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B75 HISTORY Ji l-' J^.. I iLLGK.
1912
BY GEOROE BRIDGE.
I* eor|- e Fridge, was lorn In flit on Kent County Eng.
fov. 7, 1050 the son of John Fridge* who was the © on of Robert
Bridge who w « s the son of John bridge, who was the son of
Step: on Bridge. I roneriber Robert very well, he used to cow ©
to our hoxtse every Sunday sight about dark and stay about a
half en hour, and take tt. se smilest on © on his knee. Re al-ways
had something In M s ocket good to oat, which the young-ster
soon found out. :* y brother 1 phrain was the last ono to do
this. Eph was on © year and a half when we cam away fron Eng.
Ko had our goods all on the team on the night of March 14, 1842.
1 was a little over 11 years old.
I renember many things In the old country. I went fish-ing
with Father when 1 was 7 years old helping him catch fish.
When I was 8 years old and one day I fell over board. The net
that I was paying out caught on a button on vtv clothes and
dragged me over board, I landed on the net. Father came out
and pulled the not and no In a. aIn. I was cold and wet. Me put
an old coat on to me and kept on at work till we got through.
I had lots of relations over there. My grandfather Rob-ert
Fridge died Sept. 4, 1849. T'e a tart at from Milton about
2 o'clock in the morning of Perch 15, for London and got there
In the norning of the 17, of Parch. I remecfter seeing St. Paul's
Cathedral on the way to the dock, fie arrived in ! Iew York
April 25th, but did not land till the next day and then riot In
tine to start for Hartford on the steamboat. We stayed ell night
with an English family arid 1 reimiber, h& xX » g> sons \ lura pudding,
low good It tasted after llvjdBgN.(^ lM3n0M. lHick5for six weeks.
FEB 2 1948 !
'' Je started on April 27th, 1042 and arrived In Hartford early
in tli © worning of April 28, 1842 and cans by team to Scitico.
Father got a teast of three horses and a man to drive. The goods
wor © all loaded on, then nm all got on - — Father, other, George*
John, Ruth, Amos and uphrain. The two oldest hoys had to walk
up some of the hills. Then. we got to Enfield Street we saw a
church in the Riddle of the road, and just West of it a hotel
afterwards burned down. About ten years 1 think after, Col. Fob
Abbe kept it then until it burned down. They told us it was three
miles to this place. We oar ® on and got are at 2 o'clock. First
we caste to a church in the woods then soma men were working
raising the old tin shop the seste building is now Andrew Gor-don1
® tarn. Then we cane to the old brick house which stood
between K. c. ^ lien's store ana the ?!. E. Church. Then we riot
Aunt Betsy Prickett end she went back with us to her house which
is down on the corner of Cooper or nearly opposite the Episcopal
Churcb. They backed up the team and unloaded all our goods*
V.' e had two roons and a garret. Uncle George Prickett and Tils
family two rooms and a hall bedroom.
We lived there till about Aug. 20th of the sane year.
Uncle had a wife and four children. There was another house
nearly opposite the Episcopal Church called the Xsnalow house.
There was a little one story house a little , ast of George
Payne* s and then we com © to Uncle laniel Oowdys where Sylves-ter
Charter now lives. That was all there was to the village
at that time. We did not think the village wont any farther
east than the lenslow house as those east of there did not work
in the Powder Mills.
In the Hollow there was three pair of wheels. There was
nothing above the dan at the barn ni lis that bam mill had two
pair of wheels, and there was on © pair down at the old single
mill piece. There w two corning houses and two presses. One
coming house on the river where the coming house now is. On © on
the canal & little below the barn. The barn has always been in about
the saw © ' place. The presses wore near together. One near the river-called
the new press a little below the old slngl ® wheel mill. The
press up north at the end of a row of trees planted afterwards
from the steam mills up to the old press. The Glaze was where the
jaachin © shop now is. The hot house and dust house were all in one.
The powder was dryad arid dust taken out and separated in that
building. That building has beer; used for that purpose except the
drying for over 70 years. A new dry house was built when I worked
there in 1844. The canister house was the little , orth end of the
present canister house. There was a little building about 10 by
14 feet a little west of the canister house that they kept char-coal
in for use in the dry house and canister house and also In
the packing house and if there came up a hard thunder- store we
would run over there and sit down in the charcoal till it was over.
The packing house was the west end of what Is called the long
building with a little part of the two story part of the building.
The megssine was the little part of the present packing house un-der
the hill. There was a little building where the c o w pack-ing
house Is or near there. It is there now on the corner of the
packing house. It was used to put powder in and empty canisters
and old machines of one kind and another* The refinery was just
south of the office arid to the north. The office you went
in about the sane place you do now only there was no brick build-ing
bacV of it, but the shed went farther to the east of it.
The coolhous © was on the present site a part of the south part
of the present buildlag. There was two barns one just in
front of ti o present bam about 40 by 34. Anot or west of the old
boarding house about the sane size. They both looked vary much
alike end west of the tipper barn was another building used as a
carpenters shop. It had lots of lath and plaster on it. tin the
back of it was a long lean to, the whole length I am about sure >
that was the old house that stood where the old boarding house
later stood. About one hundred years ago a house up In Jobbock
was brought and moved down into the hollow by Drjbevid Allen and
put on the old site and the old on © moved amy to the \ est. There
was three houses in the Hollow one just below the tomb one nearly
opposite the tonb and one, the old boarding house, Lr. David Allen
died there Feb* 12th, 1854 aged 78 ami about four months. That house
we, that Is lather, Mother* Oeor e, John, Ruth-, Amos and Sphralm,
and a little baby bora up here in the brown house on June 15th,
moved, into the Hollow Aug. 19, Died Oct.. 82, 1842. We lived in the
Hollow vein nearly two years. Gilbert Dlrfey lived near the tomb
three or four children Lodowick, Shlpman, over on the other side
a
in the little red house his wife was(( Luce. He had three or four
children. Old S'rs. Luc © lived with us in the lorth end of the house.
} or two sons boarding with her. William and Waiter Luce. William
did not live- with his wife at that time. During that time old Mrs.
Luc © had two sons come and visit her. Alonza Luce case on from
Ohio Ashtabula County I think In a team. It took him two weeks to
drive on here, lie kept his tear, in the bam west of the house. He
had been out there about six years. Use other was her youngest,
lie was 29 years old and was her biggest boy, over 200 lbs. lis
name was lee on Luce. He lived in CoHLns ville and worked la the fac-tory.
She had on © other son, Jefferson Luce. William, Welter, and
Jefferson and Charles Luce were killed in the powder mills. Charles
was a son of Jefferson Luce. William was killed in June 85,1844.
Walter was killed June 1855. Jefferson some years later In Ohio
and Charles here in Ka?. ardville in 1886. The old lady moved away
first of arch 1043. I saw her once after that in Somersvilla.
The company was foiled that run these mills in 1855 towards trie
fall of the year. Park Loonis was president. M . A . Ilassrd was
general agent In ' lew York. Mr . Art henslow came her © In the spring
of the next year, 1856. • The company was then Parks Looais president,
A.'}. Hazard General Agent, lived In New York, II » A . hens low house
and was superintendent of the sills. Two other Loonises-— Allen
and fieel& nd hoonis were in the company. We used to understand by
benslow hoys telling us, that Parks Loonls, Mr . Bastard and Mr,
henslow each had on © fourth In the company and Allen and Meoland
Loosils each one had one eighth In the company. They started up one
little cylinder mill in the next fall or winter. About that tJ «
they sent over to England for a powder maker or two. They got ray
uncle, '- TBI. Prickett and his brother Henry Prickett. They came in the
spring of 1856 and by the fall they had three pair of wheels going.
The next year Uncle William Prickett went over to England to get
sos ® : iore men. ho got nine, I think. They agreed to work for a year,
After that most of then went out to 01 do. Mr . Rook lived here a great
many years and worked In the coal house till he was an old man.
' sir. Rogers came from Ohio to visit us here, three times.
Ify mother was a sister of William and Henry Prickett and
father and mother kept writing to then till they got so they
thought they wanted to come to America. Father had four boys and
thought It would be best for them. I think it has. There ware two
uncles of alno came to this country. They left the old country in
' arc! 1855 and arrived here in Hew York In April. The four men
wore Will Moon who had been here before, Thomas Root, James Prickett
and Jess © Prickett who was only 16 years old. The went to Rochester
law York Stat © the next year, When Willie ® and Henry and families
cams, George Prickett and wife and two children and Grandmother
and Unci ® Bennett caste* but not in the same ship. It took them,
about ten weeks to get her ® . Dennett Prickett died in lew York
the next year in llarcit 18S7. lie was twenty six years old. In
the spring of 1838 they all came to Connscticiit from Rochester. 1',
Jess © Prickett died in Ke'w York state on the Hudson, being burned
In a powder mill at gaugerties An Sept. 27, 1840. Grandmother
Prickett died here six mmtiim before George Prickett, who died
here Aug* 22nd » 1642, having been burned in the powder mills at
the bam wills. 0et. lg, lS44, in the afternoon about four o* clock
I heard a mill go off. It was mis Uncle Hill Prickett and kelson
McClester and Gilbert Durphy were all " burned in the barn mills.
TicClester and Durphy died that satse night. Uncle tllllam lived
nearly three days.
Sow I* ® going to writ © about the Powder Go, from 18SS or
1056 when Mr, Denslow moved to lew haven. H © was superintendent
and one fourth owner of the business. It was clanged to
Kssard Powder Co. In the summer of 1843 and Mr. Hazard, came
to Enfield to live In 1846, I think. I know It was es early
as tJyat. lie was President of the Company from that time till
his death in flay 1866, After that l, Ir. Peter Cornell seemed to
be the head but Mr* Pope who was their agent in Sew York came
her © to live and he became the head man. Be came here, I think
in 1873, he died in 1878. I think it was about that time that
the Puponta got some of the stock under their control and they
kept retting .- ore. The Managers or superintendents have been
< 314-. frZ. , c, EN 2: H72. h
I L
A . A. Henslow 1836 to Wov. 1845. John f. fathewson from. 1858 till
185- from that time till Sept. 13,1858. Mr. Gereach © from Wilming-ton,
I el. Some relative of the Duponts. After his death Hdward
Prickett was called to the place. First with Ifr. Joseph Sexton
son- in- law of Hr. hazard. He died I think In 1666 after that Mr.
Prickett was superintendent till the first of Aug. 1905 when he
retired. Then IMward L. Prickett was raace superintendent till he
left in the fall of 1908. There have been foremen; some of the ®
1 may mention a man by the name of Massingger who was'the first.
Then Sylvester Viets from 1840 to 1845. After that at Scitlco
from 1841) to bob. 1854. Paul Greely cam © here in 1845, as clerk
in the office In 1849 he went to Scitlco and built him a house,
the one Barry dowdy lives in now. Veits, Greely, Captain John
King and Tudor Gowdy and one nan by the name of Loomis of West-fiold,
•• ass . formed a Company to make gunpowder. They started
in 1849 and sold out to the Hazard Powder Co. in Feb. 1854.
Edward Prickett then went to Scitlco to be clerk there. He came
back to Hazardvilie in 1856 to the office of the Hazard Powder
Co. and my brother John — April 1,1844 in the packing house
and canister house. He left when his father was killed in Octo-ber
19, 1844. Uncle George Prickett was badly burned Au&. 2,
1842, about 10 o'clock in the morning and died about 10 o'clock
that sane night. He died in the sane bed that brother John and
I slept in the south root in the old boarding house in the Hollow
on the first floor. We lived in the south part of the boarding
house till Kerch 1st, 1843, when old Mrs. Luce moved away, and we
moved up into the North part of the house and Mr. Hook moved down
Into the south part and kept what hoarders there was to keep. We
lived so'a year. Ky brother Kbenezar was born there Oct, 12, 1845.
The next spring Mr. Hook moved up into the old brick house and an-ot
er man moved in to keep the boarders and the company built on a
piece on to the old boarding house and so bloc! ed up the road by the
north end of the house and William Luce moved into it in April, He
was killed the 26 of June 1844 after a hard thunder storm With hall.
It broke the sky lights in the corning house the little corning
house a little way west of the barn. That explosion blew the doors
of the old boarding house and broke nearly all the windows. y
mother was in the house at the time. She had just sent Ruth and
Amos off to school. One piece of the timber came down close U> him
( Amos) and lots of small pieces ell about them. They had just started
and was nearly up to the tomb. Mother had a baby about eight months
old in a cradle. It blew a door right across the cradle and she
thought It had killed Eben but the tram of the cradle had protected
him so that he was not hurt much.
There was another mill a little lower down the canal called
the pulverize. It used to be called the pulverize after that ex-plosion
my folks got out of the J'olJ& r* r soon as we could In about
a month we had an opportunity to stove up Into the east part wf the
old brick house while we lived in the hollow there called on us one
day an old man, Samuel Pease by name. He said he used to live over
the river down where the proving groimo. was later on he was a mil-itary
man, Captain Samuel Pease born in 1770 died In 1852. Be
trained men to be soldiers and officers. 1 have heard David L. Abbe
say he went to his place to be trained in the Milltle,
When I worked in the old dust house I worked with a man by the
name of Almori Luce In the surmer of 1844. He lived out at Scltico
9
in the old Pees © place a little vast of tie present depot. He was a
Orendaon of the old man in the follow, Dr. David Allen that owned
all the Hollow and m good lot of the land up on the hill,
1 went out to Alaon Luce* a Father's and Mother's house in Soaers
Street on © time. His father end mother were both living at the time.
The mother was a daughter of Dr. David Allan. She was a big fat woman
and I got the idee she liked something to drink. Almon Luce after-wards
went to Providence and into some kind of business and did well
for a time. Ha died I think at thief 1a1g e of thirty- seven. He, was the
m m that I bought my first chickens of, about the first of August,
1044, two lions. I went out to Scitlco and got them and paid fifty
cents for the two liens. Soon after 1 bought a hen at five cents.
My Grandmother Elisabeth Prickett came to this country in the
spring of 1836 and went to Rochester in Mew York state with her son
George and family. H r sons James and Jess © went there two years
till the spring of 1850. Some men cane here to work In 1857 in
the powder mills. They agreed to work for one year then they wanted
to go faming, Host of them went to Ohio. That spring - 1858 -
among the ® fir . Sogers and wife Elista Ann Page who were married Oct .6,
1857 In this town. They passed my uncle George oh the canal In
Haw York State and had a little visit together for a few minutes.
George Prickett* s wife and Sr. Sogers* war © sisters or half
sisters. 1 heard Hr. Rogers and his wife tell this when they were
visiting us her © in this house eighteen or twenty years ago. My
Grandmother lived some of the time with M m and SOBS © of the time
with, Uncle William, and some time with Uncle Henry, till ah © died
. larch 27th, 1840. Jesse Prickett was the next to die in Sept. 1840
in Saugerties In New York state. • He was burneu In a powder mill
10.
and lived a month* William and George Prickett went to take care
of him, one at a time. What a bad time In 1838 or 1839. William
and Henry bought the yellow houae. A lam of about one hundred and
twenty acres. Grandmother lived up there some of the time with them.
There was a little old house down by the river in the hollow near
the Scant 1c Bridge that Uncle William and Uncle Henry lived in when
they first cane to the place. Soon after they got the mills started
they moved It up to opposite the old tomb where It stood a good many
years.
