Johnson Road neighbors, both here and gone

Let's continue our exploration of the history of Johnson Road in Woodbridge by following along as Edward L. Clark continues his narration. After describing his neighbors Nathan and Julia Peck, who lived in the first house on Johnson Road past the Orange town line (the house pictured at left in the top row of the photo gallery, below), he says:

“Willian F. Morgan lived at the next place above [the house pictured at the center of the top row in the photo gallery, below]. My grandfather's farm extended from about half a mile east of the Derby town line to or near the New Haven line on the east. When he died in 1842 seventy-six acres was set off to my uncle Elias Clark from the east end. There were no buildings on it and he soon exchanged it for a place near his old home, owned by David Camp [today's 999 Racebrook Road]. Camp built a house and set out two Norway spruce trees, one each side of the house, both of which stood until recently. One is still standing with the top broken.

In 1856 Willian F. Morgan bought the property. He had begun his business life as a carpenter, and was trained to accuracy and method. He said that when a young man he attended church, and the minister told some one, he knew that that young men was interested in religion because he paid such strict attention. But he said he heard not a word, because his mind was busy thinking out some problem connected with his work. He next ran a milk route. A man who lived near his road to town said that for years his team always crossed a certain bridge exactly at a certain hour after midnight. When he took the farm he followed the same methods. He was a progressive farmer for his day. His house was about a mile from my home, with the old farm road running between. He was often at our house and we were at his. He and my father exchanged tools and did business together. He was a great joker and excellent story teller, and we children were always glad to see him coming. He made a success of the farming, and sent his son to college and gave his daughters a good education. He didn't attend church in Woodiridge, but furnished a horse and carriage for his family to attend. Frederick G. Sperry of Woodbridge is one of his grandsons. He died in 1891. Parson Willard of Westville conducted the funeral service, and I can almost recall some things he said. Referring to the fact that he was not a church man, he said in substance, “We may not judge from this of his true character. We may not analyze the heart, or take to pieces the soul to determine their true nature.”

To get a better sense of the location of the parcel Edward Clark is describing, where William Morgan farmed, let's decipher some clues from the 1868 Beers Map of Woodbridge. Here's a close-up of the South District section, with Johnson Road at the center, running top to bottom:

Beginning at the southern-most border with Orange, here are the names indicated for each house on lower Johnson Road:

N.P. Peck (see house #1 in the photo gallery below)
This is Nathan Platt Peck (1843-1912), who is buried at Eastside Cemetery in Woodbridge.

H. Richardson (no image available, house has been demolished)
This is likely Henry Richardson (1807-1874) who is buried at Eastside Cemetery in Woodbridge.

W. F. Morgan (see house #2 in the photo gallery below)
This is William F. Morgan (1819-1892) who is buried in Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven.

J.J. Beecher (see house #3 in the photo gallery below)
This is Deacon John J. Beecher (1824-1896) who is buried at Eastside Cemetery in Woodbridge.

J. Sherman (see house #4 in the photo gallery below - image from 2011, the house has since been demolished)
This is James H. Sherman (1826-1880) who is buried at Eastside Cemetery in Woodbridge.

S. Harwood (see house #5 in the photo gallery below)
Identity unknown.

R.M. Beecher (see house #6 in the photo gallery below)
This is Deacon Reuben Minot Beecher (1791-1874) who is buried at Eastside Cemetery in Woodbridge.

W. H. Hotchkiss (see house #8 in the photo gallery below)
This is William H. Hotchkiss (1797-1872) who is buried in Westville Cemetery in New Haven.

Mrs. Thomas (no image available, house has been demolished)
Her identity is unknown.

H. Wren (see house #8 in the photo gallery below)
This is likely Hugh Wren (1809-1882). His burial location is unknown. (Although his death is noted in the vital records, it is unknown if he is buried in Woodbridge because the Sexton record book begin the year after his death).

D.C. Auger (see house #9 in the photo gallery below)
This is Captain Daniel Clifford Auger (1807-1890). His burial location is unknown (Although his death is noted in the vital records he was not buried in Woodbridge according to Sexton Records).

Next, as Edward journeys up Johnson Road recalling his neighbors, we come to the house pictured in the 3rd photo of the top row in the gallery, above. He says, ‘The next neighbor above was John J. Beecher, a steady-going, upright man, as I believe. He was the son of Deacon Beecher, and he and his brother Wells, were both deacons of the Woodbridge church. Mr. Morgan called him Johnnie B.”

Continuing up Johnson Road as it takes a sharp left turn (where the present day Woodfield Road intersects), the Beers map shows a dotted line that appears to roughly trace what would later become Woodfield Road. Our narrator informs us, “The next on the conner of the old road was the Sherman homestead, later owned and occupied by Mr. & Mrs. Marks.” He is referring to the house pictured at left in the middle row of the photo gallery, which was demolished recently (the photo is from 2011).

And who are these characters Edward mentions? Likely, he is referring here to the granddaughter of James Sherman (1787-1829) and Mehetable Alling Sherman (1786-1876), Harriet Amelia Sperry (1855-1943) who lived here with her husband David Winfield Marks (1860-1937) and their children, Archer and Richard. Harriet was the daughter of James and Mehetable's daughter Mary Elizabeth Sherman (1824-1882) who married John Levi Sperry (1821-1875). Mary Elizabeth is the namesake sister of two of her parent's four children who died in the space of just two weeks earlier in the year she was born. The Vital Records of Woodbridge tells this sad tale with the simple notation: “Jan. 31  –  Three children of James Sherman (buried in one grave  one 7, one 2, one 13), Feb. 10  –   a child of James Sherman.”

These children, interred in the family plot at Eastside Cemetery, were 7 year-old Emeline (born 1817) and 18 month-old Grace (born 1822) who both died January 31, 1824 and were laid to rest with their 13 year-old sister Mary (born 1811) who died on February 1st. Shortly after, 4 year-old Elizabeth (born 1820) died on February 14th leaving the grieving parents with just one child, their 9 year-old son Jesse Fowler Sherman (1815-1869), until Mary Elizabeth's birth, which was followed by the arrival of another son, James H. Sherman (1826-1880) two years later. Mehetabel's husband James departs the family just three years later, dying at age 42.

Of the Sherman homestead, Edward Clark in his talk at the Historical Society says:

“Silas Peck and I tried to establish the fact that Roger Sherman, signer of the Declaration of Independence, owned or lived on this place, but we didn't succeed. We however satisfied ourselves that he owned a large adjoining tract, where the Woodbridge Golf course now is. He lived in New Haven. In my boyhood days the Widow Sherman [this is a reference to Mehetabel] and her son James lived on the Sherman corner. James was not a very strong prop for his mother, and she used to take her troubles to Mr. Morgan. He called her Granny Sherman. He enjoyed her quaint remarks and her interesting personality. One day the old lady felt sick, and thought she was about to die. She went to her bed and sent for Mr. Morgan. He came and sat with her for a while, and when he got up to go he said 'Now Granny if you die tonight you send me word.' The old lady was used to him and took the joke, and they had a good laugh together. Mr. Morgan went his way, and she soon returned to her household duties. He understood her and knew what medicine to give her.”

Further along, as Johnson Road now takes a sharp right turn, a circa-1905 house (pictured at center in the photo gallery, above) marks the location of a previous home, indicated on the 1868 map with the notation 'S. Harwood' where the earlier structure had been destroyed by fire. It was the family of Christian Sorensen (1871-1955) and Katherine Iverson (1870-1942) who re-built here in 1905 and continued to farm many decades. According to the Historic Woodbridge 2nd edition, published in 2016:

“The property has been associated with the Sorensen family since the late nineteenth century. [Christian and Katherine] came from Denmark as teenagers and farmed the land here. In 1929 the house was quitclaimed to their son, Arthur William Sorensen (1906-1990), who had a dairy farm here. In 1935, Arthur purchased the Rose-Hurst Dairy business, which originally operated in Hamden, and herded about 70 head of cattle from Hamden to join the herd he kept here. Rose-Hurst Dairy became a Woodbridge institution which remained active until 1961. According to a family member, Arthur built one of the largest dairy barns in New England on the property [pictured at the top of this post]. It has since burned down. In 1961 he sold the farm to the Oak Lane Country Club Associates, and [the house] was purchased by the present owners in 2012. Arthur lived here with his family, including son Robert Sorensen, who married Georgianna Hubbell and presently operates Merry Mountain Farm on her family’s land. Arthur’s brother John Nelson Sorensen (1901-1981) married Lulu Fredrika Merwin and lived nearby. Their daughter Dorothy Sorensen married Walter Hine, and the couple presently operate Field View Farm in Orange.”

Edward Clark tells of the previous family that farmed here:

“On the next corner, where the Sorensen family now live, lived Cap'n Andrew Clark. I don't remember him. I think he was the father of Leonard Clark, who lived on the Rimons Falls turnpike, about half a mile west of the top of Long Hill. Cap'n Andrew's land adjoined that of my father's and we had a right of way over his land out past his back door. He was a forceful man and able to cope with his near neighbor, William Hotchkiss, of who we shall speak later. Mr. Charles Augur told of one of their disagreements, and I got him to tell the same story in a suit in court.”

As Johnson Road heads further north, “The next place was owned and occupied by Deacon Beecher, who was succeeded by his son Wells; steady-going men, who were not given to 'making a noise on town meeting days.'” according to Edward Clark. Here he is referring to Deacon Reuben Minot Beecher (1791-1874) who lived in the red house at right in the middle row of the photo gallery above, and is the father of the previously mentioned 'Johnnie B.' who lived in the house pictured directly above it, at right in the first row of the photo gallery. Edward continues with a discussion of Deacon Beecher's neighbor:

“A little above lived William H. Hotchkiss [house pictured bottom left in the photo gallery, above]. My uncle married his daughter, so that I heard quite a little about him. They called him Uncle Bill. He was smart, and he couldn't see why so many people should be simple. But like all smart people he sometimes put his foot into it. My father said Uncle Bill was the first victim he could recall of the 'Bunco Game.' This was a game frequently played in my boyhood. On the south side of Chapel Street, next east of where Malley's store now stands, stood the old Park House. It was really an old time tavern in the city. People from the suburbs and the surrounding farms met there, not only to tip their elbows, but to do business together. There were sheds where they could leave their horses and oxen while they went about the city. Uncle Bill was there one day and had his oxen with him. He knew oxen and expected to have the best. While there he was approached by a couple of strangers, who admired the oxen and talked of buying them. This put Uncle Bill into a business frame of mind. They soon disclosed some of the features of a business enterprise, and Uncle Bill became interested. It would be necessary for someone to put up one hundred dollars to carry the project through, after which the money would come back to the one who furnished it. Uncle Bill put up the hundred dollars. Soon after this he discovered that his new friends had disappeared. Then he knew they had him. He had not only swallowed the bait, but the hook and sinker as well. His neighbors knew that he didn't mind so much losing the hundred dollars, as he did to have them know that he had been made a fool of.

The journey up Johnson Road will be continued next week... stay tuned for more.