Wests
in Middlesex and Litchfield Counties, Connecticut:
David
West (ca. 1736-1822)
Compiled by Joy Ikelman,
September 2014. Disclaimers apply. Note: The use of double dating, such as
1630/1631, reflects the difference between the Julian and Gregorian Calendars.
Background: Judah West
(1765-1825) was added to West DNA Family Group #5 in 2007. [1] David West, Jr.
(1761-ca. 1855) and Aaron West (1763-1840) were his brothers. They are
descendants of Thomas West (b. 1630/1631-1720) of Essex County, Massachusetts. The
father of these three brothers was David West, Sr. This is the third of several
articles about the Connecticut line of this FG#5 family.
Thomas West (1630/1631-1720) m. Phebe Waters
- Benjamin West (1665-1733) m. Hannah Shadduck
- Benjamin West, Jr.
(1696-after 1739) m. Mehitable Bailey
- David West (ca. 1736-1822) m. Judith
Hills
- David West, Jr. (1761-ca. 1855)
- Aaron
West (1763-1840) m. Susannah Kellogg
- Judah
West (1765-1825) m. Mary Todd
Early Years of David West
I was unable to find a
birth date for David West. He was baptized on 7 Nov 1736 at First
Congregational Church, Portland, Middlesex County, Connecticut. [2]
He was the son of
Benjamin West, Jr. and Mehitable (or Mehitabel) Bailey. His grandparents were
Benjamin West, Sr. and Hannah Shadduck. His great-grandparents were Thomas West
and Phoebe Waters of Essex County, Massachusetts. David West grew up in what is
today called East Hampton, Middlesex County, Connecticut, south of Lake
Pocotopaug. [3]
Service in the French and Indian Wars
Campaign of 1755. At the age of 19, 1 Sep 1755, David West enlisted with Captain Joseph
Savage of Middletown, CT. This was
possibly the 1st or 2nd Connecticut Regiment. He was
discharged on 6 Nov 1755. [4] Much of the Campaign of 1755 was completed before
the time he enlisted.
Campaign of 1757. In 1757, David West served in Col. Phinneas Lyman’s regiment, Tenth
Company, under Capt. Eliphalet Whittelsey. The Tenth Company was composed of
soldiers from areas around Middlesex and Hartford Counties, CT. David enlisted
on 2 Apr 1757 and was discharged on 1 Dec 1757. Serving with him was Aaron
West, his brother. David was about 21 years old, and Aaron was 18. Aaron West
enlisted on 30 Mar 1757 and died in service on 10 Nov 1757. [5] Other men in
this regiment died on the same day or closely thereafter.
Although Connecticut provided thousands
of men for the 1757 campaign, they were treated poorly. A scathing assessment
was published in 1854.
. . .They
[colonial soldiers of Connecticut] were treated with the greatest hauteur, and
even insolence, by the royal [British] officers sent here, swelling with
pride, to domineer over the provincials, caring more to show their superiority
over the latter than to advance the king’s interest.
. . .They
had no opportunity to exhibit the native courage which burned in their bosoms
. . . Yet instances of courage and daring flashed up in every part of the
colonies, disconnected with the royal service.
. . .The
campaign of 1757 ended most ingloriously. To the incapacity and pusillanimity
of these commanders are to be attributed the constantly recurring losses of
that year. Had the colonies been left to themselves, they would have done
better. [6]
Becoming American. The seeds of independence were firmly planted during the French and
Indian Wars. The Society of Colonial Wars
in the State of Connecticut states:
The
wars helped to bring about important changes in the British colonies. In
addition to the fact of their ocean-wide distance from the mother country, the
colonies felt themselves less dependent militarily on the British by the end of
the wars; they became most concerned with their own problems and put greater
value on their own institutions. In other
words, they began to think of themselves as Americans rather than British. [7]
David West Marries Judith Hills
David West married
Judith Hills on 1 Nov 1757 in Middlesex County, Connecticut. [8] Sometimes her
name appears as “Juda.” Her tombstone says “Judith.” She was born about 1737—this
is based on her death date of 1816, at age 79. I found no reference to her
immediate family.
The Hills living in Middlesex
County in the late 1700s were descendants of William Hills of England (circa
1607-1683). [10] William Hills emigrated from England to Roxbury, Massachusetts
in 1632, and moved to Hartford in 1636. [11] His descendants are sometimes referred
to as the “Hartford Hills.” Hartford is about 20 miles from East Hampton.
David West and Judith
Hills were married nine days before Aaron West died in the French and Indian
War.
Chidren of David and Judith. David and Judith West had ten known children.
1. Abigail West b. 15 Jan 1759 [11]; m. Henry McCone
on 7 Oct 1779. [12]
2. David West b. 18
Feb 1761 [13]; d. after 1855. [14] He served in the Revolutionary War.
David West, Jr. will be discussed in a future blog article.
3. Aaron West b. 3
Jun 1763 [15]; d. 15 May 1840 [16]; m. Susannah Kellogg, 4 Nov 1784. [17] He
served in the Revolutionary War.
Aaron West will be discussed in a future blog article.
4. Judah West b. 11 Sep 1765
[18]; d. 9 Apr 1825 [19]; m. Mary Todd, 27 Dec 1785. [20] He served in the
Revolutionary War.
Judah West will be discussed in
a future blog article.
5. Abner West bpt. 28 Jun
1767 [21]; died young. Another son would be named Abner in 1773.
6. Whitney West (son) b. 25
Jul 1769 [22]; bpt. 13 Sep 1772. [23]
7. Prudence West b. 5 Feb
1771 [24]; bpt. 13 Sep 1772 [25]; m. Joel Loomis, 23 May 1792 in Torrington,
Litchfield County, CT. [26]
8. Abner West b. 13 Sep 1773
[27]; bpt. 29 Sep 1773. [28] There was an Abner West appearing in the 1820
Census of Sharon, Litchfield County, CT with one female over 45. Abner is
“engaged in agriculture.” [29] This Abner West might possibly be the son of
David West.
9. Hannah West b. 16 May
1775 [30]; bpt. June 1775 [31]; m. John Allin, 16 Dec 1796 in Colebrook,
Litchfield County, CT. [32]
10. Jesse West b. 19 Sep
1777 [33]; bpt. 28 Sep 1777. [34]
Service to First Congregational Church
The First
Congregational Church of East Hampton was established in 1746. [35] The West
Family belonged to this church—it was very close to their property. David West was
chosen to be sexton on 29 Nov 1762. The sexton looked after the church and
church grounds, and also rang the church bell. The next year, 28 Nov 1763, he
was appointed as grave digger. [36] The grave digger position was a supervisory
one, associated most often with winter burials.
In many New England churches, these jobs provided a small stipend. At
the time of David’s church appointments, his brothers Moses and John West also
lived in East Hampton with their families.
David
West and the Revolutionary War
In his Revolutionary
War pension application of 1820, David West, Jr. (son of David West) testified
that he had “An
aged Father near 90 years old who was in the old French War and who took an
active part in the Revolutionary War.” [37] I found one reference to this
service. At a town meeting, 4 Dec 1780,
David West and three other men “were chosen a Comm’tt of Supply for the
Soldiers Families for the year ensuing.” [38] This Committee was part of a
county-wide program which began in 1777, “to provide necessarys for the
families.” [39]
Middlesex County had
enjoyed prosperity in the years up to the war. It was a vital port on the Connecticut
River. But when the Boston Port Act was put in place by the British to block
Boston harbor from imports and exports, the inhabitants along the Connecticut
River reacted swiftly. More than five hundred inhabitants of Middlesex County adopted
this resolution:
That
we will heartily concur in any salutary measures that may or shall be devised
and come into or recommended by a General Congress, from all or most of the
Colonies, or by the greater places of trade or commerce on the Continent, or by
the inhabitants of this colony, for the preservation of the rights of British
Americans. [40]
In December of 1774, “The
non importation and non consumption of British goods was recommended by the
Continental Congress and the Colonial Assembly, and it was promptly and
heartily concurred by the people here.” [41] There was solidarity with other
colonies. This declaration led to strengthening of local government to manage the
shifting economy. Local industries adapted their production of goods toward
supporting all of the colonies, and not just Connecticut.
In 1776, the Continental
Congress established a draft and quota system to ensure that the Continental
Army would be strong. Middlesex County, CT had specific guidelines about
filling these quotas, setting up an organized method of conscription. However,
the three sons of David West, Sr., voluntarily
enlisted.
David, Jr., and Aaron
served in the Connecticut Line. Judah served in the Massachusetts Line.
Massachusetts had called for assistance to help fill their quota. David West’s
nephews, Moses, Jr., and Hopkins West, also served. Future blog articles will address the service records of David,
Aaron, and Judah.
The
[historical] records are sufficient to prove that Chatham [Middlesex County] nobly
did its part in filling up the Continental armies with good soldiers, relieving
them at the same time of all anxiety in regard to the care of their families in
their absence, and strengthened the government by every available means. [42]
The
Wests Move to Litchfield County, Connecticut
In 1783, David West
moved his family to Winsted—in the township of Winchester, Litchfield County,
CT. Winchester was considered a remote area at the time. David West “first
lived in a log house at the base of Cobble Hill on Spencer Street, a little
south of the site of the Joshua Hewitt dwelling.” [43]
We do not know why he
moved there. His brother, Moses, stayed in East Hampton. As the oldest son of
Benjamin West, Jr., Moses may have inherited the West land. Perhaps David
wanted a fresh start in a less-populated area, with land that was not
overworked. R. W. Bacon, editor of The
Middler, Newsletter of the Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants,
studied the migration from Middlesex County to other areas after the
Revolutionary War. He suggests that the economic situation may have been a
motivation for many migrating families. He wrote:
The
Middletown populace welcomed the end of the war in 1783, but difficult
adjustments followed . . .Where there had been a mercantile boom fueled by the
military supply business, prosperity certainly did not spread equally
throughout the population. The dependent families struggled, and discharged soldiers
were often left holding devalued currency. [44]
Aaron and Judah also
lived in Winsted after the Revolutionary War ended. Aaron West was “a grantee of the Lockwood Farm
on Spencer Street on which he lived until 1787, when he is named of New Hartford.”
[45] Judah West came to Winsted with his father. He “first lived on the Halsey
Burr place on the old Still River turnpike” and then “on the east side of the
same road where the old toll gate was located.” [46] Judah stayed in Winsted. David
West’s nephew, Hopkins West, came to Winchester township about the same time,
and then moved to Cambridge, New York. [47]
Tax Assessment.
In 1783, a tax assessment of Winchester showed about 700 residents, with about
148 male taxpayers. Of these, 39 lived in Winsted, including David West. His
taxable property was £47 [48]—solidly “middle class”
for that time and location.
Wests
and Egglestons. In 1801, David West
bought a house from Frederick Eggleston. The home “stood on the site of George Dudley’s
dwelling on Main Street.” [48] Today, Main Street in Winsted, CT, is also Highway
44. During the 1800s it was referred to as “the turnpike.” Judah also lived on
the turnpike. David and Judith lived in the house on Main Street for the rest
of their lives.
The purchase has an intriguing subplot: the appearance of the Eggleston name. The
Wests and Egglestons had interacted in Enfield, Windsor, Middletown, and
Winsted, CT. Soon after this sale, Frederick Eggleston moved to the neighboring
town of Colebrook, CT. The relationship between the two families spanned four
generations—more than 100 years. [49]
Early Methodists. David West was one of the early Methodists in Winsted. He was
described as “a pious and worthy man.” [50] In 1808, Winsted’s first Methodist
church was built on Spencer Street. “Prior to the building of this house, the
Methodists had worshipped in the adjoining school house. Their number [of
members], though limited, included a highly respectable class of our inhabitants.”
[51]
Census Data for Litchfield County [52]
1790 Census: One male under 16, two males 16 and over, and three
females. This is most likely David, Judith and four children. The children are
probably Abner or Whitney, Jesse, Hannah, and Prudence.
1800 Census : One male
16-25, one male 45 and over, and one female 45 and over. This was David,
Judith, and possibly their son Jesse. Or perhaps this was another young man.
1810 Census: One male 45 and over, and
one female 45 and over. This would be David and Judith.
1820 Census: Neither David or Judith
is mentioned. David West was alive, but not counted in the census.
Last Years of David and Judith West
Judith’s tombstone
reads: “Judith West who died Feb. 24th, 1816 in her 80th
year of life.” [53] This phrase indicates she was 79 years old. She was buried
at the Winsted Old Burying Ground—also known as Central Cemetery. [54] Judah West, their son, is buried in the
same cemetery.
David West, Sr. died
in 1822 at age 87, six years after his wife. [55] Although I found this
information in two citations, neither could be verified with a town or church
record. I could not find David West’s burial site. He may be buried at Winsted
Old Burying Ground.
References
and Additional Notes
1. West DNA Family Group #5 results are at
http://web.utk.edu/~corn/westdna/west5.htm#FG5.
2. Connecticut,
Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920, Connecticut State Library, Hartford,
Connecticut. Vol. 091, Portland First Congregational Church, 1720-1925, p. 200.
3. This was the location of the West family land in
Middlesex County. Benjamin and Hannah West settled in the area in 1698. For
more of this history please consult the articles on Benjamin West, Sr. and
Benjamin West, Jr. on this blog site.
4. Connecticut Historical Society, 1903: “Campaign of 1755,
Miscellaneous,” Collections of the
Connecticut Historical Society, Volume IX, The Society, Hartford,
Connecticut, p. 81.
5. Connecticut Historical Society, “Campaign of 1757,” p. 185-187. Note:
Two years later in the Campaign of 1759, David West is recorded as a soldier.
However, this West was from Tolland County, CT. The “Tolland Wests” were
descended from Francis West and Margery Reeves—West DNA Family Group #19. West
Family Group #19 results are at: http://web.utk.edu/~corn/westdna/west5.htm#FG19.
6. William Cothren, 1854: History
of Ancient Woodbury, Connecticut from the First Indian Deed in 1659 to 1754,
Volume I, Bronson Brothers, Waterbury, Connecticut, p. 167.
7. Sigourney Fay Nininger, Jr., editor, 2011: The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of
Connecticut, Web site. http://colonialwarsct.org/1689_map.htm. Accessed
September 2014. The Society of Colonial Wars was founded in 1893 to honor the
activities of those colonists who served in pre-Revolutionary civil and military
positions. Descendants of David West would qualify for membership, as he has
documented service in the French and Indian Wars.
8. Lorraine Cook White,
editor, 1994-2002: The Lucius Barnes Barbour
Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records, Vol. 1-155, Genealogical
Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, p. 163 (Chatham). Also known as The Barbour Collection.
9. William Sanford Hills and Thomas Hills, compilers,
1906: The Hills Family in America,
The Grafton Press, New York, New York, various pages.
10. Robert Charles Anderson, 1996-2011: The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633,
New England Historical and Genealogical Society, Boston, p. 941-946. Entry for
“William Hills.”
11. Barbour
Collection, Chatham, p. 163.
12. Frederic W. Bailey,
editor, 1896: Early Connecticut Marriages
as Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800, Book 4, Bureau of
American Ancestry, New Haven, Connecticut, p. 99.
13. Barbour Collection, Chatham, p. 163.
14. Census of the State of New
York, for 1855, New York State Archives, Albany, New York.
15. Barbour Collection, Chatham, p. 163.
16. The death date comes from
Susannah West’s testimony in court.
17. Barbour Collection, Colebrook, p. 259.
18. Barbour Collection,
Chatham, p. 163.
19. Charles R. Hale, compiler,
1916-1935: “Central Cemetery, Winsted,”The Charles R. Hale Collection
of Connecticut Cemetery Inscriptions, Connecticut State Library, Hartford,
Connecticut, p. 171.
20. Barbour Collection, Colebrook, p. 259.
21. CT Church Record Abstracts, Portland, p. 200. Although the East Hampton
Congregational Church was established in 1746, the baptisms were recorded in
the Portland Church’s book.
22. Barbour Collection,
Chatham, p. 164.
23. CT Church Record Abstracts, Portland, p. 201. Baptized the same day as
his sister Prudence.
24. Barbour Collection,
Chatham, p. 164.
25. CT Church Record Abstracts, Portland, p. 201. Baptised the same day as her
brother Whitney.
26. Bailey, Book 7, p. 70.
27. Barbour Collection,
Chatham, p. 163.
28. CT Church Record Abstracts, Portland, p. 200.
29. Census of 1820, Sharon,
Litchfield County, Connecticut. Records
of the Bureau of the Census, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
30. Ray Dayton West, 1947: Wests:
Partial Lineage. Mimeographed manuscript, Menominee, Michigan, 60 pages
plus Index, p. 3. Original from the
University of Wisconsin through the Haithi Trust, http://babel.haithitrust.org.
Accessed March 2014. Ray West stated the day of birth—perhaps by viewing the
original document. The Barbour Collection
(p. 164) says May 1775.
31. CT Church Record Abstracts, Portland, p. 200—“David, his dau. bp
June [__] 1775.” This is probably Hannah, although her name is not mentioned.
Ray Dayton West (1947) concurs.
32. Barbour Collection, Colebrook, p. 259.
33. Barbour Collection,
Chatham, p. 163.
34. CT Church Record Abstracts, Portland, p. 201.
35. “The Congregational Church of East Hampton,” Historic Buildings of Connecticut, http://historicbuildingsct.com/?p=2168.
Accessed August 2014.
36. CT Church Record Abstracts, Volume
027, East Hampton Congregational
Church, p. 589.
37. Revolutionary war pension
application for David West, Jr. HeritageQuest, http://www.heritagequestonline.com.
Accessed December 2013.
38. E. Emory Johnson and Hosford B. Niles, 1884:
“Town of East Haddam,” in The History of
Middlesex County, Connecticut, with Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men,
J.H. Beers and Company, New York, p. 282.
39. M.L. Roberts, 1884: “Town of Chatham: Chatham in
the Wars,” The History of Middlesex
County, p. 182.
40. David D. Field, 1853: Centennial Address, with Historical Sketches of Cromwell, Portland,
Chatham, Middle Haddam, Middletown, and its Parishes, William B. Casey,
publisher, Middletown, Connecticut, p. 65.
41. Henry Whittemore, “Middletown in the Revolution,”
The History of Middlesex County, p.
78.
42. Mrs. J.J. Hayne, 1884: “Portland—The Revolution,”
The History of Middlesex County, p.
503.
43. John Boyd, 1873: Annals of Family Records of Winchester, Connecticut
with Exercises of the Centennial Celebration, on the 16th and 17th Days ofAugust, 1871, Case, Lockwood, and Brainard, Hartford, CT, p. 289.
with Exercises of the Centennial Celebration, on the 16th and 17th Days ofAugust, 1871, Case, Lockwood, and Brainard, Hartford, CT, p. 289.
44. Reginald W. Bacon, 2008: “Middletown in the
Revolutionary War: The Redcoats Never Marched Down Main Street, but War Did
Accelerate Change in Middletown Life,” The
Middler; Newsletter of the Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants,
Volume 8, No. 2, p. 1, 6-8. Bacon based his conclusions on Albert E. Van Dusen,
1950: Middletown and The American
Revolution, Rockfall Corporation and the Middlesex Historical Society, 35
pages; plus other sources.
45. Boyd, p. 289.
46. Boyd, p. 297.
47. CT Church Record Abstracts,
East Hampton, p. 232. Hopkins (b. 1756) was a son of Moses West and Sarah
Hopkins. The 1790 census shows him living
in Cambridge, where his brother Moses, Jr. also lived.
48. Boyd, p. 160.
49. The Eggleston Family was related to the Wests
through intermarriages in Windsor and Enfield, CT in the late 1600s and early
1700s. Benjamin West (David West’s grandfather) and Samuel Eggleston were both
“first settlers” of Middletown, and had adjoining properties. All of the
Egglestons, including Frederich, were descendants of Bygod Eggleston (c. 1586-1674)
who settled in Windsor, CT in 1635.
50. Boyd, p. 330.
51. Boyd, p. 289. Also cited in Roberts, 1884: “Town
of Chatham: Sketches of the Settlers,” in The
History of Middlesex County, p. 215.
52. Boyd, p. 402-403.
53. Census of 1790, 1800, 1810,
and 1820, Winchester, Litchfield County, Connecticut. Records of the Bureau of the Census, National Archives, Washington,
D.C.
54. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=118569757.
Accessed August 2014.
55. Hale, “Central
Cemetery, Winsted,” p. 171.
56. Boyd, p.289; Roberts, p. 215.
