Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1856-08-26
Prom ire Hartford Times or4usust 81.
FALL OF TFII OLD CHARTER

Prom TIE Hartford Tines oIArSuEt &t-
FAIL OF TIE ssOLD CHARTER
OAK
The famous old Charter Oak OF this city, so
noted in song and history, fell with tremcn-
dous crash during the great storm at quarter be-
fore o'clock this morning. GAug 81. 1860
This noble old tree stood upon the beautiful
grounds of Hon. Isaac w. Stuart, late the VI
Tvs estate, in the southern part of the city. ~
bout three wears aL$S, some boys built a lire IN
the hollow Of this tree which burnt out the punk,
aud though it was feared that this would kill it,
such was not the tact. Fresh sprouts sprung
out the next spring, and Mr.. Stuart took great
pains to preserve this valued relic OF the orlSl-
nal forests Of New England, but more especially
the tree ia which the old British
Charter of Connecticut was secretcd and preser-
we'd At this time the hollow in the trunk Of
the old Oak was so large, thata fire company Of
81 full grown men stood up init together.
Mr. SttiartS had a stout door made to shut up
the entrance, and he also placed tin caps upon
the stumps of broken limbs, and for the past
three or four years, fresh sprouts have grown
upon most ofits limbs though other limbs were
decaying st the time gifts Gall, young and
fresh acorns were growing on every part Of it.
Thousands of people are visiting the tree, and
bringing away such sprigs and parts of limbs as
afr. Stuart permits.
WatchmRn Butler SAYS he stood at the head
ofthe street at the time ofthe crash. Thewind had
been blowing freshly from the Northwest for an
hour or more He first heard q loud crack, and
saw the old oak swaying in the breeze; crack
ing noise followed, then the crash-allwithint the
space of q half a minute-and the famous mon
arch of the forest, whose history is SO intimate
" entwined in that of Connecticut, was pros
trate upon the earth! One thousand years ago,
when it was in the prime of life-when its years
were half numbered, its far reaching branches
had sportcd in fiercer storms. and more swift
Rf1fn full th0USan6
have smiled and waned upon its youth, its prime
and its decline, it had become grey and decrcpit,
but was still tenacious oflfe; it still chung to the
lovely spot which gave it birth, by its far reach
ing roots, running a long way up into the beau
tifull hillside, and downward to the sharp cut
below. Firmly, aye, proudly, the Oak stood,
seemingly conscious that nature had marked out
for its own accommodation, one Of the most en-
chanting retreats in the State, and that destiny
had accorded to it a notable and everlasting his
toric page in story of Connectcut-one of the
patriotic and original thirteen States of the In
ion.
Proudly it had stood, and when lettering with
age, and reduced to mere shell OF few inches,
by the steady nroads of Time ITSELF it still chung
with fondness to the loved srot on which it bad
witnessed the decay and downfall of many of its
associates-the path and the bloody wars of the
red men, and the red mans decay-the birth and
death of generations of the white EIan, whose
axe hal cut away its towering comrades of the
olden time. But whilst preserving fair extc-
rior, it was iuwardly wasting away, and was
Obliged to yield and fall in storm Ear less severe
than many thousands that had preceded it.
Before Governor Wyllys came to America
he sent his steward forward to prepare place
for his residence As he was cutting away the
trees upon the hill side Of thebcnutifll ''WylyS
place" n deputation ofIndians came to him and
requested that he would spare this old hollow
hot ,o5 In rt1i1..
of their ancestors fcrcenturies." 1t was spared,
to fall this day, having finally yielded to the
process Of natural decay. The tree measured
80 feet in circumference 1T tho bottom; and it
has broken OF so as to leave feet OF stump on
one side and 6 feet on the othe'-the stump
measuring II feet in circumference at its top
The charter of Kinli Charles the 3D. for the col
onv of Connecticut, arrived in Hartford in 1862,
probably in the month of Septelnber, though the
precise time is not now known. On the 9th of
October it was publicly read to the assembled
frecmen of Connecticut, and was declared to "be
long to them and their successors" and the
people evinccd their gratitude by appointing
committee to take charge oft, under the sOlem-
mites of an oath, and to preserve this palladium
of the rights of the people. 1t contained many
liberal provisions, as may be seen Oh examining
it in the Secretary of States Office, where the
original copy is still preserved with care. II
was the organic Law of Connecticut till the pres
ent constitution took its place in 1918.
In 1856, the General Government New Eng
land was dissolved by james the I'd, and new
government was instituted with Joseph Dudley
as President Of the Commissioners. Connect
cut refused to surrender, and when the third
writ of quo 7oIrT2nt0 was sent to her, Gov.
Treat, in january, 1887, called special session
of the Assembly, which refused to accede to the
demands Of the new king. They still held to
their charter. In March, another special session
NiK-GC e
the people refused to surrender" In May
they met again in regular session, under the
Charter, and reelected Treat as governor
On the 31st oc October, 1857 Sir Edmund An
dross, attended by members OF his Council aud
body guard of sixty soldiers, entered Hartford
to take the Charter by force. The General AS
scmbly was in session. He was received with
bly, room and publicly demanded the charter
RemonStrances were made, and the session was
prostracted till evening. The Governor and his
-...'~";"t"S anpeared to s';ail Tho Charter was
brought in and laid upon the table. Sir Edmund
thought the last moment of the Colony had come,
when suddenly the lights 1ccrc put ont, and total
darkness followed! The candles were again light
ed, But TIE CHATTER WAS ooSE Sir Edmund
Andross was disconnected He declared the
Government of Connecticut to be in his own
hands, and that the Colony was annexed to Mas
sachusetts and other New England Colonies and
proceeded to appoint otncerS. whilst he was
doing this, Capt jeremiah Wailsworth, a patri
OF of those times, was conceaiing the Charter in
the hollow of WHY'S Oak, now known as TIE
CHARTER OAK.
In 1859 King James abdicatcd, and on the 9th
of May of that year Gov. Treat and his associ-
ate officers resumed the Government of Conncc-
ticut under the charter, which had been preserv-
ed in the old Charter Oak.
Mr. Stuart had Colts Armory Band come up
this noon and play solemn diYgeS for two hours
over the trunk of the fallen Monarch of the For
est. He is a generous hearted mana worthy
proprietor of the lovely hill that nurtured for
centuries such noble tree. a daguerreotype
likeness Of the fallen tree was taken to-day.
The city bells are to be tolled at sun down,
as mark of respect entertained by our citizens
for the fallen 'Monarch'