The Grant-Burr Families
Pettibone Family
Assistant Curator of Manuscripts, Ashley Cataldo, has been associated with the Grant-Burr Papers since they were acquired by the American Antiquarian Society. The collection consists of letters and other materials assembled by Caroline Benton Burr (1820-1895) the wife of Daniel Grant (1818-1895). Caroline and Daniel were the great grandparents of Daniel Grant Tear who donated this collection to the Society. Many of the letters were accumulated during the seven years that Daniel Grant spent seeking his fortune in the California goldfields while Caroline brought up their two children with the help of the Grant, Cowles and Burr families. The letters in the collection have been transcribed and displayed on the Society’s website so that they are readily available to researchers. However some of the other items have yet to be catalogued. Among these is a notebook in which a student practiced cursive by copying some poems. The name Morris C. Webster appears on the inside of the front cover. At the back is a note "To the General most Venerable, I render you my sincere thanks done me while under your orders in the Richmond Campaign." Beneath the inscription are the name William J. Chase and the date Jan. 30th 1866. Ms. Cataldo wondered how the notebook fit into the collection. She contacted Dr. Tear to see it he knew. He did not, but the search was on. Neither Mr. Webster's nor Mr. Chases name appears in the Grant Letters however Webster was not hard to find. He is listed in the records of Connecticut as a descendent of John Webster, a Colonial Governor of Connecticut, 1656-1657. Morris Webster was an industrialist and a politician. His biography states that he was educated at the Winchester Institute that was "a then flourishing military Academy in charge of Col. Ira W. Pettibone."
There is no mention of the Winchester Institute in the Grant-Burr Papers. However the name Pettibone did ring a bell. The collection which spans the years 1827 to 1892 focuses on the Grant and associated families. They were residents in Norfolk and Colebrook Connecticut. Joel Grant (1756-1796) and his wife Zilpha Cowles (1762-1824) had five children. They were left fatherless when Joel was killed by a well-sweep that had come loose during a storm. The eldest, Elijah Grant (1782-1867) age 14, became the male head of the family. Happily, he was assisted by his uncle Samuel Cowles (1735-1815). Elijah was later to establish the Deacon Grant Farm in Colebrook. Among his children was Daniel Grant mentioned above.
One of the Elijah's sisters was Nancy Grant (1788-1833), who married Deacon Amos Pettibone (1786-1864). After Nancy's death Amos married Julia, whose maiden name was Pettibone as well. It was a promising set of clues but no direct connections between these Pettibones and Col. Pettibone was found.
A search of the Winchester Institute was made in the hope of finding more leads. It was learned that Col. Pettibone (1833-1917) was a graduate of Yale and served in the 10th Regiment of the Connecticut Volunteers. Following the North Carolina Campaign he suffered ill health and returned to Winchester where his father, Ira B.Pettibone, had been instrumental in establishing the Winchester Institute.
The Rev. Ira B Pettibone (1806-1889) was born in Orwell, Vermont. He was educated at, Middlebury College and served as a minister in New York and Connecticut communities. In 1830 he married Louisa Pamela Walsh (1801-1865) the daughter of Dr. Benjamin Walsh.
In 1857 Rev. Pettibone arrived in Winchester. He served there until 1866 at which time he moved to Stratford, Connecticut. In Winchester he discovered that a Mr. Samuel Hulbert, Sr. had left an endowment to establish a literary Institute. Pettibone and others took the initiative to bring the project to fruition. A building was erected on property is donated by Pettibone. He took over as Principal and the first class was admitted in 1860.
When his son, Col. Ira W Pettibone returned from the war the Reverend turned over his duties as Principal. Col Pettibone provided successful leadership until he took a position at Beloit College. During his time as Principal he was assisted in his duties by his brother, Benjamin, a graduate of Amherst. Benjamin, too, later left the Institute, in his case to his farm in Winchester.
A further investigation of the histories of the members of Joel Grant's family found no evidence of association with the Winchester Institute. Zilpha Grant (1793-1874) was two at the time of her father's death. She did become a teacher in Colebrook, Norfolk and nearby communities but moved on to become a leader in women's education by the time the Institute was founded. An investigation of Zilpha Cowles Grant's family seemed to be in order. The investigation started with Samuel, Zilpha's helpful brother.
Samuel Coles and his family established a farm nominally in Colebrook, but the property of some 300 acres felt equally in Colebrook, Norwich and Winchester. He was Deacon of the Congregation of Church in Colebrook. He had served in the French and Indian war and was at the siege of Lewisburg. He also was at the taking of Crown Point and Ticonderoga. He was a formidable force heading and accomplished family.
The oldest boy was Henry Cowles (1803-1885). He was a theological scholar. He graduated from Yale in 1826 and continued his study at Yale Divinity School. Ordained in 1828 he served in various ministries in Connecticut and Ohio until 1825 when he became Professor of Latin and Greek at Oberlin College. He later taught In Ecclesiastical History and Hebrew. From 1848 to 1862 he became editor of the Oberlin Evangelist. The remainder of his life was spent at Oberlin writing and supporting missionary causes. In 1830 he married Alice Walsh, daughter of Dr. Benjamin Walsh. Alice was Louisa Pamela Walsh Pettibone's sister. Henry was Ira B. Pettibone's brother in law!
This was surely a connection but the path of the notebook was not clear. But it was a lead. And it was a lead that paid off. Henry Cowles younger brother James Cowles (1815-1904) also went to Yale. He graduated in 1837 and continued at Yale Divinity School. He did not complete his theological studies but from 1842 to 1873 had teaching positions in Ohio, Kansas, Illinois, New Jersey and New York. In 1873 he returned to Connecticut to become Principal of The Winchester Institute.
By this time Rev. Pettibone had moved to Stamford. His son had moved to Beloit and the Institute had been purchased by Sabra Blake, one of the Reverend’s associates in the establishment of the school. Although Winchester still honored the Pettibone name, as it still does today, they were not involved when John took the job as Principal.
John Cowles ran the Institute until 1881 at which time he moved to Colebrook. His father died that year and John was intimately associated not only with his own family, but with the Grants and Burrs. At that time Daniel Grant had returned to his family in Colebrook. He had ceased his wandering and took on more steady life as a merchant. Caroline had her collection that, no doubt, now included the notebook.