Morning journal and courier., 1880-06-12

TrOWDr1dQe, Rutherford, Apr1l 6 1S25, $. Trowbridge, Daniel, Aug, 1918, & Tomlinson, Isaac. April 2l, 1924, z Townsend, Ebenezer, July 21, 1924, g. Townsend, Robert, Nov 19, 1906, 6! Townsend, his wife, Sept. 20, 1903, 5. Townsend, Isaac, Nov. 5, 1S41, T Thompson, Elijah, Oct. 25, 1925, q Thompson, Capt. Joseph, Jan. 20, 1925, G whittlesey Charles, Dec 12, 1928, 6 Whittlesey Bryan, Jan. g, 1885, G Wallace, Vim. Nov. 5, 1928, 3. Whitney, Eli, Jan. g. 1925, G Beneath the list of Capt. Atwater, in some other hand, follows in pencil the following Hanover, Barney, Sept. 1889, aged 90; Capt James Goodrich, died in 1858, aged 80 Capt Benjamin Beecher, died Jan. 7, 1858 at a. m., aged S3 years; Doctor Timothy P. Beers died Sept 22, 1858, aged 69; Rev. Dr. H Croswell, March 13, 1858, aged 80; Capt. Caleb Atwater Townsend April 2S, 1858, aged 80; Jehiel Forbes, 1858.
 ELIAS BEERS.
 This gentleman was son of the Nathan Beers murdered while sitting at his owndoor, on the northwest corner of York and Chapel sts., by the British July 9th, 1779. This son of his was brother of our paternal grandmother He was a little bit of man, his hair done up in queue and he was exceedingly deaf. He carried cane and walked bending over from the infirmities of age.
 He was ever bubbling up with humor. We remember his droll figure, then about ready to tumble into his grave, to pass by group of boys playing marbles the gravelled walk near his residence on College street, op- posite the site of the church--when he slyly, as if by accident, knocked marble from its place with his cane And then when he had got about rod farther on, he gave three peculiar hens which revealed the waggery, the ruling propensity almost on the verge of the grave
 When he died, and at the great age of S5, his sister, Mrs. erpont-grandmother of the late Judge Foster-who was then about 90 years old, was duly informed of the sad event. Her reply, considering his age, was remarka- 5le: 'l am not surprised, , she said, poor Elias, he always was weakly child !"
 One summer night, in 1882, myself and another boy, also grand nephew-one of the twins Huggins-sat up with his mortal remains. The apartment was small on the ground floor, the light feeble while the body lay before us upon the bed The windows were open, and as we sat there watching through the lonely night, some felines were outside pouring forth their internal cries. And when they ceased we were apprehensive they would steal up with silent tread, spring through the window and bounce upon and mutilate the face of the dead.
 The corpse lay stretched upon the bed, covered over with white sheet. the outlines projecting up under the covering, ghastly, impressive object. We were alone with the great mystery. Watching with the dead was then an universal custom and the situation of us two boys, with that ghastly object con- stantly before under the shadows, was, with the superstitions of the time, horrible for the belief in ghosts was then prevalent with the lower strata of our population. Around the fire, then of wood in open fire place, little children often sat winter evenings, and by the light of the flames. lis tened to awful stories from the domestics until cold chills ran in successive waves over them, and they sat shuddering, fearing to look back over their shoulders at the window, lest some horrid face of demon, impressed upon the pane, should be seen there glaring in upon them.
 When we were very young and put to bed ill the dark, sometimes the whole room was filled with ghastly faces floating in the air, glaring down upon us, when we in vain hid our head under the sheets to shut out the terrific phantoms.
 The intensity of the religious life so i'm pressed children with the reality of the spirit world that ghost stories were more vivid. Did not the Bible talk about ghosts and witches? This was proof they once existed, and if once why not always? Ghosts are not human beings that they should die; if they should who would attend the funeral of a ghost What sexton toll the bell?
 THADDEus BEEcHER.
 He had a house and store on the site of the EACndnB0 COIuGT Ol CnuECn duu CudpGl streets, as early as 1786, and tradition says it was he who planted the magnificent elm that shades the Town Pump, he paying therefor a gallon of rum.
 HON. JAMES HILLHoUsE.
 This was the gentleman whose name, in as sociation with that of David Austin, is always identified with the planting of the elms on the Green. That was about the year 1901. The elm is naturally swamp tree, where itKat- 4a; foJ to upland soil like that of the New Haven plain it attains height of nearly 100 feet and fills the eye with it's majestic grace and beauty as no other tree can. There is one old gentleman who still walks our streets in health and vigor, and ever carrying acheerful heart who remembers when the Green was destitute of trees-Mr. Selleck Osborne.
 MT Aillhouse was eminently public spirited man, of indomitable will and untiring energy. He was the projector of very great enterprise for that day-the Pennington Canal. It was not paying enterprise; but, as it was mainly built on foreign capital, our citizens experienced but slight if any damage thereby.
 We have been informed that such were the pecuniary obstacles that fell in the way of the progress of the work, that perhaps it never would have been completed, but for the bus mess energy, and wise, economical manage ment of MT. Henry Farnam, then a very young Illdu, Uu0 Ol tuc WOLh Al most any one else, it is said, would have sue cumbed in despair before such apparently in surmountable obstacles. When the canal was abandoned, he built, in connection with Mir. Sheffield, the Canal railroad over the same track. To these two citizens New Haven is greatly indebted in many ways.
 HEzEKIAH HOWE,
 Father of the writer of these notes, was a bookseller and publisher of scientific works. The first edition of Websters Dictionary was printed by him. His bookstore was a few doors east of the New Haven House. In the first third of this century and decade prior it was the headquarters..inlN ew1Haven of that peculiar class. E.
 Who vex their eyes with printed page,
 And through much learning grow quite sage
 He was conspicuous in the State militia, was Brigadier General and had military com mand of New Haven ill the war of 1872. In his old age he looked upon his former inter est in military matters as having been little better than child's play We think he was mistaken. It is educating to young men be- yond the power of words to express to belong to associations, helps them to learn their kind, to know and become known. If one does not mingle with his fellows he is apt to become timid and shy Learning them, he grows more and more impressed with the folly of timidity and the discernment of Isaiah when he said ''who art those that shouldst be afraid of man, that shall die, and the son of man, which shall be made as grass ?"
 GENERAL HUMPHREYS.
 He was an aid of Washington in the war of the Revolution, and had at one time chief command of the Connecticut troops. He possessed extraordinary personal beauty. A portrait of him by Gilbert Stuart is 1n the Trumbull gallery He was poet and Am bassador to Spain and Portugal, where he married a Spanish lady. He introduced the merino (irm wooD sheep from Spain in to the United States and started in Hum phreyville, originally called Chew Town, now Seymour in this county, the first woolen mill on this con tinent. He made from the cloth suit of wooden clothes for President Jefferson which he wore on the occasion of his second inaugu- ration. They were, it is said, the first suit of woolen clothes ever made in America of home manufacture. The cloth was the kind now known as dark navy blue.
 Capt Wm. Fairehild brought over at one time for him flock of sheep. For the patri- arch of the flock. Humphrey paid $15Oo. T,, tba frct Catt1aroaY,t of Naxv ED tha