry on August 6, 1862 and received a disability discharge on March 4, 1863.

Robert John Holmes was the son of James Holmes and Mary McRoy. He enlisted as a musician in company B of the 16th Regiment on August 14, 1862. He was captured at Plymouth, NC on April 20, 1864 and held prisoner at Andersonville, SC until December 11, 1864. On July 7, 1865 he was given an Honorable Discharge at Annapolis, MD. [For his full biography, see Civil War Years Part II.]

Joseph J. Jones was the husband of Nancy J. Holmes (daughter of David Holmes and Melinda Phelps). He enlisted as a Private in Company B, 16th Regiment Infantry on August 24, 1862 and was wounded at Antietam, NC less than a month later on September 17. Joseph was captured at Plymouth, NC on April 20, 1864 and taken to Andersonville, GA where he died on September 2, 1864. He is buried at the Andersonville National Cemetery. [Ref. Page 230, Code 17570, Grave #7570]

16th Regiment Infantry Service

Organized at Hartford August 24, 1862.
Moved to Washington, DC, August 29-31.
Maryland Campaign September-October, 1862.
Battle of Antietam, MD, September 16-17.
Duty in Pleasant Valley, MD, October 27.
Movement to Falmouth, VA, October 27-November 17.
Battle of Fredericksburg December 12-15.
Burnside's 2nd Campaign, "Mud March," January 20-24, 1863.
Moved to Newport News February 6-9, thence to Suffolk March 13.
Siege of Suffolk April 12-May 4.
Edenton Road April 24.
Providence Church Road and Nansemond River May 3.
Siege of Suffolk raised May 4.
Reconnaissance to the Chickahominy June 9-17.
Dix's Peninsula Campaign June 24-July 7.
Expedition from White House to South Anna River July 1-7.
Moved to Portsmouth, VA Duty there and at Norfolk January, 1864.
Skirmish at Harrellsville January 20 (Detachment).
Moved to Morehead City, thence to Newberne and Plymouth January 24-28.
Skirmish at Windsor January 30.
Duty at Newberne February 2 to March 20, and at Plymouth, NC, April.
Siege of Plymouth April 17-20.
Captured April 20, and prisoners of war March, 1865. Those not captured, on duty at Newberne and Roanoke Island, NC, June, 1865.
Mustered out June 24, 1865.

Alexander Pattison was the husband of Eliza Ann Barrett-Holmes (widow of Robert Holmes, Jr.). He enlisted as a Private in Company E, 25th Regiment Connecticut Infantry on August 2, 1862. Alexander was wounded at Irish Bend, LA on April 14, 1863 and again at Port Hudson, LA on June 15 1863. He mustered out in Hartford, CT on August 26, 1863.

25th Regiment Connecticut Infantry Service

Attached to Grover's Division, Dept. of the Gulf, to January, 1863.
Duty at Baton Rouge until March, 1863.
Operations against Port Hudson March 7-27.
Moved to Donaldsonville March 28.
Operations in Western Louisiana April 9-May 14.
Teche Campaign April 11-20.
Porter's and McWilliams' Plantation at Indian Bend April 13.
Irish Bend April 14.
Bayou Vermillion April 17.
Expedition to Alexandria and Simsport May 5-18.
Moved to Bayou Sara, thence to Port Hudson May 22-25.
Siege of Port Hudson May 25-July 9.
Assaults on Port Hudson May 27 and June 14.
Surrender of Port Hudson July 9.
Moved to Donaldsonville July 11.
Duty in Plaquemine District until August.
Mustered out August 26, 1863.

Regiment lost during service: 3 Officers and 26 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded; 4 Officers and 61 Enlisted men by disease. Total 94.

Civil War Years II

2007-11-06T06:03:00.004-05:00

By the summer of 1862, President Lincoln was calling for 300,000 volunteers and announced the first draft in August. The third quarter of that year (July-September) had a total of 33 recruits from Granby. A $100 bounty, which was given to the five who enlisted on August 11th, was later raised to $150.

Of the 31 Connecticut regiments organized for the war, Granby was represented in 21 of them. The regiment in which most Granby men were enlisted was the 4th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry -- there were 23 Granby men in this regiment. Probably the most famous Connecticut regiment that fought in the Civil War was the 16th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. Now known as “Plymouth Pilgrims” [see notes], the 16th was mustered into service in Hartford on August 24, 1862 by Lieutenant Watson Webb.

Robert John Holmes was the son of James Holmes and Mary McRoy. He grew up in East Granby and, at the age of 21, enlisted as a musician in Company B of the 16th Regiment on August 14, 1862. The 16th left for Washington, DC on August 29 where it went into camp on Arlington Heights near Fort Ward. There were 20 Granby men in that unit.

The poorly trained 16th was then moved by forced marches and brigaded at Antietam the evening prior to the battle waged on September 17. The unit fired its muskets for the first time in this battle and suffered terrible losses – it went in with 940 men and lost 432 in killed and wounded. They later marched to Newport News, VA for a stay of 4-5 weeks, allowing some of the wounded to heal and get some rest.

Robert’s regiment then marched with the rest of the Connecticut Brigade to Suffolk, VA where it suffered more casualties in the battles of Edenton Road on April 24, 1863 and Providence Church Road on May 3. They moved to Portsmouth on June 16 where they engaged in an expedition called the “Blackberry Raid”. After this battle, the 16th had several months of quiet near Portsmouth when the men were taught the discipline and military skills they so greatly needed.

The regiment was ordered to Plymouth, NC on January 21, 1864 and arrived there on midnight of January 24. There the regiment made several raids against rebel camps and destroyed large quantities of cotton and tobacco.

On March 3 they were ordered to New Bern, NC which was being threatened by Confederate attack. They camped near the Neuse River and, on March 20, were ordered to return to Plymouth.

The following portrayal of the Battle of Plymouth – provided by Curtis L. Holmes – is a composite of three handwritten letters by Robert J. Holmes: one addressed to his daughter, Alice … the other two not addressed or dated. Curtis notes that some of the text was not legible and therefore required interpretation. Although it may not always be a direct quote, Curtis believes it accurately describes the battle as Robert intended:

“On the 20th of March 1864 in a wet and drizzling rain we left our quarters at Newberne and went aboard the steamer, Thomas Collyer, for Plymouth, N.C. As we sailed down the Neuse River into Pamlico Sound the storm increased with a heavy downpour of rain and a strong northwest wind until it began a perfect gale. The steamer pitched and tossed in the heavy waves till it seemed that the vessel could scarcely live. The vessel was filled with soldiers and to shelter ourselves as much as possible from the storm we persisted in keeping to the leeward side of the ship. The weight being located on one side of the vessel kept her out of trim which made her unmanageable. The Captain came up repeatedly to make us get over to the other side. He wouldn’t much more than get out of sight before we all moved back again. He finally came up screaming as only a Sea Captain can and said that if we didn’t get to the windward and stay there the whole damned lot of you would go to the bottom and it would serve you right. Some of the boys asked him if he thought it was any worse down there than it was up here.

We finally reached the channel where we passed from the Pamlico Sound to Albemarle Sound around Roanoke Island and up a number of miles in the sound we had a bar to cross. Now the strong wind had driven the water out of the Albemarle Sound till it was a number of feet lower than usual so we ran aground. Every heavy wave that came lifted the vessel up farther unto the same til she rested on her keel. When a wave struck her she would go over one way and then back the other. And every time she made a heave it seemed as if we were all going overboard. We were in this position for twenty-four hours. The storm had ceased and the steamer, General Berry” came along side us and took us aboard and carried us to or destination, Plymouth, which we reached about ten o’clock at night. When we left Newberne we had rations for breakfast and dinner and this was all the provisions we had for forty hours.

Plymouth lies on the south side of the Roanoke River, eight miles from Albemarle Sound. It was a fortified position commanded by General Nancy W. Wessell. The following troops were in his command: 85th N.Y., 101st and 103rd Penn., 16th Conn., 1 light battery, two companies of heavy artillery and in all about 2400 men. There were also three gunboats on the river; the Southfield, the Miami and the Burnshell.

The attack was made on us by General R. F. Hoke commanding the Confederate forces. They consisted of one regiment of cavalry, seven batteries of light artillery, three brigades of infantry, in all over 7000 men assisted by the mailed ram, Albemarle.

Our fortifications commenced on the bank of the river at the west end of the town running west about half a mile, then to the east one mile, then to the north about half way to the river terminating with a small fort containing one heavy gun. The rest of the way to the river was without breastworks as the position was such that it could be swept by the guns on the boats. We had four forts, one of which I have mentioned, Fort Merril, about midway of the line of works running east and west, Fort Warren west of the town and outside the breastworks about half a mile, and Fort Gray in a swamp still further west. Both of these forts commanded the river and were built to destroy the ram when she came down the river.

It was a beautiful Sabbath morning April 17, 1864. We had gone through our regular morning of duties and it had got to about noon when we saw the cavalry from the outpost dashing into the town bringing the report that there was a large force of the enemy only two miles out. Immediately there was a commotion at every quarter, drums beating, bugles sounding, and men rushing from every quarter. This confusion was of short duration and soon every regiment was marching to its position at the breastworks.

A line of skirmishers was immediately sent out, advancing carefully until they found the enemy. During the afternoon there was some firing on the skirmish line and some artillery firing but not much real fighting took place Sunday.

Monday morning, bright and early, the ball opened in earnest. The enemy directed its attention to the forts commanding the river. The idea being to cripple or silence them so that the ram might safely come down.

Fort Warren was garrisoned by seventy-five men and two or three pieces of heavy artillery. With this small force she resisted charge after charge of the enemy with more than ten times her number and I presume it safe to say that they killed five times the number of men that the fort contained. The fort was supplied with hand grenades, which they used with terrible effect when the enemy was trying to scale the embankments of the fort. The night of the 18th with the crippled condition of the forts, the ram came down.

She was of peculiar construction. Her hull was but little above the water and her guns and crew were protected by railroad iron set up and firmly secured in the form of the letter “A” lengthwise of the deck. Our two boats being wooden vessels knew that they could not contend with her in any ordinary way so they devised the following plan to meet her. Each boat got as near opposite banks as thy could so that they could then connect themselves together with heavy cables, the object being that the ram would run between them, they would catch her with the cable, steam in the opposite direction, crowd in on her and sink her.

Everything worked as it was planned. They had her down until water was pouring in her portholes when a shot fired by the Southfield glanced off from the ram and killed the captain of the Miami. In the confusion some one yelled, “cut the cable”. It was done and immediately the ram was free. She turned her bow into the Miami crushed a hole in her and sank her. The Southfield escaped down the river. The Burnshell, the other small boat was used up Monday. So the morning of the 19th the river was clear with the exception of the ram, which lay down the river firing her heavy shells up into the town.

Now you can see the situation we are in: the loss of sixteen guns from the gunboats, the enemy reinforced by the heavy guns of the ram, and one half of our east line without any protection. The enemy had but one point of attack now and they opened everything they had on the town and from every point at once. Every tent that stood up was just riddled with bullet holes and you could hardly believe that anyone could live through such a shower of shot and shell.

We withstood the heavy and the repeated charges of the enemy all day the 19th and the constant artillery firing all through the night. The morning of the 20th it looked rather dubious for us. General Hoke had sent in a number of requests for us to surrender but received a reply that we expected to fight it out. The final charge was made by the enemy soon after noon of the 20th. They broke through our line at the point where there were no breastworks in the east and fought their way up through the town and took us in as they came to us.

The outcome was that we were made prisoners (which meant death to a large percent of the captured). We lost in killed and wounded about one hundred. The enemy lost in killed and wounded about 1500. Some who had good opportunity of judging thought this is a low estimate of the enemy loss. R.J. Holmes, April 15, 1903”

After Robert’s capture at Plymouth on April 20, 1864, he was held at Florence, SC for perhaps one week before being loaded into a boxcar and sent south with the rest of the prisoners. They reached Andersonville, GA the night of May 2, 1864. The following morning, a large detachment of Union soldiers were marched under heavy guard from the railroad station to the stockade at Andersonville Prison. About 300 enlisted men of the 16th Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers were in this group.

Established in November 1863 under orders of General J. H. Winder, Andersonville was one of the most notorious of the southern prisons. Pressure from Confederate Headquarters in Richmond led to prisoners being sent there before the barracks and other facilities were constructed. Consequently, drainage was poor, the water supply inadequate and food uncooked. Many of its prisoners were ill and fatigued before their arrival. Eventually, disease ran rampant through the prison.

The first group of prisoners was incarcerated February 25, 1864. Within six months, 42,686 cases of diseased and wounded prisoners had received treatment from an inadequate medical staff. 12,912 prisoners are known to have died – of those, 234 were of the 16th Connecticut. It’s said the total number of prisoners reached 52,345 by September 1864, when the prison was largely a hospital. The last of the incarcerated left April 17, 1865.

Robert [pictured here] was released from his confinement at Andersonville, paroled at Richmond, VA on December 11, 1864 and returned to Camp Parole, MD where he was given a furlough at his home in East Granby from December 25, 1864 to January 25, 1865. He was so sick during this time that he requested an extension of his leave from Doctor Sanford, MD at Simsbury, CT. Sanford’s medical statement reads, “Robert Holmes was carefully examined and found suffering by reason of eight months of cruel treatment in Rebel prisons which has caused great emaciation, general debility, a bad cough, a pain in his side and chronic diarrhea.” Robert returned to Camp Parole until March 3, 1865 when he was admitted to the General Hospital at Annapolis, MD as a patient. After his recovery, he was given an Honorable Discharge at Annapolis on July 7, 1865.

Robert J. Holmes is listed as a soldier and musician in military records for the Civil War. He played a flute and carried a Sharp’s Rifle. His discharge papers and flute are held by Curtis L. Holmes. Milton C. Holmes holds the Sharp’s Rifle.

Note: "Plymouth Pilgrims" were Union soldiers and sailors who were engaged and captured during the Battle of Plymouth, NC April 17-20th, 1864. The Battle of Plymouth is not widely known, but the story of the battle and the soldiers involved continues to live on today through their descendants. For further reading go to the Civil War Plymouth Pilgrims Society site at http://home.att.net/~cwppds/homepage.htm.

References:
The Heritage of Granby, Salmon Brook Historical Society
Robert J. Holmes and the Civil War, Curtis L. Holmes

The Holmes Little Giant

2007-11-05T17:00:00.008-05:00

The Holmes Tractor Company, Port Clinton, OH
by Curtis L. Holmes

In the early 1900s the horseless carriage was so rare that everyone would turn and watch as one drove by. At that time George Hiram Holmes was employed as a mechanic at the Garfield Paper Company in Garfield, New Jersey. George became fascinated with this new mode of transportation. During the next few years the popularity of these automobiles grew rapidly. A relative of George’s in the Midwest interested George in purchasing a garage in Port Clinton, Ohio. In 1910 George quit his job at the Garfield Paper Company and moved his family and belongings to Port Clinton.

George became the Manager of the Port Clinton Garage, or the Garage in the Fruit Belt as he called it. George repaired the early cars, sold gas and operated a parts store for automobiles.

The garage business went very well for George and he hired other mechanics to assist him. This gave George some free time to work on a project that would be very useful in this part of the country.

The land around Port Clinton was well suited for growing fruit. The temperature and the rainfall were more than acceptable and Lake Erie would temper the spring weather and help prevent a late frost from killing the emerging buds on the trees. In the early 1900s the land was covered with fruit orchards and apples, peaches, pears and grapes were grown in great abundance.

Tractors of that day were tall cumbersome and had limited maneuverability; not at all suited for orchard work. George [pictured here] designed and built a tractor that would solve many of these problems. It was small and maneuverable and could turn in a twenty-four foot circle. The driver sat behind the engine so that the overall height was only 54 inches. George completed the first tractor in 1911. This was the birth of the Holmes Manufacturing Company of Port Clinton, Ohio. Post cards were printed and advertisements were distributed all around Ottawa County. The Holmes Little Giant appeared to have a great future in the fruit belts of the Midwestern United States.

On September 21, 1911 George wrote a post card to his father, Robert J. Holmes, in West Avon, Connecticut telling of his tractor.

Dear father:

I have stole a few days from the garage this week and am showing my tractor at the Sandusky County Fair. Perhaps it will not pay but the tractor attracts lots of attention and I hope someday to get an order or two but not until I have shown people what it can do. GHH

An article about the tractor was printed in a local paper about the same time and appeared as follows:

A Little Giant is the Holmes Tractor

On exhibit for the first time, the Holmes Gasoline Farm Tractor is receiving merited attention. Farmers of all classes are interested in the little giant and the exhibitors will be kept busy making demonstrations and answering the many questions that are asked about the machine. A mere description of the machine will not do it justice. It differs from the ordinary tractor in many ways. It is a low built machine and can turn in a 24-foot circle. Its width is 6 feet and the extreme length 11½ feet. The total weight is only 4,000 pounds. Power is generated by a double cylinder opposed gasoline motor developing 13-brake horse power. Ignition is from battery and non-vibrating coil. The motor is equipped with a 14 inch belt pulley for driving farm machinery. A very good feature of the tractor is that every speed and brake is controlled from the seat. It has two speeds ahead and one in reverse. The low build of the machine, and the amount of power that the motor develops, together with the easy steering and small turning space makes it a remarkably well adapted tractor for general farm work and orchard purposes. It is manufactured at Port Clinton and the exhibitors will always be ready to give demonstrations of their machine and take orders for future delivery.

The price is $1,200 and the machine that is being used in the demonstration will be sold at the fair grounds. This display is one that will prove particularly instructive to farmers and fruit growers and no doubt many will see the practical use of the tractor and place an order for one of them. Some idea of the machines performance may be gained from the record that it made previous to its arrival at the fair grounds. It has been running seven hours continuously and its motor was still cool to touch. The consumption of fuel and oil is very low when the power and speed of the tractor is taken into consideration.

The first tractor was sold to a local farmer. After the initial success a second tractor was started and completed a year later. George wanted to sell this tractor back in Connecticut. The tractor was loaded onto the train and George with his oldest son, Frederic, headed east for Avon, Connecticut. The tractor was quickly sold in Connecticut. This turned out to be the last tractor George was to build. A salesman called on George and convinced him that for the tractor to be really successful it had to be mass-produced. If George would give him the plans and specifications he would have the tractors built by a large company and George would receive the royalties. George gave the salesman all the plans, drawings and papers and the salesman disappeared forever. No one appears to know if any more tractors were ever built but most certainly George never received any royalties.

In 1918 George returned with his family to New England, where he and his wife were born, to be nearer their friends and relatives, thus ending the story of the Holmes Little Giant.

[Curtis is descended from Robert & Delila Holmes through James Holmes & Mary McRoy>Robert John Holmes & Martha Camp>George Hiram Holmes & Amy May Colvin>and Frederick Colvin Holmes & Katherine Lane Spinney.]

US Census Study

2007-11-05T13:02:00.002-05:00

Since the first United States Federal Census in 1790, the surname "Holmes" has appeared in the state of Connecticut. Family members of Robert and Delila Holmes make their first appearance in 1840.

1840

Robert Holmes, Simsbury Township, Hartford, CT
One male 50-60
One female 50-60

William Holmes, Hartford Township, Hartford, CT
One male 5-10
One male 30-40
Two females 5-10
One female 20-30

David Holmes, Simsbury Township, Hartford, CT
[Next to both Robert Holmes & Robert Holmes Jr.]
One male 30-40
Two females 0-5
One female 20-30

Robert Holmes Jr., Simsbury Township, Hartford, CT
One male 0-5
One male 20-30
One female 0-5
One female 20-30

1850

Robert Holmes, Simsbury Township, Hartford, CT
[Nearby lives David & Ester and James & Mary.]
Robert Holmes, 77, carpetman, born Ireland
Delilah Holmes, 71, born Ireland

William Holmes, Suffield Township, Hartford, CT
[Next to William & Rebecca Remington.]
William Holmes, 42, farmer, $900, born Ireland
Jane Holmes, 37, born CT
Elizabeth Holmes, 10, born CT
John Holmes, 8, born CT
William Holmes, 3, born CT
Louisa Holmes, 2, born CT

David Holmes, Simsbury Township, Hartford, CT
[Living in same house as Jane & Appleton Burnett. Next to James & Mary Holmes.]
David Holmes, 38, merchant, $2,000, born Ireland
E[s]ther Holmes, 41, born Ireland
Deilah Holmes, 13, born CT
Nancy J. Holmes, 10, born CT

James Holmes, Simsbury Township, Hartford, CT
[Next to David & Esther and Jane & Appleton.]
James Holmes, 32, carpetman, born Ireland
Mary Holmes, 30, born Ireland
Isabella Holmes, 10, born CT
Robert Holmes, 9, born CT
Margaret Holmes, 7, born CT
Jane Holmes, 5, born CT
Thomas Holmes, 4, born CT
Rebecca Holmes, 17, born Ireland
Mary McRoy, 18, born Ireland
Rebecca Holmes, 17, born Ireland

Robert Holmes, Jr., Granby Township, Hartford, CT
Robert Holmes, 35, tavern keeper, born Ireland
Eliza Holmes, 34, born CT
David Holmes, 10, born CT
Ellen Holmes, 6, born CT
Charles Holmes, 4, born CT
Sophia Bafsett (sp?), 50, born CT [believed to be Eliza's mother]

Rebecca Remington, Suffield Township, Hartford, CT
[Next to William & Jane Holmes.]
William H. Remington, 41, farmer, $1,200, born CT
Rebecca S. Remington, 31, born Ireland

Jane Burnett, Simsbury Township, Hartford, CT
[Living in same house #132 as David & Esther Holmes and next to James & Mary Holmes #133.
Despite the errors, we believe this is our Jane.]
Appleton Berard, 31, spinner, born MA
Jane Bernard, 26, born MA

Elizabeth Pomeroy, Suffield Township, Hartford, CT
Oliver Pomeroy, 34, farmer, born CT
Elizabeth Pomeroy, 25, born Ireland
Charles Pomeroy, 3, born CT

1860

Delalia Holms, Simsbury Township, Hartford, CT
Delalia Holms, 80, old lady lives all alone, $20 personal, born Ireland

William Holms, Simsbury Township, Hartford, CT
William Holms, 52, boarding house, $500, born Ireland
Jane Holms, 46, keeping house, born CT
Elisabeth Holms, 19, domestic, born CT
William Holms Jr., 13, born CT
Louisa Holmes, 12, born CT
Oliver Holms, 9, born CT [this is actually Olivia]

Plus 26 people, born in various places, living in the boarding house and working in the carpet mills; 1 laborer; and 1 female servant.

James Holmes, East Granby Township, Hartford, CT
James Holmes, 45, farmer, $1,800, $500, born Ireland
Mary Holmes, 40, born Ireland
Isabel E. Holmes, 20, born CT
Robert J. Holmes, 18, born CT
Margaret E. Holmes, 17, born CT
Jane L. Holmes, 16, born CT
Thomas H. Holmes, 14, born CT
Ella M. Holmes, 6, born CT

Jane Burnett, Suffield Township, Hartford, CT
Appleton Burnett, 42, born MA
Jane Burnett, 37, born Ireland
Rebecca J. Rimington, 7, born CT [daughter of Rebecca & William Remington]

Elizabeth Pomeroy, Suffield Township, Hartford, CT
Oliver Pomeroy 2d, 42, farmer, $4,500, $1,000, born CT
Elizabeth Pomeroy, 30, born CT
Charles G. Pomeroy, 13, born CT
Jane Pomeroy, 7, born CT
Luther Pomeroy, 4, born CT
Eloise Pomeroy, 2 born CT
Elizabeth Pomeroy, 40, cigar maker, born CT

1870

William Holmes, Suffield Township, Hartford, CT
[Son William, 22, found in New Britain]
William Holmes, 61, born Ireland
Jane Holmes, 56, born CT
John C. Holmes, 26, born CT
Louisa Holmes, 21, born CT

James Holmes, East Granby Township, Hartford, CT
James Holmes, 55, farmer, $4,500, $2,000, born Ireland
Mary E. Holmes, 50, born Ireland
Maggie E. Holmes, 27, born CT
Thomas H.Holmes, 23, born CT
James A. Holmes, 18, born CT
Ella M. Holmes, 16, born CT

Jane Bernett, Suffield Township, Hartford, CT
Apelton Bernett, 52, farmer, $6,000, $1,000, born CT
Jane Bernett, 52, born Ireland
Rebecca Remington, 17, born CT

Elizabeth Pomeroy, Suffield Township, Hartford, CT
Oliver Pomeroy, 45, farmer, $2,000, $1,000, born CT
Elizabeth Pomeroy, 40, born Ireland
Jane Pomeroy, 17, born CT
Luther Pomeroy, 13, born CT
Susan Pomeroy, 7, born CT

1880

William Holmes, Suffield Township, Hartford, CT
[On the same page as Jane & Appleton Burnett]
William Holmes, 71, born Ireland
Jane Holmes, 66, born CT
Charles R. Holmes, 32, Nephew, born CT [Likely the son of Robert Jr. & Eliza]

James Holmes, East Granby Township, Hartford, CT
James Holmes, 66, born Ireland
Mary Holmes, 60, born Ireland
Thomas H. Holmes, 32, born CT
George (K.) Holmes, 4, born CT, grandson [son of James J. & Martha]

Jane Burnett, Suffield Township, Hartford, CT
[On the same page as William & Jane Holmes]
Appleton Burnett, 62, farmer, kicked by a horse, born MA
Jane Burnett, 56, born Ireland

Elizabeth Pomeroy, Suffield Township, Hartford, CT
Elizabeth Pomeroy, 54, widow, born Ireland
Luther O. Pomeroy, 24, farmer, born CT
Susie E. Pomeroy, 17, born CT

1900

Elizabeth Pomeroy, Suffield Township, Hartford, CT
Elizabeth Pomeroy, 74, widow, farmer, born Ireland
Mother of 5, 2 living
Father born Ireland, Mother born England

Old Tariffville Cemetery

2007-11-05T11:29:00.000-05:00

In a quiet corner of St. Bernard's Catholic Cemetery in Tariffville, CT is the Old Tariffville Cemetary. Some state records refer to it as the Non-Sectarian Cemetery.

The graves of Robert and Delila Holmes can be found here. Buried with them is:

Robert Holmes Jr. (their son)
Eliza Holmes (wife of Robert Jr.)
Robert and Cyrus Holmes (sons of Robert Jr.)
Mary Holmes (wife of William)
Marthy Holmes (relationship unknown)

The inscription on Delila's headstone reads: "We lay our bodies down to sleep. Peace is the pillow for our heads, while well appointed angels keep their watchful stations round our bed."

Simsbury, Connecticut

2007-11-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

And sweet homes nestle in these dales,
And perch along these wooded swells,
And, blest beyond Arcadian vales,
They hear the sound of Sabbath bells!
Here dwells no perfect man sublime,
No woman winged before her time
But with the faults, and follies of the race,
Old home-bred virtues hold their not unhonored place.

By Rev. John McLean
[Published in the Connecticut Quarterly April, May and June 1895]

Why Simsbury? There is much in a name notwithstanding Shakespearean philosophy. New York, Chicago, Boston. Could they have become great cities had they been blanketed with the name Simsbury? Some authentic historical reason for exchanging the musical Indian name Massaco for colorless Simsbury would make it more endurable, but the searchlight of the historian reveals but conflicting guesses. The name of a place, however, with which we have no acquaintance, is but an abstraction. Knowing it, it becomes concrete, and the framework and background of a series of pictures and impressions. Though the name, Simsbury, be without suggestiveness to the strange ear, to those who have watched the seasons come and go, from her quiet homes, and to the passerby, whose soul is touched by the beautiful, this name will turn many exquisite pages, in memory's album.

Simsbury is a mine of that wealth of which the man may possess most who has greatest capacity to receive. The great charm of the place is variety. It has some attractive features for almost every taste. Those who love mountain scenery may wander along the granite hills on the west or the trap ledges on the east. They may climb The Pinnacle, and look down on pretty Lake Bijou, lying like a pearl in emerald setting, or to the cedar-fringed summit of Mt. Philip, towering nearly a thousand feet above the river-ribboned meadows of Massaco. From this far famed royal view may be traced the old drift kames by the deep green of the pines which clothe their sterile summits. Far to the north and west, (Mts.) Tom, Holyoke, and distant Greylock salute you through the purple haze. In the west arises that wild tumult of hills, which conceal in their bosom the grand old towns of Litchfield and Norfolk.

If the more quiet scenery of a river valley affords greater pleasure, search out and feast upon the unsung beauties of the Farmington, a stream which would have ravished the soul of Wordsworth or David Gray. For miles the road follows the river where the waters flash to the eye their fresco of overarching elms, with background of blue sky and fleecy cloud, and where riverbank on the one hand and hedgerow on the other, seem to compete, in wild luxuriance of flowers, grasses, and tangles of clematis and woodbine. Northward the stream winds through well-tilled meadows, where the projecting coves are almost concealed beneath a thin garment of peltate leaves, and starry lilies. At length, turning sharply eastward its tortured waters plunge wildly over the rocks of the mountain pass.

For some, the forests have peculiar charm. There are many drives through the wooded belt, running north by south nearly through the center of the township. These give cool, refreshing shelter which the fierce heat of the summer sun can scarcely penetrate, where toiling, weary brutes, and men who are not brutes, breathe gratitude. Masses of ferns, and banks of soft cool moss tempt the passerby to recline in dreamy reverie and listen to the monotone of the wind, playing upon its mighty sylvan organ.

Simsbury offers rich enjoyment to any student who delights in reading the long story of creation, for nowhere on the face of the earth can more formations, distinct in character, be found within the limit of a few hours' walk. Here granite, trap, sandstone and the erratic rocks chant their tragic epics for those who have ears to hear. Not less of interest will here be found for the botanist. From showery April, when that sweet gift of the glacier smiles its greeting from beneath the leaves, to chill November, when the deep fringed gentian seems to chide the trees for putting off their summer robes so soon, broad flower-besprinkled meadows, deep orchid hiding woods, hedge-row, marsh, mountain cliff and glen will reward the patient seeker after Flora's gems.

Some, believing that "the proper study of mankind is man," would search the fading pages of history. No tragic scene of the world's great drama has been enacted here. The history of Simsbury is the story of a sturdy, self dependant, God-fearing, home-loving people, who spared neither blood, nor fortune when the drum beat sounded to that great struggle for independence, or that more terrible death grapple with the dark demon of sin, whose voice of wild satiric laughter had ever mingled its discords with our anthems of the free. Armed with such preparation as the district school and village lycium afforded, her Miltons and village Hamptons have not all remained mute and inglorious. Simsbury has given to the National Army, able officers; to Congress, wise statesmen; to the Executive, a Comptroller, a Secretary of the Treasury, and a distinguished foreign minister; to our Colleges, two Presidents; to the Episcopal Church, a Bishop; to Missouri, a Governor; to New York City, merchant princes, and to the professions prominent members.

Simsbury was the second town of the Tunxis Valley to invite the English settler. In 1643, John Griffin and Michael Humphrey came from Windsor and commenced the manufacture of tar. A certain Indian, Manahannoose, did wittingly kindle a fire which proved disastrous to their enterprise. The Court decreed, that "in default of payment of five hundred string of wampum," he should "serve or be shipped in exchange for neagcrs." He seems to have escaped this penalty by giving the injured tar-makers a deed of Massaco. The township has several times been divided. East Granby, (where Old Newgate Prison is located), Granby, North Canton and Canton having, in great Dart, been formed from its original territory.

Simsbury is located northwest of Hartford, in the northern part of that valley rent from the broad Connecticut by the convulsions following the Jurassic epoch. Scattered over its area, are numerous small villages, the one known as Simsbury being near the center. These are, with two or three exceptions, arranged along the streets running north and south on either side of the river. North, on the cast side of the river, is located the once thriving village of Tariffville. Desolating fires, with a series of other misfortunes, have checked its prosperity. The long road, of its misfortunes, now seems to have reached its turning. It is wonderfully picturesque in its surroundings, and the scenery attracts many to the Bartlett Tower, located on a mountain near by. From Tariffville southward the drive commands the most charming river and meadow scenery. Where the old Windsor road descends the mountain is a little hamlet known as Terry's Plain. Fair and delectable indeed must have seemed the virgin face of Massaco as seen first from this mountain crest, and one cannot wonder that Griffin and Humphrey (the Caleb and Joshua sent to spy out the land) resolved to settle here, notwithstanding the Anakim.

About two miles of road, mostly along the river bank brings us to East Weatogue, a pretty, restful hamlet. The morning sun is late in driving away the mountain shadows, but the wide westward vista lengthens out the day with glowing sunsets. Here the Hartford road winds over the mountain. From the summit of the last steep descent, the song of turbulent waters will fall upon the ear. Would you enjoy one of the daintiest bits of scenery; swing down the deep ravine and follow the laughing cascades through the gloom of the rock-walled canon.

In this village stands the oldest house of the township, known as the Bacon Place or Ft. George. Built in 1717, though somewhat bowed with age, its massive timbers yield but slowly to the ravages of time. Tradition tells of wild scenes here in the old days of warfare. There also is located that fine example of colonial architecture, the Humphrey Place, at present occupied by the lineal descendants of that Michael Humphrey who with John Griffin first invaded the primeval forests of Massaco.

On the opposite side of the river lies the sister village, West Weatogue, in former days the business center of the place. The old inhabitant still boasts of those halcyon times. Here was the village store, and the school where John Slater was, by vote of the town, authorized "to teach the youths to read, write, cypher and say the rules of arathmetack," and here another teacher of great local fame taught grammar by machinery. With growth of business in another part of the town, the star of her prosperity set, but only to rise again with increased splendor. Her prophet no longer chants hi, Jeremiads from her ruins. The spirit of the renaissance is sweeping over her, everywhere transforming the unsightly into the beautiful. Old farm houses burst from the chrysalis into towered mansions. An artistic granite fountain, in memoriam of the beloved physician, Dr. White, ornaments her pretty green. Even the old school house, has put off her simple gown and come out in a brand new suit, with a Romanesque flounce.

Separated from Weatogue by the loveliest of drives through the fragrant pines is Bushy Hill. A bushy hill no longer. Her ill-kept farms, where men often failed in the struggle with nature because of the heavy tribute paid King Alcohol, have come into the possession of the Rev. D. Stuart Dodge, the Messrs Arthur, Norman, and Walter Phelps Dodge, the sons and grandson of the late William E. Dodge of New York; and her hills, commanding a wide circle of exquisite scenery, are being crowned with stately mansions. Bushy hill is honored by the association of distinguished names. In her humble farmhouses were born Anson G. Phelps the successful man of business and philanthropist, and John J. Phelps, the merchant prince. His son the eminent statesman and diplomat, William Walter Phelps, spent here many days of his childhood and youth.

About two miles westward, where the road from the granite mountains enters the valley between twin frowning ledges of intrusive trap, nestles the little village of West Simsbury, or The Harms, a place lying at the threshold of the most charming and unique scenery.

About two miles north of Weatogue is the central village, which takes the township name, Simsbury. It is built along a terrace, between the wooded bluff and the river meadows. Entering from the Bushy Hill or Farms Road, you will pass the Old Mill which still grinds the grists, and takes the toll, as in days of yore. A little down the stream stands the old distillery. It is now many years since barefoot lads and lassies, with tin pails and pennies, descended the winding path, and climbed the stile to get "a mess of emptins," as yeast was called.

The road describes a half circle at the foot of the hill, where stands the Congregational Church, a building of classic proportions, and of a simple chaste style which harmonized with the age and worship of its time. Admire its exterior. Do not enter until a mistake of a few years since be remedied, and the sober Purl tan meeting house be disrobed of its gaudy attire. Northward for nearly a mile the street extends, straight as an arrow, broad, sentinelled by magnificent elms and sycamores. The accompanying views will give hints of its beauty. Aside from the many fine modern houses arc many places of historic interest.

The Amos R. Eno Mansion stands on a finely shaded eminence, overlooking the valley. Built by the Hon. Elisha Phelps, the father of Mrs. Eno, the recent changes in the building seem rather to emphasize its old time dignity and atmosphere of hospitality. Here for nearly a half century, the queenly hostess won the love of high and low; and the farmer lad of fourscore years ago, having fought life's battle in the great metropolis, and won not only great riches, but that good name honored and respected by all, has come here for quiet and rest in his declining years.

Simsbury numbers among her most valuable institutions, the Free Library, a gift from Mr. Eno to his birthplace. The building is designed in harmony with its surroundings, and, within and without, is a fine expression of colonial architecture. The library, nourished by a liberal fund, removes from the youth of Simsbury any barrier from culture.

In the center of the village, where was once the churchyard is the Cemetery. For two and a quarter centuries, groups of people, with sad eyes, and aching hearts, have climbed this beautiful hillside, to lay away the tenement of some beloved soul. Whether the earth were covered with snow or violets, in sunshine and storm, the sad burial words have been spoken, but when the trembling voice strikes the brighter strain, "I am the resurrection and the life," the restful beauty of the scene seems to turn the thought from the city of the dead, to that city whose Builder and Maker is He who giveth and taketh away. The limit of this paper forbids tarrying among the quaint headstones and quainter inscriptions. Passing the little group of stores, the old Ensign Homestead stands on the left, with its lilac bushes and cinnamon roses, and nearly opposite the Jeffrey O. Phelps Mansion, built in 1771, in colonial days the famous Phelps Tavern. Now take off your hat and make obeisance to the monarch of the street, King Ulmus. I can never consciously pass under this tree without a feeling of reverence. It combines, more than any other I have ever seen, great size, symmetry, grace, impressiveness of strength and character. Beautiful as it is clothed in its summer robe, it is even more impressive when the lofty arches of its giant arms are thrown against the face of the moon or the clear blue of the winter sky.

The Dr. Barber House was built in 1762, and soon came into the possession of Major Elihu Humphrey, an ancestor of its late occupant. When Lexington roused the land, the Major gathered his company on the green before this house, on the eve before their departure to Boston, and here the tearful farewells were said to wives and mothers. To the shelter of this roof the wounded warrior was brought to breathe away his ebbing life.

Under the pine-covered bluff, facing meadow and mountain is the McLean Seminary, a school founded and named in honor of the Rev. Allen McLean, for fifty-two years the beloved pastor of the Congregational Church.

The Elizur Eno House, located in that continuation of the street called Westover plain, is the oldest but one in the town, built about 1750. It is a fine old structure, reposing under a mammoth elm of great age and beauty. Here at one time were quartered some French officers. A quarrel arising at dinner, one threw the carving knife, which missing his antagonist, buried itself in the casing, where the gash can now be seen.

I have given but a glimpse of this fair valley and its traditions. Would you see more? Study for yourself the tapestry of its meadows, the frescoes of its skies, the pictures on its mountain walls, and the resting place of its children, with the names engraven there.

From mossy mound and grassy hillock gliding,
With noiseless step we come;
Wishful to learn of good or ill, betiding
The old remembered home;
A band of brothers we, who sleep where weeping willows grow,
Your great grand-fathers, dead and gone, one hundred years ago.

Granby, Connecticut

2007-11-04T09:15:00.000-05:00

By William Scoville Case

[From the Memorial History of Hartford County, CT
Edited by: J. Hammond Trumbull, LL.D.
Published by Edward L. Osgood, 1886]

Although Granby has existed as an independent township only since 1786, the history proper of the tract enclosed in its present limits antedates that period by considerably more than a century. A hasty (summary) of the history prior to the final separation from Simsbury is necessary for a complete and satisfactory understanding of the later chronicles.

The town, as incorporated in October 1786, comprised an area of about fifty-nine miles, with an average length of nine and one half miles, and a breadth of about six miles. Still later, in 1858, this territory was in turn divided (with) about one third of the eastern part of the town going to form the present township of East Granby, which includes the famous Newgate Prison. The location of Granby cannot perhaps be better described than by saying that it lies adjacent to and directly south of the irregular notch in the Massachusetts and Connecticut boundary line. It consists of a hilly and irregular district, like most of the towns which make up the northern and northwestern portions of the State. Its lowlands are traversed by the waters of two large brooks, with their several tributaries, which, coming from nearly opposite directions, meet near the southeastern boundary of the town, and together flow on to the crooked Farmington River about three miles distant. The soil is generally sandy, although the well-watered lowlands are as fertile as those of the adjacent towns.

Farming is the prevailing occupation of the people, the distance from good water-power, as well as from railroad conveniences, rendering the place undesirable for manufacturing purposes. Copper in quantities too small to warrant the expense of mining is an indigenous product, and traces of iron have likewise been found in sufficient quantities to arouse the enthusiasm of enterprising people; but Granby mining ventures, of whatever description, have so far proved most dismal failures to all who have embarked in them.

Although nothing definite is known concerning the earliest period of the town's history, yet there is good reason for supposing that the first house in the town stood at the Falls, now in East Granby, and a little less than a mile north of the village of Tariffville. This was occupied by John Griffin as early as 1664, and he may with reasonable certainty be called the first settler. He held the first Indian deed, given by Manahanoose on account of the Indians having set fire to some of his tar, which he manufactured in considerable quantities. The next settlers in the town located at Salmon Brook, Granby proper, and the first house there stood near the present residence of Mr. Dennison Case. Daniel Hays, of Indian fame, lived about 1720 in a house which stood "below the hill" and near the present home of Mr. Joseph Sanford. It is also generally supposed that a blockhouse was erected still farther south, immediately in the rear of the house lately occupied by Mr. Charles Pettibone, where the settlers flocked in times of danger, and when in fear of any outbreak from the savage proprietors of the country.

Little by little the wildness of the country took on a more civilized air. First of all it was necessary that there should be roads. Means of communication must be had with neighbors, and with the adjoining towns. As in all early settlements in new countries, these roads were at first simply footpaths. One of the first public highways was a road from Barn Door Hills, in the western part of the town, to Wilcox's mill, which was located near the present site of the New Haven and Northampton Railroad depot. Another road ran from near the residence of Mr. Dennison Case to the same mill, and still another lay between Barn Door Hills and the house now occupied by Mr. Orlando Smith. These highways were of the most primitive sort, and were constructed only as the strict necessities of the occasion required.

Fear of the Indians, which is the one omnipresent and unquestioned factor in all our colonial history, seems to have been present at this period among the settlers, and, unfortunately, with excellent reason. Frequent attacks and murderous outbreaks kept these unfortunate pioneers in a perpetual state of alarm; and their energies at this time seem rather to have been devoted to measures of personal safety than to matters of public interest and improvement. In the early days of the settlement the Indians were never slow to take advantage of its weak state, and many acts of depredation and malicious deviltry took place. The most noteworthy of these was probably the capture of Daniel Hays, an early settler, alluded to before.

Hays, as has been stated, lived at Salmon Brook. At that time a young man of twenty-two or twenty-three years, he was captured on his way to the pasture in search of his horse. The three Indians who had thus lain in wait for him immediately bound their captive and started for the north. A general alarm was soon spread among the settlers, and a party made up of men from his own town and the neighboring town of Windsor was soon scouring the woods in search of the savages. All their efforts were vain, however, and in the mean time the captive was hurried on to Canada, treated with all manner of insults and indignities. After a journey of nearly thirty days he was brought to a great Indian encampment on the Canada border. Here he was compelled to "run the gauntlet," which terrible ordeal he was fortunate enough to pass through alive, and. was at length by unusual good fortune adopted into an Indian family. After a lapse of several years he was sold to a Frenchman at Montreal, who took pity on him and allowed him the privilege of purchasing his own freedom after a service of some years. He returned to his family after an absence of about seven years, and lived from that time in an uninterrupted course of peace and happiness. He died in 1756, and was buried in the cemetery at Salmon Brook, where his grave may yet be seen, marked by one of the curious little red freestone slabs of that period.

The work of settlement and population was very slow and discouraging. Records show that as late as 1709 there were only eleven families settled within the present boundaries of the town. It has been affirmed that frequent Indian outbreaks kept the place entirely deserted for considerable periods of time. As the town grew in numbers and strength, however, apprehension of dangers from these sources gradually disappeared, and the population seems to have increased with considerable rapidity, as in 1736 two ecclesiastical societies were established, called respectively the Northeast and Northwest societies.

It must be remembered that all public measures prior to 1786 were carried out only with the approval of the town of Simsbury, of which the settlements at the Falls and at Salmon Brook and Turkey Hills were a part. The "meetings" of the Salmon Brook Society were held for a time in the house of Daniel Hays, which was also used as a tavern; but in 1739 a meeting of this society was convened to adopt measures for building a meeting house. Local feeling was strong, and the General Assembly was at length referred to, in order to settle disputes and decide upon a location for the new building. This august body appointed a committee, in accordance with whose report the site finally adopted was upon Seminary Hill, at Salmon Brook. This result of outside arbitration seems to have by no means put an end to internal dissuasions, however; for in 1775 the building was taken down and rebuilt on a spot designated by another committee of arbitration, some two miles north of its first location. This in turn was taken down, and another building erected in 1834, which is still standing, and is occupied by the First Society.

In these earliest years of the Northwest Society the congregation did not feel able to support a minister, and the "meetings" were conducted by the "brethren" alternately, with an occasional sermon from some ordained minister whenever it was practicable to secure such a (rara avis) for one or more Sundays. This state of affairs lasted for fifteen or sixteen years, until the little parish had so grown in numerical and financial strength that the churchgoers felt warranted in keeping a shepherd of their own.

The first settled minister of the original Northwest Society was the Rev. Joseph Strong, ordained 1752 and dismissed 1779. Mr. Strong probably organized the church. He "used Watts' Psalms, and catechized the children," receiving as compensation for his ministerial labors a salary of £50, his firewood, and the use of the parsonage, which stood on the site of the old Jewett place, now owned by the Hon. T. M. Maltbie. The magnificent elms which are now standing at this place were probably set out by Mr. Strong. Before his dismissal some trouble arose in regard to his salary, owing to the depreciation of currency during the war. He removed to Williamsburg, Mass., and remained there engaged in his labors until his death.

The Rev. Israel Holly succeeded him in the parish, in October, 1784, remaining until 1793, when he in turn gave way to the Rev. Isaac Porter, who was ordained in June, 1794, and remained in the pastorate for more than thirty-eight years. Mr. Porter experienced many difficulties during his long ministry. It would seem, from appearances that he was a strict disciplinarian, and ruled his congregation with a rod of iron. Members were disciplined for absenting themselves from church services, and much dissatisfaction followed. At last Simeon Holcomb brought specific charges against the church, criticizing the manner in which the sacrament was administered, complaining that the pastor had not been ordained and was not supported "in the Gospel way," and avowing that the church was impure and corrupt in many of its members. After Mr. Porter's dismissal he lost his property, and became dependent for his support upon the generosity of individuals; the church, be it said to her shame, withholding her aid, in spite of his long and faithful pastorate. His successor, the Rev. Charles Bentley, was pastor from 1883 to 1889. Mr. Bentley consented to settle in Granby only on condition that a new church be erected; and the present edifice was completed early in his pastorate.

The next pastor was the Rev. Chauncey D. Rice, who served in that capacity from 1839 to 1841. A new parsonage was built for Mr. Rice, adjoining the present church building. The Rev. Israel P. Warren was his successor. He was ordained in 1842. Mr. Warren was considered rather "liberal" in his theology, and, after the manner of his kind, his pastorate was marked by contests between himself and the more conservative element. He afterward removed to Boston, and rose to considerable eminence in his profession. After his dismissal the pulpit was filled for some time by "supplies," and not until 1855 was the next regular minister ordained.

This was the Rev. William Gilbert, who remained in charge until 1863. The Rev. Thomas D. Murphy (Yale, 1863) was ordained in 1866, the Rev. Dr. Leonard Bacon, of New Haven, preaching the ordination sermon. Mr. Murphy was pastor of the church until 1871. Shortly after the organization of the South Church at Salmon Brook in 1872 Mr. Murphy became its pastor, and remained as such until 1880. The Rev. William Hammond succeeded him in the pastorate of the First Church, and remained two years. Mr. Hammond was followed by the Rev. James B. Cleaveland, the present pastor. At the South Church the pulpit was filled, after Mr. Murphy's dismissal, by the Rev. George W. Griffith, at that time a student in the Yale Theological Seminary. Upon his graduation (1881) Mr. Griffith became the pastor of the church, remaining in that position one year. He was succeeded by the Rev. W. P. McFarland, who left at the expiration of a year's service to accept a position upon the staff of "The Gospel in All Lands," a religious paper published at Baltimore. From the time of Mr. McFarland's dismissal the church has had no settled pastor.

The Northeast, or, as it came to be called, the Turkey Hills Society is described in the history of East Granby.

An Episcopal church was begun in 1792, although not finished until 1800, and stood many years on the site of the present building of the Library Association. From the small number of Episcopalians, the parish was always weak in its finances, and never able to support a minister of its own. The pulpit was usually supplied by combining with the people of St. Andrew's Parish in Bloomfield, all together hiring a rector who should do the duties incumbent upon him for both parishes. The church was closed about forty years ago, but to this day traces of its influence are occasionally observed. A movement has been started quite recently to reorganize the Episcopalians of the town, with a view to testing the advisability of again holding services in the place.

The Methodists erected their present church building in West Granby in 1845, and the society is now in a comfortably flourishing condition. There is also a society of Universalists possessing a substantial little church located in North Granby, some few hundred rods above the old North Church of the Congregationalists. They are prosperous and independent enough to employ their own minister, and their numerical strength, although confined almost exclusively to the northern section of the town, is considerable.

The organization of the South Church, alluded to before, took place in 1872, when a division occurred, and the people of Salmon Brook and immediate vicinity, who formed a considerable portion of the congregation, dissatisfied at having to ride two miles over a poor road to get the benefits of public worship, seceded from the mother church and organized themselves into the South Congregational Society. They have never built a church, but have held services in the building of the Granby Library Association, a commodious two-storied structure, which was erected about the time of the formation of the new society, and admirably answers the purposes of a church.

We have spoken of the early ecclesiastical history of the town, and it is proper in this connection to add a few words regarding the early educational history. But little is known definitely concerning the first schools, and we must pass rapidly from the time when the early settlers built their first schoolhouse near Salmon Brook, to the period, a century or more later, when something more systematic was undertaken. In 1874 the entire public school system of the town was improved and remodeled. The number of scholars in each district was as follows: In district No. 1, 111; No. 2, 34; No. 3, 18; No. 4, 64; No. 5, 17; No. 6, 45; No. 8, 16; No. 9, 80; No. 10, 27; No. 11, 10. Total, 372. It was at this time that the modern high-school methods were adopted by the board for the examination of teachers. The standard then set has been rigidly adhered to, and has resulted most satisfactorily. A better qualified and more competent body of teachers has been the result sought for and attained. For the year 1884 the cost of maintaining the schools of the town amounted to $2,554.94, of which $625.50 came from the school fund and $296.12 from the town deposit fund, leaving $1,452.89 to be assessed by taxation. At present the town ranks fifty-second among the towns of the State, in school attendance according to enumeration, which for the eleven districts is now 264, a decrease of 108 in eleven years.

Private schools of more or less importance have at various periods had a brief existence within the town. A school of considerable note once stood near the present site of the Soldiers Monument, at Salmon Brook Street. This was discontinued more than half a century ago. The library building at Salmon Brook was occupied for a number of years by the Rev. Mr. Murphy, who, with an assistant, taught the various branches of the classics, for collegiate preparation, and kept a school of the first order. At Mr. Murphy's departure this school was closed.

We have alluded before to a "blockhouse" which stood, at the earliest period of the history of the settlement, in Salmon Brook Street. An elaborate map of Simsbury, made about 1730, located another and more important fortification about a mile north of the "street," and near the Southwick road. This was known as Shaw's Fort. It is supposed to have been erected in 1708, and was probably of the most primitive style of architecture, a rough block-house, protected by the conventional ditches and palisades. In these early days of the settlement no military organization was attempted; and it is probable that this fort was used only on occasions of unusual Indian outbreaks, when the settlers flocked to it en masse. At this time there were but fifty-eight houses in the entire tract which afterward became Granby, and they were scattered over several miles of territory. Nevertheless, we must date the military history of the town from this period; and it is not surprising, when we consider the rough training which these people had in their early struggles with savage foes, to find them in after years playing so important a part in the most serious wars which afflicted the country. In the French war of 1756 Simsbury furnished a company in which several Granby men served, and in 1762 a company of forty-seven men, under the command of Captain Noah Humphrey, formed part of the disastrous expedition to Havana under General Lyman. Fourteen members of this company came from the Granby part of Simsbury. Only two of them returned from Havana. Their names were Andrew Hfflyer and Dudley Hays. The sufferings of the men who took part in this foolhardy expedition were extreme. Sickness and shipwreck, and every form of disaster, in fact, seemed to be present.

In the War of the Revolution the record of the town was one in which we may well take pride. Volunteers to the cause of freedom came forward from every section, and in the attack on Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, Granby men were present as members of Captain Phelps's company. It was during this war that the usefulness of Newgate was made apparent, and the place was fitted up and transformed into a prison for Tories and English prisoners. It proved its admirable fitness for the purpose, as a letter from General Washington still bears evidence,' and did much good service in the cause of the patriots. After Burgoyne's surrender, detachments of his captured army, were sent through to Hartford, and a peaceful little meadow, only a few hundred yards from the spot where the original block house stood, is still pointed out as the camping ground of a company of Hessians who passed through the place as prisoners of war. Men from this town participated in nearly every battle of importance during the entire Revolutionary War; and the writer treasures a curious old razor, with its wooden case, which passed through the untold hardships of Valley Forge as the property of Sergeant Seth Hares.

The part which Granby played in the second war with Great Britain and the Mexican War is lost to us, although there were doubtless natives of the town who enlisted in each of these struggles. No companies were formed from this place exclusively. After the latter war, and during the period of "militia" excitement, there was much interest manifested in military matters, and many of the older citizens remember, with a thrill of the same old patriotic ardor that fired them then, the "general training day." This was an occasion of extraordinary interest to the dwellers in the rural districts, which flocked in great numbers to the village which had been previously selected as the gathering ground of the volunteer companies for miles around. Granby was often selected for this honor, and the broad "street" seems to have been especially adapted for the warlike maneuvers which characterized such gala days.

In the War of the Rebellion the town furnished her full quota of men. Everett Griswold joined the service April 19, 1861, and was probably the first Granby man to enlist, although his example was quickly followed by seventeen more enlistments in May. Twenty more men were enrolled in the service before the end of the year. The number of enlistments during the following year was thirty-eight, and in 1863 and 1864, nineteen. Of these men, the greater part enlisted as privates, and never rose above the positions of minor officers, though there was at least one brilliant exception in the person of Colonel Richard E. Holcomb, who rose rapidly by promotion and was finally put in command of the 1st Louisiana, the first white Union regiment from that State. He was killed at the battle of Port Hudson, June 14th, 1863, while at the head of his men and urging them on. Colonel Holcomb was a man of great bravery and determination, and his brilliant record as a soldier gave promise of a bright future.

Since the exciting events of the Civil War little has occurred to disturb the tranquil sleepiness of the staid old town. With the memory of their dead heroes fresh in their minds, the people of the town immediately after the war voted to erect a soldiers' monument. Voluntary contributions were forthcoming, and in a short period the amount requisite for a handsome memorial was pledged. Then came the inevitable wrangle over the location of the proposed monument. Every section of the town came forward with its own particular claims to recognition. There were apparently insurmountable objections to its erection in one place, and unanswerable reasons for its being located in another place, and vice versa. The upshot of the whole affair was the dedication, July 4, 1868, of the handsome brown stone monument which stands at the northern end of Salmon Brook Street.

In 1786 the town was incorporated, with Jttdah. Holcomb, Jr., as the first town clerk. Colonel Ozias Pettibone and Colonel Pliny Hillyer were the first representatives to the State legislature. Until 1794 the town was allowed but one representative in the legislature. In that year, and thereafter, two were sent, and the two gentlemen who first went together were the men who had up to that time alternated in representing the town, Messrs. Pettibone and Hillyer.

In 1858 the town was subdivided, East Granby forming itself into an independent town, as Granby had done before. During the campaign of 1840 political excitement in Granby ran very high, and a spot near Stony Hill is still recollected by many people as the site of the log cabin of the Harrison and Tyler men.

The Granby Water Company was incorporated in 1868, with Dr. Jairus Case as president. Water is brought from Bissell's Brook, and is supplied at present to almost every house-owner in the vicinity. A visionary scheme to construct a railroad from Granby to Tariffville, a distance of some four miles, also upset the minds of the villagers a few years ago. After going to the trouble of securing a charter from the legislature, the upholders of the scheme decided it to be impracticable, and it was abandoned. In December, 1876, the place was visited by a disastrous fire which destroyed the principal hotel, the store of Loomis Brothers, together with the post-office, and the adjoining buildings. A high wind was blowing at the time, and a general conflagration was apprehended. This, however, was happily averted. The burned buildings have not been rebuilt.

In 1882 disputes arose between Granby and Suffield regarding the town boundaries upon Manatic Mountain. The trouble was referred to a committee of three persons appointed by the Superior Court, who decided the matter in favor of this town, after a Personal examination of the disputed territory and a full review of the evidence.

In manufacturing, the town has never held a prominent place. West Granby has acquired some note as a centre for cider brandy distilleries, and there was, at one time, a brass foundry, on the present site of Forsyth's Gristmill.

Pegville, one of the small villages of the town, derived its name from quite an extensive shoe industry once located there; and a building was erected at Salmon Brook a few years ago for the purpose of manufacturing toy pistols and other "notions" of like character. The place was subsequently occupied by another company for the manufacture of knife handles; but it has been unoccupied for a considerable period. In politics, Granby has been variable. At present the town is very strongly Republican, giving a Republican majority of between forty and fifty on a total vote of about three hundred. The town is in the Third Senatorial District, and has been represented in the State Senate by Edmund Holcomb, Republican, in 1866, Dr. Jairus Case, Democrat, in 1868, and Theodore M. Maltbie, Republican, in 1884. William C. Case, Republican member from the town, was Speaker of time Connecticut House in 1881.

The population of the town is decreasing. Every census shows a loss of some scores, and the "Ricardian Acre" is only too common a sight on the hillsides and among the mountains in the northern and least settled portions of the town. The census of 1870 gave Granby a population of 1,517, and that of 1880 reduced the number to 1,340.

East Granby, Connecticut

2007-11-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

By Charles Horace Clarke

[From the Memorial History of Hartford County, CT
Edited by: J. Hammond Trumbull, LL.D.
Published by Edward L. Osgood, 1886]

East Granby was incorporated in 1858, out of Granby and Windsor Locks. Granby was set off from Simsbury in 1786 and Windsor Locks from Windsor in 1854. The individual history of East Granby is chiefly that of the Turkey Hills Parish Society, which was the Northeast Society of Simsbury. This society was created in 1736, and in 1737 a part of the Northwest Society of Windsor was added to it; this part was taken from Windsor Locks and incorporated into East Granby when the town was established.

As early as 1793 an effort was made to have East Granby set off as a separate town, because Granby at that time reconsidered the vote under which the town meeting was held once in three years at Turkey Hills. The limits then asked for the proposed town was practically those which were at last fixed upon.

The town embraces about eighteen square miles; being four and a half miles east and west, and averaging four miles north and south. Its population in 1860 was 883; in 1870, 853; in 1880, 754; showing a decrease in the last decade of more than twelve per cent. This decrease was due almost wholly to the decline in value of agricultural products, especially tobacco, which followed the close of the War of the Rebellion, and the extended culture of that product in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin. A more economical production was necessary, and there was consequently a limited employment of farm laborers. The Talcott range of mountains divides the town from north to south into nearly equal parts. That west of the mountain is rolling and somewhat hilly; that east of the mountain slopes gradually down to a plain, and is of peculiar natural beauty.

As early as 1710 iron was manufactured at a mill on Stony Brook, in the extreme northeast part of the town, close by the Suffield line, and this is believed to have been the first manufacture of iron from ore procured in the colony. About 1728 a furnace called the "New Works" was set up a mile farther south, on land now owned by Oliver M. Holcomb. The ore was from surface stone gathered in that part of Windsor which still retains the name of Ore Marsh. The manufacture of wire cards began about 1820, on the Farmington River, and other industries followed. In 1846 the Cowles Manufacturing Company made spoons, and it is claimed was the first to make a practical success of electric plating. Its works gave the name of Spoonville to the site, and that remains, although spoon-making ceased there about thirty years ago.

The town is free from debt, and an average annual tax of seven mills has been sufficient to support all public burdens during the last ten years. The town has two ecclesiastical societies: the Congregational, having its church edifice in the Centre, just at the foot of the eastern slope of the mountain; and the Methodist Episcopal church, situated about a mile north of the old Newgate prison, on the west side of the mountain. The former was established in October, 1786, after a long and bitter controversy extending through many years. The final result was the division of Simsbury into four parish societies, of which Turkey Hills was one, each to have independent ecclesiastical privileges. June 16, 1737, the parish of Turkey Hills voted to build a church, and applied to the legislature for a committee to locate its position. John Edwards, James Church, and Joseph Talcott, Jr., having been appointed such committee, selected the site for the church at an "oak straddle," on land of Samuel Clark, upon the west side of the north and south highway, some ten rods south of the present dwelling house of Charles P. Clarke, and about the same distance north of the intersecting highway leading eastward. Out of the bitter church controversy referred to there grew a topographical map of ancient Simsbury. This map shows that about 1780 there were living in the parish twenty-eight families -- twenty-three east and five west of the mountain. In 1709 there were but two families, those of John Griffin and Joshua Holcomb, both of whom lived near the Falls.

The church building was begun in 1788. It was taken down in 1831 by George Burleigh Holcomb, who used some of its timbers in the buildings on the place where he now resides. The present edifice was begun in 1880 and completed in 1831. The first clergyman employed in the parish was a Mr. Wolcott, who preached in 1737. The Rev. Ebenezer Mills was settled in 1741. From 1754 to 1760 there was preaching by candidates. The Rev. Nehemiah Strong, afterward professor in Yale College, was settled as pastor, Jan. 21, 1761, and dismissed in 1767. The next settled pastor was the Rev. Aaron Booge, November, 1776. The society appointed seventeen tavern keepers for the day of his ordination! He was dismissed in 1785, but supplied the pulpit four years longer. The Rev. Whitfield Cowles was ordained in 1794; but dissensions arose, he was tried for heresy, and the society fell into discord, and for a while lost its legal existence. The next regular ministers were the Reverends Harvey Wilbur, 1815-1816, and Eber L. Clark, 1816-1820, who were also chaplains at Newgate Prison. There have been frequent changes of ministers since then. The Rev. Joel H. Lindsley, who found the church in 1865 in a much reduced condition, owing to quarrels and dissensions arising from the questions of the war, did much to revive it and to endear himself to the people. At that time the church building was renovated and improved. The pulpit is now supplied by the Rev. P. A. Strong.

The Methodist church at Copper Hill was built in 1839, and in 1850 was thoroughly repaired, and moved about five rods westward. Like all Methodist churches, it has had regular changes of pastor. In the ministry of Lemuel Richardson, in 1871, there was an extensive revival of religion, attended with remarkable manifestations. The writer, at a single evening meeting in the church, which lasted from seven o'clock until midnight, witnessed as many as fifteen persons who became apparently unconscious. Some were stretched upon the floor; others were lying or being supported upon the seats. This visitation of "the Spirit" was regarded as a great blessing, and it certainly did strengthen the church in numbers. Mr. Richardson was a large, powerful man, full of strength, zeal, and boldness, and possessed of a strong, loud voice, which he used in singing as well as in preaching and prayer.

The celebrated Simsbury copper mine, where afterward was located for fifty-four years the Connecticut State prison called Newgate, was first known to the inhabitants of Simsbury in 1705. Two years later there was an association of such proprietors of the town as chose to subscribe to articles of agreement for the purpose of opening and working it. The location of the mine was about a hundred rods from the west ledge of the Talcott Mountain, at its highest point in East Granby, which is a point nearly as high as any in the same ridge in the State. The position is one of much picturesque-ness and beauty.

The period of greatest mining activity was from 1715 to 1787; during these years it was carried on in face of great dangers and greater discouragements arising from the newness of the country and the want of proper facilities of every nature pertaining to the business. The articles of agreement under which the subscribing proprietors, in 1707, undertook to work the mine, provided that, after deducting the expenses of the work, there be allowed to the town ten shillings on each ton of copper produced, and the residue be divided among the proprietors in proportion to their subscriptions. The company only dug the ore; they did not undertake to smelt and refine it.

In the same year they entered into a contract with Messrs. John Woodhridge, of Springfield, Dudley Woodbridge, of Simsbury, and Timothy Woodbridge, Jr., of Hartford, all clergymen, who agreed to run and refine the ore, and cast the metal into bars fit for transportation or a market; and, after deducting the tenth part belonging to the town (of which two thirds was to be given for the maintenance of an able schoolmaster in Simsbury, and the other third to the collegiate school of Yale College), the residue was to be equally divided between them and the proprietors, or workers of the mine.

The legislature, in 1709, passed an act vesting the right to control all matters relating to the mine in the major part of the proprietors, according to the interests of each; and it was under arrangement with this organization that milling operations were carried on until the State began to use the mine as a prison. The act also provided for the adjudication of all matters in controversy between any and all persons connected with the mines, by a board of commissioners. During the mining excitement companies, organized in Boston, in London, and in Holland, expended large sums at Copper Hill. Governor Belcher, of Massachusetts, said in 1735 that he bad spent £15,000 there. The mine most improved, and where the greatest excavation was made, was the one purchased for a prison. The most extensive workings, aside from those on Copper Hill, were known as Higley's Mine, situated a little more than a mile southward, on land now owned by Hilton Griffin, and nearly west of the old vineyard gap in tile mountain, where upon. [Interesting background on Higley's Mine at http://www.coinfacts.com/historical_notes/history_of_the_higley_copper_coins.htm.] The map of ancient Simsbury Mr. Higley's house is seen to have been located. Mr. Edmund Quincy, of Boston, had a company of miners working here at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War; soon afterward the works were abandoned. About 1787 Samuel Higley, here referred to, manufactured a rude copper coin which to some extent circulated as a representative of value in the vicinity, and has since been known as the Higley Copper. Tile coins are said to have passed current for “two and sixpence;" presumably in paper, because their intrinsic value was only a penny. They were not all of one device; but one now in the Connecticut Historical Society, at Hartford, is here represented by engravings, showing both sides. Such a coin has now a cabinet value of perhaps a hundred dollars. The interest in the mines was very much abated after 1737. Of the ore dug, a considerable part was shipped to Europe; some of it arrived safely, and was smelted. One cargo was reported lost in the English Channel, and one captured by the French. About 1721 smelting and refining works were built and secretly operated (to what extent is unknown) at a place in West Simsbury called Hanover by the Germans, who were then conducting the business. The locality has since retained the name.

At the May session of the General Assembly, in 1773, William Pitkin, Erastus Ellsworth, and Jonathan Humphreys were appointed a committee to "view and explore the copper mines at Simsbury" with regard to the fitness of that place for a prison, and after their favorable report they were authorized to obtain possession of the property. They bought up a mining lease that had nineteen years to run, and prepared the place to receive prisoners. The legislature gave it the name of Newgate. Burglars, horse thieves, and counterfeiters were liable to be sent there to work in the mines. John Viets was the first master, or keeper, of the prison. The first convict, John Henson, was received December 22, 1773, and escaped on the 9th of the next month. The history of the prison is a long record of escapes, uprisings, fires, and other troubles, although it early acquired the reputation of a very secure place, as appears by General Washington's reference to it. In 1777 the prisoners were all taken to the Hartford jail, and probably the prison was not used again until 1780, when it was rebuilt, and the prisoners were set at other work than mining. Previously they had mined ore, which was sold by order of the legislature. There was another sweeping fire in 1782, and the place was then abandoned until 1790. A new prison was completed in October, 1790, and Major Peter Curtiss was appointed keeper. The heavy wall about the premises was built in 1802. The prisoners were confined below ground; many of them wore iron fetters, and tradition has it that some were chained to rings in the wall. There was a treadmill under one of the buildings, which the convicts operated.

All the prisoners were finally removed to Wethersfield, on the 1st of October, 1827, and the prison buildings and, land were sold shortly afterward to persons interested in mining operations. The history of Newgate has been written out with great detail by Noah A. Phelps. After the abandonment of the property by the State for prison purposes several efforts were made, without success, to carry on the mining of copper. No considerable amount of ore was reduced, and the experiments were abandoned in 1859. Since then the mines have served only to afford a curious interest to those who visit the place on account of its associations as the former prison of the State. Its buildings are now far gone to decay, and soon nothing but crumbling walls of stone will mark the place, once famous alike for its hidden treasures of copper and for being the first substantial stronghold for the criminals of the colony.

Few communities have been less subject to change of inhabitants than East Granby. Its lands are excellent, and those who are engaged in agricultural pursuits have very much to encourage them to remain. Of the families shown upon the map of ancient Simsbury to have been first settlers in the place, those of Clark, Phelps, Holcomb, Griffin, Stephens, Alderman, and Owen have always had successors of their respective names living in the town; and of Thomas Stephens, Samuel Clark, Joseph Phelps, and John Holcomb, their lineal descendants, Frederick F. Stephens, Charles P. Clarke, Richard H. Phelps, and Morton Cornish, are each respectively occupying the homestead estate of his ancestor.

Elmore Clark, now seventy-eight years of age, has been the clerk of the town since its organization, and occupies the same house built by his ancestor, Joel Clark, in 1746. Isaac P. Owen, recently deceased, was the last representative by name of that family in the town; he, too, occupied the homestead of his first ancestor in East Granby, and while living in the same house represented the towns of Windsor, Windsor Locks, and East Granby, in the legislature of the State. The families of Moore, Clark, Owen, and Forward came directly from Windsor to settle in East Granby; while those of Higley, Phelps, Holcomb, Viets, and Cornish came to the place from Lower Simsbury, where there was a settlement, mostly by Windsor people, more than forty years earlier than in the parish of Turkey Hills. In the death of Alfred Winchel, in 1879, that family name ceased to have a representative in East Granby. Dr. John Viets, the ancestor of one of the now most numerous families in the town, is said to have come to Simsbury in 1710, being physician to a mining expedition from Germany. There seems to be some reason to question the accuracy of this date, because at that time the copper mines had hardly begun to attract attention from abroad; and further, because his name does not appear upon the ancient map made about 1730. His grave is in the cemetery at Hop Meadow, in Simsbury. His son John was the first keeper at Newgate, and was probably the first of the family who lived within the limits of East Granby. The family names of Viets and Cornish do not appear upon the parish record of Turkey Hills until 1743 and 1744 respectively; those of Gay arid Thrall in 1751 and 1754. The first representative in town of the Gays, was Richard, who came from Dedham, Mass., and ever since there have been here lineal representatives of that name. The name of Bates is one prominently associated with the town since 1747, when Lemuel Bates came from Long Island, learned the saddler's trade, and built the house now occupied by his grandson, William H. Bates. The names of Hillyer and Skinner are not found upon the parish register until 1779. Colonel Andrew Hillyer, the father of Charles T. Hillyer, of Hartford, was probably settled in Turkey Hills about 1774. He was then a young man, a graduate of Yale College, Ä had served under Colonel Lyman, in the English campaign of 1760, against the French in Canada, amid was also a soldier in the expedition of Lord Albemarle against Havana. Such was the fatality by sickness in that expedition, that lie was, with one exception, the sole survivor of fourteen persons enlisted from Simsbury. He was one of the first to respond to the patriotic call to arms in the War for Independence; a lieutenant at Bunker Hill, he served throughout the war, holding successively the commissions of lieutenant, captain, and adjutant. His grave is in the old cemetery at East Granby. After the removal to Hartford of General Charles T. Hillyer in 1853, no representative of that family remained in town.

Of the many persons born in East Granby who have obtained distinction in business and professional life, perhaps no other has merited and attained to the renown of Walter Forward. He was the fourth, in order of birth, of ten children born to Samuel Forward and Susannah Holcomb. Time place of his birth (which occurred January 24, 1783) is shown upon the map of ancient Simsbury. He lived in Turkey Hills, receiving only the advantages of a common-school education, until in 1803 he removed with his father to Aurora, Ohio. Walter immediately went to Pittsburg, Penn., attended for a short time an academic school, studied law with Judge Young, and was admitted to practice at the age of twenty-four. While engaged in his law studies, in 1805, he also edited the "Tree of Liberty", a Jeffersonian paper, at Pittsburg. His success as a lawyer was immediate, and he soon ranked high in his profession. In 1822 ho was elected to Congress, where lie served three terms in succession. In 1837 he was a valuable member of the Constitutional Convention of the State. In 1841 he was appointed by President Harrison first Comptroller of the Treasury; and by John Tyler made Secretary of the same. After retiring from the secretary ship of the Treasury he resumed the practice of the law, in which lie continued until appointed by President Taylor Charge d'Affaires to Denmark, a position which lie resigned to accept that of Presiding Judge of Alleghany County. This latter he held at the time of his death, in 1852.

He was a man of most kind and generous nature, and interested himself to aid his younger brothers to education and position. His brother Chauncey, born in 1798, studied law in his office, and settled in Somerset, Penn. He was a member of both houses of time legislature of Pennsylvania, and three terms, from 1825 to 1831, a member of Congress. The daughter of Chauncey Forward became the wife of the Hon. Jeremiah Black, who also studied law in the office of Walter Forward, at Pittsburg. Two sisters, Hannah Forward Clark and Betsey Forward Fowler, lived to the advanced ages of ninety-eight and ninety-seven years respectively.

Of those born within the limits of East Granby, who have achieved great wealth and prominence in business affairs, may properly be mentioned Anson G. Phelps and George Robbins, of New York City, Allyn Robbins, of Chicago, and General Charles T. Hillyer, of Hartford.

The following persons, residents of the town, were soldiers in the War for Independence: Colonel Andrew Hillyer, Hon. Samuel Woodruffe, Isaac Owen, Lemuel Bates, Mathew Griswold, Roswell Phelps, Richard Gay, Joel Clark, Reuben Clark, Zopher Bates, John Forward, Hezekial Holcomb, John Cornish, Asahel Holcomb, Thomas Stevens, Jesse Clark, Joseph Clark, John Thrall, Luke Thrall, David Eno, Reuben Phelps, and Samuel Clark.

Soldiers in the War of 1812 were: Dan. Forward, Joseph Cornish, Appollos Gay, Orson P. Phelps, Calvin Holcomb, Alexander Hoskins, William K. Thrall, Erastus Holcomb, Gurdon Gould, Peultha Clark, Uriah Holcomb, Elihu Ancirus, John G. Manner, Alexander Clark, Abiel Clark, Chandler Owen, Sardius Thrall, Charles Buck, Elihu Phelps, Ephraim Shaylor, William Rockwell, Joseph Dyer, Jesse Clark.

The widows of Joseph Cornish and Gurdon Gould, aged respectively eighty-five and ninety-four years, are now living in town, and are pensioners of the Government.

Citizens of the town who enlisted as soldiers in the War of the Rebellion were: Colonel Richard E. Holcomb, Leeds Brown, Oliver K. Abels, Francis V. Brown, Wesley J. Fox, William W. Morgan, Lafayette F. Johnson, Henry H. Davis, Corporal Sidney H. Hayden, Robert Holmes, James Odey, Lewis S. Porter, Delos R. Pinney, Daniel W. Griffin, Homer Russel, Edward W. Pierce, Nelson W. Pierce, Newton P. Johnson, Lieutenant Edward Pinney, Sergeant Eugene C. Alderman, Corporal Henry W. Davis, Corporal Emery M. Griffin, Wagoner John 0. Holcomb, Lyman J. Barden, Luther W. Eno, Henry B. Griffin, James Boyle, Tryon Holcomb, Webster B. Latham, Alexander Patterson, Alfred A. Phelps, Lewis C. Talmadge, Charles W. Talmadge, amid James Jackson.

The town furnished more than one hundred men to the service; but the above list is believed to include all who were residents at the time of their enlistment.

Old Irish Naming Patterns 1700-1875

2007-11-03T10:42:00.000-04:00

Nowadays, parents who lose a child by death are not inclined to use its name for a subsequent child, but this is a comparatively recent development.

SONS
1st son was named after the father's father
2nd son was named after the mother's father
3rd son was named after the father
4th son was named after the father's eldest brother
5th son was named after the mother's eldest brother

DAUGHTERS
1st daughter was named after the mother's mother
2nd daughter was named after the father's mother
3rd daughter was named after the mother
4th daughter was named after the mother's eldest sister
5th daughter was named after the father's eldest sister

A break in the naming pattern could be caused by death. A century or so ago it was not unusual for at least half the children to die in infancy. If a child died young their name was then used for the next child of the same sex, thereby keeping the name of the relative who they were "named for".

But what if the naming system produced a duplication of names? In that case, the name was taken from the next on the list. For example, if the eldest son was named John after the father's father, and the mother's father was also John, the second son could not be named after him and was, therefore, named after the father!

If the father remarried after his first wife died, the first daughter born to this new marriage was often named after the deceased wife and included her whole name.