{"1": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3415", "width": "2032", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0001.jp2"}, "2": {"fulltext": "^^)^1\\ni 2i^\\n3\\n3\u00c2\u00bb 1 ;Z3\\n3\\nis M tx\u00c2\u00bb\\n^3 3-\\ni 3\\nID) 3i\\n3^ ^3 .3\\n3\\nT^ ^fc^y 3\\n3\\n3\u00c2\u00bb :3\\nliilUKY OF CONGRES\\n^^y^,. F 1 0,^\\n-^e^.. ..E.V.^^\\nUNITED STATES OP AMERICA\\n3 3,-^^\\n^.3vJ3\\n1\\n3\\nmi\\nJ.\\n1\u00c2\u00bb3)\u00c2\u00bb 3\\n3\u00c2\u00bb3-\u00c2\u00bb)l\\nV 3C\u00c2\u00bb^ _r\u00c2\u00bb\\ni? 3?i r\\n33 3\u00c2\u00bb3\\n3 3 .j i,^.\\n3/3 1 D)\\n3o ;\u00c2\u00bb!3\u00c2\u00bb -a^^\\n-^.S3 .-)VX)3)\\n3 ST5\\n-3:-i\\n33", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0002.jp2"}, "3": {"fulltext": "3^X\\nDO\\n:)yo\\nJ\u00c2\u00bb\\nJP X)\\nO 3\u00c2\u00bb X O\\n2 O\\nii\\n5\\ny\\n-J\\n\u00c2\u00bb:0\\n3J\\ni\u00c2\u00bb\\n3\u00c2\u00bb.ui\\n^j)) y ^-,V^\\nyy\\noo-o-\\n1*3 ir\\n3 5i^ X)\\n3^ 33 X\\n^v: gS 3 ID\\nO 3 3\\n3 3)\\n^^D TD\\nl 3\u00c2\u00bb\\n3) i^ 3^ ^yl)\\n5?", "height": "3359", "width": "1960", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0003.jp2"}, "4": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0004.jp2"}, "5": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3359", "width": "1960", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0005.jp2"}, "6": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0006.jp2"}, "7": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3359", "width": "1960", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0007.jp2"}, "8": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0008.jp2"}, "9": {"fulltext": "0.^\\n^A\\nHISTORY\\ni\\nCOPPER MINES AND NEWGATE PRISON,\\nAT GRANBY, CONN.\\nALSO, OF THE\\nCAPTIVITY OF DANIEL HAYES,\\nOf Granbjr, by the Indians, In 1707.\\nBy NOAH A. PHELPs!\\n-^0\\nHARTFORD:\\nPRESS OF CASE, TIFFANY BURNHAM,\\n1815.", "height": "3359", "width": "1960", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0009.jp2"}, "10": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0010.jp2"}, "11": {"fulltext": "HISTORY\\nCOPPEE MINES AND NEWGATE PHISON,\\nAT GRANBY, CONN.\\nALSO, OF THE\\nCAPTIVITY OF DANIEL HAYS,\\nOf Granby, by the Indians, In 1707.\\nBy NOAH A. PHELPS.\\nHARTFORD:\\nPRESS OF CASE, TIFFANY BURNHAM,\\n1845.", "height": "3359", "width": "1960", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0011.jp2"}, "12": {"fulltext": "r;:H.^e:t,::Msr\u00e2\u0084\u00a2. fora.id\u00c2\u00bbcircuU.io\u00e2\u0080\u009e t.a\u00e2\u0080\u009e .heHisto,y..\u00e2\u0080\u009e....ch\\nlh.y originall, appeared, e.\u00e2\u0080\u009e comma.i ^_^_^^ ^^^^^j^\\nI, U believed Ih.t Ih.s pamphlet l i\u00e2\u0080\u009e,a,\u00e2\u0080\u009et, of\\nrrr\u00c2\u00b0.\u00c2\u00b0eoJr:-::;. s...e,\u00e2\u0080\u009ee\u00e2\u0080\u009e.of rac, d,aw\u00e2\u0080\u009e. .0,. case,, fro.\\nrecord and other documentary proot.\\nV \\\\o^", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0012.jp2"}, "13": {"fulltext": "THE COPPER MINES,\\nAT GRANBY, CONNECTICUT.\\nThe Copper Mines. Discovery. Magnitude of the Works. Amount of Disbursements.\\nSmelting Works at Hanover. The Phceuix Mining Company. 1705\u00e2\u0080\u00941833.\\nThe copper mines, known afterwards as the site of the\\ncelebrated state prison, called Newgate, are situated on the\\nAvest side of the east mountain in Granby. The place, for\\nmany years, was called Copper Hill. It is not known\\nat what period copper ore was first discovered here. The\\nfii;st record evidence relating to the mines is under date of\\nDecember, 1705, when, at a town meeting of the inhabit-\\nants of Simsbury,* upon suggestion made that there was\\na mine either of silver or copper found in the town, a\\ncommittee was appointed to make search for the same and\\nreport to a future meeting.^\\nThe report of the conmiittee does not appear on record,\\nbut is presumed to have been favorable to the discovery, for\\nin 1707 an association, comprising all such proprietors of\\nthe town as had subscribed, or who within a limited time\\nshould subscribe the articles of agreement, was formed to\\nwork the mines. Copper-hill at this time was a wilder-\\nness and as none of the lands in that vicinity had been\\nsold or granted, the right of soil remained in the proprie-\\ntors of the town, nearly all of whom came into this agree-\\nment. The association, after deducting the expenses of the\\nworks, was to allow the town ten shillings on each ton of\\ncopper produced, and to divide the residue among the part-\\nners of the concern in proportion to the amounts of their\\nrespective lists. The mining operations commenced about\\nthis time, and under this partnership concern.\\n*The mines then, and for eighty years afterwards, were within the town of\\nSimsbury.", "height": "3359", "width": "1960", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0013.jp2"}, "14": {"fulltext": "4 THECOPPER MINES\\nThis company dug the ore only they did not undertake\\nto smelt it. But, in the same year, they entered into a con-\\ntract with Messrs. John Woodbridge of Springfield, Dudley\\nWoodbridge of Simsbury, and Timothy Woodbridge Jr.\\nthen of Hartford, all clergymen, by which these gentlemen\\nagreed to run and refine the ore, and cast the metal into\\nbars fit for transportation or a market and after deducting\\nthe tenth part belonging to the town, of which two-thirds\\nthereof was to be given for the maintenance of an able\\nschoolmaster in Simsbury, and the other third to the\\nCollegiate school, Yale College, the residue was to be\\nequally divided between them and the proprietors or work-\\ners of the mine.\\nThe business was carried on in this manner but a few\\nyears probably because the smelting process was not\\nunderstood, and could not be proceeded with to the advan-\\ntage of either parly. In 1712, the proprietors, or asso-\\nciation, appointed a committee to call the contractors to\\naccount, and, if necessary, to sue them for the ore that had\\nbeen brought to them at divers times.\\nThe legislatiue, in consideration that a public benefit\\nmight result from these mines, and to aid the proprietors in\\nthe management thereof, passed an act in 1709, vesting the\\nright to control all matters relating to the mines in the\\nmajor jjartof the proprietors according to the interest of each\\nproprietor, and providing for organizing and holding meet-\\nings of the proprietors, and appointing a committee to man-\\nage their concerns. The act also provided for the adjudi-\\ncation of all matters in controversy between any and all\\npersons connected with the mines, by a board of three com-\\nmissioners, with power to summon a jury in cases where the\\nsum in controversy exceeded acertain amount. Tliiscouit\\nheld its sessions generally at the mines, tliough sometimes\\nat other places. It had a clerk, and its jurisdiction, in\\namount of damages claimed, was co-extensive witli that of\\nCounty courts. A vast deal of !)usiness was disposi^d of by\\nthis tribunal, by the agency of which, both time and expense\\nwas saved by the litigating parties.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0014.jp2"}, "15": {"fulltext": "AT GRANBY, CON.\\nThe business on the part of the proprietors was managed\\nunder the provisions of this net, and other simdar acts, by a\\n.committee appointed annually during the whole lime that\\nthe mines were worked, (before the Phcenix company com-\\nmenced operations,) a period of over si^ty years. This\\n\u00e2\u0080\u00a2committee, at various times, made leases to several individ-\\nuals or companies, of certain portions or specified rights in\\nthe common lands where copper ore had been or might be\\ndiscovered, during a term of years the lessees on their\\npart agreeing to pay to the committee a per centage on the\\nore procured or a certain portion, generally one-thirtieth\\npart, of the copper extracted from the ore and manufactured\\nfit for market. In no case did any of these leases extend\\nbeyond thiity years.\\nSome of the wealthiest capitalists in Boston and New\\nYork, took leases and embarked in the enterprise. A com-\\npany too, belonging to Holland, and another company\\nbelonging to London, were for many years interested in the\\nconcern, and furnished large sums of money to carry on the\\nworks. The Woodbridge family, and at least one member\\nof the Wyllys family, were many years largely engaged in\\nthe business. These mining operations were very exten-\\nsively pursued from 1713 to about 1737,, and to some extent\\nuntil the war o-f 1775. The amomU of money expended\\ncannot be ascertained, but must have been very large.\\nDuring a period of two years from August, 1716, one com-\\npany, under the superintendence of Elias Boudinot,* ex-\\npended about three thousand dollars. A petition, dated in\\n1723, states that the copper works had brought into this\\nplantation from foreign countries^ al)Out ten thousand\\npounds. Governor Belcher, of Boston, iji a letter dated\\n1735, states that during about twenty-three years, he had\\ndisbursed upwards of fiUeen thousand pounds.f The expeu-\\nThis Mr. Boudinot resided for some time in Simsbury. He was ancestor\\nof the late Hias Boudinot, of New Jersey, who was a distinguished states-\\nman, and the first superintendent of the United States Mint at Philadelphia.\\nt This letter is addressed to John Humphry, Joseph Pettibone.and Samuel\\nPettibone, a committee of the proprietors, who had called upon him to settle\\n1*", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0015.jp2"}, "16": {"fulltext": "b THECOPPER MINES\\nditures of the other companies are not known, but in the\\naggregate must have amounted to a large sum.\\nAfter 1721, when a division of the mining lands took\\nplace among the lessees, each company worked at separate\\nmines, all situated upon Copper-hill, and (excepting Hig-\\nley s) within the compass of less than one mile. The works\\nmost improved, and where the greatest excavations were\\nmade, were subsequently purchased for a state prison. At\\nthis place,two perpendicular shafts were dug, chiefly through\\nrocks, one extending to the depth of over seventy feet, and\\nthe other about thirty-five feet. From the bottom of these\\nshafts .caverns excavated for ore extend in various direc-\\ntions, some four or five hundred feet, including levels\\nor drains for discharging the water. Some parts of these\\nexcavations are now entirely filled with water. At Higley s\\nmine, which lies about a mile and a half south of this,\\nextensive old workings exist, though commenced at a later\\nperiod than the others. Mr. Edmund Quincy, of Boston,\\nhad a company of miners working at this place at the break-\\ning out of the war of the revolution soon after which the\\nworks were abandoned.\\nIn 1731, a new company was formed, consisting of Adam\\nWinthrop, George Cradock, James Bowdoin, Job Lewis,\\nJoshua Winslow, Benjamin Pemberton and North Ingham,\\nall of Boston, who took a lease by which a sixth pait of the\\nmines was conveyed to them for the term of thirty yeai-s.\\nThis lease was signed by Samuel Humphry, Joseph Case,\\nand Joseph Phelps, a comnnttee in behalf of the town pro-\\nprietors. It is not known to what extent, or how long, this\\ncompany pursued the business.\\nIn addition to the persons already named as lessees, or\\notherwise interested in the mines, Jared Elliot of Killing-\\nworth,* Jahleel Brenton of Rhode Island, Charles Cromme-\\nfor back rents. The original letter is in the possession of Dcsitheus Humphry\\nEsq. a descendant of John Humphry Esq.\\nA clergyman and physician of great celebrity, who resided at Killing-\\nworth.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0016.jp2"}, "17": {"fulltext": "ATGRANBYjCON. 7\\nlin of New York, William Patridgc of Boston, and sundry\\nother persons, were concerned at various times, and in differ-\\nent companies.\\nEngineers and superintendents from Europe, some of\\nthem persons of distinction, and miners from Germany,\\nwere employed in these works. Among them were Major\\nJohn Sydervelt, who remained in Simsbury until bis death;\\nCaspar Hoofman, who died heie March 21, 1732; and John\\nChristian Miiller, a principal refiner, who married and died\\nhere.*\\nConnected with these mines were works for smelting and\\nrefining. These were erected about the year 1721, upon\\nHop brook, in Simsbury, a few rods westerly of the upper or\\nTuUer s mills, and consisted of sundry buildings, in addition\\nto a mill for crashing or pounding the ore, and a furnace.\\nThe place was called Hanover, a name yet retained, which\\nwas given to it by the workmen who had emigrated from a\\nplace of the same name in Germany. A portion of the ore\\ndug at the mines was smelted at these works, but to what\\nextent this business was prosecuted, or with what success, is\\nnot known. In 1725, when this property was attached,\\nthere was found and levied upon one thousand seven hun-\\ndred pounds of black copper, so called, it is supposed,\\nbecause it was not refined. This branch of the business,\\nhowever, being prohibited by tbe laws of Great Britain, was\\ncarried on secretly, and consequently at great disadvantage\\nand with the other embarrassments mentioned, relating to\\nsmelting, resulted in a probable loss. The Hanover works,\\nof v\\\\ hich but few indications now remain, were dcmolislied\\nmany y(\\\\ars since. The ore procured at tbe mines, which\\nwas not l)rought here for smelting, was shipped to England.\\nOne cargo was taken by the French, and auotber, accord-\\ning to report, was sunk in the English cliannel by ship-\\nwreck. Other cargoes arrived in Europe, where the ore\\nwas smelted.\\nHis wife was Hannah Weston, by whom he had twocliildren before 1731.\\nIt is believed that after his death the name was changed to Miller, and that\\nsome of his descendants now live in Granby.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0017.jp2"}, "18": {"fulltext": "8 THECOPPER MINES\\nIq these mining operations, but little comparatively was\\ndone after 1745, though at no time, it is believed, was the\\nbusiness wholly abandoned until 1778. In 1772, Captain\\nJames Holmes, an Englishman, then a resident of Salisbury,\\ntook a lease of the principal mine for twenty years, which\\nhe sold the next year to the state for a prison.\\nA coin made from this ore, called Higley s Coppers,\\nwas at one time in some circulation in the vicinity of the\\nmines. It is said to have passed for two and sixpence,\\n(forty-two cents,) in paper currency it is presumed, though\\ncomposed chiefly, if not entirely, of copper.\\nOne of these coins, dated 1737, is in the cabinet of the\\nConnecticut Historical Society. Its inscription on one side\\nis, I am good copper \u00e2\u0080\u0094on the other, Value me as\\nyou please. These coppers were much used for meltmg\\nup with gold in the manufacture of jewelry, and for this\\npurpose were considered vastly preferable to ordinary cop-\\nper coin. They were not in circulation as a currency after\\nthe peace of 1783. The inventor and maker, is supposed\\nto have been Doct. Samuel Higley who, a few years before\\nthis, had attempted to manufacture steel, and was somewhat\\ndistinguished for enterprises of this character.\\nThe Phojnix Mining Company, incorporated in 1830,\\nhaving purchased the state prison property, consisting of\\nabout five acres of land, with sundry buildings enclosed by\\na stone wall, and having secured, by long leases, the right\\nof mining upon large tracts of other lands lying in the\\nvicinity, commenced mining operations in 1831, under the\\nsuperintendency of Richard Bacon Est], of Simsbury. Owing\\nhowever to some unforeseen dilliculties in the process of\\nsmelting and refining the ore, and other obstructions occa-\\nsioned by the pecuniary embarrassments of the times, the\\nworks after a short time were discontinued. That they will\\nbe resumed at some future time under more favorable aus-\\npices, and with a fairer prospect of success, is confidently\\nbelieved by those who are conversant with the business, and\\nhave devoted to these mines a critical examination.\\nA gentleman who has been extensively engaged in this", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0018.jp2"}, "19": {"fulltext": "ATGRANBY,CON. \\\\f\\nbusiness in Europe, and who is said to be an experienced\\nand scientific miner, speaking of these mines, says\\nThe principal vein is hirge, and one which, in mining\\npliraseology, would he termed aflat lode, making with the\\nhorizon an angle of perhaps twenty-three degrees. Its\\nmatrix is a yellowish grey sandstone, nearly similar to the\\ncommon sandstone of the neighborhood, but yet so percep-\\ntibly differing from it, as to allow of its being traced at sur-\\nface, for at least a mile, north and south, by its characteristic\\ncolor and general appearance. In tliis matrix, copper is\\npretty generally disseminated, principally in nodules of rich\\nbrittle grey sulphuret, interspersed here and there with\\nminute strings of common yellow pyrites. The lode ap-\\npears to be favorably disposed for yielding mineral and\\ncopper ore in particular.\\nThe ore, it is said, produces on an average, from ten to\\ntwelve per cent of co})per, but some large specimens have\\nbeen obtained, producing from thirty to forty per cent. It\\nis of the kind technically called refractory, a species\\nthat ordinarily resists the usual process of smelting. Other\\nprocesses, however, have led to more successful results.\\nBy skill, enterprise and new experiments, all impediments\\nof this nature will, it is believed be easily removed.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0019.jp2"}, "20": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0020.jp2"}, "21": {"fulltext": "NEWGATE PRISON.\\nNewgate Paisoif. Establishment. Destruction of Buildings by Fire. Escape of Con-\\nvicts. Confinement of Tories. Employment of Prisoners. Police Regulations.\\n1773-1827.\\nThe General Assembly, at the May session, 1773, in view\\nof establishing a state prison, appointed William Pitkin,\\nErastus Wolcott, and Jonathan Humphrey Esq rs, a com-\\nmittee to view and explore the copper mines at Sims-\\nbury, their situation, nature and circumstances, and to\\nexamine and consider whether they may be beneficially\\napplied to the purpose of confining, securing and profitably\\nemploying such criminals and delinquents as may be com-\\nmitted to them, by any futiiro law or laws of this Colony,\\nin lieu of the infamous punishments in divers cases now\\nappointed and at what probable expense the said mines\\nmay be obtained for the purpose aforesaid and make\\nreport to the then session of tiie Assembly.\\nUpon their report that the mines were subject to an unex-\\npired lease of nineteen years, which coukl be purcliased for\\nabout sixty pounds, and that by an expenditure of about\\nthirty-seven pounds, the caverns could be so secured that it\\nwould be next to impossible for any person to escape\\nfrom them; tlie same gentlemen were invested with full\\npower to agree with the proprietors of said mines, or the\\nlessees thereof, to receive, keep and employ in said mines such\\ncriminals as may by law be sentenced to sucli punishment,\\nor to purchase in the remaining term in said h ases, for such\\npurposes, and according to their best (hscr( tion elfectually\\nto secure said mines suitably to employ such })ersons as\\nmay be there confined by order of law.\\nThe committee reported at the next session, Oct. 1773,", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0021.jp2"}, "22": {"fulltext": "12 NEWGATE PRISON.\\nthat they had purchased the remaining term of Hohnes\\nlease, being- about nineteen years, for ,\u00c2\u00a360 that by blasting\\nrocks they had prepared a well finished lodging room,\\nabout fifteen feet by twelve, in the caverns, and had\\nfixed over the west shaft a large iron door, which they ap-\\nprehend will be an effectual security for the confinement of\\npersons that may be condemned there for employment.\\nThe whole expense, including the purchase money, amount-\\ned to three hundred and seventy dollars. The east shaft\\nwhich extends perpendicularly about seventy feet, chiefly\\nthrough a solid rock, was left open. There were no walls\\nprovided, nor were there any buildings upon the premises.\\nAt this session, an Act was passed constituting the subter-\\nraneous caverns and buildings in the copper mines in Sims-\\nbury, a public gaol and workhouse for the use of the\\nColony to which was given the name of Newgate Prison.\\nThe prisoners were to be employed in mining. The crimes,\\nwhich by the Act subjected offenders to confinement and\\nlabor in the prison, were burglary, horse stealing, and\\ncounterfeiting the public bills or coins, or making instru-\\nments or dies therefor.\\nThe first overseers of Newgate appointed, were Major\\nErastus Wolcott, Josiah Bissell and Jonathan Humphrey\\nEsq rs. Mr. John Viets,* who lived near the place, was\\nappointed master, or keeper of the prison. Food for the\\nprisoners was supplied by him.\\nThe first convict received into the prison was John Hin-\\nson. He was committed Dec, 22, 1773, and escaped on the\\n9lh of January following, by being drawn up through the\\neastern shaft by a rope, assisted, it is said, by a woman, to\\nwhom he was paying his addresses. On the 26th of Feb-\\nruary, 1774, three prisoners were received one of whom\\nescaped on the 9th, and the other two on the 23d of the\\nnext April. One committed on the 5th of April, escaped on\\nthe 9th of the same month, having been in confinement\\nThe ancestor of Mr. Viets was a CJerman, and came to this country with\\na company of miners, to which he was attached as physician and surgeon.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0022.jp2"}, "23": {"fulltext": "NEWGATE PRISON\\n13\\nfour days. It is not known how these escapes were cflected.\\nBesides the east sltaft which was left open, there were other\\nparts of the caverns which had not been properly secured.\\nNone of these prisoners, it is understood, were retaken.\\nBy this time, the overseers had probably changed their\\nminds respecting the perfect security of the ])rison. A night\\nwatch was employed during part of this time.\\nSoon after the escape of Hinson, the GeneraLAssembly\\nin January 1774, directed the overseers to cause the east\\nshaft to be effectually secured with stone or iron, and to\\nbuild a log block-house with two or three rooms, one of\\nwhich was to be placed directly over the west shaft. These\\nimprovements were made during this year, but not until\\nafter the escape of the other prisoneis mentioned above.\\nIn the spring of 1775, three prisoners escaped, all of whom\\nwere retaken. At the May session of this year, the Assem-\\nbly ordered the overseers to make sale of the ore dug at the\\nprison. There were at this time nine convicts in confine-\\nment, all of whom were engaged in excavating copper ore\\nunder the charge of two persons employed as miners.\\nThe block-liouse having been destroyed by fire in the\\nspring of 1776, the Assembly, in May, ordered a new one\\nto be constructed, and also a frame dwelling house, for the\\nkeeper of the prison, one story high, eighteen by thirty feet.\\nThis burning was by design, to favor the escape of the\\nconvicts, none of whom however escaped at this time.\\nIn 1777. the block-bouse was again burnt, and another\\none ordered to be built. All the prisoners were removed to\\nthe jail in Hartford for confinement. It is supposed that\\nthe jirison was not repaired, or used as such, until 1780.\\nIf it was repaired before; that lime, the buildings were again\\ndestroyed, for at tlie session of the At=scmbly in January\\n1779, the prison being represented to be in a ruinous con-\\ndition, and altogether insuflicient to answer the salutary\\npurposes for which it was prepared, the overseers were\\ndirected to erect new buildings, with a block-house on (he\\nsurface of the ground over the mouth of the cavern, suitable\\nand convenient to secure and employ the prisoners in labor\\n2", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0023.jp2"}, "24": {"fulltext": "14 NEWGATE PRISON.\\nin the day time and wlien completed to appoint a keeper\\nof the prison.\\nThe prison was completed in November 1780, and was\\nsupplied with a military guard consisting of a lieutenant,\\none sergeant, one corporal and twenty-four privates. Up to\\nthis time, the prisoners had been employed in the mines,\\nand been furnished with food by persons not connected with\\nthe prison*. Now they were employed in mechanical ope-\\nrations, and supplied with food prepared in the prison.\\nThe prison had been left entirely unprotected by any\\nwall until ]781. In February of this year, the overseers\\nwere directed by the Assembly to construct, at a convenient\\ndistance around the prison and buildings, a piquet fence\\nwith small bastions at the corners for defense. A work of\\nthis kind was much needed, and notwithstanding the com-\\nbustible material with which it was constructed, it tended\\nvery much to strengthen the prison. In other respects too,\\nthe prison was in a much better condition than at any pre-\\nvious time.\\nBut, one of the most daring andsuccessful attempts ever\\nmade at this prison to overcome the guard and throw open\\nthe prison doors, was made after this time, and when, as\\nwas supposed, a general escape of the convicts was imprj^c-\\nticable. On the iSth of May 1781, the prisoners, amount-\\ning to twenty-eight persons, most of whom were tories, rose\\nupon the guard, seized their arms, and made good their\\nescape carrying their captured arms with them. Every\\nprisoner left. The design was so well planned and execu-\\nted, that but a small number of them were re-captured.\\nIt was supposed that one or more of the guard had been\\nbribed to favor the escape of the prisoners. About ten\\no clock at night on the ISth of May 1781, when all the\\nguard but two had retired to rest, a wife of one of the pris-\\noners appeared, to whom permission was given to visit her\\nhusband in the caverns. Upon the hatches being opened\\nto admit her passing down, the prisoners, who were at the\\ndoor and prepared for the encounter, rushed up, seized the\\nguns of the sentry on duty, who made little or no resistance,", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0024.jp2"}, "25": {"fulltext": "N E W G A T K P R I S O N l5\\nand became masters of tlie guard room before those who\\nwere asleep could be aroused and prepaied to make defense.\\nOne brave fellow, by name of Sheldon, who was an officer\\nof the guard, fought valiantly, and was killed upon the spot,\\nhaving been pierced by a bayonet through his body. A few\\nothers, belonging to the guard, received trifling injuries from\\nclubs with which the assailants were armed. The guard\\nwas easily overcome. A few sought safety by flight, but\\nthe greater number were disarmed by the prisoners and\\nlocked up in the caverns. The prisoners, having equipped\\nthemselves with the captured arms, escaped, and with lew-\\nexceptions had the adroitness, or good luck, to avoid a\\nre-capture.\\nThe General Assembly, then in session, appointed a com-\\nmittee to investigate this matter, and ascertain the causes\\nof the disaster. The committee after a critical examina-\\ntion, reported the testimony taken by them from which\\nit appears that the discipline of the guard was defective\\nthat their conduct at the time of the revolt was, with few\\nexceptions, cowardly\u00e2\u0080\u0094 and that at least one person, by the\\nname of Lilly, was bribed and favored the escape of the\\nprisoners. Lilly was afterwards prosecuted and convicted\\nof this offence and the gnard was so remodeled as to give\\ngreater security to the prison thereafter.\\nOn the 6th of November 1782, the prison buildings were\\nonce more destroyed by fire but how, or by what means\\nthe fire was communicated, does not appear. No doulit,\\nhowever, exists that the conflagration was by design, m\\norder to facilitate the escape of the tories who were there in\\nconfinement. Duiing the progress of the fire, one Abel\\nDavis, who was asergeantof the guard, opened the hatches\\nand suffered as many of the prisoners, as were so disposed,\\nto escape from the prison. A large number of them did\\nescape, most of whom were re-captured in the neighbor-\\nhood and secured. Davis, who seems to have been very\\nillitemte, and altogether unfit for the station which he held,\\nwas convicted of ihe offence of aiding in the escape, and\\nsentenced to a fiae and imprisonment in the county jail.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0025.jp2"}, "26": {"fulltext": "O NEWGATE PRISON.\\nThe prisoners remaining after this conflagration, with\\nthose subsequently re-taken, were removed to the jail in\\nHartford. The prison was not repaired, nor nsed again\\nuntil 1790. Indeed, it would seem that, at this time, the\\nproject of keeping up a prison at this place was abandoned\\naltogether. No measures were taken to repair it, on the\\ncontrary, in May 1784, all the property remaining at the\\nprison and saved from the fire, consisting of iron, timber, clo-\\nthing, c. was ordered by the legislature to be sold, and the\\navails paid into the treasury. Little else but disaster had\\nattended the prison from its establishment. More than one\\nhalf of all the prisoners committed to it had escaped, and\\nduring the nine years of its continuance, the buildings con-\\nnected with it had been destroyed by fire three times. In\\nno respect had the prison been properly constructed or\\nsecured. The buildings were of wood, and so exposed as\\nto be easily fired from without. Prison building in those\\ndays, as well as prison discipline, was not so well under-\\nstood as at the present time. All the jails in the state were\\nthen constructed of wood.\\nAnd yet this prison had a reputation abroad for great\\nstrength and security. Its fame had spread through the\\ncountry far and wide. For a long time it was considered\\nthe strongest prison in the United States. In 1775, Gen.\\nWashington sent to it some prisoners for safe custody, whom\\nhe deemed such atrocious villains, as to require a stronger\\nplace for their confinement than could be found near his\\ncamp.* And, in 1781, Congress proposed to make these\\nLetter from Gen. Washington, to the Committee of Safety, Simsbury.\\nCambridge, December 11, 1775.\\nGentlemen The prisoners which will be delivered you with this, hav-\\ning been tried by a court-martial, and deemed to be such flagrant and atro-\\ncious villains that they cannot by any means be set at large or confined in any\\nplace near this camp, were sentenced to be sent to Symsbury in Connecticut.\\nYou will therefore be pleased to have them secured in your jail, or in such\\nother manner as to you shall seem necessary, so that they cannot oossibly\\nmake their escape. The charges of their imprisonment will be at the Con-\\ntinental expense.\\nI am c.\\nGeorge Washington.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0026.jp2"}, "27": {"fulltext": "N E W G A T E P R I S O N 17\\nmines a state prison for the reception of British prisoners\\nof war, and for the purpose of retaliation and asked from\\nthe Governor of this state a pkm and estimates of expense.\\nGovernor Trumbull laid the matter before the General\\nAssembly, who assented to the proposition, and requested\\nhim to furnish for Congress the plan and estimates required.\\nWhat these were, do not appear, but the subject was drop-\\nped, probably for the reason that soon after this time a ter-\\nmination of the war was anticipated.\\nMention has already been made of the confinement of\\ntories in this prison. No person of this description was\\nimprisoned here until 1780, when an Act was passed author-\\nising the superior court to sentence to confinement in New-\\ngate, such persons as should be convicted of certain specified\\ncrimes against the g overnnient not amounting to treason,\\nbut which consisted of certain overt acts deemed prejudicial\\nto the cause of independenee. Courts Mai tial too, exercised\\nthe power of sentencing to this prison persons found guilty\\nof similar ollenses. The whole number of persons, called\\ntories, imprisoned, did not, it is believed, exceed forty. At\\none time there were upwards of twenty in the prison, all of\\nwhom, as before stated, escaped on the 18th of May 1781.\\nAmong them were persons of some note and distinction.\\nThe leader of this rebellion was a Captain Peter Sackett,\\nwho had rendered himself notorious, as well as extremely\\nobnoxious, by his adherence to the cause of )h.e British\\ngovernment.\\nA new Act, more perfect and specific in its details than\\nthe former one, was passed in 1790, constituting tlie caverns\\nat these mines, with a small quantity of land over them, a\\nstate prison, denominated, as before, Newgate. The act\\nprovided for the appointment of three overseers, who were\\ndirected to cause a workshop and a dwelling house for the\\nkeeper lo be erected, and to enclose them with a piquet wall\\nor fence, and to a])point a keeper, with aguard not exceed-\\ning ten persons, to manage and protect the prison. The\\nexpense of rebuilding it was limited to j\u00c2\u00a3750. Persons con-\\nvicted of burglary, robbery, horsc-slealing, counterfeiting,", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0027.jp2"}, "28": {"fulltext": "18 NEWGATEPRISON.\\npassing counterfeit money, knowing it to be such, and aid-\\ning in the escape of convicts from the prison, were to be\\nconfined at hard labor in this pkice for a term of yeais, or,\\nin some cases, during the life of the culprit. Subsequently,\\nfor a few other crimes, the offender was subjected to impris-\\nonment here.\\nThe Hon. John Tread well, and Roger Newberry, and\\nPliny Hillyer Esq. were appointed the overseers. A large\\nworkshop and a dwelling house, both of brick, w^ere con-\\nstructed, together with sundry other buildings of minor con-\\nsequence. Under the west end of the dwelling house was\\na small room well secured by massive stone walls, from\\nwhich led the only passage to the caverns beneath. This\\nentrance was perforated through a solid rock, and contained\\na ladder by which passage to or from the caverns was made.\\nThe mouth of this entrance, as was also the one leading into\\nthis room from the guard-room above, was well secured\\nby a trap door with lock and heavy bolts. A wooden fence,\\nfurnished with spikes on the top, enclosed these buildings\\nwith about half an acre of land for a yard.\\nThe prison was finished in October 1790, and Major Peter\\nCurtiss was appointed the keeper, to whom with a guard of\\nten men was committed its management.\\nFrom this time, the affairs of the piison assumed a new\\naspect. The prison was more securely built, and better\\nmanaged than at any former period. Escapes from it were\\nrare, and there were no instances of a general rebellion, or\\nan entire clearing out of its inmates as formerly.\\nThe system of discipline and employment, as at first\\nadopted, continued to be followed, with but slight varia-\\ntions, until the removal of the convicts to the new state\\nprison in 1827. As a general rule, the prisoners were lodged\\nin the caverns. At day light, they weie taken up and\\nremoved to the work shop, where they remained until four\\no clock P. M., when they were returned to the caverns.\\nThey took their meals in the work shop. These consisted\\nof coarse food prepared in the prison, which was dealt out\\nto them by rations. Nearly all of them wore fetters strongly", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0028.jp2"}, "29": {"fulltext": "NEWGATEPRISON. 19\\nrivctted to their ankles. The most refractory, and desperate\\nof their number, were more heavily ironed. In general,\\nwhen at work, they were chained at their respective blocks\\nin the shop, and a portion of them were secured by an extra\\nchain leading from a band around ihe neck to a beam in the\\nbuilding.\\nThe punishment for misconduct, or offences committed\\nin the prison, was whipping, short rations, extra ironing,\\nand, in some specified cases designated by statute, an addi-\\ntional term of imprisonment. Each prisoner had a fixed\\namount of work to perform each day. Those who did extra\\nwork had the benefit of it in an allowance on the bills of\\ncosts incurred in their prosecutions.\\nAt first, all the prisoners were employed in making\\nwrought nails, the iron for which was procured at Canaan\\nand Salisbury. This business was followed during the\\nwhole time of the continuance of the prison at this place,\\nand was, for many years, the chief occupation of the con-\\nvicts. A few other branches of manufacture were carried\\non, though not extensively. After 1820, a large number\\nof the convicts were employed in the maiuifacture of shoes,\\nwagons and various other articles, by which a greater profit\\nwas derived than from the nail making business. Indeed,\\nthe manufacture of nails at this place had always been\\nattended with loss to the state.\\nIn 1802, a substantial stone wall, twelve feet high, was\\nbuilt around the premises, having a gate which was never\\nopened except by a sentinel under arms on duty. Tliis\\nwall was built by Colonel Calvin Barber of Simsbury. All\\nthe guards when on duty were underarms, and prepaied at\\nall times to use their weapons in any confiict or outbreak\\nthat might happen. Their number, at first ten, was subse-\\nquently increased to seventeen. The government, as well\\nas the duties of the guard, partook strongly of a military\\ncharacter.\\nAdditional buildings were subsc ([uently erected. About\\n1815, a two story building, nearly fifty feet long, was put\\nupia the south east corner of the yard. The lower story", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0029.jp2"}, "30": {"fulltext": "20 NEWGATE PRISON.\\nwas appropriated for cells, and the upper one for a cliapel\\nin which divine service was thereafter usually held once on\\neach Sunday. Adjoining- this on the west, was another\\nbuilding: of about the same length, the lower story of which\\nwas occupied for a cooper s shop, hospital and kitchen, and\\nthe upper story as a shoe maker s shop. In the northeast\\ncorner of the yard was another building used for making\\nwagons. The cells above mentioned being weakly con-\\nstructed, were not much used. Still later, about 1824, a\\nlarge edifice of stone and brick was built on the westerly\\nside of the yard, which contained a tread mill, with the\\nusual appurtenances for grinding grain, a number of strong\\ncells, apartments for female convicts, a kitchen, office,\\nc. This building was erected chiefly by convict labor.\\nThe tread mill, however, like all other similar ones, proved\\na failure the labor of working it being found too expensive\\nfor the state, and quite too cruel for the convicts.\\nIn the basement story of the guard-house, and near the\\nentrance to the caverns, was a strongly built apartment\\nabout fifteen feet square, called the jug. This room was\\nused at first for the sick, and occasionally as a lodging room\\nfor that class of prisoners who were known to be well dispo-\\nsed, and from whom no danger of attempting an escape was\\napprehended. The other prisoners were lodged in the cav-\\nerns, where their beds consisted of two large platforms sup-\\nplied with straw and a few blankets. The novice in crime,\\nand the most hardened villain, were thus promiscuously\\nhuddled together without any restraint, or immediate over-\\nsight by any of the guard during the night season.\\nThe number of criminals in confinement after ISOO, varied\\nfrom about forty-five to sixty, until 1821, when the number\\nof offenses, punishable by confinement in Newgate, was\\nconsiderably increased by legislative enactments. This,\\nwith the increase of crime, and the change about this time\\nof the law relating to the punishment of female convicts,\\nby which they were subjected to imprisonment here in tlie\\nsame manner as, for similar offenses, the males were, caused\\na considerable addition to the number of prisoners. In", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0030.jp2"}, "31": {"fulltext": "NEWGATE PRISON\\n21\\n1827, when they were removed to the n6w prison at Weth-\\nersfieki, they amounted to one hundred and twenty-seven.\\nThe prison was never ahle to support itself from the avails\\nof convict lahor. The deficiency, which was paid from the\\nstate treasury, varied from five thousand to over thirteen\\nthousand dollars per annum. It would average about\\nseven thousand dollars a year, including outlays for new\\nbuildings.\\nThe state having provided a new prison at Wethersfield,\\nall the prisoners were removed so as to connnence operations\\nthere on the first of October 1827. The old prison, with its\\nbuildings and some five acres of land, were sold in 1830, to\\nthe Phffinix Mining Company, for twelve hundred dolhirs.\\nThis place was greatly resorted to by visitors, and espe-\\ncially so during the winter months, when there was sleigh-\\ning.* Many of them descended into the caverns, and all\\nhad an opportunity to inspect generally the discipline and\\nthe labor-system of the prison. To those unaccustomed\\nto the scene, a visit to the nail-shop presented a view\\nextremely revolting, and to some even terrific. Here might\\nbe seen some fifty men, black and white, and so besmeared\\nas to be hardly distinguishable, chained to their blocks,\\nbusily engaged in a noisy employment, and closely watched\\nand guarded by a file of men under arms. Add to this, the\\nappearance of the room with its inmates and implements,\\nas viewed by strong lights proceeding from the various fur-\\nnaces, and the continual clatter of hammers used in forging\\nnails,\u00e2\u0080\u0094 and some idea of tbe scene, though necessarily an\\nimperfect one, may be imagined.\\nBesides the revolt under Capt. Sackett, which has already\\nbeen mentioned, and which was so successfully carried out,\\nthere have been several escapes, and attempts to break tlie\\nprison a few of which are worthy of notice.\\nShortly before 1800, a number of prisoners made tiicir\\nescape by opening one of the shafts which had been filled\\nIn a report made by tbe overseers in IS 10, it is stated tbat the niunber of\\nvisitors to tlie prison would average (our bundred and tifty monthly.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0031.jp2"}, "32": {"fulltext": "22 NEWGATEPRISON.\\nup and, as was supposed, well secured by stones strongly\\nbolted together. It was a work of great labor, and must\\nhave been a long while in progress.\\nIn 1802, when the keeper and nearly all the officers and\\nguard were sick and off duty, the prisoners, at the time of\\nbeing returned to the caverns, rose upon the small remnant\\nof guard able to be on duty, and attempted to escape. By\\nthe prompt action and indomitable courage of Mr. Dan\\nForward, a private, and who was indued with great mus-\\ncular strength, the prisoners were subdued and safely secured\\nunder the hatches. It is supposed that this revolt was ill\\nmatured, or not generally known, for it did not commence\\nuntil, a large portion of the convicts had descended into the\\ncaverns. Had it been well managed, it would, probably,\\nhave succeeded, as the guard was too weak to quell a gen-\\neral rebellion on an occasion like this.\\nThere was another rebellion in 1806. Nearly all the\\nconvicts employed in the nail shop had been supplied with\\npewter keys, with which to unlock their fastenings, manu-\\nfactured by some very skillful mechanics then in prison.\\nAt a given signal, the convicts were to unlock the chains\\nwhich confined them to their stations, and make a concerted\\nattack upon the guard. The signal was given the men\\nreleased tbemselves and two of them commenced the\\nattack by siezing the officer on duty so suddenly as to disable\\nhim from using his weapons in defense. A short scuffle\\nensued, during which one of the guard, not on duty in that\\nshop, ran to the place and shot one of the ring leaders, a\\nnegro, dead upon tbe spot. This event so disheartened the\\nrest that they immediatel}^ returned to their places and sued\\nfor mercy.\\nIn the spring of 1822, nearly all the prisoners, then\\namounting to over one hundred, concerted a plan to over-\\npower the guard and effect their escape. The time selected\\nfor the attempt was during the temporary absence of the\\nkeeper and three of the guard the force remaining on\\nduty being fourteen persons. Their plan was to have a\\ngeneral rising in all the shops at a given signal. The sig-", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0032.jp2"}, "33": {"fulltext": "NEWGATE PRISON\\n23\\nnal was given in the nail shop, when the attack commenced.\\nOne of the guard was knocked down and his arms taken\\nfrom him, and another was seized and mastered. During\\nthe scuffle which ensued, a reinforcement arrived upon the\\nground. Two of the insurgents were shot at and wounded,\\nthough not mortally, which terminated the affiay. There\\nwas no outbreak in the other shops\u00e2\u0080\u0094 probably the signal\\nwas not heard.\\nOn the night precedmg the removal of the prisoners to\\nthe new prison in Wethersfield, one of the convicts, by the\\nname of Starkey, was killed in attempting to make his\\nescape. The shaft, used for a well, communicated with one\\nof the caverns about seventy feet below the surface of the\\nearth. The top of this shaft was well secured by a hatch,\\nwhich it was intended should be always fastened down in\\nthe night season. On this evening, the well was left open,\\nand, as appearances would indicate, by design. Starkey\\nattempted to ascend by climbing the rope used for drawing\\nwater. In making the ascent, the rope broke, by which\\nhe was precipitated to the bottom, where he was found\\ndead.\\nThe convicts, while at this prison, generally enjoyed\\ngood health. With but a single exception, which was\\nreadily accounted for by local causes, no contagious disease\\nhad ever occurred here. The caverns, as a lodging place,\\nwere generally deemed conducive to health. Those afflicted\\nwith cutaneous diseases were often cured. The temperature\\nwas uniform at all seasons of the year, being, as indicated\\nby the thermometer, at about fifty-two degrees.\\nThe inmates of this prison formed a motley group.\\nAmongst them might be found rogues of high celebrity\u00e2\u0080\u0094\\nthe most hardened and reckless\u00e2\u0080\u0094 the cunning and adroit\u00e2\u0080\u0094\\nand often mechanics and artizans gifted with ingenuity and\\nskill of a high order. Persons well educated, with a large\\nclass of the most illiterate and degraded\u00e2\u0080\u0094 negroes and\\nwhites\u00e2\u0080\u0094 young and old\u00e2\u0080\u0094 were all to be found here as com-\\nmon associates, and generally as bed-fellows.\\nSome of the prisoners obtained a high reputation for their", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0033.jp2"}, "34": {"fulltext": "24 NEWGATEPRISON.\\nroguery. One, by the name of Newman, published an ac-\\ncount of his long career in crime and prison-breaking which,\\nif true, would entitle him to the highest rank among vil-\\nlains. He was, at times, quite successful in playing off his\\ndeceptions. While in this prison, before his pranks were\\ndiscovered, he avoided labor by feigning sickness. He could\\nat any time raise blood, which his attendants supposed pro-\\nceeded from his lungs. By feigning other symptoms of a\\npulmonary decline, he had strongly enlisted the sympathy\\nof the guard, and was exempted from labor. His object\\nwas to avert the vigilance of his keepers, and thereby effect\\nhis escape. Being foiled in this, he proceeded still further\\nand feigned fits. He contrived to manage these tricks so\\nwell, that it was some time before the deception was dis-\\ncovered. Succeeding in none of his deceptious practices,\\nhe was, after all his trouble, compelled to serve out the\\nterm of his imprisonment. In another prison, by counter-\\nfeiting death, he came very near effecting his escape at\\nleast it is so stated in his memoir.\\nAnother convict, by name Parker, after his release from\\nprison, had extraordinary success in deceiving the weak-\\nminded, by assuming the name and identity of persons who,\\nby long absence from their friends, were supposed to be\\ndead. He passed, for some time, as the long lost son of an\\naged pair and, at another time, imposed himself upon a\\nwoman as her husband who had been absent many years.\\nHe also at times pretended to be a clergyman, and had\\nsome success in this branch of his deceptive career.\\nA prisoner by the name of Corson, after his discharge, in\\n1826, published an account of his exploits, from which, it\\nwould appear, that his character for villainy was well earned,\\nand correctly bestowed, and that the safety of the public\\nrequired impermanent abode for him in some strong prison.\\nBut, one of the most desperate and dangerous of the gang\\nwas a convict of the name of Sloan, who, in 1821, was sen-\\ntenced for a long term of years for passing counterfeit money,\\na large amount of which was also found in his possession.\\nWhile in Hartford jail, before his commitment to Newgate,", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0034.jp2"}, "35": {"fulltext": "N E W G A T E P R I S O N 25\\nhe nearl}^ effected his escape by a bold and daring plot.\\nIndued with extraordinary muscular power and being\\nreckless and courageous, yet cool and circumspect he\\nbecame one of the most dangerous and troublesome prison-\\ners at Newgate. He was the leader in all insuirections, and\\nwas kept in subjection only by loading him heavily with\\nirons. In attempting to make his escape, he struck down\\none of the guard, injuring him severely, for which outrage\\nhe was subjected to an additional term of imprisonment.\\nThe annals of Newgate furnish many incidents of an\\ninteresting character. Some of them, depending on irnih-\\ntion, are so intermixed with fiction as to become nearly val-\\nueless, and will soon pass into oblivion. A larger portion,\\nresting on better authority, remain, and furnish a mass of\\ninformation worthy of preservation.\\nAs a place for criminals, this prison never fully answered\\nthe purposes intended by the government. The guilty\\nwere ixK]ce(\\\\ punished but rarely ever reformed. The free\\nintercourse among all classes of offenders, allowed during\\nthe nigbt season, was well calculated to make all adepts in\\nroguery, and better fitted tlian ever for a new career in crime,\\nwhen, at the termination of imprisonment, they should again\\nmix with the world. No system, aiming at the reformation\\nof an offender, could be worse than this. Under such a\\nschoolings reformation could hardly be expected it cer-\\ntainly was never realized to any considerable extent. Few,\\nif any, left the prison better men, or more favorably dispo-\\nsed to regard the rights of society, or obey its laws. As a\\ngeneral rule, the convicts left the prison more hardened,\\nand more disposed tlian ever to engage in new criminal\\nenterprises, and with a better knowledge of the manner both\\nof committing offenses, and evading detection.\\nThe state having erected a new prison at Wethersfield,\\nwhich was completed in September 1827, all the prisoners\\nremaining were removed fromNewgatelo this prit^on tm the\\n30th of that month a few of them having previously been\\ntaken out to work on the new prison.\\nThe persons appointed overseers of the prison, fron) its\\n3", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0035.jp2"}, "36": {"fulltext": "26\\nNEWGATE PRISON.\\nfirst establishment, were, Erastus Wolcott, Josiah Bissell,\\nJonathan Humphry, Asahel Holcomb, James Forward,\\nMatthew Griswold, Roger Newbury, John Treadwell, Pliny\\nHillyer, Samuel Woodruff, Martin Sheldon, Reuben Barker,\\nJonathan Pettibone Jr. and Thomas K. Brace.\\nKeepers: John Viets,* Peter Curtiss, Major Reuben\\nHumphreys, Col. Thomas Sheldon, Salmon Clark, Charles\\nWashburn, Elam Tuller, Alexander H. Griswold and\\nAndrew Denison.\\nMr. Viets, who was appointed by the General Assembly, resigned in\\n1776. From this time, until I7S2, the office was held by a number of per-\\nsons, the keeper being the chief officer of the guard for the .time being.\\nUnder the new act of 1790, the keepers were appointed by the overseers.\\nMr. Curtiss was the first one appointed after this time.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0036.jp2"}, "37": {"fulltext": "CAPTIVITY OF DANIEL HAYES,\\nBY THE INDIANS.\\nIn the fall of 1707, Daniel Hayes, at the age of twenty-\\ntwo years, was taken by the Indians and carried captive into\\nCanada. He resided at Salmon brook, now the central part\\nof Granby, which, being- at that time the northern point of\\nsettlement in the town, Avas peculiarly exposed to sudden\\ninvasions by the Indians. The circumstances attending this\\ntransaction, as preserved by tradition, are as follows.*\\nSome two or three years before Hayes was taken, he was\\nat a house-raising in Weatauge, when, very inconsiderately,\\nand out of mere wanton sport, he cut off the tail of a dog\\nbelonging to an Indian, who, a stranger and entirely\\nunknown, happened to be present. The master of the dog,\\nthough he uttered no complaint, manifested such emotions\\nof ill will and revenge, that Hayes, before they separated,\\ndeemed it prudent for himself to attempt to pacify him.\\nHe sought therefore a reconciliation, by proposing to drink\\nlogether, and offered, moreover, reparation for the injury.\\nBut the Indian rejected all overtures, and left the ground,\\nevidently in a surly and unreconciled mood of mind, and,\\nThe materials from which this account is compiled, were obligingly com-\\nmunicated to the author by Samuel II. WoodrufT and Ardon B. Holcomb\\nEsq rs, of Granby. Of the general correctness of the narrative, no reasonable\\ndoubt can be entertained, as the facts have been derived, not only from the\\ndescendants of Mr. Hayes, but also from several aged people, all of whom\\nconcur in their statements regarding the main and important features of the\\ntransaction.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0037.jp2"}, "38": {"fulltext": "26\\nCAPTIVITY OF DANIEL HAYES.\\nprobably, with malice and revenge deeply impressed upon\\nhis heart. Nothing afterwards being heard of the Indian\\nor his dog, (he circumstance, in a short time, if not forgot-\\nten, became unheeded. But, the events which follow \\\\vere\\nsupposed to result from this affair.*\\nOn the evening before his capture, there was a corn husk-\\ning party at the house of Mr. Hayes, when, in the course of\\nconversation, he remarked that early in the ensuing morn-\\ning, he should endeavor to find his horse, which was feed^\\ning in the forests, and, as supposed, westerly of the settle-\\nment. This conversation, as appeals from the sequel, was\\noverheard by Indians, who were, at that time, lurking about\\nthe house, and who, it is supposed, from the information\\nthus obtained, devised their plans of operation for the next\\nmorning,\\nAfter the family had retired and were asleep, they were\\nawakened by the barking of their dog, which manifested so\\nmuch uneasiness as to induce Mr. Hayes to leave his bed,\\nand, with his dog, to seek for the cause. Supposing the\\ndisturbance to have proceeded from the incursion of cattle\\ninto the corn-field contiguous to his house, (an ordinary\\noccurrence in t^ose days,) and finding it unmolested, he\\nagain sought repose in sleep. But the dog continued rest-\\nive, and plainly made known, by his conduct, that there was\\nsomething wrong in the neighborhood of the house.\\nThe next morning, at an early hour, Mr. Hayes, taking\\nwith him a bridle, proceeded into the forests to find his\\nhorse. His route led him to pass Stoney Hill, a ridge of\\nland stretching north and south about eighty rods westerly\\nof Salmon brook street. Upon turning round the south point\\nThus goes the story. But the author must be allowed to say, for him-\\nself, that he very much doubts whether this affair had anything to do with the\\ncapture of Hayes, which took place some years afterwards. The Indians, it\\nis well known, were incited to such deeds by the French in Canada, to whom\\nthey carried their captives, and by whom, as is supposed, they were rewarded\\nfor the service. The more correct supposition probably is, that the captors\\ncame into this weak settlement, to sieze and carry off any person who might\\nbe thrown in their way, and that they would have taken as readily any other\\nperson as Hayes, if an opportunity, equally as favorable, had occurred.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0038.jp2"}, "39": {"fulltext": "CAPTIVITY OF DANIEL HAYES,\\n29\\nof this hill, he was seized by three Indians, who sprang upon\\nI lim from an ambush where they had secreted themselves\\nfrom view. So suddenly and unexpectedly came this\\nattack upon Hayes, that he was deprived of all power to\\nmake resistance, or even any attempt to escape. One\\nIndian seized him by the throat another, enjoined silence\\nby putting a hand over his mouth whilst the other, with a\\ntomahawk raised over his head, enforced obedience and\\nsubmission. They immediately bound his hands at |^is\\nback, with the throat-latcli of the bridle, and, with their cap-\\ntive, hastily left the place, taking their course in a northern\\ndirection.\\nAnother account states that Hayes was accompanied by a\\nMr. Lamson, who, being an agile and athletic man, outran\\nthe Indians and effected his escape\u00e2\u0080\u0094 that the number of\\nIndians, belonging to the party, amounted to five or more\\nand that the transaction was witnessed by a Mrs. Holcomb,\\nwife of Mr. Nathaniel Holcomb, who was in the fields\\nthat morning milking, but who, from considerations relating\\nto her own safety, was deterred from returning home, or\\ngiving an alarm, until the Indians with their captive had\\nleft the place.\\nVery soon, however, the usual alarm was spread, and a\\nforce was raised sufficient to make pursuit. Immediate\\neffort was made to relieve the captive, and punish tlie\\naggressors. And notice of the calamity having been sent\\nto Windsor, a larger force came from that town to the\\nrescue. The route taken by the Indians was found and\\ntraced, and, at times, the marks of their tracks appeared so\\nfresh, that strong hopes were entertained of overtaking\\nthem. But, their superior cunning in such exploits, with\\ntheir Iketness in passing through the wilderness, enabled\\nthem to avoid iheir pursuers, and escape with their prisontM-.\\nIll the mcun lime Hayes, knowing that any symptoms of\\nlagging on his part would probably cost him his life, and\\nsupposing, moreover, that in no event would his captors, if\\nclosely pursued, suffer him to live, exerted himself to keep\\nup witli them. And he soon found he could do this without", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0039.jp2"}, "40": {"fulltext": "30 1 CAPTIVITY OF DANIEL HAVES.\\nmuch fatigue, for he was robust, and accustomed to such\\ntraveling. On one occasion, during tliis journey, when his\\ncompanions wished to test liis lleetness, he outstripped them\\nso far that they were on the point of shooting him to stop\\nhis progress. He might then have escaped, as he after-\\nwards said, if he had had his thoughts about him.\\nOn the first night after his capture, the party encamped\\nat the foot of Sodom mountain. He was secured during the\\nnight, by being placed upon his back, with each arm and\\nancle strongly fastened to a sapling, and with sticks so cross-\\ning his body as to be lain upon by an Indian on each side.\\nHe passed most of the nights, l)ound in this manner, during\\nhis long march to Canada. On the second day, the party\\ncrossed Connecticut river, by fording and swimming, and\\nspent the ensuing night at the base of Mount Holyoke.\\nIn this manner, they proceeded from day to day, up the\\nvalley of Connecticut river and through the wilderness, on\\ntheir route to Canada. Many incidents occurred, which\\nHayes used to relate. One evening, the little savages,\\nbelonging to a village wbere the party had stopped,\\nannoyed him by tickling his feet as he lay before a fire with\\nhis arms pinioned as usual. Bearing this annoyance as\\nlong as his patience would allow, he attempted to get rid of\\nhis tormentors by using his feet in self-defense during\\nwhich process, some of them were kicked into the fire. He\\nexpected nothing short of death for this aggression, but was\\nagreeably surprised when the fathers of the burnt children,\\ninstead of offering violence, patted him on his shoulders and\\nexclaimed boon\\nThey were nearly thirty days on this journey, during all\\nwhich time the sufferings of poor Hayes were excessive, and\\nalmost without intermission. Subjected to hard toil through\\neach day, with no sustenance save what the forests and\\nrivers furnished, and deprived at night of rest, by the man-\\nIf this word is correctly handed down, it was intended probably, for the\\nFrench word bon, and used on this occasion to express approbation. The\\nnorthern Indians, at this time, were in the habit of using a few words derived\\nfrom the P rench.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0040.jp2"}, "41": {"fulltext": "CAPTIVITY OF DANIEL HAYES. 31\\nner of binding his limbs, he had that to sustain which, in\\nmost cases, woukl have brought tlie sufferer to tbe grave.\\nBut Hayes, if he must be a victim, determined that he at\\nleast woukl not voluntarily contribute to hasten the sacrifice.\\nHe possessed that happy faculty of making-, at all times, the\\nbest of his condition. His cheerfulness, though assumed\\nhis ability to ndure fatigue and hardships and hisapparent\\nstoical indifference to his fate, secured the good opinion of\\nhis comrades, and tended to lighten his burdens, and, possi-\\nbly, to prolong his life. Indulgence in despondency could\\nbring no relief, and would, as he well knew, but render\\nmore bitter the cup of his afflictions. He very wisely there-\\nfore made up his mind to make a virtue of necessity, by\\nsubmitting with the best possible grace to that fate which\\nhe too well knew awaited him.\\nThe Indians told him, on the journey, of their lying\\nabout his house on the night before he was taken, and of\\ntheir overhearing the conversation relating to his intention\\nto proceed, on the next morning, into the wilderness to find\\nhis horse which information, thus obtained, induced them\\nto lie in wait at Stoney hill in order to capture him.\\nWhen they arrived at the great Indian encampment on\\nthe borders of Canada, the prisoner was delivered over to\\nthe council of the nation, to be disposed of as tbey should\\nadjudge. By their decision, he was doomed to undergo tiie\\npainful ordeal of running the gauntlet.^ Being stripped\\nto his skin, and annointed according to custom, he com-\\nmenced the course and after many flagellations and hard\\nknocks received, when approaching near the end of the\\nline, being exhausted and faint, he bolted from the course to\\navoid a blow from an upraised war club, and sought safely\\nby fleeing into a wigwam, at tlie door of which sat a super-\\nannuated and infirm squaw. He was pursued, but the\\nsipuiw proclaimed the house sacred, and its inmates pro-\\ntected from injury. By her intercession, and especially l)y\\nthe deference paid to a place thus sanctified according to the\\nrites of Indian superstition, the appetite of tlie savage\\nfor blood was stayed.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0041.jp2"}, "42": {"fulltext": "32 CAPTIVITY OF DANIEL HAYES.\\nThe squaw, whose husband and only son had fallen in\\nwar, claimed the captive, and adopted him as her son.\\nSlie was destitute, and so infirm as to be unable to walk.\\nHayes, in addition to minor duties, was compelled to provide\\nfor her sustenance and fuel. He administered to her wants,\\nand devoted to her the kindest attentions, and she, in\\nreturn, evinced her gratitude, by calling him her so7i He\\nlived in this family about five years and although, during\\nthis time, he fared better, perhaps, than most Indian cap-\\ntives, yet existence, in his then condition, had for him but\\nfew charms, and the future unveiled to his view no cheering\\nprospect. tHe was in bondage, compelled to adopt the\\ncustoms and modes of life of savages, and was deprived of\\nalmost every comfort deemed necessary by civilized people.\\nBesides, he could entertain no reasonable hope of being\\nrestored to his home and kindred and more than all, his\\nlife was at the mercy, whim, or caprice, of savage masters.\\nOne of the tasks imposed upon him, in the winter season\\nwas to draw upon a sled his Indian mother to such places\\nas she wished to visit, and especially to the feasts and coun-\\ncil assemblages of her tribe. Upon occasion of a dog\\nfeast, which, by the usages of her people, all were expected\\nto attend, he proceeded with her, in this manner, until,\\nascending a hill which was steep and slippery, he found his\\nstrength, when put to its utmost power, barely adequate to\\nmake any headway. By perseverance and exertion how-\\never, he was enabled to reach nearly the summit of the hill,\\nwhen he slipped and fell and either by design, or inability\\nto hold on, left the sled, with its mortal load, to find the\\nbottom of the declivity without a pilot secretly wishing, no\\ndoubt, that her appetite for riding would be cured by this\\ntrip. In this perilous adventure, the sled struck a stump\\nnear the foot of the hill, which capsized the squaw, who\\nwas severely injured by tbe fall. Whether an accident or\\nnot, Hayes professed much sorrow for the disaster, and\\nmanaged the affair so adroitly, that he escaped every impu-\\ntation of blame, and continued to retain the confidence and\\ngood opinion of the Indians.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0042.jp2"}, "43": {"fulltext": "CAPTIVITY OF DANIEL HAYES.\\n33\\nSlioitly after this event, he was sold to a Frenchman in\\nMontreal, through the agency, it is said, of a Papist priest.\\nHis new master was kind, and allowed him many of the\\nnecessaries, with some of the luxuries, of life, of which he\\nhad been so long deprived. Learning that Hayes was by\\ntrade a weaver, he started him in this business, and by\\nallowing him a share of the profits, Hayes was enabled, in\\nthe course of about two years, to earn money enough to\\npurchase his freedom. The good Frenchman not only\\nemancipated him, but supplied him with clothes, provisions,\\nand a half breed guide to conduct him safely through the\\nwarring tribes on his journey homeward. The guide pro-\\nceeding with him as far as Mount Holyoke, pointed out to\\nhim the smokes of his friends, the pale faces, wished him\\na happy return to his family, and departed, in another direc-\\ntion, to wend his way back to Canada. In about twenty-five\\ndays after leaving Montreal, Hayes had the happiness to\\nreach his home, and to exchange hearty greetings and con-\\ngratulations with his friends, to whom he appeared almost\\nas one raised from the dead.\\nThus, after an absence of about seven years, the captive\\nwas restored to freedom, a home and a happy circle of rela-\\ntives and friends. He had heard nothing from his family\\nsince his capture, nor had they received any tidings of him,\\nthough they either knew, or had good reason to suppose,\\nthat he had been taken and carried off by the Indians. His\\nfriends had llattered themselves, for a long while, that he\\nwould be spared to return to them, but his long absence had\\nextinguished every vestige of hope, and he had for some\\ntime been given up as lost.\\nWith buoyant spirits, renovated courage and unshaken\\nresolution, he set himself to the task of making up for the\\nlost time he had spent with the Indians. His constitution,\\nnaturally robust, had suffered nothing by his long captivity,\\nand his ambition had lost none of its fire. He mariied,\\nsettled down upon a farm, and within a short time, became\\na thriving agriculturist. In 1720, he built a house which\\nis now standing, and is the oldest building in town. It is", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0043.jp2"}, "44": {"fulltext": "34 CAPTIVITY OF DANIEL HAYES.\\nsituated on the east side of Salmon brook street, in the lower\\nor southern part of the street, and is at present owned by\\nMr. Henry Gillett. In this house religious meetings were\\nheld during- some four or five years before the erection of\\nthe first meeting-house in that society, in 1743.\\nMr. Hayes became a prominent citizen, was often em-\\nployed in civil affairs, and during many years, was a pillar\\nin the church at Salmon brook, of which he was a member\\nat its organization. He lived to see the infant settlement,\\nso long exposed to Indian barbarities, a populous village,\\nwith no crafty enemy to disturb its repose, and strong enough,\\nhad danger existed, to protect its inhabitants from plunder\\nor capture. But, long before his death, all Indian difficul-\\nties had ceased.\\nHe died in 1756, at the age of seventy-one, and was buried\\nin the cemetery at the north end of the village. A red free-\\nstone monument marks the spot of his last resting-place, on\\nwhich is inscribed the following epitaph\\nHERE LIES, VB BODY OF\\nMR. DANIEL HAYES,\\nWho served his Generation in steady course of Probity and Piety,\\nand was a lover of Peace, and God s Public Worship\\nAnd being satisfied with Long life,\\nleft this world with a Comfortable Hope of life Eternal,\\nSept. 3d, 1756,\\nin ye 71 year of his Age.", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0044.jp2"}, "45": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0045.jp2"}, "46": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0046.jp2"}, "47": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0047.jp2"}, "48": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0048.jp2"}, "49": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0049.jp2"}, "50": {"fulltext": "ft ^f\\nc\\n1^^.\\nv .(C(:;(CC I\\n.(CC\\nC(\\nC\\nCc\\nc _\\nc(\u00c2\u00ab:\\n((C\\nex;\\nc c\\nCCL\\nc c\\nCt 1\\nc c", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0050.jp2"}, "51": {"fulltext": ":C^^\\n:.ccc\\nocc\\nc rc\\nccc\\n(XC\\n(X v.\\nC C\\nc c\\nc\u00c2\u00abc\\nCC\\nC C\\nC\\ni%\\nICC\\nd cc\\nex\\n4t5 C C: S-\\ncC\\n(X\\nc\\nc c _\\nC CCC C^^\\nC CC CC C\\nC CCCC C\\nC C CC C\\nc ccc c:. C\\nc cr cr\\nlicit ^y^\\\\\\ncCcc C. -.oc\\n^CK c CC\\ncCcc C.\\ncC(C C\\ncCkC\\nCCK C\\ncOcC\\nC CC\\nc c\\nc C\\nC.vC\\n^C C\\nCC\\nccc\\nCC\\nc c\\nc c\\nCCC\\nQCC\\nC CC\\ncvcc\\nc cr\\nCCC\\nCC\\nCC\\n(C\\ncc_\\nCC\\nc\\nCC\\nc c\\nCCC.\\nr^c:..\\ncx\\nCC\\nc c\\ni cc\\nc CC\u00c2\u00ab:\\nCC C\\nCC c\\nCC C$\\nCCC\\nC C\\nCC c\\nCC c C\\nCC c\\nIV c C. C^\\n-^c^;j-\\nCC ecu\\nCCC CC t^\\nVCC CCCC\\nv :c CCC C\\nn ccc c\\n(c --cc^\\n^c XC^C\\nC cCC cC\\n^c cc.5\\n^cc cecal.\\nc\\nc C\\nc c\\nc\u00c2\u00abc\\nCc C^\\n(C\\nCC\\nC cC\\nci\\nc\\nc.vC CC\\nc tC C*^^\\ncc\\nc ccL", "height": "3255", "width": "1929", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0051.jp2"}, "52": {"fulltext": "LIBRARY OF CONGRESS\\n0014 110321", "height": "3364", "width": "1991", "jp2-path": "historyofcopperm00phel_0052.jp2"}}