Middlesex County CT Archives History - Books .....Hall And Smith 1887 *********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ct/ctfiles.htm *********************************************** ************************************************************************ The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification. ************************************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com May 20, 2005, 10:59 pm Book Title: The Old Chimney Stacks Of East Haddam CHAPTER XX. HALL AND SMITH. The old house where Jedediah Hall died, a few years since, has remained in the Hall family since the early settlement, until its recent sale. Here Dyer's father, Samuel Hall, carried on his trade of scythe-making in a shop near Oliver Clark's. He was a man of considerable influence. His wife was a spry little woman, with complexion quite dark. In her day slavery was not extinct even in Connecticut, and it is related of her that a stranger, who came to see Mr. Hall, mistook her position and accosted her with the question: "Where is your master?" "I wish you to understand, sir," she replied, "that I have no master but God." Thomas Hall lived a short distance east of the Dyer Hall house, at the corner of the Town Hill road, near Bashan Pond. The old chimney stack still remains. The old road leading from Oliver Palmes' to the Halsey Brown place is an ancient land-mark. Here, at the north end of the road, lived many of the Spencers, and near the south end lived several families of Smiths, the ancestor of them all being Matthew, who came from Lyme to East Haddam on the 6th day of November, A. D. 1706, at the age of 22. He located on the spot where Alden now lives. Soon after coming here he married Sarah Mack, and built a house a short distance east of the present house. There he, and afterwards his son Matthew, lived till the year 1778, when the present house was built by Matthew Smith second. From him it was bequeathed by will to Jeremiah, his third son. From him Jeremiah, Jr., purchased it in 1802, and from thence it came to the present heirs, being the fifth generation in direct descent, and making one hundred and seventy years that the place has remained in the family. The present house stands to-day as it was built over a hundred years ago. A tall and stately mansion, it overlooks all the dwellings of the plain. Then, in the scarcely broken wilderness, it must have been regarded as-some lordly manor, the center of the rude civilization of the place and times, as it was the birthplace of a numerous and influential family. Matthew Smith and Sarah Mack had eight children, as follows: Mary, married Joseph Cone. Ruth, married Jared Cone. Lydia, married Josiah Arnold. Sarah, married Thomas Rogers. Susanna, married Nehemiah Tracy. Elizabeth, died unmarried. Thomas, married Hannah Gates, Feb. 9th, 1737. Matthew 2d, married Sarah Church, January 16th, 1745. Matthew Smith, 1st, died December 6th, 1751, aged 67, and was buried at the Cone burying ground. Sarah, his wife, died January 18th, 1755, aged 71, and was buried by his side. Matthew 2d, born A. D. 1722, and Sarah Church, had seven children, five sons and two daughters, as follows: Asa was born 1747. He died when about 21. He was found dead near the residence of the late William H. Aynes, where he went to attend a social gathering in the evening. He was not found until after a search of two days, and then but a short distance from the house. The cause of his death is to this day wrapped in mystery. Elizabeth, born November i2th, 1750; married Oliver Ackley. Matthew 3d, born May i2th, 1753; married Aseneth Anable in December, 1777. Azariah was born in 1755. He died in 1778, and was buried in the Smith burial ground. Jeremiah was born March 29th, 1758, and was married to Temperance Comstock June 17th, 1784, and by will became possessor of the old homestead. Calvin was born in 1760; married Anna Anable January i5th, 1784. In company with Matthew, his brother, he moved to Middlefield, in Western Massachusetts, where they raised large families. Their descendants, yet living in that vicinity, are numerous and very respectable. Sarah, was born in 1762; she married John Park and removed from the town. Returning to Jeremiah, who married Temperance Comstock, we find that they had seven children—four sons and three daughters—as follows: Jeremiah, Jr., was born November 21st, 1786, and married Ruthy Ackley April 27th, 1809. Temperance was born October 27th, 1788; married Joseph Ackley, October 27th, 1805; died February 29th, 1812. Sophia was born May 13th, 1793; she married Joseph Brainard. Abner C. was born March 29th, 1796. He married Electa Warner, and now resides a few rods south of the old homestead. Erastus was born April 19th, 1799. He married Ann Allen, and resides with his son William on Mt. Parnassus. Julia J. was born July 8th, 1801. She married C. C. Gates, and is now living in Moodus. There are two branches of the Smith family in this vicinity, both of which, however, descended from the first Matthew. The divergence commenced with Thomas, his son, who built a house nearly in front of the Halsey Brown house, on the corner of the road leading to Aristarchus Daniels. The remains of the old cellar are yet visible. He had three sons—Matthew, Thomas and Samuel. Matthew subsequently built the house a little north of the old homestead, where Fluvia now lives, by which family it was inherited. Matthew 2d, of this branch, had twelve children, six sons and six daughters. The latter married as follows: Hannah married Stephen Fuller. Lydia married Jabez Fuller. Thankful married Irad Fuller. Esther married Josiah Gates. Olive married Jonas Sparks. Dorothy married William Palmer. Matthew lived and died on the old place. Asa located in Moodus, where Emory Lewis now lives, and was the father of Watrous B. and Asa, Jr. Jonah moved West, where he died. The other sons died when children. Of our townsmen, Alden and Edmund, it will be observed that the former is a descendant of the first branch, the latter of the second, or Thomas, branch. Most of Alden's relations moved to Massachusetts; Edmunds to Missouri. Additional Comments: Transcribed from: THE OLD CHIMNEY STACKS OF EAST HADDAM, MIDDLESEX COUNTY, CONNECTICUT, BY HOSFORD B. NILES, Author of Genealogy of THE NILES FAMILY. NEW YORK: LOWE & CO., Book and Job Printers No. 210 Fulton Street. 1887 File at -- http://files.usgwarchives.net/ct/middlesex/history/1887/oldchimn/hallands32gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ctfiles/ File size: 6.6 Kb