liii^PWPllI P^Hi! Class r ( Q 4^ BookJLSjQJ- COFKRICHT DEPOSm HISTORY OF DANBURY. [ ( ^(M^u<:/ \ I Russell IIoyt. Maj. Seth Comstock. Oi.ivkr IUkh. (Saml. Wiluman. Nikam AVildman. Amos Mokuis. Col. Pkeston GiiEiioUY. ]Ma.i. \Vm. B. IIoyt. en HISTORY OF Danbury, Conn. I 684-1 896 FROM NOTES AND MANUSCRIPT LEFT BY JAMES MONTGOMERY BAILEY COMPILED WITH ADDITIONS y SUSAN BENEDICT HILL NEW YORK BURR PRINTING HOUSE 1896 % r-^^7 I'l CoPYniGnx, 1896, by A. N. Wildman, For. Danbury Relief Society. PREFACE. This first written history of Danbury, begun several years since by James Montgomery Bailey, but left unfinished by his too early death, has been placed, by the Kelief Society of Dan- bury, in my hands for completion. The broken threads that fell from lifeless fingers have been reverently gathered up and woven into the web of this history, in the hope that the sons and daughters of Danbury, wherever they are scattered, may find some pleasing words of the old home, its early settlers, and its citizens of to-day. Besides the names of those mentioned in the various chapters to whom thanks are due, we are indebted for courtesies to Mr. Hoadley, State Librarian of Connecticut ; Mr. Dean, Librarian of the His- torical and Genealogical Society of Boston ; Mr. Putnam, Libra- rian of the Boston Public Library ; Hon. George White, of Wel- lesley, Mass. ; Mr. Mills, of Fairfield ; Mr. Seymour, of Bridge- port, and Mr. Hamilton, of Meriden. Among the'residents of Danbury thanks are especially due to Colonel Samuel Gregory, General James Ryder, J. W. Bacon, Harvey Osborn, Dr. D. C. Brown, James S. Taylor, Stebbins Baxter, Luman Hubbell, E. A. Houseman, George F. Ives, Messrs. Hopkins and Hodges, of the Probate Ofiice ; Mr. Ising, of the Record Office, and Mr. Turner, Selectman. Rev. H. L. Slack and Deacon Andrew Benedict, of Bethel, have been most helpful, and to Messrs. Israel Wilson and George Fairchild we owe thanks. Vi PREFACE. We have found the genealogies of the Benedict, Hoyt, Starr, and Stevens families most useful, and have been aided by the various histories of Connecticut, and those of adjoining counties and towns. The committee of the Relief Society, under whose intelligent care this book has been completed, have made " crooked paths" straight by their unfailing courtesy and appreciative kindness. The material diligently gathered by Mr. Bailey has been carefully examined and used, and much additional research made. For the shortcomings which will exist, however faith- fully the work may have been done, we bespeak the charity of the people of Danbury, because of the kindly remembrance in which they hold Mr. Bailey, and their appreciation of his loyal love for this home of his adoption. Susan Benedict Hill. Danbury, Conn., December 31, 1895. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. FAGX Colony of Connecticut — Report of British Commission in 1724 — Militia and forts — Principal towns — Commodities — Early settlements — Religion and churches. 1 CHAPTER II. Name and topography — Surrounding districts — Curious names of places — Indians — Route taken by first settlers— Indian name — Beantown — Abstracts early wills — Early wars 5 CHAPTER III. Danbury's first historian — Parentage — Anecdote of paternal grandfather — Preaches in Brookfield— Accepts teacher's position in Danbury— Delivers ad- dress on death of "W ashington — Extracts from diary — Retirement from active life-Death . 19 CHAPTER IV. Century sermon of Thomas Robbins 24 CHAPTER V. Century sermon (concluded) 33 CHAPTER VI. Danbury made a town— Judge Brewster's search work — Extracts from colonial registers 39 CHAPTER VII. Town patent— Names and descent of first settlers 42 CHAPTER VIII. Record of marriages of first settlers, and births of their children 46 CHAPTER IX. The first hundred years— Churches built— Made a fortified post— Old deeds — Made a shire town — Census 51 CHAPTER X. Danbury in the Revolution — News of Battle of Lexington — First military com- pany formed, with list of names — Some incidents — Residence of soldiers 56 Viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XI. PAGE The attack on Danbury— Dr. Peters' views— General Tryon's march to Danbury — Wooster and Arnold hasten to Danbury — Dr. Foster's letter— General Silli- man at Redding — Troops in Bethel 60 CHAPTER XII. Lambert Lockwood— Tryon's troops through Bethel — Tryon's headquarters at Danbury— Benjamin Knap's guests — Silas Hamilton's experience — Burning of Captain Starr's house — Porter's prowess — Destruction of stores— New Eng- land rum — Alleged Tories 65 CHAPTER XIII. Burning of Danbury — Benjamin Knap's trouble — Flames — Meeting-house and nineteen houses burned — Troops leave Danbury 71 CHAPTER XIV. Retreat and pursuit — Through Miry Brook and Ridgebury — The fight — Wooster wounded and brought to Danbury 75 CHAPTER XV. Fight in Ridgefield — Different accounts— Clifford Bartlett's article from Maga- zine of Amencan History, March, 1888 — Howe's report from London Gazette, June, 1777 78 CHAPTER XVI. Wooster's death and burial — Some account of his life — Paternal genealogy — Births of his children 85 CHAPTER XVII. After the fire— Sightseers— Jabez Starr— King George Hotel— Cider saves build- ing — Major Taylor carries family to safety— Taylor House — Matthew and Jonah Benedict — Losses — Prisoners 88 CHAPTER XVIII. Legislative action on losses of citizens — Depositions — General Assembly reports. 94 CHAPTER XIX. Incidents of the raid — John McLean — Colonel Bamum — British sympathizers — A. B. Hull— Army hospital — Last Revolutionary soldier in Danbury— Revolu- tionary soldiers of Connecticut living in 1859 — Danbury still a place for stores — Ebenezer Benedict's house 98 CHAPTER XX. A Danbury spy— Sketch of Enoch Crosby— Adventures— Place of burial and epitaph 103 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER XXL PAGE Execution of Anthony and Adams, latter part of last century 116 CHAPTER XXII. To the end of the century— Hatting established— Made a half-shire town— Court- House and jail built— First Masonic lodge— First Methodist sermon— Second Baptist church— First newspaper— Paper mill 119 CHAPTER XXIII. First borough charter— Poor-house built by lottery— Comb-making established —Borough enlarged and ofBcers appointed— Limits extended— Localities ex- plained— Tax-list a century ago— Tax-list 1836 and 1885 contrasted 121 CHAPTER XXIV. Christening ideas of our fathers— Districts named— Description of same 136 CHAPTER XXV. Old Danbury— Extracts from old note-book and Goodrich's recollections of a lifetime— Joseph P. and Amos Cooke— Moses Hatch— Ebenezer White— Old advertisements— Comfort Mygatt— George Crofut— Ira Dibble— J. F. and E. M. White— Peter Benedict— Ezra Wildman— Justus Barnum— William Chap pell— Edwards Ely— Ebenezer and Walter Starr— Ezra Houghton- Starr & Sanford- Ezra Starr- Jerry Hoyt— Lewis Elwell— Russell Hoyt— Ebenezer Benedict— Ezra Frost— Samuel H. Phillips— Caleb Starr— James Clark-Elijah Wood— Mr. Babbitt— Troubles of editors— Russell and Judson White— Eliakim Peck— Stephen Gregory— William A. Babcock— Comfort Hoyt, Jr.— Danbury in 1810— Mails— Militia— Attorneys and physicians 129 CHAPTER XXVI. Main Street 1815-20— Old names and residences— Court House first used for elec- tions— Post-oflSce anecdote— Whipping-post— Supplementary 140 CHAPTER XXVII. From 1820 to 1840— First Universalist service— Danbury Bank established- First fire companies organized — Pipe-water introduced — Census — First Roman Catholic service — Bethel made a separate ecclesiastical society — Grassy Plain set off to Bethel— Anti-slavery disturbances. Rev. Mr. Colver mobbed— From 1840 to 1860— Gas introduced— Reminiscences of E. B. Stevens (1854)— Some poets of Danbury 165 CHAPTER XXVIII. Early merchants and newspapers — Lotteries — Carrington & Mygatt — Nichols & Dibble— Foote & Pickett— Chap pel &White— Eliakim Peck— Isaac Trowbridge — Abijah Peck— Jacob Judd— O. Burr & Co.— Joseph Clark— Jeremiah Ryan —Joseph Moss White— Joshua Benedict— Ezra Starr— Jail burned-" Fire" articles— Captain Benjamin Keeler, of Rid gefield— Redding, Conn., Hudson, N. Y., and Rev. John Bloodgood— Zalmon & Seymour Wildman— Gilbert X CONTENTS. FAOS Cleland— Russell & Eli T. Hoyt— Benedict & Clark— Southern trade— Barber shop— John Dodd— Joseph Leland— Douglass & Ely — Joseph Clarke— Pre- served Taylor — Eli Hoyt — Elijah Sanford — Thomas Tucker — Samuel Gregory, of Norwalk — John Rider — Farmer's CJironide, 1794 — Munson Gregory — Reuben Curtis — Hugh Cain, of Ridgefield— Timothy Foster — Tax notice — Republican Journal and other papers — Newtown communication — New Eng- land BepuhUcan published — W. & M. Yale — Z. Griswold & Co. — Ebenezer Russell White— Benjamin & Dudley Gregory — Friend Starr — Charles F. Starr — Daniel N. Carriugton— Bethel Morris — Lewis & Comfort Hoyt — Foot & Bull — Abel B. Blackman — Howard & Hoyt — Nathan Douglass — Samuel Morse — Andrew Beers — Selleck Osborn — Orrin Osborn — Advertisement of P. T. Bar- num — Alanson Taylor — Connecticut Repository — Herald of Freedom — Danbury Gazette — Chronicle — Fairfield County Democrat — Danbury Times established — Jeffersonian, Danburian, and other papers 174 CHAPTER XXIX. How Danbury went away and got back — Land route to Norwalk — Water to New York — Sloop — First steamboat from Norwalk to New York — Mail route — Advertisement stage from Hartford to New York in 1804 — Line between Danbury and Poughkeepsie — Between Litchfield ^and Danbury — Anecdotes of Hiram Barnes, the veteran stage driver 199 CHAPTER XXX. Reminiscences and incidents — Cavalry company, 1772 — Names of captains — Ex- ecutions at Redding — White Plains — Gabriel Barnum — Uniform — Colonel S. Gregory — Fourth July celebration, 1838 — James Taylor, Reuben Booth, Rev. Anson Rood, Ira Gregory — Main Street park in beginning of this century — Training days — Samuel Jennings's hay crop — Danbury 's first Irishman 208 CHAPTER XXXI. History of hatting in Danbury, 1780-1895 — Zadock Benedict — Russell White — Oliver Burr — Eli Benedict — William Babcock — ZalmonWildman — Samuel Phil- lips — George Benedict — David Wood — Ezra Wildman — Ebenezer & John D. Nichols — Boughton & Starr — Gershom Nichols — Oliver Stone — Noah Rock- well — Hoyt Gregory — Thomas Peck — Old methods — Samuel Tweedy — Judson White— Starr Nichols— Russell & Eli T. Hoyt— David Boughton— David M. Benedict— Edgar S. Tweedy — F. T. Fanning — Lucius P. Hoyt — A. E. Tweedy — John Foot — Elias Boughton — Abel Hoyt — Packing and shipment of hats — Bowing of hats — John Fry — Alvin Hurd — Ephraim Gregory — Nirum Wild- man — Patent for forming wool hat bodies — Rory Starr — Eli White, N. Y. — Mr. Sprague — Coloring of hats — Joel Taylor — Isaac H. Seelye — White & Keeler — Hatch & Gregory — Joseph Taylor — Hugh Starr — Taylor & Dibble — Fry, Gregory & Co. — W. Montgomery — E. S. Brockett — Charles Benedict — Jarvis P. Hull— Silk hats— Panic of 1836-37— Hoyt, Tweedy & Co.— Wool hats — Charles Fry — David Wildman — Machine for forming hat bodies — Nathaniel H. Wildman — Truman Trowbridge — Frederick Nichols — Introduc- CONTENTS. X^ PAGE tion of cash system in 1850-Paper-box making-S. A. Brower & Co.-E. S. Davis-James S. Taylor's hat sizing machines-Crosby. Hoyt & Co.-Band- boxes-Abijah Abbott-George Starr-George Stevens & Co.-Raymond & Ambler-Tip-printing-Hat-forming machines-G. E. Cowperthwaite-AWah B Taylor N Y.-Darius Stevens-H. A. Burr-Lyman Platt-E. A. Mai- lorv-Arthur Nichols-Pouncing machines-Brim-stretching machmes-Hat- shaving machine-Nichols & Hine-Tweedy Manufacturing Company-Giles M. Hoyt, Lacey & Downs-A. T. Peck-Anson Taylor-W. H. Youngs-Kel- loo-g Nichols-Cyrus Raymond-Casper Zeigler-Mr. Beckerie-C H Piex- TF Fay-J. H. Shuldice-J. D. & D. W. Meeker-Ransom Brothwell- p' a' Sutton-Jennings & Son-Stone & Downs-Senior & Son-John Harvey -Brindle & Gage—" Coney" hats-Crofut, Bates & Wildman-Rollo & George Kino- Nichols-Joseph H. White-Mr. Peabody-E. A. Mallory & Co -S. C. Holfey-J H. Gesner-A. N. Wildman-A. B. Holley-Shethar & Lacey- Henry Starr-Thomas Laurence-Theodore Hoyt-Moses Collier-Ives Bush- nell-George Downs-C. H. White-Elijah Sturdevant-D. E. Leowe & Co. — W A & A M. White— Fur-cutting industry— Stephen Huribut— Peter Robinson-E. T. Robinson-Daniel Starr-Tracing old hatters-E. Moss White— T. B. Keeler— Joseph Taylor— Elias Taylor— Scott Dibble— M. H. Griffiug-Elijah Patch-George A. Andrews- Wolf pits hatters-Amount of work 1859- Article on hatting in Bethel, by Isaac H. Seelye-Zar Dibble- Walker Ferry— Eli Taylor— Thomas Taylor— Eli Hickok— Hat matenals— Noah Hickok-Eliakim D. Trowbridge-Daniel Morgan-Matthew Trow- bridge in 1801-Phineas Taylor-Lemon Starr-Elias Taylor-William Chap- pell— \ & P Nichols— Ambrose Collins— Lewis Taylor— Oliver Shepard— Nathan Seeley-Samuel Peet-D. Benjamin-Lewis Gregory-Joseph Gillett -Eden Andrews -Levi Taylor - Asel Dunning - Elam Benedict - Joseph Hitchcock-Starr Ferry-Sandy McLane-Major Dikeman-Sherman Ferry- Asel & Levi Beebe-Abel Hoyt-Eleazer Taylor and son Alva-Daniel P. Shepard— L. S. & Charies Dart— Extracts from Report of Connecticut Bureau of Labor Statistics-List of present firms-Annual shipment of hats, 1884-94, inclusive-Hat case manufacturers-Fur cutting factories-Hat wire manu- facturers- Hat sweats manufacturers— Hatters' supplies 314 CHAPTER XXXII. Other manufactures-Paper making-Ephraim Washburn-Ward Brothers- Daniel & Seth Comstock-Uncle Jerry Wilson-Nelson Flint-Calvin S. Bulk- ley-Amzi Wheeler-George, Robert, John, and William McArthur-Samuel Morris— E S. Hull— Ebenezer Benedict— Boots and shoes, 1869— C. H. Mer- ritt-L R Sprague-R. W. Cone-Oil mill-Friend Starr-C. H. Starr- Benjamin & Fairchild Ambler-SawmiU-Sewing-machines-Walker B. Bar- tram-Bartram & Fanton-Cut nails-Eli Seger-Comb-making-Nathaniel Bishop-Foote & Barnum-Otis & Whiting-Alfred Gregory-Peck & CTiUett -Barnum & Green-Daniel Taylor-A. & C. Smith-E. H. Barnum-T. T. Dibble— S. B Peck— Ammon Taylor— Daniel Barnum— George Clapp— Am- mon Benedict-Rogers Silver Plate Company-Danbury Machine Company- Turner Machine Company-T. & B. Tool Company-Medical Printing Com- ^_^ pany — Arcliitects Xii CONTENTS.^ CHAPTER XXXIII. rAGE Banbury's railways— Canal project in 1825— Railroad project in 1835— Project of a through line from New York to Albany via Danbury— Views in favor of direct rail communication with tide-water — Figures and estimates— Bridge- port wakens— Road to New Milford from Bridgeport— Danbury and Norwalk Railroad offices — New York and Hartford Road — Comparisons — Extensions- First time-table — Leased to Housatonic — In hands of Consolidated Railroad — Housatonic by stage to Hawleyville — New York, Housatonic and Northern Railroad— Ridgefield and Port Chester— The Shepaug— New York and New England— Sketch of Eli T. Hoyt, first president of Danbury's first railroad.. . 265 CHAPTER XXXIV. Ecclesiastical history — First Congregational church, 1696-1895 — St. James Epis- copal Church — Horace Marshall — Sandemanian Church — Methodist Episcopal Church — Starr's Plain Church — Second Baptist Church — Church of the Disci- ples — Universalist Church — St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church — Second Con- gregational Church — German Lutheran Church 280 CHAPTER XXXV. Educational history — Comfort Starr's bequest — School districts, 1769 — Ezra Bar- num — Thomas Tucker — Reuben Booth — Miss Sears — Eliza C. Starr — Elias Starr — Miss Ely — Miss Wilcox, now Mrs. Ives — Miss Gregory — Miss E. Bull — Rev. J. W. Irwin — Mrs. Irwin — James H. Rogers — John Sherwood — Miss Mary Bull — Ira Morse — L. C. Hoyt — Miss Martha White — Rev. Henry Lobdell — Elias Schenck — Benedict Starr — Rev. Francis Lobdell, D.D. — Starr Hoyt Nichols — James C. Harvey — Rev. R. G. Hinsdale — Miss Price — Miss Perkins — Mrs. W. Sherwood — Misses Meeker — Rev. Mr. Huntington — Nathan M. Belden — George W. Burr — Rev. I. Leander Townsend — Miss Augusta Hoyt — Miss Barnum — Misses Griswold — E. J. Partrick — F. J. Jackson — Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock— Mrs. G. H. White— Public schools, 1850-95 338 CHAPTER XXXVI. History of the bar — Elisha Whittlesey — Matthew B. Whittlesey — Reuben Booth — Nelson L. White — Theodore McDonald — Roger Averill — Oliver A. G. Todd —William F. Taylor— William Burke— Arthur H. Averill— E. W. Bull— Moses Hatch — John R. Farnham— Allen W. Page — Frederick B. Hungerford — Thomas P. McCue— John A. Toohey— Frederick S. Barnum— Wilson H. Pierce. The Present Bar : Lyman D. Brewster — Samuel Tweedy— Benezet A. Hough — Aaron T. Bates — Howard B. Scott — Howard W. Taylor— James E. Walsh— Grcorge Wakeman— William A. Leonard— Eugene C. Dempsey — John R. Booth— Granville Whittlesey— John F. Cuff— Charles W. Murphy- Samuel A. Davis— Henry A. Purdy 352 CHAPTER XXXVII. Medical history— Danbury's first physician, Samuel Wood — John Butler — Thomas Dean — James Picket — Samuel Dickinson— Noah Rockwell— Elind Rockwell — Peter Hayes — John Wood — Sallu Pell — Joseph Trowbridge — William Vaughn— Jabez Starr — Alfred Betts— Dr. Lyndsley— Titus Hull— CONTENTS. Xlll PAGE Daniel Comstock — Daniel N. Carrington — Benjamin S. and Drake Hoyt — William Hull — Joseph Crane — Dr. Knap — Preserve Wood — Charles Peck — Dr. Perry — Ansel Hoyt — Daniel Taylor — Amos Baker — Dr. Barnum — Chris- topher Avery Babcock — Lemuel Thomas — Dr. Davis — James Potter — Asa Norton — ApoUos B. Hanaford — Russell B. Botsford — Chandler Smith — Ezra P. Bennett— William C. Bennett— J. H. Richards— William E. Booth— E. F. Hendrick — E. A. Brown — William E. Bulkley — Danbury Medical Society — Resident physicians of to-day . . . . 368 CHAPTER XXXVIII. Civil War — War ideas of Danbury — Sumter — Roger Averill — E. Moss White — Wooster Guards — Roster of the company — Danbury cares for families of soldiers — Union Reserved Guards — Danbury Zouaves — Roster of Company A, Fifth Regiment — Loyal scholars — Bull Run — Return of Wooster Guards, and reception by citizens — New Fairfield — Zouaves enlist for three years — Com- pany A of the Eleventh Regiment formed and off for the front — Adopted the name of the " Averill Rifles" — Flag presented by Hon. Roger Averill — Forty- five volunteers for service assigned to Company B, of the First Heavy Artil- lery — Nelson L. White, lieutenant-colonel — Enthusiasm over news of capture of Fort Donaldson and the fall of Norfolk and Portsmouth — More troops called for — Danbury to the rescue — War meeting and volunteers for the Wild- man Guards — Company C leave Danbury — Danbury sends more men — Roster of Company B, Twenty-third Regiment — Winter of 1862-63 — Death of Lieu- tenant-Colonel Stone — Sad Fourth of July — Burial of soldiers — Drafts — Fair for benefit of sick and disabled soldiers — Welcome to the Twenty-third Regi- ment home from Louisiana — President calls for more men — Danbury 's quota raised — Work of the Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society — Danbury sends more men — Mourning the assassination of President Lincoln — Danbury 's war record clear 380 CHAPTER XXXIX. Wooster Monument — Soldiers' Monument — Monument to heroes in unknown graves. 424 CHAPTER XL. Wooster Cemetery Association— Officers-First purchase of land— George W. Ives— Edgar S. Tweedy— Frederick S. Wildman— Memorial chapel 431 CHAPTER XLI. Town libraries — Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin — First library in 1771 — Franklin Library in 1793— Old books— Bethel Library— Mechanics' Library— Officers of association— Elias Starr— Eli Mygatt— Young Men's Literary Association— From about 1858 to 1871 no library— The Danbury Library— Gifts of the sons of Colonel E. Moss White and members of the family— Made a free library- Post-office building — Number of subscribers — Number of volumes — Genealogi- cal line of family of E. Moss White 437 Xiv CONTENTS. CHAPTER XLII. PAGE Baribui-y's CMrities : Children's Home— Mary Bull— Building of home— Epitaph — Martha Stokes — Mrs. Ives saves the Home — List of original incorporators — Present officers. Banbury Hospital : Address of J. M. Bailey at opening of present hospital building — Address of L. D. Brewster — Training school estab- lished — Officers of the institution. Relief Society of Banbury : Its organiza- tion — Statement of its work — Letter from selectmen — J. M. Bailey its presi- dent — Extracts from minutes. Ahmliouse : Method of the past — Mr. and Mrs. Eli C. White's gift — Late town farm — Broadview 445 CHAPTER XLIII. Banks of Danbury — Mutual Fire Insurance Company — Fairfield County branch bank— Danbury Bank— Officers from 1824 to 1895— David Foot — Wooster Bank — National Pahquioque Bank, 1854 to 1895 — Origin Danbury Savings Bank — Its first home — Its officers — Sketch of David P. Nichols — Union Sav- ings Bank — Officers — Danbury Mutual Fire Insurance Company, chartered in 1850— Its officers 458 CHAPTER XLIV. The Danbury News — Its history from the original Danbury Times in 1837 to the present time 465 CHAPTER XLV. Danbury 's water supply — Agricultural Society — Board of Trade 468 CHAPTER XLVI. Danbury a city — The city's first duties — Limits of the city — Wards of the city and their officers — Voting places— Mayors 478 CHAPTER XLVII. Fire Department, 1793, 1829, 1850 — Officers of different companies, past and present — Paid fire department 484 CHAPTER XLVIII. Societies : Masonic — Odd Fellows — Temperance — Grand Army of the Republic — Knights of Pythias — Hatters' societies — Clubs of Danbury — Musical organi- zations — Military organizations. Benevolent Societies : Daughters of the Amer- ican Revolution 491 CHAPTER XLIX. Taverns, ancient and modern, and Danbury stock farms of to-day^King George Tavern — The Inn — Captain Clark's Tavern — White's Tavern — Wood's Tavern — Osborne's Hotel — Fountain House — Phoenix Hotel — Mansion House — Dan- bury House — Pahquioque Hotel — Turner House — Wooster House — Hotels of to-day— Stock farms, Ridgewood and Hill Top 501 CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER L. PAGS Old burial-grounds— Wooster Street— Upper burying ground— Episcopal burial- ground on South Street— Epitaphs from Mill Plain — Miry Brook — Great Plain — Pembroke — King Street Baptist ground— Comes's burial plot — Middle River 505 CHAPTER LI. Danbury of to-day 521 CHAPTER LII. Bethel — Town and surroundings — Old houses — Old industries — Church and school — Medical — Present industries — Noted men — Julius Seeley — Laurence P. Hickok — Orris Ferry — Clark Seeley — P. T. Bamum, sketch of his life — His address on presenting fountain to the town — His death 524 CHAPTER LHL List of Danbury representatives from 1776 to 1895, inclusive 549 CHAPTER LIV. Chronological table, 1684 to 1895 557 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. •^ J AMES Montgomery Bailey Frontispiece. Lake Kenosia 8 Bedford Deed 16 'Thomas Robbins 24 — Citizens 33, 123, 273 Homer Peters and Slave Sale 40 Old Danbury 56 WoosTER Monument— House where Wooster Died, with Corner Cup- board 64 *' Ebenezer Nichols 73 / General David Wooster 85 Taylor House— Rev. Nathaniel Taylor and Miss Sarane Taylor 90 Benedict House— S. W. and E. Benedict— Old Chest— Danbury Spy. ... 104 -Joseph Moss White— Joseph Fairchild White— Colonel Joseph P. Cooke— Mrs. Joseph P. Cooke— E. Moss White 131 Homestead of Ebenezer Russell White— Roswell White— Mrs. Ros- WELL White— Russell White— Mrs. Russell White 140 Store of Peck & Wildman 144 AvERiLL Homestead— Present Block on its Site 146 Homestead of N. H. Wildman, 1845— Business Block on its Site, 1895.. 150 Homestead Caleb Starr— Homestead Samuel Dibble— Portrait of Ira Dibble 160 Pahquioque Hotel — Lyman Keeler — Wooster House 168 J. W. Nichols— H. B. Wildman and Homesteads 176 * Carriage License— Halter's Card— Ball Ticket 183 Friend Starr, Charles Starr and Homestead 190 ' Resolutions, War of 1813 200 Old Danbury House— Turner House— Aaron Turner 310 - Hat Manufacturers 216 Danbury News Building— Town Club House— Cowperthwaite Block —Tread well's Block— Harris Block— Mr. Phelany Block 234 " Hatter's Group • 233 'Danbury Deed 248 View from Rose Hill 256 Old Congregational Church— Rev. Rollin S. Stone— Mrs. Rollin S. Stone— Rev. Samuel G. Coe— Deacon Isaac Ives— Deacon Lewis Ho yt 280 Xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Present First Congregational Church— Deacon Eli T. Hoyt— Dea- con John Fry— Deacon Oliver Stone— Deacon John F, Beard 288 St. James' Episcopal Church— Horace Marshall— Mr. and Mrs. Will- iam Chappell 296 Sandemanian Church— Rev. John Glas— Rev. Robert Sandeman— Nathaniel Bishop— William Ely- Levi Knapp— John Knapp 299 Baptist Church— Rev. E. C. Ambler— Rev. William S. Clapp— ^Ietho- DI8T Church— Rev. John Crawford— George Starr 312 Disciples' Church- Levi Osborn— John Abbot— Universalist Church- Stephen Bates— Colonel Dibble 320 St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Rectory and Parochial School.. 328 West Street Congregational Church — Horace Bull — Ezra Starr — German Lutheran Church and Rectory 332 School Buildings— J. M. Smith 344 -Lawyers 352 •" Physicians 368 - Soldiers 383 Old Danbury Bank — David Foot— Samuel Tweedy 400 Soldiers' Monument— Mrs. F. S. Wildman — Mrs. E. S. Tweedy — Mrs. Theodore Tweedy — Mrs. William Crofutt 428 ^Memorial Chapel— Entrance to Cemetery — George W. Ives— Edgar S. Tweedy — Frederick S. Wildman 432 Monument to Soldiers and Sailors in Unknown Graves — View in Cemetery 434 Colonel E. Moss White and Homestead 440 Children's Home— Miss Mary Bull — Mrs. Eliza Botsford — Mrs. G. W. Ives 446 Danbury Hospital— E. S. Davis— J. H. Schuldice 448 Library — Danbury Bank Post-Office 458 Pahquioque Bank— Aaron Seeley — Mrs. Seeley — Barnabas Allen 461 First Danbury Savings Bank Building— Present Savings Bank Build- ing—Homestead OP George W. Ives — William Jabine — Desk in Ives Homestead Used as Safe for Savings Bank in 1849 463 Union Savings Bank — Samuel Stebbins— Almon Judd 464 Danbury Fair ln 1884 472 Public Buildings— Court House — City Hall — Jail — Almshouse 480 White Street, North Side, Looking East, 1856 502 Starr Gravestones 506 Cemetery Views 512 Farnum Homestead— Ethel Taylor Farnum 525 - Nathan Seeley and Seven Sons 531 ' Orris Ferry — Laurens P. Hickok — Julius Seeley 534 Old Bethel — P. T. Barnum— Homestead Daniel Hickok— Old Fire Engine 543 JAMES MONTGOMERY BAILEY. James Montgomeey Bailey, the son of James and Sarah (Magee) Bailey, was born in Albany, N. Y., on September 25th, 1841. In 1843 his father died suddenly from injuries received by a fall, and a few weeks later a sister was born, who died in infancy. In 1846 Mrs. Bailey married Daniel Smith, of Rome, N. Y. Of this marriage were born three sons and three daughters. In 1860 the family moved to Panbury, Conn., and within a week after their arrival the New York Sunday Mercury printed the first article from the pen of Mr. Bailey, and continued to publish his writings for a year or more. Those who remember Mr. Bailey at this time describe him as bubbling over with fun and frolic and a universal favorite. On August 18th, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Seventeenth Connecticut Volunteers ; August 28th he was mustered into the United States service, and September 3d the regiment left the State for the front. Mr. Bailey remained in the army for three years, and his experiences during this time were material for many witticisms in after years. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Gettys- burg, and confined for two months on Belle Isle. Prostrated by malaria, and worn with starvation, he must soon have succumbed to these hardships had he not been ex- changed. Of his trip on the transport boat he wrote : ' ' How blessed that word, ' Free ! ' I kept repeating it to myself, with my eyes bent down on the water and my thoughts lifted to God." In September, 1865, Messrs. Bailey and Donovan pur- chased the Danbury Times, and first conducted it as a Demo- XX JAMES MONTGOMERY BAILEY. cratic paper. In March, 1870, Mr. Bailey, wlio " loved fun and success better than politics," made an arrangement for the con- solidation of the Times and the Jeffersonian — a Republican sheet — and thus was started the Danbury News. On October 4th, 1866, Mr. Bailey married Miss Catharine Douglass Stewart, of Danbury. Three children w^ere born to them, but all died in infancy. In 1873 Mr. Bailey visited California, and while absent wrote a series of articles for the News, headed with the letters " T. B, T. G. G." These were a subject of much curious comment, until the explanation came that they were the initial character, of " Tight Boots through Golden Gate." In 1874 he made the tour of Europe, visiting England, Scot- land, Ireland, France, and other countries. A year before this his first book, " Life in Danbury," had appeared, and before leaving for Europe the "Danbury News Man's Almanac" was completed. This trip abroad was for the purpose of gathering material for a third volume, happily titled " England from a Back Window." One of the charms of this record of travel is that while the writer is seldom more than half in earnest, he is frequently not more than half in jest. While he lightly banters our British brethren on their national weaknesses, he has for their sterling personal qualities and national physique only words of unstinted praise. Within four years after the appearance of this book Mr. Bailey published "Mr. PhiUips' Goneness," the "Danbury Boom," and " They All Do It." In the fall of 1876 he appeared upon the lecture platform, under the management of the Redpath Lyceum Bureau. In 1878 the firm of Bailey & Donovan was dissolved, and from that time until his death Mr. Bailey was sole editor and propri- etor of the Danbury News. His love for Danbury, his faith in her future, and his efforts to build up her interests were unbounded. When the Board of Trade was established he became an active member, and was soon elected its president. As one of the founders of the Danbury Hospital, a member of the Board of Trustees, and its President, he was deeply inter- ested in the welfare of this institution. He was also a warm JAMES MONTGOMEKY BAILEY. XXI friend and practical helper of the Children's Home and of the Relief Society. While resident in Albany Mr. Bailey united with the Baptist Church under the pastoral charge of Dr. E. L. Magoun. Upon his arrival in this city he joined by letter the Second Baptist Church, where he was constant in his attendance, zealous in all Christian work, and devoted to the Sunday-school, in which he was a beloved teacher until the time of his death. It was a peculiar phase of his character that he was subject to seasons of deep depression. Years ago, in the very height of his world-wide popularity, his sunny soul would pass at times into profound darkness, when he would pray for death, while yet he would confess that there was no external cause for such despondency. His love for children was deep and intense, and it was a sad grief to him that his own died in infancy. Every Sunday and holiday saw the tiny graves in Wooster Cemetery covered with flowers, placed there by his loving hands. The humor of Mr. Bailey was so entirely original that he may truthfully be called the pioneer of that school which is now so familiar to all readers. While peculiar and original, Mr. Bailey was marvellously natural in his humor, and his readers often found themselves pondering upon the sportive mixture of grave circumstances and ludicrous events in every-day life. He em- bellished the commonest events, the simplest subjects with the cap and bells of royal humor. Pure and wholesome, his wit never wounded; it was "the lambent flame of mirth that lit, but never burned," humor that has brightened many a life and sent sunshine into many a home. His great heart brimmed over with love for animals, made man- ifest in his daily life and through the columns of his paper. His friendship was loyal and intense, and his relations with his em- ployes of the most cordial kind. Unbounded was his generosity, and the memory of his kind deeds is warm and bright in count- less hearts. Had he valued money for its own sake, he might have been a millionaire, but money flowed as steadily and pro- fusely from his hands as did wit from his lips. No appeal to him for help was ever made in vain. Mr. Bailey died on March 4th, 1894, after a short illness, leav- ing a " city of mourners." He had no enemies ! XXU JAMES MONTGOMERY BAILEY. ' ' What pen can write for him a tribute, delicate, sympathetic and tender, such as he was wont to write for others ? Who can analyze that great soul, with its intense love for the beautiful in nature and art ; its sympathy with dumb creatures, so that the very dogs loved him with an almost deeper than human affec- tion ? Who can set in true light and perspective that strange blending of deep religious sensibility, profound melancholy, and sparkling humor T ' All who ever touched his life have lost a friend. HISTORY OF DANBURY. CHAPTER 1. THE COLONY OF CONNECTICUT. D ANBURY was settled in 1684. It is interesting to note the con- dition of the colony of Connecticut at that time. Its study is a help to the right understanding of matters ecclesiastical, mer- cantile, legal, political, and social as they existed in this State when the planters of this city plodded hither through the wilder- ness. The particulars presented below are gathered from a re- port made by the General Court of Connecticut to a British com- mission in 1680, forty years after the settlement of the colony : " There were two General Courts, and only four counties. They had only one troop of sixty horse, but were raising more. There were twenty- one churches : the ministerial stipend was from £50 to £100. The train bands of militia were of the follow- ing strength : Hartford County 835 New London " 509 New Haven " 623 Fairfield " 540 "There was one fort at the mouth of the Connecticut. The principal towns were the large places of Hartford, New London, New Haven, and Fairfield. Their buildings were generally of wood, but some of stone and brick, and were comely for a wilder- ness. The commodities of the country were provisions, lumber, and horses, which were mostly transported to Boston and bar- tered for clothing. " Some small quantities were sent to the Carribee Islands and bartered for products and money. At rare intervals vessels were sent to Madeira, and the cargoes bartered for wines. They had 2 HISTORY OF DANBURY. no need of Southern trade, as most people planted as much tobacco as they needed. They had good materials for shipbuild- ing, and imported about £9000 in value annually. " The colony had about twenty petty merchants trading to Boston, other colonies, and the West Indies. The property of the whole colony did not reach £110,000 sterling. " There were but few servants and fewer slaves, not more than thirty in the colony. There were so few English, Scotch, and Irish arriving that they can give no account of them. " There came sometimes a few blacks from Barbadoes, which were sold for £22 each. " In 1677 the number of men was 2587, having increased only 17 from the previous year ; 24 small vessels belonged to the col- ony. The obstruction to trade was owing to the want of estates and the high price of labor. There were no duties on goods ex- ported or imported, except wines and liquors, which, though inconsiderable, were appropriated to free schools. "The people were principally strict Congregationalists, a few ' large Congregationalists ' and some moderate Presbyte- rians. There were four or five Seven-day men, and about as many Quakers. Labor was 4s. 6d. per day ; wheat was 4s. a bushel ; peas, 3s. ; Indian com, 2s. 6d. ; pork, 3d. per pound ; beef, 2id., and butter, 6d. " Beggars and vagabonds were not suffered, but when discov- ered were bound out to service. " The country is mountainous, full of rocks, hills, swamps, and vales. What was fit was taken up, what remains must be gained out of fire, by hard blows, and for small recompense. " The trade with the Indians was worth nothing, because their frequent wars hindered them from getting peltry. " Great care was taken of the instruction of the people in the Christian religion by ministers and masters of families." This document is signed by Mr. Leete, Governor, and John Allen, Secretary. In 1631, eleven years after the landing of the Pilgrims, an Indian sachem visited the governors of the Plymouth and Mas- sachusetts colonies, urging them to send Englishmen to settle in the Connecticut Valley ; and soon after Governor Winslow, of Plymouth, visited it. The next year other jDarties from Massa- chusetts explored the valley, and reported it as good. In the HISTORY OF DANIUIRY. 3 fall of 1634 a band of Massachusetts men came to Connecticut and settled at Pequa^, now Wetliersfield. In the summer of 1635 a party from Dorchester laid the foundation of the town of Windsor, and in October of that year a party of sixty men from Newtown made the overland march, and settled where the city of Hartford now stands. In June, 1636, a party of " one hundred men, women, and children," under the leadership of Thomas Hooker and Samuel Stone, came from Cambridge to Hartford, over one hundred miles through a dense wilderness, a journey of two weeks. How beautiful to their eyes must have looked the Connecticut Valley, with " its oaks, whose patriarch was to shelter their charter, its great elms and tulip-trees, the silver ribbon of the river, and over it all the light of a day in June !" New Haven was settled in 1638 by "the most opulent com- pany" that up to that time had emigrated from England. It was under the charge of Theophilus Eaton. In 1639 settlements were made at Milford, Guilford, Fairfield, and Stratford. Norwalk was purchased of the Indians in 1640, but the permanent settlement of the town was not until 1651. In 1684 the " original eight" left Norwalk and settled in Dan- bury. The men and women who laid the foundations of our common- wealth were exiles from their native land for conscience' sake, and sought in this new country freedom to worship God accord- ing to their convictions. From the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock religious observances were not only duty, but pleasure. " Religion was an essential part of daily life and politics, and tow^n and church w^ere but two sides of the one thing." The same persons in each town discussed and decided ecclesiastical and civil affairs indifferently, acting as a town or church meeting. The " church" was composed of church-members, having eccle- siastical jurisdiction, the " society" of pew-holders and contribu- tors having a financial and administrative control, joint action of the two being usually necessary. The churches of those days were sadly tossed about upon a sea of differing opinions, and "old lights" and "new lights," Cambridge and Saybrook platforms, were mingled in confusion, while separations among the churches went on apace. These 4 HISTORY OF DAXBURY. sometimes led to the formation of new settlements, as, by a division in the church of Stratford, Rev. Mr. Walker with his adherents was granted in May, 1672, " liberty to erect a planta- tion at Pomperoage." In 1674 this town received the name of Woodbury. The first churches were mostly of small numbers, but this was due to the promptness of the first settlers in organizing their churches, for " the church began with the settlement." CHAPTER II. NAME A^^D TOPOGRAPHY — SURROUNDING DISTRICTS — EARLY RECORDS AND WARS. The name Danbnry is taken from a town in England, which w^as originally Danebury, a cami) or town of the Danes, and where traces of the original earthworks when it was a fortified military post still remain. In the United States there are six towns bearing this name — viz., Danbnry, Fairfield Connty, Conn.; Danbury, Woodbury County, la.; Danbury, Redwillow County, Neb.; Danbury, Merrimack County, N". H.; Danbury, Stokes County, N. C; Danbury, Ottawa County, O. Danbury in Connecticat, of which w^e write, lies in the north- ern part of Fairfield County, and is bounded on the north by New Fairfield ; east, by Brookfield and Bethel ; south, by Bethel, Redding, and Ridgefield, and west, by Ridgefield and New York State. It is pleasantly diversified with hills and valleys, and has several small lakes within its bounds ; Moun- tain Pond, Neversink, Marjorie, Boggs, and Kenosha are all pretty sheets of w^ater with w^ell-w^ooded banks. The highest mountain in Danbury is that north of Boggs Pond, which is 1025 feet in height. The mountain west of Sugar Hollow^ ranks next, being 1020 feet high. Moses Mountain has a height of 1000 feet, Thomas Mountain, 960 feet, and Town Mountain, 900. The main street of the city runs through a valley lying between two ridges of land running north and south. When the first settlers came they chose the southern end of this valley for their new homes. Gradually as the years went on, and the little settlement increased in strength and numbers, the main street — then know^n as Tow^n Street— extended its length and took on new houses and homes, until it stretched for nearly two miles from north to south. 6 HISTORY OF DANBURY. To-day it is brimful of life and activity, and lined with resi- dences and fine business blocks. Handsome cliurclies and public buildings are scattered along through its centre, and many fine old homesteads stand beneath the great trees of uj)per and lower Main Street. The business x>ortion of the city has grown up around other homesteads, but many of the beautiful old trees that once shaded them have fallen in the march of modern im- provement. Danbury has spread over the hills and across the dales, has blossomed out in streets and pleasant homes unto her very bor- ders, and nestles under her wings her surrounding little settle- ments. King Street, lying at the northwest of the city, has two churches, the First Baptist and a Christian church. It lies along a slope of the hill, and is purely an agricultural dis- trict. Middle River* lies south of King Street and dii-ectly west of the Centre District of Danbury, while west of that lies the settle- ment formerly known as the Boggs, but now called Westville. Mill Plain, lying next south, jierived its name, according to tradition, from a mill that was a little east of the present Fair Grounds, which had so high a dam that it flooded the swamps by Mill Plain Pond. This sheet of water is now known as Lake Kenosia, and is quite a pleasure resort. * From Mrs. Mary Depew, of Elkhart, Ind., a daughter of Elind Comes, and now In her eighty-third year, -n-e have the following regarding the " Comes Meeting House" at Middle River. In the winter of 1824 revival meetings were conducted in Middle River District by Orlando Starr and Moses Hill, of Danbury, both of whom became afterward ministers in the Methodist Episcopal Church. These meetings were held at the school-house, and the young people of the neighborhood continued them until William Stone objected to the use of the school building for such purposes, and the girls would take off their shawls and hang them before the windows to hide the light, as his house was in sight of the school-house. To avoid further trouble, the meetings were held at a private house, and Mr. Comes resolved to build a church, which he did, furnishing the land, the material, and doing the work himself. When completed, he had it dedicated, and it was thrown open to the public with the distinct understanding that it should be a Union church, free to all denominations, Universalists not excepted. Mr. Comes afterward bought the land for the burial-ground that adjoins the church, and enclosed it with a fence. The graveyard as well as the church was free to all, and here is buried Elind Comes, with Dinah, his wife, and several of his children'and grandchildren. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 7 The first house built in Mill Plain was erected probably about 1720, and belonged to Nathaniel Stevens. It is not in existence now. Thomas Stevens, a brother of Nathaniel, built a house in 1725, which was rebuilt in 1825, and is still standing. " Bur- chard's Store," at the western boundary of old-time Mill Plain, was its commercial centre, and had quite a wide reputation. It was one of the first to put out shirts for making, and the women would come from far and near for the work, taking in payment goods from the store. There were several shoe shops, where, besides custom work, shoes were made for a firm in New Canaan. Most of the energy of the people was directed to farming. Lake Kenosia, now a popular summer resort for the people of Danbury and its vicinity, was known in the old days as Mill Plain Pond, and many of the older residents can remember boat- ing upon the lake in moonlit evenings, or enjoying picnics under the shade of the trees along its banks. In 1860, George Hallock, who saw a future for the lake as a pleasure resort, built the Kenosia Hotel, which was opened on August 16th of that year. The hotel was short-lived, as it was destroyed by fire on November 23d of the same year. Soon after the opening of the house its landlord, as an especial attrac- tion, arranged " a race between the noted trotters Flora Temple and Widow McChree at Kenosia Trotting Park, on November 15th." The race was won by Flora Temple in three heats. Time : 2.39, 2.37, and 2.33. How much of an event this was, the following extract from the Danbury Times of the week previous will show : "To accom- modate those who it is expected will come to see the trot, the evening train of cars will be, on that day, delayed until 6.30 p.m." South of Mill Plain is Miry Brook (in some old deeds spelled Miery), a little agricultural settlement lying upon level ground with low meadows, where in spring the cowslips bloom and the birds sing. Early in the present century there was a saw-mill in this settle- ment, just opposite the homestead of the late Rev. Mr. Burton. On the side of the mountain in Miry Brook is the site of what was a silversmith's shop, where Samuel Scribner made watches and silverware and cast sleigh-bells. On a corner of the road running from Mill Plain through Miry Brook to Ridgefield was 8 HISTORY OF DANBURY. a cabinet-maker's sliop, where were manufactured chairs, tables, spinning-wheels, and various household furnishings, but the name of its j^roprietor is not known. Sweeping around to the southward lies Starr's Plain, a little village diversified with hills, valleys, and watercourses, a good farming district. The little church here has quite a history, which will be found in another chapter. Long Ridge lies east of Starr's Plain and south of the South Centre District of Danbury. This is also an agricultural settle- ment, which boasts of pleasant farmhouses and fertile acres. It has one church. On the east of Danbury is Beaver Brook, where is the Mc Arthur paper mill. This is a farming settlement, and has a pretty little chapel. Beaver Brook has a bit of Indian history which may be interesting if not edifying. Long years ago an Indian family lived in a cave under Beaver Brook Mountain, and one was killed by his brother. The murderer was captured in the hills of New Fairfield by Philo Chase and William B. Hoyt, of Great Plain, tried and sentenced to State's prison for life. North of Beaver Brook, on the east side of the city, lies Great Plain, a broad and level expanse, as its name denotes, with fruit- ful fields and prosperous farmers. Here is a neat little chapel called "The Gift of God," which is used by all orthodox jDer- suasions. Early in this century an Indian family lived near Forty- Acre Mountain, in Great Plain, and there are traditions of a previous settlement and of an Indian burial-ground in this vicinity. Pembroke lies north of Danbury and adjoins King Street ; it is on high rolling ground, and, like its neighbors, agricultural. Some years ago brick-making was carried on in the southern part of the settlement. Like the "mother State," Danbury believes in good educa- tional privileges, and each of these outlying settlements has its own school-house. The old deeds in the Record Office of the town show many curious names given to i^laces in and about Danbury, such as Stubble-lot Road, Eunice Ground, Shorthills, Noonhills, Saw- mill Brook, Red-root Ridge, Stadley Ruff Ridge, Siali's Gutter on the west side of Moses' Mountain, Flatt Rock, Mashing-tub Swamp, Wolf Ridge, Millstone Swamj), Cripple Bush Swamp, HISTORY OF UANBURY. 9 Franks' Hill, Cat-tail Mountain, Hearthstone Hill, and many others. Newtown rejoiced in the ownership of "Jangling Plains." Jakin's Ridge belonged to the McLean estate, and was a part of Stony Hill. Tradition has said that the name Kohanza grew out of " cow- handy pasture ;" but in the inventory of estate of John Vidito, in 1745, we find this item, " Land at Cohansey." In 1767, in inventory of estate of Joseph Boughton, w-e find " Cohansa," and in estate inventory of Francis Knapp, in 1776, is mentioned " Cowhansy pasture ;" in 1780, in the will of Rev. Ebenezer White, among other real estate is " Cohanzy orchard." In the inventory of estate of Zadock Benedict, in 1798, w^e find written " Cowshandy Lot." In 1809, in inventory of estate of Noble Benedict, it is written Cohanzy, and in 1839, in the will of Colonel Russell White, we find " orchard at Cohansy." Spruce Mountain Road, Brushy Hill, Walnut-tree Hill, Chest- nut Ridge Hill, and Whortleberry Hills, thus named by our ancestors, are proofs that they appreciated their hill surround- ings. Tamarack Road appeals to the older generation of to- day as a charming drive. Thomas, Moses, and Town moun- tains stand as they have done for centuries, pleasant in as- pect, well wooded, and beautiful with wild flowers in their season. The Indians about here w^ere not at any time within the knowl- edge of history numerous. De Forest, in his history of Connec- ticut, says that " with the exception of the Paugussetts, Wepa- waugh, and an insignificant class known as the Potatucks, the latter inhabiting the limits of Newtown, Southbury, Woodbury, and some other townships, the whole country now known as Litchfield County, together with the northern part of Fairfield and the western part of Hartford counties, presented an uninhab- ited wilderness. The birds built their nests in the forests undis- turbed by the smoke of a single wigwam, and the wild beasts who made it their home were startled by no fires save those of a transient war party or a wandering hunter. It is well under- stood that the natives were in the habit of passing down the line of the Housatonic and up Still River during the summer season, and planting in the valleys." It is said that the Schaticoke Indians were divided into north 10 HISTOKY OF DANBUBY. and south tribes, of which the former were of Kent, Conn., and the latter of Beaver Brook. Among the records of the first church, we find the following entry in the list of marriages performed by Rev, Timothy Lang- don : " November lltli, 1787, John Lucas to Hannah Griswould — Indians." There was a family of Indians living near the bridge at Never- sink Pond as late as 1850. Indian arrowheads and other relics are still found in the fields and about the ponds and creeks of Danbury, but those who fashioned them have been for long years in the " happy hunting-grounds." ROUTE OF "original EIGHT" FROM NORWALK TO DANBURY. In 1879 the writer made the following statement in the News : " It is reasonable to suppose that the original eight families came to Danbury by what was since the turniDike between here and Norwalk. It is the most direct route, and presents less obstacles in the matter of high ground than any other way. So long ago there could not have been more than a trail, if as much, to direct and aid them. What must have been their thoughts as they forced their way we cannot know. Judging the aspect of nature to be then considerably more forbidding than it is now, we must admire the courage of the original eight, even if we cannot respect their Judgment." Whereupon a correspondent of the News offered the following : " To the Editor of the News : " I have a word to say in regard to the route taken by the first settlers of Danbury in coming from Norwalk. It was not, as stated in your paper, over the x)resent travelled road. With all due deference to your authority, I beg leave to say that the pond, mountain, and region now known as Sympaug was in my boyhood days known only as MUking Yard. And first my grandfather, afterward my uncles and father, said that the name originated from the following circumstance : that the earliest settlers of Danbury built a fence from the south end of the pond across the neck of level land to the mountain to prevent their cattle, esi^ecially their cows, from taking the back track to Nor- walk, from whence they had been driven ; and that the citizen owners of said cows were in the habit of riding on horseback to HISTORY OF DANBURY. 11 this fence or barrier to milk their cows ; and also that during the last part of the last century the mail was carried on horse- back through the same territory. The market wagons of those old times also pursued the same course or road on the west side of the pond." We incline to believe our correspondent is correct ; that the trail pursued by the original eight ran on the west and not on the east side of the pond ; but we are still persuaded that the course was largely what has since become the turnpike between Norwalk and Danbury. There is no doubt there w^as a trail of some kind between the two points, as the Indians occupying this ground must often have visited the Sound at its nearest point, which is Norwalk. Presuming there was a trail, its location through here must have been the present Main Street, and would naturally present to the newcomers a place of residence, principally because it defined something. According to Mr. Robbins's account, they located close to- gether, four on one side and four on the opposite side. Their object was to start a village. This, with a view to sociability and protection, would demand concentration. The lands on whose cultivation they depended they sought here and there, as the richness of the soil made necessary, and these locations varied so much that to reside upon the tracts would have so scattered the settlers as to have made the nucleus of a village " a barren ideality," and to have put social intercourse and mutual protec- tion beyond the pale of possibility. It is likely enough that the eight families' homesteads did not cover more than the ground between South Street and the Court House. By a careful wrench of the imagination we can see Danbury something as it existed then. We know from the quality of the land that the eminences were full of fir-trees. We deduct, also, from the lay of the land that along the streams alders grew in profusion, and that in that portion east of Main Street and west of the Town Hill Ridge there was a rather considerable swamp. We are pretty confident that the swamp must have been a prominent feature in the topography, from the fact that the first settlers set their heart upon calling their town Swampfield, and 12 HISTORY OF DANBURY. were only deterred therefrom by the arbitrary action of the general court, which substituted the name Danbury. Thus were we saved from becoming Swampfielders. Pahquioque or Paquaige was the name given to this valley by the Indians. It is still i^reserved in the sub-name of one of our national banks, and in one of our business buildings. The hat factory of Crofut & White in its early days was thus called, and almost wholly known by that name for many years. One of the streets of Danbury bears the old Indian name, which signifies an open plain. This feature of the wilderness here may have in- duced the original eight, to drop down where they did. BEANTOWN. Danbury' s nickname is Beantown. There are various theories for the origin of this- unsentimental title. One theorist claims that it comes from the pretty general disposition of the Danbury people in the past to cultivate beans. He says that he has seen great stacks of them in fields hereabouts, like stacks of hay, and has seen boys armed with pails and baskets gathering up the beans when the stalks were removed, like Ruth gleaning in the field of Boaz. Another observer, who takes a similar view, writes : "According to the ' oldest inhabitant, ' the name originated from the fact that there were large quantities of beans raised here in the early settlement of the town. Norwalk, being the parent town, was often visited by Danbury people, and trade to a considerable extent was carried on between the two places in the way of exchanging ^productions. No Danbury load was complete without beans, and half a century ago it was a common remark by those living on the road, when a team was passing, ' Here goes a Danbury wagon, for there is a bag of beans on the top.' At that time there was a kind of bean known throughout the country as the ' Danbury bean.' It was a very small, round white bean of excellent quality, and farmers raised them in pref- erence to others." ~ Another explanation is that the site of our town was bought from the Indians with a peck of beans, something like the bar- gain between Esau and Jacob. Of the years between the settlement of Danbury in 1684 and the beginning of the Revolution, we have little knowledge save HISTORY OF DANBURY. 13 that contained in the famous century sermon of the follovring chapters, the i:)robate records of Fairfield to 1740, and our own probate records of later date. From these we glean the follow- ing, which, although meagre in detail, may be of interest to the descendants of our Danbury pioneers. Nearly two hundred years ago, when Danbury had been but eleven years settled, one of the "original eight" died, for we find among the probate records of Fairfield that " Thomas Bar- num, of Danbury, died December 26th, 1695." He left a widow, five sons, and five daughters, some of them " under age." In October, 1697, Francis Bushnell, another of the original settlers, died, leaving seven daughters. The next to go of the first eight settlers was John Hoit, who died in March, 1711-12, leaving widow and children. " Deacon Samuel Benedict," of the originals, died in 1719. James Picket, of Danbury, died February 15th, 1701, leaving a widow, son John, and other heirs. John Bouton, of Danbury, died in 1704-1705 leaving " eldest son John," Nathanell, Eliazer, and daughters Sarah, Abigail, and Mary. Joseph Forwards, of Danbury, died October 3d, 1704, leaving a widow, Lidia, who afterward became the wife of Thomas Wild- man. He left four daughters, the eldest only six years of age. Ann, who at the time of her father's death was four years old, became the wife of Benjamin Barnum. Nathaniel Hillyer, of Danbury, drew his will October 30th, 1709, and died the next day. He mentions " Brothers Wake- field and Ebenezer Dibble," James and Andrew HiUyer, also " Sister Elizabeth Palmer." Nathaniel Hoit, of Danbury, died in 1712, his estate being inventoried on May 16th of that year. Thomas Bennedick, of Danbury, died in 1714, leaving widow Elizabeth, one son and three daughters. Inventory of the estate of Thomas Picket was made January 22d, 1711-12. He left a w^idow Sarah, six sons and three daughters. John Picket died May 23d, 1712, leaving widow Catharine, three sons, and two daughters. The estate of Samuel Weed, of Danbury, was inventoried September 9th, 1708. Widow Mary ; sons Jacob, Samuel, and 14 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Jonas, tlie latter two under age, as Jacob was made their guard- ian. Elizabetli, the daughter, made choice of her mother for guardian. Inventory of the estate of Captain Josiah Starr, of Danbury, was made July 3d, 1715-16, by John Cornwall and John Gregory. He had "■ property at Pocono by Ensign Knap, prop^ near Ben- jamin Stevens, prop^' next Thos. Hoit, jorop^ at Pocono next Abraham Wildman, prop'' at Grassy Plain by John Benedick, prop'' bought of James Crofoot, prop'' bought of Samuel Beebe, prop'' bought of Thos. Picket, prop^ bought of Thos. Taylor, prop'' next . . . Benedick, prop'' next Daniel Taylor." He left widow Rebeckah, six sons and two daughters. The estate of Benjamin Hoit, of Danbury, was inventoried February 20th, 1722-23. He left w^idow Mary, two sons and two daughters, all under age. James Crofoot, of Danbury, died in 1724. His estate was in- ventoried by Israel Curtiss and John Hoit ; Norwalk estate by Benjamin Lines and Matthew Gregory. Widow and eight chil- dren, three sons, five daughters. Joshua Hoit died in 1726-27, leaving widow Sarah, and three daughters. Estate of Daniel Green inventoried March, 1724-25. Jasper Green (only surviving brother) sole heir. Property also at Newtown. Thomas Barnum, Sr., of Danbury, drew his will December 17th, 1730, when about 67 years of age. Will was probated December 27th, 1731. Widow Sarah, eldest son Thomas, daughter Sarah Hoyt, children of daughter, Esther Jndd, de- ceased — youngest daughter, Mary Barnnm— grandson John Wilks. Sons Thomas and Ephraim sole executors. Estate of Thomas Starr inventoried April, 1734. Elizabeth Starr administratrix. Will of Samuel Benedict, Sr., of Danbury, dated March 4th, 1734-35. Inventory April 4th, 1735. W^idow Abigail, daughter of Thomas Picket ; sons Ebenezer and Samuel ; daughters Hannah and Mercy. Grandson Mat- thew Wildman, only child of daughter Mary, deceased, and under age. The will of Wakefield Dibble, of Danbury, dated in Stratfield, January 31st, 1733-34, mentions "sons Ebenezer, Ezra (oldest HISTORY OF DANBURY, 15 son), Nehemiah (he is very lame), Jolm (has property at Pocono, between Danbury and Newtown). ' ' Will probated May 2d, 1734. Benjamin Picket died in 1724, leaving his estate to be divided between his five brothers, sisters Sarah Vidito, Abigail Benedict, wife of Samuel Benedict, and " nephew Thomas Noble, of New Milford, an only son of sister Hannah." The will of John Wildman, of Danbury, drawn August 26th, 1730, and probated the same day, mentions wife Joanna, father Abraham Wildman, brothers Abraham, John, Thomas, Isaac, Jacob, and Matthew ; and sister Mercy Gregory, wife of Ephraim Gregory. Rev. Mr. Seth Shove, deceased, of Danbury. Inventory of Estate March 4th, 1735-36. Madam Abigail Shove, widow. Also mentioned Mary Minor, Hannah Starr, and Lydia Bouton. Inventory of his library made by Daniel Boardman, John Graham, and Ebenezer White. Captain John Starr. Inventory September 23d, 1739. Men- tions daughters Mary, Sarah, and Rachel. Mr. Ezra Dible, of Danbury. Will dated August 3d, 1739 ; probated in November of same year. Wife, Elizabeth ; eldest son, Wakefield ; under age, Elisha, John ; and daughters, Rebecca and Freelove. A posthumous child. Samuel Knap, Jr., drew his will January 8th, 1739-40. Wife Sarah ; sons Samuel, James, Elnathan, David. Brothers John and Francis Knap administrators. Will probated February 12th, 1739-40. A posthumous child. " Mr. John Anderson, a transient person, now a resident of Danbury," drew his will on February 8th, 1739-40. Mentions " Mother Margaret Henderson and sister Elizabeth Anderson, living in parish of Dunfarm by Lime in ye shire of Feife in North Britton," giving them " i of estate." "To Deacon Elnathan Mead, of Horse Neck, my best suit of clothes now at Ridgefield. ..." "■ To Town of Danbury ) Parish of Horse Neck ) ^ remainder of my estate between them, for a Presbt" school." WiU probated March 6th, 1739-40. Inventory made by Israel White, Comfort Starr, and Abraham Hayes. Nicholas Bates, of Danbury, drew his will June 17th, 1741, which was probated January 25th, 1741-42. "Wife Abegail ; 16 HISTORY OF DANBURY. only daughter Mary, now wife of Jonathan Pierson, of Derby ; sons Elias, John, Henry. Brother Henry Bates, of Wallingford, and Lieutenant Ebenezer Hickock, of Danbnry, executors." The will of Stephen Curtiss, of Danbnry, was drawn January 23d, 1740-41, and probated April 7th, 1741. Wife Abigail ; '^ only son Stephen a double portion;" remainder divided be- tween two daughters. "Brother Francis Knap and Joshua Knap executors." Isaac; Wildman, of Danbury. Will dated February 23d, 1742- 43. Wife Elizabeth ; " daughter Sarah, now ye wife of John Towner, of Oxford Parish. Daughter Olive under IS. Sons David, John, and Benjamin. Wife Elizabeth and my brother-in-law, Benj. Bouton, to be exr^" Father Abra- ham Wildman, deceased, brother John Wildman, deceased, had legacies from estate. Will probated June 2()th, 1743. Nathaniel Stevens. Will drawn February 1st, 1742-43, pro- bated July 5th, 1743. Wife Ruth ; sons Nathaniel, Nathan, Abraham, Timothy; daughter Hannah Stevens. "Grand- daughter Elizabeth Stevens £20 if she lives with us until 18." Youngest sons John and Ezra. Ensign Nathaniel Stevens's estate was inventoried July 24th- 26th, 1743. Josiah Nickolls, of Danbury, died in 1743. Mehitable NickoUs swears to inventory, January, 1744-45. February 12th, 1755, Seth Kellog, a minor of Danbury, chose Ezra Kellog, of same place, as guardian. In 1760 Rev. William, Moses and Martha Gay lord witnessed the will of Joseph Atherton, of Danbury, On October 15th, 1704, Benjamin Scrivener died at Danbury, but belonged to Norwalk. He left a widow, four sons, and a daughter. Scrivener was probably the original of Scribner of to-day. Besides the names already mentioned in these abstracts of wills, we find, as administrators, guardians, and witnesses, the following belonging to Danbury : Piatt, Raimond, Copp, Hub- bell, Jackson, Haris, Hayes, Bennit, and Waller. EARLY WARS. In Queen Anne's War, 1702, and in the call for more troops to attack Quebec in 1709, Connecticut promptly tilled her quota, ^ '<^^^ ///^^ ,^ ^^ y'^^ y^^.^ ^^^,^^ ^^^Cj ^ /^O^^ o/ ^^o..j l^or^.r^>t -/^^^,,^ -.n^Mj- crr^-uJ ^^nyJcr^, «/ -^^"^Jc^^^ / / *~ — " HISTORY OF DANBURY. 17 and perhaps the little village of Danbury may have contributed to this number, but of this we have no knowledge, and little of what Danbury may have done in sending out soldiers to King George's War in 1744. We find in the records of the Starr family that Captain Josiah Starr (born 1693) was appointed by the General Assembly of Connecticut in July, 1745, " to be cap- tain of one of the companies now to be raised and sent to Cape Breton to reinforce the troops there ;' ' and in May, 1746, he was appointed " to be captain of the Fifth Company in the regi- ment to be raised in the expedition against Canada." He died in Danbury in 1778, " full of honors and full of years." At the beginning of the French and Indian War, in 1755, Connecticut was called upon for one thousand men, which she promptly furnished, and in the unfortunate campaigns of 1756 and 1757 regularly raised more than twice the number of men assigned to her quota, and we may be sure that Danbury sent her share into this war. We find Josiah Starr (son of the Josiah previously mentioned) was appointed in 1755 " second lieutenant of the Fifth Company, to be raised to go against Crown Point. " In 1757 Jonathan Starr, of Danbury, " volunteered as a soldier for the relief of Fort William Henry," and Major Daniel Starr (born 1724) was\ " in the expedition of 1757 for the relief of Fort William Henry." Thomas Barnum, third, " fell in the French War in Canada." A descendant writes that he "was killed at the Heights of Abraham." His will was drawn on June 23d, 1755, and pro- bated October 1st of the same year, so that his death occurred between these dates. "Job Northrop, of the District of Danbury, having listed myself a soldier on an expedition for Cannoday," etc., di^ew his will May 19th, 1760, which was probated in November of the same year, going to prove that he met his death on the battle- field, either in the summer or autumn of that year. Abel Sherwood, of the Probate District of Danbury, was a member of the Sixth Company, Second Regiment of Connecti- cut, under Captain Thomas Hobby. He was mustered in at Horse Neck in April, 1761, and was one of a company of " one hundred effective men." He was with General Montgomery when the latter met his death at Quebec. In September, 1761, 18 HISTORY OF DANBURY. he was discliarged, but died soon after from the effect of wounds received in battle. In 175G " John Wood was captain and John Benedict, third, second lieutenant of the Eighth Company, Fourth Regiment," of the forces raised against Crown Point. In 1758 Joseph Hoit was captain-lieutenant, Ezra Stephens sec- ond lieutenant, and Noble Benedict ensign of the First Company of the Fourth Regiment. In May, 1758, the General Assembly appointed John Wood, Jr. (son of Captain John Wood), of Danbury, second surgeon's mate in the Fourth Regiment. The Misses Comstock, of this city, have in their iiossession a powder-horn which bears the following in pen and ink : A sketch of a full-rigged ship, coat of arms, with lion and unicorn, and the motto, " Honi soit qui mat y x>ense.'' It bears also this inscription: "The Privateer Snow Royal hester Doer John Wood Surgeons mate to the 4th Regiment, ^tatis Suae 23. Made at Lake George, August the 15th 1758. " ' Subdue old Gallick haughty looks Then beat your spears to pruning-hooks.' " In March, 1759, the following were the officers of the Fifth Company, Third Regiment, Samuel Hubbell, captain ; Noble Benedict, first lieutenant ; Nathan Gregory, ensign. In 1760 Samuel Hubbell was captain ; Noble Benedict, first lieutenant ; and Lemuel Benedict, second lieutenant, of the Sev- enth Company, Third Regiment. In 1764 Joseph Hoit was captain and Noble Benedict first lieutenant of the Fourth Company, Regiment, "in the forces now ordered to be raised against the Indian nations who have been guilty of perfidious and cruel massacres of the English." The lists of soldiers in these old wars give the names but not places of residence, so that our certain information in regard to our fighting ancestors is meagre ; but our faith in them leads us to believe that all who were needed went with promptness and courage. CHAPTER III. danbury's first iiistorian. About all that we know of Danbiiry in the first century of its existence is presented in an address called the ' ' Century Ser- mon," wdiicli was delivered in the Congregational Church by Thomas Robbins. It has been the impression here for many years that Mr. Rob- bins was the x>astor of the Congregational Church in Danbury. This is an error. Mr. Robbins was licensed to preach, but he was not a settled pastor here. He was born in Norfolk, Litchfield County, Conn., on August lltli, 1777, and was the son of Rev. Amni Ruhanah Robbins, and Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Lazarus, and granddaughter of Dr. Francis Le Baron.* His paternal grandfather was the Rev. Philemon Robbins, of Branford, Conn., w^ho married Hannah Foot, and died in 1781. The following incident we copy from " Notes of the Baptists," by Rev. F. Denison : " In 1742 Mr. Philemon Robbins, a minister of the Standing Order in Branford, preached by invitation to the Bai)tist Church in Wallingford ; for this the ministers of the New Haven Con- sociation called him to an account, and his trial was continued for a long time. In 1745 they called him before them and de- * Goveruor William Bradford = Alice South worth, of Plymouth, Mass. I nee Carpenter (second wife). William = Mary Holmes, tih Atwood, (First) Elkanah Cushman = Lydia = Lazarus Le Baron (second), born December 23d, 1719. I Elizabeth = Amni Ruhanah Robbins. Thomas Robbins, born August 11th, 1777. 20 HISTOPwY OF D ANBURY. manded that he should ' confess that lie hroTce the law of God in preaching to the Baptists against their consent.'' " Such was the broad and liberal spirit of our stern forefathers. Thomas Robbins pleasantly called his birth year " the year of the three gallowses,'' from its lugubrious array of sevens. He graduated from Yale College in 1796. At the age of nine- teen he began school-teaching. In November, 1779, he accepted a call to the Congregational Church in Brookfield, as a tem- porary supply, and remained there for the several weeks he was engaged. As the parish was too poor to pay for a preacher through the winter, and receiving a call to teach the public school in Danbury, he left Brookfield and arrived here on Decem- ber 25th. Christmas could not have been much of a day here- abouts at that time, as Mr. Robbins does not refer to its signifi- cance in his diary, which he began in 1796, and faithfully con- tinned until 1854, two years before his death. In his entry for that day he simply says he rode horseback to Danbury in the morning, and took charge of the school that afternoon. At the same time came confirmation of a report that Washington was dead. Mr. Robbins must have created a remarkably favorable im- pression upon the people of Danbury, for, although a stranger and only twenty-two years old, a committee of citizens invited him to deliver a eulogy on the character of the dead Washing- ton. He accepted the invitation and delivered the discourse to an audience that completely filled the "meeting-house" of the Congregational Church. This all took place within a week after his arrival. The following extracts from his diary may be of interest : '' Bee. '6\st. In the forenoon no school for want of wood. Wrote on my oration. Adieu, 1799." " Jan. 21st, 1800. Was invited to supper with a great com- pany. O, that I may not be permitted to dishonor the religion I have professed." " i^eft. 18t7i. Am invited out to tea almost every day.' ' " Mb. 25t7i,. It is customary here for little children to have dances, even the youngest in my school." " Feb. 28, 1800. Mrs. Whittlesey's mother, the wife of E. R. White, my father's classmate, died in the afternoon of a con- sumption." HISTORY OF DANBURY. 21 " April 5. Dined with the military company. The militia here appears very well. Training here on the green to-day. In the evening all hands dance. Even the least of my school join the game. No less than four different sets [companies] are dancing this evening. In the morning a little frost." " July 13. Very warm. Much worried. People here appear to be exceeding stupid and thoughtless about divine things." '■'^ July 15. This town is peculiar for good gardens. ..." ''July^O. Excessive hot. The thermometer rose to ninety- four." ^' July 31. Wrote to my father. Wrote a piece for jmblica- tion. Thermometer at ninety-seven. Eat succotash." " Aiig. 13. ... Had a hat made for my father." " Sep. 1. Had no school, it being training day. The greater part of my school children dance. It being customary here, I cannot prevent it. I do not believe a town in the State can produce so respectable a militia as this. Two companies of infantry, one of cavalry, and one of artillery, all in uniform, belong to this society." " Sep. 24. The regiment met here. Dined with the field officers." " Dec. 22. The frost all out of the ground. Collecting mate- rials for a Century Sermon. Invited out to supper." " Dec. 24. Wrote on my Century Sermon." " Dec. 25, Considerable labor to make all the collections for my Century Sermon. Boys played ball." " Dec. 30. Still engaged on my Century Sermon." *' Dec. 31. Finished my Century Sermon on Gen. 1 : 14 at three quarters after eleven o'clock P.M. The year is now closing." " Jan. 1, 1801. Afternoon preached my Century Sermon to a very large audience." " Jan. 9. Have lived more than a year in this town, and all at one house, very agreeably. ^Vhat shall I render to the Most High for all his mercies ?...'' " Ja7i. 31. Left Danbury." " May 25, 1812. . . . Received a new hat from Danbury for which I paid $10.00. It is all beaver. ..." ^' May 1, 1835. . . . Received a letter from Mr. Whittlesey, of Danburv. ..." 22 HISTORY OF DAISTBURY. " Mmj 4. Received a good hat from Danbiiry by New York, for which I paid !S7. 00. ..." A foot-note says : " Dr. Robbins first had a hat made in Dan- bury at the beginning of the century. He liked the Danbnry hats so well that he generally had his hats made there, but they cost him more than good hats do now. " His journal observes of his Danbury school that the attendance was small, and the children ignorant in spiritual matters. Sev- eral times during the winter he w^rites of the school being closed " on account of no wood." The single public school building which the village had at that time stood on Wooster Street, between the gravej^ard and the old jail. The scholars were thus constantly reminded on one hand of the certainty of death, and, on the other, of the uncer- tainties of life. While Mr. Robbins remained in Danbury he boarded with Matthew Beale Whittlesey, a noted lawyer, and father of the late Ebenezer Whittlesey. In January, 1801, he gave up the charge of the school here and retired from Danbury. While he was here he on sev- eral occasions preached in the Congregational Church, the settled pastor, Rev. Mr. Langdon, being ill with consumption. He also acted as an occasional supx)ly to churches in neighboring- towns, but did not become a settled pastor until after he left Danbury. In 1844, after teaching and preaching for forty-five years, he retired from active life, became librarian of the Con- necticut Historical Society in Hartford, and remained at the Athffiueum in that city until 1854, when the weakness of ad- vanced age obliged him to relinquish the office. He died in Col- brook on September 13th, 1856, and was buried in Hartford. He gave his large and valuable library to the society. His jour- nal has been preserved in print by the family, and coi)ies are in the library of this city. Mr. Robbins was but twenty-three years of age when he pre- pared the remarkable century discourse. He never married. While here he fell in love with an accomplished young lady, who did not return his passion. She afterward married Knapp Boughton, and in course of time became the mother of our late fellow-citizen, Lucius H. Boughton. Mr. Robbins seems to have maintained an affectionate rem em- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 23 brance of Danbury, if we may judge from the frequent mention of both place and people in his remarkable diary. An enthusiast in matters of historic lore, he builded better than he knew when he wrote that Century Sermon, which will live as long as Danbury itself shall exist. CHAPTER IV. ME. EOBBIlSrs'S SEEMON. This sermon, which comprised about all the record of Dan- bury in the first century of its existence and will forever iden- tify his name with Danbury, was delivered in the " meeting- house" of the Congregational Society. The building was erect- ed in 1785, at the foot of West Street, where now stands the soldiers' monument. In 1858 the society removed into its pres- ent place of worship, and the old church became a place of amusement, and was named " Concert Hall." In 1878 it was removed, and at this writing is used as a livery stable on Main Street, near Centre. When young " Tom" Robbins delivered his facts the building had its tower built square out at the Main Street front, and the principal entrance was on the south side, the jDulpit being oppo- site on the north side. Inside the appearance was stiff enough to suit the most strait-laced. The pulpit was a heavy, cumbrous affair, with a sounding-board frowning from above. Galleries ran round three sides of the room. In the centre of the main floor were seats, and about them were several rows of high box- pews into which the worshipper was shut up as being dangerous to the community at large. Outside the scene presented was far different from that of to-day. The Main Street was a country road above Wooster Street, and West Street was another country road emptying into it. Deer Hill Avenue was a cow path, and the greater part of Main Street in the neighborhood was ploughed land and meadow, with a stone wall in the i)lace of the present front of plate glass. Such was the vicinity when Mr. Robbins, having delved for weeks into the mystery of the past, spread out the treasure under the sounding-board of the Congregational pulpit on that afternoon in January, 1801. He took for his text the fourteenth verse of the first chapter of Genesis : " And God said, Let there llEX. TllM-HA- l;ilBBINS. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 25 be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night ; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years." THE SERMON. " The original Indian name of this place was Pahqnioque. The first settlement of this town was begun in the summer of the year 1684. The settlers came that year and began some im- provements, in buildings, sowing grain, and other things neces- sary. Some of the families moved here that summer, and con- tinued through the winter ; others did not move till the spring following. It may therefore be said that the first permanent set- tlement was made in the spring of the year 1685 by eight families. The names of the men were Thomas Taylor, Francis Bushnell, Thomas Barnum, John Hoyt, James Benedict, Samuel Benedict, James Beebe, and Judah Gregory. They lived near together, at the south end of Town Street,* beginning at the south end ; Tay- lor, Bushnell, Barnum, and Hoyt lived on the west side ; the two Benedicts, Beebe, and Gregory on the east. All except James Beebe came from Norwalk. He was from Stratford. They pur- chased their lands from the Indian proprietors. Mr. Taylor had seven sons, from whom all of that name now in town descended. Mr. Bushnell had a family of sev^en daughters, but no son. There have therefore been none of the name in this town since, only as it is still borne up in several Christian names. Mr. Barnum had five sons, from whom are the families of that name. Mr. Hoyt left six sons, who are the ancestors of the families of that name now living. Mr. James Benedict left three sons, from whom are a part of the Benedict families which survive, particularly those in which the Christian name James frequently occurs. His eldest son James was the first English male child born in town. The sons of Samuel Benedict were four. From them are those families of Benedicts in which the Christian name Samuel is often found. Soon after these first families settled here, Daniel Benedict, a brother of the other two of that name, came and became a settler. He was not one of the first, as has been sup- posed. He left but one son, Daniel, f From him are the fam- ilies in which that Christian name is often found, of whom there * Main Street.' f Daniel Benedict, Jr., married Rebekali, daugliter of Mr. Tliomas Taylor. 26 HISTORY OF DANBURY. are as many families now in town as from either of tlie others. Mr. Beebe had two sons, James and Samuel. From his two sons sprang the families of Beebes now in toAvn. The sons of Samuel moved to Litchfield, and afterward began the settlement of the town of Canaan. Mr. Gregory had two sons, from whom are the numerous families of that name. " One of the first settlers after the first eight families was Dr. Samuel Wood, a regular-bred physician, born and educated in England. Able and skilful in his profession, he was very useful in the town for many years. From him are the families of that name now in town. Mr. Josiali Starr came to this town from Long Island, soon after its first settlement. He had six sons, from whom the many families of that name have descended. Joseph Mygatt, from Hartford, afterward married Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Starr, eldest son of Josiah, and settled in this town, from whom are the families of that name. The fam- ilies of Picket, Knapp, and Wildman are ancient families in the town, the latter of whom are now very numerous. Some of the grandsons of the original settlers are now living. Mr. David Taylor, of Weston, and Mr. David Benedict, of this town, are grandsons of Mr. Thomas Taylor. Mr. David Shove is a grand- son of Mr. Bushnell. Captain Comfort Hoyt, Thaddeus Bene- dict, Esq., Mr. Isaac Benedict, and Mr. Joseph Beebe, the two latter of Bethel, are grandsons of the first settlers Hoyt, the two Benedicts, and Beebe. Mr. Abel Barnum, who died about a year ago at New Fairfield, was the last grandson of the first settler Barnum. The last grandson of the first settler Gregory was Samuel Gregory, Esq., who has been dead about eighteen years. " The first settlers having purchased their lands of the Indian owners, became proprietors of the tow^n. The town was surveyed in February, 1693, by John Piatt and Samuel Hayes, of Nor- walk. The survey bill declares the length to be eight miles from north to south, and the breadth six miles from east to west. At the session of the General Assembly in May, 1702, a patent was granted, giving town privileges to the inhabitants and proprietors of Danbury. The patentees named are James Beebe, Thomas Taylor, Samuel Benedict, James Benedict, John Hoyt, and Josiah Starr. In this act the boundaries were fixed according to the former survey. " The first justice of the peace who was appointed was Mr. HISTORY OF DANBIJRY. 27 James Beebe. The first town clerk was Mr. Josiah Starr. For many years after this time there were Indians living in town, who held their lands separate from the English people by known bounds. It does hot appear that they were ever troublesome ; but in the time of the wars, which were in the early part of the century, in which the French used great exertions to excite the enmity of the natives against the English settlements, it became necessary to provide some means of security. The house of Mr. Samuel Benedict, at the southeast corner of the street, and the house of Rev. Mr. Shove, on the eminence near where the two former meeting-houses stood, were placed in a posture of de- fence. When they were api)rehensive of danger, all the families used to repair to these two houses, especially nights. But it does not appear that they ever had any serious alarm. In October, 1708, it was enacted by the General Assembly that gar- risons should be kept at Woodbury and Danbury, if the council of war should judge expedient. It thence follows that this was then a frontier town, but we have no account that any garrison was ever maintained here at public expense. '' The western part of the town, called Miry Brook, and the eastern part, which now composes part of the town of Brook- field, were settled within a few years after the centre. Many parts in the middle of the town, which are now very fertile and prolific, were considered by the early proprietors as not worth cultivation. Some of them, therefore, went from four to seven miles for land to raise their ordinary crops. " One of the early inhabitants in this town was John Reed, a man of great talents and thoroughly skilled in the knowledge and practice of the law. He possessed naturally many peculiari- ties, and affected still more. He is known to this day, through the country, by many singular anecdotes and characteristics, under the appellation of ' John Reed the Lawyer.' The first representative from this town to the General Assembly was Mr. Thomas Taylor. He was for many years a useful man in the town, and died January, 1735, aged 92. He continued the long- est of any of the first settlers. The second justice of the peace was Mr. Josiah Starr. He held the office but a short period. He died January 4th, 1715, aged 57. The next to him in office was John Gregory, son of Judah Gregory, one of the first set- tlers. James Beebe, Jr., wa,s successor in office to his father. 28 HISTORY OF DANBURY. who died April 22d, 1728, aged 87. It is noticeable that James Beebe, the father and the son, each bore the several offices of justice of the peace, captain of the militia, and deacon of the church. The father having commanded the military company of the town for many years (said to be thirty), on his resignation led them to the choice of a successor, which fell upon his son. The fifth justice of the peace was Thomas Benedict, son of James Benedict, a first settler. Samuel Gregory, son of John Gregory, the former justice, was next appointed to that ofiice. The next to him was Comfort Starr, youngest son of Josiali Starr, Esq. These seven justices of the peace are all that have been in town prior to those now living.* It is worthy of remark that in five instances that office has been sustained by father and son. The town clerks have been in succession : Josiali Starr, Israel Curtis, Thomas Benedict, Thaddeus Benedict, Major Taylor, and Eli Mygatt. The Probate District of Danbury was established by act of Assembly, October, 1744. It then contained the towns of NewtoAvn, Ridgefield, New Fairfield, and Danbury. Reading and Brookfield have since been added. Before that time this town belonged to the district of Fairfield. The first judge was Thomas Benedict, Esq. He held the office until his death in 1775. The present judgef was then appointed. " Comfort Starr, Esq., who died May 11th, 1763, in the fifty- seventh year of his age, left to the town a donation of £800 law- ful money for the support of a perpetual school in the centre of the town, to be under the direction of the civil authority and selectmen ; the instructor to be capable of teaching reading, writing, arithmetic, and the Latin and Greek languages. In the general wreck of paper currency during the Revolutionary War, the fund depreciated to the sum of £488 12s. 9d., which now remains. In April this school w^as converted into a ' School of Higher Order,' agreeably to an act of Assembly passed May, 1798. "At an early period in the town, of which the year cannot * Those who have been appointed to the office of justice of the peace since those above mentioned are Hon. Joseph P. Cooke, Daniel Taylor, Thaddeus Benedict, Samuel Taylor, Eli Mygatt, Thomas Taylor, James Clark, Elisha Whittlesey, Tim- othy Taylor, and Thomas Taylor, Jr. Daniel and Samuel Taylor are since dead, and Thaddeus Benedict is not now in office. The remaining seven are. [Note to Mr. Robbias's edition.] •f- Hon. Joseph P. Cooke. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 29 now be ascertained, a malignant nervous fever prevailed, by which numbers of the inhabitants died. Aside from that there never was any prevalent epidemic in the town till the year 1775. In that year a dysentery raged watli great fury in all parts of the town. The number of deaths in the town during the year was about one hundred and thirty, of which eighty- two w^ere within the limits of the first society. Says Mr. Baldwin, in his Thanksgiving sermon of that year : ' No less than sixty- two have been swept away from within the limits of the society in less than eleven weeks, the summer past, and not far from fifty in other parts of the town. Much the greater part of this num- ber w^ere small children. A terrible blow to the rising genera- tion ! ' A remarkable fact occurred that year. A military com- pany of about one hundred men was raised in town and ordered to the northern army on Lake Champlain. When they went it was view^ed by their friends as next to a final departure. At the conclusion of the campaign they all returned safely, and found that great numbers of their friends at home had sank in death. The disorder subsided before their return.* " The town was again visited with the same disorder in the year 1777, but it was far less malignant and mortal than before. In the autumn of the year 1789 the influenza spread throughout the country. This town was visited in common with others ; few persons escaped the disorder, yet in very few instances was it mortal. In the following spring, 1790, the same disease again spread abroad ; it was less universal and much more severe than before. Many of the i)ersons died of it in this and most of the towns through the country. In the years 1793 and 1794 the scarlet fever spread considerably, but was not mortal but in a few instances. The small-pox has never been but little in this town, and there are now few or no towns in the State where a less population of the inhabitants have had that disorder than in this. " In the latter part of the year 1776 the commissioners of the American army chose this town for a deposit of a quantity of military stores. Large quantities of flour, meat, and various kinds of military stores were collected and deposited here. In April, 1777, Governor Try on, of blazing memory, set out from * A strong evidence that the disorder was not brought from the army, as was generally imagined. 30 HISTORY OF D ANBURY. New York with a detachment of two thousand men, for the pur- pose of destroying the Continental stores in this town. They hmded at Compo Point, in the town of Fairfield, and marched, without interruption, directly to Banbur3\ There was in the town a small number of Continental troops, but without arms. They with the inhabitants generally withdrew from the town as the enemy ai^proached. The enemy entered the town on Satur- day, April 26th, at about three o'clock in the afternoon. The}^ soon began those cruelties and excesses which characterize an unprincipled and exasperated enemy. Several persons were in- humanly murdered. One very valuable house, with four persons in it, was burnt immediately. The utmost inhumanity was com- mitted upon all except the persons and j^roperty of the Tories. The next morning, before the king of day had arisen, the un- happy inhabitants who remained in the town saw the darkness of night suddenly dispelled by the awful blaze of their dwell- ings. The enemy, fearful of their retreat being cut off, rallied early on the morning of the 27th, set fire to the several stores and buildings, and immediately marched out of town. Nineteen dwellings, the meeting-house of the New Danbury Society, and twenty- two stores and barns, with all their contents, were con- sumed. The quantitj^ of Continental stores which were con- sumed cannot now be accurately ascertained ; accounts vary con- siderably. From the best information which can be obtained there were about 3000 barrels of pork, more than 1000 barrels of flour, several hundred barrels of beef, 1600 tents, 2000 bushels of grain, besides many other valuable articles, such as rum, wine, rice, army carriages, etc.* The private losses were estimated by a committee appointed for the purpose, £16,184 17s. lOd. " Generals Wooster, Arnold, and Silliman immediately collect- ed such a party of inhabitants as they were able, and effectively annoyed the enemy on their retreat to their shipping. A spirited action was fought at Ridgefield the same day they left this town, in which Major-General Wooster received a mortal wound. He was brought to this town, died on the 29th, and was interred in the common burying- j)lace. Congress resolved that a monument should be erected to his memory, and made the necessary grant. The charge was committed to his son, who has never fulfilled it. * Dr. Robbius's account of the losses in this town is certainly far short of the truth HISTORY OF DANBURY. 31 His grave still remains, and probably ever will, witliont a stone to tell posterity where lie lies. Notwithstanding the public loss of this town, it was still used as a dei)osit for Continental stores through the war. A guard for security was maintained the whole period. A great hospital was also kept in this town from March, 1777, till the termination of the war, in which great numbers died. In the autumn of 1778 a division of the army, consisting of four brigades, under the command of General Gates, was quartered in this town for a few weeks. Small detachments of the army were here occasionally afterward. " The people of this town were united in one society till the year 1754. At that time a part of the town, with a part of the towns of New Milford and Newtown, were incorporated a society by the name of Newbury. The society of Bethel, which is v\-holly in this town, was incorporated by act of Assembly, 1759. In May, 1761, a small part of the town, with a part of the town of Ridgefield, was incorporated a society by the name of Ridgebury. " A public library was established in this town in the year 1771, which afterward consisted of about one hundred volumes. In the conflagration of the town the books, except a few which were out, were consumed. It remained in such a mutilated state till March, 1795, when it was dispersed. In January, 1793, a num- ber of inhabitants formed and signed a constitution for a library company ; $1.75 was paid on each share, and laid out for the purchase of books. An annual tax, generally of half a dollar upon a share, has been regularly applied for the purchase of books judiciously chosen. The library now contains two hun- dred volumes. Should the same care in enlarging and preserv- ing it continue, it promises to be a respectable and useful collec- tion. A library was founded at Bethel about the year 1793, which now contains one hundred volumes and is increasing. " By an act of the General Assembly, passed in May, 1784, this town was made a half-shire of the county of Fairfield. From that time to this the courts have met alternately in Fair- field and Danbury. A court-house and jail were built in the town, with some assistance from the neighboring towns, the year following— the sum of £318 was raised by a tax, the remainder by subscription. In the year 1791 the first jail was consumed by fire, after which a second one was built, more valuable and secure. The exj)ense was defrayed by the product of a lottery. 32 HISTORY OF DATs^BURT. "A census of this State was taken in the year 1756. We know of no earlier enumeration of the inhabitants having been made. At that time the whole number was 130,611 ; the num- ber in Fairfield county was 20,560 ; the number in this town was 1527. Another census was taken in January, 1774. The State then contained 197,856 inhabitants ; the county of Fairfield, 30,150 ; the town of Danbury, 2526. By the census of 1790 the population of the State was 237,946 ; the number in Fairfield County was 36,230 ; in this town it was 3026. This was after the town was diminished by the society of Newbury being incor- porated a town. In the census of the year past, returns from the whole State have not been made ; the county of Fairfield is found to contain 38,160, and the town of Danbury 3274 inhab- itants. The number of towns in the State in 1756 was 73, in 1774 it was 76, in 1790 it was 98, in 1800 it was 106. " A printing-office was established in this town in March, 1790. A weekly news print has been regularly published from that time to this on demi paper ; it has generally been, as it is at present, respectable for good princix^les and information. The number of papers issued at first were but one hundred ; there have been as many as two thousand ; the usual number has been about one thousand. In June, 1793, a second paper was pub- lished in town, which continued several months. CHAPTER Y. THE SERMON (CONTINUED). '' We now proceed to relate, in a concise manner, a sketch of tlie ecclesiastical history of the town. The time when a clmrch was first organized in town cannot be exactly determined ; it was probably at the ordination of the first minister. The first minister in this town was Rev. Mr. Shove, a very pious and worthy man, who was very successful in his exertions for the promotion of peace, virtue, and true religion, so that the general peace and union in his time are proverbial at this day. He was ordained in the year 1696, and died October 3d, 1735, aged 68. The town was destitute of a settled minister but a short time. In a few months the church and people, in great harmony, in- vited Mr. Ebenezer White to settle with them in the ministry. He was accordingly ordained March 10th, 1736.* Universal har- mony prevailed between the people and their minister for more than twenty-five years. The people of the town were considered by all the neighboring towns as eminent for morality and relig- ion, for regularity of conduct, and for constant attendance on the institution of Christianity, though it is to be lamented that there has never been any special revival of religion in this town from the first settlement. In the great awakening which spread through the land in the years 1740 and 1741, which was probably the most signal effusion of divine grace this country has ever experienced, this town was mostly passed over. In the great revival of religion in two years past, in the northern part of this State and many other places, which is doubtless the greatest display of divine grace, excepting the one before mentioned, which has taken place in this country the past century, this and the neighboring towns seem to have possessed no share. These considerations call for serious contemplation and humility. " It is supposed, on good grounds, that the first meeting-house * The records of the Eastern Consociation of Fairfield County. 34 HISTORY OF DANBURY. was built prior to Mr. Shove's ordination. Its dimensions were about forty feet in length and thirty feet in breadth. It is re- markable that after the frame was raised every person that belonged to the town was present and sat on the sills at once. The second meeting-house was built about the year 1719. Its dimensions were fifty feet in length and thirty-five feet in breadth. In 1745 an addition of fifteen feet was made to the whole front of the house. " About the year 1762 religious controversy began in this town, and was carried to a great extent for many years. It is pre- sumed that in no town in this State has there been more religious contention than in this. It is hoped that the flame is now mostly buried, never to break forth again. At the time above mentioned, Mr. White having altered his sentiments and preach- ing in several particulars, some uneasiness arose among his i3eo- ple. The efforts of several ecclesiastical councils to heal the division proving ineffectual, it finally issued the dismission of Mr. White from his pastoral charge, March, 1764. A major part of the members of Mr. White's church joined with him in deny- ing the jurisdiction of ecclesiastical councils, and renouncing the form of church government established by the churches in this State. The remaining part, who signified their adherence to the ecclesiastical government, were established and acknowledged by the two consociations of Fairfield County, convened in coun- cil, as the first church in Danbury. Soon after this Mr. White and his adherents separated from the church and society, and formed a separate church. They were generally denominated ' Mr. White's adherents.' In October, 1770, a number of the inhabitants of the town, individually named in the act, princi- pally those who composed this separate church, were incorpo- rated a society by the name of ' New Danbury.' Prior to this they built a good meeting-house — its dimensions about fifty feet by forty — in the year 1768, which was consumed in the general conflagration of the town. In the same year Mr. Ebenezer White was ordained a colleague with his father over that church. " In the year 1764 Mr. Kobert Sandeman, a native of Perth, in Scotland, a man of learning, of great genius and art, and according to his views of divine truth, a man of strict piety, who had had some correspondence with Mr. White and some other minister in this country, came from Scotland and landed at HISTORY OF D ANBURY. 35 Boston. He came to this town near tlie close of tlie year 1764. After tarrying several weeks he returned to Boston, where he soon organized a church. He came again to this town and gath- ered a church, July, 1765 ; he died and was buried in this town, April 2d, 1771, aged 53. The principal doctrines which he taught were similar to those of Calvin and Athanasius, which have been received in all ages of the Christian Church. His dis- tinguishing tenets were that faith is a mere intellectual belief ; his favorite expression was, ' A bare belief of the truth.' ' That the bare work of Jesus Christ, without a deed or thought on the part of man, is sufficient to present the chief of sinners spotless before God.' He maintained that his church was the only true church then arisen from the ruins of Antichrist, his reign being near to a close. The use of means for mankind in a natural state he pretty much exploded. In the year 1772, the Sande- manian church in this town moved to New Haven. In July, 1774, several persons who had been members of that church, together wath a number that belonged to the society of New Danbury, united and formed a Sandemanian church. That con- tinued and increased for many years, till March, 1798, when they divided into two churches, which still continue. There are also a few individuals at Bethel who compose a third church ; they all adhere, essentially, to the doctrines and practices which were established by their founder. " The society of New Danbury continued regularly, though constantly diminishing, till July, 1774, when the Rev. Ebenezer Russell White with a number of the society united with the Sandemanians. Public worship was maintained in-egularly afterward for two or three years, till the society finally expired. " After the dismission of the Rev. Mr. White the first church and society were destitute of a stated minister till February 13th, 1765, when Mr. Noadiah Warner was ordained their pastor. The Rev. Mr. Warner was regularly dismissed from his pastoral charge February 23d, 1768. The people remained destitute about two years and a half. The Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin was ordained September 19th, 1770. He officiated with great repu- tation to the ministry, till a sudden death terminated his labors, October 1st, 1776, aged 31 years ; a man of great talents and learning, a constant student, grave in his manners, a constant and able supporter of the sound doctrines of the Gospel. He 36 HISTORY OF DANBURY. left a legacy of about £300 to tlie society, which is carefully appropriated to the support of the Gospel. From that time there was no settled minister in the society till the Rev. Timothy Langdon, who was ordained August 31st, 1786. The Rev. Ebenezer White died September 11th, 1779, aged 70. The deacons of this church have been in the following order : Samuel Benedict, James Beebe, John Gregory, Richard Barnum, Joseph Gregory, James Beebe, James Benedict, John Benedict, N'athan- iel Gregory, Joseph Peck, Daniel Benedict, Thomas Benedict, Joshua Knapp, succeeded by those now in office. The present meeting-house, which is sixty feet in length and forty-five in breadth, with a steeple one hundred and thirty feet in height, was raised October, 1785 ; it was enclosed the summer follow- ing. " The society of Bethel built their meeting-house in the year 1760. The Rev. Noah Wetmore, their first minister, was ordain- ed November 25th of the same year ; at the same time a church was organized by the ordaining council. Mr. Wetmore was regu- larly dismissed from his pastoral charge November 30th, 1761. In tlie society of Newbury, the Rev. Thomas Brooks, their first minister, was ordained September 28th, 1758 ; a church was gathered at the same time. In May, 1788, the society of New- bury was incorporated a town by the name of Brookfield. Mrs. Abigail Knapp, now living, aged 75, widow of the late Deacon Joshua Knapp, was the first English child born within the limits of Brookfield. The Rev. Samuel Camp, the first and present minister of Ridgebury, was ordained January 18th, 1769. The church in that society was organized on the day of the ordi- nation. " There were a few professors in this town of the mode of the Church of England as early as the year 1750. They built a meeting-house Avhose dimensions are forty-eight feet by thirty- six in the year 1763. In September, 1784, they were constituted a regular Episcopalian society. Sixty-six persons, the most of whom belonged to this town, were then considered as belonging to the society. The society have had occasional iDreaching, but no minister has been settled over them. There were a number of professors of the denomination of Baptists about the year 1783. A Baptist church was constituted in the northwest part of the town, November, 1785. The year following they built a HISTORY OF DANBURY. 37 meeting-house, wliicli is now standing. Mr. Nathaniel Finch was their minister for several years ; their present minister, Mr. Nathan Bulkley, was ordained the 8th of last May. A second Baptist church was constituted in the western part of the town in the year 1788. The members who survive are now mostly connected with other churches. " I shall now close with a few general remarks. The present number of schools in town is seventeen, twelve in the first society and five in Bethel. Much more attention is now paid in the education of youth than formerly, though it is conceived there might be still* more to great profit. For many years there was but one military company in town ; at present there are three of infantry, one of cavalry, and one of artillery, which for accuracy in evolutions, military spirit and appearance may vie with any military companies whatever. There have been but few remarkable instances of longevity in this town, though it was formerly remarked there was a great many old people ; that is not the case at present. Mr. William Hamilton, born in Scot- land, who lived many years in this town, died in the year 1749, aged 102 ; Mr. John Cornwall died in the year 1753, aged 101. Those two are the only persons known to have lived in town over 100 years of age. Mr. David Hoyt, who lived longer than any person ever born and living in town, died in April last, aged 97, The family of Mr. Thomas Taylor, one of the first settlers as a family, was remarkable for longevity. He had ten chil- dren. The whole amount of his age and theirs is 947 years, the average of which is 86 years, but three of them saw less than 90 years. The increase of this town, in a number of years past, has not been great, owing to very great emigration, which has been the case with this in common with all the tovyns in this State. The general occupation of the people of this town has been farming. Within a few years considerable manufactories have been established. In the manufacture of hats this town much exceeds any one in the United States. More than twenty thousand hats, mostly of fur, are made annually for exporta- tion. The manufacture of shoes is also carried on to a consider- able extent. At a low computation fifteen thousand pairs of boots and shoes are annually exported from this town. A paper min was erected in the town in the year 1792, in which about fifteen hundred reams of paper are manufactured annually. A 38 HISTORY OF D ANBURY. considerable number of saddles are also made yearly for ex- portation. " The people in this town have generally been very free from litigation. Within a few years it has considerably increased, though it is not yet great. A spirit of litigation is one of the greatest evils which can befall any community. " In our revolutionary war the people in this town generally warmly espoused the American cause. Notwithstanding all that is said by the enemies of our government, to show that its supporters were enemies to the revolution, the people in this town, though they were great sufferers in the war, are almost unanimously firm friends of the present Government of the United States. " The list of the town is not to be obtained but for a few years past. In the year 1788, the first year after Brookfield was made a town, it was upward of $66,000 ; in the year 1799 it exceeded $81,000. " We have thus given a sketch of the history of this town from its first settlement to the present time. It is not pretended that some important facts have not been omitted, but from the materials which can be obtained this is the best that I have been able to collect. In the review of these things we witness the fading nature of all earthly scenes. How applicable are the words of inspiration, ' Your fathers, where are they ? and the prophets, do they live forever ? ' While it is our lot to be placed on the stage of human action, let it be our constant solicitude to seek an interest in that kingdom ' whose builder and maker is God,' To act our parts worthily in the vicissitudes of human life, that, through grace, we may be approved when called upon to pass in review before the intellectual world, that when the chief Shepherd shall appear we may appear with Him in glory." This closes Mr. Robbins's sermon. That it was a remarkable production in the eyes of the people who sat and listened to it, our readers can well understand. That it is a valuable produc- tion in any case becomes patent enough when we consider that it is all we have on record of the doings of our people in the first century of the town. Mr. Robbins's intelligent perseverance in research has imposed upon this community a very large debt of gratitude. CHAPTER yi. WHEN DANBUKF WAS MADE A TOWN. There is no doubt at all that Danbury was first occupied by white people in 1684. The eight " originals" came here in the spring of that year. The families of a part came with them and remained here. The others returned to their homes and came back to Danbury with their families in the spring following. This is according to Mr. Robbins and other authorities ; but Mr. Bobbins was in error in believing that the first survey of the town was in 1693, and the first patent granted in 1702. Hon. Lyman D. Brewster, of this city, in 1886 made a careful study of the Colonial Records, and reported the result in the Neios, his report showing conclusively that Danbury was con- stituted a town in 1687. We quote the following from Judge Brewster's article : " There was, to be sure, a survey of Danbury made by order of the General Court (i.e., Assembly) in 1693, but it was a re- survey, not the original survey of the town." (See Colonial Records, 1689-1706, pages 67 and 38.^.) In 1692 the General Assembly " enlarged" the town, changing its length from six to eight miles, and at the same time ordered a new survey, which was returned to the General Court in 1693 and confirmed by the court in 1702. As to the " patent," the granting of it in 1702 had nothing to do with the original formation, organization, or constitution of the town. It came about in this way. At the May session, in 1685, the General Court (i.e.. General Assembly) ordered every township to take out " patents" and also " the like course for all farmes granted to any person." The purport and object of this " patent" is stated on page 177, with all the learned exactness of an ancient legal document- viz.: " For the holding of such tracts of land as have formerly or 40 HISTORY OF DANBURY. shall be hereafter granted to them [i.e., the proprietors or farmers] by this court, and to their heirs and successors, and assignes tirme and sure ; according to the tenour of our charter in free and common soccage, and not in capitte, nor by knight service, which patent shall be sealed," etc. Thereupon a patent was forthwith granted to Hartford, which had then been a full- fledged town for many years. Between the time when, according to the Colonial Records, Danbury was constituted a town by the General Assembly, in 1687, and the granting of its i^atent — or rather a patent to its proprietors in 1702 — it is repeatedly referred to and treated as a town in the Colonial Records. These facts conclusively show that the date of 1687 is the right and true date when Danbury was first made, or — as the old records say — constituted a town. As to the time of year and month when the act was passed and Danbury became a town, we learn from the State Librarian that all important acts were, in the early colonial days, sure to be passed the first week of the session ; and as the session of 1687 began on October 13th, our "incorporation," so to speak, "was undoubtedly between the 13th and 20th of that month." Other extracts from the Colonial Records, volumes 1678-1689, contain the following reference to the settlement of this town : " John Bur, Thomas Benedict, and Thomas Fitch, by this court [May session of General Assembly, 1684], were appointed and empowered a committee for to order the planting of a towne above Norwalke or Fayrefield, and to receive in inhabitants to plant there, and what they or any three of them shall doe in the premises shall be good to all intents and purposes for the plant- ing of Paquioge," The next is from page 166 : "This court [General Assembly, October term, 1684] orders that those of Norwalke who were removing to Paquag and have left out their persons and sundry of their cattell out of the list of estates shall pay the one half of rates due according to law from the estate left out." The third entry is from page 240 : " This court [session of 1687, commencing October 13th] named the new towne at Paquag, Danbury, and granted them a freedom from country rates for fower yeares from this date ; and this HISTORY OF DANBURY. 41 court grants tliat the bounds of the sayd towne of Danbury shall be six mile square, provided it doe not prejudice any former grant to any particular person made by this court." To this last passage the following note is appended : " A petition was presented in behalf of the plantation of Pahquioque, that the same may be constituted to be a towne, and to be named Swamfeild, their south bounds to be by the north bounds of Faierfeild and Norwalke, the north bounds to be halfe way to Weantinache, the east bounds halfe way to Stratford river, the west bounds by York line." The petition, dated October 6th, is signed by Thomas Fitch, John Bur, and Thomas Bennydick. They state that " there are twentie families inhabitating at Pahquioque, and more desirable I)ersons a-cominge." Samuel Hayes, of Norwalk, was deputed to present the petition to the court. CHAPTER VII. COPY OF THE TOWN PATENT. As has been stated, a patent was granted to the town of Dan- bury in 1702 by the General Assembly of the State, agreeable to the survey made in 1693. It read as follows : " Whereas, The General Court of Conn, have formerly granted unto the proprietors, inhabitants of Danbury, a certain tract of land commonly known as Pahquioque, said tract containing eight miles from the north to the south line, and from the east to the west line six miles, bounded at the northeast corner with a rock five or six feet high, with several small stones laid thereon. Bounded at the southeast corner with another rock with several stones laid thereon and several twos marked thereby ; Bounded at the southwest comer with a Rock, several stones lying upon it and several trees marked by it ; Bounded at the northwest corner with a white Ash tree with several stones laid thereto and several trees marked near to a pond. The whole tract being, as before said, in length eight miles from the south to the north line, and in Breadth, from the east to the west line, six miles. The foresaid tract of land having been by purchase or otherwise lawfully obtained of Indian Proprietors by the proprietors, in- habitants of Danbury aforesaid, and whereas the inhabitants of Danbury aforesaid, and whereas the inhabitants of Danbury in the Colony of Connecticut, in New England, have made applica- tion to the governor and company of the said Colony of Con- necticut, assembled in court the fourteenth day of May, one thousand seven hundred and two, that they move a patent for confirmation of the aforesaid land as it is bounded unto the present Proprietors of the township of Danbury, of which tract the said town have stood seized and quietly possessed for some years without interruption. "Now, for a more full confirmation, know ye that the Gov- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 43 emor and Company assembled in General Court, according to the command and by virtue of tlie power granted to them by our late souverein Lord, King Charles the Second of blessed mem- ory, in the late patent, bearing date of the twenty-third of April, in the fourteenth year of his majesty's reign, have given and granted, and by these presents give and grant, ratified and con- firmed, unto James Beebe, Thomas Taylor,— Samuel Benedict, —James Benedict, —John Haite sen' r,— Mr. Josiah Starr, and unto the rest of the present proprietors of the township of Dan- bury and their heirs and assignes for ever, and to each of them in such proportion as they have already agreed upon for the division of the same, all of the aforesaid tract or parsels of land, as it is bounded and purchased, together with all the woods upon lands, arable lands, meadows, pastures, ponds, waters, rivers, islands, fishings, huntings, fowlings, mines, mineral quarries, and precious stones upon or within the said tract of land, with all other profits and commodities thereto appertaining, and do also grant to the forenamed Mr. James Beebe, Mr. Thomas Taylor, John Haite, Sr., Samuel Benedict, James Benedict, Josiah Starr, and the rest of the present proprietors, inhabitants of Danbury alias Pahquioque, to them, their heirs or assignes forever, tract of land shall be forever hereafter deemed, reputed and to be an entire township of itself, to have and to hold the said tract of land and premises with all and singular the appoint- ments together with the privileges, immunities, and franchises herein given and granted to the said Mr. James Beebe, Mr. Thomas Taylor,— John Haite— Samuel Benedict, James Benedict, Josias Starr, and the other present proprietors, inhabitants of Danbury alias Pahquioque, their heirs and assignes forever, according to the tenour of his Majesty's manner of East Green- wich and the County of Kent, in the Kingdom of England, in free and common socage and not in capp'to or Knight's service, they yealding and paying therefore to our Souverein Lord the King, his Heirs and successors, only the fifth part of all the ore, gold and silver which, from time to time and at all time, shall hereafter be gotten there, had, or obtained in lieu of all Rents, services. Dues, and demands whatsoever, according to charter. In witness whereof we have caused the Seal of the Colony to be attached hereto this twentieth day of May, one thousand seven hundred and two, and in the fourteenth year of our Souverein 44 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Lord, King William the third, by the grace of God, of England, King Defender of the faith. ' ' By his Honor' s command, " S. KiMBERLY, Sec. " J. WiNTiiROP, Governor." In 1640 Roger Ludlow made the first purchase of Indian lands within the bounds of the present town of Norwalk. A little later the central portion of the town was purchased by Captain Daniel Patrick. The western portion was not bought until 1651. At this time the inhabitants consisted of about twenty families. Among the list of names of the original owners of " Estates of Lands and Accomodations," in 1655, we find those of Griggorie and Haite. In the table of nome-lots for 1656 we find the names of Bene- dict, Bushnel, Greggorie, and Taylor. Thomas Barnum, of Fairfield, had a grant of land before 1663. On the list of orig- inal "grants of home-lots to pioneers," we find the name of James Beebe. Of the "original eight," Thomas Benedict, Sr., was a lineal descendant of William Benedict, who resided in Nottingham, England, in 1500. Thomas, of Norwalk, of the fourth genera- tion from William, was also born in Nottingham in 1617 ; came to New England in 1638 ; settled in Massachusetts ; removed to Southold, L. I., and in 1665 settled in Norwalk. Francis Bushnell was a carpenter, who came to America in 1635, when twenty -six years of age, bringing with him his wife and one child, aged one year. [The name of Francis Bushnell appears among the first planters of Guilford, Conn., in 1650.] He arrived in Norwalk in 1653, and in October, 1675, married, for his second wife, Hannah, the daughter of Thomas Seamer. Benjamin, Alexander, and Thomas Griggorie came from Eng- land before 1635. John, another brother, came later. The date of his arrival is not known, but he was one of the original in- habitants of Norwalk, and Judah, one of the first settlers of Danbury, was his son. The Hoyt family are probably descended from one of that name in Ilminster or Curry-Rivel, Somerset County, England. " On the Court roll of this place, 4 and 5 Henry V.— 1417 and 1418— appears the name of John Hoyt," which is the earliest HISTORY OF D ANBURY. 45 mention of the name as yet found. In 1640 Walter Hoyt was living with his wife and three children in Windsor, later in Hart- ford, then Fairfield, and settled in Norwalk about 1653. James Beebe, son of John, of Broughton, Northamptonshire, England, settled first in Hadley, Mass., next in Norwalk, and finally came as one of the original eight to Danbury. Thomas Taylor was the son of John, who came from Warwick- shire, England, in 1639, and settled in Windsor, where Thomas was born in 1643. John Taylor made his will in 1645, and sailed for England in the Phantom Ship, w^liich left New Haven in January, 1647. Nothing was ever heard of this ship, but in the following June, after a severe thunderstorm, "about an hour before sunset, a ship of like dimensions with the aforesaid, with her canvass and colours abroad (though the wind northernly), appeared in the air coming up from our harbour's mouth, which lyes southward from the town, seemingly with her sails filled under a fresh gale, holding her course north, and continuing under observation sailing against the wind for the space of half an hour. Many were drawn to behold this great work of God ; yea, the very children cryed out. Titer e" s a hram shij) ! ■ • • Mr. Davenport also in publick declared to this effect : That God had condescended for the quieting of their afflicted spirits, this extraordinary account of his sovreign disposal of those for whom so many fervant prayer were made continually.'''^ A statement made by Rev. Nathaniel Taylor, born in New Milf ord, 1772, and found in one of the volumes of Professor Stiles' s manu- scripts in the Yale Library, says that "the widow of John Taylor married and moved to Norwalk with sons Thomas, and John and Jeremiah, twins." But his will only mentions "daughters-in-law," doubtless children of his wife, and "wife and two sons," with no names given. * From a letter written by the Rev. James Pierpont, found in Mather's " Mag- nalia." CHAPTER VIII. RECORD OF MARRIAGES OF THE FIRST SETTLERS, AND BIRTHS OF THEIR CHILDREN. Samuel, James, and Daniel Benedict were the sons of Thomas, born in Nottinghamshire, England, 1617 ; came to New England in 1638 ; was of Southold, L. I., Avhere his nine children were born, and settled in Norwalk, Conn., where he died about 1689. He married Mary Bridgnm, and their children were : Thomas, John, Samuel, James, Daniel, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, and Rebecca. 1. Samuel Benedict, son of Thomas, born 164- ; married, first (unknown), by whom he had Joanna and Samuel. He mar- ried, second, July 7th, 1678, Rebecca, daughter of Thomas An- drews, of Fairfield, Conn., by whom he had five children, the last two born in Danbury. His children were : Joanna, born October 22d, 1673 ; Samuel, born March 5th, 1674-75 ; Thomas, born March 27th, 1679 ; Nathaniel ; Abraham, born Jane 21st, 1681 ; Rebecca, married June 18th, 1712, Samuel Piatt ; Esther. Samuel and Rebecca (Benedict) Piatt had a daughter Rebecca, born April 19th, 1713. Samuel Plafct departed this life Decem- ber 4th, 1718. Isaac Benedict, who was his grandson, died in 1803. 2. James Benedict, son of Thomas, born at Southold, L. I. ; married May 10th, 1676, Sarah, daughter of John and Sarah Gregory, of Norwalk. Their children were : Sarah, born June 16th, 1677. Rebecca, born 1679 ; married January 17th, 1704- 1705, Samuel Keeler, of Norwalk, Conn. ; died March 20th, 1709. Phebe, born 1682 ; married Thomas Taylor. James, born 1685, first white male child born in Danbury. John, born October, 1689. Thomas, born November 9th, 1694 ; died July 4th, 1776. Elizabeth, born July, 1696 ; married Daniel Taylor. [Thomas, born in 1694 ; married Abigail Hoyt, daughter of HISTORY OF DANBURY. 47 John, one of the original eight. He was fifth justice of the peace, appointed May, 1738, and first judge of the district, and held both offices until his death. He was a member of the Connecti- cut Legislature for thirty-one sessions, between May, 1737, and October, 17G6, inclusive.] Benedict Genealogy. 3. Judali Gregory, son of John, who first settled in Norwalk in 1655 ; married Hannah, daughter of Walter Hoyt, October 20th, 1664. Their children were : Hannah, born September 24th, 1665 ; John, born March 17th, 1668 ; Percie, born February 11th, 1671 ; Joseph, born July 16th, 1674 ; Lydia, born January 9th, 1676 ; Josiah, born July 13, 1679 ; Benjamin, born March 26th, 1682. His last grandson was Samuel Gregory, who died in 1783. 4. James Beebe, of Hadley, Norwalk, and Danbury, son of John of Broughton, England, was born in 1641, and married Mary Boltwood, October 24th, 1667. His second wife was Sarah, daughter of Thomas Benedict, whom he married December 19th, 1679. He was justice of the peace, first captain of the troop, and for many years representative of the town. He died April 22d, 1728, aged 87 years. His children by his first wife were : Mary, born August 18th, 1668 ; James, born and died in 1669 ; Rebecca, born 1670 ; Samuel, born 1672 ; removed to New Mil- ford and Litchfield. Children by second wife : Sarah, born November 13th, 1680. James, born in Norwalk, 1682 ; married Abigail, daughter of Samuel Sherman, Jr., December 22d, 1708. He was deacon of the church in Danbury for a long time, and followed in the footsteps of his father in that he was captain of the troop [chosen upon the resignation of his father], justice of the peace, and representative of the town for many years. He died in Danbury, 1750. His children were : Lemuel, James, Joseph, David, Jonathan, Sarah, and Abigail. 5. Thomas Taylor, born in Windsor, 1643 ; married February 14th, 1677, Eebekah, daughter of Edward Ketcham, of Strat- ford ; survived all the original settlers, and died in January, 1735, aged 92 years. His children were : Thomas, born Novem- ber 26th, 1669 ; married Phebe, daughter of James Benedict, and died in 1753, aged 90. Deborah, born June, 1670-71 ; mar- ried Daniel Betts, of Norwalk, and died in 1750, aged 80. 48 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Joseph, born 1672-73 ; died unmarried in 1762, aged 90.* John, born in 1672-73 (probably twin of Joseph) ; married Marvin, and died in 1742, aged 70. Daniel, born in 1676 ; married Eliza- beth, daughter of James Benedict [second wife, Rachel Starr, died July 3d, 1741 ; third wife, Elizabeth Boughton, whom he married June 1st, 1742], and died in 1770, aged 94. Timothy, born in 1678 ; married Mary Davis, and died in 1734, aged S6. Nathan, born in 1682 ; married Hannah, daughter of Daniel Benedict, and died in 1782, aged 100. Theophilus, born 1687 ; married, first, Bushnell ; second, Sarah Gregory, and died in 1777, aged 90. Rebecca, married Daniel Benedict, and lived to the age of 99. Eunice, married Benjamin Starr [Lieutenant], and had children : David, born December 7th, 1724, and Elizabeth, who married, about 1732, Joseph, son of Joseph and Elizabeth [Stephens] Mygatt. From this marriage are descended the fam- ilies of that name in Danbury. Eunice [Taylor] Starr died at the age of 90. Thomas and Nathan Taylor married sisters. Daniel and Rebecca Taylor married brother and sister. 6. John Hoyt, son of Walter Hoyt, was born at Windsor, Conn., and married for his first wife Mary Lindall, daughter of Henry Lindall, a deacon in the church at New Haven. This marriage took place September 14th, 1666. The births of five children are recorded at Norwalk : John, born June 21st, 1669 ; married Mary, daughter of John Drake, of Simsbury ; lived in Danbury, and died here March, 1746. Samuel, born October 17th, 1670 ; lived in Danbury, and died here 1749-51, probably without issue, as his will leaves his estate to children of his deceased brothers. Thomas, born January 5th, 1674 ; lived in * This record is probably incorrect, although it has been accepted by the family for many years. The will of Joseph Taylor, drawn in January, 1764, mentions " wife Sarah, only son Joseph, son-in-law John Starr (wife, Sarah Taylor), daughter Rachel, wife Samuel Gregory." The Town Records show the death of Joseph Taylor (second) in 1793, who was born in 1703. His will, drawn in May, 1793, gives to each and every of his negroes their freedom ; " to Negro Servant Patience, who is now somewhat advanced in years, and hath been both to me and my parents a good, kind, and faithful servant," the interest of £100 during her life, and the disposal of the principal by bequest, with all his household furniture. To his nephew, Jonathan Starr, all the remainder of his estate, and makes Colonel Eli Mygatt executor. Evidently this is the Joseph who died unmarried, and is buried in the old South Street graveyard, where his grave is marked by the following inscription : " Joseph Taylor 2nd. was born in 1703 and died Nov. 7th 1793." HISTORY OF DANBURY. 49 Danbiiry ; was living in 1727, but died before 1749. Mary, born September 1st, 1677. Deborah, born December 28tli, 1679 ; mar- ried Francis Barnum. Joshua, born ; married Sarah ; lived in Danbury, and died about 1726, leaving widow Sarah and four daughters. Benjamin, born ; married Mary ; lived in Danbury, and died about 1721-22, leaving widow Mary and two sons and two daughters. Nathaniel, born ; married Mary ; died in Danbury about 1712, leaving widow Mary. John Hoyt died in 1722, at an advanced age. 7. Thomas Barnum was originally of Fairfield, but the births of four of his children are recorded at Norwalk— viz.: Thomas, born July 9th, 1663 ; John, born February 24th, 1667 ; Hannah, born October 29tli, 1680. " Ebbinezer, the daughter of Thomas Barnum, borne May 29th, 1682." There were also Francis and Richard and four daughters, whose names are not known. Thomas Barnum, Sr., died in Danbury, December 26th, 1695, aged about 70. The name of his first wife is not known. He married, second, Sarah, widow of John Hurd [died 1681], of Stratford. After the death of Thomas Barnum she returned to Stratfield, in Stratford, where she died in 1718, aged 76 years. Francis Barnum married Mary , and had six sons and one daughter. His son Abel, who died in New Fairfield in 1799, was the last grandson of the first Thomas. Ephraim, son of Thomas, married Mehetable , and lived in Bethel, where his descendants still continue. He had seven sons and two daugh- ters : Ruth, who married John Bassett, and Rachel, who mar- ried Benjamin Hickok. 8. Francis Bushnell married, for his second wife, Hannah, daughter of Thomas Seamer, of Norwalk, on October 12th, 1675. Their children were : Hannah, Mary, Abigaile, Lidia, Mercy, Rebeckah, and Judith. Abigaile Bushnell chose Ensigne Thomas Tailer for her guardian after her father's death in 1697. The last grandson of Francis Bushnell was Daniel Shove. Samuel Wood was an Englishman by birth, and married Rebecca, daughter of Thomas Benedict, first. They had but two children : Mercy, born March 30th, 1717 ; Samuel, born August 30th, 1719. His grandsons, David Wood and Dr. John Wood, were among the nineteen principal sufferers by the British attack in 1777. Daniel Benedict, third son of Thomas Benedict, came to Dan- 50 HISTORY OF DANBURY. bury in 1689, and sold his land in Norwalk in 1690. His son Daniel married Rebekah Taylor, daughter of Thomas, one of the original eight. Josiah Starr, from Long Island, Joseph Mygatfc, from Hart- ford, and the families of Knapp and Wildman were early settlers, and probably came soon after the original eight settlers were in possession. The families of Boiiton and Comstock were probably here before 1700. John Bouton was one of the first settlers of Nor- walk, and a lineal descendant of the family of Bouton, of Chan- tilly, France. The Betts family are said to have come from Buckingham, England. Ralphe and Walter Keeler came from the jiort of London, England, in 1635 or 1636. Joseph Piatt was a French refugee who settled in Norwalk about 1699. He was representative from Norwalk at the Gen- eral Assembly from 1725 to 1790. He had one son, John. Richard Raymond, probably a French refugee, was a land- holder in Norwalk in 1654. Thomas Seamer (or Seymore), whose daughter married Francis Bushnell, is also supposed to have been a French refugee, who escaped into England and soon after came to America. His name appears in the town list of Norwalk in 1655. As families of these various names have been of Danbury since its early settlement, [the above information may be of in- terest to them. CHAPTER IX. IN THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS. The first ecclesiastical structure of Danbury was built by the First Congregational Society in 1696. It stood on Main Street, between the present Court House and what is now the Turner House. The second was the Episcopal St. James, which was built in 1763 on South Street. The graveyard on that street was the churchyard of this structure. The building was moved to the west corner of Main and South streets, where it was modern- ized and converted into a tenement, and is thus occupied to-day. The third church society established in the century was the Sandemanian. The fourth was the First Society of the Baptists, now more familiarly known as the King Street Baptist Church, taking its name from the district in which it is located. The first Methodist services were held in 1789, but the church edifice was not erected until nearly twenty years after. The second Baptist Society was organized in Miry Brook District in 1790, and its building erected in 1794. The village was made a fortified post in 1708 by order of the General Assembly. Two houses were selected and fortified as shelter for the various families in case of an attack by the Indians, who were being incited to deeds of violence upon settlers at that time by the French Government. The Assembly further ordered that a good scout, consisting of two trusty men, be sent out every day to observe the movements of the enemy. To de- fray the expense of the fortification and the scout, the General Assembly, in the following year, voted the town "five pounds in country pay," which meant currency of the country, not country produce. One of these houses was the parsonage of Rev. Mr. Shove, of the Congregational Church, which stood near the church, and the other was the house of Samuel Benedict, at the foot of Main Street. The only incidents of note that occurred in the century were the dysentery and the War of the Revolution ; and the former 52 HISTORY OF DANBURY. destroyed more of oiir citizens than did tlie latter, but it caused no loss of property. The epidemic came the year before the Declaration of Independence, and caused the death of one hun- dred and thirty persons. We give a synopsis of a few old deeds which have been pre- served, while the folios in which they were recorded went up in flame at the burning of Danbury. Among the names are some that have never been known by the older generation now living. A century and a half ago those now forgotten " lived, and moved, and had their being" in this town of Danbury, but as years went by they were gathered to their fathers, and to-day these papers, yellow with age, are all the records that time has left of their once busy lives. On September 15th, 1722, " Benjamin Barnum and Anne Barnum, his Wife, formerly Anne forward, the second daughter of Joseph forward, of Danbury [Deceased]," deed to " Thomas Wildman [our Af ores'' father in law]" their share in a four-acre home-lot, and " one half of A seventeen Acre lot of swamp and upland," at a place known by the name of forwards plain.* " Bounded easterly by the other half of s^ lot which our sister Lydia sold to our father in law Thomas Wildman = Southerly by highway, westerly by Abraham Andros in part, and partly by Lieut. Daniel Benedick, northerly by Mr. Seth Shove. " Signed before John Gregory, Justice of the Peace. " John and Ephraim Gregory, Witnesses." March 14th, 1735, Samuel Halt deeded land to "Thomas Wildman [the son of Thomas]," which deed was signed before John Gregory, Justice of the Peace, and witnessed by Robert Silliman and John Gregory. April 9th, 1744, Ebenezer Knap sold land to Thomas Wild- man, "three acres and a half of land lying in s** Danbury' ' — "the same lyeth Southerly from forwards plain, being land bought of Joseph Mygatt, also the Remainder of my land. I also bought of s*^ Mygatt lying nigh the wolf pond, being about two acres, be it more or less, bounded west by the myry brook and wolf pond and all other parts of highway or common land. " Thomas Benedict, Justice of the Peace. " Thomas Benedict and Nathan Stevens, Witnesses." * Near Wolf Pond, in Miry Brook. HISTOEY OF DAKBURY. 53 May 5tli, 1761, Mattliew Wild man deeds to Thomas Wiklman, Jr., " land to be laid out in the Clear Commons in s'' Danbury, according to the Vote of the proprietors of the Common and undevided lands in Danbury af ores'^ . " Thomas Benedict, Justice of the Peace. " Thomas Benedict and Anna Benedict, Witnesses." January 29th, 1770, Charles Peck, of Danbury, deeded to Thomas W^ildman, Jr., land in Berkshire County, Mass. Signed in Danbury before Thomas Benedict, Justice, with Benja- min Crosby and Thomas Peck, Witnesses. From some old deeds kindly loaned us by Miss Hollister, of Grassy Plain, we glean the following : " A Record of a piece of Land of James Crofoots, lying within the Bounds of Danbury, beyond the East Swamj) in the Great field, the s'^ land being swampy land, and lying for one acre and half being bounded all Round with Common land near to Benja- min Starr's Broken up land, which is a Little homeward of the East butment, the Record of s** acre and half of land is accord- ing to the Return of the Layers oat of s'^ land — Namely Thomas Hoyt, James Bole(?). Recorded March 18 Day A.D. 1714, by Josiah Starr, Clerk. ■'■ " Thomas Benedict, Register." February 2d, 1744-45, Daniel Walker and Mary, his Wife, of New Milford, deed to James Crofutt " one Certain piece of land lying in Danbury, over Shelter Rock Hill, in the East Part of s"* Hill containing eight acres. " Witnesses, Thomas and Mary Benedict." April 23d, 1745, Abraham Bennit, of Ridgefield, in "con- sideration of Two Hundred and fifty pounds money Old Ten- ner," deeds to " Sergt. James Crofutt ten acres of land in Gras- see Plaine. " Witnesses, Thomas Benedict. Thomas Benedict j" 3. " Thomas Benedict, Justice of the Peace." " May 31st, 1748, James Crofutt, of Danbury, in Fairfield 54 HISTORY OF DANBURY. County and Colony of Connecticut, in New England, in consider- ation of that Love, Good Will, and Affection which I have to my son-in-law, Stephen Trobridg, and Lydia Trobridg, his Wife, my eldest Daughter," deeds ''land in G-rassey plaine with half a house standing thereon, the other half of s*^ House made over to Sam" Trobridg, of Stratfield, bounded easterly by the street. Southerly by Sam" Trobridg, Westerly by Capt. John Benedict's Land, and Northerly by my other Land. " Witnesses, Uriah White. Sam" Gregory. " Sam" Gregory, Justice of Peace." June 12th, 1755, Samuel Barnuni deeds to Samuel Trobridg, of Danbury, five acres of land " lying in Danbury between Shel- ter Rock Hill and Richards Island, located on the South part of my land lying at s'' i^lace. " Witnesses, Daniel Dean. Thomas Benedict. " Thomas Benedict, Justice." In 1784, one hundred years after its first settlement, Danbury was made a shire town, dividing with Fairfield the business of the county. The year following a court-house and a jail were built. In 1791 the jail was destroyed by fire, and a new build- ing took its place. Danbury did not make a remarkable stride in growth during the first century of its existence. This might be attributed to its distance from tide-water and its lack of railway facilities ; but even after the introduction of all rail communication, in 1852, with the chief market of the country, there was no remark- able growth in the population until after 1880. There is no official census on record before 1756. The popula- tion of Danbury was then 1509. After that the census was taken irregularly until 1790. Estimating the population to have been three hundred at the beginning of the eighteenth century (1700), the increase in the fifty-six years shows an average yearly growth of twenty-one. The next ofiicial census was taken eighteen years later, in 1774, when the population was 2470, an increase of 961. The official figures from 1756 to 1800 are as follows : HISTORY OF DANBURY. 55 Year. Number. Interval. Increai 1756 1,509 71; years. . . • 1774 2,470 18 (I 961 1782 2,697 8 a 227 1790 3,031 8 a 834 1800 3,180 10 a 149 By the above it will be seen that the greatest growth was in the first period, eighteen years, when the increase per year aver- aged a fraction over fifty-three. The period showing the least growth was the last decade of the century, when the average yearly increase was a fraction under fifteen. The average yearly increase from 1756 to 1800, forty-five years, was thirty-eight. CHAPTER X. DANBUEY IN THE EEVOLUTION. The chief event in the history of Danbnry was its capture and burning by the British in 1777. Eev. Dr. Robbins has given a sketch of the affair in his sermon, but it is surprising that he did not dwell more at length upon this event, especially in view of the fact that he was contemporary with many who were eye- witnesses of the proceedings. He gives less space to this than to the religious controversy which preceded it. In April, 1775, occurred the battle of Lexington. When the news of this famous and momentous engagement reached Dan- bury, there was great excitement. The bell on the meeting- house of the First Congregational Society was rung, the village cannon fired, as were muskets, and bonfires were kindled. A public meeting was held, and the village orators who were not friends of King George made fervid speeches, urging the able- bodied to enroll themselves in defence of the country. Noble Benedict, a resident of the town, aglow with patriotic fervor, started to raise a company of soldiers. Many enlisted, and the company was organized, with Mr. Benedict as captain. The first man to respond to his call was Enoch Crosby, a shoe- maker. He subsequently became locally famous as a spy, oper- ating in Putnam and Dutchess Counties, N. Y., where were a number of Tory organizations. He was instrumental in the capture of several companies of these enemies of the govern- ment. There were ninety-eight members of this company, whose names are herewith given : Captain, Noble Benedict ; lieuten- ants, James Clark, Ezra Stephens ; ensign, Daniel Heacock ; sergeants, John Trowbridge, Eliph Barnum, Elijah Hoit, Nathan Taylor, John Ambler ; corporals, Aaron Stone, Jonah Benedict, David Weed, Moses Veal ; musicians, Joseph Hamilton, drum- mer ; Russell Bartlett, Nathaniel Peck, fifers ; privates, Seth Barnum, Eleaz Benedict, John Barnum, Eli Barnum, James HISTORY OF DANBURY. 57 Boughton, Josiali Burchard, Samuel Bennet, Lazarus Barnum, Hez Benedict, Gilbert Benedict, William Benedict, David Bishop, Eben Barnum, Abram Barns, Joseph Boughton, John Comstock, Enoch Crosby, Samuel Curtiss, William Combs, Isaac Coller, Thomas Campbell, James Clements, Samuel Cook, Miles Canty, Henry Covel, John ChajDman, EInathan Edy, Eliph Ferry, John Guthrie, William Griffin, Drake Hoit, Thaddeus Hoit, Joshua Hinckley, Jonathan Hayes, John Holcomb, William Hawkins, Francis Jackson, Thomas Judd, John Johnson, Benjamin Gor- ham, John Green, Henry Knapp, Elisha Lincoln, John Linly, James Lincoln, Nathan Lee, Thomas Morehouse, Thaddeus Morehouse, Done Merrick, John Morehouse, Sylvanus Nelson, Isaac Northrop, Wilson Northrop, Joshua Porter, William Porter, Elkanah Peck, Farrel Picket, Caleb Spencer, Samuel Spencer, Eli Stephens, Samuel Sturdivant, Daniel Segar, Levi Starr, John Stephens, Jabez^^Starr, James Scovel, Stephen Scovel, Peter Stringham, Isaac Smith, Thomas Starr, Ephraim Smith, Levi Stone, Stephen Townsend, Samuel Townsend, Stephen Trowbridge, Joshua Taylor, Thomas Weed, Samuel C. Warren (or Warden), Major Warren, Thomas Wheaton, Jonas Weed, David Sturdivant. '~"' Captain Benedict's company joined the Sixteenth Regiment, and w^as ordered to duty with the northern army, reporting at Lake Champlain. They enlisted for a term of six months, and the company returned home without the loss of a single member. This was the only organization that Danbury raised during the Revolution. Many of the citizens served in the defence of the country, but they went away and were enrolled in outside organizations. Captain Noble Benedict was the father of the late Archibald Benedict, and lived on North Main Street, near Franklin. The captain was a stutterer, and many anecdotes based on this in- firmity are related of him. We give one of them. When he was at Lake Chamj)lain with his company the countersign in use one night was the word " Ticonderoga." The captain came across a sentry, who, halting him, demanded the countersign. T was a bad letter for the captain to overcome, and in his mad efforts to clutch it he lost all memory of the word itself. In this dilemma he shouted to the sentry, " S-s-s-s-say the word, and I c-c-c-c-can tell it, " 58 HISTORY OF DANBURY. History does not tell what the sentry did, but as the captain safely returned to Danbury, it is presumed the matter was satis- factorily compromised. James Clark, first lieutenant, lived on South Main Street. His wife, on the coming of the British, sunk her silverware and some other articles in the well, and fled with her family to a more congenial latitude. Ezra Stevens, the second lieutenant, lived in Pembroke Dis- trict. His son, Eli, was in the company as a private. First Sergeant John Trowbridge lived at the upper end of Main Street. He was a grandfather of Truman Trowbridge. Second Sergeant Eliph Barnum lived at the south end of the village. Third Sergeant Elijah Hoyt lived where now stands the residence of Charles H. Merritt, on Main Street. " Corporal Jonah Benedict was a thorough patriot, and took an active part in the war. He was before Ticonderoga in August, 1775, and was commissioned sergeant by Captain Noble Bene- dict, November 19th, 1775, at Fort Johns. He was taken pris- oner with many others while on duty at Fort Washington, on the Hudson River, November, 1776. He was on the old prison- ship Grosvenor, lying at the Wallabout, and also in the old Sugar House, suffering greatly from sickness and ill-usage until per- mitted to depart, when considered at the point of death, in April, 1777. He and his old father, Matthew, who was living with him in Danbury, were taken out of their beds before daylight on Sun- day morning, April 27th, 1777, and tied to trees in his garden, while the British troops set fire to his house. Prior to the Rev- olution he carried on a farm, and afterward manufactured hats at South Salem, where he died, March 28th, 1811." — Benedict Genealogy. Corporal David Weed lived in Westville District ; the drum- mer, Joseph Hamilton, lived in Pembroke District, which ap- pears to have been a very patriotic portion of the town. Private Seth Barnum lived in King Street, opposite the Baptist Church. John Barnum and Eli Barnum lived in the same dis- trict. Samuel Curtis lived near where Ezra Mallory & Co.'s hat factory stands. He was once sexton of the First Church. Drake Hoyt and Thaddeus Hoyt lived in Pembroke District. Thad- deus for a number of years kept the town poor on contract, as HISTORY OF DANBURY. 69 was then the custom. Thomas Judd lived in Great Plain Dis- trict. Benjamin Gorham lived in Miry Brook District. John Green lived at the junction of Elm and River streets. John Undley lived in King Street District. Thaddeus Morehouse lived on Main Street. Stephen Trowbridge lived, we are told, on the corner of Main and Liberty streets, where is now Benedict & Nichols' block. Levi Stone belonged in the Middle River District. Joshua Porter came home from the northern campaign all right, but lost his life by Try on' s troops in Major Starr's house. John Ambler, the lifth sergeant, was a great-grandfather of Rev. E. C. Ambler, and was at that time a man of advanced age. The grandfather of Rev. Mr. Ambler, Peter Ambler, and two of Peter's brothers, Stephen and Squire Ambler, were in the war, but not in this company. The family lived in Miry Brook District. Ensign Daniel Heacock was a grandfather of Colonel Samuel Gregory. He lived in Bethel. His home is still standing. Col- onel Gregory has in his possession the powder-horn which Henry Knapp, private, carried in the company's campaign. Mr. Knapp lived in the Westville District. Jabez Starr kept the tavern which stood on property adjoining the News office. Daniel Segar lived on the Mill Plain Road. Stephen Townsend lived near the New York State line. CHAPTER XI. THE ATTACK ON DANBURY. Beyond what has been recorded in the preceding chapter, no event of Revolutionary interest occurred in Danbury until the latter part of the following year, 1776, when the commissioners of the American army chose Danbury as a place of deposit for army supplies. These were chiefly designed without doubt for the troops operating in the vicinity of the Hudson. Danbury was considered a good point of divergence, as it had fair roads running to the river, to the Sound, and eastward. Again, it must have been deemed a place of security, as but very few troops were left here to defend the stores. Several months later, in April, 1777, Governor and General Try on, of New York, planned an expedition from that city to Danbury, for the express purpose of destroying those stores. He is spoken of by Dr. Robbins in his sermon as a man of " blaz- ing memory." Another writer calls him the "firebrand." He has generally been pictured as a demon of blood and flame. By the Tories and Royalists he was spoken of as a just and humane man. Rev. Dr. Peters, in his views of Connecticut at this time, speaks very highly of him. Dr. Peters was to the manor born, being a native of this State, and a descendant of a first settler, but he was a stanch Royalist and a bitter Tory. He says of General Tryon : " He was humane and polite ; to him the injured had access without a fee ; he would hear the poor man's complaint, though it wanted the aid of a polished lawyer." Danbury was sacked and burned by the troops under Tryon, to be sure, but there is evidence from our own people to show that Tryon was no worse in his conduct of the war than the other generals engaged, American or English ; and while his soldiers were vicious and mercenary, there is plenty of evidence in the records of our General Assembly to show that our own troops were not faultless in this respect. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 61 General Tryon's expedition sailed from New York on the night of April 24th, 1777. There were twenty transports and six war vessels in the fleet. The object of the expedition was kept a secret by those in command. The next morning, from a point of observation at Norwalk, the fleet was first discovered by our people. Its destination was, of course, a mystery. The fleet passed Norwalk and stood in for the mouth of the Sauga- tuck Kiver. In that harbor it dropped anchor. It was now four o'clock in the afternoon of April 25th. The troops imme- diately landed. The east shore of the river's mouth was called Compo Point. It was then in the town of Fairfield, since made Westport. On the landing of this large body of men at this place the object of the expedition was divined by the citizens, and as soon as possible a messenger was dispatched to Danbury to warn the garrison there. After the formation of their column, the British troops were marched into the country a distance of eight miles, and there- in what is now the township of Weston— encamped for the night. It is probable this movement inland led the people of Fairfield to suspect General Tryon's destination, and it is likely the mes- sengers were then sent out. At the time a courier was sent to Danbury, and others were sent elsewhere to arouse the country. One of these went to New Haven, where General Wooster was abiding. General Benedict Arnold, whose home was also in New Haven, happened to be there at the time on a furlough. On being noti- fied, General Wooster directed the militia of the city to march to Fairfield, and he with Arnold immediately repaired to that place. At Fairfield they learned that General Silliman, who was in command of this department of Connecticut, had started for Redding, on the way to Danbury, and had sent word in all directions to have what militia could be got together to report at Redding. Wooster and Selleck hastened to that place. It was now Saturday, April 26th. The messenger sent from Fairfield to Danbury reached here at three o'clock on Friday morning. He said that a British force of between three and four thousand men had landed at Fairfield, and it was suspected their design was to capture the stores here. At sunrise another messenger arrived. His 62 HISTORY OF DANBURY. intelligence strongly confirmed the theory of the man who pre- ceded him. Great consternation prevailed among our people on the receipt of this news. There was no possibility of keeping the invader away from the village. The only reliable defence to the town consisted of fifty soldiers of the Continental Army, who were on their way to the Hudson, and one hundred militia- men. Of course nearly every family had a musket in those days, but the safety of the w^omen and children demanded almost the entire attention of the males of the community. Dr. Foster, who had recently been appointed medical director of this depart- ment, had his headquarters here, in charge of the medical stores. Four days after the coming of the enemy he wrote to a friend the particulars of the raid. We make the following extract from this letter : "D ANBURY, May 1, 1777. " You have doubtless heard of the enemy's expedition to this place, and been anxious for us. This is the first moment of leisure I have had, and, if not interrupted, I will endeavor to give you a particular account. . . . The militia were mustered, and a few Continental troops that were here on their way to Peekskill prepared to receive them ; but their number was so inconsiderable, and that of the enemy so large, with a formid- able train of artillery, I had no hope of the place being saved. I had, upon the first alarm, ordered all the stores in my charge to be packed up, ready for removal at a moment's warning. Upon the arrival of the second express, I persuaded Polly, with what money was in my hands, to quit the town. She was un- willing, but I insisted upon it. We were so much put to it for teams to remove the medicines and bedding, that I determined rather to lose my own baggage than put it on any cart intended for that purpose, and had not a gentleman's team, already loaded with his own goods, taken it up, I must have lost it. ' ' As the enemy entered the town at one end after our troops had retreated to the heights, I went out at the other, not with- out some apprehension (as I was to cross the route of their flank guard) of being intercepted by the light horse. "After having seen the medicines, all of them that were worth moving, safe at New Milford, I returned to town the next morn- ing and went with our forces in pursuit of the enemy. About HISTORY OF DANBURY. 63 noon the action began in their rear, and continued with some intermission until night. The running fight was renewed next morning, and lasted until the enemy got under cover of their ships. " We have lost some brave officers and men. Their loss is un- known, as they buried some of their dead and carried off others ; but from the dead bodies they were forced to leave on the field, it must have greatly exceeded ours. General Wooster was wounded early in the action. He is in the same house with me, and I fear will not live until morning." Dr. Foster must have remained here some time, as on May 11th, 1779, he writes : " To-morrow all the gentlemen of the department at this post [Danbury] dine with me, and the next morning I begin my jour- ney to headquarters. I mean to take in Newark in my way. " General Silliman was taken prisoner last week and carried to Long Island." The fe^v soldiers here could not, of course, offer any substan- tial resistance to the force under Tryon's command, and retreated probably in rear of the fleeing families to the northward, as the British came in from the south. It is in evidence that the enemy, in its march from the Sound, did not disturb the property of residents, and came through Bethel without inflicting any notice- able injury upon the citizens or the property of that village. The enemy reached Danbury between two and three o'clock Saturday afternoon. The sky was clear and the sun shining brightly when they appeared, but a storm of rain began shortly after and prevailed through the night. While the British were marching here General Silliman, of the American army, was joroceeding to Redding with a handful of troops in pursuit. At Redding he halted to enable recruits to reach his standard. Here he was joined by Wooster and Arnold and such citizens as they could rally on the way, but it was eleven o'clock at night when the force gathered to punish Tryon reached Bethel, two miles south of this village. Owing to the weariness of the men, and the fact that their muskets were seriously crippled by the downpour of rain, it was decided to rest for the night, and make an attack on the enemy on its return from Danbury. 64 HISTORY OF DANBURY. The number of our troops at Bethel that night is variously estimated. The number of seven hundred appears to be the nearest correct. One writer is positive that it equalled the Brit- ish force ; but this, in view of all other evidence, is an unreason- able estimate. From the disposition of our forces in this part of the State at that time, no such body of organized troops could have been here then. It is probable there were five hundred soldiers, regular and militia, and two hundred citizens whose zeal for the cause made them shoulder the family musket and join in the pursuit. While the seven hundred Americans were making themselves as comfortable as possible in the rain at Bethel, Try on' s followers were making merry in this village. HousK WHERE Gex"l David Woosteu Died. ■WOOSTER MdNUMENT. Corner Cupboard in Old IIox'se IN WHICH WoOSTEK DiEU. Shelves Red. Pillars and iJoME Bbie^ Arch \Mnte. t)rTsiDE Old Green. CHAPTER XII. THE BKITISH IN DANBURY. What military force was here to defend Danbury was under the command of Joseph P. Cooke, a resident, who held the rank of colonel. Another prominent citizen was Dr. John Wood. He had in his employ a young man named Lambert Lockwood. He sent him out as a scout to learn where the enemy were, some- thing of their number, and about the time they might be ex- pected to reach the village. Some four miles below here is an eminence called Hoyt's Hill.* It is not on the turnpike, but is located by the road to Lonetown, southeast of the [pike. It was along this road the British ap- proached Bethel. An incident occurred here that has been confused by two or three versions. Hollister, in his history of Connecticut, says that Try on was confronted on Hoyt's Hill by a presumably insane horseman, who appeared on the crest, waving a sword, and conducting himself very much as if he was in command of a considerable army in the act of climbing the opposite side of the hill. The British commander halted his force and sent out skirmishers to reconnoitre, when it was discovered that the stranger was alone, and instead of leading on an enthusiastic army to almost certain victory, was making the best of his way back to Danbury. This account is apparently a distortion of an incident that really did occur, although it has the sanction of local tradition, and is repeated (in honest belief) by several aged residents who had it from their parents who were living here at the time. * Dr. Adelaide Holten, a lineal descendant of Thomas Taylor, one of the first set- tlers, has heard her grandmother tell of seeing the approach of the British as she ■was returning on horseback over Hoyt's Hill from a visit to a neighbor. She de- scribed the gleam of the scarlet uniforms, and the flash of arms, and said that she dashed on toward Bethel, shouting, "The British are coming ! The British are coming !" 66 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Young Lambert reached the summit of Hoyt's Hill, when he suddenly and rather unexpectedly came upon the foe. He must have been riding at a smart speed, or he would not have become so helplessly entangled as he turned out to be. When he dis- covered the enemy he was too close upon them to get away, and in attempting it he was wounded and captured. He learned a great deal of the British and their designs, but the value of it was considerably impaired by this incident. Young Lockwood w^as brought to Danbury with his captors, and was left here. It is said that he was once a resident of Nor- walk. When there he did a favor for General Try on, on the occasion of an accident to that officer's carriage w^hen he was driving through Norwalk. General Tryon recognized him, and in return for the favor ordered his discharge, and was Avriting a parole for him, to secure him against further molestation by the British, when the news of the approach of Wooster caused him to turn his attention to getting out of town. After leaving Bethel the ranks were deployed, and Danbury was approached in open order, some of the advance being so far deployed as to take in Shelter Rock Ridge on the right and Thomas Mountain on the left. On reaching the south end of our village General Tryon took up his headquarters in the house of Nehemiah Dibble, on South Street. The same building was known as the Wooster place (from the fact of General Wooster dying there a few days later) until its destruction some years ago. It was between two and three o'clock in the afternoon when the British arrived. The leader having selected his headquarters, the quartering of the force for the protection of themselves was next attended to. Tryon's assistants, Generals Erskine and Agnew, accompanied by a body of mounted infantry, proceeded up Main Street to the Junction of the Barren Plain Road (now White Street), where Benjamin Knapp lived. His house stood where is now the Nichols brick block, long known as Military Hall, the corner of which is now occupied as a drug store. The two generals quartered themselves upon Mr. Knapp, taking complete possession of the house, with the exception of one room, where Mrs. Knapp was lying ill. On this dash up Main Street the party met with two incidents. Silas Hamilton had a piece of cloth at a fuller's on South Street. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 67 It is said that Major Taylor was the fuller. When Hamilton heard of the approach of the enemy, he mounted his horse and rode off at full speed for his goods. He was rather late, how- ever, and when he came out to remount his horse, a squad of the force was upon him. He Hew up Main Street with a half dozen troopers in full pursuit, and on reaching West Street he turned into it, with the hair on his head very erect. The pursuers followed him, and one in advance and close upon him swung his sword to cut him down, when a singular but most fortunate accident occurred. Hamilton lost a part of his hold upon the roll, to which he had until this time tenaciously clung, and the cloth flew out like a giant ribbon, frightening the pursuing animals, and rendering them unmanageable, so Mr. Hamilton escaped with his cloth.* The column that came up Main Street were fired upon from the house of Captain Ezra Starr, which stood where now is the residence of Mrs. D. P. Nichols, corner of Main and Boughton streets. The shots, it has been claimed, were fired by four young men. It was an act of reckless daring, and the actors must have been very young, as the shots could have had no other effect than to exasperate the invaders. Dr. Robbins, in his account of the battle, says that one valu- able house with four persons in it was burned, but does not say who the persons were. The men who fired on the enemy, from Captain Starr's house, were killed, and their bodies were burned in the building ; but there were not four of them, there were three. One of these was a negro, named Adams. The two white men were Joshua Porter and Eleazer Starr. The former was a member of Noble Benedict's company, organized in 1775. He was great-grandfather of Colonel Samuel Gregory of this town, and lived in that part of the town that is called Westville Dis- trict. He was in the village after a gallon of molasses when the enemy came. Starr lived where now stands the News building. He and * The first ancestor of the Hamilton family in this country was William, a son of Gallatin Hamilton, of Glasgow, Scotland. William was born in Glasgow in 1643 ; came early to New England ; settled in Cape Cod, and was persecuted as one who dealt with evil spirits, for having killed the first whale on the New England Coast. He afterward went to South Kingston, R. I., and then came to Danbury, where he died in 1746, aged 103 years. This is a matter of family record, and also of anti- quarian history. 68 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Porter went into Captain Starr's house to observe the coming of the British, Colonel Gregory understands that the negro was in the employ of Captain Starr. Depositions before the General Assembly, made in 1778, show that this Adams was a slave and belonged to Samuel Smith, in Redding. His service may have been leased to Captain Starr ; at any rate, he died with Porter and Starr. A British officer, who was present at the time, sub- sequently si)oke of the incident to a neighbor. He killed the negro himself. As the British troops reached the present location of the court house their artillery was discharged, and the heavy balls, six and twelve-pounders, flew screaming up the street, carrying terror to the hearts of the w^omen and children, and dismay to the heads of the homes thus endangered. Immediately upon Generals Agnew and Erskine taking up their quarters in Mr. Knapp's house, a picket w^as located. One squad of twenty men occupied the rising ground where is now the junction of Park Avenue and Prospect Street. A second took x)osition on the hill near Jarvis Hull's house. The third was located on Mdiat is now called Franklin Street. "We have no information of other picket squads, but it is likely that every approach to the village was guarded. It is related of a brother of Joshua Porter that, coming into the village to see what the British were doing, he came upon three of the picket stationed on Park Avenue. They commanded him to halt. " What for V he inquired, still continuing toward them. ^' You are our prisoner," said they. *' Guess not," he laconically replied, moving steadily upon them. j, li "VVe'll stick you through and through, if you don't stop," one of them threatened, advancing close to him. Porter was a man of very powerful build, with muscles like steel, and a movement that was a very good substitute for light- ning. They were close upon him. There was a gulch back of them. In a flash he had the foremost trooper in his grasp. In the next instant he had hurled him against the other two, and the three went into the gulch in a demoralized heap. The rest of the squad, seeing the disaster, immediately surrounded and subdued Porter. This little affair, it is HISTORY OF DANBURY. 69 said, gave the name of Squabble Hill to that neighbor- hood. Porter and a man named Barnum are believed to be the only prisoners the enemy carried away from Danbury. They were taken to New York City and confined in the infamous Sugar House prison. Porter was subsequently released and returned home, but Barnum died there from starvation. When found he had a piece of brick in his hand, holding it to his mouth, as if to draw moisture from it to cool his feverish throat. The main body of the troops remained in the village and shortly engaged in the destruction of the military stores. Those in the Episcopal Church were rolled out into the street and there fired, as the edifice was of the Church of England, and so reverenced by the English invader. Two other buildings contained stores. One of these was a barn belonging to Nehemiah Dibble. The goods were taken out and burned to save the building, as Dibble was a Tory. The other was a building situated on Main Street, near where is now Sam- uel C. Wildman's place. It was full of grain. It was burned with its contents. It is said that the fat from the burning meat ran ankle-deep in the street. No less free ran the ram and wine, although not in the same direction. The soldiers who were directed to destroy these tested them first, and the result was as certain as death. Before night had fairly set in the greater part of the force were in a riotous state of drunkenness. Discipline was set at naught. King George stood no chance whatever in the presence of King Alcohol, and went down before him at once. The riot continued far into the night. Danbury was never before nor since so shaken. The drunken men went up and down the Main Street in squads, singing army songs, shouting coarse speeches, hugging each other, swearing, yelling, and otherwise conducting themselves as becomes an invader when he is very, very drunk. The people who had not fled remained close in their homes, sleepless, full of fear, and utterly wretched, with the ghastly tragedy at Captain Starr's house hanging like a pall over them. The night was dark, with dashes of rain. The carousers tumbled down here and there as they advanced in the stages of drunken- ness. Some few of the troops remained sober, and these per- formed the duties of the hour. One of these was the marking 70 HISTORY OF DANBURY. of a cross upon the buildings which belonged to the Tories. This was done with pieces of lime. There was considerable of this property. Sympathizers with the government of the mother country abounded hereabouts. They were men who honestly believed that colonies had no right to secede from the crown, and they defended their belief when they could, and cherished it at all times. They were jubilant now. The proper authorities were in possession, the rebel element was overcome, and the Tories believed that Danbury was forever redeemed from the pernicious sway of the rebellion. It is said that two of these people piloted Tryon to Danbury. The names given are Stephen Jarvis and Eli Benedict. It is further said that they fled from Danbury. Some time after Benedict came back, but being threatened with violence he left for good. Jarvis went to Nova Scotia, where he made his home. Once he returned on a visit to his sister. He came privately, but the neighbors, getting word of his presence, went to the house in search of him. His sister hid him in her brick oven, and when the danger was over he secretly left Danbury for Nova Scotia, never again to return. This statement was made in an appendix to an edition of Eobbins's address brought out in 1851. In its issue of April 2d of that year the Danbury Times prints the following : " We refer to this statement in order to make a correction in point of fact, as well as of time. The brother of one of the alleged guides, a venerable resident of this town, proves an alihi in the case of Stephen. He says that at the time the British entered the town Stephen was confined at Stamford with the small-pox, and did not join the British until some time after- ward. He assigns a very tender reason for Stephen's Toryism. At that time our neighboring village of Newtown was, according to his statement, largely given to the Tory faith, and Stephen's sweetheart was of that stock. ' ' CHAPTER XIII. THE BURNING OF DANBURY. That night of Ai^ril 26th, 1777, was not a particularly happy one for the general in command of the British forces. He had met with a complete success in reaching Danbury and destroy- ing the stores, which was the object of his mission ; but the great bulk of his force was helpless in the strong embrace of New England rum, and news had come that a force of the enemy was gathering and marching toward him. They were anxious hours to the three generals and their aids, but especially to him on whom rested all the responsibility of the expedition. Besides the approach of VVooster's men there was the small band of troops under command of Colonel Cooke, who were un- doubtedly near by, ready to give vigorous help to an attacking force, knowing every foot of the ground, and capable of giving an infinite amount of annoyance, if nothing more. Then there were gathering farmers from the outlying districts, who had through the afternoon given substantial evidence of their pres- ence by creeping up as near as possible and firing at the pickets. The darkness that fell about the town after nightfall might par- donably be peopled with many dangers by even a less imagina- tive person than was the British general. In the mean time Benjamin Knapp was having his own particu- lar trouble. Mr. Knapp was a tanner. His house stood on what is now White Street, near the corner of Main. White Street was then called Barren Plain Road, and this name was given it because the road ran across the Balmforth Avenue region, which was then pretty much sand. It is very rarely the resident of a humble village has two briga- dier-generals come to spend Sunday with him, and the advent of Generals Agnew and P^skine should have been an unbounded delight to Mr. Knapp, but it is doubtful if it were. 72 HISTORY OF DANBURY. The generals made themselves fully at home. There was no stiffness about them. They killed Mr. Knapp's stock, and cut up the meat on his floor, and the dents thereof were visible as long as the building stood. Mr. Knapp' s wife was a sorely afflicted invalid, but her inability to attend to domestic duties did not in any way embarrass the guests, yet it was very unpleasant for Mr. Knapp. Besides that, the neighboring people, on that event- ful afternoon, drew near to the town with their long-barrelled guns, and taking advantage of the heavy growth of alders along the stream, fired at a redcoat wherever he showed himself. There was a picket stationed on the Main Street bridge, and this party was a special target. All this made Mr. Knapp very ner- vous, as he could not very satisfactorily show that he was not in league with the ambushed patriots, and he feared his property would suffer. However, it did not. The British generals, in view of their accommodation and the illness of Mrs. Knapp, spared the house in the general conflagration that followed. The house was removed twenty-five years ago to make room for the present building. At midnight the uproar caused by the inundation of two thou- sand soldiers, and the absorption of such a great quantity of New England rum, had to a great degree abated. Tryon was fully awake. His position was becoming exceedingly perilous. Shortly after midnight word came to him that the rebels under Wooster and Arnold had reached Bethel, and were preparing to attack him. This was unexpected to him. He had thought to spend the Sabbath leisurely in Danbury. The word that came from Bethel radically changed his programme. At once all became bustle. The drunken sleepers were aroused to new life by the most available means, and a movement made toward immediate evacuation. It was nearly one o'clock Sunday morning when Tryon got word of the Bethel gathering. Up to that hour there had been but three buildings destroyed (already mentioned). As soon as the men were aroused and in place, excepting those detailed for picket, the work of destruction began. This was about two o'clock. In the next hour the buildings owned by Tories were marked with a cross, done with a chunk of lime. The work of burning was then commenced. I::i;LM /.i.i; N'l(-lli)l.s. Born Mat 4th, 1758— Died, March 6th, 1K4;3. He ^VAS A RFVOLUT...NARY SoLDlKR, AND WAS IN THE BATTLE WHERE GEN'L WOOBTER WAS SHOT. HIS PORTRAIT HlfntriN ONE PLACE IN THE 0,.I, HoME.TEAI. IN GREAT PlAIN POU MORE THAN ONE HUNUHKU . EAR.. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 73 The first house bnrned stood just west of the Episcopal Church on South Street, but some little distance from the street. There was a long garden attached to it, and at the opposite end of the garden, almost reaching Main Street, was another house. It is not known who lived in either of these, but they may have been Jonah and Matthew Benedict, who lost property in the fire, and who are supposed to have lived on South Street. Captain Daniel Taylor, Major Taylor, Comfort Hoyt, Jr., and Joseph Wildman were also among the sufferers. The second house fired was on the east side of Main Street, a few rods from the corner of South Street, and where the big pine-tree now stands. After that there was no order in the firing, but the flames seemed to burst out simultaneously in all directions. The house of Major Taylor stood on the southwest corner of what are now South and Mountainville streets, and was the last house fired by the British as they left the town. An old lady afterward said that if she had not been so frightened, she could have put out the newly kindled fire with a pail of water. Dr. John Wood's house, which stood where is now the home- stead of the late Philander Comstock, was destroyed. There were two wells in this vicinity, each of which was filled witli iron, cannon-balls, etc., which could not be burned. On the opposite side of the street the house of Captain John Clark was burned. Next was the house of Major Mygatt, which was burned, as was also the residence of Rev. Ebenezer White, near the court-house. Zadock Benedict' s house stood just north of the depot. Mr. Knapp must have thought the trouble was getting pretty close to him. Captain Joseph P. Cooke also lost his house, which stood on the site of the residence of Mr. Lucius P. Hoyt. The record says there were in all nineteen houses burned, and also several stores and shops. Near the homestead of the late Samuel C. Wildman was a blacksmith's shop which went up in flame. In it was made a part of the chains with which the Hudson was barricaded at West Point. The meeting-house of the New Danbury Society was burned. This stood on Liberty Street, between Delay Street and Railroad Avenue. As but nineteen houses were burned, it was not so much of a conflagration after all. Danbury had then a population of some twenty- five hundred. To accommodate these, there must have 74 HISTORY OF DANBURY. been at least four hundred dwellings in the township, including Bethel village, and nearly, if not quite two hundred in this village. Historians say that every house was burned except those belonging to Tories. If this be so, then the humiliating reflection is ours that the great bulk of Danbury was Tory. Thank Heaven for the strength to believe it was not so ! It is likely that the British burned only those buildings that were available in their hasty getting together, including those whose owners may have been particularly obnoxious to the loyal heart. With the fire well under way, the pickets were called into the formed line, and the invading army took up its march in retreat. Tryon did not undertake to return as he came. The force under Wooster, at Bethel, deterred him from that, and he sought to make detour through Ridgebury. The column left Danbury through Wooster Street, taking the Miry Brook Road. It was lighted by the flames of the burning buildings. It was not quite daylight of Sunday morning, April 27th. CHAPTER XIV. THE llETREAT AND PURSUIT. All that was transpiring was made knowTi to the anxious American leaders in Bethel by ijatriotic citizens, who were awake and alert all through that wretched night. When it was told Wooster that the British had withdrawn from Danbury, not moving back tlie way they came, but going toward the Hudson, he and his companions, Silliman and Arnold, held a brief coun- cil of war. It was suspected that Tryon was trying to make the river, or might possibly be engaged in a detour. The American force was divided into two troops. Wooster sent SilUman and Arnold with five hundred m.en across country to Ridgefield. With two hundred men he hurried to Danbury. With the first force he was going to intercept the enemy, with the second he would harass its rear, and do all the damage pos- sible until the general engagement came on. Before the last of the British were fairly out of the village the gray dawn of the Sabbath waved up from the east through the rain, and as it advanced into the broader light of the new day, it showed the long line of British filing through Miry Brook Road, and the straggling but determined rebels, armed with long muskets, carried with both hands, bringing up the rear, and doing their level best to harass the foe, and succeeding. Still with all tbeir patriotic zeal we are obliged to entertain but a poor idea of their marksmanship, for there is no record that any of the enemy were killed on Danbury soil. Among this crowd of daring, if not efl'ective, persons there was one who was suffi- ciently rapid in his manual of arms, however short he may have fallen from being effective. He was poised on a fence the after- noon before and fired thirty -two shots at the skirmish line of the advancing British, without being touched by a single one of the many bullets sent after him. When his ammunition was gone 76 HISTORY OF DANBURY. he held up his cartouch-box to the enemy to show its emptiness, and then left, shouting as he ran these very patriotic words : " He that fights and runs awaj' May live to fight another day. But he that is in battle slain Shall never live to fight again." A movement of a body of two thousand men could not be made, of course, without the knowledge of the neighbors. The people of the adjoining districts and villages had been apprised of the arrival of the British in Danbury by the families who had lied from the doomed town. All that Saturday night men were hovering about the place, looking with hungry eyes for every manifestation from the enemy. No sooner had the line taken up its march than these people knew of it, and determining the route, sought to annoy the march all that was in their power to do. One of their acts was to destroy the bridge over Wolf Pond Run, in Miry Brook District. When the enemy reached this place they were obliged to stop and throw over a temporary bridge of rails. This made a delay and enabled the forces under Wooster to gain headway. One historian says that the British marched through Sugar Hollow. This is plausible enough if the force had been an ex- cursion party hurrying to Eidgetield to take a railway train, but no military man would be so insane as to take his men through such a defile, wiiere there was every advantage and ample pro- tection for an enemy. General Tryon took his people through Ridgebury, having an open country for his skirmishers. He was confident that by making this detour he would mislead Wooster, and escape to his boats without serious interruption. General Wooster sent Arnold and Silliman, as we have already indicated, direct to Ridgefield, across the country from Bethel, while he struck out in a more northerly direction, intending to strike the foe before he reached Ridgefield. In this he succeeded. He came upon the enemy while they were breakfasting, about eight o'clock in the morning of that eventful Sunday. He appeared from a piece of woods, and struck a rear regiment w4th such unexpected force, that he cap- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 77 tured forty of the men before tlie command was fairly aware of Ms presence. He withdrew as rapidly as he came, but shortly after made another dash, while the enemy were in motion, and it was then the fight took place in which he lost his life. It was about eleven o'clock in the morning when Wooster's force made its second attack. The enemy had six pieces of artillery, three in front and three in the rear. It was with the latter guns that the attack of Wooster was resisted. The scream- ing grapeshot frightened the American troops, and caused them to waver. Seeing this. General Wooster turned in his saddle, and shouted to them, " Come on, my boys ! Never mind such random shots!" And it was then that he received the fatal wound. A musket-ball, said to have been fired by a Tory, struck him in the back, broke the bone, and lodged in his body. The British must have been on the retreat or his friends w^ould not have been able to recover his person, as he fell when he was shot. The great sash* which he wore was unwound, and being spread out as a blanket, he was put in it and carried from the field. Then he was placed in a carriage and slowly brought back to Danbury. The wound was dressed on the field by a Dr. Turner. In Danbury he was attended by several surgeons. One of his aides took command of his little army after he fell, and retired with them. This engagement took place amid scrub pines and rocks of a plain two miles north of Ridgefield post-office. * This sash with his sword is now in Yale College. CHAPTER Xy. THE FIGHT IN RIDGEFIELD. There are several accounts of this engagement, wliicli was a part of the battle opened by Wooster. According to the accounts, Arnold and Silliman must have reached Ridgefield about the time that Wooster received his fatal wound, at eleven o'clock on Sunday morning. The firing in that fight must have been dis- tinctly heard by Arnold and Silliman. In the issue of the Connecticut Journal^ printed the latter part of that week, May 2d, appeared an account of the raid in Dan- bury and the fight in Ridgefield. Of the latter it says : " General Arnold, by a forced march across the country, reached Ridgefield at eleven o'clock, and having posted his small party of five hundred men, waited the approach of the enemy, who were soon discovered advancing in a column with three field pieces in front and three in the rear, and large flank guards of war, two hundred men in each. At noon they began discharg- ino- their artillery, and were soon within musket-shot, when a smart action ensued between the whole, which continued about an hour, in which our men behaved with great spirit, but being overpowered by numbers were obliged to give way, though not until the enemy were raising a small breastwork, thrown across the way, at which General Arnold had taken post with about two hundred men (the rest of our small body were posted on the flanks), who acted with great spirit. The general had his horse shot under him, when the enemy were within about ten yards of him, but luckily received no hurt. Recovering himself, he drew his pistol and shot the soldier, who was advancing with his bay- onet. He then ordered his troops to retreat through a shower of small and grape shot. " In the action the enemy suffered very considerably, leaving about thirty dead and wounded on the ground, besides a number of unknown buried. Here we had the misfortune of losing Lieu- HISTOEY OF DANBURY. 79 tenant-Colonel Gold, one subaltern, and several privates killed and wounded. " It was found impossible to rally our troops, and General Arnold ordered a stand to be made at Saugatuck Bridge, where it was expected the enemy would pass. " At nine o'clock a.m. the 28th about five hundred men were collected at Saugatuck Bridge, including part of the companies of Colonel Lamb's battalion of artillery, with three field pieces, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Oswald ; a field piece with part of the artillery comjoany from Fairfield, sixty Conti- nental troops, and three companies of volunteers from New Haven, with whom General Arnold and Silliman took post about two miles above the bridge. Soon after the enemy appeared in sight their rear was attacked by Colonel Huntington (command- ing an army of about five hundred men), who sent to General Arnold for instructions, and for some officers to assist him. " General Silliman was ordered to his assistance. The enemy finding our troops advantageously posted made a halt, and after some little time wheeled off to the left and forded Saugatuck River, three miles above the bridge. General Arnold observing this motion, ordered the whole to march directly for the bridge in order to attack the enemy in the flank. General Silliman at the same time to attack their rear. The enemy, by running full speed, had passed the bridge on Fairfield side with their main body before our troops could cross it. General Silliman finding it impossible to overtake the enemy on their route, proceeded to the bridge, where the whole were formed. They marched in two columns, one with two field pieces on the right, the other on the left of the enemy, when a smart skirmishing and firing of field pieces ensued, which continued about three hours. " The enemy having gained the high hill of Compo, several attempts were made to dislodge them, but without effect. The enemy landed a number of fresh troops to cover their embarka- tion, which they effected a little before sunset, weighed anchor immediately, and stood across the sound for Huntington, on Long Island. Our loss cannot be exactly ascertained, no return being made. It is judged to be about sixty killed and wounded. Among the killed are one lieutenant-colonel, one captain, four subalterns, and Dr. David Atwater, of New Haven, whose death is greatly lamented by his acquaintances. Among the number wounded are Colonel John Lamb (of artillery), Amah Bradley, go HISTORY OF DANBURY. and Timothy Gorliam, volunteers from New Haven, though not mortally. " The enemy's loss is judged to be more than double our num- ber, and about twenty prisoners. The enemy on this occasion behaved with their usual barbarity, wantonly and cruelly mur- dering the wounded prisoners who fell into their hands, and plundering the inhabitants, burning and destroying everything in their way. The enemy, the day before they left Fairfield, were joined by ten sail, chiefly small sail." In the March number (1888) of the" Magazine of American History, Clifford Bartlett gives a very interesting account of the American side of the conflict in Ridgefield. He says : "On arriving at Ridgefield, Arnold constructed a barricade across the village street, at its upper end, near the residence of Benjamin Stebbins. The Stebbins house is one of the oldest in the town. It antedates anything of the Revolution in Ridge- field. Here it was that Arnold awaited the enemy's approach, fearless and undaunted, although the odds against him were overwhelming. " The barricade was made of logs, wagons, and carts, anything the little army could gather for that purpose. The greater part of those who stood behind that barricade were unused to war, and had gone out to save their homes from destruction rather than to do battle with an enemy. " It was Sunday morning. A thick mass of vapor hung over the earth, with an occasional shower, untO about eleven o'clock, when the sky lightened for a moment, revealing the wooded slopes of the Danbury hills, blue and purple in the distance, only again to be hidden by the sweeping masses of clouds. " When within a few miles of Ridgefield General Wooster fell upon the rear of the column, and a sharp engagement ensued, in which forty Hessians were captured. Still the enemy con- tinued their advance." The writer speaks briefly of Wooster' s second attack, when he received the fatal wound, and then continues : " Stephen Rowe Bradley, then an aide-de-camp to General Wooster, assumed command, and gathering the scattered troops together retired from the field in good order. " Arnold and his men aw^aited the coming storm with breath- less anxiety. At about noon the British, advancing in three columns, came within range, when General Agnew ordered the HISTORY OF DANBURY. 81 artillery to attack. When within musket range the engagement became general. Being unable to dislodge the Continental at the front, a strong body of Hessians under Agnew finally turned the left of Arnold's position. A column of infantry suddenly appeared over the ledge of rocks, and discharged a volley at General Arnold at a distance of not over thirty yards. He escaped being hit ; his horse fell, being pierced by nine musket balls. The fact that the horse was struck nine times was vouched for by a farmer, who with the aid of some boys skinned the animal the next day. ' ' The fight at the Stebbins house was stubborn and bloody. Between forty and fifty Americans were killed. " Colonel Abram Gould was shot about eighty yards east of the Stebbins house, and his body was carried on his horse to his home in Fairfield, where he was buried. His sash and uniform are now in the Trumbull Gallery in New Haven. " Lieutenants Middlebrook* and William Thompson were * From a tablet in the Long Hill Burying-place at Trumbull, Conn. : "in memory of Lieut. Ephraim Middlebrook, "Who fought, bled, and died in defence of his Country, at the Battle of Ridgefield, on the 27th day of April, 1777, in the 41st year of his age ; and on the 3d day of May was .In- terred .here with the Honors of War. " Here on this Tomb cast an eye, and view the Eagle great : He represents our Liberty, the Union of the States : View in his claws the arrows sharpe, the branch of oak likewise :* A lively emblem of our smart, for victory o'er our enemies : For which cause this Hero bled on Ridgefield 's bloody plain : And there was numbered with the dead his country's freedom to obtain :\ In memory of which these lines were wrote and to perpetuate his name : That his descendants ne'er forgot that for their freedom he was slain." — Orcutt's History of Stratford. 82 HISTORY OF DANBURY. killed. Several of the dead were buried beneath an apple-tree, since decayed, back of the house, now the residence of Abner Gilbert. At the time of the battle Benjamin Stebbins occupied the Stebbins house. His son, Josiah, sympathized with the Royalist cause, and happened to accompany the British on their march from Danbury. Several times during the fight the house caught fire, but the son succeeded in quenching the flames. His crippled father had a narrow escape. In the midst of the con- flict he sought seclusion in a little bedroom with a window look- ing out on the meadow to the east, as the bullets were rattling through the gable end of the old homestead on the roadway. The window was open. All at once a bullet whizzed close to his head and ripped a long, ragged hole through the bedroom door. The room still remains in the same condition, and the door still swings on its rusty hinges. The house was riddled with bullets, and struck several times by solid shot. There are three cannon- balls yet to be seen at the house. Many others have been lost or carried away. " During the battle the house was used as a hospital for the wounded, and stains of blood that flowed from the wounds of a young British officer, who died there, are to be seen on the sea- soned oak floor of the long west room. ' ' The old well now stands as it then stood, and supplies the best of water, as it did on that April day to the suffering men who lay in agony within reach of its kindly aid. " It has been thought that the battle ended with the attack by Wooster and the fight at the Stebbins house. This is prob- ably incorrect. There are strong reasons for the belief that as the British advanced their progress through the town was con- tested with stubborn bravery. Had this not been so, they would not have had to employ their artillery after dislodging the patriots from behind the barricade ; and that the artillery was used throughout their progress through the village is beyond controversy. " Besides the cannon-balls at the Stebbins house, a solid shot was unearthed a few years ago while repairing the highway in front of the residence of Governor Lounsbury. Then there is the famous shot embedded in the Keeler tavern, besides numer- ous cannon-balls which have been found at different points along the course of the march maintained through the town, the red- coats pressing forward and the patriots falling stubbornly back. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 83 On the ridge, where in late years the Agricultural Society held its annual fairs, the British encamped for the night. After burning several houses and destroying other property, the enemy, on the morning of the 28th, resumed their march toward the Sound." In the London Gazette of June 7th, 1777, was printed Sir William Howe's official report of the foray. He says (the italics closing the first paragraph are ours) : " The troops landed on the afternoon of April 25th (Friday), four miles to the eastward of Norwalk and twenty miles from Danbury. In the afternoon of the 26th the detachment reached Danbury, meeting only small parties of the enemy on their march, but General Tryon having intelligence that the whole force of the country was collecting, to take every advantage of the strong ground he was to pass on his return to the shipping, and finding it impossible to procure carriages to bring off any part of the stores, they were effectually destroyed, in the execu- tion of which the village loas unavoidably burnt. " On the 27th, in the morning, the troops gutted Danbury, and met with little opposition until they came near to Ridge- field, which was occupied by General Arnold, who had thrown up entrenchments to dispute the passage, Avhile General Wooster hung upon the rear with a se^Darate corps. The village was forced and the enemy driven back on all sides. " General Tryon lay that night at Ridgefield and renewed his march on the morning of the 28th. The enemy having been reinforced with troops and cannon, disputed every advantageoiis situation, keeping at the same time small parties to harass the rear, until the general had formed his detachment upon a height within cannon-shot of the shipping, when the enemy advancing, seemingly with an intention to attack him, he ordered the troops to charge with their bayonets, which was executed with such im- petuosity that the rebels were totally put to flight, and the de- tachment embarked without further molestation. " The enclosed returns set forth the loss sustained by the king's troops, and that of the enemy from the best information. " Return of the stores, ordnance, promsions, etc., found at the reheW stores, and destroyed by the Tcing^s troops, in Dan- bury : "A quantity of ordnance stores, with iron, etc.; 4000 barrels 84 HISTORY OF DANBURY, of beef and pork ; 1000 barrels of flour ; 100 large tierces of bis- cuit ; 89 barrels of rice ; 120 puncheons of rum ; several large stores of wheat, oats, and Indian corn, in bulk, the quantity thereof could not possibly be ascertained ; 30 pipes of wine ; 100 hogsheads of sugar ; 50 ditto of molasses ; 20 casks of coffee ; 15 large casks filled with medicines of all kinds ; 10 barrels of saltpetre ; 1020 tents and marquees ; a number of iron boilers ; a large quantity of hospital bedding ; engineers', pioneers', and carpenters' tools ; a printing-press complete ; tar, tallow, etc. ; 5000 pairs of shoes and stockings. At a mill between Ridgebury and Ridgefield, 100 barrels of flour and a quantity of Indian corn. " Returned of the killed, wounded, and missing : One drum- mer and fifer, and 23 rank and file killed ; 3 field officers, 6 cap- tains, 3 subalterns, 9 sergeants, 92 rank and file wounded ; 1 drummer and fifer and 27 rank and file missing. Royal artillery, 2 additional killed, 3 matrosses and 1 wheeler wounded, and 1 matross missing. " Return of the rebels killed and wounded. Killed : General Wooster, Colonel Goold, Colonel Lamb, of the artillery. Colonel Henman, Dr. Atwater, a man of considerable influence. Captain Cooe, Lieutenant Thompson, 100 privates. Wounded : Colonel Whiting, Captain Benjamin, Lieutenant Cooe, 250 privates. Taken : Fifty privates, including several committeemen.'' General David Wooster. CHAPTER XVI. GENEEAL WOOSTER'S DEATH. Poor Wooster ! He little realized when lie started for our insignificant hamlet that it would become his everlasting home so far as this world is concerned, and that here the only substan- tial honor he should ever receive would be given. In the Dibble mansion, where Tryon but a few hours before had had his headquarters, the unfortunate general was placed. A local surgeon dressed the wound as well as he was able, and shortly after a more experienced man came from New Haven to attend him. The bullet, which is said to have been fired by a Tory, entered his back obliquely, just as he turned to wave on his men, and cutting the spinal cord, was buried in his^stomach. The nature of the wound precluded recovery even had he received the best skill on the moment. His wife arrived from New Haven, but a delirium had seized him, and he did not recognize her. For three days he lay in the old South Street house, suffering untold agony, and then he fell into a stupor. This was Thurs- day morning of that eventful week, " It was noted by her, who, faithful to the last, unremittingly watched his pillow, that during this and the following day (as is frequently the case in the closing scene of an active life) his mind was busied in exciting reminiscence. By the feeble light of flickering reason he was tracing the long and weary pilgrim- age, the cruises, sieges, battles, marches through which he had passed, only to reach his grave. The home of his childhood, the cabin of his ship, the old mansion by the Sound, pass in a blended image before his fading vision. The dash of waves, the rattle of musketry, the roar of cannon, ring confusedly in his deafened ear. His hand cannot respond to the gentle pressure of affection. His breathing grows shorter and shorter, while the icy chill advances nearer and nearer to the heart. As his wife wipes the death damp from his brow, his eyes, hitherto closed, 86 HISTORY OF DANBURY. open once more, and in their clear depths, for one glad moment, she discovers the dear, the old, the familiar expression of re- turned consciousness ; his lips gasp in vain to utter one precious word of final adieu, and the last effort is to throw on her one farewell glance of unutterable tenderness and love."* On Friday, May 2d, 1777, he died. On Sunday the funeral was held. It was a quiet affair, although the body was that of a major-general and of a soldier who for courage and patriotism had no superior. But Danbury was sorely afflicted. Many of the houses were in ruins, and nearly all the able-bodied men were away. Miss Betty Porter, aged sixteen, daughter of one of the men killed and burned in Major Starr's house, and subsequently the wife of Captain Nathaniel Gregory, grandfather of our Colonel Gregory, was at the funeral. She says there were but six men present, and they bore the body to its resting-place. The remains were buried in the graveyard on Wooster Street. General David Wooster was born in Stratford, on March 2d, 1710 ; so he was really what might have been called an old man when he came to Danbury to fight the enemy, being in his sixty- eighth year, but there was no lack of the fire of youth in his movements, and it has always been the impression among our l^eople that he was twenty years younger. He graduated at Yale in 1738. In 1739 he entered the navy, was made a lieutenant, and was later promoted to be captain. In 1740 he married the daughter of Rev. Thomas Clapp, then president of Yale College. She became a woman eminent for her piety and for social graces. In 1745 he served as captain in the Louisburg expedition, and in the same year he sailed to Europe in command of a cartel ship. He was accorded special honors in England. He was first a colonel and afterward a brigadier-general in the Seven Years' War. When trouble brewed between Great Britain and the colonies he took up the cause of the latter, and was one of those who conspired to capture Fort Ticonderoga in 1775. When the Continental Army was organized he received the appoint- ment of brigadier-general. He served in Canada, at one time as commander of the Continental forces. Later he returned to Con- * Henry C. Deming's oration at the dedication of Wooster's Monument, 1854. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 87 necticut, where lie was appointed first major-general of the State militia. It was in this capacity he came to Danbury. On April 27th, 1852, the remains of the hero were taken from the Wooster Street burial-ground, and deposited in Wooster Cemetery, beneath the imposing monument there placed to his memory. A BIT OF WOOSTER GENEALOGY. Edward Wooster, born in England in 1622, settled in Milford, Conn., about 1642, and was in Derby, Conn., in 1654. Of his first wife nothing is known. His second wife was Tabitha, daughter of Henry and Alice Tomlinson, whom he married in 1669. He died July 8th, 1680, and his estate was divided among twelve children in 1694. Abraham, his second son and fourth child, married November 22d, 1699, Mercy, the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth {nee Wheeler, and widow of Samuel Blakeman) Walker, and settled at Farmill River, in Stratford, remaining there until about 1719, when the family removed to Quaker Farm, in Derby, now Oxford, Conn. David Wooster, the youngest child of Abraham and Elizabeth Wooster, was born March 2d, 1710-11 ; graduated at Yale Col- lege in 1738, and married on March 6th, 1746, Mary, daughter of Thomas Clapp, president of Yale College. The children of this marriage were Mary, born January 21st, 1747 ; died October 20th, 1748. Thomas, born July 30th, 1751. Mary, born June 2d, 1753. CHAPTER XVII. AFTER THE FIRE. The firing of our people upon the British with the return fire of the enemy marked as distinctly as sight could have done to the refugees the progress of the march. Besides, there were messengers, in the person of boys, who kept track of the course and reported hourly. Long before the royal column passed Ridgebury church the people who had fled began to return to the village, some to undisturbed homes, others to smoking ruins. Before night the most of them were here, although it was not until the next day that all had returned. With the returning Danburians came a host of sightseers from Redding, Bethel Village, Brookfield, Newtown, New Faii-field, and other places. It was a great spectacle for outsiders, and they flocked here just as people do to the scene of an overwhelm- ing disaster. All that Sunday afternoon Main Street and South were full of people viewing the ruins, sympathizing with the sufferers, cursing the enemy, and delivering opinions of reckless wisdom, as is common with the dear masses in matters they know nothing of. One of these visitors used to relate that the wheels of his wagon sank above their felloes in the cold grease on South Street, which came from the burnt pork. There were three tav- erns here at the time, and the business they might have done, had they the liquid facilities, would have been immense. Dr. Jabez Starr, grandfather of Frederick Starr, kept one of the taverns. His place stood on the corner of Main and Elm streets, near where is now the News building. On the approach of the enemy he moved his goods out of town and harm's way. The house now occupied by Nathaniel Barnum, a few doors south of the Neios office, was a tavern at that time. On a sign swinging from a post it bore a qo])j of the arms of King George IV., which gave the tavern its name. It was kept by John Trow- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 89 bridge, who was Mr. Barnum's great-grandfather. Owing to its sign it was saved from destruction, but its furniture was piled up in the street and burned. Mr. Barnum has completely changed the outside appearance of the building, so that to-day it looks but little like it was at that time. Mr. Trowbridge was a lieutenant in the rebel armj^ He was away with his regiment at the time. His people removed themselves and what furniture they could get together to Nathan Corn wall's tavern in Beaver Brook District. The royal troops did not interfere with the property, but the destruction of the furniture was the work of Tory neighbors. The old house on South Street, at the very foot of Main Street, is a long, high-roofed building, with great stone chimneys of a Revolutionary pattern thrust through its antique roof. It is said that when the British visited Danbury in 1777 some of the soldiers quartered at this house, and saved it from the flames, because a boy in the family provided them with cider. We do not know what degree of hardness the cider of that time had assumed in April, but it must have been quite satisfactory to the minions of King George. This tradition, however, is devoid of that substantiality which we all like to see bracing up facts. Farther west on this street was the residence of Major Taylor. When the British came to Danbury his ox-team v,^as engaged in drawing stores to the American troops under Arnold. He had one horse, smooth shod, and a cart. As soon as he heard that the enemy were approaching he hurried home to get his family and what supply of produce he could out of the range of the depredators. One of the members of his family was an invalid. She was placed on a feather-bed in the cart. After putting his wife and what supplies he could hastily get together in the same vehicle, he looked about in vain for his daughter, who was then deeply engaged with some children of her own age in making mud-pies on the lower part of South Street. Major Taylor succeeded in finding her before a start was made, and took her with him on the cart, which he drove to Brookfield. This small girl who was making mud-pies in South Street in the spring of 1777 after- ward became the wife of Edward Wilcox, and the mother of Mrs. George W. Ives of this town. 90 HISTORY OF DANBURY. When the excitement was over Major Taylor returned to Dan- bury, built the house called the Martin Clark place, and used it as a tavern. Ten years later Mr. Taylor put up a guide-stone in front of his place, which still remains and contains the following information : " 67 MILES to H. 68 to N Y. This Stone erected by Mr. M Taylor 1787." The building is two-storied, with a tremendous garret. The dining-room was then used as the reception-room, with the small bar of those days opening o2 from it. A part of the second floor was used as a ball-room. Three stone chimneys pierce the roof. One of these at the base is eight by eleven feet, and five feet square in the garret. The others are nearly as large. There were two Matthew Benedicts, father and son, who figure in the list of losers. The latter, who was grandfather of the late Henry Benedict, lived where is now the homestead of Mrs. Henry Benedict. It is said that he owned a small hat shop, which was burned by the British, although Francis's " History of Hatting" says hatting was begun in Danbury in 1780, or three years later than the advent of the British. The senior Matthew lived with Jonah, another son. The junior's estate included what is now a part of the foot of West Street, long known as the Concert Hall property, which was given by the family to the first church society. We have not been able to locate the residence of either Jonah or Zadock Benedict, who were brothers of Matthew, Jr. The former is said to have lived at the lower end of Main Street. Still another brother was Noble Benedict, who raised a company of one hundred men at the beginning of the war. He was captured in November, 1776, at Fort Washington. Nathan was captured in the Danbury fight, and taken to the Sugar House prison. Jonah was in his brother's company at Fort Washing- ton, and was captured there. Joseph Wildman lived where stands the residence of the late Hon. F. S. Wildman, on West Street, near Main. In the award of land to the sufferers he received fourteen hundred acres in HISTORY OF DANBURY. 91 Ohio. So little did lie value it that he sold it in exchange for a horse. A part of the flourishing city of Sandusky is on that land, and is now worth millions of dollars. The singular sale was made with the right of redemption within thirty years. About a year or so after the expiration of that time, and when the property began to be quite valuable, Joseph's heirs unfortunately discov- ered this clause in the deed. Perhaps the most serious loss Danbury sustained in the fire were its town records. The books of the probate office were saved. Had the former been equally fortunate much valuable matter could have easily been added to these papers from the treasure. This list of sufferers with the amounts of losses we herewith give, as awarded by the first-named committee, mentioned in the report following from Hinman's history : Mr. John McLean, $12,462.64 ; Captain Ezra Starr, $11,480 ; Captain Daniel Taylor, $4932; Colonel Jos. P. Cooke, $4767.50; Major Eli Mygatt, $580.30 ; Captain James Clark, $4112.62 ; Major Taylor, $3504 ; Comfort Hoyt, Jr., $3258.77 ; Thaddeus Benedict, Esq., $2610 ; Benjamin Sperry, $849 ; David Wood, $2165.24 ; Joseph Wild- man, $2087; Dr. John Wood, $1970.80; Matthew Benedict, $1672.50 ; Rev. Ebenezer White, $1637.60 ; Jonah Benedict, $1547.50 ; Matthew Benedict, $1026.16 ; Jabez Rockwell, $1189 ; Zadock Benedict, $849.25. The total loss as thus determined by the committee amounted to nearly $81,000. Immediately after the disaster the selectmen were instructed to present a petition to the Legislature for the relief of the suf- ferers. Hinman, in his " War of the American Revolution," says : " John McLean, Eli Mygatt, and others, selectmen of Dan- bury, stated to the General Assembly, convened at Hartford on May 8th, 1777, that the enemy, in their incursion into Danbury, burned and destroyed the public records of said town, and they apprehended great damage might arise to the inhabitants unless some timely remedy should be provided. The Assembly ap- pointed Daniel Sherman, Colonel Nehemiah Beardsley, Increase Moseley, Lemuel Sanford, Colonel S. Canfield, and Caleb Bald- win to repair to Danbury, as soon as might be, and notify the 92 HISTORY OF DANBURT. inhabitants of said town, and by all lawful ways inquire into and ascertain every man's right, and report to the next General Assembly. " This committee reported to the Assembly that the British troops had made a hostile invasion into said town, and under a pretence of destroying the public stores, had consumed with fire about twenty dwelling-houses, with many stores, barns, and other buildings, and that the enemy on their retreat collected and drove off all the live stock — viz., cattle, horses, and sheep — which they could find ; and that the destruction of said property had reduced many of the wealthy inhabitants to jDoverty. Hav- ing notified the inhabitants, they from day to day examined the losses of each sufferer, on oath and by other evidence, and allowed to each his damage at the time said property was de- stroyed ; they found that by reason of the price of articles, the inhabitants had been obliged to pay large sums over and above the value in procuring the necessaries for their families ; that many of them had their teams forced from them to remove the public stores, etc. They gave the name of each sufferer, with his loss allowed, annexed to his name, which amounted to the sum of £16,181 Is. 4d., which report was accepted by the Assem- bly and ordered to be lodged on file, to perpetuate the evidence of the loss of each person, that when Congress should order a compensation, to make out the claims of sufferers. " On the receipt of this communication the pay-table were directed to draw an order on the treasurer for the sum of £500 in favor of the selectmen of Danbury, as aforesaid, who could not subsist without such relief. " In 1787 the sufferers in Danbury having received no further relief, again petitioned the General Assembly of Connecticut, upon which petition Hon. Andrew Adams and others were ap- pointed a committee. " The chairman of said committee reported that for want of exhibits and documents they were unable methodically and cor- rectly to state the facts or losses and estimate the damages ; and also for the want of proper certificates from the Treasurer and Secretary of State, to report what had already been done for their relief ; but were of opinion that the houses and buildings and necessary household furniture, destroyed by the enemy, ought to be paid for by the State, at their just value ; and that HISTORY OF DANBURY. 93 the only manner in the power of the State, at that time, was to pay the same in Western lands, which report was in October, 1787, accepted by the House, but rejected by the Upper House." In 1792 the General Assembly made the award of land. This territory is in Ohio, and has since been known as the Western Reserve. The following named are the prisoners taken from Danbury at the time of the raid : John Bartram, Nathan Benedict, Benja- min Sperry, John Porter, Jonathan Starr, William Roberts, Jacob Gray, and Aaron Gray Knapx^. CHAPTER XVIII. LEGISLATIVE ACTION. A VOLUME entitled "The War of the American Revolution" furnishes some incidents of interest to Danbury — in fact, Dan- biiry largely figures in the book, which was compiled in 1841 by Royal R. Hinman, who was then Secretary of State. The matter pertaining to Danbury was furnished by Reuben Booth, grand- father of Attorney John R. Booth, of this city. We learn from this book that Danbury' s grand list in 1775, at the beginning of the Revolution, was $142,507.66. In May, 1777, the month following the burning, Governor Trumbull issued, at the suggestion of the General Assembly, a proclamation. The document is a sorry confession of man's in- humanity to man, especially to his neighbor. It appears from this paper that a lot of shiftless and mercenary wretches took advantage of the appearance of the enemy here to burn the houses and steal the portable property of Danburians and othei's who escaped the raid of the British. The i3roclamation calls upon these graceless offenders to immediately restore such prop- erty and make good such losses, or suffer the severe penalties of the law. In the record of the General Assembly, May session, 1777, there are the following interesting entries : " Thaddeus Benedict, of Danbury, represented to the Assem- bly that the British troops, when in Danbury, burned his dwell- ing-house and several other houses kept for public entertain- ment ; and stated that he had provided a convenient house in the centre of said town, and asked for a license to keep a public- house, which was granted by said Assembly. " Mary Hoyt, the wife of Isaac Hoyt, then late of Danbury, showed to the Assembly that she had ever been a good Whig and a true friend to the rights of her country, and that her hus- band, when the enemy entered said Danbury, being an enemy HISTORY OF DANBURY. 95 to his country, went off and joined the British, by which he had justly forfeited all his estate, both real and personal ; and that the selectmen had seized upon all the personal estate of her hus- band, by means of which she was deprived of the necessaries of life, and asked the Assembly to order that one-third part of all the clear, movable estate should be given to her, and the use of one-third part of all the real estate, for her natural life, for her support. The Assembly ordered that said Mary Hoyt should have and enjoy one-third part of the personal and real estate during the pleasure of the Assembly." " Ruth Peck, the widow of Jesse Peck (then), late of Danbury, stated to the General Assembly that her husband, with three sons, in the spring of 1776, enlisted in the service of the State, and all went through the fatigue of the campaign. Two of the sons were taken prisoners at Fort Washington, and suffered the hardships of captivity in New York. One son had the small- pox in the worst manner possible, in the most scarce time of gold, the (then)' last winter at New York, who started for home and froze his feet, so that he became a cripple ; another son was sent home by the British about January 1st, 1777, infected with the small-pox, of which he soon died after his arrival. The hus- band, who had arrived home a short time previous to his son, took the disease, and also died after a long confinement. One other son also took said disease, who by the goodness of God recovered, whereby said Ruth was grievously aiflicted, and the town of Danbury expended the sum of £26 12s. 6d. in their sick- ness, and held a claim upon the small estate her husband had left for the payment of it, and if paid by her, would leave her with a family of small children and needy indeed ; and prayed the Assembly to pay the sum aforesaid." At an adjourned session of the same body in February, 1778, occurred the following : '' John Marsh, of Danbury, stated to the Assembly that when the British troops went into Danbury he through surprise joined them and went away with them, but soon made his escape and returned home, and was committed to jail, and prayed pardon for the offence, which was granted him, by his taking the oath of fidelity and paying the cost of prosecution." In the January (1778) session were given the following depo- sitions regarding the negro who was killed in Major Starr's 96 HISTORY OF DANBURY. house, and who, we should judge, was a slave, whose owner was seeking remuneration. Here are the entries : " Ebenezer White, of Danbury, of lawful age, testifies and says, that on or about the 26th day of April, 1777, at evening, there being a number of gentlemen at his house belonging to the British Army, among which was one whom he understood was the Earl of Falkland's son, who told him (the deponent) that he was the first that entered Major Starr's house, and found a number of men in the house, among Avhom were two negroes, all of whom they instantly killed, and set fire to the house ; and gave this for a reason why they did so, that it was their constant practice, where they found people shut up in a house and firing upon them, to kill them, and to burn the house ; and further the de- ponent saith, that the said young gentleman told him that one of the negroes, after he had run him through, rose up and attempted to shoot him, and that he, the said Earl of Falkland's son, cut his head off himself ; which negro the deponent under- stood since was the property of Mr. Samuel Smith, of Reading ; and further the deponent saith not. " Danbury, January 26th, 1778. "The Rev. Mr. Ebenezer White, the deponent, personally appearing, made oath to the truth of the above w^ritten depo- sition. " Sworn to before me, Thaddeus Benedict, Justice of the Peace. " Ebenezer Weed, of Danbury, of lawful age, testifies and says, that on or about the 26th day of April, 1777, he being at home across the road opposite to Major Daniel Starr's house, he saw a negro at the house, which he knew to be the property of Mr. Samuel Smith, of Reading, about a half hour, as near as he can judge, before the British troops came to said house ; and further the deponent saith, that in the evening of said day, he heard a man belonging to ihe British Army say that they had killed one dam'd black with the whites, in said Starr's house ; and further the deponent saith not. " Danbury, January 26th, 1778. " Sworn before Thaddeus Benedict, Justice of the Peace. "Anna Weed, of Danbury, of lawful age, testifies and says, that on or about the 26th day of April, 1777, she being at home HISTOKY OF DANBURY. 97 across the road opposite to Major Starr's lionse, she saw a negro at said house, which she understood was the property of Mr. Samuel Smith, of Reading, but a short time before the British trooi^s came up to the house ; and further the deponent saith she heard one of-the British soldiers say, ' Here is a dam'd black in the house ; what shall we do with him V Another answered, ' Damn him, kill him,' and immediately the house was in flames ; and further the deponent saith not. " Danbury, January 26th, 1778. " Sworn to before Thaddeus Benedict, Justice of the Peace." In the March (1778) session of the Assembly occurs the fol- lowing : " Hannah Church, of Danbury, the wife of Asa Church (then), late of said Danbury, showed the Governor and Council that her husband had joined the British Army, and was then in New York, and that she had no estate to support her ; and prayed for liberty to go to New York to her husband. The Governov and Council gave her liberty to go to New York, with such necessary apjDarel as the Committee of Inspection of said Dan- bury shall think proper ; and General Silliman was directed to grant a flag or passport to the said Hannah accordingly. " It appears from an item in the report of the General Assembly that an attack on Danbury was anticipated several weeks before from the Hudson River direction. Two weeks before the attack the Governor sent a letter to General Silliman, instructing him to keep a strict watch upon the enemy, who were preparing in New York to go up the North River, with a view, undoubtedly, to destroy the stores at Danbury. On the night of the 27th the General Assembly received word that there were alarming symp- toms from the North River, and almost immediately after that Danbury was burned. CHAPTER XIX. SOME INCIDENTS OF THE RAID. John McLean was commissary of the Continental troops in that vicinity, and the object of the visit of the enemy to Danbury was to destroy the army provisions which he had accumulated in his store and in the EjDiscopal church, which was then unfin- ished. They would not burn the church, but rolled the barrels of flour and pork into South Street, and burned them and the buildings. Mr. McLean had sent off all his working teams toward West Point with supplies, and had nothing at home but a pair of fat- ting oxen and a saddle horse. Upon the alarm of the enemy's apj)roach the oxen were put before a cart with a feather-bed in it, upon which his wife and children proceeded to New Milford, while he remained burying and putting in safety such of his property as he could conceal, until the British appeared over Coalpit Hill. They saw and pursued him, calling out, " Old Daddy," " Rebel," etc., and firing after him when the fleetness of his horse seemed likely to carry him out of their reach. Some of the bullets passed through his coat and hat, but he escaped uninjured, joining his family in New Milford, whence they re- moved to a farm which he owned in Stony Hill, and remained until the close of the war. They then returned to Danbury and built the house now standing near the foot of Main Street. We mentioned in a previous paper the death of a young man named Barnum, in the Sugar House prison in New York. His father, Colonel Joseph Barnum, was seriously affected by the deplorable fate of his boy, and became so full of the sjjirit of vengeance, that on the next day after getting the news he loaded his gun and started out to avenge himself on sympathizers with the British. Seeing a Tory at work in a field the half -crazed father fired at him, wounding him severely. " He had pre- viously been a professedly pious man, but frequently after the HISTORY OF DANBURY. 99 loss of his son concluded his devotions in his family by invoking a curse upon ' old King George and his hellish crew.' " • Several writers say that Nehemiah Dibble, who occupied the old mansion which entertained General Tryon, and received the dying breath of Wooster, did not escape punishment for his Tory sympathies. They tell that shortly after the retreat of the Brit- ish, a number of young men took hold upon Dibble, and carry- ing him to Still River, near where is now the railroad, immersed him several times in the water, giving him what they called a " thorough ducking." Samuel Morris was an army teamster. He was employed in drawing the army stores from New Haven to Danbury. His brother, Jacquin, was not equally eminent for patriotism— in fact, Jacquin took advantage of the presence of the British Army to join its ranks. He went away with them, and served through the war. Shortly after that he returned to Danbury on a visit to his mother, who was living in Beaver Brook District. He did not come back with any ostentation, you may be sure. The first intimation of his presence was given to a little niece, who in crossing the bridge over Still River, near her grand- mother's house (and where is now the grist-mill), was startled by the appearance of a man' s head from under the bridge. The man learning who she was told her to call her father. She did so, and then the stranger revealed that he was Jacquin Morris, the deserting Danburian. He was not immediately recognized by the brother, having changed considerably, but on uncovering his head, a bare spot on his scalp, well known to the family, was found, and he was received. He was obliged to keep himself secluded, and during his stay was secreted in the garret of his mother's house. Some years later he made a second visit home, but did not remain long. As an offset to this loss Danbury gained three citizens, and, so far as we can learn, they were good citizens, in the persons of three deserters from the British Army. One of these was a fifer, whose name was Harry Brocton. The others were privates. Thomas Flynn was the name of one of the latter. His compan- ion's name is not known to us at this writing. Brocton married and lived on Town Hill Avenue. Flynn also married here. He settled on South Street. The father of the late Aaron B. Hull was seventeen years old 100 HISTORY OF DANBURY. when the British burned Danbury. He joined in the pnrsnit of Tryon through Ridgefield, and was in all the fighting. In escap- ing one of the dashes of the enemy, he found himself back of a rock in company with two boys a trifle younger than himself, who were having their first experience in battle. While waiting there, he discovered that a Tory was in a brake near by, watching with ready gun for them to reappear. Putting his hat on the end of his gun he pushed it out beyond the rock. Immediately the Tory fired, the bullet piercing the hat. The next instant he plunged toward the rock, when the three boys fired simultane- ously at him. At the discharge he sprang several feet in the air and came down full length upon his face, but turned in a flash upon his back, and lay there, motionless in death. After the battle Mr. Hull's father went over the ground to look for the body. He found it where it had fallen, but our pure-minded, gentle-hearted forefathers had stripped it of every stitch of clothing. During this catastrophe to Danbury there was an army hos- pital in existence here. It was established the month before, and was not touched by the British. The location was on what is now called Park Avenue, at the junction of Pleasant Street. All that property was then owned by Samuel Wildman, grand- father of the late Samuel C. Wildman, who leased to the govern- ment the land for the use of the hospital. Mr. Wildman lived then in the modernized house on the avenue, which stands on the east corner. There are several pear-trees in this garden which were set out by Samuel Wildman over a hundred years ago, and which now yield abundantly. The soldiers who died at the hospital were buried in a plot of ground on Pleasant Street, near the corner of Park Avenue. This burial-place was held sacred by Mr. Wildman, who would not have it ploughed. Some years after it was rented, and the tenant, being either ignorant of its former use or extremely prac- tical in his views, turned up with his plough many bones and some relics in metal. The hospital itself w^as a one-storied building with a large gar- ret in its steep roof. The first floor was divided into four rooms ; the garret was of one room. The building was torn down many years ago by its owner. The last Revolutionary soldier in Danbury was Captain HISTORY OF DANBURY. 101 Nathaniel Gregory, wlio died April 12th, 1851, at the age of ninety years. He was the grandfather of our fellow-citizen, Colonel Samuel Gregory. He served in the army nnder Colonel Shelton and Major Tallmadge, and was engaged at various places, being present at Fairfield, Norwalk, and Horse Neck, and was one of the number composing the life guard of General Putnam on that day which terminated the life of Sir Nathan Palmer at Peekskill. He served his country with zeal and fidelity in the struggle for American independence, the benefits of which are ours. In the Danbury Times of May 4th, 1854, was printed the fol- lowing : " Revolutionary Soldiers. — There were 232,791 soldiers engaged in the Revolutionary War. Of this number there are now less than 1400 living, whose ages must average nearly ninety years. Seventy-three have died during the past year. A few years more and those venerable octogenarians will only be known in the pages of history." In its issue of August 25th, 1859, the Times prints this item : " The following is a list of Revolutionary soldiers supposed to be living, and pensioners on the roll of the State of Connecticut, with their ages in 1859 : " David Bostwick, Litchfield County, 98 years ; John Brooks, Fairfield County, 96 years ; Benjamin Cobb, Middlesex County, 98 years ; Jacob Hurd, Middlesex County, 97 years ; Nehemiah W. Lyon, Fairfield County, 100 years ; William Williams, Litch- field County, 97 years." Despite the ill-luck of the invasion and burning, Danbury con- tinued to be used as a depot for army stores, especially for the provisioning of the army operating along the Hudson River. At one time several brigades of American troops were en- camped here, southeast of the village, on the ridge known as Shelter Rock. When the war ended and the French Army was on its return from the North to the South, it passed through Danbury, which was then on the line of a great thoroughfare. It was guided through this section by David Pearce and his two sons, Aaron and Joshua. When the British came to Danbury a little red house stood on the corner of West Street and Deer Hill Avenue, where is now 102 HISTOEY OF DANBURY. the residence of Mrs. Charles Hull. Ebenezer Benedict lived there then. Several of the British officers made the house their headquarters, and Mrs. Benedict cooked for them. The build- ing subsequently changed hands several times and was as many- times rebuilt. There is some of its timber in the present struc- ture. Mrs. Benedict became distinguished in after years by marrying Andrew Beers, who made almanacs for the public and love to the charming widow at the same time. CHAPTER XX. A DANBURY SPY."'^ Enoch Crosby, who is generally believed to have been the original of " Harvey Birch," the hero of Cooper's famous novel, " The Spy," was born in Harwich, Mass., on January 4th, 1750. He was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Crosby, who moved to Putnam County, N. Y., when Enoch was three years old. About 1766 the family by misfortune were reduced from comfort to poverty, and Enoch left home to depend upon his own exer- tions for support, with a scanty outfit of clothes, a few shillings in money, and a small Bible. He became apprentice to a shoe- maker in Kent, and faithfully fulfilled his term of service, which ended January 4th, 1771, his twenty-first birthday. He was living in Danbury when the Revolutionary War began, enlisted as one of the first soldiers under Captain Benedict, and went with his company to take part in the expedition against Canada, under Generals Schuyler and Montgomery. He re- mained until the army were in possession of Montreal, when, his term of enlistment having expired, he returned to Danbury and betook himself again to shoemaking. Crosby was well contented for a time to pursue his occupation. He had seen hard service in the northern campaign and needed rest. During the following summer, however, his patriotic feel- ings began again to stir within him. The war was going on with redoubled fury. The British had in several instances gained the advantage. * Most of this chapter is taken from a little volume published over fifty years ago, entitled " Whig Against Tory ; or, The Military Adventures of a Shoemaker." A tale of the Revolution, it is given in the form of a relation by General P to his children. In 1855 another edition was brought out by Silas Andrews & Sou. We are also indebted to " The Spy Unmasked ; or, Memoirs of Enoch Crosby, alias Harvey Birch, the Hero of 'The Spy,' by James F. Cooper," by H. L. Barnum. Also to the " History of Putnam County, New York," by William S. Pelletreau, A.M. 104 HISTORY OF DANBURY. It was not in such a man as Enocli Crosby to seek ease or sliun danger in the hour of his country's trial. He saw others making sacrifices — women as well as men, youth as well as age — and he scorned to have it said that he could not make sacrifices as well as others. His musket was therefore taken down, and fitting on his knapsack, he took up his march toward the headquarters of the American Army on the Hudson. At this time (September, 1776) the headquarters of the British Army were in the city of New York. The American Army lay up the Hudson, fifty or sixty miles, either at or near West Point. Between the two armies, therefore, was the county of West- chester, the centre of which, being occupied by neither, was called the " neutral ground." But in reality it was far from being a neutral spot, because it was here that a great number of Tories resided, the worst enemies which the Americans had to contend with. Many of this description of jiersons lived on the " neutral ground," and, what was worse, they often pretended to be Whigs, and passed for such, but in secret did all in their power to injure their country. Crosby had reached a part of this ground on his way to the American camp. It was just at evening that he fell in with a stranger, who appeared to be passing in the same direction with himself. "Good evening," said the stranger. "Which way are you travelling — below ?" Crosby replied that he was too much fatigued to go much farther that evening, either above or below ; but he believed he should join himself to a bed could he find one. "Well," said the stranger, "listen to me. It will soon be dark ; go with me. I live but a short distance from this. You shall be welcome." Crosby thanked him and said he would gladly accept his kind invitation. " Allow me to ask," said the soldier, " your advice as to the part which a true friend of his country should take in these times." " Do I understand you ?" inquired the stranger, his keen eye settling on the steady countenance of Crosby — " do you wish to know which party a real patriot should join ?" " I do," said Crosby. Ezra P. Bkneukt. Enoch Cu(i>by. a 1{k\ outionauy Si'v. The ••Hakvv Biuch" of Cooper's Novel. Old Chest, Knouts' to be Over 200 Years Old, was brought from England BY Ephraiji Morris, who Died in 1792. Sa>il. Ward Benedict. Benedict Homestead. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 105 " Well, you look like one to be trusted." " I hope I am honest," replied Crosby. '' Why," observed the stranger, " one mustn't say much about one's self in these days ; but — but some of my neighbors would advise you to join the lower party." "Why so?" asked Crosby. " Why, friend, they read that we must submit to the pow- ers that be ; and, besides, they think King George is a good friend to America, notwithstanding all that is said against him." ' ' Could you introduce me to some of your neighbors of this way of thinking ?" asked Crosby. " With all my heart," replied the stranger. "I understand they are about forming a company to go below, and I jDresume they would be glad to have you join them. " " I do not doubt it," observed Crosby. " Well, friend," said the stranger, " say nothing. Rest your- self to-night, and in the morning I will put you in the way to join our — the company." By this time they had reached the stranger's dwelling. It was a farm-house, situated a short distance from the main road — retired, but quite neat and comfortable in its ajDpearance. Here the soldier was made welcome by the host and his family. After a refreshing supper Crosby excused himself, was soon asleep, and " slept well." The next morning Crosby reminded his host of the promise to introduce him to the Tories, and the farmer took him about among the neighbors, presenting him as one who felt favorably disposed to joining the king's forces. The Tories talked freely to him of their plans, one of which was the organization of a company. The company was to hold a meeting in a few nights for drill, and Crosby was urged to join them. He promised he would think on the matter, but gave them to understand that he would first go to New York, and might join the army there ; but if possible he would meet with the company on the night selected for the drill. In leaving his host, Crosby started on the road to New York, as a blind, but at a safe distance he struck off toward the river. He had heard of a Mr. Young, living at a distance, and farther down, although more toward the river, wiio was a strong Whig, 106 HISTORY OF DANBURY. and he made for his place, to concert measures for the capture of the Tory company. It was late in the evening when Crosby reached Young's house, but he found that party up. Crosby convinced him that he was a " good rebel," and then told him what he had learned of the Tory company. The Committee of Safety for the country had headquarters at White Plains. One of the number was John Jay, afterward Minister to England. It was Young' s suggestion that the two proceed at once to White Plains with information, and they did so, reaching Mr. Jay' s house at two o' clock in the morning. The committee acted promptly upon the information, and plans were soon laid to capture the Tory company on the night Crosby had learned they were to meet for drill. He volun- teered to lead the force to the place. The night arrived, the plan was put in operation, and resulted in a complete success. It was a dark night, and Crosby kept himself in the background, so it is doubtful if any of the prisoners knew their betrayer, although the farmer, who was among the number, had his sus- picions. After this success the Committee of Safety suggested to Crosby that he adopt the role of spy, instead of going into the army. The country was full of Tories operating secretly against the Americans, and it was desirable to get the fullest information of their movements. It was an extremely dangerous service, but Crosby was full of patriotic valor, and he did not hesitate to accept the proposition of the committee, merely stipulating that if he fell full justice should be done his memory. This they gladly promised. The greatest secrecy was necessary, and he was instructed not to reveal his principles to either party. If captured by the Americans as belonging to the British, the committee would help him to escape, but if there was no possible way to let them know, then he could use a paper they gave him, but it must not be used only in an extremity. In a few days he started out, using a kit of shoemaker's tools as an excuse for travelling. At night he knocked at a house, and was admitted by a woman whose husband had not returned from work. He solicited work, and she promised to hire him to make a pair of shoes. On his arrival he said to her : " Madam, have you heard the news ?" HISTORY OF DANBUEY. 107 " What news?" " Why, that Washington is on the retreat, and that the British Army is pursuing him, and likely to overtake him." "Ah, that's good news!" exclaimed the old lady. "You may stay here to-night. Sally ! Sally ! here, get this man some supper. He brings good news. I hope the rebels, every one, will be shot ! Sally, make up the best bed ! Here's a chair ; sit down, sir, and make yourself at home." Crosby accordingly took a seat. Supper was soon ready, and he ate heartily. When he had done he drew his chair to the fire, about which time the man of the house came in. He was told the good news by his wife, and Crosby was made welcome. The farmer asked Crosby if he did not want to join a company of Tories to fight for King George, then being formed in the neighborhood. Crosby said he would like to see them first. The next morning he was presented to the captain, who showed him the rendezvous of the company, which was ingeniously con- cealed in a tremendous haystack in the captain's yard. The captain invited Crosby to stay with him all night, and Join the company the next night at its meeting. Crosby accepted the invitation. In the night he slipped out of the house and made his way to White Plains, where he saw Mr. Jay and acquainted him with what he had found out. A plan was immediately laid to capture the company, and Crosby returned to the captain's house, reaching it and his bed before daylight, and without dis- turbing the family. The next night the company assembled at the captain's house, sixty-nine strong, and Crosby was presented to them. Shortly after, while he was being urged to join them, a troop of Ameri- cans descended upon the place and captured every one of the party, Crosby included. The prisoners were tied together in couples and marched to White Plains. There they were exam- ined singly by the Committee of Safety, and then marched to Fishkill for confinement. The committee praised Crosby for his action, but they could not discharge him, as that would excite suspicion against him in the country. He was sent with the others to Fishkill, but with the assurance that his escape would be provided. On the following morning the whole party were early on their way up the river. On reaching Fort Montgomery, near Peek- 108 HISTORY OF DANBURY. skill, a short halt was made, and here Crosby met with one of the most trying incidents of his life. On entering the fort, whom should he see before him but his former schoolmaster, a worthy man who had often been at his father's while teaching the village school in Southeast. And well did that schoolmaster know the attachment of old Mr. Crosby to American liberty, yet here was his son among a set of Tories, and a prisoner. The schoolmaster started back with a kind of horror, and even Crosby was for a moment nearly overcome. "Is this possible!" exclaimed the schoolmaster. "Do my eyes deceive me ? Enoch Crosby, why do I see you thus ?" Crosby advanced, and taking his old friend by the hand, re- plied, " You see me just as I am, among Tories, and a prisoner ; but I have no explanation to offer." "No explanations!" uttered the other. "Are you then, indeed, an enemy to your country ? Oh, your poor old father, Enoch ! It will bring down his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave when he hears of this." For a moment Crobsy felt a faintness come over him. His father ! He loved him, revered him, but he could not explain ; it would not do. He, therefore, only replied that God was his judge, and the time might come when things would appear other- wise than they did. The party at length reached Fishkill, and were conducted to the old Dutch church, where they were confined and strictly watched. Within a few days the Committee of Safety arrived in the village to examine the prisoners more closely. Crosby, in his turn, was summoned to appear. But in respect to him the com- mittee only consulted how he might escape. There were difii- culties in every plan they could think of. There was danger, great danger, yet they could not appear to favor him, and their advice to him was to run the hazard of an attempt by night in the best way he could contrive ; and should he be so fortunate as to escape, he might find a safe retreat with a Mr. , who lived at some distance. A few nights later Crosby made the attempt. He passed out of a window and to the ground by the trunk of a tree, without the guard noticing him. From the tree he made his way among HISTORY OF DANBURY. 109 the tomb-stones, and thence took a dash for liberty. This move aroused the sentinels, who fired after him, but the darkness sheltered him. In a few hours he came to Mr. 's house, where he was hospitably received. Mr. , to whose house Crosby fled on the night of his escape, had instructions for him from the Committee of Safety. These were that he should proceed that very night across the river, and plan for the capture of a company of Tories that were reported to be forming in that neighborhood. Before daylight he had been put across the river, and by breakfast-time had reached the scene of operations. He stopped at a farm-house, and engaged himself to work for the farmer for two or three days. He very soon gave the farmer to believe that he was of Tory sympathy, and the confession struck a responsive feeling in the breast of the farmer, who proved to be a rank Tory. He suggested that his new help be enrolled in a company forming in the neighborhood, and the new help was nothing loth. Crosby soon ascertained that the rendezvous of the company was in a cavern on a mountain, and got the promise of the farmer to take him there and introduce him, to the captain, who made his abode in the cavern while the company was being raised. Agreeable to this the farmer piloted Crosby to the place in the evening, and left him all night with the captain. Crosby learned from the officer that the company was to leave the following Wednes- day, and was to stay Tuesday night in the barn of a farmer near by. Crosby promised to be present, and the officer dismissed him, putting his name on his roll. This was Saturday morning. Crosby concluded to stay until the appointed time of march- ing, but he must get word to the Committee of Safety imme- diately. At some distance from Farmer B 's Crosby had ascertained there lived an honest old Whig, whom he determined to employ to carry a letter to Mr. Jay, then at Fishkill. Accordingly, having prepared a letter, he hastened on the setting in of even- ing to fulfil his purpose. In this he succeeded to his wishes, and before the usual hour of rest had returned without exciting the suspicion of any one. The important Tuesday evening at length arrived, and brought together at the appointed place the captain and about thirty Tories. Crosby was early on the spot, and before eleven he was the only individual of the whole class 110 HISTORY OF DANBURY. who was not quietly asleej:*. At length some one without was heard by him to cough. This being the signal agreed upon, Crosby coughed in return, and the next minute the barn was filled with a body of Captain Townsend's celebrated rangers. " Surrender !" exclaimed Townsend, in a tone which brought every Tory upon his feet. " Surrender, or by the life of Wash- ington you'll not see daylight again." It was in vain to resist, and the English officer delivered up his sword. " Call your muster roll," ordered Captain Townsend. The Englishman did as directed, and at length came to the name of Enoch Crosby. No one answered. Crosby had con- cealed himself with the hope of escaping, but finding this impos- sible he presented himself before Captain Townsend and Colonel Duer, one of the Committee of Safety, who was present. " Ah ! is it you, Crosby ?" asked Townsend. " You had light heels at Fishkill, but my word for it, you will find them heavy enough after this." " Who is he V inquired Colonel Duer, as if he knew him not, though he knew him w^ell, yet not daring to recognize him. " Who is he !" exclaimed Townsend. " Enoch Crosby, sir ; like an eel, slipping out of one's fingers as water runs down hill, but he'll not find it so easy a matter to escape again." The party were soon on their way to Fishkill, where they arrived in the course of an hour or two, and lodged their pris- oners in the old Dutch church. Crosby was not thus fortunate. Townsend's quarters were at some distance, and to these Crosby was quite civilly invited to go, as the captain declared that he wished to have him under his own eye. On his arrival Crosby was placed in a room by himself, heavily ironed, and a trusty guard detached to see that he came to " no harm," as the cap- tain said. During the expedition, which had occupied some twelve or fourteen hours, the company had fasted. Supper was therefore prepared with some haste after the return of the officer, who on sitting down fairly gorged himself with food and wine. About midnight Crosby was unexpectedly awakened by a gentle shake. On opening his eyes, whom should he see before him but a female who assisted in doing the work of the family. "Here, Enoch Crosby," said she, "rise and follow me ; say nothing ; hold fast your chains." HISTORY OF DANBURY. Ill Crosby was not at first satisfied whether it were a dream or a reality, but quite willing to make his escape, he rose as he was bid and followed her. As they passed from the room there lay the sentinel extended at full length, dreaming of battles, it might be, but certainly very quiet as to the safety of his prisoner, having been drugged. " They sleep well," said Crosby, on descending from the cham- ber to the first floor, where he could hear the loud breathing of the captain. " I hope they'll sleep till morning," rejoined the girl. " Stay a moment till I put the key of your door into the captain's pocket." " What !" asked Crosby, " does he keep the key himself V " Yes, indeed," replied the girl. " He was determined that you should play no more Yankee tricks, as he said, while under his care." " He must have thought me a man of some contrivance to take such precaution." " Oh," said the girl, " I've often heard him call you the— a bad name, at least. He said he believed that you and the old boy understood one another pretty well." " I wonder what he'll think now V said Crosby. The key being once more safely in the pocket of the captain, the girl conducted Crosby out of the door, and pointing toward a mountain lying to the west, now but just discernible, " Hast- en thither," said she, " and lie concealed till the coming search is over." " But tell me," said Crosby, " before I go, how will you escape suspicion 1" "Oh," said the girl, laughing, "never fear for me. I shall be out of harm's way before morning." " One more question," said Crosby. " Who put it into your heart to deliver me V ' " Jay is your friend," said she, waving her head. " Fare- well." To Crosby the whole was now plain. With a light heart he directed his course toward the mountain pointed out, and before morning he was safely hid in some of its secret recesses. When Townsend discovered the escape, with the door locked and the key in his own pocket, he was more confident than ever 112 HISTORY OF DANBURY. that Crosby and the devil were in league ; and he declared that he would hang him forthwith if he should catch him again. For several days from this time Crosby wandered round the country without any certain object. He greatly wished for an interview with the Committee of Safety, but the attempt he found would be hazardous until the troops in the immediate neighborhood of Fishkill should be sent on some expedition at a distance. Besides, he began to be known, to be suspected ; and the double and treble caution which he found it necessary to exercise made his employment almost a burden. While maturing some plan by which he could effect an interview with the Committee of Safety, he called just at evening at a farm- house and requested a night' s lodging. This was readily granted him, and he laid aside his pack, thankful to find a resting-place after the toils of the day. It was not long before two very large men armed with muskets entered the house. One of them started on seeing Crosby, and whispered something to his companion, to which the latter apparently assented, then turning to Crosby, said : '' I have seen you before, I think, sir." "Probably," replied Crosby, "though I cannot say that I recollect you." " Perhaps not ; but I am sure you were not long since at Fish- kill. Ha!" "The very fellow!" exclaimed the other. "You recollect how he escaped. Seize him !" In a moment the strong hand of the first was laid upon him, and his grasp was the grasp of an Anakim, and though Crosby might have been a match for him alone, prudence forbade resist- ance. They were two, he was but one ; they were armed with muskets, he had no weapon about him. " To-morrow," said the principal, " you shall go to headquar- ters, where, my word for it, you'll swing without much cere- mony. The committee will never take the trouble to try you again, and Townsend declares that he wishes only to come once more within gun-shot of you." Crosby was seldom alarmed, but now he could perceive real danger. Could he be fairly tried he might escape, but to be delivered into Townsend' s hands, and perhaps the Committee of Safety at a distance, he might indeed come to harm. He had HISTORY OF DANBURY. 113 one resort, he could show his pass, and it might save him. Accordingly, drawing it forth, he presented it to his captors. " Read that," said he, " and then say whether I am worthy of death." Astonishment sat on the countenances of both while they read the pass. When it was finished the principal observed : " I am satisfied we have been deceived, others are deceived also. Yoii are at liberty to go where you please. This is the handwriting of Mr. Jay. I know it well." Crosby might, perhaps, have stayed where he was through the night, but his feelings were such that he preferred to seek other lodgings. Accordingly shouldering his pack, he set forth in quest of a resting-place, which at the distance of a couple of miles he was so fortunate as to obtain ; but he was destined to other troubles. Scarcely had he laid aside his pack and taken a seat near a comfortable fire before a man entered whom he was sure he had seen before. At the same time the stranger cast upon him an eye of deep scrutiny and increasing severity. " A cool evening abroad," observed Crosby. The stranger made no reply, but springing upon his feet darted upon him like a fiend. " Now 1 know you !" exclaimed he. " I thought it was you ! You are the villain who betrayed us to the Committee of Safety ! Clear out from the house quickly or I'll call one of my neighbors, who says that if he ever sees you again he'll suck your very heart's blood." " Ah," said Crosby, quite calm and collected, " perhaps — " " Leave this house instantly !" v^ociferated the man, now nearly choked with rage. " But before you go take one pound- ing." "A pounding!" exclaimed Crosby in contempt. "Come, then," rising like a lion from his lair ; " come !" said he, at the same time rolling up his sleeves and showing a pair of fists which resembled a trip-hammer for hardness. "Why, we-we-11 — upon the whole," said the man, " I— I — think I'll let you oif if you'll never set foot here again." "I'll promise no such thing," said Crosby. "I'm willing to go ; indeed, I would not stay in such a habitation as this, but I'll not be driven." Crosby well knew that prudence required his departure, and 114 HISTORY OF DANBURY. with some deliberation lie shouldered his pack once more, and with a " good-by" left the house. At the distance of a mile he found lodgings, where he slept unmolested. On the following morning he ascertained that the Committee of Safety were alone at Fishkill, the troops having gone abroad on some expedition. Seizing the opportunity of their absence, he crossed the river, and was soon at the residence of Mr. Duer. That Crosby was in more than ordinary danger in traversing the country w^as apparent both to himself and Mr. Duer. He was advised, there- fore, to repair to an honest old Dutchman's, who lived in a, retired place some miles distant, and there wait until further orders. Accordingly, being furnished with a complete set of tools, he proceeded to the appointed place, and was so fortunate as to find ample employment for some time under the very roof of his host. A few days only, how^ever, had elapsed when an express arrived bringing him a letter from Mr. Duer, summon- ing him to Fishkill. On his arrival circumstances existed which rendered it imprudent for him to tarry, and he was directed to return to the Dutchman's and wait for further orders. A few days from that time Crosby received definite instruc- tions from the Committee of Safety to repair to Vermont on a secret expedition, and as no time was to be lost, he was obliged to bid his host adieu quite suddenly. We shall not attempt to follow Crosby on his northern tour, nor to relate the many adventures with which he met during his absence. He proved of great service to the cause of his country, but often suffered much by being taken with Tories whose cap- ture he was instrumental in effecting. At length he returned to the theatre of his former operations, but he was now suspected by the Tories of being a secret friend to the Whigs and opposed to the royal cause. He was, therefore, narrowly watched, and even found it necessary to hide himself at a brother-in-law's in the Highlands. Nor was he even here secure, for on the second night after reaching his brother-in-law's residence a musket was discharged through the window at him, the ball of which grazed his neck and tore the collar of his coat. It was apparent from this circumstance that his retreat was known, but it was ren- dered quite certain a few nights after by the appearance of an armed gang at the door. Crosby heard the coming of the assail- HISTORY OF DANBIJRY. 115 ants and sprung to his gun, but before he could reach it a ruffian had snapped a pistol at his head. Fortunately it missed fire, but now a most desperate engagement followed, in which Crosby showed the most astonishing strength and agility, but numbers at length overpowered him, and he was left for dead. Life, however, was not extinct, and after the ruffians had retired Crosby in a measure came to himself, but months passed away before he was able to resume the business in which he had been engaged. After the Revolution Enoch Crosby and his brother, Benja- min, purchased from the Commissioners of Forfeiture a farm of two hundred and fifty-six acres in the village of Southeast, where he lived during the remainder of his life. For many years he was justice of the peace, was one of the associate judges of Common Pleas in 1812-13, and supervisor of Southeast during these years. He Avas a deacon in the old Gilead Church, and a worthy member till the day of his death. In person he was tall, being six feet in height and rather slender. His tombstone, near the northwest corner of the old Gilead burying-ground, bears the following inscription : in memory oj^ Enoch Crosby, Who died June 26, 1835, Aged 85 years, 5 months and 21 days. CHAPTER XXI. THE EXECUTION OF ANTHONY. There have been two executions in Danbury. The first was a man named Anthony, a free negro, living in Greenwich. He perhaps had no other name, as Anthony is alone used in the indictment and the warrant for execution. His crime was committed on March 7th, 1798, and he was hanged in November following. At ten o'clock on the morning of November 8th, 1799, Anthony was removed from the jail and taken to the Congregational Church, late the Concert Hall building. The church was crowded to overflowing with spectators, as, despite the tragic character of the event, the town assumed a holiday appearance. Anthony was placed at the front, under the pulpit, during the preaching of the sermon. Rev. Timothy Langdon was the pastor, and delivered the discourse. He took for his text the thirty- fifth and thirty-sixth verses of the thirty-second chapter of Deu- teronomy : "To Me belongeth vengeance and recompense ; their foot shall slide in due time ; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. For the Lord shall Judge His people, and repent Himself for His servants. " The greater ]3art of the sermon had a general applica- tion, and was the same as the reverend gentleman would have said in treating of the text to his regular congregation. Upon the close of this he personally addressed the prisoner. He said : " Anthony, it is by your request that I speak on this occasion, and this is the last address which I shall ever make to you. From the sentence pronounced upon you by the court, and from the preparations with which you are surrounded, you must see that you have but a very, very short time to live. Your situa- tion is truly deplorable. Whatever your crimes may have been against God and human society, yet seeing your present condi- tion, I pity you as a man, I pray for you as a Christian, and am HISTORY OF D ANBURY- 117 now to address yon as a minister of the Gospel. I mnst there- fore be faithful, and use great plainness of speech." Then followed a description of the enormity of his sin, com- mitted in the light of knowledge, and after that an earnest ex- hortation to the sinner to repent, to look to Christ, to die " in a Christian temper." We judge from these words that Anthony w^as in an impeni- tent frame of mind, and that he was doggedly meeting his wretched fate. The Kev. Mr. Langdon was an eminently sensible man. In a few remarks to the "brethren and friends" present he said: " What but the sustaining grace of God has made us to differ, in our present situation, from the unhappy prisoner 'i What is it owing to but this, that we have not committed enormous crimes ?" On the close of the sermon the civil authorities carried the prisoner to the place set apart for his execution. This was at the head of Elm Street, near the pond. The gallows was erected on land belonging to Samuel Dibble, and from the fact of this execution the place took the name of " Gallows Hill." There was a great crowd present, of course, as it was a public execution, and the first ever had here. People from quite a distance were in attendance, and nearly all the town folks were present. Sheriff Dimon, of Fairfield, was the county sheriff, and he officiated. At the gallows Rev. S. Blatchford, from Bridgeport, we be- lieve, made a short address, principally dwelling upon the evil of the deed, the need of repentance, the unhappy condition of the prisoner, and the justice of the law, summing up with a warning to those present to avoid sin and to seek after right- eousness. Amos Adams, the second culprit, was executed on November 13th, 1817. A procession, accompanied by two military com- panies as guards, formed at the jail, and with the prisoner marched to the Congregational Church at the foot of West Street, where religious services were held. These consisted mainly of a full-fledged sermon, w^hich the preacher launched at the congregation for the benefit of the prisoner. The build- ing was filled to suffocation. After the sermon the procession re- 118 HISTOEY OF DANBCJRY. formed and marched up West Street on its way to the scaffold, which was erected at a point near the head of Elm Street, then an open country. The crowd of people was immense. They came from a dis- tance of twenty-five miles to witness tne execution, and as there were no railroads in that day, we may gather in what esteem a hanging was held by the populace. From the country and the neighboring towns the teams flocked into Danbury from early in the morning, many reaching here the night before in their eagerness to be on time. The procession moved up West Street, led by fife and drum, and to their music the prisoner and his guards kept step, while the teams of visitors were in the line, and the walks filled with a dense crowd. The ground about the scaffold was thronged with people, and all the trees in the neighborhood were filled with the more ven- turesome of the crowd. Several of the limbs gave way by the weight, precipitating the contents somewhat suddenly and pro- miscuously to the ground. Here and there were stands for the refreshment of the people, and with the excej)tion of the scaffold, there was nothing to indicate the presence of an awful tragedy. The cutting of the rope was done by a sword, and Adams dangled in the air, dying easily. He was but twenty-eight years of age. CHAPTER XXII. TO THE END OF THE CENTURY. From the war to the close of the century Danbury suffered from no disturbance. In 1784 Danbury was made a half-shire town by act of the Legislature. The following is the action of the town meeting held in August, 1784, in response to the legislative act. At an adjourned town meeting, held in Danbury, August 9th, 1784, James Seeley, Moderator, it was voted : " The General Assembly of the State having been pleased at their last session to constitute the town of Danbury a half-shire town, agreeable to the desire of the town, as by their vote and record appears, and directed that the Sui^erior and County Courts for the County of Fairfield should be held one half the time in town, as soon as public building necessary for the pur- pose should there be erected without expense to the County of Fairfield, this meeting taking into consideration the general advan- tages that will accrue to this part of the county in general and to the town in particular by having the act carried into execu- tion, especially as among many other privileges this town will thereby be furnished when the building shall be completed, with a very commodious house for transacting all their town business, of which they now stand in great need, and without any further expense to the town in p>articular — do thereby give and grant two hundred and fifty pounds, L. M. to be applied to erecting the building aforesaid, and the meeting do grant a rate or tax of twopence halfpenny on the pound on the polls and ratable estate of the inhabitants of the town to be made upon the list of 1783, and to be collected and paid to the treasurer of the town by the first day of November next, to be by him paid into the hands of a committee who may be ai^pointed to carry on the building and to be by them appointed for that pur^Dose. And Messrs. Edmond Washburn and James Clark were appointed 120 HISTORY OF DANBURY. collectors to collect and pay in the same ; and tlie whole of the civil authority in this town were appointed a committee to confer and agree with a committee to be appointed by the adjoining towns to insjDect the bnilding of the house and the place where to set it, and to join with them in appointing a committee to carry on the building and to set it on any of the town land where they shall think proper." In the following year, 1785, the court-house and jail were built. In January, 1791, the jail was burned, but rebuilt the same year on the site of the present jail. The second jail was built with the proceeds of a lottery. The first Masonic lodge was instituted in Danbury in 1780. The first Baptist church, in King Street District, was organized in 1785. In 1789 the first Methodist sermon in Danbury was delivered by Rev. Jesse Lee, in the dwelling of a resident Methodist. Methodism, now having the strongest following of any Protes- tant denomination in Danbury, was bitterly contested on its first appearance here. In 1790 the second Baptist society was formed. This was in Miry Brook District. The society built in 1794. In 1790 Danbury' s first newspaper was printed. The first number was issued in March of that year. It was called the Farmners' Journal, Two other papers were established in the last decade of the century. These and the churches will be spoken of in detail in other chapters. Another industry located here was the manufacture of paper. The mill was started in Beaver Brook District in 1790. The plant is now operated by the McArthur Brothers, who have built up a large and prosperous business, but there have been no additional mills for making paper established here. CHAPTER XXIII. THE FIRST BOROUGH CHARTER. Dakbury commenced the nineteentli century by holding a town meeting, at which the wages of a man and horse to " work the roads" were fixed at 75 cents a day. It is to be hoped that neither the man nor the horse had much of a family. The population of the town at the beginning of the century was 3180. In the year 1801 there was a great Hood, and in that year there was an epidemic of small-pox. In 1804 the General Assembly gave to Danbury permission to hold a public lottery, the proceeds of which were to go to the building of a house for the poor at this end of the county. In 1807 there was an attempt made to dispossess Danbury of its title as a half-shire town, but the effort came to naught. In 1810 comb-making was established in this town, and continued for a number of years, but it died out entirely. In 1820 the population of the town had reached the figures 3783 ; and in 1822 the borough of Danbury was created by an act of the General Assembly. The application for the charter was made by Moss White and other citizens. The boundaries of the new borough we give below. As the face of many of the localities has changed since 1822, we give herewith some information for which we are in- debted to one of the oldest citizens of Danbury, Frederick S. Wildman. Middle River is the stream that flows from the Middle River District across Main Street, near the hat factory of Charles H. Merritt. The house of Stephen Ambler stood in that vicinity. The "barn plain" bridge mentioned is that on White Street across Still River. The tannery of Starr & Sanford was at the foot of Liberty Street. At the beginning of the century Main Street was called Town Street. The Episcopal church stood in the present graveyard on South Street. "Deer Hill Lane" is Deer Hill Avenue. The road leading 122 HISTORY OF DANBURY. from the Danbury Court House to Ridgefield is Wooster and West Wooster streets. The other road spoken of in this connection is West Street. The Presbyterian meeting-house was the building of the First Congregational Church, later Concert Hall, which stood where is now the soldiers' monument. Blind Brook is the stream that crosses Elm Street, near River. Mr. Green lived in that vicinity. The Methodist " meeting-house" was then on Franklin Street. " Beginning at a point on the Middle River, thirty rods west of the bridge, near the dwelling-house of Stephen Ambler, thence following said stream to barn plain bridge ; thence southwardly to the tannery of Starr and Sanford ; thence following the line passing down the east side of the town hill lane to the south end thereof ; thence in the same course across town street, leading eastwardly from the Episcopal church to a point fifty rods south- wardly of the line passing on the south end thereof ; thence in a straight line to the south end of deer hill lane ; thence north- erly following the line passing on the west side of deer hill lane to the road leading from Danbury court-house to Ridgefield, thence westerly following the line iDassing on the south side of said Ridgefield road to the place it intersects with the road leading from the Presbyterian meeting-house to said Ridgefield, near the dwelling-house of Eli Wildman ; thence northwardly following the line passing on the west side of last-mentioned road to the dwelling-house of Hawley Wildman ; thence in a straight line to the blind brook bridge near the dwelling-house of Dorastus Green ; thence to the Methodist meeting-house, in- cluding the same and the land whereon it stands ; thence in a straight line to the place of beginning." THE BOROUGH ENLARGED. The next year the charter on its southern limits was changed. In that time the elevation on which now stands the Liberty Street school-house was called Horse Island. In the following year the Legislature granted a change in the limits, as herewith expressed : " That the limits of the borough of Danbury shall hereafter be on its south limits as follows, any law or resolution to the con- trary notwithstanding— viz. : Beginning at the present line of the same, at the north side of horse island lane near the tan works /^' ^ -^ «5iv ^ #«» «*^ '"^^Sk ^*##f Elia> s. .•>a.nhii;i]. L. Stark Denkdict. Charles H. Reed. '^^ Alfred Gregory. Ezra B. Stevens. Albert Scott. E. R. Whittlesey. MaRTIX H. (iRIFFINO Jarvis p. Hill. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 123 of Starr and Sanford, those running south to the south side of said lane ; thence along the south and west side of said lane to the road leading from Bethel to the Episcopal church ; thence westerly to the north side of the highway leading across the south end of the town street to deer hill lane ; thence northerly on the east side of said deer hill lane within twenty rods of the corner easterly of Andrew Beers' dwelling-house ; thence west- erly across said deer hill lane to the highway leading south from Alfred Gregory's dwelling-house, twenty rods south of the cor- ner ; thence northerly to the bridge by Dorastus Green's." At a meeting of the Electors composing the Borough of Dan- bury, held at the Court House in said Borough on Wednesday, the 20th day of June, 1822, the following oflicers were appointed to the following offices— to wit : Darius Starr was chosen Clerk, and sworn in by S. H. P., Esq. Daniel B. Cooke, Warden, Samuel Tweedy, Moss White, Eliiah Gregory, , ^ -rv • T T^ I r Burgesses. David Foot, ^ Samuel Wildman, William Patch, Alanson Hamlin, Treasurer. Matthew Curtis, Bailiff. EXTENDING THE LIMITS. In 1846 the Legislature took another hand in the borough boundaries, and enlarged them as herewith set forth : " Sec. 9, That the boundaries of the borough be altered and the limits thereof extended, and that instead of the present limits and boundaries the following be, and hereby are estab- lished as the limits and boundaries of said borough — to wit : Beginning on the Clapboard Ridge road, so called, fifteen rods west side of the hat manufactory of Hoyt, Tweedy & Co. ; thence following said road to the bridge near said shop ; thence follow- ing the centre of the river eastwardly and southwardly to the bridge across said river, on the highway leading from Danbury through Pembroke to New Fairfield ; thence southwardly to a point in the boundary line between Henry Benedict's land and y 124 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Thomas T. Whittlesey's land, sixteen rods eastwardly from the intersection of said boundary line with the Town Hill road, by a passway leading to and through Henry Benedict's land, near the dwelling-house of Luke Tyley ; thence southeastwardly in a straight line to a point in the north line of the highway lead- ing from the south end of Main Street to Bethel, four rods east- wardly of the point of intersection of said north line with the west line of the highway called the Town Hill road ; thence southwardly directly across said road to the south side thereof ; thence south twenty rods ; thence westwardly in a straight line to a point on the east side of the highway extending the length of Deer Hill, twenty rods south of the point of intersection of said Deer Hill road with the road leading to Deer Hill from the south end of Main Street ; thence westwardly directly across said road to the west side thereof ; thence northwestwardly to a point in the south line of the highway leading from Main Street to Miry Brook, opposite the southwest corner of the lot of land on which Eli Wildman' s barn stands, thence directly across said road to the corner of said lot ; thence west, directly across the road passing on the west side of said barn to the west line of said road ; thence northwardly in the west line of said last-men- tioned highway, to the north line of the highway leading across Prank's Hill, so called, at the iDoint of intersection of said two roads ; thence in a straight line to the northeast corner of David Petit' s dwelling-house ; thence northwardly in a straight line to the northwest corner of Russell Hoyt's land on Mill Ridge, opposite William P. Starr's barn ; thence in a straight line to the place of beginning ; and all that part of the said town of Danbury included within the foregoing limits and not within the present limits of the borough of Danbury, be annexed and made a part of said borough of Danbury." In 1862 the Legislature granted an amendment to the above, enlarging the limits of the borough, and these lines remained until the city charter was granted. OUR TAX LIST A CENTURY AGO. In 1795 a book of twelve pages, four by thirteen inches in size, was all that was necessary to contain the names of all taxpayers in Danbury and Bethel, with the amount upon which each was taxed. In this little brown-paj^er-covered book there appear the HISTORY OF DANBURY. 125 Danbiiry, Bethel, names of 544 taxpayers, with a total amount of £23,257 19s. 7d. in taxable property. The proportion of each is as follows : Taxpcayers. £ s. d. 397 17,247 5 147 5,983 14 7 The families represented by the largest number of taxpayers were as follows, in the order given, in Danbury : Benedict, 30 names ; Barnum, 23 names ; Hoyt, 21 ; Wildman, 17 ; Gregory, 15 ; Starr, 14, and Knapp, 13. In Bethel : Benedict, 20 ; Bar- num, 12, and Hoyt, 10. The list is certified to by Thomas P. White, Ezra Barnum, Joseph Trobridge, Phineas Taylor, Eli Hickock, listers, and Eli Mygatt, town clerk. On the front is written the date "1795;" also, "The lender must be paid," and on the back, " He that borrows must return." In 1836 the sum of taxable property amounted to $2,981,680, and the tax thereon was paid by 1164 individuals. In 1885 the amount of taxable property was $6,384,391, and the number of taxpayers was 2225. Ninety-six pages were required for making a copy of the list of 1885. We give below a copy of the amount of list for 1836 and 1885, from which an idea of our growth may be had. 1836. 1885. No. Value. No. Value. Dwellings - 910 23,107 114 541 2,644 507 513 1,067 $938,716 706,257 182,181 34,255 75,042 2,124 18,643 10,210 218.152 39,500 102,828 187,275 438,090 2,398 24! 123 2(52 1 1,198 ! 1,812 1 172 I 679 211 1 $3,433,885 886,101 Mills and stores 910,500 Horses 64,240 Neat cattle 37,861 Sheep 634 "Wagons 32,975 Time pieces 7,345 Stocks 291,276 Bonds 115,405 In trade 252,750 Manufacturing 195,997 At interest 116,527 Total $2,981,680 $6,384,391 The above table presents some queer contrasts, especially in the last two items. CHAPTER XXIV. CHKISTENING IDEAS OF OUR FATHERS. Our venerated ancestors were tinctured with the spice of humor, if we may judge from the names bestowed by them upon some of the districts and streets of the town. Presuming that it may be interesting to many of our readers, we have ventured to prepare this chapter upon some of the changes in the borough within the last fifty years. We will first wrestle with Squabble Hill, comprising that por- tion of Park Avenue which lies between Division Street and the old Miry Brook Road, and was probably named from the then steep and rough hills to ascend at both ends of it. At the period above mentioned there was but one building upon it, a small brown house at the summit of the hill near Division Street, and on the latter street there was none. Dumpling Hole is now known as Mountainville, and we never learned from whence it derived its former name. Perhaps it was from the mud-holes that formerly occupied a portion of the road in the spring of the year. It now makes a charming and picturesque drive in the summer. Sugar Hollow extends from the Miry Brook Road to Starr's Plain, and is most delightful and charming. Its quiet is rarely disturbed, though occasionally a man with a straw hat and an ajDple-wood pipe trudges through its shades to the margin of an adjoining lake, peers into the water, unwinds a long string, puts a bait on a hook, and throws it in. If Rip Van Winkle had travelled a little farther east and taken his nap among the rocks here, he would probably be still sleeping. Gallows Hill is now called Beaver Street, and derives its name from an execution which took place there in the latter part of the last century. Clapboard Ridge comprised the rising ground at the north end HISTORY OF DANBURY. 127 of Main Street, over which the old King Street and Ball's Pond Koad passes. Pinchgiit, which we cannot locate, was in one of the outside districts. It sails under some other cognomen now, and its orig- inal romantic name is rarely heard to-day. Monkeytown, Wolfpits, Dodgingtown, Wildcat, and Puppy- town were on the southeastern border of our town, but when Bethel set up housekeeping for herself she wrested all these chickens from Danbury and gathered them under her wing. Elmwood supersedes Wildcat, but the others, we think, retain their primitive names. Pumpkin Ground covered the upper part of Elm Street, and also bore the name of Rabbit Hill. It was rarely traversed save as a path to pastures. It still retains its ancient reputation for producing jDrodigious pumpkins. The Boggs is now known as Westville, a decided improvement. Years ago the manufacture of hats was carried on here as in most of the other out-districts, but long since succumbed to the centralizing influence of the trade, and farming industries have taken its place, especially the milk business. The first milk-wagon that appeared on our streets excited much curiosity, and the remark was made : " I wonder if that man ever expects to make a living in that way !" Of course this was before our water- works were built. Several years ago we hinted to a milkman something about milk and water, and the rejoinder was : " Water in milk ? To be sure there is. People must be blamed fools to think that a cow never drinks water." That argument was unanswerable. We have never been uncharitable to the persecuted milkman since. This portion of the town, it will be remembered, attracted much attention and occasioned an exciting war of words between the Boggs Ponders and the East Lakers a short time since, in reference to a new reservoir, ending in victory for the latter ; but if we are to judge from the past experience, at no very dis- tant date we shall be obliged to harness in the Boggs Pond and set it to work. Plum Meadow Woods, or a portion of it, is now the old Catholic Cemetery. Thirty years ago or more a considerable area here was covered by a very attractive grove, in which the partridge and rabbit were frequently startled from their hiding- 128 HISTORY OF DANBURY. places in the underbrush, and it was a favorite resort of young people for wild flowers in the spring of the year. This locality and the adjoining South Street are historic grounds of the Revo- lution. It was almost within the shadow of this grove that Wooster died. In June, 1781, a detachment of the French army in Rhode Island, about four thousand strong, on its way to join the American army on the Hudson, passed through this town, and encamj^ed for the night in these woods. Shelter Rock still wears its primitive name, but is almost shorn of its former heavy forest garniture. At one time its woods covered the west side of the river, and almost connected with Plum Meadow Grove. Three brigades of the American army of the Hudson were encamped here in winter quarters during the winter of 1779-80, on a level plateau on the east side of the hill, with a forest lining it on the north and east, and a rocky precipice also on the east side. The wells that they dug can be seen at the present day, but they are filled up with stone to prevent cattle from falling into them. The fireplaces where their cooking was done are also visible by the side of some rocky cliffs. Padanaram is the modern name of a portion of the district of Hayestown, and is now the gateway to Pembroke Pond. Nearly half a century ago Colonel E. Moss White had an extensive hat- forming factory in connection with the pond. It was kept running night and day by two sets of hands, as long as the water-power would hold out. At this time there were only three buildings, including the factory, from its intersection with North Street to King Street, a distance of about two miles. Many years ago there was very good trouting from the factory dam to North Meadow Brook, but like all trout streams in this vicinity, it now affords little encouragement for the lover of piscatorial sport. CHAPTER XXV. OLD D ANBURY. A LONG and narrow account-book, in the possession of Miss Hollister, of Grassy Plain, bears upon its inner cover these words : " Stephen Trowbridge. His Book. Bought 1748." A few items from its contents will be of interest to the descend- ants of those whose names are mentioned. In May, 1749, is written : " William Cook, Dr. " To one iurney to Stratfield with a teem." " To 4 barils and half of sider." " To filing up your hogshead and taking care of it." And in October another " iurney to Stratfield" is charged. In 1751 Thomas Starr is debtor " To three pounds of boter at 4s. per pound," and credited with " two pare of shoes for self, and two pare for wife, £.2. ^5." Joseph Starr is credited " By making one pare of Child's Shoes and what els you have don. ' ' In 1766 Joshua Knap is Dr. " To weaving 22 & f yards of bed tick very fine and rotten, £1. 10. 2." Just here a sudden appreciation of the merits of this " Book seems to have struck its owner, for the following is written with decided clearness : " this Litel book is Yery Good Sort of paper to Wright on." In 1769 we find the following : " By making one gound for my wife 2.s. " " " a f rok f or Lydiah 6d. " " " three jackets for my boys 5s. " " " a gound 9.d " u u u gi^^^ 2s." In 1759, "3 bushels of appels" were bought for 2s. 3d.; in 1775, " A fat Goos" for " 2s.;" in 1785, " Silver Buckels lO.s." ,?5 130 HISTORY OF DANBURY. The following is certainly a novel settlement of accounts : " Jnly 15, 1787, By agreement with Capt. Daniel Taylor with- out comparing our accts we ballance*^ our books. £3. 9. 6." The following letter, which w^e copy by permission of Mrs, L. D. Brewster, will give the present generation some new ideas regarding life, not only in Banbury, but in New York City, ninety years ago : ''Danbury, Jan 24, 1805 " Dear Children, We hoped and strongly expected a letter per last mail which did not arrive until this day about noon on horseback through much difficulty, the roads being filled with a dreadful snow storm which fell the day Moss left Danbury. We were much conserned about him and are still, how he got along & whether he did not freeze, but we cannot hear a word, . . . Zar has the most company this court he ever had at any court before this ; 150 eat dinner at his house to day. He burns about two loads of wood per day and is nearly out and it is next to impossible to get at his wood. " We feel much for you that you must suffer with a multitude of others for the want of this article as we understand it is diffi- cult to procure it at any price in New York, and impossible that any can be conveyed by water as usual. But to day has been not so severely cold as for a long time heretofore and we hope the weather may continue to moderate more and more, and in this way you with the distressed inhabitants of New York may have relief. " (Signed) Joseph Moss White." In the " Recollections of a Lifetime," by S. C. Goodrich, we find the following reminiscences of his short residence in Dan- bury : " There was, if I rightly remember, in the month of February, 1809, though it might have been a year later, a certain ' cold Friday,' which passed down to succeeding generations as among the marvels of the time. It had snowed heavily for three days, and the ground was covered three feet deej). " A driving wind from the northwest then set in, and growing colder and colder, it became at last so severe as to force everybody to shelter. This continued for two days, the whole air being Mrs. JosKTii P. C'chik. JosEi'H F. White. JosEPU Moss White. Joseph P. Cook. E. M. White. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 181 filled with sleet, so that the sun, without a cloud in the sky, shone dim and gray as through a fog. " The third day (Friday) the wind increased both in force and intensity of cold. Horses, cattle, fowls, and sheep perished in their coverings. The roads were blocked up with enormous drifts : the mails stopped, travelling was suspended ; the world indeed seemed paralyzed and the circulation of life to be arrested." Mr. Goodrich came to Danbury to become a clerk in the store of Amos Cooke, his brother-in-law, Amos was the son of Col- onel Joseph Piatt Cooke, who graduated at Yale in 1750 ; estab- lished himself in Danbury ; married Sarah, daughter of Captain Daniel Benedict, and died in February, 1816. Of Colonel Joseph Cooke and his wife, Goodrich thus writes : " The father and mother of my brother-in-law were aged peo- ple living with him in the same house, and as one family. They were persons of great amiability and excellence of character ; the former, Colonel Cooke, was eighty years of age, but still had perfect exercise of his faculties, and though he had ceased all business, he was cheerful and took an interest in passing events. His career had been one of great activitj'- and usefulness. He was greatly esteemed, not only by the community, but by the leading men of the country. He enjoyed the friendship and con- fidence of Washington, and the acquaintance of Lafayette, Rochambeau, and De Grasse, whom he entertained at his house. In manner and dress he was strongly marked with the Washing- ton era ; he was sedate, courteous, and methodical in all his ways ; he wore breeches, knee-buckles, shoe-buckles, and a cocked hat to the last. The amenity and serenity of his coun- tenance and conduct bespoke the refined gentleman and dis- ciplined Christian." Of Amos Cooke he writes : " My brother-in-law was tall, emaciated, somewhat bent, with a large head and large, melancholy eyes. His look was gravity itself, his air meditative, his movements measured, slow, and wavering. " In sharp contrast was his friend, ' 'Squire Hatch,' who was rather short, full-chested, perpendicular, and with a short, quick, emphatic step. His eyes were gray, small, and twink- ling, his lips sharp and close-set, his hair erect and combad 132 HISTORY OF DANBURY. back, giving to his face the keen expression of the old-fashioned flint set in a gunlock. " He was celebrated for his wit no less than his learning, and he seldom opened his mouth without making a report of one or both." Amos Cooke was born October 11th, 1773, and died November 13th, 1810. Moses Hatch was bom in Kent, Litchfield County, in 1780, and died there in 1820. Mr. Goodrich also writes of " a neighbor over the way, a good- natured, chatty old gentleman by the name of Ebenezer White. He had been a teacher and had a great taste for mathematics." At that time " it was the custom to put forth in the newspapers l^uzzling questions of figures, and to invite their solution. Master White was sure to give the answer first. Under his good-natured and gratuitous lessons I learned something of geometry and trigonometry, and thus passed on to surveying and navigation." This was Ebenezer Russell White, and his note-book, now in possession of his descendants in Danbury, is filled with mathe- matical and algebraical problems, besides a number of poems original with him, mostly bearing upon family matters. Among the merchants doing business here in 1804 we find Amos Cooke, the brother-in-law of S. C. Goodrich, who adver- tises quite extensively in the fall of that year. We copy his advertisement. "Amos Cooke Has just received a new supply of Goods, consisting of the fol- lowing, with many other articles, which are offered for sale at very moderate prices for Cash, Produce, or the usual Credit : " SupeiUne, Middling and Coarse Broadcloths, Cassimeres, Flannels, Lion Skin, Rose Blankets, Cotton and Woolen Check, Muslins, Brown and White Linens, Velvets, a great variety of Cali- coes very low, large Silk Shawls, Blue, Green and Purple ditto, Romals, Bandanna and Lungee Handkerchiefs, Lustrings, Satins, Laces, &c. LiJcewise, Jamaica and Antigua Rum, Brandy, Cider Brandy, two years old ; Madeira and Sherry Wines, Molasses, Sugars, Young Hyson, Souchong and Bohea Teas, Coffee, Chocolate, Starch, Hair Powder, Cloves, Nutmegs, Cassia, Biscuit, good Writing Paper, Snuff and Tobacco, English Powder, Patent Shot, &c. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 133 " Nicaragua, Fustic, Logwood, Madder, Verdigris, Alum, Copperas, Indigo, Blue Vitriol and Oil of Vitriol. " The following Books, most of which will be sold lower than the New York price, &c. [Here follows a list of exceedingly heavy volumes.] "Danbury, Oct. 23." June 8th, 1 805, Mr. Cooke advertises to sell his stock of goods at very reduced prices, as he intends to relinquish his present business. Mr. Cooke's place of business was near the residence of the late Edgar S. Tweedy. Another merchant doing an extensive business here at that time was Comfort S. Mygatt, who advertised goods of all kinds, similar to Mr. Cooke. " Wheat and Rye Flour, constantly on hand, and for sale, at the Red Mill, for Cash, or on a Credit of 60 days when punctual payment can be depended on, by Samuel C. Dibble & Co." This mill stood on the site of the Eureka Mill, near Main Street bridge. The business was afterward carried on where White's fur factory now stands. About 1880 George Crofut and Charles F. Starr established the business where Mr. Crofut' s mill was burned down. Mr. Dibble removed to Stamford, and bought a fann on Strawberry Hill, a mile from the village. He was the father of Ira S. Dibble. Mr. Dibble moved back to Danbury, and died here. " Delays are Dangerous. " Those indebted to the subscribers, on Book: or Note (now due by agreement), may have an opportunity of cancelling the same, by payment in Walnut, Oak, or Maple Wood, Wheat, Rye, Corn, Oats, Buckwheat, Flax Seed, Hats, Saddles, or Shoes, at their full value, if delivered soon, but if delayed Cash wiU be the only substitute which will be received by "Joseph F. & E. M. White." This firm consisted of the brothers Joseph F. White and Colonel E. Moss White. Peter Benedict advertises " an indented lad to the farming business, named Levi W^ood, about nineteen years old, tall of his age, and heavy moulded," and offers one cent reward and no 134 HISTOEY OF DANBURY. charges paid to any one wlio will return said lad. We think Mr. Benedict could not have wanted " said lad" very badly, as he did not run very far away, for he died here at an advanced age. Peter Benedict lived at Dumpling Hole, now Mountain- ville, and was the grandfather of Egbert S. Benedict. Ezra Wildman is more liberal in otfering rewards, for he will give 25 cents for the return of Gershom G, Finch, an indented ax)prentice to the hatting business, but he will pay no charges. Justus Barnum carried on the tailoring business in the lower part of the Court House. William Chappell informs us that he has " lately become pro- prietor in the machine for carding wool in this town, and is now erecting a new one of the first quality which will be ready for carding in the course of a week. As it is intended to use the old machine for breaking the wool, and the new one for rolling, and having employed an experienced workman, the proprietor will be enabled to dispatch the business with punctuality, and in the best manner. " N.B. — The wool must be brought to hand well picked and greased, at the rate of one pound of grease to ten of wool." Mr. Chappell lived on South Street and carried on the furni- ture business. Mr. Horace Marshall learned the trade of him, and married his daughter. Edwards Ely informs us that he has " lost a grey Horse Colt, near the colour of a grey squirrel ; four years old, nearly four- teen hands high, has been docked and nicked, was barefoot, lean in flesh, and has had the horse distemper during the winter." Ebenezer D. and Walter Starr say they will "pay cash for Green Calf Skins and Tanner's Bark at their place of business, ten rods south of the meeting house." They were brothers of Friend Starr, and their place of business was where the Pahquioque Block now stands. Ezra Boughton & Co. advertise that they " have received from !New York a handsome assortment of Summer Goods and Groceries at the store lately occupied by Z. Griswold & Co.' ' Mr. Boughton was afterward engaged in the cloth-dressing business near West Street bridge, and resided near there. Starr & Sanford advertise for fifty cords of oak, hemlock, or birch bark, for which cash at $5 a cord will be given at the tan works. The boys of the present time would improve this oppor- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 135 tunity of laying in a siipply of bircli bark. Their tan works was near the corner of Liberty Street and Raih'oad Avenue. Ezra Starr " wants a house carpenter to go to a healthy island in the West Indies, to whom a generous salary will be given for a term of years. None need apply who is not master of his busi- ness in all its branches, and can produce the best recommenda- tions. One acquainted with mill work would be preferred." This was Major Ezra Starr. He was a man of note in his day, and resided in a large house which stood back of the homestead of the late D. P. Nichols. The old building has been removed to Boughton's Lane. Jerrey Hoyt lost " nine sheep all marked with a half -penny on the fore side of each ear, and one of them of a chestnut color." Mr. Hoyt lived on Clapboard Ridge, on the farm now occupied by Lewis El well. He was of a genial disposition, and made droll remarks. He said he had plowed that land over so much that he had worn all the stones smooth and turned them into lap-stones. He sold the farm to Russell Hoyt, removed to Rochester, N. Y., and bought a farm which is now the centre of that city. He sold before it became so valuable, lost his prop- erty, and became very poor. Ebenezer Benedict said eight sheep had broken into his en- closure. Perhaps these were a part of Mr. Hoyt's lost sheep. Mr. Benedict lived in Miry Brook. Ezra Frost offers for sale at his store in Main Street, timothy, clover and garden seeds. Mr. Frost was at one time connected in business with Samuel H. Phillips. He was the father of Stoddard J. Frost, at one time a prominent merchant of Norwalk, and also of Daniel Frost, once in business in New York. Caleb Starr informs " the inhabitants of the town of Danbury that he has received a warrant to collect a town tax, one cent and five mills on the dollar ; and likewise a warrant to collect a State tax, seven and a half mills on the dollar." He " will take cash, town orders, flax seed or any kind of produce for the taxes." This tax to many without explanation would seem excessive, but it was in reality much less than at the present time. At that time $1000 of real estate went into the list at S30, and $1000 personal property at $60, and on this the tax was laid. Mr. Starr resided in the old house now standing on 136 HISTORY OF DANBURY. West, near Harmony Street. This house was built before the Revolutionary War, and is still in possession of the family, James Clark, librarian, notifies the members of Franklin Libra- ry Company of the annual meeting to be held at Ebenezer B. White's, and also reminds them that " a vote of said company makes it necessary that the books be returned to the librarian 4 days previous to said meeting on penalty of thirty-four cents for each neglect," Mr, Clark was a man of note in his day. Elijah Wood offers at public vendue at the Court House, " a number of unfinished wagons, a horse and a variety of house- hold furniture," Mr. Wood lived at Stony Hill. " |^"It is expected that Mr. Babbit will preach at the Court House, next Sabbath, on the subject of the ' Restitution of All Things.' " We have been unable to get any information in regard to Mr. Babbit, and therefore conclude that he was a stranger, and prob- ably preached at the Court House, Sunday, June 23d, 1805, as announced, but whether he had a large or small audience we cannot tell, for the paper of next week is silent on the subject. If any such announcement should be made nowadays we are certain that the papers in town would in their next issues give a good synopsis of Mr. Babbit's sermon and the number in attendance. From the following it appears that editors at that time had their troubles as well as at present : " ' ^e Just and Fear Not. ' " I^^The present number completes the first quarter of vol- ume two of the New England Republican. Subscribers, &c., are desired to observe that by an immediate settlement they can save a discount, and enable the editor to fulfil his contracts for paper, payment for which must always be made (in cash) within ninety days. The office receipts for the last quarter do not amount to more than half the expense for paper alone. This is fact ; and while such is the case, we find no encouragement to make the improvements we wish — no stimulus to proceed with spirit. We are, in fact, ' spending our strength, ' our time and our cash for that which profiteth us not. Those who wish us success at least are expected to act as consistently as they talk, for neither promises nor a string of names will appease the duns HISTORY OF DANBURY. 137 of our creditors. To such of his customers as have made punc- tuality their invariable rule, the editor returns his warmest thanks." " To Hatters. " The subscribers have for sale a quantity of good Muskrat Skins, very low for cash, or will exchange them for good unfin- ished Knapped Hats. Also all kinds of Hatters trimmings. " White Brothers & Co. " N.B. — Tlie skins will be sold for 2s. 3d. cash (York currency), or 2s. 5d. in exchange for hats." This firm consisted of Colonel Russell and Judson White. Their place of business was where the brick building just north of Main Street bridge now stands. Their factory was probably the largest and most complete of any in the country at that date. They employed about forty hands, and did an extensive business for the time. Eliakin Peck wants ' ' a Journeyman Blacksmith who is experi- enced in shoeing, also an apprentice to the above business. " Mr. Peck was the father of Stephen S. Peck, and carried on business at the corner of Main and South streets, where the old Episcopal church was drawn and converted into a dwelling. Stephen Gregory wants " an active Lad of fourteen or fifteen years of age to serve as an apprentice to the Saddlers business." The house, shop, land, and out-buildings of William A. Bab- cock, situated on Main Street, are offered for sale at public auc- tion. Mr. Babcock removed to New Haven, was major of a regi- ment there, and dropped dead as he was mounting his horse to go on parade. He was the father of Colonel James F. Babcock, who was for a long time editor of the New Haven Palladium. Comfort Hoyt, Jr., says he "wants to purchase several tons of sumac of the present year's growth. H cut early and well cured, the price which he has commonly given will be paid for it ; or if those who gather it choose, he will receive it the day it is cut at half the usual price, in which case the gatherers will be saved the risk and trouble of curing it, and the loss of weight by drying. Those who have been in the habit of gathering it are in no need of being told that even children can clothe them- selves in that way easier than men and women can by spinning and weaving, if flax and wool are found them gratis." 138 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Gathering sumac is a branch of industry which has entirely disappeared from this community. It was used for coloring and also for tanning morocco. It is undoubtedly as plentiful as ever, but for some reason there is no demand for it. At the time Mr. Hoyt advertised for it it was in great demand and brought a large price. The mill for grinding it was on Still River, near Shelter Rock. In 1810 servants were few in Danbury, as most women did their own housework, and the leisure hours of mothers and daughters were employed in spinning linen thread which after- ward was woven by hand. Those were the days of plain living, early rising, and constant labor, both in doors and out. At that time the West Street of to-day was spoken of as " up the lane," and Deer Hill Avenue, now lined with beautiful residences and shaded by fine trees, was a narrow and crooked lane used mainly for access to adjoining land. There were no dwellings upon this hill except one at the corner of the present West Street, which was occupied by Andrew Beers, the celebrated " almanack maker," and one other known as the " old Andrews homestead," standing a little south of the Wooster Street of to-day. On Main Street, between Elm and Wooster streets, there were nine houses, including one or two stores, and on the east side between the Wooster House and Liberty Street there were but five. The jail was in its present location, a building of wood, with the keeper's house just in front. In those days people were imprisoned for debt, and if a creditor had a particular spite against a debtor, he paid his board, and sometimes kept him in jail for a year. It is a singular fact that, while the laws were very strict re- garding Sabbath-breaking and church-going, rum -drinking and lottery gambling prevailed everywhere. A man who thought it a sin to eat a warm dinner on Sunday had no scruples against drinking to excess, or taking a prominent i)art in a lottery scheme. The law required all members of the Grand Jury to stop any person found travelling on the Sabbath, and, unless his errand was of vital importance, such as going for a doctor, or hurrying to fill an engagement to preach, he was liable to arrest and fine. In all fast days " servile labor and vain recre- ations" were forbidden by law. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 139 During the War of 1812 the mail stages, from Hartford to New- York, ran tliroiigb Danbiiry in order to avoid the British troops on the coast. When peace was declared they returned to the old route along the shore. The New York mail came only once a week. Another mail ran once a week to Ponghkeepsie. There were two companies of foot militia in Danbury, and one in Bethel, each containing the usual number of men ; there was also an artillery company of six men, and one of cavalry. Two thirds of the members belonged in Danbury, and all furnished their own arms. The training days were the first Monday in May and in September, and a general regimental parade took place in October. Nearly every able-bodied man was required to serve, and any one absent at roll-call was fined $5. This law continued in force until 1845. In 1810 the practicing attorneys in Danbury were Moses Hatch, Matthew B. Whittlesey, and Alanson Hamlin. CHAPTER XXyi. MAIN STREET IN 1815-20. It is likely that seventy years ago the view of Danbury, with few exceptions, was the same as at the beginning of the century. Main Street w^as then as now the principal thoroughfare. Run- ning from it on the east was North, White, and Liberty streets ; on the west, Franldin, Elm, West, and Wooster streets ; South Street at the foot. To this day we have not a single street cross- ing Main Street, although it runs the length of the village. The other streets were River and Town Hill. Deer Hill Avenue was then but a lane, chiefly used for the transfer of farm products. MAIN STREET — EAST SIDE. The first house, on coming into Main Street at the north, on the east side of the street, was occupied by Aaron Gunn. It was washed away by the Kohanza disaster in 1869. Mr. Gunn had two sons w^ho were drafted in the War of 1812, and entered the army at New^ London. The next house stood on the corner of North Street. It was occupied by Benjamin Barnum, and was a large, roomy build- ing. Some years ago it was moved north on Main Street, and still stands there. On the opposite corner lived Noah Hubbell. Between there and what is now Patch Street there was but one house. It was occupied by William Patch, Jr. Next to him was a small tenement owned by Mary Daniels, then occupied by a family named Barnum. John Gregory's house came next. None of his descendants are living here. Where Wildman's lane or court now is were two houses, since gone. One of these was occupied by Benjamin Cozier, and the other by William Patch, Sen.j HISTORY OF DANBURY. 141 The next premises were those of John Nickerson, a lay preacher in the Methodist church. The church in that day was supplied once a month by a circuit preacher, and in the intervals by some lay member vested with authority to preach. Nicker- son was an active man, and consequently well known to his fellow-citizens. Then came another tenant house which was occupied by Zar Patch. It long ago passed away. Following was the home of Archibald Benedict, a son of Captain Noble Benedict, our Revolutionary hero. The residence now occupied by Harrison Flint was then the home of the late Enoch Moore. It was built by Amos Stevens. Next in order came the home of Abel Gregory, now owned by Mrs. Henry Benedict. And after this a school-house. Many years ago it was re- moved to Franklin Street, where it continued to be used as a school until about fifteen years ago, when it was turned into a tenement, and is thus occupied to-day. Deacon Joseph Piatt Cooke, son of the Revolutionary colonel of the same name who was in command of Danbury when Tryon came, occupied the next house. It stood on nearly the same ground at present occupied by the residence of Mrs. William Ja- bine. Russell Hoyt lived next to Deacon Cooke in the house now occupied by his son Granville. Just south of the house was a store where Daniel B. Cooke sold "shoes, sugar, shirting, and groceries." The building was subsequently removed to White Street. Next came the home of Colonel Russell White, which stood on the site of the present residence of his son, William R. Wliite. Colonel White was a prominent hat manufacturer. The next house was owned and occupied by Nirum Wild- man. Where the residence of the late Giles M. Hoyt now stands stood the home of Rev. Ebenezer R. White, grandfather of William R. White and Ebenezer R. Whittlesey. Between and partly in front of these two houses stood a small building once the store of Burr & White, but at this time occupied by the worshippers in the Sandemanian church. The hat manufactory of White Brothers & Co. stood near 142 HISTORY OF DANBURY. the banks of the Still River, its site not at present being occupied. Across the river, on the corner of White Street, stood the old home of Benjamin Knapp, with its sloping roof and immense stone chimney. WEST SIDE. Going back to the north end of the street and returning on the west side the first house was the home of Stephen Ambler, the grandfather of Mrs. A. A. Heath, and O. P. and W. H. Clark. He did active work in the war. It is said that he and five brothers, lying down on a thirty-six feet stick of timber, would just cover its length. His house stood under the hill next to the graveyard, and was long since torn down. The graveyard itself was then there. It was not only opened to relieve iAie Wooster Street grounds, but to accommodate the districts of Middle River, King Street, and Pembroke, which then being sparingly settled, had no burial-place in their district. Andrew Akin occupied the house now owned by George Downs. Next to it was the home of Mary Daniels, who o\^^led property on the other side of the street. John Foot, father of Mrs. Ezra Abbott, lived in the next house, then came Captain Foot's hat shop. Adjoining this was a tenement. Following came the home of Asa Hodge. Thaddeus Morehouse lived next north of the Cowperthwait homestead. Adjoining was a small tenement which closed its existence in a summary and tragic manner, having been de- stroyed at the time of the mobbing of Rev. Mr. Colver, in 1830. The next house was occupied by Knapp Boughton, who dis- tinguished himself by winning for a wife the young w^oman Par- son Robbins wanted. He was father of L. H. Boughton. His place was removed to make room for the spacious residence of S. H. Rundle. Mrs. Boughton, mother of Knapp, occupied a house adjoining his. It was afterward owned by Nathaniel Bishop, and was removed. On the southeast corner of this lot was a brick build- ing occupied by Knapp Boughton as a store. It was removed a long time ago. Mrs. Elias Boughton occupied a place where now stands George C. White' s residence. The next building stood on the cor- S HISTORY OF DANBURY. 143 ner of Franklin Street, and was occupied as a hat- finishing shop by Russell and Eli T. Hoyt. On the opposite corner stood the residence of William Cooke, who was a prondnent member of the Masonic order. Mr. Cooke's house was removed to Patch Street. Next to Mr. Cooke lived Starr Nichols, a large hat manufac- turer, and an active man in all enterprises. Following this was a tenement long since taken down. Next came the residence of Samuel and William Tweedy, father and son. They w-ere cutters off of fur, and their shop stood north and in rear of their home. Adjoining their house was the place of Gershom Nichols. Where Charles H. Merritt's residence now is stood the house of Captain Elijah Hoyt. Daniel B. Cooke, son of Colonel Joseph Piatt Cooke, the soldier of the Revolution, lived where does now L. P. Hoyt. Next to this place was a store occupied by E. M. White. It was removed to White Street. Following was a house belonging to Najah Wildman. Next south of Najah Wildman stood a house w^here is now the residence of Alfred N. Wildman. On the river-bank stood a mill. It was built in the last cen- tury by Daniel Comstock for a grist-mill and occupied by Sam- uel C. Dibble. Afterward for many years it served as a hat- forming factory, and was owned by Niram Wildman. There was considerable feeling at one time in the community occasioned by this mill. The occupant wanted to build a waste- weir to empty into the stream at a point just below the opposite side of the street, but Mr. Knapp, who lived on the corner and owned the land, w^ould not give him the right of way. The only alter- native was to tap Mad River just above its junction with Still River. The plan did not work, however, as the grade did not give sufficient fall to carry off the water. As the grist-mill was a matter of considerable importance to the people, public senti- ment took a hand in, and Mr. Knapp was induced to consent to the emptying of the river in Still River, in the rear of his house. The mill building was last occupied by Holly & Wildman, wool- hat manufacturers. It was destroyed by fire in 1868. The building on the corner of Elm Street was at that time the homestead of Samuel Tweedy. It has been made into stores since then. In its rear stood a hat factory occupied by Tweedy and Benedict. 144 HISTORY OF DANBURY. MAIN STREET, BETWEEN WHITE AND LIBERTY STREETS. There has been more change in that portion of Main Street between these points than in any other part of the thorough- fare ; and far less in Main Street as a whole than in any other street, except, perhaps, South Street. In 1815 there were but eight buildings on the east side of Main Street, between White and Liberty, where is now an almost un- broken bank of business places. The space not immediately occupied by these buildings was used for gardens and fields, principally pasturage, while that portion in the neighborhood of the railroad buildings, as far as White Street, was swamp. Except in front of the buildings the wall the length of the block was a stone fence. Mullein, dock, milkweed, and brambles were conspicuous products. The first building, passing down the street, was a small brown tenement. Close to it was the dwelling of Mrs. Betsey Benedict. She owned a store building which was next in order, and was then rented by Irel Ambler. Previously Eli T. Hoyt and his brother Russell occupied it. It stood where is now the station of the Danbury and I^orwalk Railway. There was no other structure until the dwelling of Lemuel W. Benedict was reached, which stood where is now the house occupied by Mrs. David Pearce. Mr. Benedict's neighbor on the south was Samuel H. Phillips. Near his house was a little store run by Mr. Phillips, who was a well-known character. He was deputy postmaster of Danbury, and kept the office in his store. Consequently his place was a resort for the various luminaries, and Mr. Phillips perhaps heard more mendacity than any other citizen of Danbury. He was a quiet man of a studious turn, and having a well-balanced mind was rarely sui-prised into states of undue feeling. One day a woman apparently very anxious for a letter came in and gave her name. There was nothing for her. "I wish you'd look again," said she, "for I'm sure there must be a letter here for me." He complied, carefully going over the stock in hand. " There is no letter here," he said. " Well, that's strange," she muttered, " I was sure it must be here. When do you suppose I'll get one ?" ■v<^- HISTOKY OF DANBURY. 145 History does not give his answer, but the anecdote may sug- gest a new form of torture for the post-office window. Another well-known resident was the next neighbor to Post- master Phillips. He was Eli Mygatt, a heavy gentleman in knee- breeches. His dwelling stood where is now Baldwin Brothers' drug-store, and just south of it he kept a drug-store himself. There must be something in the locality favorable to the exist- ence of the drug business, as it has been used for that purpose by different parties since the day Uncle Eli began his enterprise. Both his residence and his store have long since passed away. Uncle Eli had charge of the Franklin Library, as it was kept in his store. On the corner of Main and Liberty streets, where now stands Benedict & Nichols' block, lived Matthew Curtis. Mr. Curtis was a butcher, and had his slaughter quite convenient, it being on Liberty Street, in the rear of his house, where now stands the Disciples church. WEST SIDE. On the corner of Elm Street, the premises now owned by J. S. Taylor, stood the tavern of Dr. Jabez Starr, a prominent Revo- lutionist. Dr. Starr's swinging sign bore the simple inscription "The Inn," and was the headquarters on training days of the uptown military companies, which consisted of a cavalry and an infantry organization. These two organizations used to parade in the square fronting the tavern. On one of these occa- sions—in 1812, we believe— a corporal w^as to be elected. It ap- pears that the ladies who favored the military had the privilege of selecting the candidate for this honor. Their suffrage was given in behalf of a blushing youth from Great Plain District, then eighteen years old. On his election being announced, it was incumbent on him to step to the front and pledge himself to faithfully perform the duties of the office. The ladies were assembled in front of the residence of Samuel Tweedy, on the opposite corner, and the youth, in making his acknowledgment, was obliged to face them, an ordeal that very nearly prostrated him, but he got through with it. The eighteen-year-old boy was the late Deacon Eli T. Hoyt. Peck & Wildman's grocery was then an unpretentious dwell- 146 HISTORY OF DANBURY. ing, little dreaming of tlie glory it was in time to ripen into, with a gorgeous landscape as a forej^iece. The dwelling and church in the lane, both the property of the Sandemanian Society, were standing then. The King George Tavern, now the property of Mrs. Urana Barnum, was then occupied by her father, William Dobbs. Long before the period of which we write it had ceased to be a hostelry. Next in order was the residence of Moses Hatch, or Judge Hatch, as he was called. He had an office built on the street line, now moved to rear of the post-office building. Moses Hatch was a prominent member of the Bar. He died at the early age of forty-one, at the threshold of what promised to be a brilliant career. He was the grandfather of our fellow- citizen, Alexander Wildman. The residence of the late venerable E. Moss White stood where is now the Library building reared by the liberality of his sons. He was both a successful farmer and merchant of Danbury, a man well known, thoroughly trusted, and sincerely respected by his fellow-townsmen. Many knew well his quiet liberality and kindness, and the remembrance of his serene face and cheery smile is as a benediction. The old homestead became the resi- dence of his son, the late Colonel Nelson R. White, and after his removal it was used by the Library Association until the present building was begun, when it was moved to Library Place, where it now stands. Next south stood the residence of Benajah Starr, which was built by his wife when she was the widow of Rev. Timothy Langdon. This was afterward the property of ' ' Esquire Booth, ' ' and later the home of Hon. Roger Averill. The building has been moved and converted into stores, and brick buildings stand where once the green grass grew beneath the great black- walnut tree which marked the centre of the town. Deacon Thomas Tucker lived next in the old house which still remains quaint and interesting. The "great pear-tree," supposed to be over one hundred and fifty years old, stands beside this old dwelling, which has been for over sixty years the home of Mrs. George W. Ives. Next came the residence of Asaliel Benedict. The present homestead of Mrs. Henry Benedict occupies its site. BlucK Uh I 1-VlM. SlIK 111-' THK AvKIlILI. IIoMESTEAD. The Averilt. IIojiesteau, 1850. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 147 Mrs. Huldali Starr's house followed, standing on the corner of West Street. The dwelling and land were bought by James S. Taylor in 1864, and the present block of stores and tenements erected. The old homestead is among these, but its identity is entirely lost. There are those who remember well the quaint old house with its great dooryard, its apple-trees, and long lines of currant-bushes. They are all gone, with the grand old elms that once shaded this quiet home. maijS" street from liberty to court house. Major Seth Comstock, a brother of Dr. Daniel Comstock, lived in a substantial residence on the corner of Liberty Street. He was a merchant and had a store just south of his dwelling. Major Comstock was a man in good circumstances, who once in his life created quite a sensation in the community. He had a son Augustus doing business in New York City. The son was to be married and desired a wedding party in his father's house. He sent word to that effect, directing his father to fix up the place in the best possible style, and he would make good the expense. The major accordingly proceeded to make the homestead into a wedding bower. Carpenters, painters, and upholsterers were set to work, and for days the transformation went on. Summer- houses, arbors, and grottoes were put up in the garden. The entire front of the house was changed by elaborate additions placed thereon, and the premises blossomed into the appearance of a small paradise. The place was daily visited by Danbury people, who were filled with pride and admiration as they viewed it. Even abroad went the fame of the change, and people from neighboring towns came to see the Comstock palace. The trans- formation was all the talk of the day, and supplanted every other subject. The wedding was in keeping with the preparation therefor, and filled the street in the neighborhood with curious people. Among those who came from out of town was a young man hailing from the extremely rural district of Redding, below Bethel. He was barefooted and timid ; he had heard of the gi-and house and the beautiful garden, and he wanted so much to see it that he walked to Danbury for that purpose ; but when he got here and saw how grand Avas the place he dared not step 148 HISTOPwY OF DANBURY. on the premises. More than that, he feared to go on the same side of the street, but kept on the opposite side. Even at that he shrunk from stopping in front of the place, so timid was this rural lad. That was long over fifty years ago, and the barefooted farm boy so overcome by the display that he dared not stop in front of it was the late Charles Hull, who became later the owner of the property. It reads something like a romance, doesn't it ? In the place of the residence and store stands a large brick block, and the old house with its pretty surroundings of green grass, syringa bushes, and box hedges, has vanished into the past. Rachel Barnum's dwelling came next, and then the residence of Friend Starr, afterward that of his son, the late Charles F. Starr. This house was built in 1796, just a century ago, and stood beneath the shade of a long row of elms that had been previously planted by Caleb Starr, the father of Friend Starr. Of these trees, which have been the pride of the town, there is left to-day but one survivor. This measures twenty feet in circum- ference, and towers high above the roof of the old dwelling which stands upon land now held in direct line by the sixth generation. Where now is the Grilling block stood the residence of Zalmon Wildman, father of the late Frederick S. Wildman. This was an old-fashioned double house standing close upon the sidewalk, with an old-time porch and side benches at the front door. Just north of this old homestead was a small hat-finishing shop, and on the south a store. The dwelling was removed to East Liberty Street, where it is used as a tenement. The Pahquioque Hotel was then a private residence occupied by Elijah Sanford, who had a saddlery at the north end of the building. Abel B. Blackman lived in the house now known as the Keeler Homestead. He was a shoemaker, and had his shop north of the house. The house of David Foot stood on the site now occupied by Dr. W. F. Lacey. Mr. Foot was a tailor, and his little shop stood in the southwest corner of his dooryard. If we are not mistaken, it was later on moved to the rear of the house. " 'Squire Foot" was a prominent man in that day, and was for many years a trying justice of the peace. Benjamin Smith lived where was the residence of the late IIISTOKY OF D ANBURY. 149 Samuel Stebbins. His neighbor on tlie south was Horace Bull, who lived where now stands St. Peter's Church. The old house was removed to the since opened Centre Street. Mr. Bull was a tailor. He was also a noted singer, and for over thirty years was the chorister of the First Congregational Church. He was the first milk peddler Danbury had, peddling on the street from a cart, and ringing a bell at the customer's door. This was in 1840. Up to that time people bought their milk from neighbors who owned a cow, sending the children for it ; and at this time every fourth family had its cow. A tribute to Mr. Bull's musical talent was a remark Judge Button, then of the Superior Court, made when in Danbury. He said : " I heard Mr. Bull ring his bell this morning, and there was really music in it." Mr. Bull's sales amounted to about forty quarts a day. There was no house between his place and what is now the Turner House. The land lying between and running back to Town Hill Street was a vacant lot, boggy at the front, with meadow at the rear. This piece belonged to the First Congrega- tional Society, and the use of it was given to the pastor. Joseph Moss White, the father of Colonel E. Moss White, lived just northeast of the present Court House. This afterward became the property of G. F. Bailey. Mr. White was a surveyor, and held a county office as such. From a letter now in the pos- session of his descendants, written in Danbury on January 15th, 1816, the fiftieth anniversary of his marriage, we quote the following : ' ' Fifty years this very day we have been united in the nearest relation which can be found in this world. But two couple that we certainly know of in the bounds of this whole town that have lived together so long as we have, viz.: Mr. Jarvis and wife, and Col. Cooke and wife. " So near does my dissolution appear that it makes this world and all the glory of it dwindle much in my view." SUPPLEMENTARY. Major Comstock's store was an important centre of business, aside from its traffic in merchandise. In the day of which we write there was no bank here, and the only means of exchange was through the agency of a distant bank. The Phoenix Bank 150 HISTOKY OF DANBUKY. of Hartford had a branch in Litchfield, and Mr. Comstock was its agent here. Twice every week the stage plying between Norwalk and Litchfield passed through Danbury and took up the money and bills collected by Agent Comstock and carried them to Litchfield. The major also did a business in iron ore. This was received from the mines at Brewster, and piled on the ground in the rear of his place. Where now stands the store long occupied by the late Samuel Stebbins stood a shoe shop which as early as 1805 was occupied by Colonel Ebenezer D. Starr. Friend Starr, previously mentioned, was for twelve years sherifl" of the county. At that time the sheriff was elected by the Legislature. Zalmon Wildman was a prominent man in the history of the town. He was appointed postmaster in 1805, and held the office for a period of thirty years, when he resigned the position on being elected to Congress. This election occurred in the spring of 1835. In the winter following he died. Mr. Phillips, men- tioned before, was Mr. Wildman' s deputy, and to him Mr. Wild- man gave the income from the office. FROM WEST TO WOOSTER STREETS. The first building was a small one and stood on the corner. Next to it was a store. Both structures stood where is now the City Hall. The first was used for various 'purposes. Early in the century it was used as a comb shop by Green and Barnum until 1815 ; after that it was occupied by a party named Leggett for fur-cutting. It also was used as a barber shop, a school, and a stone-cutting shop. Subsequently William Gray used it as a tailor shop. It now stands on the Danbury and Norwalk Rail- way line, opposite the freight depot, where it is occupied as a tenement. The store was built by Colonel Timothy Taylor in 1800, who occuj^ied it. In 1818 it was rented by Amos and Samuel Steb- bins, who did business there until 1839, when the building was torn down. Amos died some years before this, and the business was conducted by his brother Samuel. When this place was removed Mr. Wildman put up the building across the way, where the late Samuel Stebbins did business until his death. Next to the store and where is now the Methodist x^arsonage m:yk. lU.; 'rM^.jLS^" "Tm •A < 5 » HISTOEY OF DANBURY. 151 stood the home of Alanson Hamlin. He was a lawyer. Between this and where is now Mrs. Amos Stebbins's residence there was no building. It was an open meadow with a pond at the front. In 1830 or thereabout Thomas T. Whittlesey put up two build- ings where now stands the Baptist church. In 1838 it was occupied by Benedict & Nichols, who remained there until 1842. In 1852 they built on the corner of Liberty Street, which they now own. After they vacated the conference building it was bought by Judge Homer Peters,* who removed it to the foot of Liberty Street. The other building was used at one time for the publication of the Danbury Recorder^ and is still standing. MAIN STREET — WEST SIDE. Where now is the house of Mrs. Amos Stebbins stood at the beginning of the century one occupied by Dr. Daniel Com- stock. He was the physician of the village, and a man of considerable mental attainments. There was an addition to the house in which, from 1812 to 1815 or thereabout, was published a paper by Nathaniel Skinner. In the last-named year he re- moved his office to Bridgeport. The next house was that of Major Ezra Starr, who distin- guished himself in the Revolution. It was built on the site of the one burned by Tryon's troops. In 1830 the property came * Many years ago Homer Peters with his wife Nancy and three children lived in a little house on Coalpit Hill. Homer and his wife were both employed at the " Meeker Hotel," which during court sessions was the resort of the legal fraternity, and here Homer received the title of " Judge" [after Judge Peters of the Connecti- cut Bar], by which he was known to the day of his death. After a while he fitted up a barber shop, and was for years Danbury's " only" barber. He was also the town " fiddler," and furnished dancing music for all festivities— good music, too, and in his hands one violin held the music and force of a dozen. His " calling off " for dances was original, unique, and varied. He would sing directions to the tune he was playing, adding, when words fell short of notes,'" A turn a turn tum !" In the house which he bought, at the foot of Liberty Street, he had ice cream for sale during the summer months, and the place was well patronized. Homer's wit was quick and keen, and could all his stories and apt sayings be gathered together, they would fill a volume. On one occasion a good lady was talking to Homer upon the subject of his soul's salvation, and said to him, " Homer, you know more than most of your race." "Humph!" said Homer, " or youra either ;" which so broke up the lady, who had a keen sense of humor, that the religious conversation was permanently deferred. Homer, Nancy, the two daughters and one son are all dead, but there are many living who remember them well and kindly. 152 HISTORY OF DANBUKY. into the possession of Starr Nichols, who moved back the major's house and built the one now occupied by Mrs. D. P. Nichols. Major Starr had a large family, but none of its members have a residence in Danbury now. The next dwelling was occupied by Colonel Elias Starr, and is now the residence of Edmund Allen. The colonel was a teacher, and his school was in the next building, now a tenement, and twenty years ago occupied by L. H. Boughton as a shoe store. There was no other building until near the corner of Wooster Street, where stood the "Academy," a public school of the higher order. For many years the lamented Irwin taught there, and a number of our gray -haired citizens drank in knowledge at that fountain, j MAIN STREET— EAST SIDE. The present Court House was built in 1823-24, Its predecessor was a box-shaped affair of two stories, with a little chunked cupola on its roof. The first floor was used for some time as a place of worship for the Universalists, until they built the struc- ture across the way, that in later years became the church of St. Peter's parish. In front of the old Court House stood the whip- ping-post and stocks, and both institutions passed aw^ay with the building. The stocks fell into disuse a long time before the whipping-post was abolished. Whippings were frequent in the early days of the century. The punishment was inflicted by justices' decisions as well as by court decrees, although much lighter in the former cases. The whipping was generally done by the deputy sheriff. The late Aaron Seeley and Samuel Wild- man, as deputy sheriffs, and Levi Starr, as constable, presided at the post. The last known case of whipping in this section was in Brook- field. The victim was a Danbury man. There was a reunion in Brookfield of the veterans of the War of 1812-14, and the attend- ance from neighboring towns was quite large. The village store, which sold New England rum as well as other groceries, was doing an immense business. There were two openings in the counter above the money-drawer, one for silver and the other for bOls. When the money was received it was put through these openings. The Danbury man (whose name it is not neces- sary to mention) lonnged about on the counter, a most innocent- HISTORY OF D ANBURY. 153 looking party. He had in his possession a bit of stick with tar on the end of it. When the merchant and his assistants ran to the door to look at the doings outside, he would push the stick down into the opening for bills, and by the help of the adhesive tar would draw up one. At night the merchant discovered the loss. The Danbury man who had lounged on the counter was suspected. He was fol- lowed to Danbury, arrested, and the money with tar marks found in his possession. He was taken to Brookfield, confessed his crime, and was publicly and severely whipped. The Court House was first used for elections in 1820. Pre- vious to that time they were held in the church of the Fu'st Congregational Society at the foot of West Street. The assem- blages on elections in that time were much different from those of to-day, the difference being decidedly in favor of our fore- fathers. The meeting was opened with prayer. The people were quiet and orderly, and ticket peddling, lobbying, and loud- voiced discussions were unknown then. What w^as called the stand-up ballot prevailed in that day in voting for legislative bodies. The Federalists occupied one side of the house and the Republicans the other. On a candidate being announced those in his favor rose and were counted. Then the opposition can- didate was given, and those who favored him arose and were counted. The result was then summed up and announced, and the election proceeded to the next office. Colonel Joseph Piatt Cooke was a Federalist of a pronounced type, and a man of pronounced opinion on any subject he espoused. He could not endure opposition. It is related of him on one occasion where he presided at an electors' meeting, that, the opposition candidate receiving a majority of the vote, the old gentleman put on his cocked hat and stalked angi'ily out of the building, leaving the meeting to take care of itself. In 1818 the " stand-up ' vote was repealed. MAIN STREET — WEST SIDE. The present handsome jail building was erected in 1 872. Its predecessor was of stone, and was built in 1830. The building before that was a frame structure with barred windows, out of which a modern housebreaker would have made his exit in less than no time. There was no building between the jail and the 154 HISTORY OF DANBURY. present estate of the late Aaron Seeley. The " saddle factory" was not built until 1836. It was occupied by Elias S. Sanford and William B. Fry in the manufacture of saddles and harness. The firm had a store in New Orleans. The manufacture was carried on for about four years, when the failure of the firm broke up the business. In 1840 or thereabouts Stone & Wad- hems rented the front of the building for a store, and remained there three or four years. James S. Taylor and his brother Granville did business there after that, and when they left the building became a tenement. Several years ago the greater part of it was destroyed by fire. The store on the Seeley estate stood where is now the resi- dence. It was at one time occupied by Amos and Samuel Steb- bins. Next to that was a tavern built of brick. It is now the residence of Miss Helen Meeker. The tavern was built by Major Whiting at the close of the last century. Henry S. Whiting, a son of the builder, kept the tavern until 1816 or thereabouts, when the late Aaron Seeley became its host, and remained in charge some fourteen years. The hotel was a i)Oi)ular resort, and a stopping-place for the stages that ran from New York to Litchfield. In those days its capacious yard and stabling were the scene of much activity. Henry Whiting went to Herkimer, N. Y., from Danbury, engaged there in the tavern business, and died there. There is none of the family in Danbury. The house next to the tavern, and now known as the Bedient Place, was until 1830 occupied by two brothers, Darius and John Starr. The next building was occupied by Nathaniel Wood, who was a shoemaker, and had a shop in his yard. Just north of William H. Clark's residence, and on his prop- erty, is a brick dwelling which was built by Fairchild Wildman, who kept a store there for many years, and it was also occupied by Warden Clark and Nelson Crane for this purpose. In 1865 it was converted into a dwelling. On its site stood a building owned by Zachariah Griswold, who occupied it about 1820 for a suspender manufactory. It was not a successful venture, although Mr. Griswold did quite a business at one time. The present residence of Mr. Clark dates back from the last century. At one time in the last decade of the eighteenth cen- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 155 tiiry a room in it was used as the office of the village paper, the Republican Farmer, published by Stiles Nichols, and the build- ing itself was the dwelling of one of the proprietors. Mr. Clark retains a door in which are the nails that held the various prints which it was once customary to tack on the printing-office door. For many years the place belonged to Hiram Barnes, the famous stage man, and from its gates his four-in-hands have gallantly trotted, to the great delight of the village youth. The house now occupied by Representative Charles H. Hoyt was long the residence of Everett Ames, grandfather of Mrs. Hoyt. At the beginning of the century it was occupied by Joshua Benedict, who was a saddle manufacturer, and made saddles in the building. Afterward it was the residence of Sam- uel Jennings. Next on the south was Dr. Daniel N. Carring- ton, who was a prominent citizen and was several times sent to the Legislature. David Wood owned the house next. Eighty years ago it was a tavern under his management. He subsequently kept the tavern where now stands the Turner House. Next to his place were the dwelling and hat factory of Ezra Wildman. Next was the dwelling of Miss Ann Bennett. Following it came the residence of Eliakim Peck, which still stands. Mr. Peck was a blacksmith, and his shop stood on the corner where is now the old Episcopal church tenement. He was a strong Episcopalian, a man of marked hospitable traits, and his shop and home were the resort of people fond of enter- tainment and given to discussion. In those days there were no fires in churches, and the worshippers in the Episcopal church (then on South Street) used to go to Mr. Peck's home Sundays, between service, to get warm. MAIN STREET— EAST SIDE. We left the east side at the Court House. The first building on the south was the dwelling of Jesse Skellinger. He had a carriage shop next to it. The place was subsequently occupied by John Rider. Next to it was a small building owned and occupied as a silversmith shop by John S. Blackman, father of F. S. Black- man, who conducted the same business until a few years ago. The senior's wares were of the genuine metal, and many of the 156 HISTORY OF DAISTBURY. spoons he sold sixty years ago with his name upon them are now in the possession of our older families. Then came the residence of Matthew B. Whittlesey, father of the late E. B. AVhittlesey. The dwelling next was the property of E. S. Sanford, the tanner, who had a shoe shop there. Next came a dwelling whose occupant's name we do not know. It still stands. Captain John Eider lived where now George St. John resides. Samuel Wildman and Fairchild, his son, lived in the house now occupied by Mrs. Samuel C. Wildman. The store and dwelling of John Dodd came next. Following this was the house of Epaphras W. Bull, a promis- ing young lawyer, who went to Ohio in 1810, to grow up with the great West, and shortly after died there. The house was later owned by Curtis Clark. Captain James Clark owned a small dwelling next south. Following this was the residence of Philo Calhoun, father of the president of the Fourth National Bank in New York City. Next came the McLean house, which was built just after the Revolutionary War near the site of the one destroyed at the burning of Banbury, and was for many years occupied by Mr. McLean and his descendants. At the time of the conflagra- tion some Continental money buried upon the grounds was scorched by the heat. These bills were known for many years as " the McLean money.'' It was said by Colonel Moss White that "John McLean could walk from Ridgefield to Newtown without stepping off of his own land." The old knocker which was on the front door was of English make, and probably brought from Scotland. It is now on the door of the residence of the late Horace Marshall, opposite Elmwood Park. The wife of John McLean was Deborah Adams, of the family of John and John Quincy Adams. Lilly McLean, their daughter, married WiUiam Chappell, and their family occupied the house for many years. Mr. Chappell was a great-great-grandson of William Chappell, tutor of John Milton, who left that position to take the provost- ship of Dublin University, and was afterward made Bishop of Cork. His son, president of Dublin University, came to this country with Bishop Berkeley. They started for the Bermudas, but were blown astray and landed in Rhode Island, with the HISTORY OF DANBURY. 157 intention of founding there a college, but funds from England were not fortlicoming, and Mr. Chappell went to New London, where many of his descendants remain. Afterward he went to New Haven, where he married Patience Ogden, a descend- ant of Parson Ogden, and she died in Danbury. On tlie corner of South Street, in the yard of the house occu- pied by the late Charles Rider, stood, fifty or more years ago, a store kept by a man named Griswold, It was burned and not rebuilt. SOUTH STREET — SOUTH SIDE. The most prominent house then on the street, because directly facing Main Street, was the residence of Daniel Taylor. The house was built soon after the burning of Danbury, on the site of the one then destroyed, and has changed but little in the past century. Mr. Taylor was a hatter. The dwelling of Eliakim Benedict came next, and is still standing. Two small dwellings followed, but by whom occupied we do not know. Adjoining was the home of E. S. Griffin, who died at an advanced age not many years ago. West of Samuel Brunker's place was the dwelling of Comfort Hoyt, who was a farmer. Beyond that was meadow land until where is now the home of Mrs. A. N. Sharp. Then stood the residence of Walter Dibble, farmer. On the corner of the street leading to Coalpit Hill was a house occupied by Thomas Flynn. Next came the home of Harry Taylor, who was a farmer. His next neighbor was Lemuel Taylor, and next to him was Joel Stone, who did not appear to have any particular occupa- tion, but at one time carried the mail between Danbury and New Haven. NORTH SIDE — GOING WEST. Captain Ezra Dibble lived where is now the residence of Joseph Bates. He was grandfather to Miss Mary Bull. He was a large farmer, and owned nearly all the land in that neighborhood. He was noted for his generous help of the needy. There was no other house until the place of Amos Hoyt was reached. He was a tanner, shoemaker, and deacon. The home- stead of the late Ira Morse was then occupied by Captain Peter 158 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Starr, grandfather of Mrs. Morse. He was a blacksmith and a prominent citizen of that day. East of Captain Starr' s place was the residence (since removed) of Daniel Frost. The old Dibble house came next. It was built before the Revolution, and became famous in local history as the house where Wooster died. Next came the home of William Chappell. No other building occupied the interval between his place and the old Episcopal church, which stood in the west end of the present graveyard, which was its churchyard. The South Centre District school stood close by, as at present. In the time of which we write Town Hill Avenue had but three houses. It was not an avenue then, but simply a lane, running around from Liberty Street as it does now, and connect- ing with South Street. It was then commonly known as " Nig- gers' Lane," although the hill itself bore its present name. Why it was called Town Hill we do not know. Perhaps because there was no town on it, nor any likely to be. One of the three houses was owned and occupied by Agur Hoyt, father-in-law of the late venerable Amos Morris. He lived on the east side of the street. There was a low-browed house across the way which was occupied by Aunt Liz Henry. Aunt Liz was an aged maiden of decrepit form, popularly supposed to be a witch, although no more direct evidence of this than mere surmise, hatched from the brain of the superstitious, w^as ever laid at her dingy door. Near to where Turner Street now intersects Town Hill Avenue stood a building occupied by a negro named Peter Stockbridge. It is remarkable what a great matter a little fire kindleth. As near as we can get at it the name of the lane came from this single family of colored people. There were no more buildings until the foot of Liberty Street was reached. There, where is now Railway Avenue, stood the extensive tannery of Starr & Sanford. The business of the tanner, like that of the fuller, has concentrated at prominent centres since that day. Then tanneries and fulling shops were distributed throughout the land, Danbury having several of each. The Starr & Sanford tannery, with its vats and bark buildings, extended almost to the present railway track. The only dwelling then on Liberty Street was occupied by HISTORY OF DANBURY. 159 Mrs. Betsey Starr, widow of Colonel Ebenezer Dibble Starr, who was a shoemaker. He died in 1816. The house stood on the site of the present residence of the Misses Rockwell. WEST STREET — NORTH SIDE. The first house was the dwelling of Elijah Gregory, where now is the rectory of St. James's Church. He was a blacksmith, and had his shop in one corner of the yard. Mr. Gregory was a somewhat prominent man, and was sent to the Legislature. The house was a large frame building, and now stands on George Street, where it has become a tenement. The next house was that in which John Fry lived, and where now stands Dr. W. H. Rider's residence. He was a hat manu- facturer, and had his shop on the premises. Prior to his occu- pancy Benedict Gregory owned the premises. This was in 1812. In 1827 Fry, Gregory & Co. occupied the shop. After this Mr. Gregory went to Dayton, O., where he died. Ohio, and espe- cially Dayton, called away a number of people from Danbury in the first years of the present century. Next came the place of Ezra Gregory, grandfather of Mr. L. P. Hoyt. He lived where Mrs. C. H. Reed now does, and had a small tannery in the rear of his house. He was a shoe- maker. Next to him was the home of Uncle Matthew^ Gregory, now occupied by the family of the late Ephraim Gregory. He was a farmer. Between the two places is now New Street, This street was opened mainly through the exertions of Thomas T. Whittlesey, and it was named after him, but the name was sub- sequently changed by a borough meeting. Nathan Gregory lived where is now the large double house owned by the estate of Charles Benedict. He was a fuller of cloth, and the buildings used for that purpose stood on the premises. The manufacture of cloth in those days was strictly a domestic industry. The wool or flax (linen) was bought of the stores. The housewife spun it into threads on her spinning- wheels. It was then woven into cloth, and after that taken to the fuller, who dressed and colored it. The process was some- thing similar to the making of rag carpets in a later day. There are fine linen sheets preserved in Danbury to-day which were made from the flax ninety years ago. 160 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Rev. Israel Ward owned the place occupied by the late Ira Dibble. He was the pastor of the First Congregational Church, and lies buried in the Wooster Cemetery. He died in 1810. After his death the house, which was built before the Revolu- tion, passed into the possession of Samuel Dibble, whose grand- daughters occupy it to-day. He was a miller, and his first mill was on Main Street. His second and last mill stood where is now White's fur factory, on Beaver Street. Mr. Dibble was ''always noted for taking honest toll." In those days people got their flour principally from the mills, buying or raising the grain and giving a portion of it to the miller for grinding. Rye flour was the staple, although corn meal was considerably used. Benjamin Knapp, who figured as a caterer to several of Tryon's officers, was remarkably fond of Indian meal, and it was said of him that a pudding of that meal graced his dinner-table every day in the year. Wheat was not a common grain then, and its flour was used principally for pie-crust and the finer grades of pastry. The remaining house on that side of the street was occupied by Caleb Starr, grandfather of Charles F. Starr and Mrs. F. S. Wildman. His house stood Just west of Harmony Street, on West. He was a farmer, and owned a great deal of land. SOUTH SIDE. Colonel Taylor, merchant, lived where stands the residence of the late F. S. Wildman in a story and a half house, of double pattern, with a long, sloping roof. Subsequently the house passed into the possession of Seymour Wildman, uncle of Frederick. The latter tore it down in 1842 and built the present place. Before this the old house was occupied by several families. Judge Reuben Booth lived there at one time, and Miss Eunice Seeley kept a school there for j^oung women. She subsequently moved to Rochester, where she died. There was no other house until that of Andrew Beers was reached, which stood on the site of the present residence of Mrs. Charles Hull. Mr. Beers was a delver in astronomy and a prom- inent cultivator of weather. For several years he prepared an acceptable almanac, which had a circulation throughout the United States. "Andrew Beers (Philom.) " was a familiar address to many families. His almanac was the origin of the " Middle- \ 1 II i!ii!!i!ijij!iHiiiii iiii liiiiHiiiiiinriiiiiiiii!!! nl! iljlliniii p^ llljjilllli iiiliiiiiin iil!||iiiin,H,. I'.M.Ki; Stai;k IIum k-tka h. \\ k-t m. JUA DiBBLK. Dibble Homksteau. West St. Brii.T Before the Revolution. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 161 brooks." A remark attributed to him and in general currency seventy years ago was that " grass wouldn't start to grow until thunder shook the earth." Mr. Beers lies buried in the old Episcopal churchyard in South Street. The following inscription is on his headstone : " in memory of Andrew Beers, Esq., Born in Newtown, August 10, 1749, Died in Danbury, Sept. 20, 1824, 75 years, 1 month. " ' Life and the grave Two different lessons give- Life teaches how to die, Death how to live.' " The next house was that of Joseph Benedict, who was a tailor. It was moved back on George Street, where it still stands. Next came the dwelling of Joseph Hoyt Gregory, who was a hatter, and had his factory by his house. He moved to Indiana in 1830, and there died. Farther on, and where now stands the homestead of the late L. Wildman, lived Abial Phillips. Samuel Dibble lived there before he bought the Ward place. The house was removed years ago. Division Street was then an open road, containing no dwellings. The last house on West Street stands there now, close to the pond. Sixty years ago it was occupied by Ezra Boughton. It now belongs to Mr. A. M. White. Mr. Boughton was a dresser of cloth, and had his works by his home. The only house in the entire length of Deer Hill was occupied by Munson Gregory. It stood where E. A. Housman now lives, and was torn down some years ago. Kev. William Andrews lived here during his i)astorate of the First Church. Wooster Street was not considered a street, but a road. It had no house until that of Eli Jarvis was reached. Nearly opposite lived Eli Wildman, a farmer. Lovers' Lane contained one house, a small one. It stood near 162 HISTORY OF DANBURY. to where is now Beach Wilson's place. Lovers' Lane was a popular name for this road many years ago, and everybody in Danbury knew of it. As late as twenty years ago a good part of it was shaded by overhanging branches. It is not now a walk for the sentimental, and perhaps not more than half of our citizens know where it is. The house now owned by Mrs. B. Crofut, on the Mountain- ville Road, was in that day occupied by Benjamin Griffin. There were but three houses on White Street, and no dwell- ings on the north side of the street, unless we count the place of Mr. Knapp, corner of Main Street. On the south side the first house was owned by Abel B. Gregory, who was a farmer. Next came the large house of Noah Knapp, son of Benjamin Knapp. It is supposed to have been built on the close of the war, if not before it. Noah was a farmer. There was no other dwelling on the road until where is now Nursery Avenue. A large dwelling, the property of Zalmon Wildman, father of Frederick S., stood there. ELM STREET. At the east end of this street, on the north side, the first house was the dwelling of Zelotes Robinson. He was a butcher, and began the peddling business with a wheelbarrow. He was among the first peddlers of meat in Danbury. Alvin Hurd also lived there. He was a hat manufacturer. Mr. Hurd's factory stood on the river. On the corner of River Street was the next house. It was occupied by Dorastus Green, a laborer. On the south side there were but two buildings. One of these was the dwelling of Rory Starr, father of the late George Starr. The other was his shop, and is now Daniel Starr's box shop. Mr. Starr was a builder, and a very extensive one, too. He did most of the building in those days, when houses with their gable ends to the street began to make their appearance here. Many of our older substantial residences were constructed by Mr. Starr, the most conspicuous being the residence of Fred- erick S. Wildman, which we believe was the last he put up. Mr. Starr was elected to the Legislature, serving in both the House and Senate. He was a Methodist, and an active member of the local church. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 163 ELM STREET. That portion of Elm Street which runs over Rabbit Hill con- tained but four houses. These were small, and it is not known who occupied them. Two of them were tenements belonging to Colonel Russell White. In one of these houses lived a man who was noted in the vil- lage as shiftless and improvident. He was a wagoner by profes- sion, but scarcely by i^ractice. His wife was entirely opposite in nature. She was both industrious and frugal, and, like such people, had an ambition. Hers was to have a home of her own, or a homestead, as she termed it. Her want was frequently, if not daily, presented to her husband. Finally, becoming im- patient with her demand, he told her one day, " My dear, I would get you a homestead in a minute if I had anywhere to put it." This covered the subject completely, and the poor woman never again put in her petition for a homestead. Rabbit Hill was thus called because its gravel pits and clumps of brush were the home of that animal. Gallows Hill is the mass of rock at the head of the street, near the pond. EIVER STREET. The classical name of River Street in the early days of the town's history was Pumpkin Ground. The hill which skirts its west side was in spots devoted to the culture of that plain-look- ing but excellent vegetable. River Street was a mere lane, and ran to the east of its present location. Dorastus Green's house, which stood on the corner of Elm, had a well within eight feet of the front door. The present roadway now covers the well. Rabbit Hill was so steep in that day that a half cord of wood was about all a team could haul up it. Mr. Green's house sat perched upon a high bank. The street was opened by Colonel Russell White for the convenience of his factory business. A good part of the hill on the west side belonged to Rory Starr. Richard Lovelace, who was a miller, lived opposite S. C. Holly & Co. 's factory. The house still stands. Next to him lived WiUiam Earle. His place also remains. There were but two more houses. One of them was occupied by Jonathan Leggett, a fur- cutter. The other was the dwelling of 164 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Sergeant Joseph Moore. Both yet remain. At the farther end of the street, near White's factories, lived Anthony Buxton. BEAVER STREET, There were but two houses on this street (which is popularly known as Rose Hill). One of these was occupied by Ephraim Benedict. Lower down the hill lived Samuel Curtis. His house has been gone for years. He was for a long time sexton of the First Church, and was known to the young and old of his day as simply " Sam." NORTH STREET. There were but two houses on North Street eighty years ago. One of these was the property of Ezra Barnum, a farmer. The second house was a small building, since removed, which stood on Mrs. Benedict's lot. At a later day, seventy years ago or thereabouts, there was a hat factory on the street. It stood near the bridge, on the north side. FRANKLIN STREET. There was but one house on the north side of this now pretty, well-built-up street. This was the dwelling of Stephen Gregory. On the south side the first house was that on the corner of Rose Street ; in the rear stood the Methodist meeting-house of that day. George Lovelace lived next. The third and last house on that side was occupied by Darius Barnum. CHAPTER XXVIT. FROM 182 TO 1840. In 1822 the first Universalist service was held in this town at the house of one of that faith in the district of Great Plain. In 1824 the bank now known as the Danbury National Bank was established. It was organized under the laws of the State. In 1829 the first fire companies were organized. This was the beginning of the Danbury Fire Department. Previous to this fires were fought by a bucket brigade. A line of citizens was formed extending from the nearest water supply to the fire, and a filled bucket was passed from one citizen to another along the line until it reached the fire, when it was thrown thereon. One bucket followed another in rapid succession, the empty buckets being passed back by a second line of men. At the census of 1830 Danbury showed a population of 4311. In this year a project to build a canal from tide- water at West- port to Danbury was agitated, and a survey was made, but the project failed. In 1834 pipe- water was first introduced in Danbury. The supply came from Tweedy' s Spring, in the hill-side at the north end of Main Street. This was a private enterprise, called the Wooster Water Comj)any. In 1835 a second attempt to get closer communication with tide-water was made. This scheme was to build a horse rail- road from Danbury to Norwalk ; but, like the canal enterprise, it failed to carry. A survey was made following somewhat the line of the present steam railway. In 1838 the first Catholic church service was held in Danbury. Prior to the incorporation of the borough of Danbury, the township of Danbury was divided into and governed by two ecclesiastical societies. One was called the "old" society. This embraced in its territory that portion of the township now known as the town of Danbury. The other was called the 166 HISTOEY OF DANBURY. ''new" society, and took in the territory now called Bethel. Both were under the same town government. In 1855 the mem- bers of the latter society petitioned the legislature to be set off from Danbury as a separate town. The petition was granted. In 1869 the upper portion of what is called Grassy Plain Street, in the southern i:>art of this town, was set off to the town of Bethel. In the last century slavery existed in this county, and there were slaves in Danbury. It will be remembered by the reader that one of the killed in the British raid upon this place was a negro slave. In the papers printed here between 1790 and 1800 occasional advertisements appear offering rewards for the recov- ery of runaway slaves, and on several occasions a slave was offered for sale. Along in 1830 began the anti-slavery or abolition crusade in organized form. In the autumn of 1838 there was quite an ex- citement in this part of the county in consequence of the effort made to organize anti-slavery societies. Dr. Erastus Hudson and Rev. Nathaniel Colver were appointed agents by the Con- necticut Anti-Slavery Society to evangelize the State, and in October came into this couDty on that mission. They lectured in many towns, in most of which their meetings were disturbed, and in some cases broken up by mob violence. In Danbury their meetings were held in the Baptist church, then standing on West Wooster Street, near Deer Hill Avenue. Danbury at that time was largely engaged in the Southern hat trade, and we can easily see why there was so much opposition against the efforts made to form anti-slavery, or, as they were usually denominated, abolition societies here. It would not answer to have our Southern brethren know that societies were forming here to act against their " divine institution." While Mr. Colver was delivering his lecture, an attack was made upon the church, stones were freely thrown, windows broken, and Mr. Colver narrowly escaped personal injury. From persons present at that affair we gather the following information : About the hour for the commencement of the lec- ture the sound of a trumpet was heard near the Court House, when immediately the streets were filled with men coming from every direction, who proceeded at once to the Baptist church and interrupted the service, but Mr. Colver proceeded and fin- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 167 ished his lecture. After the services were concluded the speaker was escorted by two constables to a wagon and taken to the house of Rev. E. C. Ambler. The house was surrounded by a noisy crowd, but no violence was offered. April 10th, 1839, the Society met in the Court House at Dan- bury, and was called to order by Isaac Crofut, vice-president. Delegates were present from Brookfield, Danbury, New Fair- field, Newtown, Sherman, Weston, and the Zoar Societies. Sev- eral strong resolutions were read, debated, and adopted. The convention provided for the publication of its proceedings In the Charter Odk^ of Hartford, and the Danbury Times, and appointed Charles Fairman as a delegate to the anniversary of the American Anti-Slavery Society to be held in New York City. FROM 1840 TO 1860. At the taking of the census in 1840 the population was shown to be 4504. Municipally the chief event in the two decades was the intro- duction of illuminating gas, the organization of a hook and ladder company, and the inception of the project to introduce public water. Other important events w^ere the dedication of the Wooster Monument, organization of the Wooster Cemetery Association, establishment of the Danbury Savings Bank, com- pletion of the Danbury and Norwalk Railway, establishment of the Pahquioque Bank, organization of the Wooster Light Guards (the first company in the State to respond to the call for troops to fight the Rebellion), and the building of churches— viz. , the Disciples, Second Congregational, Episcopalian, Baptist, Uni- versalist, Methodist, and First Congregational. These latter are treated at length in the chapters devoted to the histories of the several societies. Illuminating gas was introduced in 1837 by a stock company. There was considerable work done before the proposition took with our people who had money to invest, but once fairly started, investors came in, and the company was organized. The Danbury Times, under date of March 10th, 1857, says of the enterprise : " Within the past week, without any extra effort, the stock of the ' Danbury Gas Light Company ' has all been taken, and 168 HISTORY OF DANE DRY. the success of the j^roject seems to be placed beyond the shade of a doubt. The energy which has thus far characterized this movement encourages the belief that we have entered upon an era destined to be marked by a more speedy realization of ideas of a practical character than has hitherto been the case. '* The spirit and activity displayed by our mercantile com- munity, in availing themselves of every facility to render this a most desirable and profitable market to the purchaser, will re- ceive a new impulse by the introduction of gaslight, under which the taste and liberality exhibited in the selection of their wares may be seen and appreciated ; but their necessities in this respect are not alone to be taken into consideration. " In connection with the call for more light from our manu- factories, the efforts which have recently been made to secure a safe and permanent light from lesser expedients, in private resi- dences, indicates that the ' Gas Company ' should commence operations at as early a day as possible, that the period between anticipation and reality may be endured with some degree of composure." It will be noted that nothing is said in the above of street lighting as a need of the hour and a source of revenue to the company. It is likely the incorporators had this in view ; but it w^as three years later before the borough voted to use gas to light the streets. The incorporators of the enterprise were Frederick L. Wild- man, George W. Ives, E. S. Tweedy, Henry Benedict, NeUon L. Wliite, George Hull, D. P. Nichols, William K. White, William H. Clark, Augustus Wikhnan, I. W. Ives. Henry Benedict was chosen president, and I. W. Ives clerk and treasurer. The names in italics are those who were made directors. In the fall of 1860 twelve street gas-lamps were ordered by the borough. They were located as follows : Corner of North and Main streets ; corner Franklin and Main ; corner White and Main ; corner Main and Liberty ; north end of the park, south end of the park ; corner Deer Hill and West ; corner Elm and River ; corner of Liberty and Railroad Avenue ; front of the resi- dence of Mrs. Botsford (now J. W. Bacon's) ; lower end of gas main ; on Main, equal distance between Elm and Franklin. On April 13th, 1887, the Legislature passed an act changing j«v ■^- Tmi-.M,/ T ' Pahquioque Hotel. WoosTER House. LiMAN Keeler. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 169 the name of the company to the Danbury and Bethel Gas and Electric Light ComiDany. In December of the same year the capital of the company was increased to $200,000. In May, 1888, the company purchased the plant of the Danbury Schuyler Electric Light Company, and in the latter part of the same year changed the process of making gas to the one now in use. There are one hundred and nineteen street electric lights in the city of to-day. In the fall of 1854 E. B. Stevens, then a well-known citizen of Danbury, removed to Illinois. He was born and reared in Pem- broke District. In his early manhood he was associated with Peter Rowan in the mason business. The foundation of the Wooster House and that of the Danbury and Norwalk railway station were laid by them, also the foundation for the Wooster Monument in the Wooster Cemetery. The stone for the monu- ment was received at the station on April 17th in a snow-storm, which continued the next day, and was so severe that the work upon the foundation was delayed for several days. At the time Mr. Stevens left Danbury, North Street, from the residence of the late Peter Rowan to the corner of Main Street, contained but two dwellings ; from the corner of Main and North streets to Patch Street there were but three houses, one on the east side and two on the west. From Patch Street to " Addis's Store' ' there w^ere three houses on the east side and two on the west. On the corner of Franklin Street was a hat shop, then known as Tw^eedy's finishing shop. Messrs. Stebbins & Wildman, hatters, occupied a shop on Elm Street, corner of River. William Montgomery carried on hatting in a shop at the corner of Montgomery and West streets. White's fur shop was in operation at the present site on Beaver Street, but on a much smaller scale. Starr & Crof ut were millers, and occupied a mill where now stands the factory of Peter Rob- inson & Sons. The old Pahquioque Hotel was doing duty, and was considered the place, though the Turner and Wooster Houses somewhat eclipsed its glory and took a share of the patronage. White Street was then known as Barren Plain Road. Where now the substantial iron bridge spans the river was then a low, wooden structr e, by the side of which was a crossing where people were accustomed to drive to water their horses or oxen. 170 HISTORY OF D ANBURY. Alders bordered the river, fishing was fair, and it was a fine place for boys to bathe. The old Bell jilace, removed to make place for the lumber yard of Osborn Brothers, was the first house east of Main Street. The Osbornite church stood nearly opposite the New England Hotel, The Methodist church was on the site of the present Disciples' church on Liberty Street. The Universalist church w^as at the corner of Main and Wooster streets. The First Con- gregational church stood where now is the Soldiers' Monument. The Baptist church until 1848 was on the corner of Deer Hill Avenue and Wooster Street. On the Barren Plain Road there were but two houses from the Osbornite church to Beaver Brook, the residence of Deacon John Beard and the old Sturdevant place. Only two or three houses were located on Town Hill. On South Street, east from Main, there were but three dwellings. On West Street, from Main Street to the river, were not more than a half dozen houses. Where now are Balmf orth and Maple avenues, with their many beautiful residences, there was but meadow and pasture-land, seldom visited except on " training days." Tlie business centre of the town was then considered to lie between West Street and the Court House. All has been changed, and but few old landmarks are recognized. It may not be amiss to mention here two local poets of Dan- bury, whose writings are found scattered along through the files of the Danbury Times from 1840 to 1860 and still later. These were James W. Nichols and H. B. Wildman, both of Great Plain District. James White Nichols, son of Ebenezer Nichols, was born October 15th, 1809, in the same room in which he died on Sep- tember 17th, 1875. The following is taken from his note-book, now in possession of his widow : December 20, 1863. During the past autumn I received a visit from my dear and only brother, William Nichols, of Cooperstown, N. Y. On re- tiring to rest, as I accompanied him into his room, he said to HISTORY OF DANBURY. 171 me, *' James, draw up the curtain of the east window, so that I can see the sun rise as 1 used to in the days of my boyhood. I always loved to see it, and I want to behold it again on the morrow." I accordingly drew up the curtain to the upper panes and retired. The following morning the sun rose clear and beautiful, and my brother expressed great satisfaction at the sight, saying he enjoyed it greatly. Upon his simple request I wrote the following lines. My brother was then in his seventy- seventh year. RAISE THE CURTAIN FOR ME, BROTHER. Raise the curtain for me, brother. Let my eyes have one more feast, And my heart enjoy another Sunrise in the golden east. In the room with infant wonder Where I first beheld the light, I would once more gaze and ponder On the glad and glorious sight. Raise the curtain for me, brother. Let me look to-morrow morn From this parlor where my mother Always told me I was born. 'Twas to me a heartfelt pleasure When in youth's outgushing thrill, Now 'tis age's unfading treasure To behold that glory still. Raise the curtain for me, brother. Shut out from the inner sight Every gleam from every other, But let this be clear and bright — Daylight of the coming morrow, Trembling through each crystal pane— Never j^et a sight of sorrow I would see its flush again. Raise the curtain for me, brother. Who can tell if j-et there be, On life's highway such another Blessed sight for me to see. Yes ; I'll mark with joy unfailing All its golden tints unfold, For the shadows graveward trailing Tell me I am growing old. In quite another vein are the next verses, evidently written out of the fulness of his heart : 172 HISTORY OF DANBDRY. THAT AWFUL OLD HAT. Addressed to an Excellent Lady. I've had such a blowing, dear Mary ! I never Had one so astounding and fearful ; that's flat : 'Tis plain I must eschew the ladies forever, Or wear a more trim and respectable hat — A hat that is newer, and holes in it fewer, A more prepossessing and elegant hat. In vain to the pleadings I stuck a rejoinder, " I'd no thought of walking so far," and all that ; In the place of a blessing I got a side winder, In walking abroad in that ugly old hat. With brim that was shattered and crown sadly battered, That awful old, dreadful old plug of a hat. " If you can't appear better when out with the ladies, If you haven't a little pride left about dress, You'd better ship off to Sahara or Cadiz, And dwell among Arabs or pagan Chinese ;" And plainly thus speaking, I got a sound breaking Of wearing abroad such a wretched old hat. I'd no thought of hurting an animate being, Or care if the nation knew what I was at. But this didn't hinder a sharp eye from seeing I'd gone through the gate in that rusty old hat. Which to wear was a pity, with friends from the city, A shame to be seen in that nasty old hat. No cow of a cooper was ever more honest Than I was in even suspecting a spat. But now I can see I was very near non est In acting the beau in that terrible hat — That mildewed and musted, begrimed and bedusted, That clownish and awful distressed old hat. Let this, then, be wrote in a book of instruction To husbands who walk out for sociable chat. How little they think what a startling deduction Their angels can make of an old-fashioned hat ; And sunny or shady, to walk with a lady. Beware how they sport in a shocking bad hat. And now if I'm ever again with you going. So long as I stay above Res-qui-es-cat, In plain daily costume, to save me a blowing. Do make some objections — at least to the hat ; Or else with a squinting, be openly hinting, You can't walk beside so outlandish a hat. 1858. J- W. Nichols, HISTORY OF DANBURY. 173 H. B. Wildman, also of Great Plain, wrote the following ode, which was sung at the dedication of the Wooster Monument : ODE FOR THE WOOSTER MONUMENT CELEBRATION, APRIL 27. 1854. Air, " Bonaparte's Grave." Awake ! Freemen, wake ! Lo, the bright star of glory Is melting the shades of oblivion's gloom ; The fame of our Wooster, so matchless in story. Is bidding us rouse like a voice from the tomb. His spirit hath gone, and his soul hath ascended, His form now lies low in the dust of the plain ; " He sleeps his last sleep and his battles are ended, No sound can awake him to glory again." Oh, soldier immortal I how brave was thy daring ; No tyrant could bind thee, no slave could defy ; With the spirit of Washington, never despairing, Thy voice was for freedom — to conquer or die. " But never again will the loud cannon's rattle" Awake thee, to guard us from Tj'ranny's chain ; " Thou sleepest thy last sleep, tliou hast fought thj' last battle. No sound can awake thee to glory again." Thou hast left us a name in a chivalric nation. Which Freedom forever will guard in her might ; A star in the midst of a bright constellation, Which empires in infancy hail with delight. Thou hast gone to thy rest, and thy fame hath ascended, No slave can oppress thee with Tyranny's reign ; " Thou sleep'st thy last sleep, all thy battles are ended, No sound can awake thee to glory again." FROM "SHADOWS OF THE EVERGREENS." By James Wallace Pine (1858), a Colored Citizen op Danbury. Bless the Lord for that brilliant light which has illuminated the tomb some hundreds of years ago. Those trees that guard each long-lost friend To us are ever dear. They firmly stand, yet gently bend And shed their dew-drop tear. The beautiful, the old, the young Are low beneath these trees, Their harps which were harmonious strung Now sound along the breeze. And till the sun shall cease to set And close those splendid scenes, Bright o'er our friends we'll ne'er forget The true, the evergreens. CHAPTER XXVIII. THE EARLY MERCHANTS AND THE NEWSPAPERS OF DANBURY. In 1790 Danbury had a population of 3000, and yet there were issues of the Farmers' Journal., the weekly paper, in which not a single event of local happening was recorded. Death could not have been much of a change to the newspaper men of that time. In looking over a file of these papers we find lottery advertise- ments prominent. One of these schemes was to establish a glass works at Hartford, another to advance the financial interests of a church in Greenwich, and a third to help something in New Haven. Tickets were on sale at the office of the Journal, Although lacking local news items, the names of the men who did business here then, and many of whom were the ancestors of families now among us, are subjects of interest. The merchants of that time advertised to take country produce in exchange for goods. The produce they sent to New York for market. Taylor & Cook announce that they have stores in both Danbury and Brookfield. They say they have a large stock of European and West India goods, but do not explain what they are. The general or country stores of that period did all kinds of business, from clothing to tinware. One of them, which was advertised in the Journal, was located in Great Plain. Does it seem possible that the district had in 1790 a large general store, when now it has none of any kind ? But such was the fact, and it is such an unexpected fact that we print what its owners, Nichols & Dibble, advertised to sell. Here is their advertise- ment in full : " NICHOLS «fe DIBBLE " Have just received at their store at Great Plain and are now selling exceeding cheap for ready pay the following articles, viz.: " Blue, bottle-green, London smoke, scarlet and mixt broad- cloth. Coatings, frizes, velvets, satinets, chintzes, calicoes. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 175 wildboars, camblers, calimanco, stuffs, baizes, flannels, shalloons, muslin, lawn, gauze, silk handkerchiefs, cotton do., shawls, worsted hose, modes, sarcenets, laces, ribbons, ostrich feathers, silk and twist, coat and vest buttons. A complete assortment of hardware and crockery, rum, wine, Geneva, brown sugar, loaf sugar, lump sugar, tea, chocolate, raisins, allspice, pepper, in- digo, snuff, alum, copperas, soap, redwood, logwood, Spanish brown, 6x8 glass, German steel, etc. ' ' All kinds of country produce will be received in payment, and every favor gratefully acknowledged. Good rock salt ex- changed for flax seed, or rye, even." The above is a sample of the line of grade of goods kept by the merchant in those days. But the "etc." of Nichols & Dibble embraces much more than the casual observer would think. It includes shoes, confectionery, agricultural imple- ments, stationery, and about everything that now is distributed into a dozen or so of specialties. Other Danbury advertisers in the Journal are Foot & Pickett, who were " tailors and lady's habit makers." A hundred years ago ready-made clothing was not in the market. Chapell & White advertised to pay a good price for cherry- tree boards. Eliakim Peck ran an axe factory. His shop was near the Episcopal church, which stood at the foot of Main Street. Isaac Trowbridge advertised for a quantity of otter, fox, cat, and muskrat skins. Abijah Peck was a blacksmith. He advertised his shop as being " about 30 rods north of Burr & White's store." There were several probate notices, and three to debtors warning against further delinquency in settling uj). Mathias Nicoll, of Stratford, advertised that he had for sale " 20 puncheons of excellent Demara Rum." Spinning-wheels were a jprominent factor in domestic economy in those days, and we find in the Journal the advertisements of several wheelwrights who made and sold spinning-wheels. One of these was Jacob Judd, whose shop was in Danbury, " two miles from the Meeting House, on the middle road to New Fair- field." In announcing that he will take produce for pay, he says : " or even cash, that undervalued article, if offered and urged will not be refused." 176 HISTORY OF DANBURY. One of the advertisements was the offer of a reward of $10 for the recovery of a runaway negro slave, by John Lloyd, of Long Island. Two North Salem farmers offer rewards for the recovery of horses stolen from their barns. One hat factory has an advertisement. It was owned by O. Burr & Co. They advertised to pay cash for all Idnds of furs. One part of their advertisement reads : " All kinds of hats to be sold by the wholesale and retail, at the lowest rates, equal in beauty to any imported, and a general assortment of English and India goods. One shilling and six- pence is paid in dry goods for woollen yarn, at twopence per pound or under, and seven pence for linen yarn of any fine- ness. N.B. Saddle cloths of green or red stripe to be sold by the ten yards or piece as low as can be had in New York." " Twenty years time of a likely negro boy aged five years" is offered for sale by the printers. Joseph Clark advertised to make clocks and silverware for the Danbury people. People at that time were conspicuous for their moderation. Jeremiah Ryan was then a farmer in New Fairfield. In July, 1789, two of his sheep strayed away. In the paper of January 25th, 1791, eighteen months after, he notified the public of his loss. He had fully made up his mind that it was time some- thing was said about it. In a number of the advertisements appear calls for apprentices to the various trades. All are particular, of course, that only good boys apply. One long-headed manufacturer advertises for a " son of reputable parents" to be his apprentice. The terms of apprenticeship a century ago were strict. The boy who signed the paper of indenture signed away all his lib- erty until he became of age. He became the property of the master, and was treated like other property. If he ran away he was publicly advertised, his person described, and a reward offered for his return. In one of the papers before us David Bunce, of New Haven, advertises the running away of his apprentice. He describes the boy as being eighteen years of age, goes on with particulars of his features, his dress, etc., describing every article he wore and took with him, and then says : " Whoever will take up said boy and return him, or secure X- 1«' !>- *4C:t^ <% '^mm >#. 4-/' ;. i;. w ii.iMiA.N, Tui.T. Ebenezer Nichols. v.^. W'lLUMAN Homestead. Nichols Homestead. James W. Nichols. Poet. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 177 him in any jail and give information shall be reasonably re- warded. N. B. — All persons are forbid harboring said runaway." Joseph Moss White advertises for a package which he "lost on the road between Danbury and Hartford." Joshua Benedict, who carried on the saddle-making business " a little south of the church," advertises to " pay cash for hog skins in the parchments." One hundred years ago Ezra Starr offered a dwelling-house and store with about five acres of land " near the meeting-house.' ' As none of the cross streets were developed then, this property must have been on Main Street in the vicinity of the present City Hall. There are no five-acre plots of ground for sale in that neighborhood now. In one number of the Journal^ under the head of Danbury, is a weather item from Newtown. There are fourteen lines in the item, and every letter of it is in italic. This shows that the weather was a very important subject as long ago as 1790. It says at sunrising on the day of the report, the thermometer stood at zero, and a colder day rarely ever happens. In the number of January 4th, 1791, there were three items of local interest. One of these gave the particulars of the burning of the Danbury jail, the second wished the readers a Happy New Year, and the third told of the death of a former resident. The burning of the jail was set forth in these glowing terms : " Last Tuesday morning about 6 o'clock the public jail in this town was discovered to be on fire, which in a short time rendered it to ashes." Three times this space is given to wishing the readers a Happy New Year. We wonder now if 1791 was a happy new year to them. We are inclined to think, on the whole, that we are taking more interest in the subject than they did. The man who made the wish, the man who printed it, and the people who read it have long since passed away ; but the paper itself is here in Danbury, in this year of our Lord 1895. The death item gave information of the demise in Cornwall of Mrs. Hannah Pearce, wife of Joshua Pearce, of Cornwall, who was in her eighty-third year. The item goes on to say that " she was the daughter of the Rev. Seth Shove, the first Pres- byterian minister settled in this town. She had four husbands, viz.: Comfort Starr, of this town, Thomas Hill, of Fairfield, 178 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Peter Lockwood, of Wilton, and the above-mentioned Mr. Pearce.-' The editor says, " She was a Avoman of unbounded affection and charity, and possessed, in an eminent degree, the esteem of her acquaintances." In the next paper is recorded another fire. The harrowing particulars of the destruction of a public building are thus set forth : " Last Tuesday night the public school house at the north part of this town was consumed by fire." The editorial comment on these fires is as follows : " The two alarming instances of fire which we have lately been witness to suggests loudly to the inhabitants of this growing town the necessity of forming some regulations for the extin- guishing of fires. The usefulness of Engines is i3lainly seen in the late fire in Hartford where a barn was saved although but twelm indies distant from one that was burned to ashes." In this issue there is another bulletin from Newtown, which appears to have the bulge on the weather business. It says the thermometer was down five degrees below zero at sunrising one day that week. In the following issue of the Journal there is a communication from — A Taxpayer? Oh, no ; but from " An Individual." As this communication is a splendid piece of chromatic language, as well as a sort of revelation of the conditions of society in that day, w^e copy it entire. " To the Inhabitants of the Town of Danbury. " Permit me to address you on a subject in which you are all interested. Property is liable in so many ways to be destroyed, that we need your united exertions as a defence. We in this town, like larger societies, have common dangers to guard against, and common interests to protect. But among the num- ber of dangers, which are always threatening, none are at present more alarming than the ruin of property by fire ; nor do any of our interests need at present the protecting hand of one and all, so much as our buildings. Scarcely a single 2^<^per comes from the press without announcing the ravages of fire among public or private buildings. Of which there have been recent instances among us : The gaol and school house, two jDublic buildings, have fallen a sacrifice to the merciless fiames. As thickly settled HISTORY OF DANBURY. 179 as some i^arts of the town street is, we must kuow our houses, barns, &c., will be imminently exposed, should a lire break out ; yet we are in a most defenceless situation— not one house to twenty being furnished even with a ladder. Were not the people obliged to go near half a mile to procure one, Avhen the gaol was on fire ? What surj)rising and melancholy inattention to danger ! Although the town is not the most compact, yet we might be under very great advantages to extinguish fire. Very easily might we procure a Fire Engine. This would be useful indeed. Nothing is so well calculated to put out fire, or prevent its spreading. Witness the late instance in Hartford, when a barn was saved which stood only twelve inches from the one con- sumed. [See Farmers' Journal^ No. 44.] Its advantages are too many and too public to need an enumeration. Its price can be no substantial objection : as it must be very inconsiderable when compared with its utility. The spirited and united exer- tions of the people in the most populous parts of this town, would soon and very easily procure one. But my fellow citizens, if there have not yet been buildings enough burnt, to awaken in you a sense of danger, and excite your exertions — if you must yet be the unhappy spectators of some still more unhappy fam- ilies, alarmed in the night by fire, and flying naked from their houses, into the inclement air, to see their buildings, their furni- ture, their bread, and their all, consumed in a moment — if you must yet live to hear the shrieks of a beloved child, involved in the flame, answered only by the unavailing tears, and broken sighs of its fond parents, before you will either be at the expense of procuring an Engine, or at the trouble of putting yourself into a state of defence ; then are you insensible of danger, or too covetous to purchase your own safety. There are various meas- ures that w^ould be advantageous, if only adopted. Form into two companies or fire clubs, chuse your officers, agree to certain articles, and let every man be furnished with two leather buckets, to be kept in good order. — Then if a fire breaks out, let every man repair to the place, thus furnished, and be directed by the officers. Much might be accomplished in this way. But as we now are, destitute of buckets, of fire hooks and ladders, what can we do \ Probably as we have done heretofore. — If in the night, some w^ould never know there had been a fire, till morn- ing, although not ten rods distant. Others would assemble and 180 HISTORY OF UANBURY. remain in perfect confusion till they dispersed. If one directed any tiling to be done, some "vv^oiild contradict, and others be offended because they were urged to do something ; while not a few would stand, and look and yawn at the fire, as stupid as asses, till the building was consumed. In our present circum- stances, Fortune must do more for us than we shall do for our- selves, or every building which takes fire will most assuredly burn down. Consider, then, and adopt such measures as our purses will permit, and our circumstances render expedient. " Ax Individual." In the number of the Journal of January 25th there are two items of interest. One is a call to the brethren of Union Lodge to meet in the lodge-room on Thursday at 2 p.m. to attend upon the Feast of St. John the Evangelist, to be held in the house of Brother James Clark. The other is an advertisement of a com- ing show. This is the only announcement of a show to be found in the file, which goes to show that travelling shows were not numerous in those days. There was no opera house nor public hall in Danbury at that time. We herewith present the adver- tisement, believing it will interest our readers. " To THE CuEious ! " On Wednesday and Thursday evenings next will be exhibited at the house of Major Frederic J. Whiting by a gentleman from New York, a number of curious and entertaining performances by the SLIGHT of HAND each being of a nature so surprising that they cannot fail of giving general satisfaction to the specta- tors. At the same time will be exhibited a most surprising feat, by cutting off a man's head and laying it a yard from his body, in presence of the spectators ; afterward putting it on again and restoring him to life. " The exhibition will begin at candle lighting. Tickets may be had at the place of performance. Price one shilling." The only matter of local interest in the number of February 1st, 1791, is an account of the wreck of the brig Sally off Eaton's Neck, L. I. The brig was commanded by Captain Benjamin Keeler, of Ridgefield. All on board (twelve persons) were drowned. Cai)tain Keeler' s body was taken to Ridgefield and HISTORY OF D ANBURY. 181 buried. The account says lie was twenty-nine years old, " the only son of his mother, and she a widow." In the next number of the Journal somebody in Redding appears with a letter from Rev. John Bloodgood, avIio writes from Redding to a sister Wigton, in Hudson, N. Y., detailing the persecution he suffers at the hands of the unregenerate. Mr. Bloodgood says in his letter : " They have saluted us with firing of cannon, with the sound of violin, the blowing of horns, and their powdered candles would burst by us when preaching. It is hard work to make Methodists here. If they do not kill some of us before long it will do." The Redding man who sent this letter to the printer prefaces it ^\ath this rather vigorous introduction : " It is desired you pub- lish the enclosed verbatim in your next issue to show the igno- rance, ingratitude, and deception of these itinerant preachers, who, while they are treated with the greatest civility and feasted with the best fare the country affords, strive to make their friends in the profession believe they are in danger of their lives." Early in the present century Zalmon and Seymour Wildman established a hat store in Charleston, S. C, which was continued under the name until 1815 ; after that until 1845 under the name of Wildman & Starr. During the War of 1812 Gilbert Cleland also had a hat store in Charleston. In the autumn of 1815 Russell and Eli T. Hoyt established a hat store in Charleston, which was continued under various names for over thirty years ; and Benedict & Clark also had a hat store in that city. At that time Charleston was much the largest city on the Southern coast, and did a large wholesale business, drawing its trade from North and South Carolina as well as Georgia. Hats were sent from New York in large Penn- sylvania wagons, and eight weeks were required for the jour- ney. There was one barber's shojD here in 1790, James Sell propri- etor. It was opposite the drug-store of Colonel Eli Mygatt, and stood about on the site of the present Danbury Savings Bank building. He advertised himself as " a lady's and gentlemen's hair dresser," and announced that his shop would be open all days but Sundays. In the books of Town Record we find the following : " James 182 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Sell, from the Town of Belfast in Ireland married Anne, Daughter of Solomon Perry of Ridgefield, Nov. 1st, 1787." His estate was inventoried in May, 1797, and settled in 1798, The inventory shows him to have been, in addition to hair- dressing, a general merchant, and probably of a literary turn of mind, as the last item in the inventory is "A right in the Franklin Library." There were two brokers in Danbiiry then who bought and sold securities, John Dodd and Isaac Trowbridge. The iDublishers of the paper took space to announce that they would soon j)ublish two volumes. The first volume was on etiquette, and appeared to be designed for schools. The second was an almanac, pre- pared by Joseph Leland, and " calculated for the meridian of Danbury, . . . but may serve indifferently for any of the adjacent States." There are but two local items in the paper. One of these re- lates that Joseph White had an ear of Indian corn which con- tained thirty-two rows, in which were ten hundred and fifteen kernels. There are feet in Danbury now that have about that number of corns. Timothy Taylor, of the firm of Cooke & Taylor, advertised for a few tons of good English hay. Was hay an article of import ? Douglass & Ely, the printers, announced to sell " twenty years time of a likely negro bo^^," then five years old. That was a long, long time ago, and the negro boy has passed to manhood and on to the grave many years ago, one would think ; and yet we have two or three citizens who were five years old ninety years ago,* when that youngster was ofl'ered for sale, and he to-day may be alive somewhere in the character of a body ser- vant of the late lamented Washington. Joseph Clark was watchmaker and jeweller in those days. The location of his shop was not given. He made clocks as well as watches, and bought old silver, copper, and brass. Preserved Taylor, of Redding, advertised for sale "a lot of ground fronting the Main street in Danbury, opposite the meet- ing house, being upwards of nine rods in front, and containing about three acres." The advertisement further says : "It is, without exceptions, as commodious a building spot as any on the street." If Mr. Taylor had been Preserved until now he * Written in 1880. ■No. '^ . THISU to Certify that Ooy,'^ '^^^^^l^^f.rt^ "^ *« Town of \/lyi^.,„^^.i^/^^;r^^_^ ^ in the County of Fairfield, in the second Collection Disttict of Connecticut, has paid the Duty of ^ /-^--z.-^' Dolhrs, /vy^ — ^^fn=^^ for and upon a ^'-^ wheel Carriage for the conveyance of persons ^ called a c^'^^.^^^ by ISc-r^y f^y^^ r^ ,-4. This Certificate to be of no avail any longer than the aforesaid Carriage shall be owned by the said <5?-*'^-''-e'^_^>,'-T^^^p^Xi^^!^-^ unless said CertiBcate shall be produced to the Collector, by whom it was granted, and an entry made thereon, specifying the name of the then owner of said Carriage, and the time when he or she became possessed thereof. Given in conformity with an Act of the Congress of the United States, passed on the 24ti> day of July, 1813. a jV/^^ /^*^ ,^^S^^»;?.-i»**-« Collector of the Revenue for the second Collection nistrict of Connecticut. iHr. HkenneDp's ©ua ©ssc^ ^^re^ectjully solicited to honour the Assemhli/ ivith^^ k n^\y fi/tendanee, at Mr, P. Benedict's Hotel, I if 0)1 Thcrsday, 6th May next, at 6 o'clock P. M. if E.M.Starr, E. S. Sanforp, R. Rider, . E. T. HovT, >"< Banbmy, April, rjl3. Managers. J is requcjkd to attend the Ball, at '■^. Mr. Andrew's Ball Room, en tlurjday thf gt)^ AuguJ}; at 5 o'ckck P. M. July 2(sth, 1798. Cakriage License to Ebenezer Nichols. Ball Tickets. Hatters' Cat UISTORY OF DANBURY. 183 would undoubtedly be often found on pleasant, sunny days lean- ing against the monument fence, and looking with glistening eyes upon the mass of buildings opposite. Those were remarkable papers published in the last century. The newspaper appeared to be a vehicle for views rather than news, and its advertising columns were used more in a legal than a commercial sense. The Danbury Journal^ in 1793, had taken on another column to the page, and was now a sixteen instead of a twelve-column paper, but the extra room brought no addition of local news, and but very little mercantile advertising. The most prominent announcement in the issue before us is to the effect that " Eli Hoyt has entered into a partnership with Elijah Sanford in the saddling business." Eli Hoyt was a cousin of Eli T. Hoyt, and Elijah Sanford was grandfather of Charles A. Sanford, our late librarian. They advertised two shops, one "opposite the store of Carrington & Mygatfe," the other " in Beaver Brook, three miles northeast of the town (vil- lage centre), where said Hoyt formerly resided." Thomas Tucker taught school here in 1793, and advertised the fact. Where his school was situated is not made known in his card to the public. Mr. Tucker was a successful teacher. He built and occupied the house now the homestead of Mrs. George Ives, Main Street. His daughter married Colonel Moss White. Mr. Tucker employed what appears to us at this day to be an extraordinary manner of introducing his capabilities as a teacher. " Hops !" in large capitals is the heading to his card. There is nothing in hops to suggest school-teaching, although it may school discipline. Then follow three lines in almost equally prominent type informing the public that Thomas Tucker has " 250 weight of genuine well-cured Hops for sale." Following this is a paragraph in small type to this effect : "N.B. — As several of his scholars are going to spring and summer labour, 5 or 6 new ones may be admitted. The advan- tage that small children obtain at his school may be easily im- agined, when the public are informed that those who spell, go through the whole of Webster's spelling book twice in a fort- night." This will give the reader of to-day some idea of the hardships our forefathers had to undergo. Samuel Gregory, of Norwalk (this is not strictly local, but 184 HISTORY OF DANBURY. merely shows a style of manufacture in vogue hereabouts at that time), advertises in the Journal that " he continues to carry on the business of DYING yarn deep blue." Mr. Gregory, like several Danburians, but who were not so enterprising in adver- tising as he, made a business of weaving cloth, coverlids, and " the most fashionable diapers." John Rider was a carpenter and cabinet-maker in Banbury in those days, as an advertisement for a journeyman and an appren- tice shows. Illustrating the vast diiierence between an apprentice then and now is an advertisement of a New Milf ord wheelwright announc- ing that his apprentice had run away. A minute description of the deserter is given, and then follows this warning : " Whoever will take up and return said apprentice, or secure him in any Gaol, shall receive eight dollars reward, and all neces- sary charges. All persons are forbid harboring said apprentice or imploying him either by sea or land, as they will answer it at peril of the law." Carrington & Mygatt announce in this issue of the Journal that they have entered into partnership with Najah Taylor in the gold and silversmith business. The silver and gold business must have been in good condition in those days to have sup- ported three partners. The balance of the advertising is made of duns, probate notices, warnings, and losses. The Farmers' CJironicle for 1794, the successor of the Farm- ers^ Journal^ was conducted by Edwards Ely, his x^artner, Nathan Douglas, having withdrawn and started a job office. Mr, Ely announced, under the title of his paper, that the office was " near the Court House, where Useful Essays and articles of Intelligence are thankfully received." The number of the Chronicle we have before us is dated Mon- day, September 29th, 1794. In its eleven columns of reading matter there is but one local item, and this is a request for " the civil authority and selectmen of the town of D anbury to meet the Listers at the Court House" for the " hearing and determin- ing the pleas of abatement on polls." There is a moderate increase in business advertising, and con- sequently in the interest of that dej)artment of the paper. These advertisements give a fair idea of the widespread credit system HISTORY OF DANBURT. 185 then j^revailing. Aside from the special requests, with accom- panying threats, to call and settle, one half of the regular busi- ness cards are supplemented with serious invitations to square accounts. There were several provision and lumber dealers in Fairfield, ' ' on the east side of the Saugatuck River, ' ' who advertised lib- erally in the Chronicle for Danbury custom. The stores in that day were not broken up into specialties as they are now. Dry goods, lumber, groceries, and drugs were sold by one firm. Boots and shoes did not, however, in those days form a part of the general stock as they did years after. The leather business was a business by itself, and every village of any size had its leather store. Many people bought the leather and had the foot covering made up by a neighbor who knew the trade, and some did their own shoemaking, just as many people nowadays do their own doctoring. A staple article of merchandise in those days was rum, and to a grocery it was as indispensable in the stock as sugar or pork. As a sample of the business then done by a single firm, we reproduce from the Chronicle its largest advertisement : Carrington & Mygatt, and Filor Mygatt & Co. Have for sale, at their respective Stores, Good Salt, Rum, Molasses, Sugars, Teas, &c. Also A new assortment of DRY GOODS, Amongst which are a great variety of Calicoes and Chints — all on the most reasonable terms. CODFISH by the quintal or pound, OisrE Shilling pr. pound given for GOOD BUTTER. ' N B. A few thousand feet good PINE BOARDS for sale hy Carrington & Mygatt. Danbury, Aug. 25, 1794. 63 186 HISTORY OF DANBURY. In 1794 Munson Gregory and Keuben Curtis sold leather of all kinds and " boot legs at their dwelling houses." Justus Barnum kept store here then. In addition to the gen- eral variety of goods he announced " 20,000 good bricks" and " a good milch cow with a calf 8 weeks old by her side." Hugh Cain, of Ridgefield, announces that " he can full in the driest season," has now begun, "andean continue to full, pro- vided there should be no rain for six weeks to come." He says " he makes all colours made in America {scarlet ex- cepted).^ ^ In 1794 Joseph F. White advertised the selling and the buying of stock at White's tavern in Danbury. Mr. W^hite, we judge from his advertisement, was quite a dealer in live stock. He also advertised for " four good smart industrious Men who will be willing to devote their time and strength to threshing flax for the term of two months." In 1794 the penalty for selling liquor without license was $50, as an announcement in this paper shows. In the same paper White, Burr & White advertise for " three or four journeymen hatters, to whom good wages and good pay will be made." Timothy Foster announces he has removed his clothing busi- ness from Danbury to Wilton. Among other wants is one f or " 3 or 4 labourers, chiefly at cutting wood, for two months, at 40 shillings cash per month, and paid weekly," by E. & A. Peck. Ezra Frost was a shoemaker then, and had a good trade that faU, as he advertised for a journeyman and an appren- tice. Here is a model tax notice which we copy in full : ALL who have not settled their Town RATES, due to the Subscribers, are hereby notifled, that unless they make full payment of the same, within Fourteen Days from the date, they must expect to pay travelling and collecting Fees, without favor or affection. Ehenezer B. White, Collector of Town Tax, for first society Danbury. Eli Mygatt, jun. Collector of Town Tax, for Bethel Society, Danbury. Danbury, September 19, 1794. 67 3 HISTORY OF DANBURY. 187 Silas Abbott, who then did shoe business and tanned leather, could not have had a very exalted opinion of an absconding ap- prentice, judging from the following reward : Two Pence Reward. EAN away from the subscriber, the 11th inst. an Apprentice- boy to the Tanning and Shoe-making business, named JOHN KNAPP, about 17 years old, small of his age, very talkative, wore away a blue & white Coat, striped Vest and calico Trowsers. — This is to forbid all persons trusting said boy on my account. I will pay no debts of his contracting after this date. Whoever will take up & return said boy shall have the above reward, but no charges. SILAS ABBOTT. Danbury, Sept. 12, 1794. m 3 In January, 1793, Messrs. Douglass & Ely dissolved partner- ship in the publication of the Farmers' Journal^ and Captain Douglass commenced the publication of the Repiiblicaii Journal. In December of the same year Captain Douglass sold out to Mr. Ely, who issued a paper called the Farmers' Chronicle. In 1797 the Religious Monitor and Theological Scales made its appearance, conducted by Douglass & Nichols. It was a monthly religious magazine. In February, 1803, the Farmers^ Journal and ColumMan Ark, conducted by Stiles, Nichols & Co., was commenced, but was of short duration. In its issue of date December 11th, 1803, we find as the close of a communication from Newtown, of the deaths in that town for the year 1802, the following : " Twenty of these persons belonged to the Episcopal Society ; six to the Universalists ; three to the Presbyterians ; four to the Sandemanians, and one to the Methodists. The first has ceased to contend for power ; the second, from denying future punishment ; the thii'd, from opposing the moral law ; the fourth, from contending for eternal election and reprobation ; and the fifth, from condemning it and from mourning about the streets. They all rest in silence, and will be judged according to the deeds done in the body." In 1804 Messrs. Gray & Steele commenced the publication of the New England Republican, a few rods south of the Court House. It was an exceedingly neat and well-gotten-up paper. 188 HISTORY OF DANBURY. The editorial department showed ability, and would be creditable to any paper of the present time. The publishers advertise " Fine woven letter paper, writing paper of the best quality, also all kinds of blanks," by which it would seem that in addition to their publishing a newspaper, they kept a book and stationery store. They also advertise "to print books, pamphlets, cards, handbills, etc.," and that they would ]3ay cash for rags. The custom of keeping a bookstore in connection with a newspaper- office in Danbury appears to have been the practice from an early date, and to have been continued to a very recent period, for we find that Messrs. W. & M. Yale and others after them practised it. We extract from the Repiiblican a number of advertisements which will be interesting to many of our older citizens, who doubtless will remember hearing of the parties. Joseph Trowbridge announces that " the just demands of im- patient creditors and the wants of a helpless family obliges him to request a settlement with those j)ersons whose accounts have been due six months. Most kinds of produce and a few hun- dred good chestnut rails will be received in payment if delivered soon." This was Dr. Trowbridge, one of the leading physicians of the town. Z. Griswold & Co. advertise " Broadcloths, coatings, cassi- meres, velvets, flannels, swansdowns, humhums, a great variety of calicoes very low, rose blankets, large camels' -hair and silk shawls, muslins, friezes, hosiery, silk and cotton gloves, um- brellas, etc. Likewise, best Cogniac brandy, rum, gin, cider brandy, by the barrel or gallon ; molasses, sugars, teas, coffee, indigo, tobacco, Nicaragua logwood, alum, glue, cotton, wool, etc. A good assortment of ironmongery, hardware, crockery, glass and earthen ware, also tickets in the Episcopal academy lottery, all for sale at moderate prices for cash, produce or a liberal credit." Their store on the corner of Main and South streets was robbed and burned by two strangers about 1812, who were arrested and sent to State prison. Ebenezer Russell White proposes to open a mathematical school, where students ' ' will be perfected in the art of survey- ing (according to the new^ rectangular system), navigation, and the science of algebra," for a stated price. Mr. White was a son of Rev. Ebenezer White. HISTORY OF D ANBURY. 189 The following advertisement will be found interesting, as it refers to the old turnpike road between Danbury and Norwalk, once the principal means of communication between the two places : " The proprietors of the Norwalk and Danbury turnpike road are hereby notified to attend a meeting of the company on Mon- day, the 8th of October next, at the house of Mr. Gregory, inn- keeper, in Redding (formerly Jacksons), at nine o'clock in the forenoon to consider of the expediency of petitioning the General Assembly at their next session for an extension of said turnpike road from Belden's Bridge to Norwalk Bridge, and to transact any other business proper to be done at said meeting. Should the day be stormy, the meeting will be held on the day fol- lowing. " By direction of the committee, " Comfort S. Mygatt, Clerk." This inn was kept by Benjamin Gregory, the father of Dudley S. Gregory, who removed to Jersey City, and became mayor and the most prominent citizen of that place. The meeting was held at the appointed time and place, and the following vote was adopted. Hon. Joseph P. Cook was moderator and Comfort S. Mygatt clerk of the meeting : " Voted, That a petition be proposed to the General Assembly at their session to be holden at New Haven on Thursday, 11th instant, praying a grant to extend the turnpike road from Bel- den's Bridge to Norwalk Bridge, and to erect another gate in a suitable place, and collect another toll, the same as said com- pany are now entitled to collect according to the present grant. " This turnpike company " was incorporated by the General Assembly, at their session holden at New Haven on the second Thursday of October, 1795, for the purpose of making and repair- ing the great road from Danbury to Norwalk, from Simmepog Brook to Belden's Bridge." The petitioners state that " the road from Belden's Bridge to the head of Norwalk harbor is much out of repair ; and that the public travel is hereby much impeded, and rendered difficult and dangerous, and petition the Assembly to extend their grant so as to include the road aforesaid from Belden's Bridge to the great bridge at the head of Norwalk harbor." 190 HISTORY OF DANBURY. The Assembly resolved " that said petition be continued to the next General Assembly to be holden at Hartford on the second Thursday of May next." There appears to have been no further action taken upon the matter, for the turnpike was never extended. Friend Starr advertises for "a boy of thirteen or fourteen years of age as an apprentice to the shoemaking business." Friend Starr was the father of the late Charles F. Starr, and the following anecdote is related of the latter when he was a boy : One of his duties was to go to the pasture and bring home the cows. He rode a horse for this purpose, and being of a social turn generally came home with several playmates perched on the animal behind him. In fact, the horse was full of boys. Old Mr. Starr got out of patience, finally, with making an omnibus of the steed, and he told Charles one day that if he came home at night with any boys behind him on the horse he would severely punish him. When the cows came in that evening there was the horse as full of boys as ever, but every mother's son of them was in front of Charles. His father gave up the point. Daniel N. Carrington requests " all indebted to him to make immediate payment to save costs, and announces that he will pay cash for oats and fiax-seed if delivered soon, also has tickets for sale in Canaan Meeting House lottery." Many quaint speeches are attributed to Dr. Carrington. At one time a large snake, commonly called "chunk-head" or "cousin," was killed and brought into the street as a curiosity. Some dispute arose as to its species, when one man said, "It is a cousin." The doctor immediately said, with vigor, " He may be a cousin of yours, but I'U be d— d if he is any relative of mine." At another time a party of gentlemen were dining together on a public occasion, and as the custom was in those days the vic- tuals were prepared in mouthfuls, and placed on a large platter in the centre of the table, out of which each helped himself. One of the party, who was fond of pepper, caught up the pepper- box and sifted on a liberal quantity of that article, saying that he supposed they were all fond of pepper. Dr. Carrington, who abhorred pepper, and was an inveterate snuff- taker, took out his box of yellow snuff, and sprinkled it bountifully over the vic- tuals, saying that he presumed that they were all fond of snuff. Fbiemj Stat CUAS. F. Stakk Starr Homestead. HISTOKY OF DANBURY. 191 He lived to an advanced age, and lost his speech several years before his death. Bethel Morris advertises nnder date of September 4th, 1804, that " to-morrow he proposes to put his mill to work on cloth, and shall be ready to receive cloth at any time through the season, for the purpose of dressing." Mr. Morris's mill was in Beaver Brook, and he was brother to the late venerable Amos Morris. It appears from the notice of Lewis Hoyt that distilling to a considerable extent was carried on, as he advertises " a still, partly worn, which will contain about five hundred gallons, if not sold immediately will be to let for the present season ; also a small still suitable for a refiner, both of which are erected in a convenient place for distilling, and in a neighborhood where one thousand barrels of cider might be annually purchased or dis- tilled on shares." Comfort Hoyt wishes " to contract for several tons of sumac, and has several dozen morocco, goat and sheep skins for sale." Mr. Hoyt w^as a surveyor, and resided opposite the old Episcopal church, which stood in South Street, back of the burying- yard. Foot & Bull advertise for " a boy 13 or 14 years of age as apprentice to the tailoring business." This firm consisted of David Foot and Horace Bull. Abel B. Blackman wants " a lad of 13 or 14 years to learn the shoemaking business, and also wants to exchange boots and shoes for any kind of material for building a dwelling house." Howard & Hoyt want an apprentice to the hatting business. The firm consisted of William Howard and Lewis Hoyt. Mr. Howard removed to New York, and was a celebrated fur dealer there and became wealthy. He married a sister of Colonel Moss White. Mr. Hoyt afterward went into partnership with Samuel Tweedy. The next week Comfort S. and David Mygatt advertise for one or two boys to serve as apprentices " to the gold and silversmith, clock and watch-making business." They were the sons of Col- onel Eli Mygatt, and succeeded him in business. Colonel Mygatt died at New Haven while representative from Danbury in 1807, and was colleague with Colonel Moss White. Eliakim Benedict succeeded him in the Legislature. 192 HISTOKY OF DANBURY. Captain Nathan Douglass, one of the proprietors of the Jour- nal, died in Hartford, N. Y., Mai'ch 17th, 1806, in the forty- eighth year of his age. Edwards Ely, the other proprietor, learned the printing business in Springfield, Mass., and at the expiration of his apprenticeship came to Danbury, and with Captain Douglass commenced the publication of the Farmers' Journal. After giving up the newspaper business he kept a store here, and later carried the mail on horseback from Dan- bury to New York, in company with Stephen Bronson Benedict (" Uncle Brons") and Eliakim Wildman, they taking their turns on alternate weeks. He afterward went to New York and was interested in several stage lines, one of which ran between New York and Danbury. Subsequently he went to the island of St. Bartholomew, W. I., where he was engaged in mercantile busi- ness, and died there in the latter part of the year 1809, aged forty-one years. He was buried on the neighboring island of St. Thomas. Another early publisher of a paper in Danbury was Samuel Morse, who published the Sun of Liberty, a Democratic paper, here in 1800. He afterward removed to Savannah, Ga., where he was engaged in the publication of the Georgia Republican, and died in that city in 1805. - Even as early as the date of its first newspaper, several books were published in Danbury. Almanacs especially were issued from the press here, one compiled by Joseph Leland being the first, afterward the celebrated almanac of Andrew Beers, philom., which was continued for a number of years. Gray & Steele advertise this almanac for sale in 1804, and state that it " contains, besides the usual astronomical calculations, the time of the setting of the courts in Vermont, Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut, a tide-table for high water at New York, a tide-table showing the difference of high water at a great num- ber of places from New York, a table of interest at six per cent, with a variety of interesting and entertaining matter." This almanac was continued a number of years, and was indispensable in every well-regulated family. Mr. Beers is represented to have been very precise in his manners, fond of a joke, and a scholar of considerable attainment. That he was fond of a joke is shown by the following notice, which we copy from the New England Republican of May 20th, 1805 : HISTORY OF DANBURY. 193 " To THE Public, " In my publication of eclipses this year I acknowledge that I very carelessly committed two errors. The eclipse for January 30th was calculated exactly right ; but in projecting I made a mistake of ten minutes on the scale in the moon's latitude. I had calculated the moon's latitude to be 81 minutes, N, which was right, but through mistake, took it off from the scale, but only 71 minutes, which was the sole cause of my error. Also, the eclipse on June 1st, I have i:>ronounced invisible to us, but having lately projected that eclipse, I find there will be a small one of about 5 digits, before sunset, to be seen if the air is clear. The one reason of this error was that I never took the pains to project the eclipse ; for, considering the moon's latitude, and also the time of day, I concluded that there could be no visible eclipse. But this error, I acknowledge, arose from my presum- ing that I had been for many years perfectly acquainted with the doctrine of eclipses. And since these are the only errors of this nature that I have ever committed in the course of thirty years' calculations, I hojDe to be forgiven. But one more apology had liked to have slipped my memory. At the time of the cal- culation of those eclipses, I was a widower, and about entering again into the bonds of matrimony ; whether, under these cir- cumstances, is it at all strange that I should call things visible that are invisible, and things invisible that are visible, judge ye. I have now to inform you that a remarkable and total eclipse of the Sun will happen June 16th, 1806, in lat. 41. 56. N, long. 72. 50. W of Greenwich, the particulars of which you may timely see in my Almanack for 1806. " Andrew Beers." That Mr. Beers did commit matrimony the second time is proven by the following announcement copied from the same paper of the date of November 14th, 1804 : " Married— In this town, by the Rev. Mr. Ward, Andrew Beers, Esq., of New Stamford (N. Y.), to Mrs. Elizabeth Benedict, of Danbury." Mr. Beers was fond of relating the following anecdote as happen- ing to himself : In going over the Fishkill Mountains one day he was caught in a violent thunder storm, and met a Dutchman in the same predicament. Hans scrutinized him as they passed each other, and soon turned about and asked if his name was 194 HISTORY OF DANBURY. not Beers, the almanac-maker. Mr. Beers replied that it was. " Yell den," said the Dutchman, " vat de tyvil for you oudt in dis tam rainstorm for ?" A good story is told of Mr. Beers which will bear repeating. While he was paying attention to the lady (Mrs. Benedict) who afterward became his wife, her friends, who were expecting to receive some benefit from her property, made considerable oppo- sition to the expected marriage. The opposition was so strenu- ous that the lady told Mr. Beers that she could not marry him, upon which he said, as they were about to part, they should unite in prayer. He then kneeled down and prayed fervently, upon which she, being so impressed with his piety, revoked her decision and afterward married him. Mr. Beers was a contributor to the New England Republi- can^ as many articles in that paper, signed A. B., go to show. They were well written and interesting, and prove that he was a person of considerable ability. From advertisements in the oldest newspapers of the place, we learn that there were quite a number of books and pamphlets published in Banbury in the beginning of the present century, and even as early as 1790. The most important book published in Banbury was " A System of Theoretical and Practical Arith- metic," by Ira Wanzer, published by W. & M. Yale in 1831. It was a book of about four hundred pages, w^as well gotten up, and must have been quite a herculean task for a country place at that early date. We give the titles of such books as we have been able to find were published in Danbury from 1790 to 1812 : A Sermon. Preached at the Ordination of the Reverend Stan- ley Griswold, A.M., Colleague Pastor of the First Church and Congregation in New Milford, on the Twentieth of January, M.D.C.C.XC. By David McClure, A.M., Minister of the First Church in East Windsor. Printed in Danbury by Nathan Douglas & Edwards Ely, M.D.CC.XC. Life of Benjamin Franklin. Written by himself. Danbury : Printed and sold by N. Douglas, 1795. The Art of Speaking. Printed for Edmond and Ephraim Washburn. Danbury, 1795. Christian Songs. Written by Mr. John Glas and Others. " From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 195 Glory to the Righteous One."— Isaiah xxiv. IG. 8th Edition. Perth [Scotland]. Re-printed in Danbury, Conn., by Nichols & Rowe, 1802. The Most Remarkable Types, Figures and Allegories of the Old Testament. By the Rev. Mr. William M'Ewen, Late Min- ister of the Gospel in Dundee. Danbury : Printed by Stiles Nichols for J. Trowbridge, D. E. and A. Cooke, M. B. Whittle- sey, R. & J. P. White, S. Comstock, E. W. Bull, J. Clark, jun., F.' Scofield, Z. Griswold, S. Nichols. 1803. Danbury. Early Imprint. The Duty of Christian Discipline Explained and Enforced : A Sermon delivered at Canaan, Octo- ber 14, 1800, before the Consociation of the AVestern District in Fairfield County. By Amazi Lewis, A.M., Pastor of the Church in North Stamford. 8vo, pp. 23. Danbury : Printed by Nichols & Rowe, 1801. The Rights of Suffrage. By Isaac Hilliard. Danbury : Printed for the Author, 1804. A Narrative of the Indian Wars in New England from the Planting thereof in the Year 1607 to the Year 1677. By William Hubbard, A.M. Printed in Danbury by Stiles Nichols, 1803. Beers' Columbian Almanac " for the Year of our Lord Christ 1797, and from the Creation of the World 5746." Printed in Danbury by Douglas & Nichols. Beers' Almanac for 1811 — "being the 3'' after Bisextet and (till July 4th.) the 35th of American Independence." Danbury, John C. Gray, Printer.* Young Gentlemen and Lady's Assistant. Containing, I. Geog- raphy ; 11. Natural History ; III. Rhetoric ; IV. Miscellany. To which is added A Short but Comi^lete System of Practical Arithmetic. Second Edition. By Donal Frazer, Author of the Columbian Magazine. Printed for the Author by N. Douglass. Danbury, 1794. [This book and the next following are in the present Danbury Library.] The Death of Abel. An Historical or rather Conjectural Poem. By Peter St. John, of Norwalk in Conn. Published in Dan- bury, by Nathan Douglass, 1793. In 1805 John C. Gray published " Poems on Various Subjects * These books are in the possession of Mr. E. A. Houseman. 196 HISTOEY OF DANBURY. by Phillis Wheatley ;" also "An Affectionate Father's Advice to his Children," and a New England Primer. The Connecticut Town Officer. In Three Parts. Containing in Part I. The Powers and Duties of Towns, as Set Forth in the Statutes of Connecticut, which are Recited ; Part II. The Powers and Duties of the Several Town Officers, with a Variety of Forms for the Use of such Officers ; Part III. The Powers and Duties of Religious and School Societies, and their Several and Respec- tive Officers, \dth Suitable Forms. By Samuel Whiting, Esq. Danbury : Printed by Nathaniel L. Skinner, 1814. In 1803 Selleck Osborne established here the Hepuhlican Farmer^ and continued its x)ublication until the autumn of 1805, when he sold it to Stiles Nichols, who continued it here until 1810, when it was removed to BridgejDort. In 1812 Tlte Day was published in Danbury. We have been unable to find the name of the editor of this newspaper. It might possibly have been Nathaniel L. Skinner, who was here ml814. In 1826 Orrin Osborne established the Danbury Recorder^ a neutral paper. He conducted it but a little time, and died in Danbury. After his death Washington and Moses Yale jDur- chased the paper and conducted it under the same name. In an issue of this paper, in March, 1829, we find the following advertisement : " False Reports. " A large assortment of second-hand false reports, such as Tea Table Talk &c., of the finest texture and composed entirely of sly, cunning YARN, and that which is most likely to deceive, on hand and will be disposed of at cost and on an unusual long credit. Phineas T. Barnum. " N.B. The subscriber would respectfully give notice to the Women M'ho manufacture the above articles that he can dispense with the use of their Tongues for a short time, and due notice shall be given them when they are again w^anted. " P. T. B. " Bethel, March 23d, 1829." In 1832 the Recorder was sold to Alanson Taylor, and pub- lished under the name of the Connecticut Repository. The pub- HISTORY OF DANBURY, 197 lishing office was in tlie building just below the old Baptist Church on Main Street, where subsequently the Gazette and Chronicle were published, and later the Danbury Times. All newspapers published here previous to 1831 were printed on the old wooden Franklin Ramage screw press, and the ink was put on the type with balls instead of rollers. It required four im- pressions for each paper. The Herald of Freedom was first published in Bethel in Octo- ber, 1831, by P. T. Barnum, and about a year afterward Mr. Barnum was tried on a charge of libel, found guilty, and sen- tenced to thirty days' imprisonment and a fine of $100. He con- tinued to edit his paper while in jail, and at the expiration of his sentence a grand ovation was given him by his friends. In 1832 the Rev. L. F. W. Andrews became editor, and the name was changed to Herald of Freedom and Gospel Witness. In 1833 the press was removed to Danbury, and the latter part of the name was dropped. The Danbury Gazette was the immediate successor of the Gon- necticut Repository^ for we find in the first number of that paper that Wilmot & Lobdell, the publishers, give notice that they " shall this week send the Gazette to all those who were sub- scribers to the Connecticut Repository^'''' and that they "shall consider all who neglect to notify us to the contrary subscribers to the Gazette.'' They also advertise that they " shall continue to keep on hand a general assortment of books, stationery, etc.," thus verifying our former statement, that the publishers of papers here were in the habit of keeping books and stationery for sale. The first number of the Gazette was printed January 9th, 1833. The Gazette was succeeded by the Danbury Chronicle and Fairfield County Democrat^ the first number of which was issued by its publisher, John Layden, May 17th, 1836. This paper was succeeded by the Danbury Times., which was estab- lished here in 1837 by Edward B. Osborne. In 1845 Mr. Osborne sold out to his brothers, Harvey and Levi, who continued pub- lishing the paper, retaining the name. In 1860 the Jeffersonian was started here, with W. A. Croffut as editor, and soon afterward W. A. Newton obtained an inter- est in it. Later on B. F. Ashley was connected with it. In December, 1865, Mr. Ashley sold out his interest to J. H. Swert- 198 HISTORY OF DANBURY. fager, who continued the publication until it was sold to Bailey and Donovan, and with the Danbury Times, already in their possession, merged into the Danbury News. In 1846 Edward Taylor published a small campaign paper which was short-lived. In 1855 Granville W. Mori'is commenced the publication of the Hattef s Journal, but it continued only a short time. The Danhurian appeared in 1875, conducted by C. E. A. McGeachy, and Tlie People, a Greenback paper, by T. Donovan, in 1878. Both of these were of short duration. The Glohe was established by W. F. Page in 1874 ; the Demo- crat, by L. K. Wildman, in 1877, and the Bepuhlican in March, 1879. The papers of to-day are the News, DispatcJi, the New Eng- land Monthly, and the Prescription. CHAPTER XXIX. HOW DANBUKY WENT AWAY AND GOT BACK, Distance lends enchantment to the view. So does time. We hear much of the " good okl times," and those who took part in them are slow to admit that the present is an improvement upon the past. We confess that a stage is in some respects to be pre- ferred to a journey by rail, but the conditions must be favorable. The roads must be in excellent order, the animals swift, the coach easy, the weather pleasant, and time plenty. These con- ditions rarely, if ever, combined in Connecticut seventy-five years ago. Danbury reached New York then as it does now, ma Nor- walk. This was the only public route up to the War of 1812, when the British holding the waters of the Sound forced another route upon the Danburians. The mode of conveyance from Danbury to Norwalk was by goods wagons. One of these made the trip twice a week, carry- ing freight, chietiy dairy products to New York. At Norwalk the freight and passengers were transferred to a sloop. The land passage was not a particularly pleasant one. The heavily laden wagon moved at a slow pace, and was not adapted to the comfort of passengers ; and we cannot believe that the turnpike was in any better condition then than it is now. It was eight hours' journey — tedious enough even in the best of weather, and seemingly unbearable when the day was stormy. There was one advantage, however. If anything was broken and a delay occurred the passenger was pretty sure to find out all the particulars. Through the War of 1812 a new passage was opened to New York. This was to Sing Sing on the Hudson, and thence down the river by sailing vessel to the city. Sing Sing w^as thirty-four miles from Danbury ; the distance down the river was about the same. 200 HISTORY OF DANBURY. The mode of travel was by a goods wagon to Sing Sing. This was managed by Reuben Trowbridge, father of Truman Trow- bridge, He made a trip once a week. Freight was the chief resource of the enterprise, and the chief article was butter. He canied passengers, if desired, but the accommodation was not very good, and there was very little travel. The fare to Sing Sing was $1, and the same by boat to the city, or about what it is now by rail. The trip by wagon consumed about ten hours' time. In 1815, when the war closed, and from that time to 1824, the journey was made by stage to Norwalk, where a sloop was taken to New York. Captain Piatt was for many years the driver of this stage. He had his headquarters where Mrs. D. P. Nichols now lives. There was no stage office. The captain picked up his passengers about town, and started from here at noon, arriving in Norwalk early in the evening. The passengers took supper at a tavern kept by Hezekiah Whitlock, familiarly known as Uncle Kiah. He was a typical host, in person, manner, and speech. It was a custom of his to " odd or even" with every customer, so inclined, for the drinks. After supfjer the passengers went aboard the boat, and in due time turned into their berths. In the night, as the tide suited, the vessel got out into the Sound and started for the city. The passage was an extremely uncertain venture. Sometimes, but not often, wind and tide so favored that the passenger found himself in New York the next morning. As a general thing an entire day was consumed in the trip, and in very dirty weather three or four days would be required. The weather sometimes would be so obstinate that the vessel would be obliged to put into port on the way, and remain there until the storm abated. The sloop was not a large one, and was consequently restricted in the matter of accommodation. Ten or twelve berths was its limit. The price of a ticket was 50 cents, or one half that by stage between Danbury and Norwalk. Meals were charged 25 cents each, and consisted invariably of beefsteak fried with onions. At this time there was a stage from Boston to New York, passing through Norwalk, but it was generally full on reach- ing that village on its way down, and not often available to W HEREAS great pains have been taken to impress the public mind with the idea that the War in which we are engaged with Great Britain, is extensively unpopular, and that it will not be supported by the People of New-England, the undersigned think proper to declare, that while they lament the nece.«ity of a War. they are fixed in the determination lo support it. till the attainment of an honorable peace. lyM'^^^ J^^cfi e^^^*^~^Z^ ^^^0 /3 '^-^ -M^ZZ. ^.^■u^-^ '^//^C^ i^'-^'V^u^^ ,l^vrTl^yf'^^^^^^^ JY^^r^r'i: HISTORY OF DANBURY. 201 the Danbury passengers. When the weather was very bad on the Sound, at the time of arriving in Norwalk, the Danbury hat and comb-makers on the trip would charter a stage from the livery of Stevenson & Patrick, Norwalk, and go to the city by land. In 1824 the first steamboat was put on the line from Norwalk to New York. This vessel was called the John Marshall, in honor of the Chief Justice. The company owning it was com- posed of Danbury, New York, and Norwalk parties. The vessel was about eighty feet long, and carried between thirty and forty passengers. The journey was now made in good time, with certainty, and attended by comfort. The fare charged was $1. Three years later Cornelius Yanderbilt put on an opposition boat, and the strong competition reduced the fare frorii $1 to Is. This com- petition was kept up for two years to the great gratification of the Danbury traveller. The commodore's boat was the Nimrod, and was commanded by Captain Brooks, of Bridgeport. The John Marshall had been superseded by the Fairfield, com- manded by Captain Peck. In 1815 (and we think several years earlier than that) Philo Calhoun carried passengers and the mail between Danbury and New York. He drove two horses attached to a two-seated car- riage. His route lay through Ridgetield and White Plains. He left here Tuesdays, stopped in White Plains over night, and reached the city on Wednesday at 10 a.m. or later, according to the state of the roads. On the return he left the city on Thurs- day and reached here Saturday night. The fare was $2.50. Some time ago a man named Reynolds, who kept a small tav- ern in Cross River, N. Y., ran a stage from that point to the city. He got the notion that it would pay to extend his route to Danbury, and he carried out the idea. Mr. Reynolds did not know much about hotels, but he was at home with the whip, as was evident enough. He drove four horses to a vehicle that was a near approach to a regular coach, a sort of combination of the present Brewster stage and the mail coach. It contained three seats inside which accommodated nine passengers. There was room for two more on the driver's seat. Mr. Reynolds's stage made three trips each week to the city. It left here at the somewhat startling hour of 2 a.m. The pas- 202 HISTORY OF DANBURY. sengers took breakfast in the large but rather smoky kitchen of his tavern at Cross River. A favorite dish with Mr. Reynolds was fried corned beef, accompanied by rye bread and clouded coffee, and loving his neighbors as he did himself, he gave them this fare. In the evening the stage reached New York. The journey cost $2, exclusive of meals. The breakfast at Cross River was Is. Reynolds's stage put up in Danbury at the tavern now the Meeker place. From here, a trifle before 2 a.m., Mr. Reynolds appeared with his stage and drove up Main Street, blowing his horn to notify the prospective passengers that he was ready to start. To the people who were not going to New York the sound of the horn must have suggested profane thoughts. How thoroughly disagreeable it must have been getting up at that hour of a winter morning, and in that period of Banbury's his- tory, we can only surmise. There was no base- burning stove to keep the room warm through the night. There were no matches, and if a light was obtained at all, it was through much difficulty. There was a stage line from Hartford to New York by way of Danbury at the very beginning of the century. The following advertisement is taken from the Danbury Republican Journal^ published in 1804. It is as follows : MAIL STAGE. From Hartford to New York. Leaves Hartford and New York every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning, at 4 o'clock ; and arrives in Danbury the same evening, at 7 o'clock ; Starts from Danbury every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, at 4 o'clock ; and arrives in Hartford and New York the same evening, at 7 o'clock. Fare for each Passenger^ ' Farmington $0. 55 o f East Chester $1 . 00 ~ ■ " ' White Plains 1.50 Harrison 1.70 Bristol 1.00 ^4 Harwinton 1.25 ►S -{ Litchfield 1.65 M North Castle 2.00 Bedford 2.35 Washington 2.15 ^ NewMilford 2.65 I iDanbury 3.45 ^ Ridgetield 2.90 I Danbury 3.45 HISTORY OF DANBUKY. 203 s eS a fRidgefield $0.55 Bedford 1.10 f^ North Castle 1.45 | Harrison 1.75 | ^ White Plains 1.95 East Chester 2.45 New York 3.45 NewMilford $0.80 Washington 1.30 Litchfield 1.80 Harwinton 2.20 Bristol 2.45 Farmington 2.90 I Hartford 3.45 Fourteen pounds Baggage with the Passenger gratis. One hundred pounds Baggage the same as a Passenger. The Pro- prietors risk no Baggage, unless insured at one per cent. It is believed that Mr. Ely, one of the proprietors of the paper, was interested in this line. The route into Danbury is said to have been through Stony Hill, and into the village by way of South Street. This was a mail stage. Later than this Stephen Bronson Benedict, grandfather of Mr. George Starr, carried the mail on horseback between Hartford and Danbury and Danbury and New York. He left Danbury for New York on Monday, and returned here Wednesday. Thursday he started for Hartford, and returned from there on Saturday, thus taking up the week in the round trip. In 1827 or thereabouts Richard Osborn, father of James Osborn, carried the mail on horseback from Danbury to New- burgh on the Hudson River. Western passengers were carried, at one time, to Poughkeepsie, where they took the boat to Albany. A four-horse stage made the transfer from Danbury. It was driven by a man named Baker. He made two trips a week, and did a good busi- ness. Between 1820 and 1830 a party named Parks had a stage line between Litchfield and Danbury. The stage was a covered wagon adapted to the conveyance of both goods and passengers. One Palmer drove for him. Palmer was succeeded by a man whose name became famous, and is still fragrant with the memory of a wit that was remarkable. This was Hiram Barnes. In 1830 Barnes left Parks and established a line between Dan- bury and Norwalk. The stage line from Litchfield to Danbury is remembered par- ticularly by many of our older citizens as being a source of sup- ply of fish, which came down from the Litchfield lakes in a 204 HISTORY OF DANBURY. frozen condition. Tliat was the time when fish and beefsteak both sold for six cents a pound. This reminds us that the pike in the waters about Danbury came from Bantam Lake in Litchfield. They were brought here by Thaddeus Gray, in 1826, Gray lived in Brookfield, just over the Danbury line. He went about among our people soliciting contributions for his fish project, and raised enough for the pur- pose. He brought the young pike in a cask by the Litch- field stage, and with his own hands distributed them in the waters about here. Hiram Barnes began staging on his own account in 18.30. He was a heavily built man with a voice that was a surprise in that it was not deej) and sonorous, but shrill and squeaking. His wit was remarkable, showing itself somewhat after the unexpected manner of lightning, and quite frequently was as withering as that fluid. He was no respecter of persons, neither did he spare any for the sake of relationship. In 1833 Barnes did a good business in bringing into the country people who were fleeing from the city because of the cholera. He then had two four-horse stages. He changed animals at a place called Darling's Corner, in the Boston school district of Redding. After this i)eriod his stage left Danbury at 2 a.m., and connected with the morning boat for New York from Nor- walk. The fare between Danbury and Norwalk was then but $1. The mail route between New York and Danbury was through Ridgefield, Cross River, Bedford, and White Plains. The stage left the city with six horses, at White Plains it dropped two and ran to Northcastle with four. At the latter place it would fre- quently drop two more and so run into Danbury with the two horses, and sometimes left here with but two, putting on more as it advanced to the city. The number of horses attached to the stage depended on the number of passengers patronizing it. In 1840 the Housatonic Railway reached Hawleyville, and a stage was run from Danbury to connect with the railway there. At Bridgeport the jiassenger took the boat for New York. This stage was driven by Daniel S. Beattys, who died a few years ago. In the summer of 1841 Mr. P. D. Crosby, then postmaster of Danbury, ran a stage from this place to Bridgeport, in opposi- tion to both Beattj'^s and the railway comjDany. He made the HISTOET OF DANBURY- 205 distance in from three to four hours. In the railways of that time a strap rail was used, being a strip of iron laid on a timber. At the joints it would occasionally happen that an end would become loose and curl up, so as to run up on the wheel and thus into the car, to the horrible mutilation of some passenger. These were known and dreaded as "snake heads." A line in the advertisement of Mr. Crosby's stage announced, "No Snake Heads !" His route became so popular as to interfere with the business of the railway company, and it bought him off. In 1840 or thereabouts, Mr. George Bates drove a stage to New Haven. He made one trijp a week, and kept up the route for two or three years. In the fall of 1841 Mr. Crosby opened a stage line to White Plains, where he connected with the Harlem Eailway. The dis- tance was thirty-six miles. He made three trips weekly. The fare to White Plains by the stage was $1. From there to New York by cars it was 50 cents. On April 1st in the following year he made a trip each day. When the Harlem Road reached Croton Falls he made that the objective point. The distance was fourteen miles. At this time Barnes started a line in opposition to Mr. Crosby, and lively work followed. At one time three trij^s were made daily. The steamboat coming to Norwalk was an event in the his- tory of that town. We can all understand this, but few of us are ]3repared to believe that the event took such a hold upon the Norwalk people as to almost entirely unlit them for their regular business pursuits, but such was the fact. Crowds flocked to the wharf to see the steamboat leave, and the most of these with their number greatly increased returned at night to see the boat come. It was no uncommon event to have a thousand persons waiting to receive the steamer. They went on foot and in carriages and waited in a state of great ex- citement. The streets of the village were deserted during the hour, and business in the stores was entirely suspended. Some men lost their heads to such a degree that they gave up their work entirely. This was not an excitement of the moment, but lasted for several years. We have already referred to the reputation for witty retort enjoyed by the late Mr. Barnes. Numerous stories are told of 206 HISTORY OF DANBURY. this phase of his character, some of which are well worthy of preservation. On one occasion he was coming down from Litchfield, when an old woman appeared from a building at the side of the road and hailed the stage. It was pretty well loaded, as was evident to any observer. Barnes drew up his horses, thinking he had a passenger in prospect. "I've got a trundle-bed I wish you would take to Danbury for me," said the woman. Concealing his disgust, Barnes gravely replied, " Sorry, marm, I can't accommodate you, but I've got a saw-mill to take on just below here." When O. P. Clark kept a store on South Main Street it was a favorite resort for Barnes. One evening he was in there when an old gentleman, who was sitting by the stove, observed, " Things have changed a great deal up along the Still River, Mr. Barnes, since you drew a stage up there." " I s'pose so," said Barnes absently. " Yes, indeed. I kin remember the time when all along up there, clear to New Milford, was a woods. It was full of trees in that time, and the wild geese used to lay in there thicker' n bees." " Where do wild geese make their nests and hatch their young, uncle V ' asked some one else. " In the crotches of the trees, I think," said the old gentleman. " Is that so, Barnes ?" said the interrogator, appealing to the stage-driver. " Do wild geese make their nests in the crotches of trees ?" " I don't know as wild geese do," said Barnes, in his squeak- ing voice ; " but suckers do." That ended the discussion. On another occasion he was seen crossing the road with a parcel in his hands. " What have you got there, Barnes ?" asked a friend. " A pumpkin pie," was the reply, given in a tone that indi- cated some disgust. True enough, he had a huge pumpkin pie, one of those articles baked on a large, old-fashioned earthen platter. He was sent with it by his wife to a poor but shiftless family, with whose misfortunes he had no sympathy. HISTORY OF DANBURT. 207 " What will they do with it V asked the friend. "I don't know," jnped Barnes, "unless they take it for a cushion." Once only he was come up with, according to his own admis- sion, and that was by a woman. A revivalist jDreacher was in town holding a series of meetings. He stayed at the Wooster House, and was accompanied by his wife, who was not pleased with Danbury. Meeting Barnes one day, she remembered him as the driver of the stage that brought her here. " Do you belong to Danbury ?" she abruptly inquired. "No, ma'am," he sweetly replied; "Danbury belongs to me." " Well, you are a poorer cuss than I thought you were if you own this place," w^as her spiteful rejoinder. Barnes withdrew at once. CHAPTER XXX. REMINISCENCES AND INCIDENTS. In 1772 a cavalry company was formed in Danbury as Fourth Company, Third Regiment, Third Brigade. This company served in the Revohitionary War under the following officers : Ezra Starr, captain ; Benjamin Hickok, lieutenant ; Jeremiah Dunning, cornet. Following is a list of the captains of this company in order of succession : Daniel Starr, afterward major ; Ezra Starr, after- ward major ; Benjamin Hickok, afterward major ; David Wood, afterward major ; Nathaniel Gregory, Asahel Benedict, Seth Comstock [1812], afterward major. Second Company, Fifth Regiment, Fourth Brigade : Hugh Starr, captain ; Elias S. Sanford, captain ; Isaac Seeley, Fred- erick Seeley [1825, sixty men], William B. Hoyt, afterward major ; Starr Nichols, afterward colonel ; Abijali E. Tweedy, afterward colonel ; William Wildman, Orson Dibble, Elijah Sturdevant, afterward major ; George StaiT, Grandison M. Bar- num, Charles W. Fry, afterward colonel ; Judah P. Crosby, afterward major ; George W. Wilson, Ezra A. Mallory, Jacob B. Sears. All companies were disbanded by the law of 1854. By State law the Fifth Regiment was formed and annexed to the Fourth Brigade. It consisted of four companies, the first from Wood- bury, second from Danbury, third from New Milford, and fourth from Newtown. This first cavalry company, who participated in the War of the Revolution, were present at the two executions at Redding in February, 1779, under the order of General Putnam. Lieu- tenant Jones, a British spy, was hanged, and John Smith, a de- serter from the First Connecticut Regiment, was shot. The company were ordered to White Plains, attached to the regi- ment of Colonel Sheldon, of which Benjamin Tallmadge was HISTORY OF DANBURY. 209 major, and were with Putnam at Horse Neck and at the burning of Nor walk and Fairiiekl. When serving as State troops the regiment was under com- mand of Captain Starr ; when serving out of the State as Conti- nental troops they were generally under the command of Lieu- tenant Hickok. When Putnam went into winter quarters at Redding, Captain Starr's company was ordered home and re- ported weekly. At the battle of White Plains this company all appeared with glass bottles in place of canteens, and when ordered to the right of the American line to keep the British from turning the right flank, they rode in subdivision, with Lieutenant Hickok in com- mand. In jumping a low stone wall surmounted by two rails, Gabriel Barnum's horse fell, throwing his rider. The British were firing rapidly, and Hickok turned back and said, " Barnum, hurry up, the balls are flying fast !" Seeing no movement on the part of the fallen man, he shouted again, "Barnum, Bar- num, hurry up, the balls are flying fast and hot !" Barnum raised himself, and looking at the broken bottle which had taken the place of his canteen, said, " I don't care a d — n for the balls, Hickok ; but just look at my rum !" The Continental uniform of the company was blue coats and vests, with red facings, knee-breeches, boots, and cocked hats. In 1791 this was changed to red coats with yellow facings, yellow breeches, long boots, and bearskin caps. We are indebted for this military information to Colonel Sam- uel Gregory, of this city, (Middle River District), who was adju- tant of this regiment for four years. Eight of the ancestors of Colonel Gregory were soldiers of the Revolution, two were in the War of 1812, and he himself was in the Civil War until failing health caused his return in 1863. Colonel Gregory also gives us from memory the following, which will be of local inter- est : " At the celebration of the Fourth of July in 1838, the pro- cession was formed at the Danbury House, then standing on the site of the present Turner House. In this procession were sixty Revolutionary soldiers of Fairfield County, and one hundred veterans of the War of 1812. From the Danbury House the pro- cession marched up Main Street to West, up West Street to Deer 210 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Hill Avenue, and over the hill to the Baptist church on the corner of Wooster Street. " Here an oration was delivered by James Taylor, and the Declaration of Independence read by Reuben Booth, after which the procession returned to the starting-point. Before reaching it the ranks were opened, and every man stood with uncovered head while the Revolutionary soldiers marched through to the table of honor at the feast, which was spread in the broad, green dooryard of the hotel. " The chaplain of the occasion was Rev. Anson Rood, then pastor of the Congregational church, and the marshal of the day was Colonel Ira Gregory." THE MAIJf STREET PARK. When this century began Main Street, from Centre Street to the old saddle factory, was confined to the road on the east side of the park, and formed a bow. Major Ezra Starr, of Revolution- ary memory, lived where now stands the residence of Mrs. D. P. Nichols. He owned that property and down the street as far as Wooster Street. In 1801 there was a petition to straighten the street at the bow. In response to this feeling Mr. Starr gave the land along his front, but on the condition that the part thus opened should forever be a common, and no roadway should traverse it. This left the road where it was, but straightened the street. The common thus created became a turf, and was utilized par- ticularly once a year for training purposes. There were two military organizations in Danbury at that time — one was an artillery company, and the other a company of cavalry. The former rendezvoused at the tavern kept by Ebenezer White, grandson of the clergyman by that name. It was a two-story wooden building, and stood on the site of the Turner House. The cavalry had their headquarters with Dr. Starr, on the corner of Main and Elm streets, but both companies trained on the green created by Major Starr's bounty. In those days " a training" was a mighty event, and the village would be full of visitors, while the citizens donned their holiday attire and did no business. The troops dressed their parade on a line formed along the turf by a pick, and visible the entire length. It was a perfectly straight line, and in those days was felt to be necessary to get a AJi8 U R Y ^ O US E 1 8 II 1 a I 'l"f ^ t\ s f ■■■ jjj Hp p rtv TriiNKi: IIE, isiit,. ^ Aaron- Tukneu. Old DAN-Bt-r.y House-Where TrRXER HorsE ^-o^v Stands. HISTORY OF DANBURT. 211 perfect dress of the companies. The military eye of a century ago may have been as fierce as is that organ of to-day, but it was evidently not so accurate, hence the line. In 1851 or 1852 a project for making a central park here by running a road on the west line was agitated. It was immedi- ately opposed by the uptown people, although the citizens below Liberty Street were to bear the expense of the improvement. It was claimed by the opponents that should the borough give the privilege to make a park of this place, the resort would in time be thrown back on the borough, and it would have to bear the expense of keeping up a spectacle that was to gratify and benefit only a portion of the community. How singularly blind sec- tionalism will make us ! But the down-town people persisted in their enterprise, and the borough authorities finally granted their request. In the spring of 1853 the work began. Two thousand dollars was sub- scribed by the down-towners for this purpose, and we have them to thank to-day for the pretty, inviting park which adorns Main Street. Augustus Seeley was a leading party in the matter. He was ably seconded by W. P. Seeley, the late Aaron Turner, and others on South Main Street. The trees were dug by Noah Adkins and Fred Bevans, two well-known men in that day. They were given by James Harvey. Thus originated Elmwood Park. The prediction of the up-towners was verified. The park went back to the borough, but the annual expense of keej^ing it in order has been insignificant. When the park was first laid out it was sown with grain to get a turf. This was fijed one night by some of our present sober-minded and anti-levity citizens, who were then boys. It made a very handsome illumination, but the citizens were very much shocked. When the late Uncle Sam Jennings was warden he cut a crop of hay from the ground. He had previously issued a proclama- tion forbidding the obstruction of the highways of the village. One afternoon he loaded his cart with the hay, but it being late he left the load in the street for the night. A number of un- known parties, in the fear of the law and with a most commenda- ble regard for its integrity, drew the cart to the Pound in the night, pitched the hay over into the enclosure, then took the 212 HISTORY OF DANBURY. cart to pieces, passed that over, and finished up by reloading the hay and leaving the whole within the Pound. The feelings of Warden Jennings when he discovered the loca- tion of his hay the next morning can easily be imagined, but he issued no manifesto, nor offered any reward for the api^rehen- sion of the actors. He remembered where he had left his cart the night before, and silently went to work to pitch the hay out- side, to take the cart apart and get that over, and then to put the machinery together again and reload the hay. That was in the " good old times." danbury's first irishman. The first Irishman that ever came to Danbury was Peter O' Brien, about seventy years ago. He located himself in Stony Hill District just east of the school-house, and put up a genuine shanty made of stone, clay, and turf, with a barrel for a chim- ney, and was one of Danbury's greatest attractions in those days. He kept a cow, pigs, and chickens that were always seen hovering about the door, unless occasionally when Mrs. O'Brien drove them away. Pleasure-seekers would frequently drive that way to get a sight of his small retreat. He was like most of his race, witty and full of fun, and invariably answered when asked how he came over from Ireland, " Faith, and I come over in a hoss cart. " Several anecdotes are related of him, one of which we will give. He was a day laborer, and most of the time worked for an old man by the name of Starr, in Beaver Brook, the father of Colonel Elias Starr, who resided on the corner of Main and Boughton streets in this village and kept a private school there. Almost every day after school hours the colonel would ride out to his old home, and on one occasion he saw a fine dog there that belonged to Peter, which he was anxious to purchase. Hogs were permitted to run in the street then, and at times annoyed the colonel very much. Peter would take $2 for the dog. A bargain was made, and the dog was brought into town. The next day after the purchase Mr. Starr saw several pigs in his dooryard, rooting up his grounds, when he yelled for his dog to chase them away. The dog ran around, jumped upon his new master, but showed no disijosition to go for them, for the best reason in the world, the poor animal was totally blind. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 213 Forthwith the colonel started for Beaver Brook, where Peter was at work, and in tones not to be misunderstood wanted to know why he did not tell him the dog was blind. " I knowed ye'd find it aout," said Peter. " You rascal, you said he would chase hogs, and he is as blind as a bat," reiterated the colonel. " I tole ye he would chase a hog as fur as he could see, and faith he will, and it's no lie I'm telling ye." The old man, Mr. Starr, w^as so pleased over it that he told Peter (after the colonel left) that he would give him a bushel of rye every year, as long as he lived, for cheating his son Elias, who had been to college— and he did. CHAPTER XXXI. EXTRACTS FROM FRANCIS' HISTORY OF HATTING IN DANBURY. It is said to be a sober fact in history that the first building ever erected in this country as a hat shop was built in Danbury, and the first hat ever made in these United States was made in this town. Be this as it may, certain it is that in the days of the Eevolu- tion, when our town was but a hamlet, when provincial's blade was crossed with that of royalist, and a little phalanx of stout hearts were contending for the inborn rights of man ; when the seeds of future glorious empke were being planted in the fur- rows ploughed by the cannon-ball, harrowed in deeply by the iron war-horse, the tramp of wheeling and charging columns, moistened and enriched by the generous flow of the life blood of patriots, we find in 1780. — Zadoc Benedict engaged in the less chivalric and bloody occupation of making hats in a small red shop, standing near the grounds now the site of the depot, in Main Street. With limited resources and capital, he kept up the fire under his soli- tary kettle, and employed to work up his " stock" the services of one journeyman and two apprentices, turning off hats at the rate of three per day, or one and a half dozen per week, two hats being an average for a good workman in a day. This is, according to the statement of some of our oldest citi- zens, about the first that was done at hatting in Danbury, and although hats had undoubtedly been made here long before this, still we shall take this as the starting point and regard it as the commencement of what has since proved an important and extensive trade. . . . 1787.— Colonel Russell White and Oliver Burr,* firm of Burr & * Oliver Burr was the youngest son of Colonel Andrew and Sarah (Sturges) Burr, of Fairfield, Conn., where he was born November 10th, 1745. He was the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Balmforth and the late William R. White, also of the late HISTOKY OF DANBURY. 216 White, or 0. Burr & Co., carried on what was then considered an extensive trade, employing thirty hands, variously engaged, and turning off hats at the rate of fifteen dozen per week, or seven hundred and fifty dozen per year. The hats of this period were without elegance, being heavy, rough, and unwieldy. They sold at from $6 to $10 each, enough to bay two or three fine hats now. One man could make about nine hats per week, but the process of making was very different from what it is now. The manufacturer bought the skins in a bundle. The fur then had to be taken from them by hand and assorted. Then it was bowed into " bats," with the old " bow," " pins," and " catgut," and these " bats" were made into hat bodies. After the hats were made (everything being done by hand), they were dis- tributed to the ladies living in the vicinity, in order to have the hair that remained sticking in the nap removed by tweezers. Among the men employed by Burr & White were Eli Benedict and William Babcock, who afterward went to New Haven. 1791. — In the Farmers' Journal^ published at Danbury, in this year, we find the following advertisement : "to be sold by 0. burr & COMPANY, ONE HUNDRED WEIGHT OF GOOD HAT WOOL, AND SEVERAL PAIRS OF WHITE ENGLISH RABBITS, Whose increase is amazingly fast and the skins for fur in great demand, and their flesh of the most delicate kind ; and to con- clude the whole of their excellencies, their keeping requires nothing but vegetables, such as weeds, grass, i^otatoes, turnips, etc., etc. They need no diink. Also, given as usual twenty pence per run for coarse woollen yarn. '*' Danbury, May 18th, 1791." 1800.— In Robbins's century sermon, delivered at Danbury, January 1st, 1801, we find these remarks : " In the manufacture Edgar S. Tweedy, and the paternal grandfather of the late Mrs. Lucius S. Hoyt. When Colonel Aaron Burr was quite young he was placed by his father for a time in the charge of Oliver Burr, who was his third cousin, to pursue his studies. Oliver Burr died in Danbury, January 31st, 1797 216 HISTORY OF DANBURY. of liats this town (Danbury) much exceeds any one in the United States. More than twenty thousand hats, mostly of fur, are made annually for exportation." 1802. — The first hat store at the South in connection with manufacturing at Danbury was established by two active and well-known men (now deceased), Zalmon and Seymour Wildman. They had one store at Charleston, S. C, firm of Z, & S. Wild- man ; another at Savannah, Ga., firm of Wildmans & Hoags. Zalmon Wildman manufactured in the shop of Zadoc Benedict, after the decease of the latter in 1803. He also, some years later, carried on quite extensively the finishing of hats for the Southern market, near the grounds now the site of the Pah- quioque Hotel in Main Street. 1803. — During this and following years Samuel H. Phillips, George Benedict, David Wood, William Babcock, Ezra Wild- man, Ebenezer and John D. Nichols, Boughton & Starr, and others carried on hatting in different parts of the township. The fashionable hat of this year was six inches deep and two-inch brim. 1805. — Clark & Benedict carried on the hatting business in the red building situated in West Street, and now occupied as a dwelling. Gersham Nichols, at the same time, in a building near the residence of Oliver Stone in Main Street. 1807.— Noah Rockwell commenced manufacturing \\'ith his " plank" shop in the cellar of the house now occupied by Mrs. Rosaboom, in Franklin Street ; also Hoyt Gregory had a shop in West Street. All these manufacturers carried on the business on a limited scale, employing, probably, from seven to eight hands each, and turning off hats at the rate of four or five dozen per week, or two hundred and fifty dozen per year. Among the men in the employ of Hoyt Gregory were James Seal and Thomas Peck, who eventually engaged in an extensive business at Boston. In a plank-room, small and inconvenient, gathered around one kettle, heated by means of a furnace filled with wood under- neath, you will find three or four men pulling and hauling the bodies of coarse fur, which had been formed, not by a machine at the rate of thirty per hour, but by their own hands at the rate of one per hour. A contrast, indeed ; but more of this ere we close the sketch. h -^ ««. Giles M. IIoyt. \v,i. K. W hite. Theodoke S. Tweedy. a. Edwahd Tweedy. U'm. B. Wildmax. John T. Dank. David D. Wildman. Charles Benedict. W.M. H. Tweedy. Wm. Montgomery. Thomas E. Tweedy-. HISTORY OF DANBUEY. 217 1808--1809. — There were fifty-six liat shops in operation in the township of Danbiiry, averaging from three to five men each. Many farmers were interested in the trade, setting up a kettle and hiring journeymen. 1812. — We have our venerable citizen, now president of the Danbury Bank, Samuel Tweedy (who went into business as early as 1800), and James Benedict, firm of Tweedy & Benedict, carry- ing on business in a shop situated on the ground where the house of Mrs. Sprague now stands, corner of Main and Elm streets. Hands employed thirty. During the war the trade between hat dealers and the Northwest Company was cut off. John Jacob Astor sold at auction, in the city of 'New York, a large quantity of furs which had been seized. James Benedict, hearing of the sale, attended and bought five bales (one thousand pounds) of " old coat beaver" at $1 per pound. The price immediately advanced to $5 per pound. We must remember that at this time hat finishing was a very small part of the trade here — in fact, hardly any hats were sent to market finished and trimmed, but were sent in the " rough" to the city, there to be made ready for sale. In this year a machine was invented for blowing fur, and first used in Messrs. Tweedy & Benedict's establishment. It consisted of a wire drum, in which the fur was placed, and the machine moved with a crank by hand. Small, simple, and imperfect, it was thought to be an important invention at that time ; now it would be laughed at as a child's i)lay thing. 1814. — Judson and Russell White, firm of White Brothers, conducted a large business (then) in a shop opposite the old fac- tory now occupied by Crosby, Hoyt & Co. Capital invested, $50,000. Hands employed, about fifty, making probably about two hundred dozen hats per month, or two thousand dozen per annum. This firm had a warehouse in the city, where the hats were sent to be sold. Among those who learned the trade with the White Brothers was Starr Nichols, Esq., now deceased, who afterward became a prominent townsman, contributing in a great measure to the advancement and building up of Danbury. Soon after his " time was out" he commenced business for himself. Doing very little at first, but steadily increasing, he pushed forward with that zeal which ever afterward formed so prominent a trait 218 HISTORY OF DANBURY. in his diai^acter, until when the White Brothers retired from business he took their place, and carried it on with increased energy, employing fifty "makers." He met with several re- verses of fortune, but at the time of his death (1856) was engaged in a lucrative business in a hat store in New York City, and to-day he is remembered as one of the most prominent men in the trade. His benevolence and active loerseverance are well worth imitating. 1816. —Two of our citizens, R. & E. T. Hoy t, merchants in the place, receiving, as the custom was, hats in exchange for their goods, taking a few hats went South and opened a store at Charleston, S. C. The hats were made by Tweedy & Benedict, and finished partly in the old finishing shop yet standing on the corner of Main and Franklin streets. The Messrs. Hoyt began on a small scale, the sales at first amounting to but $15,000 or $20,000 per year, but as the trade increased in importance throughout the country, they took advantage of it, and through their efforts was built up a large establishment, increasing until at one period the yearly sales reached $100,000. The business continued in the hands of some of the Hoyt family, until the death of John R. Hoyt (son of Russell), and is yet in active opera- tion under F. T. Fanning. David H. Boughton was the first partner taken into the firm, and the following individuals were from time to time connected with the same house : David M. Benedict, Edgar S. Tweedy, F. T. Fanning, Lucius P. Hoyt, and A. E. Tweedy. This hat store was connected with manufac- turing in Danbury u]) to 1854, and afi'ords an example of pros- perity and continued success, with close attention to business as the cause. In the fall of the same year, 1816, Zalmon Wildman (who, as before mentioned, was engaged in the Southern trade as early as 1802) with Ezra M. Starr — the latter still one of our most re- spected and influential citizens — started another hat store in Charleston. This firm also commenced with about $20,000 as the yearly sales, but an enterprise like this in the hands of such thorough and active business men could but succeed. They were soon firmly established, and went on extending their trade and enlarging their operations until we have as the amount of sales per annum, $60,000. Hats worth here $90 per dozen were taken South and sold at $120 per dozen. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 219 1817. — Captain John Foot, with one Mr. Hodge, manufac- tured hats for the firm of Wildman & Starr, employing six or eight men, and getting up about six hundred dozen per annum. Elias Boughton, Abel Hoyt, and others carried on hatting in Banbury about this time. The hats were then eight or nine ounces in weight. The price for making them — that is, the Russia hat— was 92 cents, or 5s. and 6d. Yankee currency. The manner in which hats were packed and sent to the market deserves mention. Two hats were taken and rolled up together in a paper, then put into a linen bag, and in this shape, to the number of six or eight dozen, they were put into a leathern sack ; they were then ready for transportation to the city by stage. In bowing hats by hand, the Saxony and other fine wools could not be used, consequently the home material and all coarse wools were used in making the very few wool hats required. 1818. — A machine was constructed for bowing hats. It was of wood, dish-shaped, somewhat after the pattern of an old-fash- ioned fanning mill, and took in enough for two bats at a time. This was thought to be a great improvement, but upon thorough trial it did not work well, and workmen continued to use the "bow," "catgut," and "pins." John Fry and Alvin Hurd went into the manufacture of fine beaver hats. 1820. — Mr. Hurd left the firm and Ephraim Gregory became associated with Mr. Fry, They immediately established a hat store at Charleston, which afi'orded a good market for many years. This hat store was kept open until the firm closed up their business in 1838. 1821. — Grant, of Providence, R. I., took out a patent for form- ing wool hat bodies with the vibrating and revolving cone, but the revolving cone had in reality been invented before by one Mason, of New Hampshire. This rendered Grant's patent in valid. He, therefore, upon Mason's threatening a law-suit, de- stroyed his first patent, claiming in turn only the vibration, according to an act of Congress passed a short time before. The vibration was an improvement as far as this. In Mason's inven- tion the wool coming in a web from the machine wound itself straight round the cone, leaving a hole in the " tip" after the body was formed ; then, too, when the bodies came to be " planked" they were found to be compact and firm one way only, whereas in Grant's method, in consequence of the cone 220 HISTOKY OF DANBURY. vibrating and revolving at the same time, the web was spread around, thus avoiding the hole in the tip and rendering the body strong and compact. Soon after, Alvin Hurd being in Pi'ovi- dence, Mr. Niram Wildman (an old and respected citizen) sent there requesting Mr. Hurd to negotiate with Grant for the jour- chase of a right. Grant refused to sell, alleging that the machine was not yet brought to perfection. Mr. Wildman then went to Providence himself, from whence, after having thoroughly ex- amined Grant's patent, he returned, and in connection with Rory Starr constructed the more improved and scientific double cone for forming two hat bodies at once. Grant, in concert with Townsend, the chief stockholder, then brought a suit against Wildman for infringement of patent. The case was appointed to come on at New Haven, but when the parties met a compro- mise was entered into, in which Mr. Wildman was to have, for a stipulated sum, and the benefit of the improvement, the use of two machines. The suit being withdrawn, Mr. Wildman imme- diately put up one of his machines in the old factory on Main Street, and commenced the forming of wool hat bodies, con- tinuing in the business until 1844, during the last three years of this time forming large quantities for Eli White, Esq., of Water Street, New York. The other machine was loaned to a Mr. Sprague, who put it up in the Sturdevant factory, a little out of the village. The wool bodies were taken and napped with fur, making the well- known " napped hats" then in vogue. In forming hats by this machine all fine wool could be used, and the Saxony was much in demand. The machine in its perfection would form hat bodies at the rate of three hundred per day. 1822. — Up to this time the manner of coloring hats was as fol- lows : The hats were taken from the plank shop and placed, two or three dozen at a time, in a round kettle, from which they were taken by hand once every half hour until the operation was completed, which generally took from eighteen to twenty hours. It was very tedious to watch the kettle so long, but many things were resorted to to while away the hours, and often after mid- night, when all was still, the old colorman would indulge in a roast chicken (there were roosts about), with perhaps a little different liquor than that contained in the dye kettle to wash it down. The first invention of any importance in this line con- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 221 sisted of a square kettle with two sacks ; tliese were filled with hats and let into the kettle and drawn out by a tackle made for the purpose, so that while one sack was in the liquor the other was out on the "dripping-board." This was thought to be, and in reality was, an improved method, but was entirely super- seded by an invention of Joel Taylor,* a hat manufacturer and native of our village, made somewhere about this time (1822). Six dozen hats were placed upon a large wheel with pins and turned by a crank ; the " dye-stuff" was contained in a copper kettle, shaped like a half moon, underneath. The hats on one half the wheel were in the liquor receiving color, while those on the other half were out cooling. AVhen the colorman wished to reverse this he had only to turn the crank. This manner of col- oring hats, though very simple, took the lead of all the rest, and in all the country there was a great demand for "Taylor's wheel." It was in general use for many years, and may be found in numbers of small shops at the present day. Mr. Taylor has the names of some two hundred persons to whom he sold rights to his coloring wheel, and the amount realized by him altogether reached $5000 ; but as the business increased and everything else connected with it was carried on in an extensive manner, it was found that some other way must be devised by which to color the immense number of hats turned off. In the present mode the hats, with the exception of a few of finer qual- ity, are thrown promiscuously, without blocks, into an immense kettle filled with " dye-stuff,'' heated by steam, where, on account of an improvement in the liquor, they are colored in a few hours. Fifty dozen are colored at one time by this method. 1824. — Among the manufacturers of this period were Isaac H. Seeley, White & Keeler, Hatch & Gregory, Joseph Taylor, Hugh Starr, and Taylor & Dibble. 1825. — Fry, Gregory & Co. conducted at this time an extensive trade, working up $80,000 worth of stock per annum ; capital * Joel Taylor, a direct descendant of Thomas Tajior, one of the first settlers of Danbury, was born February 18th, 1795, and died June 8th, 1870, aged 75 years. He was a son of Joshua, who was an officer in the War of the Revolution. From Barber's " Historical Collections of Connecticut" we quote the following : "The Hatter's circular Dye Kettle and Wheel was invented in Danbury in 1823, by Mr. Joel Taylor. It is a most important invention for Hatters, and has come into gen- eral use both in this country and Europe." James S. Taylor and Mrs. Adelaide Holden, of Danbury, are his children. 222 HISTORY OF DANBURY. invested, $50,000 ; hands employed at making, thirty ; trim- ming, ten. This firm also had a store (now occupied by Mr. Osborne) in West Street, where the hands employed traded, receiving orders instead of cash for their work. In 1833, Fry, Gregory & Co. sold out their make-shop to Will- iam Montgomery, who had commenced hatting in 1832 with Edward S. Brockett. Mr. Montgomery made the hats for Fry, Gregory & Co., who having finished and trimmed them, sent them to their store in Charleston for sale. Mr. Montgomery carried on the fur hat trade until 1853, when building a large factory in connection with the buildings already on the ground, he entered into the manufacture of wool hats, in company with Charles Benedict and Jarvis P. Hull. Mr. Hull soon with- drew from the firm, and it is now that of Benedict & Mont- gomery. From an old bill dated New York, June 5th, 1825, we find that Joel Taylor bought of E. & H. Raymond one hundred Spanish wool bodies at 34 cents apiece. 1830.— At some period prior to this year the silk hat was in- vented by a Chinaman. The Nouelliste of Rouen narrates the following in relation to it : " M. Botta, son of one of the profes- sors at the Academy of Caen, an intrepid traveller and confirmed archseologist, one of the discoverers of the ruins of Nineveh, undertook a journey to China, and lived some time at Canton. This was prior to 1830. He used to wear there a beaver hat in the European fashion, which suited him so well that he was un- willing to change it. However, when it was worn out he applied to a Chinese hatter, and giving him all sorts of directions told him to make another like it. The man went to work, and in a few days brought a hat of the required shape, not of beaver, but of some stuff very soft and glossy. M. Botta, on his return to France, preserved this curious specimen of Chinese workman- ship, and wishing to have it repaired, intrusted it to a hatter, who examined it carefully, and was much struck with its mode of fabrication, which was altogether new to him. He examined the article with the greatest attention, and in a short time the fashion of silk hats came in. The inventor patented his dis- covery, and made a large fortune, but held his tongue about his debt to the Chinese tradesman, who, seeking a substitute for the beaver which he could not procure, devised the plan of replacing HISTORY OF DANBURY. 223 it by the light tissue of silk." The silk hat, therefore, had a "CelestiaF' birth. 1835.— Mr. Alvin Hurd, having learned the art of making silk hats from two Englishmen in the city of New York, returned here and set up the business in the shop of Starr Nichols, manu- facturing for the firm of Swift & Nichols, with five men em- ployed, thus introducing into Danbury the art of making silk hats. This branch of the trade increased so that in fact it be- came the most popular one of the day, and in the years inter- vening between 1840 and 1850 was carried on almost exclusively, Messrs. Tweedy & White, William Montgomery, N. H. Wild- man, and others being engaged in it. After 1850 it gradually decreased, and now nothing is done here at this branch, the soft hat taking its place. During 1835 and several following years, Messrs. Fry & Greg- ory, together with Samuel Sproulls, kept in operation a large wholesale establishment in New York City. 1836-37.— These times will be remembered by many, but by none more clearly than by the mechanics employed in hatting in those days. A general stagnation occurred in the money market, banks suspended specie payment, factories \vere closed, heavy failures in every community overwhelmed business men, all trades seemed to be paralyzed, provisions and the necessaries of life rose to an alarming price, poverty was common, and utter ruin seemed to threaten the entire nation. Hatting in Danbury was, of course, very dull, hundreds being out of employment at their trade for a whole year, doing whatever they could find to do in order to earn food for their destitute families. An instance may be mentioned. It being necessary to remove the water-pipe running through Main Street, a company of hatters were hired at $1 per day to perform the job, and set to digging. One man receiving for his first day' s work a silver dollar, went and in- vested it in twelve pounds of flour. This job was considered by them all as a lucky afl'air. The trade received a heavy blow, and when it commenced again it was a long time before confi- dence was restored and former prosperity returned, and employ- ers and employed continued to feel the effects of its utter pros- tration for years. 1840.— Hoy t. Tweedy & Co. had a factory at the north end of Main Street, and were also connected with the hat store estab- 224 HISTORY OF DANBUKY. lished at Charleston by the Hoj^ts in 1816. Since 1840, under Edgar S. Tweedy, John R. Hoyt, F. T. Fanning, Lucius Hoyt, A. E. Tweedy, William R. White, and others, the firm has been known successiv^ely as that of Hoyt, Tweedy & Co., Tweedy, Hoyt & Co., Tweedy & Hoyt, A. E. Tweedy & Co., Tweedy & White, and now (since 1857) Tweedy, White & Co. 1841. — After the napped hats had gone out of fashion, Messrs. Nil-am Wildman and John Fry went to Roxbury for the purpose of getting information concerning the wool hatting. They called on Colonel Lathrop in that place, who was then considered the best manufacturer of wool hats in this section of the country. Having obtained the necessary information, Messrs. Wildman & Fry returned and commenced the manufacture of wool hats in the old building some time since removed from the grounds of Mr. Fry, employing five men as makers and two women as trimmers, turning off from eight to ten dozen per day, the bodies being formed in the "old factory." Wildman & Fry subse- quently sold out to Charles Fry and David Wildman, who con- tinued the manufacture in a building in Main Street, since removed. Since that time wool hatting has steadily increased in im- portance, and at the present time several of our largest and most flourishing establishments are solely engaged in the manufacture of w^ool hats, which find a ready market, and the demand for which is still on the increase. We have then several distinct eras in the trade, a succession of monarchs, as it were, that in their turn flourished and re- signed. 1845. — About this year a machine for forming fur hat bodies was patented by Wells, of the firm of Wells & Redfield, New York, and soon after improved upon by Burr, St. John & Tay- lor. The principle on which it was constructed was very simple. This machine and its operation may be described as follows : The fur, weighed out and contained in a box with compartments near at hand, is taken out and fed on an apron, working on rollers about four feet from the main machine, by wdiich it is carried to a brush cjdinder, concealed from view, eight or ten inches in diameter, and making thirty-two hundred revolutions per minute. Passing through this, it is forced with great veloc- ity through a copper mouthpiece, pyramidical in shape, on to a ^UPhi.KMV P.KOs. BlILDlXG COWPERTHWAITE BUILDING. Hakris Building. TrEADWEI.L BlILDING Town C'i.ib. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 225 cone made of copper or zinc, perforated with minute holes and steadily turning round. Directly underneath this cone is a blower twelve inches in diameter, revolving fifteen hundred times per minute. This creates a vacuum, properly speaking, exhausting the air from under the cone, and consequently caus- ing the fur to collect upon it as it is forced out by the blower. When just enough has been fed on to form the body, the feeder is stopped. When the body is all formed, a cloth is wrapped about it, while another cone, called the mail, is placed over both ; the whole is then (by a simple contrivance) dipped into a tub standing near filled with warm water heated by steam. After it has been dipped the mail is taken off, the cloth removed, and upon turning the cone upside down the hat drops off. It is then passed between two iron rollers, or wrung out by hand, then rolled in a cloth, and after undergoing the process of hard- ening is ready for the planks. As soon as the body has been taken from it, the cone is wiped with a dry cloth, to remove the water adhering, that it may not destroy the vacuum, and it is then in a condition to form another hat body. Four attendants are required to each machine : a girl to feed on the fur, a boy to tend the cone, replacing one as soon as the other is removed, a man to carry off, do the dipping, etc., and one man to wring out the bodies and harden them. The average time required in which to form a hat body is two minutes, or at the rate of thirty per hour by one machine. The improvement of Burr, St. John & Taylor consisted of the mouthpiece with the adjustable top, an iron which can be raised or lowered, shaping the mouthpiece (which being copper is easily bent), so as to throw the fur on to the cone as the operator may require. In the first invention it was necessary for the attendant to hold a piece of pasteboard before the fur as it came out, rais- ing and lowering it as the case demanded. Great attention had then to be given to the work, and frequent examination was necessary in order to ascertain the lay of the fur. The mouth- piece with the adjustable top was then a decided improvement. Like all other inventions this had to work against a strong prej- udice, and it was some time, even after it was improved upon, ere it was firmly established and ranked among the inventions reaUy useful and worthy of patronage. 1846-47. —These were hard years for hatters, and many were 226 HISTORY OF DANBURY. out of employment for some time. Numbers hired out to farmers during the haying season and the time of harvest, but as times became more brisk they again found employment in the shops and the trade went on. Nathaniel H. Wildman was at this time manufacturing fur hats. He kept up the manufacture until a few years since, and is now engaged in a hat store at Augusta, Ga. Truman Trowbridge and Frederick Nichols each employed a number of hands. 1849. — Mr. Nathan Benedict came from New York with one of the fur hat forming machines. When it was rumored that such a machine was to be brought here it created considerable excite- ment among the mechanics in the trade, and when it actually did arrive a majority of hatters were opposed to it. It was put up by Mr. Benedict in the old Hurlbut factory as an experiment, under the patronage of A. E. Tweedy & Co. , but very little was done the first year, and the enterprise progressed slowly ; but as the public confidence in it was strengthened the old prejudice died out, and its popularity increased. Other machines were put up, and year after year the business of hat forming increased, until we have now eight of these machines in operation in the establishment of Messrs. Tweedy, White & Co. alone. Such in- ventions as this made a great revolution in the trade, altering and remodelling very much the system and process of making- hats, doing way with much hand labor, and enabling manufac- turers to fill out their contracts more readily. 1850. — During this year a needed reform in the manner of con- ducting the business was brought about. We refer to the intro- duction of the cash system. Prior to this time the business had been carried on almost entirely by the trade system. The work- man, instead of receiving cash as a return for his labor, obtained an " order" on some one of the merchants in the place, and tak- ing this with him he would present it like a check at the bank, and receive, not the hard cash, but certain articles of which he might stand in need ; so there was not a merchant in Danbury but was in some measure concerned or interested in the hatting business, many of them taking payment in hats, shipping them to New York for sale. Most of the transactions between the different firms were also carried on by trade. The trade or order system was an inconvenient and crippling management for both manufacturers and workmen, biit more especially for the latter, HISTORY OF DANBURY. 227 tending, as it did, to leave the balance of power in the hands of the former, destroying the equality that exists in a measure at the present time. When the cash system was spoken of, one man is said to have exclaimed, in view of the coming event, " When we get all cash, where in the world shall I find means to obtain my coloring liquor ?" He had been so used to paying for it in exchange or trade, that to his mind it seemed at first thought impossible to buy or obtain it in any other manner, even though the almighty dollar be brought into the arrange- ment. The cash system was found to work finely ; besides more amply and satisfactorily rewarding the mechanic for his labor, it gave greater facilities to manufacturers, infused new life into the trade, and removed the heavy shackles that had stayed its progress. The cash system, in fact, made an entire revolution in the moneyed interests and financial operations of our village, and opened a wider avenue for all kinds of business, and a more extensive field for the hitherto crippled energies of the whole community. We may set down the introduction of the cash system, then, as an important event, not only in the history of hatting, but also in the history of Danbury. 1852. — S. A. Brower & Co. started the business of paper-box making in Danbury. Until the soft hat came into use hats were packed in wooden cases alone. Now one dozen hats are placed in a paper box, and these to the number of six are placed in a wooden case. This mode of packing hats for transportation is a little more expensive than the former, but it is at the same time more safe, neat, and convenient. Mr. E. S. Davis, who bought out Brower & Co. in 1852, now carries on the business quite extensively. At first the demand was very small, but as the manufacture of soft hats increased so did that of paper boxes. Mr. Davis now occupies the whole of the new building seventy by thirty, and three stories high (near Tweedy Brothers). Capital invested, $7000 ; sales per annum, $25,000 ; paid out to hands per month, $200 ; hands employed, eleven ; boards or straw paper used per annum, 125 tons ; num- ber of paper boxes of all sizes made per annum, 216,000. The " boards" are manufactured in the neighboring towns of Brook- field, Newtown, and New Milford. 228 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Danbury has also been the theatre of some of the most orig- inal and important inventions in the way of making hats by machinery. 1853. — James S. Taylor, of this town, patented his machines for felting or sizing hats, to which their originality and perfect operation has been satisfactorily applied. These machines have been introduced into general use among the best and most ex- tensive wool hat manufacturers in the United States. The largest single day' s work performed by these machines was, prob- ably, in the shop of Wildman & Crosby, in 1856, they having sized on two sets of machines fifty-four dozen hats in one day, the machines being operated by four men working only ten hours. A Frenchman, J. Baptiste Lacille by name, and many others have invented machines for sizing hats, and sold their patents for large sums ; but the machines failed, not having been brought to perfection, and the Taylor machines have taken the place of all. 1854. — The firm of Crosby, Hoyt & Co. was formed in this year for the manufacture of wool hats. The partners were Judah P. Crosby, Henry T. Hoyt, and William B. Wildman. The two partners, Crosby & Wildman, made wool hats in a build- ing just north of the bridge on Main Street on the west side. This building was a grist-mill as early as 1792, afterward a sat- inet factory, and then used for forming wool hat bodies by Niram Wildman, later for the forming and finishing of wool hats. The new firm built the main part of the factory now occupied by Rundle & White on River Street. On the death of Mr. Wild- man he was succeeded by his son, Alfred N. Wildman. The business was carried on until 1862, wiien, on the breaking out of the war, a large portion of their debtors being merchants of the South and Southwest, they were obliged to give up business. 1855. — Abijah Abbott commenced the manufacture of band- boxes for Messrs. Benedict & Montgomery, Mr. Abbott now employs four hands, making thirty thousand large paper boxes per year, and consuming fifty tons of boards i^er annum. His sales amount to $5000 per annum. In this shop we were kindly shown a machine for cutting and creasing the paper boards, in- vented by Elizur E. Clark, the great New Haven match manu- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 229 facturer. It was originally intended for making match-boxes, but being perfected, was patented for its present use in 1857. The machine feeds itself, and has thirteen knives, which can be regulated so as to cut strips from the sixteenth of an inch to any required width. The machine is highly finished, nicely adjusted in all its parts, and was obtained at a cost of $375. The making of wooden cases is a large item, and three firms — George Starr, George Stevens & Co., and Raymond & Ambler — are constantly employed, the former in addition setting up fur blowers, making and repairing blocks, and manufacturing all kinds of hatters' tools. Another item is that of tip-printing. This consists in stamp- ing the design on the tip found in every hat. Dies or stamps of numerous patterns are used, and the vignettes are printed in gold leaf, Dutch metal, or printer's ink, according to the quality of the hat for which they are intended. Hats are now gener- ally bound by sewing-machines. When they were bound by hand, ten or fifteen minutes were required in which to bind a single hat. It is now done by the machine in one half minute. 1857. — The " panic" of 1857 is still fresh in the minds of all. Of course Danbury, like all other places where much capital was invested, felt the panic keenly. In no particular has there been more changes than in the shape and appearance of the hat. In early times, of which we have spoken, hats were made upon blocks entirely round, conse- quently when a man turned off a hat it was the celebrated one, nine inches deep with one and one half inch brim, the bell- crowned specimens of which appear once in a while worn by some rustic genius, or some aged stickler for the customs of his fathers, awakening in our mind thoughts of the " olden time." Save these few that we see now and then, and a few more lying, covered with the dust of years, in old garrets, these relics of bygone times and the crude days of hat-making are no more. Having finished Mr. Francis's " History of Hatting," w^e look now over the ground he went over, and find many changes since he wrote. There are also some points of which he was not in- formed. First, as regards fur-forming machines. In a suit against G. E. Cowperthwaite, brought by H. A. Burr et al., of which more hereafter, we find that the Burr machine, so called, was not the first fur-former invented. Mr. Wells, the patentee. 230 HISTORY OF DANBURY. took his idea from a successful f ur-f oi-mer then patented and in operation in England, and secured a patent only ahead of the English inventor, because the latter neglected to properly pre- pare his papers of application. Previous to this, in 1843, one William Foskett, of Meriden, had invented a machine for forming hats. It was a combination of the catgut bow and the present former. The feeder spread his fur upon an apron, as now. This was carried on until it reached where is now the picker. In Foskett' s machine a catgut string was stretched across the apron in place of the picker ; the string being vibrated by a series of wooden fingers disintegrated the fur and threw it through a trunk upon a cone as now. The cone, however, was of ruder workmanship. After the removal of the cone (the hat being formed) it was hardened on the cone without wetting, by an operation not necessary to describe. This machine of Foskett's was a perfect, practical machine, but he, lacking capital and health, had to let the matter drop. One of them was brought to Danbury subsequently and used by Mr. Cowperthwaite. In 1856 Alvah B. Taylor, of New York, invented and patented a machine for forming, which is known here as the Cowper- thwaite machine. In this the cones — for there were three used —were placed on the sides of a pyramidal stand, under which was the exhaust fan. These cones were constantly revolving, horizontally to the picker. The fur, fed by a boy on an apron as in the Burr machine, was blown on the cone. After it was all on, the pyramid revolved one third of the circle, and another cone was covered. The first cone was covered with an outer cone, somewhat larger, and a jiggering motion given it. When the second cone was covered with fur the stand again revolved, bringing the first cone around to the boy, who continued the jig- gering motion by hand. When the third cone was formed (the second, in the mean while, following the operation of the first) a slight blast of air was let into the first cone, and the outer cover- ing came off with the partially hardened hat inside. The cone then passed under the picker again, and so on. In 1857 this machine was brought to Danbury by Mr. Cowperthwaite and placed in the old Hurlburt factory. Soon after it was removed to the Shelter Rock factory. In 1859 this factory was burned, and Mr. Cowperthwaite purchased of Darius Stevens the build- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 281 ing then used by Stevens as a carpenter shop, on White Street. Cowperthwaite purchased Taylor' s interest in the machine, and was then sued by H. A. Burr, on the ground that the Cowperthwaite machine was an infringement on his. During the suit Burr got a temporary injunction against Cowperthwaite using the machine, and it was at this time that the Foskett machine was used here. This injunction was soon dissolved, and Cowperthwaite won the suit. He then sold the machine to Burr for $100,000. The White Street factory was closed in 1860. In 1860 what is known as the James S. Taylor machine was patented. This was really the invention of Lyman Piatt, but Taylor perfected it, and Piatt got out a patent. The inven- tion consisted in inverting the cone in the exhaust table, and forming the hat on the inside instead of the outside, as now. The first one was put up in the Sturdevant factory in Beaver Brook. E. A. Mallory also had one, two were in use in New- ark, and four in Brooklyn. The omnipresent Burr took a shy at this machine also, and got beaten. Then he purchased it, and in 1868 Arthur Nichols having an interest in the machine, the two consolidated. The Gill machine was another candidate for public favor. This is on the plan of the Burr, except that the feed-apron is higher, and the cone is placed in a balloon-shaped chamber. The fur is blown from the picker into the chamber, perfectly dis- integrated. The exhaust being greater at the base of the cone than at the tip, the fur is laid on evenly, as in the Burr machine. The first machine of this patent was erected in the Hurlburt fac- tory, which seems to have quite a distinction in the matter of being the scene of the location of first machines. The Burr machine has not been improved upon, except in the making of the frame stronger, and consequently more able to bear the higher rate of speed at which it is now run. Mr. Fran- cis says the capacity of the machine in 1845 was one hat in two minutes. Now one hat a minute is the capacity. The changes in the trade, so far as the introduction of labor- saving machinery is concerned, have been enormous since Mr. Francis's history closed. This was a necessity, and it was fore- seen by inventive minds years ago that machinery would have to take the place of manual labor, if the trade would keep pace with the demands. Busy brains have toiled, and from them 232 HISTORY OF DANBURY. have emanated a thousand devices, some worthless, many having good ideas but lacking perfection, while a few have been of practical benelit. Pouncing machines were first constructed in Danbury in 1865 by Sidney S. \Yheeler and Daniel B. Manley, who obtained a patent for the same in August, 1866. About the same time a patent was granted to Emile Nougaret, of Newark, N. J., and improvements on the same were patented by John L. Labiaux and P. W. Yail, of Newark, in 1867. Machines for stretching the brims of hat bodies were first in- vented by \Y. R. Fenn, of New Milford, in 1869. These machines consisted of two pairs of conical rollers, revolving at different rates of speed, through which the brim of the hat was passed. These machines were introduced in Danbury by James S. Tay- lor, but proved of little value. During the last thirty years attempts have been made in this town and elsewhere to size fur hats by machinerj'. Machines have been imported from France and England, and scores of them invented in this country, and quite a large number in this town. Every manufacturer has tried and abandoned several, and until recently the difficulty has seemed no nearer solution than ever. For a few years an English machine has been in use for second sizing, which has proved quite successful. In December, 1878, another vast improvement in labor-saving machinery was introduced. It was a machine for shaving hats, manufactured by Osterheld & Eickemeyer, of Yonkers, N. Y. A hat body is placed upon a padded board just the shape of the hat, and large enough to make the hat fit snugly to it. Upon this descends a knife of the same shape as those used by hand, and a Jigging motion being given to the knife, the hat rolls around under it, the knife shaving off the hair and coarse fur as cleanly and neatly as by hand. The machine will shave fifty dozen per day. They were first used here by Nichols & Hine and the Tweedy Manufacturing Company. Mr. Francis's history was closed in 1860. There were then but eight manufacturers of fur and wool hats in Danbury. In 1860 there were two firms of the Tweedys — Tweedy, White & Co. and Tweedy Brothers. In 1 864 the first firm was changed to T. E. & E. Tweedy, and the second was changed to William H. Tweedy in 1861. In 1867 both these firms were merged into one Wm. W. Stkvkxs. (xEOKiiK Andrew- Wm. D. Mouiiis. Orlando Wilcox. Joel Tavl(,i:. AVm. Scofield. Trcmax Trowbridge. Lnu > S. WiLDMAN. Jacob Fry. Wm. H. FliANt HISTORY OF DANBURY. 233 under the name of Tweedy & Co., and after four years of busi- ness a stock company was formed under the name of the Tweedy Manufacturing Company. In May, 1890, the firm of White, Tweedy & Smythe succeeded to the business, and are the present firm. Giles M. Hoyt's factory in 1860 was in Grassy Plain, which was then a part of Danbury. In 1874 Mr. Hoyt removed to White Street, and in 1878 he moved again to the old laundry building near the Danbury and Norwalk Railway. A. T. Peck in the winter of 1868 was engaged in hatting with his brother-in-law, Anson Taylor, in the old comb factory which stood on the site of Beckerle & Co.'s factories. Mr. Taylor had Just received a patent for combining pieces of waste silk with fur, and they were manufacturing hats under this patent. It was said that a hat, after being " jacked up," was made to look like a silk hat, and at a much less cost. They were made in all styles. Mr. Taylor died soon after the manufacture began, and Mr. Peck then went out of business. The Union Hat Company, composed of W. H. Youngs, H. C. Ely, Kellogg Nichols, and Cyrus Raymond, started in that build- ing in 1869. In 1872 they discontinued business. It was occu- pied between this time and 1875 by Casper Zeigler, and in that year William Beckerle took possession. In 1876, after taking into partnership C. H. Piex, T. F. Fay, and J. H. Shuldice, he removed to the old comb shop near Pahquioque Avenue. This shop soon proved too small for the firm, and from time to time they added to their capacity by building numerous additions and erecting small buildings for make- shops, coloring-shop, etc. In December, 1879, the establishment was totally destroyed by fire. Work was immediately resumed and new factories built, which are in active operation to-day. In 1865 J. D. Meeker began business as a hatter in a factory on Canal Street. This building for a few months previous had been used by journeymen hatters who took out work from our larger firms for manipulation in one branch only. They were not what might be called manufacturing hatters, and for that reason we have not secured their names. In 1877 this fac- tory was completely destroyed, and the next year the present commodious and enlarged building was comjDleted and occupied by D. W. Meeker, a brother"of the first-named. 234 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Mr. Francis, by some means, received no information concern- ing hatting in Mill Plain. As early as 1844 Ransom Brotliwell, father of Theodore Brothwell, had a shop situated on the farm of Oliver Burchard. The next we find of hatting in that hamlet is a shop run by P. A. Sutton. This changed hands many times, being owned successively by A. Solomon, Harry Jennings & Son, and Stone & Downs. The latter were burned out in 1867, and Mr. Downs then retired. Benjamin Stone then built the shop now occu- pied by H. M. Senior & Son, run it for about nine months, and then went to New Jersey. C. B. Prindle occupied it next for about six months, and Senior bought it in 1871. John Harvey was his partner for one year. In 1866 C. B. Prindle and Edward Gage took out work to size. The original shop stood just west of the present building. In 1869 Mr. Gage went out, and Prindle & Co. soon after became the title of the firm. In December, 1877, the Mill Plain Manu- facturing Company, a joint- stock corporation, took the factory now standing, which was built in 1871. It is related that at the time of Mr. Brothwell they were mak- ing what was known as the ' ' coney' ' hat. These hats were always worth just a dollar. If no money was forthcoming on pay day, the men were given as many hats as there were dollars due them. These were received at the stores as cash, and the merchants sent them to New York to sell. Mr. Brothwell never used the neat packing-cases of to-day, but used to knock boards off the fences and make cases. In 1860 the old firm of Crofut, Bates & Wildman being dis- solved, the business was conducted by Henry Crofut. From that time to the present there have been four different partners besides Mr. Crofut. First Rollo Mchols was admitted, under the firm name of H. Crofut & Co.; then George K. Nichols, and afterward Joseph H. White, the firm still retaining the old name. In 1878 the firm was Crofut, White & Peabody. The present firm is Crofut & White. The firm of E. A. Mallory & Co. in 1860 was formed of Mallory and P. A. Sutton. In 1864 Mr. Mallory associated with him his brother, Samuel Mallory, and this firm con- tinued till 1866. Samuel Mallory then retired, and until 1872 E. A. Mallory was again alone. In that year he took in HISTOKY OF DANBURY. 235 his son, Charles H. Mallory, and this comprises the present firm. In 1862 S. C. HoUey began the manufacture of wool hats in the shop then standing at the Main Street bridge, which had before that been used by Crosby & Wildman. For a short time J. H. Gesner was his partner. In 1865 A. N. Wildman con- nected himself publicly with the firm, and the "Co." was added to Mr. Holley's name. In 1868 the factory was burned. The same year they built the factory on River Street, now occu- pied by them. A. B. Holley became a member of the firm in January, 1876, though the firm name was not changed. Shethar & Lacey was the name of a new firm which purchased the Montgomery factory on White Street in 1865. For one year they continued business, and then admission to the firm was given to Henry Starr and Thomas Lawrence, under the firm name of Shethar, Lacey & Co. One more year passed and this fii-m dissolved, and in its place was the firm of Lacey, Hoyt & Co., composed of W. F. Lacey, Theodore Hoyt, Moses Collier, Ives Bushnell, and George Downs. In 1872 the firm went out of business. Lacey, Downs & Co.— the "Co." being C. H. White- then formed a copartnership and manufactured hats for a time. Lacey & Downs were before this time associated in the fur-cut- ting business in the Phoenix factory. Their hatting experience continued but a short time. Elijah Sturdevant continued the business at the factory in Beaver Brook District until August 31st, 1873. On that date the building was totally destroyed by fire at a loss of $60,000. For four years the ruins lay as the fire left them, and it was not until 1877 that the factory was rebuilt. It then became the property of James S. Taylor, and from that time to this a de- sultory trade has been carried on there. In 1879 D. E. Leowe & Co. took it, but in 1880 the firm dissolved. Nichols & Hine were burned out in Bethel in the spring of 1878. In the fall of the same year they came to Danbury, and took the old Lacey, Downs & Co.'s factory on White Street, where they were eminently successful for many years. We now have given the hat manufacturers since 1860, so far as we can trace them. Next in order come the fur-cutters. The - firm of W. A. & A. M. White, which was the principal one in the trade at that time, is still running. Their factory was 236 HISTORY OF DANBURY. totally destroyed by fire in 1874. It was immediately rebuilt with brick, and is probably one of the most conveniently arranged establishments in the country. FUR-CUTTING INDUSTRY. We are indebted to Mr. Alexander M. White, of Messrs. W. A. & A. M. White, for the following matters of interest in connection with the fur-cutting and hatting industry, also carpet weaving. ' ' The manufacture of hats was carried on in Danbury before and during the Revolutionary War, and always since. Formerly the apprentices were taught to cut fur by hand from skins, for the use of their employers. " The first fur cut in Danbury by machine and to sell was by my father, E. Moss White, for my brother, William Augustus Wliite, between 1825 and 1830, and this industry has been con- tinued by the family from that time to the present. The fur- cutting by E. Moss White was done in an old shop on Main Street, just south of Niram Wildman's house, oq land which, I think, was occupied by the widow of Judson White. This property afterward was occujDied by Giles M. Hoyt. " The firm of W. A. & A. M. White was formed January 1st, 1839, and had been in existence fifty-seven years under that title on January 1st, 1896. '' At the commencement of the business cutting machines were somewhat similar to those now used, only they were operated by a foot treadle, and the fur was mostly cut from muskrat skins and used for napping on wool bodies, which about 1825 and after were formed by machines on cones. Fur bodies were then seldom used and were bowed by hand, as was also the napping. " Up to about 1842 hatters' furs were mostly imported from Germany and England. French furs came much later, when coney was used for soft hats. None of the imported furs were then cut by machine, which was an American invention, as also the blowing and forming machines. Up to 1842 imported hat- ters' fur paid no duty. In 1842 a tariff bill was passed by Con- gress laying a duty of 25 per cent on hatters' furs. For many years after this period the cutting of hare and coney skins was done in this country by our firm only. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 237 " In 1842 we imported a man (C. L. Klnmpf) from Frankfort, Germany, to teach the business, and made a contract with the State of New York for a large number of prisoners to prepare the skins and cut the fur, princiiDally hares, under his super- vision, hare and coney skins being free of duty. At termination of contract with the State of New York we sent all machinery, with Klumj^f, to Danbury, continuing the business there. We imported from Buenos Ayres nutria skins and cut them in Dan- bury soon after 1830, but hare and coney skins were not cut there until about 1845. '' The fur-forming machines caused a revolution in the manu- facture of hats, and brought about the general use of fur bodies for napping and plain hats stiffened. Up to about 1840 soft hats were not used, and but few plain hats. " Between 1830 and 1840 a man in our emj^loy, named Mon- mouth Lyon, invented a machine for weaving cai-pets. A i^atent should have been obtained, but was not. My father had a machine built, and it was the first power-loom machine that ever wove a carpet. About four or five carpets were made, but imported carpets were sokl lower than these cost, and the work was abandoned. The machine and patterns were stored in the attic of our factory, and were destroyed by fire in 1874. In 1839 the writer visited a carpet factory at Lowell, where weaving was done on hand-looms, and was shown in a locked room the exact counterpart of the Lyon machine with the paper patterns, and was told that it was a machine that would revolutionize carjjet weaving." W. F. Lacey and George Downs went into partnershii) with Stephen Hurlbut in 1862, under the name of Hurlbut & Co. In 1864 Mr. Hurlbut left the firm and started in business in Peck's comb shop, where Beckerle & Co.'s factories now stand. He continued business until 1869, when he was killed by a run- away team. Peter Robinson, in 1865, began the fur-cutting business in a shop belonging to the Tweedys. In 1867 he purchased a build- ing at Beaver Brook, and admitted to partnership John Tweedy. In 1870 the business was so extensive that greater accommoda- tions were made necessary, and the firm purchased the factory of Benedict & Montgomery on West Street. This shop was burned down in 1874, and in the same year they went to the 238 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Hull & Belden Co.'s factory on Canal Street. Mr. Tweedy had, in the mean time, retired from the firm, and John Starr was made a partner in 1871. Mr. Starr died in 1876, and O. de Comeaii took his place. He remained a member of the firm one year, and in 1877 Mr. Robinson's oldest son, E. T. Robinson, was taken into the firm, and sent to England, where they established a branch office. Since then they have established also a branch house in Mexico. The manufacture of hat cases is an important factor in the business. In 1860 Mr. George Starr was the only person engaged in the business in Danbury. Besides cases he made blocks, tools, etc. In 1876 his brother, Daniel Starr, purchased the business, and still continues it. The Danbury & Bethel Hat Case Company began to manufacture cases in 1876. Through the kindness of one of our oldest residents we have been enabled to trace some of the old hatters mentioned by Mr. Francis. 1787. — William Babcock, who was employed by Burr& White, died in New Haven. 1803. — Samuel H. Phillips lived opposite the Danbury Savings Bank, and died there. George Benedict was a son of Eliakim, and lived and died in Danbury, David Wood lived and died on the corner of Main and South streets. Ezra Wildman, who was a great-uncle of Samuel C. Wildman, moved to Clarksfield, O., and died there. Ebenezer and John D. Nichols died in the South. The firm of Boughton & Starr we cannot trace. Mr. Boughton is believed to have been Elias Boughton, who lived on the site of George C. White's residence. 1805. — The firm of Clark & Benedict should have read Bene- dict & Clark. Saline P. Clark lived down-town, near the old Carrington place. He was an uncle of Starr Clark. Benedict was the son of Peter Benedict, who lived in Mountainville, on the place now owned by E. S. Benedict. Gersham Nichols was the father of Starr Nichols and the great-grandfather of John Nichols. , 1807. — Noah Rockwell died in Danbury. Hoyt Gregory died here, and we believe has no descendants. 1812. — James Benedict, of Tweedy & Benedict, retired from business to a farm on the Hudson River, and died there. 1816. — David H, Boughton was a son of Elias Boughton, and HISTORY OF DANBUUY. 239 died South. His remains were brought home and interred in the burying-ground up-town. David M. Benedict lived later in life in the house now owned by Lucius P. Hoyt, and died there. He was also buried in the up-town burying-ground. Ezra M. Starr lived and died in the house now occupied by D. G. Penfield, on South Street. 1818. — Captain John Foote lived near the present residence of Harmon Knapp, Main Street. Abel Hoyt was the father of Giles M. Hoyt, and died in Bethel. 1820. — Ephraim Gregory was a son of Elijah Gregory, a black- smith, whose shop stood on the site of St. James's church, and his dwelling on the site of the rectory. John Fry died November 4th, 1880. Alvin Hurd, who was his partner, died in August, 1869. The firm of Benedict & Montgomery consisted of Charles H. Benedict and William Mont- gomery, and closed business in 1861. Both partners are dead- Joel Taylor lived for many years in Great Plain. He died in 1870. Nathaniel H. Wildman was in the Southern trade in Charles- ton. He closed up his business in 1861. He lived and died in the old house yet standing in rear of Wildman' s Block, on Main Street. He was the father of Alexander Wildman. His death occurred in 1877. Charles Fry is still living. The firm of R. and E. T. Hoyt, doing business in 1816, was Russell and Eli T. Hoyt. The former died in 1868, the latter in 1893. John R. Hoyt, who was one of the sons of Russell Hoyt, suo ceeded the old firm. He was a brother of Lucius P. and T. Granville Hoyt. He died in 1848. This old firm of Hoyt Brothers eventually consolidated with the Tweedy family. Mr. Francis speaks of the firm of Hoyt, Tweedy & Co. This was the consolidation of the two. A. E. Tweedy died in February, 1864. His cousin, Samuel Tweedy, died in 1868. Niram Wildman, who was a partner of John Fry, was grandfather of A. N. and John Wildman. Fred- erick Nichols is brother-in-law of Giles M. Hoyt. He now lives in New York. The White Brothers, mentioned in 1814, were Judson and Russell White. Russell died in 1838, and Judson in 1839. Rus- sell White was the father of William R. White. 240 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Edward S. Brockett, who was in business in 1832 with William Montgomery, died in Norwalk in 1872. He was for man}^ years the trying justice of Danbnry, and his reputation extended into the whole country. In 1824 Mr. Francis mentions Isaac H. Seeley. Mr. Seeley died March, 1880, full of honor and ripe in years. White & Keeler were Colonel E. Moss White, who was the father of the late Colonel N. L. White. He died in 1863. His partner was Timothy B. Keeler. Mr. Keeler died somewhere between 1835 and 1840. Joseph Taylor was a manufacturer in Wildcat, Bethel, now known as Elmwood. He was succeeded in business by his sons, Reuben and Stephen. Joseph Taylor died in 1874. The Taylor & Dibble mentioned were Elias Taylor and Scott Dibble. They died many years ago, leaving no direct descendants in Bethel. In following up Francis's history we find hatters in business of whom he makes no mention. For instance, M. H. GrifRng was a prominent hatter in 1846. His factory w^as in what is now known as Mountainville. He continued in business for ten years, and then sold out to Henry T. Robinson. Mr. Robinson did not succeed, and soon abandoned the enterprise. Mr. Griffing learned his trade in 1843 with Elijah Patch, on Great Plain. George A. Andrews was another hatter who carried on business in Great Plain a few years ago. Wolfpits, in Bethel, was also for many years— 1824 to 1850— the scene of a flourishing hat trade. Among the manufacturers then we find Eli Morgan, Abel Hoyt, Leazer Taylor & Son, Charles & Roderick Dart, and Hugh Starr. In Elmwood we find David Sherman and Beers Crofut. In 1859 Mr. Francis gives a summary of the amount of work done by all the factories as follows : Number of hands employed 1,294 Hats made (dozens) 123,870 Pay roll $329,000 In 1880, the statement w^as as follows : Number of hands employed 1,800 Hats made (dozens) 400,000 Pay roll $1,000,000 The following article concerning hatting in Bethel was written HISTORY OF DANBURT. 241 for us by Captain Isaac H. Seeley just before his death on March 2d, 1880. He was in his eighty-seventh year, but his memory was as clear as twenty years a^o. Bethel had not been incor- porated as a town by itself, and therefore appropriately comes under the head of " Old Dan bury." Mr. Seeley came to Bethel in May, 1793. " At that time there were but four hat shops in operation. Zar Dibble's shop stood on the ground where Walker Ferry's Block now stands, corner of Centre and Chestnut streets. Captain Eli Taylor had a shop west of his house. Thomas Taylor's shop stood west of his house, and Eli Hickok's shop near the Farnum homestead. These four shops each had two boys at work. Hats were mostly made from lambs' wool, about seven ounces weight, and napped with black muskrat, about one and a half ounces weight. Belly muskrat was considered too fine and short for use then. We had no carding machines then, and the wool was all carded by hand by women. Hats were sold in New York in an unfin- ished state after they were colored. Captain Eli Taylor once went to New York on horseback with a lot of hats packed on the back of the saddle. He exchanged them for stock (lambs' wool and muskrat fur), taking small parcels of wool and fur for immediate use. The balance was sent on by the sloop and transported from Norwalk to Bethel by the "Merchants' Line" of wagons. In 1800 Noah Hickok, Eliakim D. Trow- bridge, and Daniel Morgan each built shops in Grassy Plain. Hickok's shop was by his house, where George Osborne now lives; Trowbridge's was a little west of the large elm-tree now standing at the lower end of Grassy Plain Street, and Morgan's was near William H. Barnum' s present residence. In 1801 Mat- thew Trowbridge built a shop here. These shops were all worked by boys as apprentices. "In 1799 Zar Dibble and Eli Davis owned all the land in the centre of Bethel, as far down as Little Fields, now known as Nashville, some sixty acres in all. Dibble wanted to sell out and move to Ballston, N. Y., and proposed to divide the land to accommodate purchasers. His own dwelling was on the west road, and his hat shop was on the east side of his farm. No other buildings were on this plot of land. Phineas Taylor, P. T. Barnum' s grandfather, bought all the home land, leaving about one acre with the house and barns, which was purchased by 242 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Timothy Taylor. About half an acre with the shop was sold to Lemon Starr. He fitted np the shop with a little addition for a shoemaker, who resided in part of it. Seven years later Starr sold the shop and a small plot of ground to Elias Taylor, who put another addition on the north side for a family resi- dence, and converted the shoe shop into a hat shop again. It was the same place before mentioned, now the site of Ferry's Block. Taylor, being a very enterprising man, cut the land into parts to suit customers, mostly in small x^lots. He had two roads cut through the land to accommodate dwelling-houses, shops, etc. In 1817 Taylor bought a house on the northeast corner of the plot, and lived there until his death in 1837. " About this time AVilliam Chappel, of Danbury, obtained a patent right for a carding machine, with a Mr. Nichols from the lower part of Newtown. It was very complicated, and the proc- ess was slow. Nichols put up a shop in Newtown, and Mr. Chappel erected a mill in the lower part of Danbury, near what was called then Hoyfs Pond. They were able to do most of the business. In good times this put aside the women's cards, and the business rapidly increased. For five years there was not much shop-building. Messrs. A. and P. Nichols began in Grassy Plain just above the bridge, near G. M. Hoyt's old fac- tory. Their business was large for those days, and they em- ployed a number of hands, making some fine hats for New York customers and Southern trade. In 1810 Ambrose Collins came to Eli Hickok's as a journeyman. He afterward married Hickok' s daughter and built a large hat shop on the corner of the Grassy Plain Road and the road now leading to the Eureka water- works, and employed a large number of hands. In the follow- ing year, 1811, Lewis Taylor built a shop on the east side of the road, near Collins' s shop. In 1812 Hugh Starr erected a shop on the site of Hugh Reid's present residence. He kept only a few boys to work. " In 1803 Daniel Morgan and Oliver Shepard went into part- nership, bought the land and built a hat shop where now is the shop of Cole & Ambler, and in 1805 Shepard bought out Mor- gan's interest. "In 1808 Nathan Seeley went into partnership with Samuel Peet for one year. They took the shop of Oliver Shepard until June, when they built and moved into a shop on the site of HISTORY OF DANBURT. 243 Gf. Gr. Dnrant's present shop. Seeley was to put in two boys as apprentices. At the end of the year Peet withdrew from the firm. Seeley in 1809 hired Delecena Benjamin to go into the shop to instruct the boys. At the end of 1809 he gave the busi- ness to the boys with his own services. In 1810 Lewis Gregory and Delecena Benjamin commenced hatting on the ground where Captain I. H. Seeley lived. At the end of 1811 Nathan Seeley bought the business of Gregory & Benjamin for his son Isaac. Gregory and Joseph Gillett were journeymen for Seeley. They afterward bought the old Fort property, which was a large build- ing and was formerly a rendezvous for people to meet nights at the latter part of the Revolutionary War. Gregory & Gillett fitted it up for hatting, and made wool hats for Seeley. The same year Eden x'^ndrews built a hat shop and hired a man to take charge of his boys and shop in Wildcat District. It was about this time that Joseph Taylor built a shop in Wildcat Dis- ti'ict, and he was foUowed by Levi Taylor and Timothy A. Ben- edict, each of whom erected shops, and put boys to work. Joseph Hitchcock built a shop in Plumtrees, and Asel Dunning also began hatting about this time. Elam Benedict built a house and shop on the corner of Long Boggs road and moved from the field to the new shop. About 1822 A. C. Hickok built a shop in Long Boggs District, used it a few years, and then moved to Bethel. In 1815 Ebenezer Hickok bought the homestead and shop of Benedict and continued the business. " About 1815 Starr Ferry moved to the town from Brookfield, having decided to settle near his wife's old home. He purchased of Sandy McLane, on Stony Hill, a little house and erected a hat shop on the east side of his farm. Feeling that his location was not adapted to his energies, in 1820 he sold his farm to Major Dikeman, who converted the shop into a dwelling. He came to Bethel and bought Matthew Barnum's homestead. There being a large cooper shop on the premises. Ferry fitted it up for a hat shop, and finished hats only. He hired himself and shop to I. H. Seeley for a year, Seeley having a large contract with ^Vhite Brothers & Co., of New York, to make up wool hats for them from wool they had in store. Seeley set the hatters in Bethel generally to work, having only one year to complete the contract. " Soon after this Centre Street was opened and Ferry took a 244 HISTORY OF DANBURY. plot of ground and built a large factory on the south side of the road where Judd & Dunning' s shop now stands. About this time Asel Beebe, Levi Beebe, and Stiles Wakelee built shops in the village. " Sherman Ferry, previous to the opening of Centre Street, pur- chased the Sturges homestead and built a hat shop on it, which he occupied for some time. After Centre Street was opened he sold out, and it fell into the hands of Oliver Shepard. Shepard died there. Ferry and his brother moved into Centre Street. " In 1822 Asel and Levi Beebe' s shop was burned down. The following year they erected a new shop on the old site. "There were a number of shops in the district of Wolfpits. Abel Hoyt, father of G. M. Hoyt, of Danbury, had a shop, where he made hats, which he sold in an unfinished state. After he left the business two of his sons, Starr and Selleck O., com- menced the business. Starr left Wolfpits and removed to Grassy Plain, opposite the house of James Morrow. Selleck O. went to Poughkeepsie. "Eli Morgan had a shop near Abel Hoyt's, and made a good many hats, also sold in unfinished state. " Eleazor Taylor's shop was near where Samuel Mead resides. His son Alva was connected with him. Daniel P. Shepard also was a manufacturer, afterward D. P. Shepard & Son. Loderick S. and Charles Dart were in partnership. Charles Dart went to New Orleans and opened a store. " The Seeley boys, both of whom have but recently died, mar- ried young. Isaac H. took the old shop and was a partner with his father for many years. Seth built a store on the ground now occuiDied by E. S. Barnum." The following is taken from Part 5-6, Annual Keport of the Connecticut Bureau of Labor Statistics : "Previous to 1885 there was almost continual war between the hat manufacturers and the hat makers and finishers of Dan- bury. It is not necessary here to go into a history of the difii- culties ; there were many of them, and they were most stub- bornly contested. The advantage apparently rested with the manufacturers, but untiring diligence was required to maintain this advantage. The rise of the Knights of Labor put a new aspect on industrial affairs throughout the country. That or- ganization seemed in a way to control wages more widely than HISTORY OF DANBURY. 245 they had ever been controlled by labor organizations. In the fall of 1885 a committee of five was appointed by the directors of the National Associations of Fur Hat Finishers and Makers ' to confer with the manufacturers of fur hats in regard to the present state of trade, and the way to improve it, and the con- dition of those engaged in it.' The invitation set forth that ' as the best means of accomplishing the desired object ' the com- mittee ' respectfully invite the fur-hat manufacturers to unite in an organization to act in concert with our associations in the adoption of such measures as will tend to establish and maintain harmonious relations between the manufacturers and their em- ployes, and promote the best interest of both parties.- The com- mittee pledged their respective associations to co-operation ' in a spirit of harmony and conciliation in all reasonable and proper efforts to improve the condition of the trade, and to make it more profitable both to the manufacturers and their workmen.' The members of the committee were : James Graham, N. H. Hughes, John Seymour, Herman Kaiser, and Richard Bill. ' ' Prominent manufacturers recognized the importance of the movement, and immediately issued to the hat manufacturers throughout the country, for signatures, the following answer to the invitation : " ' The undersigned fur-hat manufacturers, approving the spirit and purpose of the foregoing invitation, hereby agree to organize an association for the objects therein stated, and to meet for that purpose when this paper shall have been presented to all of the parties now engaged in the business, in the States of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Nev/ Jersey, and Penn- sylvania, and the signatures of three fourths obtained hereto. ' " Mr. Edmund Tweedy, of Danbury, was the first signer, and accordingly, October 15th, 1885, he felt justified, from the num- ber of signatures obtained, in calling a convention to be held in the city of New York, October 28th. At that convention sixty- three manufacturers were present. Twenty-fi^e others had signed, who were not present, making eighty-eight interested in the movement. Twenty-two were from Danbury, nine from Bethel, and eleven from South Norwalk. It was estimated that fully 95 per cent of the capital invested in the fur-hat business of the country was represented. Mr. Tweedy clearly explained the situation. The following are extracts from his address : 246 HISTOKT OF DANBURY. " ' To any one who will read the signs of the times, it is plain that the labor question in this country is assuming an importance that brings it to the front of all other questions. It is only necessary to glance at the daily papers, with their lengthy record of strikes, lockouts, boycotting, and violence, to see that the relations between labor and capital are becoming much strained, and that there is likely to result a condition of affairs which will bring great trouble and distress upon those who labor, and loss and disaster to cajDital. " ' It is evident that the contests between the two are becoming more frequent, of greater magnitude, and are productive of more bitterness of feeling than at any previous period in the history of the country. It becomes the duty of every good citizen, and, particularly, of those who, from their situation, are liable to become engaged in the conflict, to consider well the causes of these disturbances, and whether or not there is a remedy. . . . " ' It is safe to say that in many a factory, for the last two or three years, the wheels have been turned for the sole benefit of the workers, while the owner has been content if the end of the year found him in no worse financial condition than the begin- ning. Doubtless there may have been many instances where the workmen have protested most vigorously against the scanty rewards of their toil, and cursed the injustice of capital, while they were getting all and the employer nothing ; and doubtless, too, there have been many instances where greedy capital has fattened and thrived upon the sufferings and deprivations of honest labor. Each can readily see his own wants and difficul- ties, but has not so clear a vision for those of the other. . . . '' ' It is plainly evident that, for some time past, the workmen in our trade have not been satisfied with their share of the profits of the business. With few exceptions, I think that the same re- mark will apply to the employers. It is undeniable that taking into account dull seasons, when the workman has but little to do, his gross earnings have been insufficient to provide him with the comforts of life, to which he feels that he is entitled. At the same time, the margin of profit to the manufacturer, if any- thing, has not been sufficient to make him anxious about invest- ing his surplus. . . . The tendency of prices for our products has been constantly downward, until they have reached a point without parallel probably in the recollection of the oldest vet- HISTOEY OF DANBURY. 247 eran in the business. I am satisfied that but a small proportion of this decline in prices has been met by a corresi^onding reduc- tion in wages. I know it to be a fact in my own experience that the cost of labor in proportion to the selling price of the manu- factured products is much greater to-day than at former periods where labor has felt that it was fairly compensated, and I have no reason to believe that this experience is exceptional. " ' Be this as it may, it is evident that the journeymen hatters of to-day are not satisfied with their earnings, and they are in- tent upon increasing them. . . . " ' But it is apparent that there are wise heads among these journeymen, who perceive the advantage of gaining their end by peaceable means, rather than by attempting it by forcible meas- ures which might end in disaster, and they have had sufiicient influence with their associates to bring them to acquiesce in their views, and consequently we find them pausing in their compul- sory schemes and offering us the olive branch in the shape of the invitation which has brought us together here to-day. " ' I will venture to say that the situation in which we find ourselves is without precedent in this or any other country. For the workingmen in a trade to ask their employers to organ- ize themselves into an association is a fact so surprising that we may well question its significance. The fact itself seems to me to place the sincerity of the journeymen beyond all doubt ; for labor is naturally distrustful of organized capital, and they can- not be unconscious of the power which such an organization will give us ; and it also shows their confidence that the power will not be unjustly used against them. They are entitled to equal sincerity and the same confidence on our part. "'What, then, does this invitation mean? It means, as I understand it, that the journeymen believe it is for the best interests of both parties that they and we should live in peace and harmony together, and that by mutual interchange of views, and by concert of action, it is possible to improve the condition of trade, remove many of its difficulties, and make it more profit- able to all parties. They perceive that to attain these ends it is necessary that there should be thorough organization of the em- ployers as well as of the workmen ; and they invite us to form such an organization, and pledge themselves to co-operate vrith us in all reasonable and proper efforts to accomplish the desired 248 HISTORY OF DANBUKY. objects. Their plan contemplates, as I am advised, the admis- sion of all those at present employed in the trade into their asso- ciation, the bringing of independent shops under reasonable association rules, the appointment of committees of conference, representing both parties, to consider matters of interest to the trade, and the adoption of joint measures which will give to the joint organizations the practically absolute control of the busi- ness. Of course, the primary object that the workman has in view is the increase of wages ; but he is willing that it should be accompanied by increase of profit to the manufacturer. Are these objects desirable ? To me they appear eminently so. If by means of such organizations the relations between employers and employed could be adjusted upon an enduring and satisfac- tory basis ; all causes of strife and contention removed ; the wages of the workingman and the profit of the manufacturer increased ; strikes and turnouts prevented ; " shop calls" regu- lated ; differences settled by arbitration ; stated times for fixing prices for labor established ; reasonable regulations for the em- ployment of apprentices provided ; the health and comfort of the workmen looked after ; and other matters of like character discussed and regulated, who would say that such results would not be worth any sacrifice that they might cost ? . . . " ' Those of us who have independent shops are called upon, if this plan is carried into effect, to surrender the advantages which are supposed to accrue from such independence in return for the benefits to be gained through organization, while those whose shops are already under society rule have nothing to sur- render, but everything to gain. On the other hand, it must be remembered that the shops which are under association rule have a present security in that fact, while the independent shops are threatened with attack, and their right to exist challenged. It is for the proprietors of these independent shops, then, to consider well the comparative loss and gain involved in the pro- posal before us. On this point I feel qualified, from my experi- ence with both systems, to speak, and I propose to express my views with entire frankness, . . . " ' This position I have taken and contended for, not because I did not freely acknowledge the right of organization upon the part of journeymen, but because I wished to protect myself against what I believe to be the unjust and unreasonable acts of XnCi/.^liMn by ffc/c Mjsi7/, ?/( >%c-£ai/^i!hn ^.i'/jmh .2nrf QS^JIC jSru-nHVL^' ■/.. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 249 their associations ; and I have maintained it because I have not seen until now any satisfactory security offered that the acts complained of would not be repeated. I believe that no reason- able member of a hatters' association to-day will deny that their acts have sometimes been unjust and unreasonable. I believe, too, that many of the offensive regulations, against which I have heretofore protested, have been repealed, and I feel sure that if the plan which is now proposed is carried out, every objection- able feature will be removed. A "fair" shop, controlled as I know some have been controlled in the past, will give its owner a foretaste of the torments that await the wicked ; but, con- ducted on the principles which I have indicated, I could almost imagine it a paradise on earth. " ' He who would maintain an independent shop must be eter- nally vigilant and prepared for attack at all times, for the enemy never sleeps. If the alternative were submission to injustice, then I would maintain the fight to the end, or retire from the business ; but if I can be assured of being treated with fairness and justice, then, I say, give me the peace and security of acquiescence rather than the strife and danger of independence. Under such circumstances the advantages of an independent shop are not sufficient to warrant the cost of the struggle to maintain it. I believe that an independent shop, under the con- trol of a just man — as a protest against tyranny and wrong — is a good thing ; but, when used to degrade labor and deprive it of its just rewards, it becomes a curse rather than a blessing. " ' Our action here to-day will have consequences of great moment to the trade, which may be felt for years to come, and may, perhaps, reach far beyond the limits of our own trade, and have an important influence on the relations of capital and labor in other industries. It behooves us to act with deliberation and judgment, casting aside all prejudices, and remembering that the benefits of organization can only come through the surrender, on the part of each, of some amount of individual freedom.' " A committee was appointed by the chair to draft a constitu- tion and by-laws to be submitted to the association for approval and adoption at a future meeting. The Connecticut members were : Edmund Tweedy, Charles Murphy, Danbury ; S. S. Am- bler, E. D. Richmond, Bethel ; Frank Comstock, William Brown, South Norwalk. This committee appointed a sub-corn- 250 HISTORY OF DANBCTRY. mittee which was to report to them ' as soon as practicable, ' and the convention adjourned subject to their call. Owing to the oi3position of manufacturers in New Jersey, the organization of the association was delayed, and the Danbury members of the convention, seeing that success was doubtful, organized a local association. Any person or persons engaged in the manufac- ture of fur hats in the town of Danbury, ' or what is known as the hatting district of Danbury,' was eligible to membership. The preamble explained the reason for the institution of the association : " ' We, the undersigned, fur-hat manufacturers of Danbury, in order that w^e may maintain harmonious relations with our employes and unite with them in the adoption of such measures as will tend to improve the condition of the business and pro- mote the general welfare of all employed in it, do hereby organ- ize ourselves together and adopt the following constitution for our government.' " The constitution is as follows : CONSTITUTION. " ' Article 1. The name of this association shall be " The Fur Hat Manufacturers' Association of Danbury." " ' Art. 2. Any individual, firm, or corporation engaged in the manufacture of fur hats in the town of Danbury, or what is known as the hatting district of Danbury, may become a mem- ber of this association by signing the constitution and paying the initiation fee. " ' Art. 3. The officers of this association shall consist of the president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary, and a conference committee of five members, who shall be chosen by ballot at the annual meeting. Amended November 9th, 1887 : Conference committee to be appointed by the president. " ' The duties of the president, vice-president, treasurer, and secretary shall be such as usually pertain to those offices in deliberative bodies. ' ' ' The duties of the conference committee shall be such as may be delegated to them by vote of the association. " ' Art. 4. The regular meetings of this association shall be the second Wednesdays in November, February, May, and August. The regular meeting in November shall be the annual meeting. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 251 Special meetings may be called by the president. The secretary shall give due notice of snch meetings. " ' Art. 5. The membership fees shall be $10. " ' The annual dues after the first year shall be $10, payable at the annual meeting. " ' Art. 6. This constitution may be amended at any regular or special meeting called for the purpose by a two-thirds vote of all the members present and voting.' " Shortly after the organization of the Manufacturers' Associa- tion, agreements were made with the unions of makers and fin- ishers, the following being the principal features based on the employment of union help : ' ' ' Each shop to regulate its own prices and methods of work without interference by the association. " ' Bills of jDrices to be made each season, at stated times to be agreed upon, and to stand for the whole season. " ' All disputes between employers and employes which they cannot settle to be submitted to arbitrators, in the selection of whom each party shall have an equal voice ; the decision of the arbitrators to be final. The men to remain at work pending the settlement of any difiiculty in a shop. " ' All existing contracts with individual employes to be carried out, providing the men so employed insist upon it. " ' Shop calls to be prohibited, according to the by-laws of the Hat Finishers' Association. " ' Shop calls to be confined to the establishment of prices at the beginning of the season, and all difficulties among the jour- neymen makers in the maldng department, between themselves, to be settled by a standing committee of three of their members.' " Thus began the still (1887) existing arrangements between the hat manufacturers and hat makers and finishers of Danbury. At the time these agreements were made the trimmers had no union. One was being organized, but there were no articles of agreement between them and the manufacturers. April 5th, 1887, the following address was sent to the Trimmers' Union : ^'- '■ To the Hat Trimmers' Union of Danhury : " ' The future prosperity of the hat manufacturing industry in Danbury demands that there should be a thorough understand- ing and agreement between the manufacturers and the various 252 HISTORY OF DANBURY. organizations of their employes, in order tliat all may work in concert and harmony together to maintain our present hold upon the trade, which is seriously threatened by the condition of affairs in other localities. If any large proportion of the busi- ness of hat manufacturing is to remain under the control of trades-unions, it must be because they realize the dangers of the present situation, and by fair, just, and reasonable action, will convince employers that their true interests lie in continuing relations with them. Nothing else will prevent a still greater increase in the number of independent shops, which is already alarming. " ' The late rapid increase in the number of such shops has been the direct result of the unwise and unreasonable acts of the trades-unions elsewhere, who, too late, have seen their errors, and are trying to remedy them. " ' Had the same just and rational agreements, which exist between the makers' and finishers' associations and the manu- facturers of Danbury, been in operation in other hatting dis- tricts, the present state of affairs would not now exist. These agreements are fair and equitable, because they are founded in justice and reason. They have worked well for both parties. They have preserved the rights of all, and have prevented in- justice to any. " ' We have heretofore asked for a similar agreement with your association, but our request has not been granted. We now re- new it, and shall insist upon your association placing itself in the same relation with us as the makers' and finishers' associa- tions now occupy. " ' This is but simple justice, and in the interest of harmony and the general welfare. It will place all upon a common plat- form and enable us to act together in the hard struggle which is before us to keep a fair share of the trade in Danbury, upon which we all depend, and without which we would all be sufferers. " ' No argument should be needed to convince you of the im- portance and necessity of this action, and we offer none. We rely upon your good judgment and sense of justice to accede to our request. " ' Our conference committee will be ready to meet with yours at any time, to arrange the details of such an agreement. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 253 *' ' By order of the Fur Hat Manufacturers' Association of Dan- bury, Conn. " ' C. H. Merritt, President. "'Aprils, 1887.' "The trimmers refused to comply with the request of the manufacturers to enter into articles of agreement with them. The Manufacturers' Association then issued the following notice, which was posted in all the shops belonging to the association : NOTICE. " ' On and after May 16th, 1887, no trimmer or binder will be employed in this shop on stiff or flexible hats until she shall have subscribed to the following pledge — viz. : " ' I hereby agree to use my best efforts to secure the adoption by the Hat Trimmers' Union of Danbury, of an agreement with the hat manufacturers of said Danbury, to the same effect as those made by the Hat Makers' and Hat Finishers' Associations of said Danbury with said manufacturers.' " The following is the agreement referred to : " ' Each shop shall regulate its own prices and methods of work without interference by the union. " ' Bills of prices shall be made for each season at stated times to be agreed upon, and shall stand for the whole season. " ' All disputes between employers and employes which they cannot settle shall be submitted to arbitrators, in the selection of whom each party shall have an equal voice, the decision of the arbitrators to be final. The employes to remain at work pend- ing the settlement of any difficulty in a shop. ' AGREEMENT WITH THE TRIMMERS. " There was a lockout of two days. The Trimmers' Union finally adopted the articles and returned to work. The agi-ee- ment provided for the settlement of disputes much in the way arranged by the other branches of the trade, and is as follows : Article 1. Each shop shall regulate its own prices and methods of work. " ' Art. 2. Bills of prices shall be made each season to stand six months. Prices for spring season shall be made not later than November 15th ; for fall season not later than May 15th. 264 HISTORY OF D ANBURY. ' ' ' Art. 3. In case of any disagreement between employers and employes, which they cannot settle, it shall be submitted to arbitrators, consisting of four manufacturers and four trimmers, to be selected in such manner as each association may direct. In case such arbitrators cannot agree, those appointed by each party shall severally choose an outside party, and the two so chosen shall select a third, and the decision of these three shall be final and binding. " ' Art. 4, The trimmers to remain at work pending the settle- ment of any difficulty in the shop. " ' Art. 5. The Trimmers' Union are to supply all the trim- mers the manufacturers may require to do their work. " ' Art. 6. Cards shall be granted to foreman, assistant fore- man, and help required in trimming-room to do work other than regular work. " ' Art. 7. Shop calls are prohibited, except at time of making prices, and for that purpose, or during noon hours for necessary trade matters. " ' Art. 8. Shops cannot be adjourned without the consent of employers. " ' Art. 9. The Trimmers' Union are not to make any by-laws or regulations conflicting with these agreements.' " Subsequently these agreements were severed by the Trimmers' Union, and a lockout took i^lace November 17th, 1890, lasting until December 6th of the same year. During this lockout a Trimmers' Society was organized based on the old agreements, and a final settlement was reached by the aid of a committee of finishers and makers, the members of the Trimmers' Society, the new organization returning to the Trimmers' Union, the old organization, under the old agreements. These conditions remained unchanged until November 27th, 1893. The following is a copy of a notice issued November 6th, 1893, by the manufacturers : NOTICE OF SEVERANCE. Danbury, November 6, 1893. Whereas^ A committee consisting of the representatives from the various trades-unions and the Fur Hat Manufacturers' Asso- ciation was ax)pointed to endeavor to formulate and agree upon some plan to remove the present obstacles to manufacturing in HISTORY OF DANBUKY. 255 Danbury, and preserve harmonious relations between the manu- facturers and trades-unions ; and Whereas, After a full presentation of the necessities of the manufacturers by their committee, and a statement made by them in their address of September 13th, from the last part of which we now quote : " The matter rests with your unions, and on their action depends our future course. It is our expectation to give you formal and reasonable notice of our severance of the compact made in 1885, provided you cannot grant us necessary liberties ;' ' and ^Vllereas, None of the plans presented by this committee, that would be of especial value to the manufacturers, have been granted by any of the organizations, it becomes our duty to for- mally notify your association that we hereby sever all agree- ments we have made and entered into with you. This notice to take effect November 27th, 1893. Signed by the officers and all the members of the Fur Hat Manufacturers' Association, excepting Michael Delohery. Following this notice came the lockout of November 27th, 1893. This lasted about ten weeks. At its close some eight of the contending manufacturers decided to run fair or union shops, with added privileges, and eleven to operate independent shops. Following is a list of hat manufacturers doing business Novem- ber 1st, 1895 : Firm Name. Product. HoUey, Beltaire & Co Stiff. William Beckerle & Co " and soft. Byron Dexter " T. C. Millard & Co " C. H. Merritt & Son (1880) " Rundle & White " and bonnets. E. A. Mallory & Sons " Meeker Brothers Soft. White, Tweedy & Smyth Stiff and bonnets. Beltaire, Lurch & Co " D. E. Loewe & Co " and soft. Lee & Hawley '' Davenport & Von Gal " T. Meath&Co " 256 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Firm Name. Product. T. Brotliwell & Co Stiff. E. Griffin " Crofut & White " Higson & Ceilings Company " H. McLachlan & Co Hats in rough. Michael Delohery Bonnets. C. M. Horsch W. H. Burns J. B. Murphy & Co H. Zuerva & Co SeUick & Smith Stiff. American Hat Company " James Higgins " Mackensie & Sons " E. F. Davis & Co Dunleavy & Co A. Sovets & Co Lynch Hat Company Seaman & Mabie Following is the annual shipment of hats from Danbury since 1884: 1884 103,085 cases. 1885 111,048 1886 112,868 1887 128,330 1888 124,435 1889 126,127 1890 133,315 1891 133,906 1892 133,472 1893 100,020 1894 99,233 1895 129,339 The average is three dozen hats to a case. A. E. TWEEDY SILK AVORKS. This business was established in 1887 under the firm name of Butler & Tweedy, and is devoted to the manufacture of hatters' trimmings, especially silk bands, bindings, and braids. Owing HISTORY OF DANBURY. 257 to repeated failures the manufacture of hat bands has been car- ried on only to a limited extent in this country, and to-day there are but three of these factories in the United States. It requires long experience and study to successfully manufacture these goods. In 1893 Mr. Tweedy became sole owner and proprietor of this factory, which to-day is in successful operation with fifty em- ployes. Mr. Tweedy speaks in high terms of the untiring efforts of his former partner, Mr. F. L. Butler, and also of the efficient oversight of Mr. Charles Widmere as superintendent. The suc- cess of this industry seems to be assured, and the future will probably see many manufactories of this kind in operation in this countrj^ HAT-CASE MANUFACTURERS. There are three hat-case manufacturers — viz. : Isaac Armstrong & Co., Daniel Starr, and the Clark Box Company. The latter succeeded the firm of Theodore Clark & Co. in the fall of 1891, and is a stock company whose stockholders are the old firm of Theodore Clark & Co. and ten of the principal hat manufacturers. This company not only makes cases and band-boxes for the trade, but in addition does a large tip- printing business and stitches hat sweats. In its tip-printing department work is performed for Bethel as well as Danbury. Besides the Clark Box Company, there are two individual tip- printers. There are four fur-cutting establishments — viz.: W. A. & A. M. White, P. Robinson & Co., Young & Hunt, and Frank Hand. There are five manufacturers of hat wire and two manu- facturers of hat sweats, besides the Clark Box Company, and three firms supplying hatters' goods. CHAPTER XXXII. OTHER MANUFACTURES. In pursuing our investigations of the different manufactures in Danbury, we find that some time before 1780 Ephraim Wash- burn and brother built a mill for making paper on or near the site of the old Sturdevant factory. This mill afterward passed into the hands of two brothers named Ward, who sold it to Daniel and Seth Comstock. The latter was father of the late Philander Comstock. They continued business there for some years, when the mill was burned. The exact date of this destruc- tion we cannot learn, but it was some seventy or more years ago. Among the employes of Comstock was "Uncle" Jerry Wil- son, who died several years ago. Mr. Wilson enlisted in 1812, and Seth Comstock, being a major, was allowed a servant. He made Mr. Wilson his servant and kept him in the shop, but he received a pension and bounty. After this shop was burned Deacon Oliver Stone purchased the site and built a hat shop, which he sold to Elijah Sturdevant. In 1852 Nelson Flint, Calvin S. Bulkley, and Amzi Wheeler started a mill for au^-dried strawboard in Beaver Brook. The firm dissolved after a short time, and Mr. Flint continued alone. In 1867 George McArthur, with his three brothers, Robert, John, and William, purchased the mill and continued the manufacture of strawboard. The original building was a small one, thirty by thirty feet, and was built for a woollen mill by Samuel Morris. He was not successful, and gave up woollen for hatting and then comb-making. In 1870 McArthur Brothers built an addition to the first building, and gradually giving up strawboard, made straw wrapping-paper. In 1872 a second addition was built, and in 1875 hardware and wrapping-paper were made. Later on more machinery was added and manilla paper was manufactured. The first paper mill, however, was one which stood on the stream back of the homestead of the late E. S. Hull. It was HISTORY OF DANBURY. 259 long before the present oldest inhabitant can remember, but we learn from one who remembers his parents telling of the mill, that it was run by a man named Washburn. The dam by the mill flooded the Mill Plain flats, causing malaria and sick- ness, and in consequence the residents of that vicinity were ex- asperated at Washburn. The mill finally burned down in the night, and not a man of the Mill Plainers helped extinguish it. Uncle Amos Morris tells us about the burning of this mill. Ebenezer Benedict was suspected of setting fire to it, and a court of inquiry was held to investigate it. Uncle Amos attended the court. Benedict was on the stand three days, subjected to a severe questioning, but nothing was proven against him. When he was allowed to leave the stand he arose and said : " Gentle- men of the jury, you have had me here three days and examined me, with a serious charge against me. You haven't found out anything, but I could tell you in two minutes more than you'll ever know about it," and then walked off. It afterward leaked out that he did set fire to the mill, instigated by the Mill Plain people. The manufacture of boots and shoes was another industry which once occupied a prominent position in Danbury It was of recent birth. In 1869 C. H. Merritt built and occupied as a boot and shoe factory the brick building now standing at the north end of Main Street. The same year he took into partner- ship Lucius R. Sprague. In 1870 Mr. Sprague retired and Mr Richard W. Cone went into the firm. This firm remained in the busmess until the latter part of March, 1880, and in its busiest seasons employed nearly two hundred hands. In 1843 P. W. Hoyt had a " Shelter Rock factory for wood and iron turning," and Richard Evans was a cloth manufacturer here. As far as we can trace back, we find an oil mill on the south side of what is now known as Crofut's Pond, or Oil Mill Pond In 1812 Friend Starr, father of Mr. C. H. Starr, used to make linseed oil from the flax raised in this section. It was quite a prosperous business at one time. The mUl was pulled down many years ago-so many, in fact, that none of our old citizens remember it. Many of them have indistinct recoUections of this building m their early youth, but the date of its destruction is lost. On the north side of the dam stood a saw mill owned by 260 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Friend Starr and Benjamin and Faircliild Ambler. Benjamin was the father of the late Rev. E. C. Ambler, who used to relate the following anecdote : Mr. Starr was an Episcopalian, but for some reason he was temporarily offended with the Church, and would go to hear Rev. Mr. Trumbull, the Baptist pastor. One Sunday, after Mr. Starr had come in, Mr. Trumbull arose and gave his text : " Friend, friend, howcomest thou hither not hav- ing a wedding garment ?" Mr. Starr at first thought this rather personal, and manifested his disapprobation plainly, but the minister proceeding, he saw that the text was not intended for him, and became calm. The manufacture of sewing machines was another industry for which Danbury was once well known. It was a machine pat- ented by Walker B. Bartram. The first manufacturers were the Bartram & Fanton Sewing Machine Company. They started in the old shirt factory on Ives Street in 1865. The next year they purchased the brick building on Canal Street, now occupied by P. Robinson & Son, and moved there. The company continued running with varied success until 1872, when it was reorganized, and many of our people, poor and rich alike, took stock therein. In two years more (1874) the company failed, and the stock- holders mourned for the faded dreams of fortune. It will probably be a matter of news to many of our readers, even to some of our oldest people, that the manufacture of cut and wrought nails was once carried on in Danbury. Yet it is true. In the summer of 1816* (the cold summer) Eli Seger lived * The Hartford Times thus describes the summer of 1816 : " There are old farmers living in Connecticut who remember it well. It was known as the year without a summer. The farmers used to refer to it as ' eighteen hundred and starve to death.' January was mild, as was also February, with the exception of a few days. The greater part of March was cold and boisterous. April opened warm, but grew colder as it advanced, ending with snow and ice and winter cold. In May ice formed half an inch thick, buds and flowers were frozen and corn killed. Frost, ice, and snow were common in June. Almost every green thing was killed, and the fruit was nearly destroyed. Snow fell to the depth of three inches in New York and Massachusetts, and ten inches in Maine. July was accompanied with frost and ice. On the 5th ice was formed of the thickness of window glass in New York, New England, and Pennsylvania, and corn was nearly all destroyed in certain sections. In August ice formed half an inch thick. A cold, northern wind prevailed nearly all summer. Corn was so frozen that a great deal was cut down and dried for fodder. Very little ripened in New England, even here in Connecticut, and scarcely any in the Middle States. Farmers were obliged to pay $4 or $5 a bushel for corn of 1815 for seed for the next spring planting. The first two weeks of September HISTOKY OF DANBURY. 261 in the red house on the Mill Plain Road, which stands on the corner of the old road leading to the Fair Ground entrance, across Fish Weir Bridge. The lower part of this house Seger used for manufacturing nails, living in the upper part. Soon after this date he moved to Ohio, where he died. Comb-making was another industry wliich was once exten- sively carried on here, and wliich is now extinct. From a series of papers published in the News in 1875, written by Mr. A. T. Peck, we gather the following facts : In 1810 Nathaniel Bishop started a comb factory on the site of Peck & Wildman's store. He kept a large number of hands at work for twenty-five years. Foote & Barnum began comb-making in 1814, in a shop that stood near the corner of Main and Centre streets. Otis & Whiting- had a shop just this side of St. James's church, West Street. Alfred Gregory, Peck & Gillett, and several others had small shops scattered about town. The comb business— the value of the goods and the number of hands employed— exceeded that of hatting from 1826 to 1831, and continued about equal till 1837. In 1847 T. T. Peck occupied the woollen mill on West Street, near Beaver Street, and was burned out. The shop was rebuilt and the business carried on till 1852, when it was removed to A. T. Peck's old shop, which stood upon the site of the fac- tory of Beckerle & Co. Barnum & Green was another firm who carried on business in 1812 on the corner formerly the garden of the late F. S. Wildman. Daniel Taylor, it is claimed, was the first man to make combs in Danbury. His factory was in the then Wildcat District, Bethel. In the same locality there were at one time seven shops in operation. Azarael and Charles Smith, Daniel Taylor, E. Hull Barnum, T. T. Dibble, S. B. Peck, and Ammon Taylor. In Bethel ViUage and Grassy Plain there were Daniel Barnum, George Clapp, Ammon Benedict, and several others. In 1820, and from then to 1837, there were many small shops scattered along the road from Beaver Brook to Newtown, and from New- town to Danbury by the Bethel Road. In 1852 the business died out, mainly because the comb-makers in Massachusetts combined were mild, the rest of the month cold and blustering, with good sleighing. Decem- ber was quite mild and comfortable." 262 HISTORY OF DANBURY. their capital and skilled labor, and killed off the small manu- facturers in other parts of the country. MANUFACTURES OF TO-DAY. DANBURY MACHINE COMPANY. The foundry business was begun by John H. Fanton in the spring of 1864. In 1869 he built the present factory on Canal Street. In 1872 Henry Fanton entered the firm, which then became known as Fanton Brothers. Henry Fanton retired from the firm to be succeeded by Charles S. Peck, and the firm became known as the Danbury Machine Company. It is an ordinary business partnership, not an incorporated com]3any, and employs from thu'ty to thirty-five workmen. ROGERS SILVER PLATE COMPANY. This company was organized in 1886 with a capital of $10,000. In 1888 the factory was destroyed by fire, and soon after the company bought the site where stands their present factory. The business has developed very rapidly of late, until there is now $100,000 invested in it, with over two hundred employes, and branch offices in New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, and San Francisco. The President of the company is N. Burton Rogers. MEDICAL PRINTING COMPANY. The Danbury Medical Printing Company was organized in 1890 under the laws of the State of Connecticut. Its beginning was the New England Medical Monthly^ a publication started in 1881 at Sandy Hook, Conn., wdth Dr. W. C. Wile as editor and proprietor. In 1886 Dr. Wile was called to a medical pro- fessorship in Philadelphia, where he remained a year. He then came to Danbury and commenced here the publication of the New England Montlily in a barn. To-day it has a fine three- storied brick building on Foster Street, all its own and filled with modem machinery. It is capitalized for $100,000, and has forty employes. It now publishes the New England Medical Monthly^ the Prescription^ and the Drug Reporter. Its Presi- dent and Treasurer is W. C. Wile. HISTORY OF D ANBURY. 263 THE T, & B. TOOL COMPANY. During the year 1891 a few of the business men of Danbury became interested in certain inventions of machines and pro- cesses for the manufacture of t\vist drills, which led to the organ- ization of the T. & B. Tool Company. This company acquired control of these inventions, and after a systematic study of the methods of manufacture of this product undertook to design a complete equipment of special machinery for this purpose. These machines were built for the company and installed in one of the buildings of the Tweedy Manufacturing Company on River Street, where there are now employed about seventy opera- tives, producing about ten thousand twist drills of various sizes per week, besides a variety of other tools for metal working. The consumption of these tools by manufacturers and builders of machinery and iron works of all classes is large, while their manufacture is carried on principally by some eight concerns, who not only supply the drills which are used in this coun- try, but have a large export trade, as outside of the United States their production is very limited. The system of manu- facture employed by this company is unique and original, and believed to possess important advantages over those of other manufacturers. THE DUNHAM MACHINE WORKS. This is an up-to-date industry, doing all kinds of model and experimental work, and designs and builds entire any kind of special sewing machine used in hatting or any other business. THE TURNER MACHINE COMPANY. This is another thriving industry. It fits out hat factories with all latest improved machinery, imports and deals in hatters' supplies and general merchandise, and makes a specialty of wood blocks and flanges. It has branches in England, France, Vienna, Barcelona, Eio de Janeiro, and Melbourne. The architects of Danbury are Foster Brothers, W. W. Sunder- land, F. C. Olmstead, E. W. Gilbert, and the Danbury Building Company. There are fifteen firms of carpenters and builders, nine carriage manufacturers, five manufacturers of harness and 264 HISTORY OF DANBURY. leather goods, three soda-water manufacturers, and ten manu- facturers of cigars. All the various lines of business that are to be found in any- city of its size are here in Danbury. The average increase of all branches may be suggested by the fact that where a century ago James Seil was the " only barber," and in 1840 Homer Peters filled the same position, to-day the list of barbers in Danbury numbers twenty-seven. CHAPTER XXXIII. danbury's railways. As the town and its business grew, the demand for a better means of transportation began to make itself felt. There are in every age and every community, fortunately, progressive spirits who are always restless because they are always looking for something better than what is already possessed. Dan bury was blessed with this element, and those who composed it chafed under the limitations of the stage coach and the slow plodding road wagons. In 1825, when the Erie Canal project was being agitated, pub- lic attention throughout the country was directed to the subject of inside water communication, and the agitation reached Dan- bury, being drawn here by the progressive spirits of that day. It was proposed to run a canal from Danbury to tide-water at Westport. Even a survey was made, the line following near to that of the present railroad as far down as Redding, where it crossed over to the Saugatuck Valley and thence to Westport. It was proposed to use Neversink Pond as a feeder to the canal. The levels taken showed the Main Street at the Wooster House to be three hundred and seventy-five feet above tide-water, and Neversink to be twenty feet above Main Street. Much was said and done about the canal project, but it was finally deemed to be inexpedient because of the heavy locking that would be necessary, and was abandoned. The next project under consideration was a railroad. This agitation began in 1835, the same year of the survey of the Hart- ford and New Haven Road, and in that year the charter was obtained from the Legislature. The charter was granted to " Ira Gregory, Russell Hoyt, Eli T. Hoyt, Edgar S. Tweedy, David M. Benedict, Ephraim Gregory, Curtis Clark, Frederick S. Wildman, Elias S. Sanford, George W. Ives, with such other persons as shall associate with them for that purpose." These 266 HISTORY OF DAWBURY. were to be incorporated as the ' ' Fairfield County Railroad Com- pany," with a capital stock amounting to $200,000, or $300,000 if necessary. The road was authorized to run from Danbury by the most direct and feasible route to some suitable point at tide- water, either in the town of Fairfield or the town of Norwalk. The charter was got and a survey made, and everything seemed to indicate a speedy completion of the road, but a generation was to pass before the hopeful projectors should see a railroad from Danbury to tide- water, and before that glad consummation a mountain of worry, opposition, and discouragement was to be painfully scaled. The road as it was first contemplated and as it finally took shape were two different projects. Most of our readers are not aware that in Danbury's first inception of railway communica- tion with the outer world the somewhat colossal project of a through line from New York to Albany by way of this place was entertained, and that the Danbury and Norwalk Railway to-day is a part of that scheme, and all, in fact, that is left of it. The proposed route was to run from New York by boat to Wilson's Point, on the Sound, four miles below Norwalk. The harbor there was the best in that section, and would be accessi- ble for the greater part of the most severe winter. From the Point to Danbury the rail was to run, and thence to West Stock- bridge, Mass., where the line would connect with what is now the Boston and Albany Road, which was then building from Albany to West Stockbridge. This, of course, was before the day of the Harlem Road, and in the beginning of railway enterprise in this country. The survey was made by Alexander Twining, of New Haven, in the summer of 1835. Two surveys were made : one along the Saugatuck River to Compo Point below Westport, and the other along the present route to Belden's Neck (Wilson's Point). The distance on the Saugatuck route was about twenty-three miles, and on the Nor- walk route to Belden's Neck it was twenty-six miles. In point of distance to New York, however, the latter route had the ad- vantage in that it was seven miles nearer to that city by the channel than the former. It is not necessary to speak further of the Saugatuck route, as it was abandoned. The Norwalk survey as first made by Mr. Twining was con- siderably changed before the work on the road commenced. At HISTORY OF DANBURY. 267 this end of the route it was first designed to leave out Bethel, running the road through Mountainville along the line of Sim- paug Brook, and coming into the borough across the South Street and parallel with Main on the east to Turner Street, where it was designed to have the station. Mr. Twining recommended, however, that instead of following the Simpaug, the road branch to the east, and run through Grassy Plain into. Bethel, thus se- curing an important station with but little increase in distance. The suggestion was accepted so far as Bethel was concerned, but the route at the south end of the village was not materially changed. Some one did speak of the line which is now occu- pied, but it was scouted at the time. The great flat between the present lower railway bridge and Bethel was a bog, and one very wise citizen said at the time that two twelve-foot rails could be pushed down into it their full length without touching bot- tom. The route along the east of Main Street was strongly opposed by the owners of seventeen homesteads, who gloomily anticipated destruction to their cows and pigs by crossing the track. While these surveys were going on the friends of the project had their heads full of a through New York and Albany line, and although their charter provided for a road from Danbury direct to tide-water only, they dreamed of the through line and worked for it. The Hudson Kiver for a railway line was not thought of — neither, in fact, was the route through Putnam County, now known as the Harlem Road ; and a railway line between the two cities by way of Danbury was not so much out of the way, after all. The distance by the Hudson River, the most direct route, is one hundred and fifty miles ; by way of Danbury it is but four- teen miles greater, as the following will show : Miles. From New York by steamboat to Belden's Neck. . . 40 By railway to Danbury 26 From Danbury to West Stockbridge 68 From West Stockbridge to Albany 30 Whole distance 164 268 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Mr. Twining recommended this through route, and Messrs. Aaron Seeley, Eli T. Hoyt, and Jarvis Brush, to whom the sur- veyor made his report, published a card endorsing the same. It may not be uninteresting to our readers of this day to know what were some of the grounds on w hich was based a calculation in favor of a railway line from Danbury to New York, and we herewith give the views of the gentlemen above named, as well as their estimate of the through business. It presents most interesting reading, we think, to this generation, and the figures contemplated and those realized make entertaining comparisons. The committee advance these views in favor of direct rail com- munication with tide-water : " The town of Danbury* contains a population of about six thousand ; and the village or borough of Danbury is the central point of business for a fertile and densely populated territory of two hundred square miles. The present amount of transporta- tion from this and the adjoining towns, as ascertained by inquiry of persons engaged in business, is seven thousand tons. This amount has actually been transported during the past year. These considerations alone, without taking into the estimate the impulse which experience has shown will be given by a railroad to all branches of business, enable us to state with confidence that the transportation upon this road, upon its first opening, will be ten thousand tons. The regular price now paid for freight to those exclusively engaged in transportation from Dan- bury to Saugatuck and Norwalk is $5 per ton. Assuming the minimum price for transportation upon the railroad to be $3 per ton, the annual revenue from this source alone will be $30,000, to which may be added for freight from the tow^is south of Dan- bury, which will probably be nearly equal upon either route, $2000, making in the whole $32,000 ; and the difference between that amount and the price now paid being $20,000 will be a clear gain to the public. The present number of passengers from New York to Danbury, as ascertained by a reference to the books of the proprietors of the stage lines and other sources, is ten thousand. The price of passage now paid, and which it is not proposed to diminish, is $1. The number of passengers from the intermediate towns, we estimate one thousand more, for which there is now paid from 50 to 75 cents ; estimating the * This included Betliel. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 269 fare at the average price of 62^ cents, the amount is $625, mak- ing the amount of revenue to be derived from passengers $10,625. These estimates are based upon the facts as they now exist ; but when we take into consideration the increased amount of transportation and travel to be created by the increased facili- ties for communication, it may safely be assumed that the income from all sources of revenue will be greatly increased. For in stance, we have stated that the present annual number of pas sengers from Danbury to New York is ten thousand. This in- cludes very few from the towns east of Danbury, and none from the southern portions of Litchfield County, and the eastern part of the counties of Dutchess and Putnam in the State of New York. " In the instance of heavy articles also, the increased amount of transportation will, in our judgment, far exceed the estimate here made. We refer especially to the articles of coal and plas- ter, the former of which is now used in the interior to a very limited extent, but would, upon the o]3eniiig of the proposed road, be extensively substituted for wood. In relation to the annual expenditures, the experience of other roads enables us to present an estimate upon which we may safely rely. The annual expense of repairs may be put at $2500. The cost of transporting freight to the amount with which this road will commence will not exceed 35 cents per ton. One trip and one return trip per day will be sufficient to accommodate all the passengers with which the road will open, which at $7.50 per trip, for three hundred and thirteen days, makes for the year $4695. The salaries of the officers in the employ of the company may be set down at $3000 per annum. The expense for drivers and keeping horses,* for freight wagons, etc., exclusive of j^as- sengers' cars, $3500, making in the aggregate, for all expenses of the company, $13,695. " We present the following recapitulation : Income from freight $32,000 " " transportation of passengers 20,000 $52,000 Deduct annual expenses of repairs, etc 13,695 Net annual profit $38,305 * It was designed to run the road by horae-power. 270 HISTORY OF DANBURY. " Thus yielding a dividend of nearly 10 per cent to the stock- holders." There are some figures in the report of Mr. Twining's survey from Danbury to tide- water which are of full as much interest to us of to-day as they were to those who watched the progress of the scheme. It must be borne in mind that this was not a steam railway, but really a horse railway. In that day locomo- tives were in but little use in this country, and nothing, com- paratively, was known of them in New England. Mr. Twining's estimate for the grading of the road was $7869 a mile, or $203,389 for the entire distance. In his estimate for the superstructure— that is, the track— is an item "horse-path," which was to cost $123 a mile. The horse-path was to be of plank. The folloAving is his estimate for the appointments of the road : Six carriages for passengers $4,500 Fifteen wagons for burdens 5,250 Thirty horses 3,000 Harness 600 Two depots, with carriage-houses and stables. . . 8,000 One half-way station, with ditto 2,750 Total $24,100 It will be seen by the above that passenger cars could then be bought for $750 apiece, and freight cars were in the market at $350 each. It was proposed to make two trips a day, each way. The cars were to be drawn by horses, two to each car. The time required to make the trip was estimated to be three hours. As to how the freight wagons were to run, or how many to a train, was not determined on, as the road was but then in its inception, and before matters progressed to any degree locomotives came into use. While these estimates were being made the " through line" was not forgotten. Mr. Twining and the originators of the road were firmly convinced that the line would pay, and that it was a necessity. There was no rail route between New York and Albany, and in the winter when navigation was closed in the river there was no communication between the two cities except HISTORY OF DANBURY. 271 by stage. The Danbury people sought to stir up enthusiasm at points along the proposed route. In December, 1835, a public meeting was held in Kent, the next town above New Milford. It was a large meeting. Dele- gates were present from all towns along the proposed line, from Danbury to West Stockbridge. A proposed charter (granted the following year) had been drafted, giving to the company char- tered the right to construct a road to Bridgeport, or to the New York State line in the town of Ridgefield or to Danbury. The Kent meeting determined on the route to Danbury, and appointed Aaron Seeley, Peter Pierce, and Jay Shears a committee to em- ploy an engineer and have a survey made, and estimate of cost prepared. In March following the committee secured the services of E. H. Brodhead, an experienced civil engineer, to make the survey. He entered upon his duties as soon as possible, and was accom- panied along the course by Mr. Seeley, of the committee. Twenty-one days were employed in this work. The line in Danbury began at the Main Street bridge across Still River, and Mr. Brodhead' s survey ran it through Beaver Brook District, thence along the line of the Still River to its confluence with the Ousatonic (Housatonic) at New Milford. From there it followed pretty much the line now occupied by the Housatonic Road, to West Stockbridge, where was met the railway known as the Boston and Albany, The committee were very much in earnest. Should the capi- talists of the cities of Albany and New York prefer the west- ern route, say the committee, we appeal to the people of the Housatonic Valley to come forward in all their strength, and relying upon their own resources, to construct a road to tide- water. The people of the valley eventually came forward in all their strength, and constructed a road to tide-water, but not as the committee expected, and certainly not as they desired. While these movements were being made, Bridgeport, which was quietly basking in the mud and was not thought of by any one as a railroad point, suddenly crawled up on high ground and began to realize that there was danger of losing something. The something in question was all the business of the Housatonic Valley. 272 HISTORY OF DANBURY. When Bridgeport got on high ground where it could look off some other direction than seaward, it saw that by way of Dan- bury and Norwalk was so much more direct for a line to New York than by way of itself that should the road be built there would never be the ghost of a chance for it to get the business of the upper Housatonic Valley. It would all go the shorter route. Danbury as yet had no road to tide-water. If Bridgeport could build a road from New Milford to itself, then it would stand a very good chance to take the business of the Housatonic "Valley should a road be put through it. Alfred M. Bishop, father of William D. Bishop, was considerably interested in the proposed road, and came to Danbury to talk over the matter with our people. He offered to carry through the Fairfield County Railway if Danbury would raise $100,000 for that purpose. There were those in favor of doing it, of course, but there were so many more opposed to it that the scheme fell through. He next tried Bridgeport, and that city being a trifle more awake than we, or a trifle less honest,* we are not sure which, pledged $200,000 for a road from there to New Milford. This practically killed the Danbury route from New York to Albany. In 1840 the railway from Bridgeport to New Milford was completed and opened for use. Two years later it was ex- tended to the State line and became the winter route from Albany to New York via the steamer Nimrod, Captain Brooks, to Bridgeport, and as such was occupied for a number of years. It was ten years later that the Danbury and Norwalk Road took form. Work on the road was begun in the fall of 1850. Beard, Church & Co. were the contractors. Deacon John F. Beard being the senior of the firm. The total cost of constructing and equip- ping the road was $370,821. The equipment consisted of three locomotives, four first-class and two second-class passenger cars, eight box, sixteen platform, and three hand-cars. On March 1st, 1852, the road was so far completed to run trains. The station in Danbury was a subject of considerable discussion. The down- town subscribers wanted it in that neighborhood, while the up-town subscribers wanted it where it now is. As the * When the time came for this money to be paid Bridgeport sought to repudiate, and the law was called in to force it to keep its word, which appeared to be equally as good as its bond. sliJ ^\ '•■•'' Samuel C. M'ii.dman. Sturges Sellock. Charles Hi'll. P. I). Crosby. D. P. Xrhols. Amjkin T. Peck. CuAs. Andrews. Thos. :\I()otry. Stephen IIurlburt. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 273 latter' s stock was much more than the former's they carried the day ; whereupon the dissatisfaction was so great among the dis- appointed that the successful ones took their stock off their hands. The following were the officers of the new road, as recorded in the lirst printed report of the company : Directors : Eli T. Hoyt, Jonathan Camp, Frederick S. Wild- man, Charles Isaacs, E. S. Tweedy, William C. Street, L. P. Hoyt, William K. James, William A. White, Ebenezer Hill , Frederick Belden, D. P. Nichols. President, E. T. Hoyt ; Treasurer, George W. Ives ; Secretary, E. S. Tweedy ; Superintendent, Harvey Smith. The President, Treasurer, and Secretary were of Danbury ; the Superintendent was of Ridgefield. Mr. Hoyt served as President of the company until August 25th, 1864, when he was superseded. He deteimined his salary, fixing it at $250 a year, and refusing any increase. Edwin Lock- wood, of Norwalk, was chosen President, and served until June 18th, 1873, when R. P. Flower was elected. Hyatt succeeded him, and held the office until the road passed into possession of the Housa tonic Company. Mr. Tweedy continued as Secretary until August 25th, 1864, when Harvey Williams was elected to the office. Mr. Ives served as Treasurer until that period, when the two offices were merged in one, Mr. Williams being both Secretary and Treasurer, and continued as such until 18S6. Mr. Smith served as Superintendent until prostrated by a paralytic stroke in 1859. John W. Bacon was appointed in his place July 14th, 1859, and served until January 1st, 1876, when L. W. Sandiforth was chosen. F. C. Payne is the present Super- intendent. He has served since 1887. When the road was opened the rails for some distance this side of Redding were laid on the ground, the earth being frozen so hard as to bear the weight of the train. This was done because the completion had been delayed for a considerable time beyond that set for its finish, and people were anxious to see a train go through. In 1844 the New York and Hartford Road was projected. It was to pass through Danbury, and thence to New York via White Plains, N. Y. We can now see what a splendid piece of 274 HISTORY OF DANBURY. property it would have become had it lived, but it fell through, and a goodly portion of the contemplated line between here and Hartford is now occupied by the New York and New England Kail way. ENTERTAINING COMPARISONS. The committee appointed to secure the survey of the road made an estimate of the business in the circular to the public which they issued. These figures, made in 1835, are interesting compared with what the road did the first year after it was fin- ished, 1852-53. The circular estimated its first year's business in freight to be $32,000. The passenger trafiic the circular fixed at $10,625, making a total of $42,625. The first report of the busi- ness of the road showed that the earnings for the first fifteen months of its existence was $51,237.70. So the authors of the circular had made a remarkably close estimate. The second report covered a period of eleven months, in which the earnings were $52,706.68. The through fare was 75 cents. It is not often a new road so fully answers the expectation of its projectors as did the Danbury and Norwalk Road. The directors in the report referred to say : " The result of the experience of the company since the com- mencement of the operations upon the road has been fully to corroborate the opinion uniformly expressed by the directors, that the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad will prove a successful and profitable enterprise, and the favorable increase of the past year demonstrates that but for the disastrous floods and the unusual expenditures rendered necessary thereby, the net earn- ings for the year would have warranted two dividends of 3 per cent each, paid interest and taxes, and left a surplus of $3348." The floods referred to were three in number. These occurred in the fall of 1853 and the spring of 1854. They were disastrous in effect, delaying travel for sixteen days, and causing an ex- pense of $4000 for temporary repairs, and $9000 in addition for a thorough reconstruction of the damaged portions. EXTENSIONS. In 1870 a branch road from Branchville to Ridgefield Village was built, with a view to accommodating the business of that place. Heretofore the connection had been made by stage. The HISTORY OF DANBURY. 275 distance is four miles. In 1872 another branch was built, run- ning from Bethel to Hawleyville to connect with the Shepaug Railway, which runs from Litchfield to Hawleyville. This was done to control the business of the Shepaug Valley. The length of the branch is six miles. The cost of both of these extensions was at the rate of $40,000 a mile. In 1882 the main line was extended from South Norwalk to Wilson Point, a distance of three miles. THE FIRST TIME-TABLE. The following is a copy of the first published time-table of the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad : "DANBURY AND NOR WALK RAILROAD. ARRANGEMENTS COM. MARCH 1, 1852. Trains wiU run as follows until further notice : Leave Danbury at 6.45 a.m. with passengers only. " " 12.30 P.M. with passengers and freight. RETURNING. Leave So. Norwalk 9.15 a.m. with passengers and freight. " " 5.00 p.m. with passengers only. " The 6.45 a.m. train from Danbury connects at Norwalk with the 8.09 A.M. train to New York. Passengers going East can leave Norwalk at 9.13 a.m. The 12.30 p.m. train connects at Norwalk with the 2.21 p.m. express train to New York. Pas- sengers from New York wiU leave at 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. to connect with trains on the road. Stages will be in readiness at the Ridge- field Station to convey passengers to Ridgefield Village, Lewis - boro, and North Salem. " Harvey Smith, Superintendent. " February 25, 1852." On October 1st, 1886, the Danbury and Norwalk Railway with all its branches was leased to the Housatonic Railway Company for a term of years. The consideration was 5 per cent on the capital stock of the Danbury and Norwalk Road. A writer in a Norwalk paper at the time predicted that the deal was made with a view to an ultimate control of the whole 276 HISTORY OF DANBDRY. system by the Consolidated Road officially known as the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railway Company. Such has been the result. On October 31st, 1892, the whole Housatonic system passed into the possession of the Consolidated Road and there remains. OTHER RAILWAYS. The completion of the Housatonic Road from Bridgeport to New Milford gave Danbury its first nearest rail approach to tide-water. This was in 1840. Danbury was connected with this road by stage to Hawleyville. At Bridgeport passengers and freight were sent by steamboat to New York. The road was in a crude state, of course. The rail used was an iron strap nailed to a timber. Occasionally it would happen that at a joint an end of one of the rails would become loose, and accidents of a serious nature frequently arose from this cause. The point of the rail would be pushed through the floor of the car, bringing death or serious disfigurement to the passengers in the way. These points were called " snake heads." In the Danbury Times of July 3d, 1844, we find the following vivid picture of travelling by rail fifty years ago : " HOUSATONIC RAILROAD. '* It is a fact now well known to the public that the Housa- tonic Railroad, in its present condition, is an unsafe route of travel. As yet, it is true, there has been no accident attended with a great sacrifice of human life ; but there have been so many disasters when the passengers have only escaped by the ' skin of theii* teeth,' that silence to well-apprehended dangers would be a criminal disregard of the public welfare. This is a sufficient reason for the publication of the following card, signed by several of the passengers who were run off the track : " To the Public : " The undersigned passengers by the cars of the Housatonic Railroad Company, on the trij) from Bridgeport this morning, feel ourselves in duty bound to caution the public against said raih'oad. AVhen within about three hundred paces of the depot at Newtown, the car in which we were seated was thrown off the track with great violence, and it was only through the inter- HISTORY OF D ANBURY. 277 position of a merciful Providence that we escaped without the loss of life. The railroad is in a most dangerous condition, and we counted in a distance of sixty rods over fifty ' snake heads,' from one to three inches high. Nothing but an imperative sense of duty to the travelling public has induced us to caution them against patronizing said railroad." NEW YORK, HOUSATONIC AND NORTHERN RAILROAD. This was the official title of a railway that had more name than road-bed. Its familiar local title was "The Dummy," from the fact that a dummy engine was its only motive power. This railway company was organized under the General Railroad Act of 1850, and the articles of association were duly filed in the office of the Secretary of State in October, 1853. The amount of the capital stock was $1,000,000. About two thirds of this amount was subscribed chiefiy by people living along the line of the proposed road. The length of the road was thirty-nine and three quarter miles. It was designed to run from White Plains, connecting with the Harlem Railway at that point. It was to take in North Castle, Bedford, Cross River, North Salem, Ridge- bury, Danbury, and finally Brookfield, where it was expected to connect with the Housatonic Road. Its southern object was New York City, and its northern object the great West. It was expected that the cost of the road, fully equipped, would be $1,600,000. It was estimated that the business would amount to $475,000 a year. Besides this, there was the business that was to come from the Housatonic Road, and, again, that from the Boston and Erie when completed to Danbury. The chief income from freight would be in the transportation of milk to New York City. No road ever had a more glowing future on paper than did this, but capitalists did not appear to look at it through the glasses used by the stockholders, and although considerable digging was done at the south end of the road, and that portion between Danbury and Brookfield was built, the enterprise fell through. In 1869 so much of the line as lies between Danbury and Brookfield was completed, and a car was put on with a dummy for motive power. It was hoped to catch passengers to and from the West, but the Housatonic Railway Company from the first looked upon the new road with an unfavorable eye, and 278 HISTORY OF DANBURY. showed it no more favor than it was obliged to. All the protec- tion passengers had at the terminus in Brookfield was the car and a large tree. At this end the line stopped in a meadow at the farther end of a road that is now called Canal Street. In 1886 the Housatonic Company leased the line, and it re- mained in possession of that company until October 31st, 1892, when it passed with the rest of the Housatonic system into the control of the Consolidated Road, RIDGEFIELD AND PORT CHESTER. This railway was not originally designed to run beyond Ridge- field from Port Chester, but later Banbury was taken in. A sur- vey was made, but no work has been done upon the construction, and it stands now as it stood in 1868. THE SHEPAUG. As the Danbury and Litchfield Railway this project was broached in 1859. The road was built as far as Hawleyville on the Housatonic Road, and there it stopped. Later the Danbury and Norwalk Company built a branch from Bethel to Hawley- ville, and brought the Shepaug line to its own. NEW YORK AND NEW ENGLAND. This railway, formerly known as the Boston, Hartford and Erie, was originally incorporated in 1846, but it was nearly forty years later that it reached its connection with the Erie Railway via Newburg on the Hudson. The greater part of its history does not concern Danbury, which place its rails did not reach until 1881. The road was completed from Boston to Waterbury years before it reached Danbury. Every little while our people were pleasantly stirred up by an announcement of a new deal by which arrangements had been made for completing the road to Danbury, but they were doomed to wait a long time for the story to become a fact. In 1881 the road was finished to Brewsters, N. Y., where it con- nected with the New York and Northern Road for New York City. It was believed that it would get a large part of the New York travel from hereabouts, but the expectation has not been realized. A little while later the line was finished to its original western terminal point at Newburg. The first passenger train to pass through Danbury upon the HISTORY OF DANBURY. 279 New York and New England Koad ran from Brewsters to Boston, July 25tli, 1881. ELI T. HOYT, FIRST PRESIDENT OF DANBURY'S FIRST RAILROAD. Eli T. Hoyt was born in the district of G-reat Plain, on Septem- ber 25tli, 1793. The farm which was his birthplace was bought directly from the Indians by his great-grandfather, John Hoyt, who was one of the original eight settlers of Danbury. Upon reaching manhood Mr. Hoyt came into the town and engaged in business with his brother, Russell Hoyt. In 1817 the firm began the manufacture of hats, and established a sale store in Charles- ton, S. C. In 1840 Mr. Hoyt retired from business, but not from active life. He interested himself in the project of railway communi- cation with the Sound, and was one of several who obtained a charter from the Legislature for such a road in 1835. From that time until the road was built, in 1851, he worked steadily and faithfully in the face of a host of difficulties and discourage- ments for the success of the enterprise. He was the first presi- dent of the company, and retained that position until August 25th, 1864, when the controlling interest in the stock passed into the hands of Norwalk parties. Mr. Hoyt was representative of this town in the House for 1833 and 1834, and in 1844 was elected to the Senate from this district. He was a member of the first Board of Trustees of the Danbury Savings Bank, and a director in the Danbury Mutual Insurance Company. He united with the First Congregational church in 1831, and was chosen a deacon in 1858. For fifty years he was a teacher in the Sunday-school. His kind heart and generous hand were always ready when there was need. Some of his deeds of helpfulness were neces- sarily made public, but many of them are known only to those who were the recipients of his kindness. In the church he was most generous, and by giving freely himself incited others to do likewise. To the last day of his long and useful life he was in- terested in the pleasures, the projects, and the needs of those about him. He died suddenly on August 14th, 1893, passing in quiet sleep from the night of earth to the dawn of heaven. His memory is green, and his " works do follow him." CHAPTER XXXIV. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY — FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. In 1696, the year of the formation of this church, Danbury had been organized as a town but three years, although its first settlement was in 1684. Among the records of a General Court held at Hartford, May 14th, 1696, we find the following : " Upon the petition of the towne of Danbury this court granted them liberty to embody themselves into church estate in an orderly way with the consent of neighbor churches." Previous to this a meeting-house had been built on "the Town Street" (now Main Street), a little north of the present Court House. The court grant above quoted is the only record in existence respect- ing the origin of the church, not even the names or number of the original members being known. It is supposed that Mr. Seth Shove was ordained pastor at the time the church was organized in 1696. Seth Shove was the son of Rev. George Shove and Hopestill [Newman] Shove ; was born at Taunton, Mass., December 10th, 1667 ; graduated from Harvard College in 1687, and was in Sims- bury, Conn., from 1691 until he settled in Danbury.* The pas- torate of Mr. Shove was terminated by his death, October 3d, 1 735. His tombstone bears the following inscription : ' ' Here lyes buried ye body of Rev. Mr. Seth Shove, ye pious and faith- ful pastor of ye church in Danbury 39 years, who died October 3d, Anno Domini 1735. JStatls sticB, 68." On January 5th, 1735-36, Mr. Ebenezer White was unani- mously called by a town meeting to become the minister of the Danbury Church, on a salary of £200 (of the then tenor) and the use of the parsonage " while he continues to be their min- ister and holds to and abides in the Presbyterian or Congrega- tional order." He was ordained pastor on March 10th of the * History of Taunton, Mass. By Rev. Samuel Hopkins Emery. .is?***^.. Rev. Sam"l G. (Oe. Oi.u C'()N(;rei;atic>\al ('Hrurn. IiKv. Roi.LiN Stone and \\'ife. Deacox Lewis S. Hcjyt. Deacox Isaac Ives. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 281 same year, and for more than twenty-six years preached with rare acceptance to a united people. In 1763 the first symptoms of any disaffection appear. The minutes of the church meet- ings record in the fewest words possible the votes taken in suc- cessive gatherings during these discussions. No indication of favor or prejudice, no display of feeling appears in these model records, but the history of the differences is recorded in two thin pamphlets published in New Haven in 1764. These accounts show that the dispute was one of those frequent conflicts on points of obscure doctrine which so often disturbed the early churches in New England, and which led not infrequently to the establishment of new churches and even of new towns. " A Brief Narrative of the Proceedings of the Associations against Mr. White, Pastor of the First Church in Danbury, since the Year 1762" (thirty pages), was printed by some friend of the pastor ; while " A Vindication of the Proceedings of the Asso- ciation and Council by the Committee of the First Society" (seventy-nine pages) presents officially the position of Mr. White's opponents. From this statement it appears that on May 31st, 1763, while the eastern Association of Fairfield County was in session at Bethel, five of Mr. White's parishioners (Benjamin Sperry, Daniel Taylor, Jr., John Wood, Thaddeus Benedict, and Samuel Dickinson) presented allegations to the Association that " Mr. White, whose principles and preaching we have till lately highly esteemed, has embraced some new sentiments which are to us contrary to the Gospel as explained in the Say brook platform." To illustrate these sentiments vari- ous expressions are adduced from ten or more sermons of Mr. White, the first of which may be partly quoted as an example of the rest and as a specimen of the fine religious distinctions of those days. In a sermon from these words, " There is none that seeketh after God," he (Mr. White) said that " any person who has an earnest desire after an interest in Christ is a true believer, and may rejoice as such ; that no natural man ever seeks after an interest in Christ in any sense, for to seek always supposes faith in the person that does seek." Without waiting to receive Mr. White's answer, for which he desired suitable time, the Association had adjourned after call- ing a special council to meet in Danbury on August 3d, " to hear and determine the case respecting the Rev. Mr. White." 282 HISTORY OF DANBURY. This call for a council aroused considerable feeling in the Dan- bury Church, and on June 28tli they renounced the Saybrook platform as their rule of church government, and owned them- selves to be a Congregational church, holding communion " not only with Congregational churches, but with those under the Saybrook platform." This action became a greater offence to the consociations than any utterances of the pastor. It was claimed by him and by the church that he had been called according to either the Presbyterian or Congregational order, and by a large majority the church expressed its preference for the latter. The minority pointed out that in 1708, long before Mr, White was called, the church had been represented in the meeting of Fairfield County churches which adopted the Saybrook platform as their rule, and Mr. White responded that he was not a party except to the terms of his call. Notwithstanding this attitude, Mr. White and his adherents submitted the promised answer to the council on August 3d in the form of proposals for harmony. These proposals, which led to a three months' truce, were signed by Ebenezer White, Thomas Benedict, Jr., Ebenezer Barnum, Joseph Peck, Benjamin Boughton, Ebenezer Benedict, Daniel Benedict, Samuel Gregory, John Trowbridge, Nathaniel Gregory, Thomas Stephens, and Samuel Barnum. The dissatisfaction continued, however, and the united Council of the Eastern and Western Associations met on January 3d, 1764, to hear the case further as regarded Mr. White and the conduct of the church in renouncing the Saybrook platform. The council denied the right of the church to renounce the Say- brook platform " without having asked a dismission from these churches," and gave notice to Mr. White that his pastoral rela- tions would be dissolved by the council if he should not " own and retract what he had said or done amiss" (including his lead- ing his church to revoke their votes above referred to), etc. The church and its pastor declined to revoke their action, and so notified the council when it met again on March 26th by a letter from Mr. White and a paper signed by the deacons and others of the church. It would seem that so far as these papers related to points of doctrine they were sufficiently satisfactory, but on the j^oint of refusing to accept the Saybrook platform in place of Congrega- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 283 tional rule Mr. White was firm, pointing out his objections and declaring, " I cannot, therefore, consistent with a good con- science, adopt it as being in all respects a proper rule of church government." This the society had again recently voted to maintain. The council thereupon drew up their judgment that " this council do acknowledge those that have signified their adherence to our constitution as continuing to be the First Consociated Church in the First Society of Danbury ;" and "in these cir- cumstances this council find themselves obliged to declare that the pastoral relation between the Rev. Ebenezer White and the church and the First Society in Danbury ought to be dissolved." The final paragraph, which restrained Mr. White from preaching in the churches of the Consociation " till he should make satis- faction to the acceptance of the Consociation," was warmly con- tested, but was finally carried by a small majority. The committee of the church arranged at once to have another minister preach for them the following Sabbath in the meeting- house, while the adherents of Mr. White, being a majority of the church, provided themselves with temporary quarters in a house. The seceding party declaring themselves independent of the Consociation, formed a new church organization under the name of the New Danbury Church. Retaining Mr. White as pastor, they built a house of worship in 1768, which nine years later was burned by the British. In 1779 Rev. Ebenezer White died, and soon afterward the New Danbury Church became extinct.* The following extracts from the society's book of this church will be of interest to readers, as showing the ways in which our fathers walked over a century ago : " At a meeting held on June 1st, 1754 : The Church by Vote Do appoint & Impower Thomas Benedict, Capt. Daniel Taylor, * The handing down of given names from father to son, in which our ancestors so much delighted, has been the cause of many mistakes and much mixed history. In this case, although Rev. Ebenezer White became somewhat liberal in his theo- logical views, there are records to prove that he did not become a follower of Sandeman, as has been erroneously stated. In the centennial sermon (to which we are indebted) of Rev. Joel J. Hough, delivered in the First Congregational Church of Dan- bury, on July 9th, 1876, we find the following in regard to the New Danbury Church : " The church was greatly weakened by the loss of their meeting-house, and by defec- tions to the Sandemanians, among which was that of Rev. Ebenezer Russell White (son of Ebenezer White), who in 1768 had become colleague pastor with his father." 284 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Capt. John Wood or Either Two of them to be a Committee with full power to ask for and receive into their Care and Custody the Silver Basen belonging to this Church for the Use of Baptism as also the Utentials belonging to this Church for the Use of the Table for the Sacrement of the Lords Super as platters, tlaggins, Cups, Juggs, lining &c. and the Same to hold and Secure for the Use of the Church." " At a Society Meeting held January 3d, 1755, it was voted ' that the piue Madam White Uesed to Set in shall bare in Dig- nity with the piue opposite and be Reckned as one in Dignity with sd Seat The Middle piue in the alley to be Reckned Next after the Third in Dignity according to the formour Dignifying of Seats and the hind piue in the alley to be Reckned Next after the fourth Dignity, according to the old Seatting the Rest to be as formourly Dignif yed and the Number of persons to be put into The new piues to be left with the Society Committee to order and Give Directions to the Committee who are to seat sd. house. " Att sd. meeting Deac. Joseph Peck and Deac. Daniel Bene- dict moving to the Society for a Seat in sd. Seatting Votes that sd. Deacons have the liberty of setting in the fore seat in Case the Deacons Seat Cant be made Convenient to their Esceptence. Att sd. meeting Mr. Halley and Mr. Willey Voted to Set in the 2 long seat, Mr. Ambler to Set in the piue on the left hand of the End Doer, Mr. Clark to Set in the Same, Mr. Bennit in the Seat below the piller Seat, Mr. John Trowbridg in the piue the Right Side the End Doer also Mr. Daniel Comstock in the same piue. " Att sd. meeting the Society by Vote allow Mr. Daniel Taylor his Request to Set in the fore Seat in line of ye first piue. " Att sd. meeting Isaac Hoyt undertook to Tell people where to Sett after Seatting for £0.-2—0." " Att a Society meeting held in Danbury in the prime Society, December 22d, A.D. 1755, voted, that Mr. Adam Clark Set in the piue on the South Side of the End Doer his wife accordingly against him. " Voted also that Mr. John Trowbridg Set in piue with Mr. Clark his wife accordingly against him." " At a Society Meeting legally warned held in Danbury Decem- ber the 14th, A.D. 1756, Capt. John Benedict Moderator. The HISTORY OF DANBUEY. 285 raeeting-liouse to be Sweept was lett to Dann'l Starr for — 0—19—9. " The meeting by Vote is adjourned to the 21 of Instant December at 9 of the clock in the four Noon. " December 21st, " Voted that here be but Ten men Seatted in the first piue all The Rest the Same Number in Each piue and Seat as in the last Seatting, Voted also that persons Give in their ages to sd. Committee by the 15 of January Next." In 1767, " Mr. John Trowbridge, Mr. David Whitlock, Ensign Eleazer Starr, Mr. Philip Corbin, and Mr. James Bradley are by X vote Desired to Take Cair and Tune the Psalms in our Publick worship." At a society meeting lield December 26th, 1770, " Nathnl Ketcham, Daniel Taylor, Junr. and Daniel Wood were appointed Quoristers with the others appointed to Tune the Psalm in Publick worship in this Society." " Voted to Give Ebenezr Munson his Last years Rate. " The Society by Vote appoint the Great or first Pue be the Place for Daniel Taylor Esqr. and his wife to Set for the futer." ' ' The Society by vote order tlie Great or Pue Next the Deacons Seat be the Place for the following aged Women to Set, viz.: — the two aged widdow Hoyts, Eunice Starr, Miss Hannah Hill and Elenor Weed.'" " The Society by vote order that Deac. Daniel Benedict Set in the Great or first Pue." ' ' The Society by Vote order that all those Persons that have Neaver been Seated in the Meeting House Shall bring in an account of their age to the Comtee. within ye space of one weak from this Time in order they may be Seated thereon. " At a meeting of the First Society in Danbury, held on May 21 st, 1787, ' ' the Question was put whether the Society will pro- ceed to Glaze the Meeting House, Lay the lower floors, plaister the whole body of the House except under the Gallery floors, make a partition & Door between the House & Steple, erect the pillows under the Gallery girts, case the windows and posts of the House Glaze the Steeple and lay the under floor of the same. Past in the affirmative." At a society meeting held January 7th, 1796, it was " Voted to seat the meeting house by the following rule (viz.) multiply each persons age by Ten and to that product add the list of each 286 HISTORY OF DANBURY. person for the year 1795 including one head in each list whether actually in the list or not and no more. '' That men and their wives be seated together and that People have their choice of a seat according to their respective footings. " Voted that Col. Cooke, Esq. Whittelsey, John McLean, Comfort Hoyt Junr., & Col. Taylor be a Comtee. to receive the Ages and make out the footings. " Voted that People give in their Ages by the first day of February next, " Voted that the Pew next the Pulpit stairs be reserved for the Minister's family and the one next the Pulpit the East side and the first and second seat next the East Alley be reserved for widows & strangers." In February, 176.5, Mr. Noadiah Warner was ordained pastor of this church, but his pastorate was brief and much interrupted by efforts made to secure the return of the seceders ; he on two occasions consenting to relinquish his pulpit for several months that candidates might be listened to by both parties, it being understood that if a man was found upon whom all could unite, Mr. Warner would resign in his favor. Variances about pecuniary matters and a lack of the spirit of concession thwarted these efforts, but they so much disturbed the relations of Mr. Warner to the church, that he sought a dismission at the expiration of the third year of his pastor- ate. On April 3d, 1769, a call to the pastorate was given by the church and society to "the worthy Mr. Jeremiah Day," who supplied the pulpit for a few weeks, but did not accept the call. The year following he married Miss Lucy Wood, one of the young members of the church. " Att a meeting of the first Society in Danbury Legally warned held in Danbury September the 4th A.D. 1769, the Question was Put whether the Society will Proceed to Give the worthy Mr. Ebenezer Baldwin a Call to Setel with us in the work of the Gospel ministry. Past in the affairmative by a universal vote." Our ancestors evidently believed in due deliberation, for at a society meeting held on May 21st, 1770, " the Question was Put whether the Society would Continue their Call to the Worthy Mr, Ebenezer Baldwin to Setel with us in the work of the Gospel ministry. Past in the affairmative by a universal vote.' ' HISTORY OF DANBURY. 287 The records of the first Church of Christ in Danbury were " begun September 19, 1770, kept by Ebener. Baldwin Pastor of said church." " Sept. 19, Ebenezer Baldwin from Norwich was ordained pastor of the fst. Chh. in Danbury, by the Consociation of the Eastern District of Fairfield County." During his ministry of six years there were added to the full communion of the church fifty-four, and ten were admitted to the half-way covenant. At that day the practice of the churches was to allow baptized persons, who did not profess conversion, to assent to the church covenant, which act brought them into connection with and under the jurisdiction of the church, although they did not join in communion. Mr. Baldwin married 68 couples, baptized 113 children, and attended 149 funerals. The summer of 1775 was one of great mortality in Danbury, and of the 130 deaths in the town that year, 82 were within the limits of the First Society, and 62 funerals were attended by Mr. Baldwin in the three months of June, July, and August. The pastorate of Mr. Baldwin covered those exciting years in the national history that preceded and marked the commence- ment of the Revolution. At that day no class of citizens was more conspicuous for patriotism than the Congregational clergy of New England, and among them Mr. Baldwin was noted for his zeal and signal ability. Almost all the writing for the public prints at that time was done by the clergy. In 1774 Mr. Bald- win prepared and published a spirited address to the people of the western part of the colony to arouse them to a sense of the danger in which their liberties were involved. In November, 1775, on the day set apart for Thanksgiving in the Colony of Connecticut, at a period which he regarded as the most calam- itous the British colonies ever beheld, he preached a sermon designed to wake up the spirits of the people in the important struggle in which they were engaged. So excellent, encourag- ing, and appropriate was this sermon, that it was called for and printed at the expense of a leading member of the Episcopal Church. A copy is preserved in the archives of the New York Historical Society. Mr. Baldwin, with other ministers of the Association, arranged a series of circular fasts in the churches of 288 HISTORY OF DANBURT. Fairfield County in the spring of 1776 on " account of the threatening aspect of public affairs." Mr. Baldwin's brother Simeon and James Kent, afterward Chancellor Kent, of New York, and author of Kent's Commen- taries, were members of a class of young men who studied under the direction of Mr. Baldwin while pastor of this church. Chan- cellor Kent, in a Phi Beta Kappa oration given at Yale in 1831, paid a beautiful tribute to the memory of Mr. Baldwin. Speak- ing of the tutors in that college, he said : " Suffer me for a moment to bring to recollection from among this class of men the Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin, of Danbury, for it is to that great and excellent man that the individual who has now the honor to address you stands indebted for the best part of his early classical education. Mr. Baldwin was tutor in this college for the period of four years, and he settled as a minister in the First Congregational church of Danbury in the year 1770. He was a scholar and a gentleman of the fairest and brightest hopes. He was accustomed to read daily a portion of the Hebrew Scriptures, and he was extensively acquainted with Greek and Roman literature. His style of preaching was sim- ple, earnest, and forcible, with the most commanding and grace- ful dignity of manner. His zeal for learning was ardent, and his acquisitions and reputation rapidly increasing, when he was doomed to fall prematurely in the tiower of his age, and while engaged in his country's service. Though his career was pain- fully short, he had lived long enough to attract general notice and the highest respect by his piety, his learning, his judgment, and his patriotism He took an enlightened and active interest in the rise and early progress of the American Revolution. In the gloomy campaign of 1776 he was incessant in his efforts to cheer and animate his townsmen to join the militia which were called out for the defence of New York. To give weight to his eloquent exhortations, he added that of heroic example. He went voluntarily as a chaplain to one of the militia regiments, composed mostly of his own parishioners. His office was pacific, but he nevertheless arrayed himself in military armor. " I was present when he firmly but affectionately bade adieu to his devoted parishioners and affectionate pupils. This was about August 1st, 1776, and what a moment in the annals of this country ! There never was a period more awful and portentous. Deacon Oliveu Stone. First Congregational Cuurch. Deacon John Fry. Deacon Eli T. Hoyt. Deacon John F. Beard. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 289 It was the very crisis of our destiny. The defence of New York had become desperate. An enemy's army of thirty thousand men, well disciplined and well equipped, was in its vicinity ready to overwhelm it. General Washington had, to oppose them, less than eighteen thousand men, and part of them extremely sickly. Nothing could have afforded better proof of patriotic zeal than Mr. Baldwin's voluntary enlistment at this critical juncture. The militia, much reduced by sickness, after two months' service were discharged. Mr. Baldwin fell a victim to the sickness that prevailed in the army, having only strength sufficient to reach home, where he died October 1st, ' honored by the deepest sympathies of his own people, and with the pub- lic veneration and sorrow.' " While in the army Mr. Baldwin made and sent home a will which is dated " September 10th, 1776, at the camp below Turtle Bay, K Y.," and prefaced with the following words : " Mindful of the uncertainty of life at all times, and of the special danger of life when engaged in war, I think it proper to make this my last will and testament." As being connected with this church history, the following item from the copy of the will on record is here given : ' ' Whereas I have been in the ministry but a few years, and have received from the First Society in Danbury a considerable settlement, I would willingly refund a part of it ; but as it has been wholly expended in a house and lot, ' tis not in my power, unless the Society will make a purchase of it. I do therefore will and bequeath to the First Society in Danbury my dwelling-house, barn, and home lot (which have cost me between £500 and £600) in case they will pay to my executors the sum of £360." In case the society did not decide to do this, other disposition of the property was provided for, the avails to go to his heirs. The society fulfilled the condition and received the house, which stood on the site now occupied by the parsonage of the Meth- odist Society. A memoir of Mr. Baldwin, prepared by his brother Simeon Baldwin, formerly Judge of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, is published in " Sprague's Annals of the American Pulpit." This memoir states that Mr. Baldwin never married. It describes him as '' a very handsome, well-built man, with manly health and cheerful spirits." His library was imported by himself, and 290 HISTORY OF DANBURY. was one of the best in the colony at that day. His love for books led him to move in the matter of a public or town library. It is stated in his memoir that " soon after his settlement in Dan- bury he drew up the terms of subscription for a library that should be free to all denominations. A small library was pro- cured, whose benefits were immediately felt, and as the result the inhabitants were long since enabled to exhibit one of the best town libraries in the State." The inscription upon his tombstone was prepared by President Stiles, of Yale College, and is as follows : '' In memory of Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin, A.M., late pastor of the First church in Danbury, who was born at Norwich, July 13th, 1745 ; received his education at Yale College, where he was graduated in 1763, and officiated several years with singular reputation as a tutor in that university ; ordained a minister of the Gospel, September 19th, 1770, and died October 1st, 1776. He was eminent for literature and piety, an enlightened divine, an instructive preacher. Distinguished for dignity of manners and public usefulness ; a true and faithful patriot, an ornament to the church, to the ministry and to his country. In grateful remembrance of this worthy pastor and generous benefactor, the First Society of Danbury have erected this monument." Having thus lost their pastor in the early part of the war, this church, absorbed in the events connected with the struggle of the Revolution, failed to settle another pastor until the war was ended. Consociation records tell us that Rev. Ebenezer Brad- ford served the church as stated supply from April 9th, 1777, to November 22d, 1779, and that from April 11th, 1780, to January 2d, 1782, John Rogers, D.D., supplied the pulpit. For his sal- ary Mr. Rogers had the use of the house left the society by Mr. Baldwin, and for the rest relied on the generosity of the people. October 28th, 1783, the association passed a resolution " that the vacant churches be preached to and stirred up to the work of securing pastors." In connection it is noted on the records at that time that " Stratford had been vacant four years, Dan- bury and Newtown eight years, and New Fairfield nine years." In 1785 the society built its third meeting-house, which with repairs and changes in 1827 and again in 1837 was occujDied by the church until 1858. Upon the completion of the church building a call was given to Mr. Timothy Langdon, and he was HISTORY OF DANBURY. 291 ordained August 31st, 1786. At that time the number of com- municants was sixty-three, and to these were added during the fifteen years' ministry of Mr. Langdon only forty-four. This first and only pastorate of Mr. Langdon was ended by his death on February 10th, 1801. His tombstone bears the fol- lowing inscription : " In memory of Rev. Timothy Langdon, A.M., late worthy and esteemed pastor of the First Congregational church in Dan- bury. He was born at Boston, December 4th, 1757. Graduated at Yale College in 1781. Ordained to the work of the Gospel ministry August 31st, 1787, and departed this life February 10th, 1801." ' Mr. Israel Ward was the next pastor, and was ordained on May 25th, 1803. In the church record, in the handwriting of Thomas Tucker, then church clerk, is this entry : " August 3d, 1810. It has pleased God in His wise providence this morning, to remove by death our late beloved pastor, the Rev. Israel Ward, in which this church is called to mourn the loss of a faithful, wise, zealous, and godly minister of His Word. As a proof of his love and zeal in the cause of his Saviour, and of his instrumentality in winning souls to Christ, the records in the book of admissions of hopeful converts to full communion may be seen, when in the course of his ministry of only seven years, two months, and nine days, one hundred and forty-six were re- ceived into the bosom of the church." His tombstone bears the inscription : " This monument is erected by the First Society in Danbury to the memory of Rev. Israel Ward, their late pastor. He was born at Newark, N. J., November 24th, 1779 ; received his edu- cation at Union CoUege, in the State of New York ; was settled in the ministry on the 25th day of May, 1803, and died on the 3d day of August, 1810. He sustained the relations of life with usefulness and reputation. As a man he was modest and hum- ble : as a minister of Christ he was zealous and faithful. " ' Still ia his duty prompt at every call. He watched and wept, he prayed for all ; He tried each art, reproved each dull delay. Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way.' " During the three years that intervened between the pastorates of Mr. Ward and Mr. Andrews, the records show the bap- 292 HISTORY OF DANBURY. tisms of children by ten different clergymen, a fact which would seem to imply numerous candidates for the vacant pulpit. Rev. Mr. Andrews was the first pastor of the church who did not begin his ministry in Danbury. He came from Windham, Conn., and was installed June 30th, 1813. Shortly after the beginning of Mr. Andrews's pastorate, a day of fasting and prayer was observed by the church " on account of the sins of church - members and the coldness of the church." The thirteen years of Mr. Andrews' s stay with the church seem to have been marked with strong lines of stern church discipline, in accordance with the ecclesiastical laws of those days. ' ' Narrow and exceeding straight" were the paths of " professors" during the early years of this century. The ''famous cases of discipline" (so called by Dr. Leonard Bacon) in 1824-25 caused a division in the church, which led to efforts for the dismission of Mr. Andrews. As a whole the church stood by aDd sustained their pastor, while the majority of the society were opposed to him. At length a compromise was effected, Mr. Andrews resigning his office of pastor, and the society paying him in addition to all salary due the sum of $900, the church for the sake of peace acquiescing in this arrange- ment. (To raise this money, the parsonage meadow was sold.) By a council of the consociation, Mr. Andrews was dismissed May 29th, 1826. After leaving Danbury Mr. Andrews became pastor of the church in Cornwall, Conn., which position he filled until January 1st, 1838, the date of his death. Mr. Andrews is represented by those who knew him as a man of strong mind, of inflexible will, and unshrinking courage — a man of sincere piety and earnest loyalty to his convictions. He was not a man born to temporize, and no considerations of per- sonal advantage or popularity could swerve him a hair's breadth from the path that in his judgment was in accordance with right and duty. Mr. Anson Rood was ordained pastor on April 23d, 1829. Not until Mr. Rood's time did the church have a conference- room. In 1830, the first year of his ministry, the second story of the building next south of the old Baptist church on Main Street was rented at $30 a year for that purpose. The social meetings of the church were held in this room until 1837, when HISTORY OF DANBURY. 293 the meeting-house was raised up and a conference-room made in the basement. In 1834 the church voted: "That it highly disapproved of traffic in lottery tickets by any of its members," and at the same time the following resolution was passed : " Resolved that we deeply lament and deplore that any of the members of the church should be guilty of selling ardent spirits." A few years later the temperance sentiment must have been somewhat stronger and bolder, as the church did not stop with resolutions of lament, but disciplined and excommunicated a member for sell- ing rum. After a pastorate of nearly nine years, Mr. Rood resigned his office. For the next ten years he had charge of a church in Philadelphia, which under his care grew from weakness to strength and vigor. He died at his residence in West Philadel- phia in January, 1858. Before Mr. Rood announced to the church his intention of resigning, he secured the aid of Rev. RoUin S. Stone in some revival meetings that were in progress ; and upon his departure the church, without hearing other candidates, gave Mr. Stone a call to the pastorate which was accepted, his installation taking place two months after the dismission of Mr. Rood. Early in the pastorate of Mr. Stone four of the church-mem- bers—David Foot, Darios Starr, Russell Hoyt, and Eli T. Hoyt —presented the society with the parsonage house and lot on Main Street, the cost of which was $2000. In 1846 Mr. David Foot presented the church with its first organ, which cost $600. The baptismal bowl belonging to the church communion ser- vice was hammered from a ball of solid silver, and has been in use over one hundred and forty years. The inscription engraved upon it reads : " The gift of Comfort Starr, Marcht. in Danbury, Connecticut, N. E. To the Church of Christ in said town, Aug. 25, 1753." At the commencement of Mr. Stone's ministry the member- ship of the church was one hundred and eighty-three. During the twelve years of his pastorate there were added two hundred and eight. Mr. Stone closed his labors with the church on Feb- ruary 12th, 1850. He subsequently had charge of the church at Easthampton, Mass., and for several years held a position as city missionary in Brooklyn, N. Y. From that city he removed to 294 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Hartford, where, after years of failing health, he died on March 17th, 1895, and was buried in Wooster Cemetery, in Danbury, beside his wife, whose tombstone bears this touching inscription, *' Good-bye till morning." For him the morning has dawned. Ten months after the resignation of Mr. Stone, Rev. Samuel G. Coe became i)astor, his installation taking place December 4th, 1850. During the pastorate of Mr. Coe the present church edi- fice was built. As our ancestors had outgrown their early log- houses, so the church had outgrown its old meeting-house. The cost of this building with the land was about $22,000. It was dedicated on Wednesday, April 28th, 1858. Mr. Coe was pastor during the greater part of the Civil War, and his sermons were helps to the loyal and patriotic. In June, 1864, feeling the need of rest from the care of a parish, Mr. Coe resigned his office as pastor of this church. During the years of his stay the membership increased from 216 to 356. After leaving Danbury, Mr. Coe supplied the pulpit at Ridge- field for four years, and preached for six months in the Second Presbyterian church of Cleveland, O. He died in New Haven, December 7tli, 1869. His memory is fragrant in the hearts of many to whom he ministered. Rev. A. L. Frisbie, of Ansonia, became pastor in July, 1865. During his ministry improvements were made upon the parson- age, and largely through his efforts a new organ was secured at a cost of $3500. Among the fruits of his ministry are some of the best Christian workers in the church. Mr. Frisbie resigned on September 11th, 1871, and removed to Des Moines, la., becoming pastor of the Congregational church in that city. At the time of his departure the membership of the church was 377. After a vacancy of two years Rev. Joel J. Hough began his labors as pastor, October 12th, 1873. During his pastorate the main audience-room, Sunday-school, and social rooms were im- proved and refurnished at considerable expense, and the church was in a flourishing condition in all departments of its work. Mr. Hough was dismissed on December 19th, 1878. Rev. James W. Hubbell was installed as pastor on May 20th, 1879. During his stay the church interior was renewed and a chapel built at an expense of $17,000. Some of the largest acces- sions to the membership of the church were made during the pastorates of Mr. Frisbie and Mr. Hubbell. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 295 The latter resigned in October, 1886, and was succeeded on May 19th, 1887, by the Rev. J. Allen Maxwell, D.D. The first year of his pastorate was marked by the sale of the parsonage on Main Street, the building of a handsome new parsonage ad- joining the church, and by the addition to the membership in March, 1888, of thirty-two new members. Dr. Maxwell died, at the parsonage, on Thanksgiving Day, November, 1890, leaving the church " to mourn the loss of a devoted pastor, a wise coun- sellor, efficient teacher, and loving friend." Gentle and refined, modest and unassuming, he was " a ripe scholar, an eloquent and earnest preacher, and a faithful pastor." " His life was a benediction, his death a glorious translation." The present pastor of the church is Rev. Albert F. Pierce, who began his pastorate on October 15th, 1891. Since the beginning of his pastorate many changes and repairs have been made, prin- cipally in the chapel and social rooms of the church. The deacons of this church have been : Samuel Benedict, James Beebe, John Gregory, Richard Barnum, Joseph Gregory, James Beebe, James Benedict, John Benedict, Nathaniel Greg- ory, Joseph Peck, Daniel Benedict, Thomas Benedict, Joseph P. Cooke, Sr., Joshua Knapp, Samuel Wildman, Amos Hoyt, Joseph P. Cooke, Jr., Thomas Tucker, Eliakim Starr, Ezra Boughton, Lewis S. Hoyt, Oliver Stone, Isaac Ives, John F. Beard, John Fry, Eli T. Hoyt, Judah P. Crosby, Harvey Will- iams, George Downs, George McArthur, Edgar A. Benedict, W. A. Gordon, Edward E. Harrison, M. P. Reynolds. Deacons Williams, Downs, McArthur, Gordon, Harrison, and Reynolds still minister in their office, but the others have finished their service here and gone to their reward. The church has a fine memorial window, presented by the mother of Edgar A. Benedict in memory of her son. ST. JAMES' EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The earliest record in the possession of this church is of date 1812. From other sources we have gathered the following regard- ing its earlier years : In 1727 Rev. Henry Caner, a graduate of Yale, went to Eng- land for holy orders, and on his return in the autumn of that year became a missionary to Fairfield. He sought out the churchmen in the adjacent regions, and in his first report to the 296 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, in the year 1728, he mentions " a village northwestward of Fairfield about eighteen miles, containing twenty families, the name of it is Chestnut Ridge [Redding], where I usually preach and lec- ture once in three weeks." He also visited Ridgefield and Dan- bury, and stated that there were in these places ten or fifteen families professing the doctrine of the Church of England. About 1763 the first Episcopal church was erected in this place, and opened on its partial completion by the Rev. Ebenezer Dibble, a native of Danbury and missionary at Stamford and Greenwich. Occasional ministrations were held here by Rev. Mr. Leaming and Rev. Mr. Beach, of Newtown. In 1769 the missionary at Newtown speaks of the new church building at Danbury as " with a decent steeple and large enough to accom- modate from four hundred to five hundred people." This " de- cent steeple" was given to the church by John McLean, a nota- ble citizen of old Danbury. In 1777, at the burning of Danbury, General Tryon and his troops took the military stores from the church and burned them, but saved the sacred edifice. The "meeting-house" of the New Danbury Church, however, was devoted to the flames. In 1794 the Rev. David Perry, of Ridgefield, resigned the pas- toral charge of the parishes of Ridgefield, Redding, and Dan- bury. Rev. David Butler succeeded him, and Rev. Elijah G. Plum was rector from 1808 to 1812. On October 6th, 1802, the church here was consecrated by Bishop Jarvis. In 1809 there were reported 70 families and 22 communicants. In 1816 there were 41 communicants, in 1822, 44, and in 1824, 49 communicants. From 1812 to 1819 the Rev. Reuben Hubbard was rector, from 1819 to 1823 Rev. Ambrose S. Todd, and from 1823 to 1836 Rev. Lemuel Beach Hull.* After leaving Danbury Rev. Mr. Hull went to Wallingford, and then to Milwaukee, being the first Episcopal clergyman to settle in Wisconsin. * Rev. Lemuel Beach Hull was a descendant of Rev, John Beach, who was a resi- dent of East Redding for twenty years, and rector of the church for a half century, taking charge of that parish in 1732, and preaching also in Danbury, Ridgefield, and Newtown. He was the son of Isaac and Hannah (Birdsey) Beach ; was born in Stratford, October 6th, 1700 ; graduated at Yale College in 1721 ; was ordained pastor of the Congregational church at Newtown, Conn., in 1724 ; went to England in 1731 to receive Episcopal orders ; returned to take charge of the mission of that church m Newtown and Redding, and died in 17S2.—Orcutt's Stratfm-d. HISTOEY OF DANBURY. 297 In 1836 there were only five families and forty communicaats remaining of the original churchmen. Up to this date the parish had clerical services once in three or four weeks, and from 1808 had been associated with Christ church, Redding, and for a part of the time with Ridgefield. After the chapel (now St, Thomas' church, Bethel) was built in 1835 the services were divided between the two alternately once in four weeks. In 1836 the parish of St. James' church and St. Thomas' chapel attempted to have the services of a clergyman the whole time, but failed for lack of means. From Easter in 1838 to Easter of 1839 Dr. Short divided his time equally between Danbury and Brookfield, and the Christian Knowledge Society aided in the payment of his salary. From 1836 to 1840 the Rev. David H. Short was rector of St. James'. In September, 1837, he married here Mary Emmeline, daughter of Captain Elijah Gregory. She died suddenly in August of the next year. In 1840 Rev. Thomas T. Guion became rector, and remained in charge of the church until 1847. In 1844 the first church at the lower end of Main Street was abandoned, and a new church erected in West Street, near Main. The Rev. Henry Olmstead and the Rev. John Purves were asso- ciated with the Rev. Mr. Guion, residing in Bethel and having charge of the chapel there. From 1847 to 1854 the Rev. William White Bronson was rector. From 1854 to 1864 the Rev. I. Leander Townsend was rector. In 1859 the church was enlarged by the addition of a chancel and new furniture. Rev. Dr. Haw- ley entered upon his duties as rector on March 1st, 1864. In 1867 the present chapel, the chancel, and first bay of the nave of the new stone church was erected, and in 1872 the nave and tower were completed all save the stone spire. In May, 1875, Rev. Arthur Sloane assumed the charge of the parish, to be succeeded in September, 1880, by the Rev. Byron J. Hall. During his pastorate the church met with a loss in the death of Horace Marshall, who for many years had been senior warden, the chief representative of the congregation, and adviser of the clergymen. In 1894 Rev. B. J. Hall resigned, and was succeeded by the present rector, the Rev. John D. Skene, whose j^astorate began on November 1st, 1894. 298 HISTORY OF DANBURY. HORACE MARSHALL. Horace Marshall was bom on Christmas Eve in 1796, in Bir- mingham, Conn. His ancestors, English and Welsh, came to Boston about 1710. His grandfather was at one time a partner of General Wooster in New Haven, in the West India trade, but was unable to take an active part in the Kevolution on account of loss of sight. His sons were active participants in the cause of independence, and one of them served on the staff of General Wooster in the battles of Western Connecticut. Mr. Marshall came to Danbury when twenty-one years of age, and went into the manufacturing of carriages and furniture with William Chappell, whose daughter Mary he afterward married. He can-ied on this business until his death, and was probably the only man in the State who continued so long in one occupa- tion without a break. He lived in the same house and worked in the same shop, both on Main Street, for more than half a cen- tury. For more than fifty years he was warden of St. James' Church, and senior warden for over forty years. He was essen- tially an intellectual man, a natural student. Fond of books, he was one of the original proposers and promoters of the Mechanics' Library in this town. He lived so long in Danbury, and was so well known to its people, that his death was a matter not only of general interest, but of public importance. He passed calmly to his rest on April 7th, 1886, in the eighty-ninth year of his age. One who knew him well has thus written : " Horace Marshall leaves a name and record that will be cherished when monuments of marble shall have crumbled and perished." SANDEMANIAN CHURCH. This offshoot fi'om the old Presbyterian Church of Scotland was first called, as a sect, Glassites, after its founder, Rev. John Glas.* Later on it was known as Sandemanians, from the Rev. * Rev. John Glas died at Dundee in 1773. His tombstone in that city bears the following inscription : •' John Glas. Minister of the Congregational Church in this place, Died 2d No- vember, 1778. Aged 78 years. He long survived Katharine Black His beloved ■wife, (Interred also in the same grave,) And all his children, Fifteen in number, many of whom arrived at mature age : And Nine lie here beside their Parents. His character in the churches of Christ is well known and will outlive all monu- mental inscriptions. ". 1. John Knai'p. 5. W.M. ]!. Ei.Y. 2. Kkv. Uiii;ei;t Sandeman. 4. Sande.maniax Church. Ij. Kkv. John Glass. 3. Nat'i. liisHor. 7. I-Kvi Knapp. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 299 Robert Sandeman, who reduced his opinions to a system. San- deman was bom in the city of Perth, Scotland, about the year 1720. He married Catharine, a daughter of Rev. John Glas, and soon after became a Christian elder. In 1764, accompanied by Mr. James CargiU, Sandeman came to America, and assisted in the formation of several churches in New England. In 1769 there was a Sandemanian church in Portsmouth, N. H., on what was then caUed Brimstone Hill, now Richmond Street. During the time of his stay in Portsmouth for the organization of this church Mr. Sandeman occupied several times the pulpit of the Rev. Robert Drowne, one of the " New Lights." There was a Sandemanian church in Taunton, Mass., in the latter part of the last century which had quite a following, but it soon faded out of existence, as have all the churches of that belief, the only known members being the survivors of the church in Danbury. There was a small society of Sandemanians in New- town many years ago. This sect had also a place of worship in Plumtrees in the latter part of the last century. The last member of this society was " Uncle Isaac Williams," who long since passed to his rest, dying July 11th, 1843. Soon after reaching America Mr. Sandeman settled in Dan- bury, where he died in 1771 . * Many years ago the Sandemanians had in Danbury a following of about fifty members. Twenty years ago this number had decreased to ten, and to-day there are but three members in this city. Its members in England and Scotland are fast diminishing, as additions are few. The only church building remaining of this denomination is now a thing of the past, and will hereafter figure only in the local his- tory of Danbury. After the death of Robert Sandeman the church in Danbury was presided over by Elder Nathaniel Bishop, who died in 1857, after which time the position was filled by William H. Ely until his death in 1869. * Mr. E. A. Houseman, of tliis city, has a number of letters written in shorthand by Rev. Robert Sandeman to friends in England before his coming to America. These are beautifully done, and in a good state of preservation. There are five letters to Samuel Churchill, of date 1761, one to Mrs. Grace Jeffrey in 1759, and others to Mrs. Maxwell and " Mrs. Birch, Caldecot House. Abington, Berkshire." In these letters are mentioned " Battle and Allen," " Colin Robertson," and " Sallet. " 300 HISTORY OF DANBURY. The little church which so many remember — plain and simple, but glorified by its setting of green grass and tall trees upon the hill-top — was provided with a large circular table, around which the members gathered, each with a King James version of the Scriptures. As each felt individually disposed they read and commented on such passages as seemed interesting and instruc- tive. In this service females took no part, but were spectators and hearers. For a religion that antedates the Wesleyans and Baptists little is known of it, even here in Danbury, where it has flourished for so many years — that is, speaking in a general way. The following is taken from an old Danbury paper : " One of the peculiarities of the Sandemanian form of worship is that they have a weekly love feast, in which the whole con- gregation dine together. It was the original intention to have this take place in the churches, where a dining-room was pro- vided, but in Danbury they find it more convenient to have this dinner served at the house of one of the members. " " Their rules prohibit games of chance, i:»rayers at funerals, college training, as well as most nineteenth-century innovations, while in food they are forbidden to use flesh meat and ' all things strangled.' " Webster deflnes the religion, as taught by its founder, as follows : '' He held that faith is only a simple assent to the divine testi- mony concerning Jesus Christ as set forth in the Scriptures. His followers hold to a weekly administration of the Lord's Supper ; to love feasts, which consist in dining at each other's houses in the intermission of public worship ; to the kiss of charity on the admission of members ; to mutual exhortation ; to abstinence from things strangled, and from blood ; to the washing of each other's feet ; to a modified community of goods ; to a plurality of elders, pastors, or bishops in each church." Barber, in his " Connecticut Collections," published in 1836, says : *' In 1764 Robert Sandeman, a native of Perth, Scotland, a man of superior abilities, came to this country. He settled in Danbury in July, 1765. The principal doctrines which he taught were similar to those of the Christian Church. His distinguish- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 301 ing tenet was ' that faith is a mere intellectual belief.' His favorite expression was, ' A bare belief of bare truths. ' He maintained that his church was the only true church, then arisen from the ruins of Antichrist, his reign being near a close. The use of means for mankind in a natural state he pretty much exploded." One of the things that caused the decline of the Sandemanians in Danbury was the introduction of divisions among them. The most prominent party that branched off from the church was called the Osbornites, from Levi Osborne, their teacher, at one time a deacon in the church. Another party was called the "Baptist" Sandemanians, from their belief in and practice of baptism. The greater majority of the latter dissenters finally merged into the Christian Church, in Danbury, the Church of the Disciples. The following is the inscription upon the stone which marks the place in the old Wooster Street burial-ground, where Robert Sandeman was laid to rest : " Plere lies until the resurrection the body of Robert Sandeman, a native of Perth, North Britain, who in the face of continual opposition from all sorts of men, long and boldly contended for the ancient Faith that the bare work of Jesas Christ, without a deed or thought on the part of man, is sufficient to present the chief of sinners spotless before God. To declare this blessed truth as testified in the Holy Scriptures, he left his country, he left his friends, and after much patient suffering finished his labors at Danbury April 2, 1771. M 53 years. " Deigned Christ to come so near to us as not to count it shame To call us brethren, should we blush at aught that bears his name ? Nay, let us boast in his reproach and glory in his Cross, When He appears one smile from Him will far o'erjoy our loss." 302 HISTORY OF DANBURY. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.* According to tradition the first minister of this persuasion to preach in Danbury was a Mr. Coleman. History tells us that the first sermon was preached here by Jesse Lee in 1789. Only a few were willing to hear him, and they out of curiosity only. Tradition says that the first society was formed in 1808, but the first record of Danbury Methodism is a society meeting on Sep- tember 1st, 1812, at which meeting Seth Crowel was chairman and Jabez Starr clerk. There is no record of the cost or building of the first church edifice, but it is said that it was first started as a building for union services. The Universalists jjut some money into the building, but soon trouble arose, and their money was returned to them, and the Methodist Society owned the meeting-house. It was a very plain building with a gallery at one end, which was accessible only to men, it being reached by a ladder, which was taken down when service commenced, so that there could be no running out to disturb the congregation. The building was lighted by candles placed round the walls. The first record we find of any person being paid for taking care of the building is on December 21st, 1827, when it was " Voted To pay Ira Hurd twenty-five cents a time for sweeping out." In the record of November 28th, 1828, we find it " Voted To raise money by contribution to pay expenses of wood and candles, also to take a pubUc collection to pay a debt of $5.18." Now came a long struggle about building a new house of wor- ship, which lasted from 1829 until 1836, when a pretty little church was built on Liberty Street where now stands the Church of the Disciples. It is recorded that previous to that time a lot on Elm Street was bought for $2000 and material purchased for a build- ing, but a fire destroyed the material, and the project was aban- doned. When Danbury became a station Jacob Shaw was sent by the Conference to supply the pulpit, which he did so effectually that the society was built up from 156 members to over 300. We of this day little know of the anxiety, prayers, and tears of the period just before this time. Some of the leading men on the Board of Trustees resigned because they thought the society * Contributed by J. Clark Beers. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 303 was becoming too proud. One man in particular would not give one cent toward the new church, the old one was plenty good enough for him. He left town for a little time, and during his absence the enterprise went on, much to his surprise. It is prob- able that he felt a bit ashamed of the stand he had taken in re- gard to the church building, for one morning while the man who was framing the building, Rory Starr by name, sat on a long- timber busy thinking where he could get a particular piece that he needed, there was heard a great shouting down the street, and soon Uncle Caleb came into the yard. After talking for a while he said, " How are they getting along with the new church V " Very well," was the answer, '* but I am short one timber, a long one, and was looking around and thinking where I could procure it." "Well," said Uncle Caleb, "come down and see what I have got out here." They went down and found just exactly what was needed. Then Uncle Caleb said, "How about subscriptions ?" " We have done very well so far, but are short just now," was the reply. " Well, here is an old shot-bag, take that. " It panned out $50 in silver, which was quite a lift at that time. At a Society meeting on December 5th, 1838, it was " Voted That the Society employ a sexton for the ensuing year." The vote was reconsidered, and it was " Voted That we receive pro- posals for this purpose and that a committee of three be ap- pointed to receive them," ' ' June 10th, 1838, Quarterly Conference report, estimating com- mittee' s report, $130, which added to the salary amounts to $402. " In the original subscription list of the Liberty Street church are many names of persons belonging to other denominations, and some to no denomination, with amounts reaching into hun- dreds of dollars. September 27th, 1848, the first record in eight years of the Quarterly Conference, Orlando Starr is mentioned as the first superintendent of the Sunday-school, though it had been sup- posed that W. T. Schofield was entitled to that honor. Levi Perry is mentioned as a preacher and Samuel C. Keeler as an exhorter. The first report of the Sunday-school reads, " the same as last Quarter." The next is more complete, and gives the following statistics : " Number of children connected with Danbury 304 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Station, 77 ; Average attendance, 45 ; Volumes in the Library, 425. Amount of money expended, $18." Bethel charge — ' ' iSTum- ber of scholars, 60 ; Average attendance, 46 ; Amount of money expended, $25. ' ' About this time Bethel was set off by itself as a church or station. The next epoch of church history came in 1852, with the ad- vent of W. C. Hoyt as pastor. He was a good preacher, one of the practical kind, and left his mark wherever he went. During his stay here the brick edifice was built after about as much talk and as great a struggle as when the church on Liberty Street was erected. In a little book belonging to the trustees of the church we find the following : " March 13th, 1854. With the Chairman in the chair And the Secretary there, And the brethren in their seat Till the number was complete, Save Selleck from Starr's Plain, For whom we look in vain." January 1st, 1855, " Resolved That it's time we were at home, and our next meeting shall be when and where business re- quires." The church and parsonage were completed at a cost of about $14,000. Mr. Hoyt received for his first year's salary $550. January 4th, 1863. In the Sunday-school reports we read : " Twelve have gone from our school to stand between us and the traitors to our country : Abel M. Wheeler" (who died in ser- vice), " Chas. H. Hoyt, P. C. Lounsbury, Frederick Starr, Henry Curtis, William Warren, George Purdy, Wm. Otis, Amos Day, Thaddeus Feaks, John Carpenter, Hanson Smith, Charles Patchen." In October, 1865, salary of the minister, W. T. Hill, $1200. At this time the afternoon preaching service was changed to the evening. The church has grown in strength and numbers, and its present roll stands at 1002. The Sunday-school numbers 60 teachers and 580 scholars. A new church building, the second on the present site, was dedicated by Bishop C. D. Foss on March 22d, 1891. The " talk" which resulted in the building of this edifice com- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 305 menced with the first year of the ministry of John W. Barnhart, 1885. At first the idea was repairs of and additions to the old church, and elaborate plans were drawn, at an expense of not less than $150, for extending the front of the church and other improvements, but they were abandoned with the usual mourn- ing among certain members, who thought the old church good enough for the Methodists, and said (as was said years ago under similar circumstances) that we were " getting too proud." The Sunday-school began to raise money about 1885 for a new church, and before Mr. Barnhart's time was out the first thou- sand dollars for that purpose was in the bank, and the founda- tion for a large chapel in the rear of the old church was laid, so that when Rev. W. W. Clark came to minister to the church the enthusiasm had so grown that with a little effort money and pledges were secured to the amount of $40,000. Some laughable incidents occurred during the raising of the first subscription for the new church. One man of some means said, " You can't do it," but when he saw it was to be done said he would give $2000 for a new church up-town, and was followed by others, until several thousand dollars were raised. Rev. Mr. Clark, equal to the occasion, said, " All right, I can build two churches as well as one. Go ahead, brethren, but there will be a church built here^r^^, and then one up-town if you wish it." But when pushed to the point they backed out, and growled at one another for not doing as they had agreed among themselves. History repeats itself in Church as well as in State. The church building is of brick, with interior finish of hard wood and stained-glass mndows. It has a seating capacity of 1000, which can be increased to 1200. The cost of this building was $41,494. The chapel was built at a cost of $9860, and the new parsonage adjoining the church at $6700. A fine organ adorns the choir loft, and the congregations at each service are large. Verily " a little one has become a thousand. God has wrought wonderful things. To Him be all the glory." The following are the names of the ministers who have had charge of the Methodist Episcopal church in Danbury from 1836 until the present time : Jacob Shaw, two years ; Hiram Wing, who died after a few months — John Crawford served the remainder of the two years ; Sylvester H. Clark, 1840-42 ; James Flagg, 1842-44 ; Fitch Reed, 306 HISTORY OF DANBURY. 1844-46 ; John Crawford, 1846-48 ; Eobert Jessup, 1848-50 ; John B. Merwin, 1850-52 ; William C. Hoyt, 1852-54 ; E. E. Griswolcl, 1854-56 ; George W. Woodruff, 1856-68 ; John Miley, 1858-60 ; John Pegg, 1860-62 ; John Crawford (third time), 1862-64 ; William T. Hill, 1864, biit obliged by sickness to re- tire ; Thomas Burch, 1864-70 ; William Hatiield, 1870-73 ; John L. Peck, 1873-76 ; Benjamin Pillsbury, 1876-77 ; Spencer H. Bray, 1877-80; W. C. Steel, 1880-82; John Pegg, 1882-85; John Barnhart, 1885-88 ; William W. Clark, 1888-1891 ; Ichabod Simmons, 1891, the present pastor. THE CHURCH AT STARR'S PLAIN.* Early in the present centnry James Beatys lived a few rods beyond the base of Sugar Hollow Mountain, near the corner of the present Starr's Plain and Long Ridge roads. One cold win- ter day Mr. Beatys was cutting wood in his door-yard, when Rev. James Coleman, known as "Uncle Jimmy," a Methodist preacher whose circuit extended from Ridgeheld to the Canada line, passed by on horseback, on his homeward journey from Canada. According to the hospitable custom of that day, Mr. Beatys invited the traveller in to dinner, an invitation gratefully accepted. Finding that his guest was a minister, Mr. Beatys asked him to make an appointment to preach at his house, which he did two weeks later, giving the first Methodist sermon in Starr's Plain at the house of a very strong Episcopalian. The sermon made a deep impression, and was followed by another a little later, the result of which was a number of conversions, including the children of James Beatys, whose distress was great when he saw his children turn from the church of their father to Methodism. The outcome of these meetings was the organization of the first Methodist class in the town of Danbury, of which the orig- inal seven members were Daniel Beatys and Hannah, his wife, Levi Bronson and wife Abigail, John Mills and wife, and Joseph Sturges. Levi Bronson became a local preacher presumably about this time, and helped largely to build up Methodism in this town. About 1830 a difference of opinion in regard to action of the * Contributed by Frederick E. Comes. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 307 General Conference led to a division, and the Methodist Protes- tant church was organized. Services were held for a few years in the home of Rev. Mr. Bronson, until becoming impressed with the idea that a church building was needed, he took his axe one day, went into the woods, selected a tree and felled it. Then kneeling beside it he prayed that the work he had begun might be completed, and it Avas, and stands as a memorial of those faithful workers of many years ago. The first regular preacher was Rev. Marvin Lent, followed by Rev. John Cliff, J. W. Witzel, William H. Bosely, Elizar W. Griswold, Joseph J. Smith, Samuel M. Henderson, Richard K. Diossy, John H. Painter, Joshua Hudson, John L. Ambler, O. C. Dickinson, M. E. Rude, John Jones (known as the boy preacher), Peleg Weaver, N. W. Britton, Dr. G. C. Ray, and Mark Staples, the last regular minister. After this time the pulpit was filled by outside preachers. Rev. Levi Osborn, of the Disciples church of Danbury, and Allen McDonald, of the Methodist church, were the principal ones. About 1890 the church was closed, with only occasional ser- vices. In the winter of 1894 it was opened again for worship by the Young Men's Praying Band of the Methodist church of Danbury, assisted by a granddaughter of Rev. Levi Bronson, Mrs. Lewis Bradley. The summer following an Ep worth League was organized, its i:>resident being Mr. Bronson, a great-grand- son of Rev. Levi Bronson. Through the efforts of this organi- zation the church has been repaired and renovated. The Sunday- school is in a flourishing condition, under the charge of JSIrs. Mills as superintendent, and the little church at Starr's Plain has taken on a new lease of life. BAPTIST CHURCH.* On November 18th, 1785, the First Baptist church within the limits of the town of Danbury was constituted in the district of King Street. This body enjoyed for years a large measure of prosperity. The mother church still maintains its visibility. About the year 1788 a church was organized under the name of the Ridgefield and Miry Brook Baptist church. From this the * For the latter part of this church history we are indebted to the Rev. Mr. Hub- bard. The former is gathered from a " History of the Second Baptist Church in Danbury," by a former pastor, published in 1869. 308 HISTOKY OF DANBURY. Second Baptist church was constituted April 3d, 1790, and soon afterward admitted into the Hartford Baptist Association, with the number of twenty constituent members. The first regular pastor was Rev. Thaddeus Bronson, who remained with the church from the time of its organization until 1793, when he removed to Schoharie County, N. Y. The first deacons were Benjamin Shove and Daniel Wildman, who were appointed October 2d, 1790. In March, 1793, Calvin Peck was added to the number. The first meeting-house was erected in 1794 on a lot given to the society by Bracey Knapp, situated in Miry Brook District, about two miles and a half west of the town of Danbury. The building was twenty-four feet square, with galleries. Its archi- tecture and interior arrangements were of rough and primitive style. Eev. Mr. Bronson relinquished the pastorate of the church in 1793, after which until 1798 the church was probably without a settled pastor. Among those who ministered to the church with favor during this period were Rev. Daniel Wildman, Rev. Justus Hull, and Rev. Elias Lee. The name of Justus HuU deserves special mention among those who supj)lied the church during the interval mentioned. He was a young man of unusual men- tal vigor and extraordinary ministerial gift, and his service among the people was kept for years in fresh remembrance. In the year 1798 Rev. Bennet Pepper, then a licentiate, came to Miry Brook and preached until November, 1807, without ordination, at which time he was regularly ordained and con- tinued his services to the church. About the year 1803 the church was called to pass through a season of trial and dark- ness, growing out of an attempt to modify the accepted articles of faith. The original articles bearing date January 24th, 1795, as to their subject-matter and form of statement, are not differ- ent in any essential particular from those now received by the church. The mover of the proposed change in them is not named in the records. The new articles proposed were, however, essentially defective. In the early part of Mr. Pepper's ministry there were large accessions to the church. This ijeriod is the first revival season succeeding that in which the church had its origin. The pastor- ate of Mr. Pepper closed in 1809. The church remained dei)end- HISTORY OF DANBURY, 309 ent on supplies until May, 1813, when Rev. Oliver Tuttle, then a licentiate from Bristol, Conn., was called to the pastorate and ordained in May, 1814. Mr, Tuttle's ministry extended over a period of nine years, from 1813 to 1822. In August of the latter year he resigned his charge and removed to Meredith, N. Y. From the minutes of the Union Baptist Association, which convened at Danbury in 1817, it appears that the membership of the church was then seventy-eight. In 1818 it was seventy. In 1820 there is a marked decrease, the reported number being fifty-six. George Benedict was licensed to preach on May 12th, 1822. In August of the following year he was ordained as pastor of the church. He resigned the pastoral care of the church in May, 1831, to accept a call from the Stanton Street Baptist church of New York, where he remained until his death in October 28th, 1848. By consulting the minutes for the year 1825, we find the member- ship increased from fifty-six — reported in 1820 — to one hundred. During the last part of Mr. Benedict's ministry the subject of removal of the location of the meeting-house was earnestly dis- cussed, and ended in the laying of foundations for a new build- ing in the year 1829, upon a lot on Deer Hill, given the society by Peter Ambler. The building, a neat and commodious edifice, was dedicated on September 28th, 1831. The Rev. Thomas Larcombe was called to the pastorate in July preceding, and delivered the dedicatory sermon upon the occasion of occupying the new building. Mr. Larcombe resigned the pastoral charge in the early part of the year 1833, moving from Danbury to Saugerties, N. Y., and from thence to Phila- delphia. He has long since entered upon his rest. Mr. Larcombe was succeeded in the pastorate by Rev. Robert Turnbull, then quite recently from his native country, Scotland. A few years previous he had graduated at the University of Glasgow, and subsequently attended the lectures of Drs. Chal- mers and Wilson at Edinburgh, and studied theology under Drs. Dick and Mitchell. He arrived in New York in 1833, and soon after accepted the call to this church. A very successful pas- torate of one year and a half was closed by his acceptance of an urgent call from the Home Mission Society to occupy a field in Detroit, Mich. 310 HISTORY OF DANBURY. The next regular pastor of the church was the Rev. Orson Spencer, who entered upon the pastoral charge in May, 1835. His call was not wholly unanimous, and his resignation followed after a few months' service. The church remained without a pastor until April, 1836, when Rev. Jonathan G. CoUom accepted a call and remained for three years. It was during his ministry that the Rev. Nathaniel Colver, who was speaking in the church against slavery, was mobbed. An account of this occurrence will be found in another portion of this history. Mr. CoUom's resignation was tendered to the church during the fourth year of his pastorate, and he left Danbury to enter upon the pastoral charge of the Baptist church at Pemberton, N.J. He removed from thence to Wil- mington, and after to Mount Holly, N. J., where he died. The Rev. Addison Parker was the successor of Mr. Collom. In August, 1839, he accepted the call of the church and entered immediately upon his work. He continued three years in the pastoral office, during which period the church enjoyed a good degree of prosperity. Rev. Daniel H. Gillett having been called to the charge of the church, entered upon it in June, 1842, but was compelled, after a few months' service, to relinquish it on account of a severe attack of bleeding at the lungs. He immediately sought a southern climate, which, however, proved insufficient to arrest the work of death. The church remained without a pastor until the September following, when Rev. William R. Webb accepted their call and came upon the field. His ministry covered one year and a half. Rev. Rufus K. Bellamy was called to the pastoral charge of the church after the resignation of Mr. Webb, and signified his acceptance of the call on May 9th, 1844. During his ministry of three years the question of a removal of the churchy from Deer Hill was agitated to such good purpose, that, on April 9th, 1847, negotiations were made with Thomas T. Whittlesey, Esq., to purchase a lot south of his then residence on Main Street, the price paid being $1000. The building was pushed to completion and dedicated on Jamiary 5th, 1848. In April following Mr. Bellamy tendered his resignation of the pastorate to accept a call from the Baptist church at Chicopee, Mass. Rev. Aaron Perkins accepted a call from the church, and HISTORY OF DANBURT. 311 entered upon the pastoral charge in May, 1848. As a pastor Mr. Perkins is most kindly remembered in the church. Always courteous and sympathetic, he has left behind him only sacred and pleasant memories. His resignation was accepted March 7th,^ 1852. During his pastorate the Baptist church at Mill Plain was constituted, and nineteen persons were granted letters to form the new interest, which was duly recognized under the name of the " Baptist Church of Mill Plain," by a council which convened September 24th, 1851. Rev. William S. Clapp was next called to the pastorate by a unanimous vote of the church. The call, extended April 11th, 1852, was accepted the 16th of the same month, and his interesting and prosperous pastorate was terminated by his res- ignation on August 9th, 1857. He has now " gone up higher." Rev. Henry K. Green was called to the charge of the church October 3d, 1857, and soon afterward commenced his ministry here. He resigned in February, 1859. From that time until August, 1860, the church had no settled pastor. For several weeks after the resignation of Mr. Green the church was sup- plied by the Rev. O. W. Briggs, to whom a call was extended, but declined. Rev. M. S. Riddell also received and declined a similar invitation during the same period. In the autumn of 1859 Rev. George M. Stone, then at Madison University, spent four months with the church as a supply. At the expiration of that time he received a unanimous call to assume the duties of the pastorate, but deeming it judicious to enter upon a course of theological study, the call was declined. In the summer of 1860 it w^as renewed and accepted, and Mr. Stone entered upon the duties of the pastoral charge in August of that year, and was ordained September 19th following. The pastorate of Mr. Stone embraces a period of unusual interest, as well to the church as to the nation. Four years of severe con- flict for the restoration of the union of the States to their integ- rity were experienced during that period. In the summer of 1860 extensive repairs and changes were made in the church edifice. In July, 1866, through the generous efforts of a few of the brethren, a new and beautiful organ was given to the church. On account of ill-health which demanded a change of climate, Mr. Stone tendered his final resignation in July, 1867, which was reluctantly accepted by the church. 312 HISTORY OF DANBUEY. For a period of fifteen months the church was without a pas- tor, during which time a call was extended to Rev. John Peddie, and subsequently to Rev. Almon Barelle, of Brooklyn. These invitations were, however, declined, and the church was depen- dent upon supplies for preaching on the Sabbath. At the covenant meeting held October 1st, 1868, it was voted unanimously to extend a call to Rev. A. C. Hubbard, of the First Baptist church of Cincinnati, O. The call was accepted, and Mr. Hubbard entered upon his labors November 15th, 1868. For a time after the assumption of the pastorate by Mr. Hubbard the church was hampered by a debt amounting to about $6000, which had been accumulating for several years. An effort made to remove it met with success, and the church held a jubilee ser- vice to celebrate the event. Improvements costing $5000 were made to the church property during the first ten years of Mr. Hubbard's pastorate. In his tenth anniversary sermon he re- ported that two hundred and seventy-two persons had been added to the church, and that about $44,000 had been raised and expended for all purposes. In the year 1879 the Connecticut Baptist Convention held its annual session with the church. The meetings were largely attended, and were regarded as among the most inspiring and helpful in the history of the body. The second decade of the pastorate of Mr. Hubbard was marked by a steady increase in membership and contributions to benevolent objects. In the year 1888 he offered his resigna- tion as pastor, but it was not accepted, and the relation has con- tinued to the present time. On April 14th, 1890, the church celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of its constitution. Services of a highly interesting nature were held ; memorial sermons were preached by Dr. G. M. Stone, of Hartford, and by the pastor ; reminiscent ad- dresses were made by old members, and letters of congratulation from absent friends were read. A short time after this inspiring service an effort was made to secure subscriptions to a fund for the purpose of erecting a new church edifice. On one Sunday $29,300 was subscribed. This was increased by subsequent effort, until the available amount was thought to be $40,000. A building committee consisting of Henry Crofut, Charles 1 w ! W ,^i«^s,c3ib.*»mmi' f!^ •■<( '•,* c H ' M > a ■1 K K HISTORY OF DANBURY. 313 Hull, J. Amsbury, F. D. Butler, A. G. Benedict, J. M. Bailey, W. J. Anderson, E. S. Fairchild, William Beckerlie, and the pastor, was appointed. It was decided to locate tlie new cliurch on the site on West Street occupied by the parsonage. Ground was broken on March 31st, 1891, and the comer-stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies on September 11th of the same year. The purchase of land upon which to remove the parsonage building, the cost of additional land for the church site, and of the building itself with all of its furnishings, amounted to about $112,000. The church is a handsome and commodious edifice of Romanesque architecture, buUt of stone and brick, and provided with all of the appointments for multifarious church work. It was dedicated with impressive ceremonies on April 16tli, 1893. An interesting feature of this church is a soldiers' memorial window contributed by the citizens of Danbury. It symbolizes Reunion, Emancipation, and Peace. It was unveiled, with exer- cises of a highly patriotic nature, on June 21st, 1893. General Weissert, Commander-in-Chief of the National Grand Army of the Republic, and other distinguished men were present and contributed to the interest of the occasion. The twenty-fifth anniversary of the settlement of the pastor was suitably observed by the church. Since the occupancy of the new edifice every department of the life and work of the church has flourished. The Connecticut Baptist State Conven- tion met again with the church in October, 1893. Many hearty expressions of congratulation and prophecies of increased pros- perity and usefulness were uttered by representative Baptists of the State. It is the purpose and hope of the church that these predictions may be realized in the future. THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST.* To write a complete history of this Church would necessitate recording many of the leading events of one of the foremost religious movements of the present century. The Church of the Disciples in Danbury is one of the pioneer churches of a reforma- tion beginning in the early part of this century, which has re- sulted in the fifth Protestant religious body in the United States, numerically considered. Perhaps only one organization in the * Contributed by Rev. E. J. Teagarden. 314 HISTORY OF DANBURY. whole brotherhood of the Disciples antedates the church in this citj. The Church takes a certain just pride in the fact that it has occupied this advanced and independent jjosition in a move- ment of more rapid and permanent growth than any other Prot- estant reformation. The last United States census credits the Church of the Disciples with by far the largest percentage of increase of any religious body in the country. The four charter members of the Church in this city, Levi Osborne and Uz Wildman with their wives, separated of their own accord from what was known as White's Church. White's Church was a branch of the Sandemanian Church, then an im- portant religious factor in the community, numbering many of the most prominent families as its adherents. The separation of these four members occurred in the year 1817, having its cause in a dispute concerning the ordinance of bap- tism. The society insisted that an infant child in the family of Mr. Wildman should be presented at the church and be sprinkled, in accordance with the custom of the Church. Mr. Wildman insisted that there was neither scriptural authority nor example for such a rite. He and Mr. Osborne held that only penitent believers were proper subjects for Christian baptism, and that there was but one scriptural mode of baptism — namely, immer- sion. They believed that sects were sinful because contrary to the prayer of Christ, the commands of the apostles, and the whole letter and spirit of the New Testament. They held also that all creeds of human formation should be rejected as authori- tative or as terms of Christian fellowship. Upon learning that a small band of Christians in New York City conformed to these views, Mr. Osborne sought an interview with them, which resulted in his baptism by Henry Errett, a leader in the one church of Disciples which antedates the church in Danbury. Returning to Danbury, Mr. Osborne immersed Mr. Wildman and their wives. Mr. Osborne was appointed elder of the church thus organized. From this small beginning in 1817 the church has developed through its seventy-eight years of history, and occupies to-day a prominent position in the religious life of the community. The families and descendants of these charter members have been foremost in the life of the church during its whole history. Mr. Osborne acted as presiding officer, and often as local preacher, HISTORY OF DANBURY. 315 until his death in 1851. A memorial window in the front gallery of the present church building was erected to his memory by his daughter, Miss Lucy M. Osborne, who is now living, having been a member of the society seventy-four years, or since 1821. Miss Osborne has furnished much of the data and many of the incidents for this historical sketch. A grandson of Levi Osborne, the late Edward B. Osborne, held a prominent position in the church from 1839 during the re- mainder of his residence in Danbury, serving the church as local preacher at least one year. Also Levi Osborne, Jr., another grandson, served the church in many ways from 1844, until he removed to New York State, Avhere he became a regular preacher among the Disciples. Of the relatives of Uz Wildman we may mention Addison Judson, a son-in-law, who became a deacon in the church in 1838 ; also Miss Hattie L. Judson, a great-grand- daughter, who is at present a missionary in India, having gone out from this church in 1892. During the first two years of the life of the church the meet- ings were held each Lord's Day at the home of Mr. Osborne, situated on the corner of what are now Osborne and Summit streets, but at that time far outside the borough limits. The additions to their numbers during this first period of two years were but five new members. In 1819 Mr. Osborne fitted up a room for church purposes in the loft of his weavers shop, in the same yard with his house. This room served as a place of meeting for twenty-one years. During this second period fifty persons united with the church, several of whom were leading spirits in its progress, and deserve mention here. John Abbot, a native of England, held mem- bership with them from 1819 until 1865, the date of his death. His widow, Mrs. Harriet Abbot, still survives him, being one of the oldest members of the church. Her wonderful memory has made her a valuable help in reproducing this early history, since the incomplete records of those early years have been lost sight of. Mr. Abbot was a profound student of the Scriptures, assist- ing very much in the restoration of apostolic doctrines and prac- tices, upon which the church has ever insisted. He labored for several years as local minister of the church. Bethel Morris, who united in 1820, was prominent for many years. His descendants have ever been leading members of the 816 HISTORY OF DANBURY. society, a grandson, Edgar S. Morris, being an elder at the pres- ent time. In the same year there united Starr Benedict, whose son, Joseph Benedict, remains as a deacon of the chnrch. Later in this period John Benedict became a member and served for a brief period as an elder, removing later to the State of Wis- consin. The Benedicts were at that time prominent in the church, and theu' descendants have been leading spirits through- out its life. Thus passed twenty-three years, during which only occasional visits were made to the church by ministers from other parts. The religious body being in its infancy, there were as yet few ordained preachers. This church, being the only one of its faith in all New England, had to be satisfied without a regular min- ister, the preaching and teaching being done largely by the faith- ful and honored men whose names have been mentioned ; and, indeed, if reports be true, it required much patient endurance on the part of the younger portion of the congregation to sit through the morning and afternoon service, and listen for an hour to the reading and expounding, verse by verse, of a long chapter. This was done by some good old brother, more hon- ored for his zeal and devotion than for his " aptness to teach." It is said of one very simple-minded but devoted brother, who thought it his duty to use " his one talent" for the edification of the brethren, that his speeches had just one highly aj^preci- ated merit — namely, their brevity. He had a few favorite Scrip- ture verses, after the reading of which he would invariably re- mark, " It 'pears to me, brethren, that these verses are very edifying, very full of comfort." To which the congregation silently and gladly responded, " Amen." Yet it is a most re- markable fact that almost all the children of these early fathers of the church became active, lifelong members, when there was so little to attract and hold them, except parental influence and the godly, devoted lives of the leaders in the church. The first break in this monotony of service occurred in 1837-38, when Porter Thomas, a regular evangelist, labored with them for sev- eral months, adding a number to their membership. During these formative years the questions of church name, polity, ordinances, and life were constantly discussed. The aim was to return in all things to New Testament ordinances and practices. Their views were formed independently of the HISTORY OF DANBURY. 317 so-called schools of theology, being based entirely upon the Word of God. They deplored the existing divisions in the Church of Christ, believing that the unity for which the Lord so earnestly prayed could be restored and preserved only by dis- carding all human creeds, the inventions of men, and returning to the Word of God as the sole rule of faith and practice. It was not until the year 1827 that the brotherhood at large became a distinct religious body, known as the Disciples of Christ, or Christian Church ; but not until many years later did the church in Danbury adopt the name Disciples of Christ. During the periods mentioned they were known as Osbornites, after the name of Mr. Osborne, who had been the presiding oflBcer and leading spirit from the first. The church was consid- ered very peculiar in some of its early teachings and practices, it being at one time believed that they had a special Bible to correspond with their own peculiar doctrines ; but it is claimed to this day that this was a false report, and that its origin was on this wise : A venerable brother, more noted for piety than for education, wished to purchase a Bible. He consulted with the elder, who advised him to purchase the Polyglot Bible, it being the most helpful then in use. When about to make the purchase, finding that he had forgotten the name, he asked the permission of the book dealer to take the Bible to Elder Osborne before purchasing, that he might be sure he had the right kind of a Bible. They claim that other false reports, which did them much harm, were no better founded than this one. The third period in the church's history opened in the year 1840, when they began to worship in a new house, erected by them with much effort and many sacrifices. This new building stood directly opposite the present site of the New England Hotel, about where the electric-light tower now stands. It was a convenient little meeting-house of one room, with a seating capacity of about one hundred and fifty. The property upon which it was erected was leased to them under the name, " The Reformed Christian Baptist Society." At that time the congre- gation numbered less than fifty members. Their larger and more centrally located home inspired them to renewed effort, and their progress was consequently more marked. Among the leading men of this third period may be mentioned Martin H. Griffing, Sr., who united with the society in 1842. 318 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Being a devout Cliristian and a man of means, he was for many- years a great spiritual and financial aid to the church. His chil- dren, three of whom are now connected with the society, have contributed in many ways to the prosperity of the work. Through their liberality the beautiful j)ipe-organ in the present building was presented as a memorial to their beloved father. Eli H. Mallory, who was not satisfied with the teachings and practices of the church to which he belonged, cast his lot with this church in 1843. Being a man of stern conviction and won- derful logical powers, he was enabled to lead many persons into the church, among whom were his own brothers, who have ever been a spiritual and financial power in the church. Ezra A. Mallory, one of these brothers, is at present an elder in the society. He has erected a memorial window in the church as a tribute to the faithful service of the departed Eli H. Mallory. In 1848 Charles Reed became a valuable addition to the small struggling band of adherents to this simple faith. His name also may be seen upon a memorial window in the present church. This window was erected by his widow, Mrs. Eveline Reed, who remains to the present as a faithful servant in the cause so dear to the heart of her departed husband. The Stevens family had been engaged in the work of the church for many years, and in 1849 Lewis B. Stevens became a member, soon being elected an elder. Several members and descendants of his family are now connected with the church. William H. Stevens, a brother of Lewis B., serves as chairman of the present Board of Deacons. In 1837 they called Dr. Francis Craig, of Kentucky, to preach for them. He was a true Kentucky orator, and a man of exem- plary life. The following year his labors were brought to a sud- den close by his death. His remains were buried in Wooster Cemetery, to be joined two years later by Mr. Levi Osborne, whose death meant a great loss to those whom he had led for thirty-four years. The church erected a plain marble stone to mark the spot where their bodies rest. The vacancy caused by the death of Dr. Craig was at once filled by calling J. I. Lowell to labor as evangelist. Mr. Lowell ministered to them in word and doctrine the greater part of the time for seven years. The names of the many other faithful members of the church, who were prominent in its early history, must be omitted from HISTORY OF DANBURY. 319 this sketcli, except the mere mention of Dr. E. F. Hendrick, who united at a little later date, about 1861, and whose widow, Mrs. Maria B. Hendrick, is one of the deaconesses of the church at the present time. In those early days the church had a fame for its strict em- phasis of the duty of caring for the poor and afflicted members, some even insisting that such dependent ones should always be furnished with a home among the families of the church. Of course this was not always possible, and that it was not always done is seen from the following incident : An old sister was blind and almost helpless. After being moved about from fam- ily to family, that all might share in the duty of caring for her, it was decided to secure her a permanent boarding-place. The home of a Catholic lady was selected, where she had the best of care. Being somewhat weak in mind, she at first thought she was in the home of one of her brethren. Later she became sus- picious and questioned her hostess, who, not having any sjiecial scruples in regard to the truth, assured her that she also belonged to the White Street church. "Then why," asked the blind invalid, " do not the brethren come oftener to visit us f The hostess replied, " They do come, some of them are here every day." And after that she frequently imitated the voices of the members whom she knew, and would go in and shake hands, making kindly inquiries as to her welfare. Thus, it is said, the old lady was made contented and happy in the assurance of Christian fellowship here, and in the hope of an eternal home hereafter. The fourth marked period of progress began in the year 1853 with the removal of the congregation from White Street to Lib- erty Street, near Main, their present location. At a cost of $2000 the society purchased a house and lot from the Methodist church, which had vacated it for larger quarters. At this time the name " Osbornites" was dropped, the members insisting upon being called simply "The Disciples of Christ." This scriptural name was, with some hesitancy, applied to them by the community, and by it they have been known ever since. Although known as " The Disciples of Christ," the present prop- erty is deeded to the society in the name of " The Church of Christ." Great emphasis has ever been laid upon the name, it being claimed that if the churches of Cliristendom ever unite, it 320 HISTORY OF DANBURY. must be under a scriptural name, and not one of the names in- vented by the religious sects. This accounts for the fact that different names, such as "Disciples," "Christians," "The Church of Christ," all of which are in the words of the New Testament, have been in different places and at different times applied to this church. In assuming these individual names — "Disciples," or "Christians," and the collective names, "The Church of Disciples" or "The Church of Christ" — they by no means imply that the Church of Christ is found exclusively within their borders ; but they recognize every consistent believer everywhere as a member of Christ's Church, and plead for a union of all Christians by a return to the principles and prac- tices of the apostolic age, to the end that the world may be evan- gelized. They agree with the great bodies of orthodox Chris- tians in such fundamental subjects as the inspiration and author- ity of the Scriptures, the divinity of Christ, the necessity and efficacy of the atonement, regeneration by the Holy Spirit, the necessity of holy living, and the reality of future rewards and punishments. The building purchased from the Methodists was remodelled, the basement being fitted up for Sunday-school purposes. The audience-room had a seating capacity of about three hundred. The membership of the church was still below one hundred. This more central location, together with the fact that ministers had begun to be regularly employed, gave them advantages which they had long desired to possess. The membership grew steadily from year to year, and the Sunday-school was pros- perous. In 1864, near the close of the war period, some slight differences led to a temporal division of the working forces of the church, but in 1870 these differences were amicably adjusted, and all have since worshipped together in harmony with vastly in- creased success. The number of members in 1870 was 233. The records show that since 1870 there have been 560 additions to the church. The most active period in the history of the church has been during the past six years, in which time 325 members have united with it. For many years the members had discussed the ques- tion of a larger and more modern church building. On Lord's Day morning, October 26th, 1890, an appeal was made to the Col. Nathan Dibble. John Abb(}tt. Univekjsalist Church. Dlsciples" Church. Stephen Bates Levi Oj^borne. HISTOEY OF DANBURY. 321 congregation, resulting in subscriptions amounting to $7500. This amount was increased by later pledges and donations, until it reached near $12,000. Plans were at once adopted, and work was begun on the new house. The old building was removed to the rear of the lot on Liberty Street, and utilized as a lecture- room, being connected with the new part by large sliding doors. The whole w^as completed at a cost of $22,000. The building was dedicated on January 31st, 1892, and there was raised, in four-year pledges, a sufficient amount to almost cover the in- debtedness incurred by the building committee. The building is according to the latest plans of church archi- tecture, and has all modern furnishings and conveniences. It is considered a model church home in every respect. The audi- torium has five hundred sittings, arranged upon a bowled floor in semicircular fonn, converging toward the pulpit platform. On the rear of the pulpit platform are situated the pipe- organ and the choir gallery. By throwing open the doors to the lecture- room the seating capacity is increased to eight hundred. The building is a frame structure, the outside being modelled after the quaint architecture of the Netherlands during the Middle Ages. Its very oddity makes it an ornament to the city. This new and larger church home has given renewed life to every branch of the work. The present membership of the church is 540. The Sunday-school enroUs 450 scholars. The Christian Endeavor Society has a membership of 125. The mis- sionary societies and other organizations are in healthful and flourishing condition. Two young men of the church, Charles C. Waite and Charles Darsie, have lately prepared themselves for the ministry, and are now preaching for churches in Ohio. Others are preparing themselves for the ministry and for foreign missionary Avork, As nearly as can be ascertained, the following is a list of the ministers who have served the church, and the date when each was called by it : 1837, Porter Thomas ; 1841, A. G. Cummings ; 1842, Matthew S. Clapp and William Tichenor ; 1847, E. A. Smith ; 1848, Dr. Francis M. Craig ; 1849, J. I. Lowell, Edward B. Osborne, J. M. Yearnshaw, and W. A. Belding, for brief periods each ; 1857, W. W. Eaton ; 1859, Theodore Brooks ; 1861, A. N. Gilbert ; 1864, J. A. Headington ; 1866, L. R. Gault ; 1867, W. L. Hayden ; 1871, W. R. Spindler ; 1873, W. B. Craig ; 322 HISTORY OF DANBURY. 1875, J. L. Darsie ; 1880, M. J. Ferguson ; 1882, Levi Marshall and T. D. Butler ; 1883, W. W. Carter ; 1884, S. B. Moore ; 1889, E. Jay Teagarden, the present minister. The following members have served as elders of the church : Levi Osborne, John Benedict, Edward B. Osborne, Starr Bene- dict, John Abbott, Levi Osborne, Jr., Eli H. Mallory, Abel Foote, Lewis B. Stevens, Ezra A. Mallory, and Edgar S. Morris, the latter two serving in that capacity at present. The present Board of Deacons consists of the following per- sons : Joseph Benedict, William H. Young, Alexander A. Davis, William H. Stevens, David Hawley, Bennett Turner, James E. Peck, Frank L. Hatch, Samuel A. Davis, Elbridge Gerry, Theo- dore Raymond, and Charles Elwell. The present Superintendent of the Sunday-school is Foster F. Fuller. It is thought that the Lord's Supper has been observed by this church on every Lord's Day during its seventy-eight years of history. About eleven hundred persons have been converted by the agency of this church in Danbury, all of whom have held mem- bership with it for a longer or a shorter period of time. The reformation, in which this church has held such an ad- vanced position and played so important a part, has resulted in about eight hundred thousand communicants in the brotherhood of " The Disciples" throughout the United States alone. UJSriVERSALIST CHURCH.* In September, 1807, the Rev. Hosea Ballou, before a congre- gation gathered in the Court House, preached the first Univer- salist sermon ever heard in Danbury. For some years after this the Universalists were dependent upon chance ministers for all they heard of their interpretation of the Gospel. In 1822 a society was organized by twelve men whose names were Ebenezer Nichols, William Patch, Miles Hoyt, Philo R. White, Stephen Ambler, Zadock Stephens, Ira R. Wildman, Thomas P. White, William Peck, Joel Taylor, Andrew Andrews, and Stephen Gregory. These twelve pioneers of the organization have aU passed on * Contributed by Rev. James Vincent. HISTORY OF DANBURY, 323 to the larger life, and many others, who in after years joined them in the work, have since joined them also in the other country. Many of these were well-known citizens of Danbury. One of them, known throughout the civilized world as a success- ful business man, and known also as a generous giver of large sums of money to Universalist institutions, made his home in a neighboring city, and was loyal to the faith throughout a busy life. This was Hon. P. T. Barnum, who for several years was clerk of this society. For more than a year after the organization there was no settled minister, but in 1824 Rev. Thomas F. King, father of the bril- liant and honored T. Starr King, became the pastor. It will not be necessary to name the pastors who have led the way through the intervening years. A number of them are living, and some are prominent among the thinkers and workers of the denomination. The longest pastorate was that of Rev. D. M. Hodge, who remained here working faithfully for ten years. Since the resignation of Rev. Mr. Hodge, in 1880, brief pastor- ates have been held by Revs. A. J. Aubrey, Alonzo Chase, W. J. Crosley, and E. A. Horton. The experience of varying good and ill that has attended the society has not been without good results. It has developed self-reliance and loyalty to an outspoken Christian belief. The old-time persecutions have left no hurt. They were the outcome of intense zeal, and at least a partial eclipse of understanding. Universalists and all other Christians have advanced since then, and the discoveries of science and the deeper study of the nature of man have prepared all for a better understanding of the kingdom of God in the world. Attempts at ignoring the Christianity of the Universalist Church there may be in unions for the enlarging of church in- terest, but such attempts are small and will be outgroAvn when those who make them realize that the hymns they sing, such as '' Nearer, my God, to Thee," " Watchman, Tell us of the Night," "One Sweetly Solemn Thought," "In the Cross of Christ I Glory," are each and all the expressions of hearts that were de- voted adherents of the Universalist faith. Such a church can afford to be ignored or persecuted, but the great thinking, seek- ing, waiting world of mankind cannot long afford to have it so. 324 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Its faitli in God and human destiny is spreading in all churches and outside all, and ere long credit will be given to whom credit is due. The first church edifice which the society erected occupied the corner of Wooster and Main streets, and was dedicated Septem- ber, 1833. This was afterward sold to the Roman Catholic society, and is still in its possession. The church on Liberty Street was then built and dedicated in the spring of 1852. But once more the circumstances of the time, and the desire of the society for larger opj)ortunities of usefulness, called for another change of location. The project for a new Universalist church in Danbury had been for some years working in the wishes and hopes of a num- ber of the earnest adherents of that system of Christian belief. The building on Liberty Street, where for years past they had worshipped, was not adapted to the growing needs and oppor- tunities of Universalism in these times, and in this growing city. These people realized that here, as also in every other city and village where the relationship of man to God and the question of human duty and destiny enter into the common thought, there was need of a house of worship that would fitly represent an interpretation of Christianity that is outspoken in advocacy of the fatherhood of God and the rights and obligations of man, and that answers the questions and supplies the religious needs of many who have earnestly sought for satisfaction in other statements of faith, and have found it not. This project began to take definite shape in the early summer of 1891. Thrilled by the personal presence and enthusiasm of Dr. J. H. Chapin, then President of the Connecticut Universal- ist Convention, the Danbury Universalists resolved to rise and build. The decisive step was taken when Joseph T. Bates, of Danbury, and Mrs. Laura Scott, of Ridgefield, each subscribed $5000. Other pledges followed, and the lot on upper Main Street was purchased for $12,000. Soon afterward the Rev. James Vincent became pastor of the society. The contract for the building was given to the firm of Foster Brothers, and all departments of the proposed work began that forward movement, the outcome of which is already ap- parent in the new church and the growing society which it represents. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 325 Tlie dimensions of the building are sixty-four by ninety feet. There is a substantial cellar wall, and numerous brick piers sup- port the iloor timbers. The ashler work of the granite founda- tion is excellently done with stone of the best quality. The walls are of North Haven brick, the belts, window-sills and caps, voussoirs of arches, quoins, buttresses, offsets, shafts, bases and caps of columns, all being of brown stone. The tower with spire surmounted by a bronze Unial is one hundred and twenty-five feet in height. There are two ornamental porches, one on the front of the tower, the other on the south side of the building. The columns of these are of turned brown stone. The main entrance is through the tower on the southwest corner. The pulpit is directly opposite in the northeast corner. The floor inclines gently toward the pulpit. The ceiling is finished in ash, while the pews and other furnishings are all of quartered oak. Just back of and a few inches higher than the pulpit platform is the choir loft, in the rear of which is the beautiful new organ con- structed by the Harrisons of New York. The windows give to the interior a mellow amber tint that is pleasing and restful. The large front window, with its simple but beautiful design, is the gift of Cola S. and Miss Carrie B. Peck, as a memorial of their father and mother, who for many years were devoted workers in the church. The pulpit is given by Miss Tomlinson's Sunday-school class as a memorial of A. A. Heath, another faith- ful Universalis t, for a long time superintendent of the Sunday- school. The communion-table is the gift of relatives and friends in memory of one well and wide known and loved. Colonel Nathan Dibble. There will also be a memorial to Lucy Scofield, warmly cherished in the memory of many as one of the tried and true. Directly in the rear of the auditorium is the large Sunday- school room, so connected by sliding doors that at any time it can be made a part of it, thus affording seating capacity for more than five hundred people. The other entrance through the south porch leads to the Sun- day-school room, to a parlor on the same floor, and also to a broad staircase leading to a second floor, where there is another parlor, a kitchen, and a large and attractive banquet hall fin- ished in cypress wood, and having all the conveniences necessary 326 HiSTOiiy OF dan bury. for social gatherings, fairs, suppers, and any work or pleasure tliat may justly accord with the life of a vigorous Christian church. The entire building is heated by three furnaces, and lighted with gas and electricity. The Building Committee are Luman L. Hubbell, Cola S. Peck, Miles D. Washburn, Martin W. Foster, Joseph T. Bates, and the Kev. James .Vincent, pastor. On Sunday, September 10th, 1893, with Rev. J. Smith Dodge, D.D., as the preacher, this church was dedicated to the Father- hood of God, the brotherhood of the human race, the genuine life of the Christlike religion, and a confident assurance of its ultimate and complete triumph in the bringing of all mankind to the love of righteousness, thus saving them from ignorance and loss, sin and sorrow, and making the life that now is and that which is to come a blessing to the whole world. With the completion of the new church the opportunity offered itself and the necessary machinery was at hand for what may be called a new era for Universalism in Danbury. That opportunity has not been left unused, and the machinery of the new structure has been made operative in developing the social, doctrinal, and devotional life and influence of a church thus dedicated to the worship of God and the welfare of man. As the foundation of its faith is the Fatherhood of God, so the method of its work is home and freedom, and its aim the culti- vation of the thoughtful and reverent Christian mind. Various departments are organized for special lines of effort, all to concentrate upon the task of making life sacred, helpful, and glad. Among these are the Society, the Church, the Sun- day-school, the Ladies' Social, the Women's Mission Circle, the Young People's Christian Union, and the Thursday Night Con- ference. One and a half years have passed since the beginning of this new era. There have been no spasms of religious feeling, no sensational methods, but steady, persistent work, the results of w^hich appear in the fact that the Sunday-school has doubled its numbers, the ladies' membership multiplied by three, and the congregation quadrupled in average attendance. The other inter- ests of the church have also increased in value and efficiency, and the outlook for the years to come is full of promise for Universalism and the Universalists of Danbury. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 327 ST. PETER'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.* The first Catholic priest on the records of Danbury was the Kev. Father Ryan, who came here in 1834. He was one of the old-style and austere fathers, and labored indefatigably for the establishment of his church in the town, but he was not destined to see the full fruition of his labors, for he was called away ere their accomplishment. He preached about in the houses, and his parochial limits included New Milford, Bethel, Redding, Ridgefield, Georgetown, and Newtown. He was followed in 1853 by the Rev. Father Smith, who succeeded in securing and establishing a regular place of worship on the corner of Main and Wooster streets, for those days a very comfortable place of worship, and sufficiently ample for all purposes. Father Smith's pastorate was comparatively short, and he was succeeded by Father Kelly, who does not seem to have advanced the interests of the church in any great degree, and who leaves no record of any particular work. He was succeeded by the Rev. Father Dray. This priest is well remembered by a great major- ^y of our Irish citizens, who were at that time young people. He officiated at the marriages of a number of our most thriving and influential citizens of Irish extraction, who have now flour"^ ishing families in town. He was foUowed by the Rev. Ambrose Manahan, a very learned man, who possessed the title of D.D. He bought what has been known as the old Catholic Church from the Second Congrega- tional Society in 1863. Shortly after the purchase he added to the building, and did much to further the interests of the church, but was caUed to other work, and was succeeded by the weU- known Father Sheridan, after whom a street in Danbury is named. Father Sheridan proved to be not only a progressive man, but an energetic, and he commenced the building of the present St. Peter' s Church. It was at that time a gigantic under- taking, but it had no fears for him, and after years of hard labor m overcoming difficulties that seemed insurmountable, before his removal from Danbury he had the pleasure of seeing the roof placed on the present handsome structure. But to his suc- cessor. Rev. John Quinn, was reserved the honor of completing the work, and in January, 1876, the late Vicar-General Hughes * Contributed by Rev, Father Lynch. 328 HISTORY OF DANBURY. performed the rite of dedication. The remainder of the pastor- ate of Father Quinn is remembered as the time of a great agita- tion of the total abstinence question, for which Father Quinn was an able and earnest advocate. Under his hand the number of members in the local temperance society swelled to hundreds ; nearly all the young boys of the parish were enrolled in a society of temperance cadets, and there was founded the temperance band, afterward St. Peter's Band, out of which evolved the present .Danbury Band. After several years of zealous labor Father Quinn was prostrated by a long and tedious sickness, and as his recovery was slow, the bishop thought it prudent to name Rev. M. R. Lawlor as Father Quinn' s successor. We have said that to Father Quinn was reserved the honor of finishing the church so as to hold service in it, and likewise to Father Lawlor was reserved the honor of reducing to a minimum sum the enormous debt which was on the church property when he took charge. During his seven years in Danbury were built and dedicated new churches in Bethel, Redding, Ridgefield, and Georgetown, and resident priests were stationed in Bethel and Ridgefield. After Father Lawlor came Father Thomas Lynch (deceased), who purchased and fitted up St. Thomas' Convent and erected the parochial school building. At first only eight rooms were finished, but so great was the number of applicants the first day, that it was found necessary to complete the remaining four rooms immediately. These rooms were hardly completed when he was called to his reward. In December, 1886, just ten years after the dedication of St. Peter's Church, Rev. Henry J. Lynch, the present rector, was appointed to succeed Father Thomas Lynch. The record of the nine years during which the present incumbent has had charge of the parish is the record of nine years of untiring labor, but labor that has been most fruitful. At the time Father Henry Lynch became rector the church was incomplete, inasmuch that no spire adorned it, and the base- ment was yet unfinished. The old cemetery had few if any suit- able lots for sale, the school grounds were not only unsightly but unhealthy, and the clergy were quartered in a house that had for years broken down the health of its occupants. The knowledge of these things, coupled with the fact that the church f, ..- _-**'*!??=' I :. 1^ HISTORY OF DANBURY. 329 debt had been greatly increased by the purchase of the convent and building of the school, would have made even a stout heart timid ; but without stopping to judge of what may have been the hopes and fears of the first months of Father Lynch' s pas- torate, we shall now, after nine years have elapsed, examine the result of his labors. One of the first cares of the new pastor was to provide a suit- able resting-place for the dead, and a beautiful spot, a few miles from the city, was purchased for $5000, graded, divided into sections, lots, etc., and shortly afterward consecrated. Next came the building of the spire, which was a source of gratifica- tion to many truly Catholic hearts ; but greater pleasure was theirs when they heard the harmonious strains of the sixteen bells placed in the tower. Then came what we may justly term the rebuilding of the foundation of the church, which caused an outlay of several thousand dollars : and while all this was ffoins on, the sanitary condition of the school and its grounds had not been neglected, and down underneath the surface hundreds of dollars' worth of sewering was done, and what until this time had been a swamp-hole now became a healthy, delightful play- ground. At an outlay of thousands more the basement was fitted up, so that the children could have a mass for themselves ; and now every Sunday nearly nine hundred little ones bow before the altar in the basement chapel. Good works are sometimes recognized in this life, and the late bishop, the lamented Rt. Rev. L. S. McMahon, was not blind to the work done in Danbury, and in December, 1890, he granted to the parish of Danbury all the rights and privileges of an irre- movable rectorship, and named the then pastor. Rev. H. J. Lynch, as first permanent rector of Danbury. Shortly after began the building of the beautiful parochial residence fronting on Main Street, near the park. The spiritual advance of Catholicism has kept pace with the material side of the question. Societies have been formed, con- fraternities and sodalities established to reclaim the one and pre- serve the other. The Society of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the Conversion of Sinners has a membership of two thousand. The devotion to the Sacred Hearts has become so popular that it was found necessary to divide the communicants, part coming the first Friday of the month, the remainder on the follow- 330 HISTORY OF DANBURl. ing Sunday. Missions have been held yearly, and many who had wandered for years have returned to the fold. No less suc- cessful has been the school. With an attendance of nearly eight hundred and fifty pupils, trained by a thoroughly competent corps of teachers, an education is imparted second to no element- ary school in the State. During the eight or nine years' exist- ence of the school not one of its pupils who had been authorized to take the examination for admission to the High School has been found deficient. Such is a brief synopsis of the development of the Catholic Church in Danbury. Like the mustard-seed spoken of in the Gospel, the mere handful of Catholics of a few years ago has grown to embrace nearly six thousand souls, possessing a mag- nificent church, a rectory second to none in New England, a large school, a convent with about fifteen religious, and two cemeteries, with a total value of a quarter of a million dollars. SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.* A church that should be a church home for people, irrespec- tive of social position or wealth, was a leading motive in the gathering in the basement of the First Church, May 20th, 1851. With no brilliant prospects and no encouragement from the older church, it was voted to try the experiment of a second Con- gregational church. Mr. Horace Bull was the chairman of that committee, and Henry Lobdell with L. C. Hoyt were appointed to arrange for a preacher and a place of meeting. Mr. William C. Scofield, of Yale Seminary, was engaged to preach for eight Sabbaths, and on June 17th enough encouragement had been received to warrant a vote to formally organize the new church, which organization was recognized by the Fairfield East Conven- tion on July 9th. The church thus instituted numbered twenty- three, of whom twelve were men. After worshipping in the building of, the Universalist Society for four months, meetings were held in the court-room over the Town Hall, but May 6th, 1852, the young church dedicated its own house of worship on Main Street, nearly opposite the pres- ent Court House. It was built on leased ground, and after eleven years it was sold to the Roman Catholic Church. * Contributed by Rev. F. A. Hatch. HISTORY OF DAISTBURY. 331 The church was served by Mr. Scofield for three years, but he was not ordained and installed until after the church was dedi- cated. From 1854 to 1867 the church struggled hard to live, and that it did survive was owing to the inflexible purpose of a few of the members, and the patient help of Rev. E. S. Huntington, who, while a teacher in the town, supplied the pulpit for nearly three years. Following this critical period, brief service was given as pastor by Rev. William Page and Rev. S. H. Howell. From March 26th, 1858, Rev. David Peck served as pastor until January, 1861. Following him Rev. Ezra D. Kenny supplied the pulpit for three months, when Mr. James Robertson was invited to preach, and December 20th he was formally invited to the pastorate. For two years after he began work worship was sustained in Nicliol's Hall, corner Main and Liberty streets. With the absence of some of her best men in the war, these years were crucial ; but, as is often the case, inspiration to new life was found in assuming heavier burdens. In 1864 a beginning was made toward a new building, and May 9th, 1865, the present brick edifice was dedi- cated, the late Professor Roswell P. Hitchcock, of Union Semi- nary, preaching the sermon. Soon after the church was dedi- cated Mr. Robertson resigned, and Rev. Henry Powers became pastor, remaining until January, 1869. He was liberal in the- ology, but public-spirited, and the Town Farm and New Street school building were acquired largely through his efforts. Fol- lowing Mr. Powers was Rev. David Easton, who remained, with an interval of a year, when Mr. C. A. G. Thurston acted as asso- ciate pastor, until January, 1874. Mr. S. B. Hershey, of Yale Seminary, was called, and became pastor in the fall of 1874, and resigned in March, 1881. Rev. J. A. Freeman succeeded him, serving until March, 1887 ; after him came Rev. C. W. Morrow, who was followed in 1893 by the present incumbent. Rev. F. A. Hatch. During the war, from a male membership of twenty-six, this church sent ten volunteers to the front, most of them enlisting in Company D, Seventh Connecticut Volunteers. Two found a soldier's grave — viz., Louis C. Wygant, who died at Hilton Head, S. C, August 4th, 1862, and was tenderly buried by another member of this church, Frank P. Nash ; and David R. Shelton, killed in the battle of Drarey's Bluff, Va., on May 16th, 1864. 832 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Memorial windows to these soldiers were placed in the front of the church, with the large window which was contributed by the Sunday-school. The other windows have an interest which is partially histori- cal and deserve mention. The renowned Rev. Frederick W. Robertson, of Brighton, England, a relative of the pastor who inspired much of the church-building zeal, is thus remembered. So is the Rev. Henry Lobdell, M.D., a missionary who went out from the church to Mosul, Turkey, dying there March 25th, 1855. George W. and Amelia Ives, Ezra M. Starr, and Horace Bull, who died January 7th, 1857, are thus memorialized. All the churches in town, except the First, contributed win- dows, as did the Bethel Congregational church ; and the Eng- lish, Irish, Scotch, German, and Canadian lineage of some of the incumbents of the congregation was made a feature in other windows. The new organ, placed in position in October, 1894, when the church was renovated on the inside, is a reminder if not a memorial of the long-time desire of a leader of the choir for twenty -five years, Mr. Nathaniel Barnum. Three different periods of spiritual reinforcement of the church have left their mark on its history. In 1858, when 39 were added to its membership ; in 1876, when in six months 59 joined : and in 1894 65 were received. During the pastorate of Mr. Easton in October, 1873, with the co-operation of the churches of the State the church was freed from debt. It has always been in a real sense a " people's church," and financially it has generally been burdened, but has remained true to the " free-pew" idea. From the outset it has turned its back on artificial class distinctions. Its present tendency is emphatically toward institutional methods, the pur- pose to make the church, its appliances, and its fellowship an every-day help, as contrasted with the idea of the religious club, the criticism of sermons, or the culture of sectarianism. To the usual organizations of the church it joins the especial feature of promoting the interests of the young people through its Young Ladies' Missionary Union, junior and senior Endeavor societies, its Boys' Brigade and Girls' Phalanx, its Little Workers, and King's Daughters. Its present membership is nearly three hundred. But two of West St. CoN(iRE(;ATii)NAi, Chirch. Ezra M. Starr. German- Lltheran Church and Parsonage. HISTORY OF D ANBURY. 333 the original members survive, Mrs. Joel G. Foster and Nathaniel Barnum ; but their affection and zeal for the West Street Church is a rich bequest from one generation to another. GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH.* Notwithstanding the fact that the Gennan population of Dan- bury formed a by no means insignificant portion of the commu- nity, prior to the year 1877 no attempts had been made by the Germans to found a separate church organization. According to data at hand the Germans, mostly Lutherans, were scattered among the various local congregations, although often express- ing a desire to worship in their mother tongue. It is true a Ger- man Methodist mission had been established about 1876, but its existence was of short duration. However, during the summer of 1887 a number of German Lutheran families, who had formerly belonged to a German Lutheran congregation in Rondout, N. Y., settled in Danbury. These families did not wish to affiliate with any of the denominations then having church societies in Dan- bury, and forwarded a petition to their former pastor, E-ev. F. Stutz, requesting him to visit them and establish a German Lutheran mission. Rev. Stutz acceded to the desires of the petitioners, and made a journey to Danbury, December 9th, 1877. After a service held in one of the members' houses a per- manent mission station was established, to which about twenty persons expressed a desire to join and to support. This mission station was immediately taken charge of by the New York Conference of the Synod of Missouri. About twenty ministers constituted the conference at that time, and its presi- dent, at the request of the members in Danbury, delegated one of the clergymen to supply the j)ulpit. During the first months of its existence the station flourished, and bi-weekly services were held regularly at the residences of the various members. Clergymen from New York, Brooklyn, Long Island, Paterson, N. J., and other cities visited Danbury at frequent intervals. The present pastor, W. A. Fischer, at that time a student in a theological college, was also twice called upon to take charge of the ser\aces. During four years, from 1877 to 1881, the mission maintained its existence, sometimes prospering, sometimes, * Contributed by Rev. W. A. Fischer. 334 HISTORY OF danbury. through lack of interest and support, coming to a very precarious condition. It, however, never ceased to lose its character as a German mission station. During the fall of 1880 a number of German emigrants were attracted to Danbury by the success and prosperity of the hat- tin^ industry. The majority of them were Lutherans, and as thev soon secured employment in the various hat factories, they decided to remain here permanently. The services of the mis- sion were attended by a number of these new additions. Steps were soon taken to form a church society, and to this end a con- stitution and by-laws were adopted. Twenty-two adult males, who constituted the voting members of the newly organized society, signed these articles and designated themselves the Ger- man Lutheran Immanuel Church U. A. C. (unaltered Augsburg Confession) of Danbury, Conn. The organization of the society and the adoption of articles occun^ed on January 23d, 1881. The first President was Carl Marzioch, and the first Secretary Fred. Schultz. The new congregation immediately resolved to call a pastor to the charge, and after a number of fruitless calls had been issued the founders unanimously decided to tender a call to the present pastor. Rev. W. A. Fischer. Rev. Fischer was at the time stationed in New York City as assistant to Rev. J. H. Sieker, pastor of St. Matthew's Church, corner of Broome and Elizabeth streets. This church is the oldest Lutheran church in America, and also one of the wealthiest and most influential. Rev. Fischer accepted the call, and took charge of the pastorate on October 18th, 1881, the installation occurring the following Sunday, October 23d. Previous to the arrival of Rev. Fischer services had been held in the houses of the various members, but the large increase in the attendance soon necessitated more commodious quarters being secured. A portion of what was then the Armory Hall, corner of Main Street and Library Place, was rented, and ser- vices were held regularly every Sunday. However, an ever- increasing desire of the congregation, which was now rapidly increasing in numbers and prosperity, to possess a house of wor- ship of their own made itself felt more and more, and prelimi- nary steps were taken to secure a permanent home. A building committee was appointed, and Rev. Fischer empowered to solicit HISTORY OF DANBURY. 335 subscriptions and to procure funds to purchase a site. The members and a number of local public-spirited gentlemen con- tributed generously to the funds, and in a short time sufficient subscriptions had been made to enable the society to purchase a building lot on Foster Street near West, from the late F. S. Wildman, the plot fronting one hundred feet on Foster Street and extending one hundred and seventy-two feet to the rear adjoining the property of the Methodist Society. During the period it was resolved to incorporate a parochial school in connection with the society, and Mr. C. H. Wente was called to assume the principalship. Quarters were secured on Patch Street, and the school opened with eleven scholars en- rolled on the register. It prospered from its inception, and con- stantly increased its membership. During its existence it has been an important factor in building up the congregation, it being the channel through which the children by their confirma- tion enter the church. On April 10th, 1882, a committee consisting of D. E. Loewe, Adolf Holdeichel, and H. Orgelmann was appointed to confer with local builders as to plans and specifications of a church, the cost of which should be limited to $3000. Plans were pre- pared by Foster Brothers and submitted to the Board of Trus- tees. A number of contractors bid upon the proposed structure. It was found, however, that the cost of the church according to the plans would be far in excess of $8000, and therefore beyond the means of the then small congregation. The latter, therefore, decided to build a smaller building, which should serve tem- porarily as a church and in which the daily school sessions could be held. Foster Brothers received the contract, October 15th being specified as the date of completion. On October 1st, 1882, the dedication services were held. Professor Bohm, of New York' assisting the local pastor in the exercises. The church property was also enclosed, filled in to correspond with the street level, and numerous other improvements followed in quick succession! Friends in New York City presented a chapel organ and a com- munion service, and several local parishioners also made substan- tial gifts in fitting out the interior of the building. All these donations were greatly appreciated by the members, and they felt greatly encouraged to persist in their ultimate desire to se- cure an appropriate edifice for their worship. 336 HISTORY OF D ANBURY. The church society on April 1st, 1883, decided to affiliate with one of the Lutheran synods, and it was unanimously agreed to incorporate with the German Lutheran Evangelical Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States, that body representing most faithfully the faith and doctrines of true Lutheranism. Of this synod it still forms a component part. In this same meeting the congregation, which now numbered about fifty voting members, voted to erect a church edifice and a parsonage, $4500 being appropriated for the former and $2500 for the latter. Subscrip- tion circulars were issued to all sister churches in the Eastern District of the Synod of Missouri, and though they elicited a generous response, the brunt of the final expenses was borne by the local members. Plans and specifications for the proposed buildings were submitted by Architect Osborne. The estimates of the builders and contractors, however, were far in excess of the sums appropiiated, and the first church plan of 1882, with extensive alterations, was finally adopted. During the month of June, 1883, the foundation of the present church was laid. The laying of the corner-stone occurred July 8th, the ceremony being performed by the pastor, assisted by the Revs. J. H. Sieker, of New York City, and Charles Frinke, of Staten Island. A special excursion train was run from New York, and a large delegation of Lutherans from that city and from neighboring towns attended the ceremony. The building operations were pushed rapidly, and by January, 1884, the church was ready for occupancy. Rev. J. P. Beyer, of Brooklyn, N. Y., President of the district synod, and Pro- fessor E. Bohm, of New York City, assisted in the dedication services, which were held January 13th. The edifice has a seat- ing capacity of about three hundred, and the interior furnish- ings, altar, pulpit, and fresco paintings are in accord with its character as a Lutheran church. At the time of its erection, it fully met the wants of the society, though in late years often proving inadequate for the purposes of the growing congregation. Possessing now a house of worship which was in every respect adapted to its needs, the young church society made rapid prog- ress. In a meeting of the Vestry Board, July 5th, 1885, a reso- lution was passed empowering the trustees to advertise for bids for a parsonage that was to be erected for the pastor. Mr. E. Kopp. of Newark, N. J., was awarded the contract, and HISTORY OF DANBURY. 337 ground was broken for Rev. Fischer's new residence on July 13th, 1885. On November 1st the building had arrived at such a state of completion that the pastor was enabled to take up his residence therein. A bam and sheds were also built in the rear of the church property. During the following years no change of importance occurred until January, 1888, when the principal of the school, Mr. Gr. H. Wente, met with a severe accident which permanently incapaci- tated him from discharging his duties in the school-room. Rev. Fischer thereupon assumed charge of the school, and though every effort was made to provide a successor to Mr. Wente, it was not until September, 1889, that a teacher was secured in the person of Albert H. Miller, who was called direct from the Addi- son Normal College, Illinois. The school at the time consisted of fifty-eight pupils, but during the following year such large accessions were made that in the spring of 1890 it was deemed necessary to build an addition to the school-house. During the vacation months F. S. Olmstead erected a large L, and the seat- ing capacity of the school was thereby increased to one hundred and forty. Furnaces, ventilators, etc., were added, and the school property underwent general repairs. During late years no important events are chronicled. The church has continued to flourish, and has grown from an insig- nificant beginning to large proportions. The number of mem- bers at present is three hundred and seventy-six, of whom sev- enty-six are voting members. The church society was incorpo- rated under the laws of Connecticut in 1887. Rev. Fischer has been in charge of the parish since its organi- zation, and has during his pastorate officiated at 114 marriages, 464 baptisms, 136 funerals. He has also confirmed 160 persons. The present ofllcers of the society are : D. E. Loewe, Presi- dent ; C. Muetschele, Treasurer ; Albert H. Miller, Clerk ; W. T. Strasser, Financial Secretary ; Martin Fuchs and William Stolle, Sr., Elders ; M. Lauf, A. Gerstenmaier, M. Heinzelmann and A. Pentermann, Deacons ; D. E. Loewe, C. Muetschele, W. T. Strasser, S. Lang, S. Procopy, C. Baur, and H. Schriefer, Trus- tees. Rev. William A. Fischer, Pastor ; Albert H. Miller, Prin- cipal of School ; Miss Emma Stolle, Assistant. CHAPTER XXXV. EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. The first public schools in Danbury were started soon after the incorporation of the town, but of them we have no record until a later date. In 1763 Comfort Starr left £800 for the support of a perpetual school in the centre of the town, to be under the direction of the selectmen and civil authority, according to the following clause in his will, of date May 12th : " Item. I give and bequeath the sum of Eight Hundred Pounds money out of my estate to and for the use of a Publick Scool to be kept in the first or old Society in Danbury to be Paid to a Committee within two years next after my Decease to be appointed by the s*^ Town of Danbury for that purpose and to be by the s'' Committee for the Time being and their successors in said office under the Direction and Inspection of the Civil authority and Select men of s*^ Town of Danbury for the Time being Improved for the only use and benefitt of one Certain Scool in Such Part of the s" Society as they shall think Proper to Effix the s'' Seal to be Constantly kept by a Learned and Skil- fuU Scoolmaster well able to instruct children and youth in the various branches of Good Literature and in the English, Greek and Lattain Languages and in vulgar arithmetick and to be paid his wages out of the Interest of the s*^ Eight Hundred Pounds by the s'^ Committee and if there should be more than sufficient to Defray the wages of such Scoolmaster at any Time of the Inter- est of s'* money as aforesaid then and in that case my Will is that the said over Plus shall improved towards Building and Repair- ing the Scool House in which s"^ Scool shall be kept and my Will is still further that only the Interest of s'' Eight Hundred Pounds be improved for the Purpose afores'' and that the Princaple be always Kept Good and that the Interest thereof be Improved for the only use afores*^ In manner afores'' for Ever : Provided HISTORY OF DANBURY. 339 always that in Case the said Town of Danbury fail or Neglect to Improve the Same for the purpose afores'' at any Time or Times (unless out of pure necessity it so happen at any Time that such master as afores'^ for a short space of Time cannot be had and obtained or be reasonably absent) then and in case of such Neglect the s'' Legasey shall be wholly and absolutely forfeited to my Natural Heirs in Lawfull Perportion to be Devided be- tween them and to be to them and their heirs for Ever : And furthermore I do hereby fully Impower my s'' Executors to make sail of any of my Lands not herein Expressly bequeathed for the Payment of any of my Debts or any of the Legasies mentioned in this my last Will and Testament." The executors were his " wife Hannah,* Captain John Starr, and Daniel Starr, all of Danbury." The witnesses were Deacon Joseph Peck, Thaddeus Benedict, and Eli Mygatt. This was called the school of liigher order, and was first held in a small building in the rear of the present jail. After a few years this building was taken down and a new one erected on the opposite corner, which was known as the Danbury Academy, and existed until 1867. At an adjourned meeting of the First Society in Danbury, held on January 6th, 1769, " the Committee appointed to Devide the several Districts in the Society for Schools make Report to this meeting in the words following, viz. — " To the first Society in Danbury " Gentlemen : " We the Subscribers being appointed by you a Committee to Devide said Society into proper Districts for Schools and make Report to this meeting would now ask Leave to Inform you that our oppinion is as follows, viz : — " 1st. That the Inhabitants Living Eastward of a Line Drawn from the Parting of the Paths on the west side of Cram berry bridge Northerly to the Parting of the Paths at Long Hill and those Living Easterly or Southerly of the Road which Leads from Long Hill towards Great Plain till it comes where Great Plain Road Leaves Stadley Ruff Road and from thence those who Live on Each Side of the Highway that Goes by Abrm. Benedict' s to Daniel Gregorys and So on to Nubury Line Includ- * Daughter of Rev. Scth Shove. 340 HISTOKY OF DANBURY. ing all those who Live Southerly of Said Road and westerly or northerly of the River from Said Crambury bridge to Newbury Ldne be one District for a School and be Known by the Name of beaver Brook District. " 2.1y. That all the Inhabitants (not included in bever brook School,) Living northerly and Easterly of a Line Runing west- erly from the Parting of the Paths at Long Hill a Cross Tamarack till it Comes where the Road that Goes to Jonathan Hayses Leves Pembrook Road then Runing in the highway that Goes to said Hayes (including what Inhabitants may live on Either Side of sd. Highway) tiU it comes where the Path Turn East- erly : from thence northerly to the Neversinck Boggs and so on to New fairfield line be one District for a School and be Called Great Plain District. " 3.1y. That the Inhabitants living northerly and easterly of a line Runing from the Parting of the Paths at North medow South westerly to the Stoney Gutter Near Timothy Fosters Barn from thence west to Clapoard Ridge Road and in that Road northerly to the Parting of the Paths from thence to the Saw mill & then Northerly as the Sawmill Brook runs through Mr. Linsleys Faiin Keeping the easterly branch to New Fairfield Line be one District for a School and be called Pembroke Dis- trict. " 41y.— That the Inhabitants living Northerly and Easterly of a Line beginning at the Parting of the Paths above Leiut. David Hoyts and Runing westerly till it comes into the Road Just below Ebenr. Pickits Junr. House then Keeping the Road by Matthew Boughtons House to Francis Boughtons Land from thence Runing on the north Side of Samuel Benedict to Ridge- field Line be one District for a School and be called King Street District — " 51y. That the Inhabitants Living Easterly and northerly of a Line begining at the Parting of the Paths at Seth Graund and Runing Southerly to Chestnut Ridge near Scuppo then Runing westerly in Scuppo Road to Ridgefield Line be a Dis- trict for a School and called the Boggs District " 61y.— That the Inhabitants Living westerly and northerly of a Line beginning where the Boggs Line Crosses the Road at Chusnut Ridge mountain and Runing Southerly in sd. Road till it Comes to the Bend of ye Road near Capt. Starrs Land at HISTORY OF DANBURY. 341 Stadley Ridge and from thence Rnning Southerly by the East Side of Comfort Shoves Farm to Fish wear River and then fol- lowing the River to mill Plain Pond be one District and Known by the name of mill Plain District. '' 71y.— That the Inhabitants living westerly and Northerly of a Line beginning at Fish wear River where mill Plain Line Comes to the River and Runing Southerly to the Heights of Thomas mountain from thence westerly to the Height of moses mountain from thence westerly to the Height of Spruse moun- tain and from thence westerly to Ridgbury Line be one District or a School and be called myrey brook District. " 8.1y. That the Inhabitants Living Southerly of a Line Drawn Heighth of Toms mountain and from thence to the Height of Spruse mountain near Capt. Taylors field be one District and called Starrs Plain or Long Ridge District. '' 9.1y. — That the Inhabitants living to the Eastward of Cram- bury River begining at James Benedicts mill and Runing to newbury Line and northerly of a Line Runing from said mill Easterly to the Height of Shelter rock Hill and from thence Keeping the Height of the Hill to Bethel Line be a District for a School and called Stoney Hill District, and that all the Rest of the Inhabitants not Included in any of the foregoing Discribed Limits be Equally Devided into Two Districts and be Known the one by the name of the Down Town District and the other by the name of the up Town District all which is humbly sub- mitted to the Consideration of the Society by their most obidient Humble Servants " Joseph Piatt Cooke. Silas Hamilton. Comfort Hoyt. Com tee. " At the same meeting the Society by vote appointed the follow- ing committeemen for the school districts : Captain Comfort Hoyt, Down-town School ; Matthew Benedict, Up-town School ; John Starr, Jr., Beaver Brook School ; Elisha Dibble, Great Plain School ; Noah Hoyt, Pembroke School ; Matthew Linsley, Jr., King Street School ; Nathaniel Gregory, Jr., Boggs School ; Peter Castle, MiU Plain School ; Daniel Benedict, Jr., Myrey Brook School ; Samuel Wood, Starrs Plain or Long Ridge School. 342 HISTORY OF DANE DRY. At a meeting of the First Society " held by adjournment on the 16th. day of February A D. 1791, the Com tee, appointed at the last Meeting to divide the Town plot into School districts made the following report, viz : — '' Danbury, Feb. 14th, 1791. " To the first Society in Danhury " Gentlemen : "We the Subscribers being by you appointed a Comtee. to Divide the Town plot in sd. Society into three Districts for the purpose of Schools and to make report to this meeting would beg leave to inform you that our Opinion is as foUows (viz :) That the Inhabitants living Northerly of a line beginning at the parting of the Paths between the Bogs and Mill Plain Districts from thence running Easterly across Gallows hill with the road or highway south of Pumkin Ground continueing East with said road across the Town street to barren plain bridge from thence to Benjm. Coziars dwelling House south of sd. house from thence northeasterly to the south end of Hayes hill shaU be the Northern District — " That the Inhabitants living Southward of a line drawn from the parting of the Paths a little west of Caleb Benedicts to the Court House from thence in the road through the burying ground over Deer Hill to blind brook & from thence to Thos. Moun- tain be the Southern district & that the Inhabitants living between the above described lines be the middle district, aU which is respectfully submitted by your Humble Servts. " Comfort Hoyt, Junr. ] Caleb Starr. |- Comtee." Justus Barnum 1 A meeting of the First Society, held January 14th, 1793, voted " that the district of King Street be divided into two by a line Drawn from New Fairfield line at the Northeast corner of Elna- than Knaps land South East to the first Nole (so called) taking the House where Capt. Nathl. Barnum now lives into the west part, sd. districts to be Known one by the name of the west Kingstreet district & the other by East Kingstreet district and to be under the Same regulations as other School districts in the Society." HISTORY OF DANBURY. 343 Abijali Barnum appointed commifcteeman for West King Street. Before the beginning of this century Miss Lawrence had here a boarding and day school for young ladies. In an issue of the Farmer's Journal of 1791 we find the fol- lowing advertisement : " A School Will be opened in Danbary by the Subscriber, near the bridge on Monday the 23d instant May, to continue three months con- sisting of thirty scholars each to pay for the time he comes his proportion of nine pounds, lawful money, the one half in cash or grain at the market price, by the first day of December next ensuing, and the other half in any kind of mechanics or farmer's labor in the present season. The following branches are taught in said school, viz :— Spelling, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. For further particulars and entrance apply to " Ezra Barnum. "P.S. All persons who have accounts open with the sub- scriber of more than six months standing are requested to settle the same without farther notice. " N.B. A boy or girl under ten years of age may be boarded at three shillings per week, if the pay may be depended upon. " Ezra Barnum. '' Danbury, May 16th, 1791." Later on Deacon Thomas Tucker taught a school in the present homestead of Mrs. George W. Ives, on Main Street. In 1812 there were three districts in the centre of the town — viz.: North Centre, Middle Centre, and South Centre. The North Centre School was on the place of the late Eli T. Hoyt, on Main Street, but was afterward removed to Franklin Street. The Middle Centre was on West Street, a short distance from Main, and the South Centre remains to-day in its first location. About 1813 Reuben Booth taught a school in a small building near the homestead of the late Charles Starr. His successor was Elias Starr. October 16th, 1827, we find in the Danbury Recorder an adver- tisement of Miss H. Sears' seminary for young ladies, in which we are told that " No pains will be spared on the part of the Instructress. — Fire wood extra !" 344 HISTORY OF DANBURY. March ITtli, 1829, Miss Eliza C. Starr advertises the reopening of her school for misses, and Elias Starr advertises his select school to open April 1st. The summer session of the Danbury Academy in 1829 was under the charge of Charles C. Darling, a graduate of Yale, and for the winter term Piatt T. Holley, also of Yale, was principal. In 1830 an exhibition of the Infant School was given in Mr. Rood's church, under the charge of the following committee : Moss White, E. S. Sanford, John Eider, John Fry, EH T. Hoyt, Reuben Booth, Ephraim Gregory. At this time Miss Ely was the teacher of this school, and she was succeeded by Miss Sarah H. Wilcox, now the venerated Mrs. George W. Ives. In April, 1830, Miss S. A. Gregory had a seminary for young ladies " a few rods North of the Meeting House in Danbury." In the issue of the Danbury Times of April 17th, 1839, Miss E. G. Bull advertises the opening of a school on Monday, April 22d. The same paper contains an advertisement of R. Wilson's Writing Academy, first door south of the Court House ; and of a lecture to be given by Rev. Mr. Cook, on the subject of "Common Schools," at the lecture-room of the Presbyterian church. October 2d, 1840, is advertised the Danbury Academy and Young Ladies' Seminary," where are to be "taught all the branches of a thorough English, Mathematical and Classical Education, Young ' Ladies received into the family of the Prin- cipal, and efforts made to cultivate intellectual, social and moral powers, and every qualification by which they may become more useful and accomplished members of Society. " Rev. J. W. Irwin, ' ' Principal of Male Department. " Mrs. R. R. Irwin-, " Principal of Female Department." The issue of the Times of December 3d, 1840, contains the fol- lowing : "The Teachers of the District Schools of the First School Society are invited to meet the Board of School Visitors at the Middle District School House on Friday, December 11th, for the purpose of more effectually co-operating in the improve- ment of Common Schools." In 1842 James H. Rogers advertises " Instruction in Book- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 345 keeping and on the Flute." A happy combination of the useful and ornamental. About this time appears also a flaming advertisement of the Lancasterian Institute in New Fairfield, with Jesse Peck as prin- cipal. This was a flourishing school for several years, largely patronized by New York people. In 1842 Mr. John Sherwood had a seminary on Deer Hill, conducted with much success. One of the best known of the teachers of Danbury was Miss Mary Bull, who began teaching early in life, and continued it until the time of her death. In 1843 she taught an infant school in the basement of the Methodist church, on Liberty Street, which afterward was removed to an upper room in her father's house on Main Street. Later on she fitted up a building at the foot of " the lane" (now Centre Street), and conducted here for many years a flourishing and successful school. Miss Bull was far ahead of the times in her methods and man- ner of teaching, having much of the kindergarten style, although on limited lines. The hours for study and recitation were divided into half hours, with a ' ' whispering recess' ' between of three minutes, and by judicious arrangement the tasks of each day were made varied and interesting. Singing, calisthenics, and phonography were included in the list of studies. There are gray-haired men and women of to-day who look back to the years passed in the old school-house with pleasant remem- brance, and cherish with grateful afifection the memory of that kind and faithful teacher. January 3d, 1844, Ira Morse advertises " commencing a writing school at the Centre District School House." In September, 1845, " Eev. John W. Irwin having resigned his connexion with the Male Academy, and erected a large new building will devote his time to those who board in his family." Number of pupils was limited to twenty-five. This was also a young ladies' institute, with Mrs. R. R. Irwin as principal of that department. In October, 1845, " Mr. L. C. Hoyt proposes to open a school in the South East Basement Room of the Methodist Church for the instruction of boys in all the branches of the English lan- guage commonly taught in schools." 346 HISTORY OF DANBURY. At the same time " Miss Martha White will open a school for Misses in the Basement of the Methodist Church." On April 8th, 1846, "Miss Mary Bull's school, in connection with another private school in this village will be examined at the Court House." Miss Bull also advertises to commence her '' Summer term on Monday, May 4th, with tuition for those under twelve, $2. per quarter, over twelve, $3. Instruction upon Piano. Deductions made for absence on account of sick- ness, but in no other case without previous agreement." The same issue contains the following : " Summer Session of the Danbury Academy will commence Monday, May 4th. and continue twenty-two weeks. " Benedict Starr." In 1846 a select school was taught by W. Pickett. In 1850 the institute of Mr. and Mrs. Irwin passed into the hands of the Rev. Henry Lobdell, who sold it in the autumn of 1851 to Rev. Elias S. Schenck. Mr. Lobdell went as missionary to Mosul, where he died March 25th, 1855. Mr. Schenck con- ducted a military school until about 1859, when he removed to New Jersey. Many of those who were pupils during the suc- cessful years of this institute under the various principals are dead, some are prominent business men among American mil- lionaires, others are gray-haired clergymen, lawyers, and physi- cians who have well earned the respect and position which they hold. Among the clergymen we note the Rev. Francis Lobdell, D.D., LL.D,, lately appointed venerable archdeacon of his dio- cese. He was born in Danbury in March, 1835 ; graduated from Amherst in 1858 ; studied theology at Union Theological Semi- nary, and after a short pastorate in the Congregational Church, was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in Ohio. Rector of the Church of the Advent in Cincinnati from 1865 to 1869 ; rector of St. Paul's Church, New Haven, Conn., from 1869 to 1879 ; rector of St. Andrew's, New York, from 1879 to 1887, when he became rector of Trinity Church, Buffalo, N. Y. Dr. Lobdell received the degree of D.D. from Hobart College in 1881, and LL.D. from the same college in 1894. Starr Hoyt Nichols, the oldest son of David Philip Nichols, was born in November, 1834 ; graduated at Yale College in 1854 ; travelled in Europe for a couple of years, and returning entered HISTORY OF DANBURY. 347 the Congregational ministry in 1860. Always of delicate liealtli, he still made a striking impression as a preacher during the six years of his ministry. Being, however, laid on the shelf from ill health, he devoted his leisure to letters, and published a poem entitled " Monte Rosa," in the year 1881, which received great praise from the critics. It was perhaps too serious to become popular, and too much occupied with nature to excite enthusi- asm, but it had wide scope and appealed to a select audience with great force. The following extracts from this poem, descriptive of the deep foundation of Monte Eosa, its grandeur, and a glorious sunset crowning its summit, will be found enjoyable reading : " Beneath, the ponderous mountain-pillar sinks Its shaft and adamantine strength far down Beyond the glimpse of ever-prying sun, Night-piercing moon, or eye of watchful star, Beyond discovered reaches of the mine, Beyond the oozy gorge of ocean's floor. To Pluto's murky cave and realm of fear ; Where prisoned earthquakes shake their hideous bars. And young volcanoes bubble gruesomely : There rests the Mount, its vast foundations braced On that colossal arch whose soaring span O'ervaults the muttering lakes of central fire. The flux and fume of windless inner seas And molten bays still vexed incessantly. ******* Italian skies of deep untroubled blue Thrice-dyed bind close their sapphire coronet To Monte Rosa's alabaster brow. The climates, runaways from guardian months. Race up and down her sides capriciously Like truant children whiling out the time. The gypsy clouds a-loitering 'mid the hills, Strolling adventurers from the teeming sea, Rehearse their shows before her and discourse Their evanescent pomp to her eternity ; Now pitch their roving tents on her large slopes. Now flutter arrowy streamers from her tip- Pennons of coasting tempests still mast-down The low horizon ; now storm-turbans furl About her brow ; then lifting climb the cope Of careless heaven to jeer her envious heights With higher cliffs of fog ; or drooping low In long pavilions stretch their lazy folds. Soft canopies above her lily head. 348 HISTORY OF DANBURY. 'Neath which she seems to lie reclined at ease, Some stately daughter to a sceptred king, Head leaned on hand in summer indolence. And large fair limbs outstretched at length half-clad, Half-bare, while lights and shadows changefully, Like furtive smiles from sleepy eyelids shed, Play o'er her fields of snow and reveries faint Steal through her thoughtful heart in silentness ; Heedless as love of time and what time brings, And pure as Dian walking heaven alone. *****♦♦ " Pensive as fabled fields of asphodel Lay all the primrose upland faint with sleep ; A garden of Hesperides whose close The gold-haired daughters of the kingly Sun Kept carefully where fear, nor night, nor death Could come, nor winter fall for all its snows ; But where the palm might lift its plumy fronds. The peacock burn, the slim gazelles find rest And all rare things the gleaming hollows hold. " When sank the sun and safEron grew to pink Upon the flushing snow, till spire and dome And every silver valley filled with fire ; And like a heavenly rose upon the sky The well named Rosa blossomed full and large, And flung her blushes to the eastern clouds, Above the ashen earth and strewed the heavens With more than countless roses' loveliness." Of a later generation is James Clarence Harvey, one of whose poems we give below : IMPERFECTUS. " I wonder if ever a song was sung, But the singer's heart sang sweeter ! I wonder if ever a rhyme was rung, But the thought surpassed the metre ! I wonder if ever a sculptor wrought Till the cold stone echoed his ardent thought ! Or if ever a painter, with light and shade. The dream of his inmost heart portrayed ! " I wonder if ever a rose was found. And there might not be a fairer ! Or if ever a glittering gem was ground, And we dreamed not of a rarer ! Ah ! never on earth do we find the best, But it waits for us in a Land of Rest, And a perfect thing we shall never behold Till we pass the portals of shining gold ! HISTORY OF DANBIJRY. 349 " I wonder if under the grass-grown sod The weary, human heart finds rest ! If the soul, with its woes, when it flies to God, Leaves all its pain in the earth's cold breast I Or whether we feel as we do to-day. That joy holds sorrow in hand alway ! " I wonder if after the kiss of death. The love that was sweet in days of yore Departs with the last faint, fleeting breath. Or deeper grows than ever before ! I wonder if, there in the Great Unknown, Fond hearts grow weary when left alone ! *' I think of the daily life I lead, Its broken dreams and its fitful starts. The hopeless hunger, the heart's sore need, The joy that gladdens, the wrong that parts. And wonder whether the coming years Will bring contentment, or toil and tears." Kev. Robert Grraham Hinsdale, althougli not a native of Dan- bury, was resident here for some little time, and after successful years of ministry in various churches became President of Hobart College, in Geneva, N. Y. He died some years since in Georgia. The old school building on Wooster Street is now a tenement - house, and there lingers about it not even a trace of its former glory, while its founders, Mr. and Mrs. Irwin, sleep quietly in the burial-ground "just over the way" from their old home of so many years ago. Miss Price kept a select school for some little time in a room on the second floor of what was known as the " yellow mill," just above the bridge. Miss Perkins also had a school in the old Sands Perkins house just north of the then residence of N. Hibbard Wildman. In 1850, the boarding and day school for young ladies, of Mrs. William Sherwood, was in successful operation on Deer Hill Avenue, just below West Street. May 1st, 1850, the Misses Meeker advertise a select school at their residence. The ^vinter term of the Danbury Academy in 1850 was opened with Nathan M. Belden as principal. The summer term of 1851 had as principal George W. Burr, and the winter term of the same year began under the charge of Frederick S. Lyon. 350 HISTORY OF DANBURY. From 1850 to 1857 Rev. Mr. Huntington conducted a boarding and day school on Deer Hill, a little distance south of Wooster Street. Mr. Huntington died in 1862. On Deer Hill was also the seminary of the Rev. I. Leander Townsend. In 1853 Miss Augusta Hoyt had " a school for Young Misses in the building next South of the Baptist Church," on Main Street. In 1854 Miss M. E. Barnum conducted a " Private School in Basement of Methodist Church ;" and the Misses Frances and Harriet Griswold opened a " New Select School in the Methodist Parsonage." In the autumn of 1855 E. J. Patrick was principal of the Dan- bury Academy. In 1859 Mr. F. J. Jackson had an English and classical school in the Turner House building ; this he converted into a military institute and removed to Deer Hill Avenue. In October, 1863, Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock advertise " a school in the former residence and locality of the successful school of Rev. Mr. Irwin." This school was afterward removed to Deer Hill. Rose Hill Seminary, under the charge of Mrs. G. H. White, was another flourishing institution of learning. In 1850 Mr. Henry C. Ryder opened the Middle Centre Dis- trict School on Liberty Street. He was superseded by Mr. Guion as principal ; following Mr. Guion was Mr. Fayerweather, who resigned in 1859, to be succeeded by Mr. Dowd, who retained the position until 1864, when Mr. Nathan C. Pond was appointed in his place. In 1863 the North Centre and Middle Centre districts were united under the name of Centre District, for the purpose of establishing and building a graded school large enough and in a suitable location for both districts. In 1864 a lot was purchased from the G. W. Ives estate fronting on New Street for the pro- posed building, which was not begun until the spring of 1867. Meanwhile an addition had been made to the Liberty Street School with a system of gradation, and a new wooden building erected on Balmf orth Avenue, to take the place of the old Frank- lin Street building. The New Street school building was finished in 1868 at a cost of $26,000, and was opened on May 4th, with Mr. N. C. Pond as HISTORY OF DANBURY. 351 principal, and an attendance of four hundred scholars. Mr. Pond resigned within a short time, and was succeeded by Mr. J. M. Smith. He left the school a few years afterward, and Mr. Warren was appointed in his place, but after a few years Mr. Smith resumed the position and retained it until his death in the fall of 1894. Mr. Frank H. Bennett is the present principal. By a vote of the selectmen and civil authorities, in 1869 the Starr Fund of $4257 was paid to the Centre District, for the establishment and maintenance of a high school, which was founded on a curious basis, being established under the Starr Fund, Centre District money and town jurisdiction. In 1881 the Balm forth Avenue school building with twelve rooms was finished, it being the consolidation of the old Balm- forth Avenue School, White and Upper Main Street branches. An addition to the New Street school building was completed in 1886 at a cost of $20,000. Music was introduced in the Centre District in 1888, with a capable instructor. In 1893 a handsome brick school-house with eight rooms was erected on Morris Street, for the benefit of the residents in the western part of the city, and this year a new eight-room building is being erected on Locust Avenue, for the benefit of residents in the eastern part of the city. When this latter building is com- pleted there will be in the Centre District four finely appointed brick school buildings with a capacity of accommodating twenty- five hundred pupils. After the erection of the much-needed High School building, Danbury's school facilities will be equal to any in the State. CHAPTER XXXVI. HISTORY OF THE BAR OF D ANBURY, CONN.* ELI8HA WHITTLESEY. The earliest mention of a member of the Bar in Danbury will be found to be that of Elisha Whittlesey. He was a prominent lawyer at the close of the last century, though but little can be learned from the records as to his career. He was born January 8th, 1758 ; graduated at Yale College in 1779 ; married Mary Tucker ; was representative and member of the Connecticut Con- vention to ratify the Constitution of the United States in 1788. He died November 9th, 1802. MATTHEW B. WHITTLESEY. Matthew Beale Whittlesey was born October 3d, 1766, at Salis- bury, Conn., and was the son of John and Mary Whittlesey. After his admission to the Bar he commenced the practice of his profession at Danbury in 1792, where he remained until his death. During his career he held various official positions, chief of which was that of State's attorney. He was also a member of the Legislature of Connecticut. He was married December 28th, 1794, to Hannah White, who died May 7th, 1819. In 1824 he married Caroline H. Buckley, who survived him for a few months. He died October 10th, 1847. He attained a high position in the profession which he had chosen, and his amiable deportment, firmness of purpose, and unblemished integrity won for him the regard and respect not only of those who were associated with him in the law, but also of the entire community in which he lived. He always vener- ated the institutions of Christianity, and he died in the firm belief of its teachings and in the hope of its reward. * Contributed by John R. Booth. It V. .TnxiE IJErBEx Booth. •TrDGE David li. IJooTii LlEI-T.-CJov. RooEIl AvERII.o. ^Iatthew R. Whittlesey. M'JI. F. T. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 353 On the announcement of his decease fitting resolutions were passed by the Bar of the Superior Court, which was in session at Danbury at that time, and an adjournment of the court was taken out of respect to his memory. REUBEN BOOTH. Reuben Booth was born in Newtown, Conn., on November 26th, 1794. When quite young his parents removed to Kent in this State. His father, though a man of considerable attainment in science, was in moderate circumstances, and required the assist- ance of his son in his business (wool-carding) to support his family. The subject of this sketch was employed in this busi- ness until he was about seventeen years of age, when with his father's consent he commenced the preparatory studies of a col- legiate course, and in the fall of 1813 entered the Sophomore Class in Yale College. Shortly afterward he received information of his father's death, who was drowned in the Housatonic River. He hastened home, expecting at that time to abandon his collegiate studies, as he was unwilling to reduce the slender means of his mother, but a few friends in Kent generously offered to loan him the amount requisite to complete his course, and he returned to college. He graduated at the commencement in 1816, being the last at which President Dwight the elder presided. Immediately thereafter he commenced the study of the law with David S. Boardman, Esq., of New Milford, with whom he remained about a year, and then removed to Danbury, where he continued his law studies with Moses Hatch, Esq. At the same time, he was employed as an instructor in the Academy in Dan- bury. In 1818 he was admitted to the Bar, and opened an office for practice in Danbury. In 1822 he was elected a representative of the town in the General Assembly. In the same year he was appointed Judge of Probate for the District of Danbury, and continued in that office by successive annual appointments until 1835. In 1830 he was elected a State Senator. In 1844 and 1845 he was elected Lieutenant-Governor of the State. He died at Danbury, August 14th, 1848, after an illness of a little more than two days. This was during a session of the County Court of that place. On Friday, August 11th, he was engaged in the 354 HISTORY OF DANBURY. trial of a cause before that court, which he argued with his usual ability, and his death occurred on the Monday night following. At his funeral the business of the place generally was suspended. He was buried in the cemetery of the Episcopalians in Danbury, he having been during the latter part of his life a member of that communion. Mr. Booth's professional practice at the time of his death was as extensive as that of any member of the Bar in the county. He was distinguished for his industry, his cases were always thoroughly prepared, and his knowledge of the law was accu- rate. He was at once zealous for his clients and courteous to his adversaries. He was well known in this State as an active and leading poli- tician. His policy was always conservative. During the two years that he was presiding officer of the Senate of this State, the members of that body who were his political opponents felt and acknowledged his liberality of sentiment and conduct. He was always firm in his principles, but when principles were not concerned, he regarded and treated his political opponents as friends. He was a warm and generous-hearted man. Remem- bering that in early life he was indebted to others for aid, no deserving young man ever asked in vain for a loan from him which it was in his power to give. He was simple and unosten- tatious in his manners, kind and benevolent in his disposition. He loved the young, and they never feared to approach him, as they knew that his sympathies were with them. Mr. Booth was married to Jane Belden, daughter of the late Rev. David Belden, of Wilton. Five children were the result of this union, only one of whom, Mrs. George Ferry, of Plainfield, !N. J., is at present living. NELSON L. WHITE. Nelson Lloyd White was born in Danbury on April 7th, 1812, at the house so long occupied by his father, Colonel E. Moss White, and which stood where the present Library Building stands. He studied law under the direction of the Hon. Reuben Booth, and in 1840 was admitted to the Bar of Fairfield County. He was clerk of the State Senate in 1844 and 1845, and in 1847, 1848, and 1849 was Judge of Probate for the District of Danbury. In 1856 he was a delegate to the first Republican National Conven- HISTORY OF D ANBURY. 355 tion at Philadelphia. From 1868 to 1874 he was State's Attorney for Fairfield County, and discharged the duties of the office with singular ability and faithfulness. On the breaking out of the Rebellion in 1861 he joined the Wooster Guard of Danbury as a private, and drilled with the company at New Haven, but was rejected by the Marshal because his age was beyond the limit fixed by law. Governor Buckingham immediately commis- sioned him as a field officer in the Fourth Connecticut Infantry. This regiment enlisted for three years ; was called to the field in May, 1861 ; was sent into Virginia early in the summer of that year under General Banks, and was afterward transferred to the First Connecticut Artillery, and took part in guarding the de- fences at Washington. It then joined the siege artiUery and served gallantly in the Peninsula campaign, and under General Grant in the siege of Petersburg and Richmond. Mr. White was lieutenant-colonel of this regiment, and sometimes served as inspector-general. He was mustered out in 1864. His conduct in the army was uniformly that of a high-minded gentleman. His moral influ- ence and weight of character were felt throughout the regiment, and he was universally honored and beloved by officers and soldiers. He loved his profession ardently, and always stood up in defence of the right. He had peculiar power as an advo- cate, and spoke with a fervor that often made him a dangerous antagonist before a jury. He was very courteous in his de- meanor, unostentatious in his charities, and public-spirited to the full extent of his means. He had a temperament eminently hopeful, which could override losses and disappointments in the anticipation of something better. He was devoted to his home and his friends. He was fond of books, especially those relating to history and poetry, and his love of flowers and trees amounted to a passion. He was a man of courage, moral, intellectual, and physical. He did not know what fear was in any of the relations of life. He was a man of impulses and intuition. He never waited to hear the opinions of others in order to modulate the expression of his own and shape them to some private end, but spoke as he thought and thought as he breathed with a spontaneity vital as his life. His intellect was moved by his sensibilities, and these were in accord with a sense of right, which could hardly have 356 HISTORY OF DANBURY. forsaken him even in his sleep. Colonel White came of an old colonial family and lived up to its record. He possessed great personal advantages and a peculiar patrician style and manner, but at the same time seemed unconscious of them. The thought of himself found little place in his sympathetic and impulsive nature, while the kindness of his heart yielded only to his sense of justice and his fidelity to truth. Colonel White was mari-ied to Miss Sarah Booth, daughter of David Booth, Esq., of Kent, on July 5th, 1836. Five children were born to them, of whom three daughters and one son are now living. The son, Dr. Granville White, is practicing medicine in the city of New York. Colonel White s death occurred November 17th, 1876. THEODORE MCDONALD. Theodore McDonald was born in Danbury on March 26th, 1835, and was the son of Allen and Harriet McDonald. He en- tered Yale College in 1855, and graduted therefrom in 1859. His chosen profession was that of the law, and on his return from college he entered the law office of the late William F. Taylor, and was soon admitted to the Bar. He remained in Mr. Taylor's office, continuing practice until 1870, when he formed a partner- ship with the late Colonel Nelson L. White, with offices in the old Library Building, which firm continued until Colonel White's death in 1876. For about two years after that Mr. McDonald practiced alone, when ill health forced him to cease, and he soon fell a victim to that lingering disease consumption. His death occurred on March 29th, 1880, at the house of his father, where he had always lived. He was of a quiet, undemonstrative nature, and made many friends during his career in Danbury, to whose wants he was always quick to respond. He was generous to a fault, and to those who knew him intimately his memory will always be dear. ROGER AVERILL. Roger Averill was born in Salisbury in this State on August 14th, 1809. He came of good New England stock, among whom were some of the earliest settlers of the State, his parents being Nathaniel P. Averill and Mary Whittlesey. One of a family of seven children, reared on a small farm, his education had, of HISTOEY OF DANBURY. 357 course, to be mainly that of his own earnings. By the aid of a common school and a public library, by farming in summer and teaching in winter, he prepared for college under the guidance of his brother Chester, a professor in Union College, and was graduated from that institution with honor in 1832. After studying law with Judge (afterward Chief Justice) Church in his native town, he was admitted to the Bar in 1837, and opened an office for practice, after teaching for a short time in the Academy there. In 1849 he removed to Danbury, and at once attained a wide and successful practice. Of fine personal appearance, with a ceremonious courtliness of the old school, a ready man of business, industrious by instinct, sound of judg- ment, and careful in advice, seizing and presenting in an effec- tive way the strong points of a case to the jury, and securing the conlidence of the court by the general justness of his legal propo- sitions, he always stood well in the ranks of his profession, to which he was greatly attached, and whose honor and welfare no one had more nearly at heart. A man of instant impressiveness, his native power was constrained by a caution so guarded and ingrained that he sometimes failed to give in expression the full force of his thought. Conservative by nature and apt to keep his own secrets well, he was open, candid, and thorough in his dealings with his clients, whose lifelong fealty he held when they realized the virtue of his wise and peace-loving counsels. In the public service he filled many functions, beginning with all the various and useful apprenticeships of the country lawyer. As town clerk, judge of probate, school visitor, trustee of the State Normal School, member of the State Board of Education, member of the Legislature, presiding officer of the Senate, and in other offices of trust, he discharged his official and fiduciary duties with acceptance. In the spring of 1861 he was a prominent leader of the political party which opposed the election of President Lincoln, but the instant the news came of the assault on Fort Sumter, he hastened to fling his flag to the breeze, first of his townsmen, and waiting for no following. Thenceforth he devoted himself enthusiasti- cally to the success of the Union arms. After the war his participation in public affairs and the care of private trusts prevented that devotion to strictly legal pur- suits so essential to the highest success in his profession. His 358 HISTORY OF DANBUEY. interest, however, in everything tending to its welfare remained unabated. He was one of the organizers of the American Bar Association, and an active participant in its proceedings up to the year of his death. He was for several years acting chairman of the Bar of his county. A good parliamentarian, prompt, decided, and dignified, he was often chosen to preside in public assemblages. He married in October, 1844, Maria D. White, of Danbury, who died in February, 1860. In September, 1861, he married Mary A. Perry, of Southport, who survives him. He left four children, two sons and two daughters, the sons following their father's profession — John, the only son living, being the present clerk of the Superior Court of New London County. Mr. Averill died at Danbury, December 9th, 1883, at the ripe age of seventy-four, untouched by the infirmities of old age. OLIVER A. G. TODD. Oliver A. G. Todd was born in Plymouth, Conn., in October, 1812. When a young man he moved to Litchfield and entered the law office of the late Chief Justice Church. He was admitted to the Bar in 1833, and at once opened an office in New Milford, where he soon had a considerable amount of practice. Later he moved his family to Bethel, and opened an office in Danbury in the old Stebbins Block, which stood on the site of the building now occupied by George Kinner the druggist. Here he con- tinued practicing for a number of years, and subsequently moved his family to Danbury, where he remained in the practice of his profession until his death, which occurred on August 14th, 1886, from a sudden attack of apoplexy. Mr. Todd was married twice, his first wife being Mary Ann Pierpont, of Plymouth, who died in 1865. He afterward mar- ried a daughter of Mr. Charles Sturges, of Danbury. Seven children survived him. He was for several years "trying justice" of the town. He was a painstaking and useful lawyer and magistrate. DAVID B. BOOTH. David Belden Booth was born April 19th, 1824, at Danbury, in which town he lived during the greater part of a useful life, and where he died on January 2d, 1889. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 359 He was the son of Reuben Booth, and was from his boyhood familiarized with the profession in the practice of which his life was spent. He entered Trinity College in 1840, but was obliged on account of ill health to leave that institution when in his Junior year. He studied law in his father's office, and was admitted to the Bar in August, 1846. For a short time he prac- ticed in the city of New York, but soon returned to Danbury, and immediately attained in both law and politics a prominence which he retained until his death. In the field of law, while skilled in the actual trial of causes, he Avas especially eminent as an adviser and counsellor and as an exjoert draughtsman of legal papers. His knowledge of the statute law was almost un- equalled, and was so ever-present in his mind that a printed copy was well-nigh superfluous in his office. Courteous in his manners, very retentive in his memory, ready and disinterested in counsel, he attracted around him a large number of personal friends and clients who always sought his aid when in need. The same qualities which gave him success as a counsellor made him conspicuous in politics. He was for many years one of the most active and prominent Republicans in this part of the State. His capability and popularity caused him to be elected to many of the principal offices in the gift of his fellow-townsmen. He represented Danbury in the General Assembly in the years 1863, 1864, 1872, and 1880 ; was town clerk and Judge of Pro- bate for many years, and was elected the first warden of the borough of Danbury. He was also clerk of the Senate iu 1854, and one of the revisers of the General Statutes in 1866 and in 1875. Mr. Booth was married July 6 th, 1866, to Julia Richards, of Farmington, Conn., who with four children survives him, the eldest son, John R., also following the legal profession. WILLIAM F. TAYLOR. William F. Taylor was born in Augusta, Ga., October 27th, 1823. His father, Francis C. Taylor, was a direct descendant of Thomas Taylor, one of the first settlers and patentees of Dan- bury. Mr. Taylor removed to Danbury with his parents at the age of eight years, where he attended the public schools, entering 360 HISTORY OF DANEUKY. Yale College when sixteen years old. After one year at that institution he entered the Sophomore Class of Trinity College, graduating therefrom in 1844 with honors. He was considered one of the best Greek and Latin scholars of his class. On leaving college he entered the law office of the late Gov- ernor Charles Hawley, of Stamford, where he remained for one year, subsequently studying with the late S. H. Hickok, of Danbury. He was admitted to the Bar in August, 1846, and immediately began the practice of law at Danbury. In 1848 he received the degree of Master of Arts in Trinity College. In 1850 he was appointed State's Attorney for Fairfield County. In 1852 he was elected Democratic Presidential Elector for the Fourth District of Connecticut, and was also chosen State Senator for the Eleventh Senatorial District, In 1865 he was the Democratic nominee for Congress for the Fourth District, and although defeated, ran some hundreds ahead of his ticket. He also held a number of minor political offices. Mr. Taylor was an indefatigable worker, and was endowed with a persistency and industry which soon won for him as large a practice as any lawyer in Danbury. This characteristic showed itself on the first day he entered his profession. He took the oath and immediately went to the Bar and tried his first case. He was married September 16th, 1866, to Isabella Meeker, of Danbury. Three children were born to them, two daughters and one son, Howard W., who is also a member of the Bar. Mr. Taylor's death took place on October 4th, 1889. WILLIAM BURKE. William Burke was born in Ireland in 1820, and came to this country when seventeen years old. He located in New Milford, and after working at his trade as a shoemaker for a number of years, he qualified himself by hard study for a professional life, and was admitted to the Bar of Litchfield County after entering upon his fortieth year, a striking illustration of the position which a self-made man may achieve by perseverance and deter- mination. Mr. Burke removed to Danbury in 1869, and resided there continuously until his death, which occurred on August 22d, 1890, after nearly two years of patient suffering from lingering disease. He left a widow surviving him, but no children. HISTORY OF UANBURY. 361 On his removal to Danbiiry lie entered into business relations with the late William F. Taylor, and afterward formed like associations with the late Roger Averill and David B. Booth respectively. In 1874 Mr. Burke was elected Judge of Probate for the District of Danbury, holding the office from July, 1875, until January, 1877. In 1880 he became Town Clerk, and upon the passage of the present liquor law, in 1882, he was appointed Prosecuting Agent for Fairfield County, holding the office until his death. When the Borough Court was organized in 1884, he was appointed Prosecuting Attorney, although of an opposite political faith to the then dominant party, and continued in this position until his death. Incidentally he held the office of Jus- tice of the Peace. In social matters his kindness of heart, his ever-ready smile and cordial bearing, his bright and sunny disposition, and his uprightness and strength of character made him many warm friends who will long cherish a xDleasant memory of him whose life has been thus briefly sketched. ARTHUR H. AVERILL. Arthur H. Averill was the son of Roger and Maria W. Averill, and was born in Salisbury, Conn., on July 6th, 1841. He was graduated at Yale College in the Class of '69, and commenced the practice of law in Danbury with his father in the old office once occupied by Governor Booth. After his father's death, in 1883, he continued the practice of the law until his decease. At the time of the organization of the Borough Court Mr. Averill was appointed Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, and held that office UQtil the death of the late William Burke, in 1890, when he was appointed Prosecuting Attorney. This office he held until 1893. He was also for several years a Justice of the Peace, and tried many cases in that capacity. His death occurred on August 9th, 1894, after a short iUness from heart disease. He was unmarried. Mr. Averill was a man of kindly disposition, strong prejudices, and very marked individuality, and to those who knew him inti- mately he was a warm friend. He had a liberal education, and was remarkably well read, and he loved his profession with a zeal and enthusiasm which is seldom equalled. 362 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Other attorneys who have practiced in Danbury at various times are as follows : Epaphras W. Bull came to Danbury from Hartford about 1800, and removed to Ohio in 1841. Moses Hatch came to Danbury from Kent. He was an able lawyer and defended the negro Amos Adams, who was hanged at Danbury in 1817. He soon after removed to Kent, where he died. John R. Farnham located in Danbury in 1877, where he re- mained until 1884, when he removed to Washington, D. C, where he is at present residing. Allan W. Page practiced for a few years in Danbury in part- nership with David B. Booth. In 1885 he removed to Bridge- port, where he is at present. Frederick B. Hungerford located in Danbury in 1889, and re- mained for about three years, when he removed to East Hamp- ton, Mass. Thomas P. McCue commenced practice in Danbury in 1888, and remained about three years, when he removed to the West. John A. Toohey was admitted to the Bar in 1887 at Danbury, and practiced for about two years, after which he moved to Rockville, Conn. Frederick S. Barnum came from Brewsters, N. Y., in 1889 and opened an office in Danbury, which he kept for about two years, when he returned to Brewsters. Wilson H. Pierce came to Danbury in 1885, and remained for about two years, and then moved to Waterbury. The Present Bar. The members of the Bar at present located in Danbury are as follows : LYMAN D. BREWSTER, Lyman Dennison Brewster was born in Salisbury, Conn., July 31st, 1832. He entered the Freshman Class of Yale College in 1861, and graduated in the Class of '55. On his leaving college he entered the law office of the late Roger Averill, and was ad- mitted to the Bar January 21st, 1858, and immediately began the practice of his profession. In 1868 he was chosen Judge of Pro- bate, and was a member of the General Assembly in 1870. He HISTORY OF DANBURY. 363 was the first judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Fairfield County, holding that office from 1870 to 1874. In 1880 he was elected a State Senator. He was married January 1st, 1868, to Sarah A. Ives, of Danbury. Judge Brewster entered into partnership with Samuel Tweedy in 1871, which firm was increased in 1878 by the addition of Howard B. Scott. The firm of Brewster, Tweedy & Scott ex- isted until 1892, when it was dissolved, Judge Brewster retaining the old office over the Savings Bank of Danbary, and taking into partnership Samuel A. Davis, the firm now being known as Brewster & Davis. Judge Brewster is the senior lawyer in Danbury, both in point of years and in practice. SAMUEL TWEEDY. Samuel Tweedy is the son of the late Edgar S. Tweedy, and was born in Danbury, April 21st, 1846. After attending the public schools he entered Yale College, and graduated in the Class of '68. He studied law in the office of Averill & Brewster at Danbury and at the Columbia Law School. He was admitted to the Bar April 22d, 1871, at Bridgeport. He entered into jDartnership with Lyman D. Brewster, which firm of Brewster & Tweedy continued until 1878, when Howard B. Scott became a member. At the time of the retirement of Judge Brewster in 1892, the new firm became known as Tweedy, Scott & Whittlesey. Mr. Tweedy has never held public office, but has devoted himself entirely to the practice of his profession. He was married July 16th, 1879, to Mrs. Carrie M. Krom, and one child, a daughter, has been born to them. BENEZET A. HOUGH. Benezet A. Hough was born at Essex, Conn., on May 20th, 1842, and is the son of Dr. Alanson H. Hough. He graduated from Brown University in 1866, and from the Albany Law School in 1869, and was admitted to the Bar of Fairfield County in 1872. In 1871 and 1872 he was the clerk in the General Assembly of the House and Senate, respectively. After his admission to the Bar he remained in partnership with the late David B. Booth for about two years, since which time he has practiced alone. From 1878 to 1880 he was Judge of Probate, and on the organi- 364 HISTORY OF DANBURY. zation of the Borough Court he was appointed the first judge, and continued in that position until 1893. Judge Hough also has a war record, having served in the Twenty -fourth Connecticut Regiment in 1862 and 1863, He was married in 1877 to Maria Starr, daughter of the late Charles F. Starr, and has three children. AARON T. BATES. Aaron T. Bates is the son of Taylor Bates, and Avas born in Ridgetield, Conn., on November 11th, 1846. He studied law in the office of White & McDonald, in Danbury, and was admitted to the Bar in 1874. He has since continued in practice in Dan- bury. He is married and has two children. HOWARD B. SCOTT. Howard B. Scott was born in Bridgeport, August 25th, 1851, being the son of Albert and Caroline Scott. Upon both sides he is of old New England ancestry. He removed to Danbury, and was graduated from Amherst College in 1874. His law studies were followed in the office of Brewster & Tweedy from July, 1876, to July, 1878, when he was admitted to the Bar of Fairfield County, and became a member of the firm of Brewster, Tweedy & Scott. At the dissolution of this firm he became a member of the new firm of Tweedy, Scott & Whittlesey. Judge Scott was the first Associate Judge of the Borough Court, established in 1884, and held that position until 1895, when he was appointed Judge of the City Court. HOWARD W. TAYLOR. Howard W. Taylor was born August 11th, 1858, being the son of the late William F. Taylor. After attending the public schools he entered the law office of his father, and was admitted to the Bar in 1879. He continued in partnership with his father until the latter' s death in 1889, since which time he has prac- ticed alone. He has held several public positions, being at one time Prosecuting Liquor Agent. JAMES E. WALSH. James E. Walsh was born in Pittsfield, Mass., on December 9th, 1857. He received a common-school education, and gradu- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 366 ated from the Yale Law School in 1880, when he was admitted to the Bar. He at once began the practice of law in Danbury. He has held various political positions, being the first President of the Board of Aldermen of the city in 1889. In 1893 he was appointed Judge of the City Court of Danbury, and held the position for two years. In 1894 he formed a partnership with Henry A. Purdy, the firm being known as Walsh & Purdy. He was married June 30th, 1891, to Mary E. Benedict, of Danbury. GEORGE WAKEMAN, George Wakeman is the son of Levi Wakeman, and was born in ISJew Fairfield, Conn., February 19th, 1851. After attending the public schools he studied law in the office of the late William F. Taylor, and was admitted to the Bar in 1881. During the years 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1891, 1892, and 1893 he was Town Clerk of Danbury, and was Corporation Counsel of the city in 1889 and 1890. He was married September 20th, 1876, and has two children. WILLIAM A. LEONARD. William A. Leonard was born in Sandusky, 0., on December 25th, 1852, the son of Cuyler Leonard and Julia Seeley. He removed to Danbury at an early age, and after pursuing his studies at the public schools entered the law office of B. A. Hough, and was admitted to the Bar in 1880. He has since practiced in Danbury, and has held several political offices as Assessor, Regis- trar of Voters, etc. EUGENE C. DEMPSEY. Eugene C. Dempsey was born at Barkhamstead, Conn., Jan- uary 7th, 1864, the son of John C. and Jerusha Dempsey. After graduating at the Winsted High School he studied law at New Hartford with Judge Frederick A. Jewell, and was admitted to the Bar at Litchfield in 1886. After practicing for a year at New Hartford he removed to Danbury, where he has since remained. In 1889 he entered into partnership with John R. Booth. Mr. Dempsey was chosen a member of the General Assembly from Danbury in 1895, and in the same year was appointed the Associate Judge of the City Court of Danbury. 366 HISTORY OF DANBURY. JOHN R. BOOTH. John R. Booth was born in Danbury, July 16th, 1867, and is the eldest son of the late David B. Booth. After graduating from the Danbury High School he spent one year at the Yale Law School, and then entered the law office of his father, being admitted to the Bar in 1889. He immediately entered into part- nership with Eugene C. Dempsey, the firm of Dempsey & Booth still continuing. He was Town Clerk during the year 1890, and in the spring of 1891 was elected Judge of Probate, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge J. Howard Taylor. He held this position during 1891 and 1892, and in 1893 was ap- pointed Prosecuting Attorney of the City Court, which office he still holds. He is also assistant clerk of the Superior Court and Court of Common Pleas. GRANVILLE WHITTLESEY. Granville Whittlesey was born July 11th, 1864, at Danbury, being the son of the late Ebenezer Whittlesey, and the grandson of Matthew B. Whittlesey. After attending the public schools he entered the law office of Brewster, Tweedy & Scott, and was admitted to the Bar in February, 1890. He remained with this firm until September, 1892, when the firm was dissolved, Mr. Whittlesey becoming the junior member of the new firm of Tweedy, Scott & Whittlesey, with which he continues at the present time. Mr. Whittlesey has devoted his time entirely to his profession, holding but one public office, that of clerk of the City Court, from July, 1892, until March, 1893. JOHN F. CUFF. John F. Cuff was born in Danbury, December 23d, 1860, the son of John and Alice Cuff. He was educated at the public school, and subsequently engaged in business in Danbury. He then entered the Yale Law School, and graduated therefrom in 1892. He began practice in Danbury, and in 1893 was appointed Corporation Counsel of the city, holding the office for two years. CHARLES W. MURPHY. Charles W. Murphy was born February 17th, 1855, at Dan- bury, and is the son of William J. and Eugenia Murphy. After HISTORY OF DANBURY. 367 graduating from the Danbury High School he taught for a short time, and then engaged in the hatting industry, part of the time as a manufacturer. Mr. Murphy pursued his legal studies with the late William F. Taylor, and after his death with George Wakeman and the late Arthur H. Averill. He was admitted to the Bar in 1892, and has continued the practice of law since then. SAMUEL A. DAVIS. Samuel A. Davis was born in Danbury on October 14th, 1865. He graduated from the Danbury High School in 1882, and after spending a year at Harvard College engaged in business for a short time. He then began the study of law in the office of James E. Walsh, and entered the Yale Law School, from which he graduated in 1893, being admitted to the Bar at the same time. He then entered into partnership with Judge L. D. Brew- ster, the firm being known as Brewster & Davis. He was ap- pointed Assistant Prosecuting Attorney of the City Court in 1894, which office he still holds. HENRY A. PURDY. Henry A. Purdy was born March 31st, 1871, at East Fishkill, N. Y., being the son of John Purdy. After attending the pub- lic schools he taught school for a short time, and then entered the Albany Law School, from which institution he graduated in 1893. He then removed with his parents to Danburj'- and en- tered the office of James E. Walsh, and was admitted to the Bar in 1894. He at once entered into partnership with Mr. Walsh, the firm being known as Walsh & Purdy. CHAPTER XXXVIL MEDICAL HISTOKY. The first physician of Danbury was Dr. Samuel Wood, born and educated in England, who married Rebekah, daughter of Thomas Benedict, of Norwalk, and came to Danbury probably before 1690. In the settlement of the estate of Thomas Barnum, in 1695, we find the name of Dr. John Butler. In 1730 the will of Dr. Thomas Dean, of Danbury, was pro- bated. Mention is made of wife Susanna, daughter Susanna, wife of Samuel Stilson, sons Daniel and Ruben, daughters Elizabeth and Rachel. The estate of Dr. James Picket was inventoried in 1741. From church and probate records beginning in 1755, we gather the following regarding some of the physicians of old Danbury : At a meeting of the First Ecclesiastical Society of Danbury, held in December, 1756, we find among the list of those present the names of Dr. Samuel Dickinson and Dr. Noah Rockwell. The latter was probably a son of Joseph, who is mentioned among the voters of Norwalk in 1694, and who had a son Noah born in 1712. The will of Noah Rockwell was drawn on August 29th, 1769, and probated October 30th of the same year. In it mention is made of wife Mercy and son Eliud. One of the wit- nesses was Noah Whetmore (Wetmore), the first minister of the church in Bethel, and as the names of Noah Rockwell and his wife appear in the list of those who constituted the first church in Bethel in 1760, it seems probable that Dr. Rockwell was resident in Bethel. His name is mentioned in the records of that church in 1760 and 1761. In October, 1764, the First Society of Danbury appointed " Doct. Samuel Dickinson and Mr. Thaddeus Benedict agents for the sd. Society to appear before the General Assembly of this Colony at their Sessions att New haven on October. " ^. ^ m Daniel Co.h^tulk, M.D. AVm, Culklev, M.D. E. A. Brown, M.D. W.M. C. Bennett, M.U. Kr^r^ELL B, BOTTSFOKD. ZL.T). W.M. E. Booth. J\I.1). E. D Bennett, :\[.I). E. C. Hendricks, >i.D. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 369 Dr. Dickinson was representative in 1764, 1765, and 1766. His will, drawn April 3d, 1770, mentions wife Rebekah, and only child Rebekah. This daughter married Samuel Cooke in 1778. Dr. Eliud Rockwell, son of Noah Rockwell, married Mary- Starr, daughter of Captain Thomas Starr, November 17th, 1768. He died December 9tli, 1774, and his estate was distributed March 31st, 1775. He left widow Mary (who afterward married Dr. Peter Hayes), an only son Noah, and a daughter Mercy, born June 17th, 1770, who married, October 10th, 1787, Thomas, son of Thomas and Mercj^ (Knapp) Benedict. Among the real estate divided are mentioned different tracts of mountain and swamp land, " old-plain lot, Great Pasture Meadow, well lot, land in Wolfpit hills, Hoyt's hill, Seempogg hills, Boggs, and land on the mountain east side the old fulling Mill Pond.' ' In August, 1767, " Doctor John Wood" was one of a commit- tee appointed by the First Society " to Take Cair to Supply the Pulpit with some Proper minister untill this Society order otherwise." Dr. John Wood was a grandson of Dr. Samuel Wood, Danbury's first physician. In the records of the " Starr Family" we find that Dr. John Wood, born January 22d, 1739, married Sarah, daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Starr) Hoyt, on March 23d, 1757. He died May 26th, 1801. His will, drawn September 27th, 1799, mentions wife Sarah, two grandsons, John Wood Starr and Darius Starr, and only child Lois Starr, wife of Thomas. Darius Starr, born in 1787, studied medicine, but never practiced. In December, 1780, Dr. Sallu Pell was one of the collectors of rates for the First Society, and in 1785 moderator of one of the Society meetings. In May, 1781, he was executor of the estate of Moses Osborne, of Ridgefield. He was also one of the charter members of the first Masonic lodge of Danbury, organized in 1780. The inventory of his estate mentions him as " formerly of Danbury, late of Sheffield, Mass." His will, drawn Septem- ber 4th, 1805, and probated in January, 1808, gives (with certain provisions) " to Amos Cooke, of Danbury, six hundred dollars" and his " gold watch ;" to Elizabeth Henry, his w^asher woman, $20 for the good care she has taken of his clothes, and divides the remainder among his nieces and nephews. The last item we copy entire : " As I think my sister Tamar does not and will not want any part of my estate, I have thought fit to give her noth- 370 HISTORY OF DANBURY. ing." This would lead us to conjecture that either " Tamar" was well supplied with this world's goods, or that the family relations were slightly strained. The executors of this will were Lot Norton, Jr., of Salisbury (a brother-in-law of Dr. Pell), and Amos Cooke, of Danbury. In 1791 Dr. Joseph Trowbridge married Olive Clark, as we find in the records of the First Church. In 1792 Dr. Trowbridge was one of the physicians who pro- cured the charter for the Fairfield Medical Society, and in the Farmer's Journal of April 13th, 1793, we find the following : " The meeting of the Medical Society of Fairfield County stands adjourned to Wednesday the first day of May next, 11 o'clock, at Capt. Clarke's Tavern in Danbury. "Joseph Trowbridge, Clerk." In 1797 he was Surveyor of Highways, and one of a committee " on Mr. Starr's School building." In 1803 we find the name of Joseph Trowbridge among a com- mittee in the Episcopal Church of Danbury. Letters of admin- istration on the estate of Dr. Joseph Trowbridge, " late of the City, County and State of New York, deceased, were granted to Olive Trowbridge" of the same place on October 16th, 1815. Dr. Trowbridge died in New York, April 22d, 1812, aged 50 years. His widow became the wife of Dr. D. N. Carrington, and died, his widow, in February, 1865, aged 95 years. In 1781 "Doct. William Vaughn" was a practicing physician in Danbury. His will, drawn May 18th, 1813, and probated in June of the same year, makes his wife Susanna sole heir and executrix. Dr. Jabez Starr is mentioned among others in the records of the First Society in Danbury in the latter part of the last cen- tury. He was a son of Captain Eleazer and Rebecca Starr ; was born in 1755, and married Mary, daughter of John and Dorcas (Holmes) Elliott, of Bedford, N. Y. He died in 1840, his widow in 1845. Mention is made of him in the chapter on Old Dan- bury. In 1810 Dr. Alfred Betts and Sally, his wife, were admitted to the Congregational Church from the church in Newtown, and dismissed in 1817 to Florence, Huron County, O. The names of two children are in the list of baptisms in the First Church— viz., HISTORY OF DANBURY. 371 Edward Crosby, in November, 1813, and Amariilis, in Angust, 1816. Among the burials we find the following : " Jan. 10, 1803 Dr. Lyndsley's child," and Oct. 10, 1804, " Mariah, dau Dr. Jabez Starr." Dr. Titus Hull removed to Danbury from Bethel in 1806. He was a descendant of Dr. John Hull, of Wallingford. He resided in a house which he purchased at public auction on March 27th, 1806, " situated within about forty rods of the Court House." Olive Hull, the wife of Dr. Titus Hull, was admitted to the First Congregational church on October 26th, 1806, from the church in Bethlehem, and dismissed in 1807 to the church in Bridge- water, N. Y. In 1816 Dr. Daniel Comstock and Dr. Alfred Betts were on a committee " to raise money for the education of Pious indigent young men for the Gospel ministry." Daniel Comstock, M.D., was a son of David and Rebekah (Grumann) Comstock, of Norwalk, Conn. He was born May 4th, 1767, and probably graduated in New Haven, where he married Mary Dana, removing soon after to Millersville, L. I., where five of his children were born. He came to Danbury in the early part of this century, as we find his name with that of his wife recorded as admitted to the First Church in 1807. We also find the baptism of two children. His name occurs on the records of Society meetings quite frequently, and in 1810 he was one of a committee " to wait upon Mr. John Frost with the Vote of the church" to call the latter to the pastorate. Dr. Comstock died August 27th, 1848, and is buried in the Wooster Street graveyard. Daniel Noble Carrington, M.D., married October 4th, 1781, Mabel, daughter of Oliver and Lois Warner, of New Milford, Conn. She died May 3d, 1801. His second wife was sister of his first, Tryphena Warner, widow of Benjamin Starr Mygatt, whom he married about 1804. She died in Danbury, June 16th, 1815. His third wife was Olive Clark, the widow of Dr. Joseph Trowbridge, whom he married probably about 1817, as she was admitted to the First Church in Danbury in that year. Dr. Carrington died June 5th, 1834. In 1751 in Probate Records is found a Dr. Rogers, but no other mention of him. 372 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Samuel Dickinson, Noah Rockwell, and John Wood were all practicing physicians here in 1757. In 1775 we find mentioned Dr. Drake Hoyt and Dr. Benjamin Starr Hoyt ; the latter was a son of Isaac and Amy (Starr) Hoyt, who married Annie Wood, of Danbury, in 1794. Removed to Warwick, Orange County, N. Y., where he died, February 19th, 1826. In the settlement of the estate of Samuel Morris, of Danbury, in 1798, are bills from the following physicians : John Wood, Jabez Starr, Titus Hull, of Danbury ; Preserve Wood, of Brook- held ; Charles Peck, of Bethel ; and Perry, of Ridgefield. It would be appropriate that his epitaph should read : " Afflictions sore long time he bore, Physicians were in vain." In an issue of the Farmers' Journal in May, 1790, Gilead Taylor, executor, advertises for claims against the estate of Dr. David Taylor, of Danbury. Between 1780 and 1800 the following physicians were of Dan- bury : John Wood, Titus Hull, Jabez Starr, Joseph Trowbridge, Daniel N. Carrington, Joseph Crane, Jr., William Vaughn, Amos Baker, Drake Hoyt, and Barnum. " Dr. Christopher Avery Babcock, of Danbury," died in 1782, and Mary Bab- cock was appointed administrator of his estate. She was a daughter of Thaddeus and Abigail (Starr) Benedict, and died young. Resident physicians in 1801 were WiUiam Hull, Joseph Crane, and Knap ; in 1804, Joseph Trowbridge, Amos Baker, Sallu Pell, and Daniel N. Carrington. In 1808, Ansel Hoyt is mentioned in records, and was probably of Danbury. The physicians of neighboring towns were often called to Dan- bury, if we may judge from the frequent mention in settlement of estates of Drs. Perry and Thomas Peck, of Ridgefield ; Drs. Preserve Wood (brother of John, of Danbury), Lemuel Thomas and EH Perry, of Brookfield ; Dr. Davis, of Redding ; Dr. James Potter, of New Fairfield ; and Dr. Asa Norton, perhaps of Newtown. Drs. Charles Peck and Peter Hayes, of Bethel, are often mentioned. In an issue of the Danbury Recorder, in 1830, we find the fol- lowing death notice : " Died in Monticello, Sullivan County, HISTORY OF DANBURY. 373 N. Y., 21st Jan., Dr. Apollos B. Hanaford, formerly of this city." Russell B. Botsford, M.D., was born in Newtown, Conn., May 7tli, 1794, and commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Shepard, of Newtown, afterward studying with Dr. Gilbert, of New Haven. He received his diploma in September, 1816, and in the spring of the following year commenced the practice of medicine in Danbury. In 1820 he married Eliza Whittlesey, daughter of Matthew Beale Whittlesey, of Danbury, and died in Danbury, December 26th, 1855. Chandler Smith, M.D., was born in Hanover, N. H., February 16th, 1805 ; graduated from Dartmouth College, N. H., and mar- ried Emily Perry, of Southport, Conn., November 27th, 1831. He probably came to Danbury about that time, but died at the early age of thirty-two, in September, 1837. He left two sons, Walter Perry and Welford Russell ; both are now dead, as are also their children. Dr. Smith was much esteemed in Danbury, and though his stay here was short, he left many friends to mourn his early death. Ezra P. Bennett, M.D., was born in Weston, Conn., on August 31st, 1806. His father, Ezra Bennett, was descended from a Scotch family, and his mother, Esther Godfrey, was of English descent. Educational privileges in his native town were meagre, but such as they were he made diligent use of them. He at- tended school in the winter and worked on the farm in summer, up to his fifteenth year. The two winters following he attended a private school under the charge of a college graduate, where he enlarged his knowledge of the common branches, and picked up a smattering of Latin. After teaching school for a year he studied medicine with Dr. Charles Gorham, of Redding, and in 1826 spent eight months in the medical school at Pittsfield, Mass. The next year, after a term of the same length, he was graduated as a doctor of medicine, and in January, 1828, com- menced practice in Bethel. In 1838 he came to Danbury, where, for nearly fifty-three years, he was " the loved and trusted phy- sician." As a surgeon he was exceptionally successful, and the boldness and skill of liis operations gave him a deserved place of honor in his profession. On June 24th, 1829, Dr. Bennett married Sarah Maria, daughter of William Comstock, of Red- ding. Their children were William and Andrew, twins, and 374 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Sarah L., who married Rev. John H. Lockwood, now of West- field, Mass. Andrew C. Bennett, bom March 7th, 1836, died in May, 1850, on the return voyage from England, whither his father had taken him in vain search of health. William C. Bennett graduated from Yale College with the Class of 1858, and received the degree of M.D. from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City in March, 1860. He practiced medicine with his father until July, 1861, when he entered the army as Assistant Surgeon of the Fifth Connecticut Volunteers, and was afterward surgeon of the regiment. Re- signing this position, he received an appointment from the United States as Surgeon of Volunteers ; was assigned to the Twentieth Army Corps as Medical Inspector, and served on the staffs of Slocum, Hooker, and Williams, successively. He was in the Army of the Shenandoah, Potomac, Cumberland, and Georgia, and accompanied Sherman on his march to the sea. He was mustered out of service in March, 1865, and returned to Dan- bury to practice with his father. Dr. Ezra P. Bennett died October 27th, 1882, his widow three years later, and the son, William C, died suddenly on July 12th, 1886. Dr. J. H. Richards came to Danbury from Brooklyn in 1847, and remained here for several years. William Edmond Booth, M.D., was bom at Newtown, Conn., March 26th, 1822 ; graduated from Yale Medical College, New Haven, Conn., in 1842, and commenced practice in Danbury that same year. He died at Newtown, February 19th, 1859. In the Danbury Times of February 19th, 1859, is an obituary notice written by William H. Francis, from which we extract the fol- lowing : "Though so young, his activity and energetic cast of character soon built up for him a practice such as his skill and perseverance merited, and in a few years he gained the patron- age and confidence of many as a reliable and skilful family phy- sician. . . . Had his health been spared, we cannot tell how much of good his love for and enthusiasm and research in the science of medicine might have worked out for humanity." E. F. Hendrick, M.D., was born in Oxford, N. Y., September 9 th, 1824 ; graduated from the Medical Department of the Uni- versity of New York in 1850, and began practice in New Ohio, HISTORY OF DANBURY. 375 N. Y. Married Maria B. Stevens, November 27th, 1851, and practiced in Danbury for some years, when he went to Burling- ton, la. At breaking out of the Civil War he enlisted as Assist- ant Surgeon in the First Connecticut Artillery ; later was trans- ferred to the Fifteenth Connecticut Infantry, and afterward to hospital service at New Berne, N. C. At the close of the war he returned to Danbury, where he practiced until his death, which occurred on September 27tli, 1877. Dr. Hendrick was a member of the Board of Education for six years. Edward Armstrong Brown, M.D., was born in Newburg, N. Y., September 28th, 1827, and died June 13th, 1883. He graduated from the Metropolitan Medical College in 1852, and came to Dan- bury in 1853. He was Postmaster from 1860 to 1868, State Sena- tor in 1876. WiUiam E. Bulkley, M.D., born October 8th, 1798 ; came to Danbury in 1855. He was a licentiate of Yale Medical School in 1826, read medicine with Dr. Foot, of Virginia, attended two or three courses in New Hampshire, and was dismissed to prac- tice. He settled first at Colchester, Conn. ; afterward went to Monterey, Mass.; from that place to Hillsdale, N. Y., and then to Salisbury, Conn., returning again to Colchester, to Hillsdale, then to West Stockbridge, Mass., finally settling in Danbury, where he remained until his death, in 1870. For the fifteen years of his residence here he had a large and successful practice. Until 1853 he practiced as a physician of the old school, when he adopted homoeopathic methods. This change was due to the influence of Bishop Hamlin, of New York, a summer visitor at Hillsdale, who urged Dr. Bulkley to change to the new school of practice, as Dr. Palmer, of New York, had done. He offered to provide Dr. Bulkley with books and medicines, on the condi- tion that he should adopt them if he found them better than those he was using. After a three years' trial he reached the conclusion that they were better, and became one of the first homoeopathic physicians in Danbury. Dr. Bagg was here a little before him, and Dr. Brower at the same time. DANBURY MEDICAL SOCIETY. To this organization belong the regular practitioners of the city and neighboring towns. The originator was Dr. William C. Wile, at whose residence, on the evening of November 7th, 1888, 376 HISTORY OF DANBURY. an informal meeting was held, at which Dr. W. S. Todd, of Ridgefield, was elected temporary president, and Dr. D. C. Brown, secretary. Committees on by-laws and qualification for membership were chosen. The first annual meeting was held at the Turner House, January 2d, 1889, resulting in the election for the ensuing year of Dr. J . H. Benedict, President ; Dr. A. E. Barber, of Bethel, Vice-President ; Dr. D. C. Brown, Secretary and Treasurer ; and the following Executive Committee : Drs. W. C. Wile, F. A. Clark, W. S. Watson. Since its inception the society has lost by death. Dr. William T. Todd, of Ridgefield ; Dr. Peter H. Lynch, of Danbury ; Dr. Edgar Lyon, of Bethel ; and by removals to other fields of labor : Dr. G. H. Pierce, to Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Dr. F. S. Benedict, to Seymour ; Dr. W. P. Burke, to New Haven ; Dr. S. E. May, to Bridgeport ; Dr. D. C. De Wolf, to Bridgeport ; and Dr. S. J. Kelly, to Fall River, Mass. The regular meetings occur the evening of the first Wednesday of each month, and are devoted to the reading of original papers and general discussions of medical and surgical topics. The regular January meeting becomes the occasion of the society's annual banquet. The members are keenly alive to the best in- terests of our city along the lines of preventive medicine, and much of our improved sanitation is due to the efforts of the society. The officers for the present year are Dr. F. P. Clark, Presi- dent ; Dr. C. R. Hart, Bethel, Vice-President ; G. E. Lemmer, Secretary and Treasurer ; Executive Committee : Drs. E. E. Snow, W. S. Watson, E. A. Stratton. Following are the names of physicians now resident in Dan- bury : William F. Lacey, born in Brookfield, Conn., graduated from Yale Medical School in 1844, and commenced practice in Dan- bury the same year. John H. Benedict, M.D., born in Bethel, Conn.; moved with his parents to Wisconsin when three years of age. Studied in Cincinnati, 1854-58 ; practiced in Wisconsin until 1862, when he went out with the Thirty-ninth Wisconsin Regiment as Assistant Surgeon, and served through 1864-65. Came to Danbury soon after, and practiced with Dr. W. F. Lacey for six years, then took an office by himself. For ten years he resided in Redding, HISTORY OF DANBUKY. 377 driving daily to Danbiiry to visit patients. Pension Surveyor since that office was first established. A. T. Clason, M.D., born in Peekskill, N. Y., graduated from New York University in 1865. Resident of Danbury since 18G0. Frank Clark, M.D., born in Danbury 1852, graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York in 1876, and commenced practice in Danbury the same year. Edward Augustus Stratton, M.D., born in Danbury 1862, graduated from New York University in 1883. Ct. a. Gilbert, M.D., born in Danbury, March, 1859, gradu- ated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, May, 1883 ; commenced practice in Danbury in the spring of 1884. Wilbur Seymour Watson, M.D., born in New Hartford, Conn., 1852, graduated from Long Island Medical College in 1884. Resident in Danbury since 1885. George Edward Lemmer, M.D., born in Newark, N. J., Sep- tember, 1855, graduated from Bellevue Hosj^ital Medical College, New York City, in 1885, and commenced practice at once in Danbury. D. C. Brown, M.D., born in Norfolk, Va., 1863, graduated from Yale 1884, commenced practice in Danbury 1886. Richard Ellis, M.D., born 1862 in New York City, graduated in 1888. Honor man in medicine and at Yale Academy in 1885 ; came to Danbury in 1889. Albert Fox, M.D., born in East Hartford, Conn., May 3d, 1825, graduated from Eclectic Medical College, New York City, in 1871. Resident in Danbury since 1884. William H. Murray, M.D., born in New York City, 186,5, grad- uated March lOtli, 1890, from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York. William A. Barnum, M.D., born in Bethel, 1861, graduated from Bennett Medical College, Chicago, in 1882. Resident in Danbury since 1884. Annie Keeler Bailey, M.D., born in Brooklyn, N. Y., Novem- ber 6th, 1855, graduated from the Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary, May 29th, 1885, spent nearly one year in the New York Infirmary (Hospital for Women and Children), and came to Danbury, May 30th, 1886. Francis Follansbee, M.D., born in Peabody, Mass., 1854, grad- uated from Bennett College, in Chicago, in 1881, and from the 378 HISTORY OF DANBURY. College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1886, Practiced in Beth- lehem, Conn., and came to Danbury in 1888. Harris Fenton Brownlee, M.D., born in Lawyersville, Scho- harie County, N. Y., September, 1866. Educated at Cobbleskill Academy, N. Y., graduated in 1888 from the College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons of New York City, two years in Riverside Hospital, Yonkers, N. Y., came to Danbury in 1890. Clayton Power Bennett, M.D., born in Danbury, 1865, gradu- ated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York City, 1890, and began practice in Danbury in 1892. Nathaniel Selleck, M.D., born 1869, graduated from Univer- sity of New York in 1891. Resident in Danbury since that time. J. Alexander Wade, M.D., born in Ulster County, N. Y., March, 1859, graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College in March, 1893, and began practice in Danbury the same year. Harvey Fox, M.D., born in Barkhamsted, Litchfield County, Conn., February, 1856, graduated from Eclectic Medical College of the city of New York in 1878, came to Danbury in August, 1888. Emil Weiss, M.D., born in Danbury, graduated from Munich and Leipsic, Germany, in 1887, came to Danbury in 1893. Charles F. Craig, born in Danbury, July 4th, 1872, graduated from the Medical Department of Yale University 1894, and began practice in Danbury the same year. W. F. Wood, M.D., was born in Sandwich, Barnstable County, Mass., graduated at Baltimore in April, 1893. Resident here since June of that year. William C. Wile, M.D., born in Pleasant Valley, N. Y., in January, 1847. In 1862 enlisted in Company G of the One Hun- dred and Fiftieth New York Regiment ; was at the front for two years and eight months, in the battle of Gettysburg and with Sherman in his march to the sea. On his return studied medicine and graduated in 1870 from the New York University. Practiced in New Brunswick, N. J., Highland, N. Y., and New ton, Conn. Later was called to the chair of nervous diseases at the Medico-Chirurgical College, Philadelphia, w^here he re- mained for one year. Owing to ill health he returned to Con- necticut, settling in Danbury, where he has since resided. Dr. Wile organized the Danbury Medical Association, and has been an active member from the first. He has been Vice-President of the Connecticut State Medical Society, President of the Dan- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 379 bury Medical Association, President of the Fairfield ^County- Society, Vice-President of the American Medical Association, President of the American Medico Editors' Association, and is in addition a member of the British Medical Society and other for- eign bodies. Dr. Wile was President of the Danbury Board of Trade in 1894. Louis G. Knox, M.D., born in New York City, June, 1851, graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York City in 1872, from Columbia Veterinary College, 1884 ; came to Danbury, 1885. Albert D. Sturges, M.D., born in Wilton, Conn., commenced study of medicine in 1869, graduated in 1880, and again in 1890. General practitioner of medicine, sj^ecial of inebriety. Dr. Adelaide (Taylor) Holten, wife of John A. Holten, M.D., was born in Danbury, graduated from the Eclectic Medical Col- lege in New York City, and began practice in Danbury in 1880. The HomoeoiDathic School is represented by the following phy- sicians : William Bulkley, M.D.,* son of Dr. WiUiam E. Bulkley, was born in Hillside, Mass., in 1832. When seventeen years of age he ran away and shipped on a sailing-vessel. In 1849, with the ''gold fever" for California, he shipped on a sperm whaler, sailed twice round the Horn, could not get off to go to California " diggins," and came back without gold, but with a large experi- ence. Resident in Danbury since 1868. Sophia Penfield, M.D., was born in New Fairfield, Conn., graduated from the New York Medical College for Women in 1869. Spent the following year in dispensary work in the city ; commenced the practice of medicine in Saugerties, N. Y., in 1870. Located in Danbury 1871. In 1894 opened a sanitarium for the treatment of chronic diseases by mechanical massage. Samuel M. Griffin, M.D., born in Cold Spring, N. Y., gradu- ated from New York Homoeopathic Medical College in 1867, came to Danbury in 1878. Allan P. MacDonald, M.D., born at Antigonish, Nova Scotia, 1841, graduated from Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, HI., in 1874, located in Danbury, October, 1887. S. Willard Oley, M.D., born in Rush, Monroe County, N. Y., September, 1854, graduated from New York Homoeopathic Col- lege in 1886, commenced practice in Danbury 1889. . * Dr. William Bulkley died December 2l8t, 1895. CHAPTER XXXyill. CIVIL WAR. Danbury was very quiet through the winter that preceded the war. There was a talk of war, to be sure, but four fifths of those who talked it did not believe in its possibility. It was simply New England eloquence arriving at a burst in the pipe. There was an impression that every State would secede except- ing those which formed New England, and this would naturally bring the war prospect down to a very narrow compass ; and then again there were those who were sure that Connecticut alone would remain in the Union while every other State would go out. This made many of us confident that there was to be no war at all, and left us untrammelled in determining the number of the enemy we could slay in battle. These matters were thor- oughly and ably discussed when the weather was sufficiently mild to permit with safety the occupancy of the depot and Con- cert Hall steps. It was a gloomy winter, however — gloomy because business was interrupted by the uncertainty of the immediate future. The summer and fall preceding had been seasons of prosperity. Our staple industry, hatting, was at full tide. Every shop was crowded with orders, large prices paid for labor, and large profits made. Strangers were moving into town, and in every part of the village buildings were going up at a lively rate. After the November election all this was changed. Progress came to a standstill as abruptly as if it had been mounted with an air-brake. Hatting went under, and dragged with it — as is its custom— every other branch of industry. Men had little to do but to stand around and talk, and the result was as sure as taxes. Dyspepsia set in and gloom followed. Danbury' s liver was full of gall, and Danbury' s blood crawled sluggishly through its veins. Sumter was the blue pill for the occasion, and most thor- oughly it did its work. HISTORY OF DANBURT. 381 It was three o'clock on the afternoon of Saturday, April 13th, 1861, when Danbury received the news of the fall of Sumter, and the first victory of the Secessionists. All that day anxious men besieged the telegraph office in search of the intelligence which they dreaded. When it came there was a shock. It was as if the batteries that played against the doomed fortress had been galvanic, Avith their wires running through our heart's very centre. The next forty-eight hours were full of compressed life. They were mental yeast cakes. N^o excitement had equalled it since that April day, nearly a century dead, when the face of a for- eign foe was turned our way and the tramp of an enemy's feet pressed our borders. Now we knew there was to be a war. Even the most sanguine of a bloodless ending to the trouble gave up the hope of peace, but not the determination to win it. In that first fiush of indignant shame party lines went under, and a sea of patriotic passion swept over Danbury. There was little sleep in Danbury that night, there was none whatever the next day, although there were eight churches here. St. Peter gave way to saltpetre in the theology of that hour. On April 15th President Lincoln issued his call for seventy- five thousand volunteers, and Governor Buckingham supple- mented it with a call for volunteers to rendezvous at Hartford. Danbury was among the first to awake to the necessities of the hour. Her patriotism was aroused, and her flags were unfurled, showing her to be true to her colors. Hon. Roger Averill flung out the first flag, and he was followed by others, until houses and hilltops were crowned with the emblem that had ever led the armies of our country to victory. An in- teresting incident occurred in connection with the unfurling of Governor Averill' s flag. Many distinctly remember the vener- able Colonel E. Moss White. Several years before the war he was stricken with paralysis, and never recovered from the shock. He moved about with great difficulty and lost all control of verbal expression except two words, in the form of an injunction, which were, " Come all !" On seeing the flag he smote his breast with both hands and cried aloud, again and again, " Come all ! Come all !" And the record shows that the able-bodied men of his native town almost literally responded to the cry. Governor Buckingham's call was received here on Wednesday, 382 HISTORY OF DANBURY. and on Friday, the 19tli, the Wooster Guards, commanded by- Captain E. E. Wildman, started for New Haven. It is a fact to the honor and credit of the Guards that even before the gov- ernor's call had been issued, the services of the company had been tendered him, which he had promptly accepted. The departure of the Guards for New Haven, which had been made the rendezvous, was a grand, sublime, and yet a touching and pathetic scene. Soon after dinner the Guards met at their headquarters, then Military Hall, in the top story of D. P. Nichol's Block, on the corner of Main and White Streets. Hun- dreds of people met with them, and forming in line, escorted by a cavalcade of citizens and a band, they marched to Concert HaU, where now appropriately stands the Soldiers' Monument, erected in memory of some of that brave band, whose courage was equal to the test of giving up their lives for their country. Filing into the hall, they were seated, and Rev. E. E. Griswold, presiding elder of this district of the Methodist church, offered a prayer to the Throne of Grace for their welfare and that of the country. The services concluded the company re-formed, and escorted by the crowd, which had by this time swelled to thou- sands, they marched to the Banbury and Norwalk Railway station to take the cars. The large square on the north of the station now became the scene and centre of the most intense and exciting interest. The place was a condensed mass of humanity. Wives, mothers, fathers, and children stood in tearful mood, but withal imbued with firmness and patriotism and heroism, and exchanged good wishes and farewells. Here, amid the huzzas of the crowd, the bursts of martial music, the waving of tiags, the boom of can- non, the Wooster Guards went forth, the first company in the State of Connecticut to pledge itself to the defence of the un- tarnished honor of the commonwealth and the nation. The following is the roster of the company : Captain, E. E. Wildman. First Lieutenant, Jesse D. Stevens, Second Lieutenant, John D. Bussing. Sergeants : Andrew Knox, Milo Dickens, William Moegling, Samuel M. Petit. Corporals : George B. Allen, E. S. Davis, Alexander Kallman, Nathan Couch. LiEi-T. Je;^(. (ai-t. Ja.mks K. Mdoui: Lieut. -C'oi,. IIenhy M. Stone. GEowiE K. Ives. Col. Nelson L. \\iiite. L,1EUT. FkEDK ST-\I!K. Ser(;t. John- JM.\i;mi. ]VI.\.IOU \\|LLI.\.M >I0EGLIN0. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 383 Musicians : Edward H. Dann, Grandison D. Foote. Privates : John Allen, Harris Anderson, C. H. Anderson, John Bogardus, Charles A. Boerum, James Blizzard, William H. Bliz- zard, Thomas T. Bussing, James Bradley, Theodore B. Benedict, A. H. Byington, George W. Banker, Charles A. Benger, Niram Blackman, Thomas D. Brown, Henry E. Buckingham, William K. Cowan, Lemuel B. Clark, William R. Doane, Josiah L. Day, Edward H. Day, Joseph L. Dunning, Ezekiel Eaton, C. Field- stone, Dennis Geliven, Christopher Grimm, Charles A. Gordon, H. W. Gibbs, Carl W. Hillbrandt, William O. Hoyt, W. P. Hoyt, David B. Hoyt, Alfred H. Hoddinott, Thomas Hooton, Otto Hagement, James Howath, Jesse L. James, Ernest T. Jennings, Isaac N. Jennings, George D. Keeler, Morris A. Krazynsky, William J. Murphy, Emil C. Margraff, James Martin, Andrew B. Nichols, Horace Purdy, Francis W. Piatt, Joseph W. Raymond, James Reed, James R. Ross, Timothy Rose, George L. Smith, Alson J. Smith, Benjamin F. Skinner, David Sloane, Grandison Scott, Louis Shack, Eli D. Seeley, Augustus Staples, George Sears, James H. Taylor, Joseph Tammany, Darius A. Veats, Edgar L. Wildman, Howard W. Wheeler, John Waters. The Times of May 2d, 1861, in speaking of the commanders of the Danbury companies, has the following : " Captain Wild- man is a young, energetic, straightforward, and highly esteemed citizen. His response to the call of the governor was, * Our country needs our services, and it is our duty to go,' and by his manly, resolute course inspired his whole company with confi- dence and courage. It cannot be otherwise than a source of gi'atification to those who have friends and relatives in the guards to know that their services will be performed under a brave, gal- lant, and honorable commander." The company arrived in New Haven at six o'clock, and there they were met by the Grays, a company from that city, and by thousands of people, who gave them a hearty welcome. They were escorted to the New Haven House, where they made their headquarters. Lieutenant-Colonel Gregory, who escorted the boys to New Haven, returned Saturday evening, and a meeting was called in Concert Hall. He, with the band, was escorted to the hall, and after the organization of the meeting by electing Isaac Smith as chairman, Colonel Gregory responded to loud calls, and reported 384 HISTORY OF DANBURY. the arrival of the boys in New Haven, their reception there, and what other information he possessed concerning them. The ex- citement was at a fever heat, and papers, pens, and ink were called for and a roU started for a second company. This was in little over twenty-four hours from the time of the dejDarture of the first company. As one after another put his name to the paper, cheer after cheer were given. The people of Danbury still further showed their patriotism and their love for their absent sons in another way. On Monday afternoon, April 22d, a meeting of the town was held to provide for the means of support of the members of the Guards. There was but one sentiment in the meeting, and that was liberality toward the families. The following preamble and resolutions were unanimously passed : " Whereas^ The Wooster Guards, a military company com- posed mostly of citizens of this town, having, in obedience to the requisition of the President of the United States upon the Gov- ernor of this State for troops, in order to suppress the rebellion in sundry States of the Union against the laws thereof, with patriotic and commendable ardor, tendered their services, and already gone forth to perform their part in ' the effort to main- tain the honor, the integrity, and existence of our national Union ;' and " Whereas^ One other military company is now being organ- ized in this town for a like glorious object ; and '' Whereas, Many of the individuals of this town, belonging to said companies, leave behind them families dependent upon their daily earnings for their subsistence, and who, without pub- lic aid, will be liable to suffer to a greater or less extent for the ordinary necessities of life, be it therefore " Resolmd, That an appropriation be made from the treasury of the town of Danbury for the support of the families of resi- dents of said town who have volunteered or hereafter shall vol- unteer, in accordance with the calls of the President of the United States in the present national troubles ; and the appropriation hereby made shall be expended as follows : " To the wife of each volunteer the sum of three dollars per week, and one dollar per week for each child that such volunteer may have dependent on him for support, which shall be paid HISTORY OF DANBURY. 385 weekly ; and such allowance shall continue during his term of voluntary enlistment. " Edgar S. Tweedy and John W. Bacon are appointed a com- mittee to carry this resolution into eifect, and orders shall be drawn from time to time on the town treasury for the purpose aforesaid. Said committee shall exercise discretionary powers in making provision for families of such volunteers, other than wives and children." Another preamble and resolution was offered and also unani- mously passed, which showed Banbury's patriotism still farther. It was as follows : " Whereas^ A company of volunteers has left and a second is now organizing in this town for service in the reigments of Con- necticut Volunteers, and the State of Connecticut is not now in a condition to furnish them with the necessary uniforms and overcoats, ^^ Resoloed, That Frederick Starr, George M. Southmayd, Judah P. Crosby, and A. B. Hull be authorized to equip said companies with the necessary uniforms and overcoats, and the selectmen are hereby authorized to draw their order on the town treasurer for the purpose." On Tuesday evening, April 23d, at a meeting held in the Young Men's Christian Association rooms, a company of thirty men was formed under the title of Union Reserved Guards. They were immediately put under military discipline and drill. On Monday, April 29th, the second company left for New Haven. The day was one of the loveliest of the season. May had come ahead of time, and the soft breezes and balmy air were invigorating. Nature had begun to wake from her lethargy, and typified the awakening of the patriotism of our heroes. The whole population turned out to bid Godspeed to the company. A cavalcade of over one hundred horsemen gathered in front of the residence of Russell Hoyt, on Main Street. Among them were many citizens of Bethel. Judah P. Crosby was the mar- shal, and Granville W. Morris, then deputy sheriff, J. D. Rowers, and Charles E. Andrews were his aids. The Danbury Zouaves, a company then forming for the State service, formed at Concert Hall. This was their first appearance, and they were a surprise to all. Nearly every man was six feet tall, and they made a 386 HISTORY OF DANBURY. fine show. One of the features of the company on this occasion was a flag of unusual size mounted on a staff which was affixed to a platform borne on the shoulders of six men. On the plat- form, and holding on to the staff, was a little girl of three years, dressed in white. The cavalcade and Zouaves met the Danbury Rifle Company, and after marching and countemiarching between Concert Hall and the bridge they halted at the railway station. Here a platform had been erected, and on this were the clergy of Danbury. Rev. I. L. Townsend opened the exercises by reading a prayer provided by the bishop for use during the war. He was fol- lowed by Rev. G. M. Stone, of the Baptist Church, who spoke to the soldiers and citizens alike. Rev. Mr. Pegg, of the Meth- odist Church, next addressed the crowd, and then Rev. Mr. Hoyt, a former pastor of the Methodist Church in Danbury, and Rev. Mr. Coe, of the Congregational Church. A clergyman from New Fairfield, Rev. Mr. Kinney, who had enlisted as chap- lain of the regiment, then offered the benediction. An interest- ing incident next occurred in the presentation to Captain Moore, by Mrs. F. S. Wildman, of a handsome Bible. The captain gracefully responded, and then an interval of a few minutes was given for the bidding of farewells, and the company entered the cars and started for New Haven. The Tinnes, in speaking of the commanders of the Rifles, says : '■'■ In military and civil life Captain Moore has ever enjoyed the respect and confidence due to a gentleman. He served with credit to himself and honor to his country in the war with Mexico, at the close of which he laid aside his military equip- ments, only to resume them again at the call of his country. He is a citizen soldier, and, like those in the earlier times which tired men's souls, when the blow is struck he will be there." The following is the roll of the company as it left : Captain, James E. Moore. First Lieutenant, Samuel G. Bailey. Second Lieutenant, Charles H. Hoyt. Sergeants : Frederick W. Jackson, Walter C. Sparks, Henry C. White, John R. Marsh. Corporals : Eben L. Barnum, Seneca Edgett, Milton H. Dan- iels, Henry O. Leach. Musicians : Lewis Bedient, Joseph L. Converse. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 387 Privates : Samuel B. Armstrong, James M. Ballard, George W. Bamum, Isaac B. Basely, Henry S. Beardsley, Alfred L. Bene- dict, Samuel Berry, George W. Beebe, Frederick Bevins, Horace Bourne, Augustus E. Bronson, Clark T. Bronson, Edwin Burns, James Callahan, Hiram Cobleigh, George Chapman, Edwin Couch, Robert S. Daucliy, William H. Davis, George Dickenson, Owen Dew^enny, John G. Ely, Eli Ferry, Jr., Patrick Foley, George W. Goold, John Gray, William Hall, Minot Hale, Thomas Horan, Edgar A. Hoyt, William Judson, John Keeney, Thomas Keeney, James E. Lee, Eli Lobdell, George Loudon, John N. Main, David B. Mansfield, John Moore, Alsop L. Monroe, Charles Morgan, Abram Moffatt, Thomas McKey, David McKin- man, Lawrence McAvoy, Michael McGowan, George Northrop, Lewis P. Osborne, William R. Potter, David J. Pratt, Henry Quien, Philip Rourke, Amos Raymond, Isaac B. Rogers, Thad- deus Rooney, Joseph Riley, John H. Salisman, Bennett Sher- man, James B. Taylor, William H. Taylor, Edward S. Warren, Harvey Wilson, Charles H. Woodruff, George B. Young. The company was assigned to the Third Regiment, and was known as Company C. The date of mustering in was May 14th. In the mean time the Wooster Guards were suffering in New Haven. Their rations were insufficient in quantity and shame- ful in quality. A letter written by a member of the company to his father here was published in the Times of May 9 th, and was made the subject for a meeting of the citizens, which was held in Concert Hall on Sunday afternoon, the 5th inst. Edward Brockett was chairman, and G. W. Morris, secretary. Mr. L. S. Barnum made an address, stating the facts from his own per- sonal knowledge. He was followed by several other citizens, who, while they said that the volunteers themselves made no complaint, expressed intense indignation at the treatment the boys were receiving. A series of resolutions were read and unanimously adopted, expressive of the determination of the citizens of Danbury, that our volunteers, who had so nobly and promptly enlisted under the banner of the Union, should be well fed, if they had to do it themselves. These resolutions were numerously signed and forwarded to the Senator and Repre- sentatives from Danbury, and through them presented to the Governor and Legislature. The effect of this meeting was imme- diately apparent, for before the next week was closed Captain 388 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Wildman wrote to Danbury that they were again enjoying good rations. On May 16th the Danbury Zouaves, under the command of Captain Henry B. Stone, left for Hartford. The demonstration by the citizens was on a much larger scale than anything pre- ceding it. Danbury and Bethel united in forming a cavalcade, which, together with the Home Guards, Union Cadets, and the Anderson Guards (Irish Volunteers), and the Fire Department formed an escort for the Zouaves as they marched to the cars. While waiting for the train exercises were gone through with, an opening prayer being delivered by Rev. Mr. Griswold, and speeches by Rev. Mr. Stone, of Danbury, and Rev. Messrs. Barclay and Baldwin, of Bethel. There were several members of the company from Bethel and Ridgefield. At the close of the speaking Rev. Mr. Stone distributed copies of the New Testament among the company, and Captain Stone returned thanks for the gifts. The parting scenes between the men and their families were more affecting and painful than on previous occasions, for this was for three years, and perhaps longer. Tears were freely shed, the feeling of reserve was broken down and the public eye saw many heart-rending scenes which naturally are regarded as sacred. The roster of the company, which became Company A, Fifth Regiment, is given below : Captain, Henry B. Stone. First Lieutenant, James A. Betts, Jr. Second Lieutenant, William A. Daniels. Sergeants : Theodore H. Dibble, Edward K. Carley, George N. Raymond, James Stewart, Jr., John O. Shufeldt. Corporals : Daniel Odell, Daniel L. Smith, Luther M. More- house, Edgar A. Stratton, John H. Bennett, Addison M. Whit- lock, Albert Warner, J. K. Underhill. Musicians : Edward A. Durant, James L. Conklin. Wagoner, Martin C. Vaucor. Privates : Charles H. Anson, Theodore J. AUsheskey, Charles W. Bill, George A. Bradley, William M. Burritt, Wesley H. Bottsford, Frederick J. Booth, James Byers, William N. Beers, Thomas E. Benedict, John Butler, Fred N. Clark, Theodore D. Clark, James Campbell, George W. Cock, William H. Card, niSTORY OF DANBUKY. 389 Horace S. Crofut, Hiram M. Cole, Henry B. Curtiss, John Car- ney, David O. Comstock, Henry Coe, Alexander Cook, Marvin M. Curtis, Robert N. Drew, James E. Diirant, William W. Downer, Charles H. Diirant, George S. Ferry, John D. Gorley, John Grouse, Thomas Garnett, John Gilbert, Gilbert N. John- son, Thomas A. James, John B. Johnson, Philo W. Jones, Jr., Daniel A. Keyes, Oscar H. Keeler, George B. Loomis, Isaac K. Leach, Otis G. Lewis, William H. Lockwood, William H. Lang- don, Dennis Larkin, David B. Mills, Ruf us Mead, Jr., William N. Mix, Henry Manning, Smith Mead, William H. Patch, Abram T. Peck, H. C. Prime, Isaac B. Rogers, Charles B. Rogers, James H. Rasco, William J. Ritchie, Frederick Rogers, John Riley, Henry Stokes, John A. Seymour, William B. Sharp, George C. Smith, Enos A. Sage, George D. Squires, William K. Shaw, James M. Smith, Oliver Sloan, George F. Stone, George Scott, Gardiner Stockman, Hezekiah Sturges, Benjamin F. Squires, James Sulli- van, Charles S. Teley, John Tilley, Arthur M. Thorp, George W. Valentine, F. M. Wildman, Philip L. Williams, George H. Woodworth, George K. Winkler, Thomas M. Welsh, George W. WeUs, R. R. Werner, William H. Wheaton. After the departure of the Zouaves the continuation of the payment of bounties to the families of enlisted men was dis- cussed. The cost was something like $316 per week, and in the then stringent state of finances, the town treasury was in danger of collapsing. A town meeting was called for May 27th, and the Town Hall was crowded with voters. A resolution was offered by Mr. E. S. Tweedy, which being amended was as fol- lows : " Whereas, Three companies of volunteers having been organ- ized in this town, and have mustered into the service of the United States Government, and a liberal provision has been made for the families of those who have so readily responded to the call of their country ; and whereas the number of volunteers offered from various parts of the United States exceed largely the demands of the General Government, there is no necessity at present for furnishing an additional force from this town. " Hesolved, That this town rescind so much of the vote passed the 22d of April, 1861, as affords a bounty to those who may hereafter enlist into the service of the United States ; but that we solemnly reaffirm the pledges made to those who have already 390 HISTOEY OF D ANBURY. enlisted and left their homes, during their full term of service, except the families of those volunteers who were not residents of this town on the 22d of April, 1861." The motion drew out a free and spirited discussion. To the declaration of the resolution that the town strictly adhere to the pledges given for the support of the families of volunteers there was no expression in favor of receding. Each speaker felt that the town had been liberal, perhaps in excess, either in the amount appropriated to each family, or in the unlimited char- acter of the resolution, while at the same time it was promptly admitted that those who had incurred responsibilities under the protection of the resolution should be honorably and fully sus- tained. The vote finally being taken it was almost unanimously passed. The rumors that were circulated before this meeting was held had reached Hartford, where the Zouaves were in camp, and produced an unhappy effect upon some of the men. In the Times of June 6th appears a card signed by nearly all the mem- bers of the company, headed by Lieutenant J. A. Betts, which tells of the company being sworn in on the 27th, and that several did not take the oath, alleging that the town would not provide for their families. The news of the result of the meeting reached them on Thursday, but these men left for home, having no valid excuse for refusing to serve, and here they spread reports to the detriment of the company. The card is to explain to the citizens of Danbury the circumstances, and in scathing terms pays the company' s respects to the deserters. Another instance of the growing patriotism of the children of the town is remembered by the writer. The Centre District School, then on the hill on Liberty Street, Avas a Union school almost to a scholar. The principal was a Union man, and under his direction the elder male scholars drilled every afternoon, after school hours, in company movements. Mr. Harry Stone, who lived near the school-house, offered to give the school a flag- pole if the scholars would put up a flag. The offer was accepted, and on June 14th the pole was raised, and a flag, eight by twelve, for which every scholar had contributed something, from one cent upward, was run up. Speeches were made by the clergy, and the affair intensified the loyal feeling in every young heart. During the interval from July to August 14th the excite- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 391 ment in Danbnry was kept up by letters from the seat of war. The files of the newspapers of that time contain letters from cor- respondents, and these were as eagerly read as the others. It was on July 21st, at Bull Run, that Danbury received its baptism of fire in the war of the Union. All that day the regi- ment was marched and countermarched in the multitude of changes in position, and much of the time it was subject to a severe fire from the enemy, but came out of that dreadful dis- aster with scarcely a mark. The only loss the Danbury com- pany sustained was the capture of two of its members, Alfred H. Hoddinott and Isaac N. Jennings. The Danbury Rifles also took an active part in the tragedy of Bull Run. The regiment was exposed to a severe fire, and acquitted itself most creditably. From its ranks Danbury offered her first living sacrifice. This was John R. Marsh, fourth ser- geant of the company, a name that heads Banbury's list of mar- tyrs in the war for the Union. He was struck and killed by a piece of flying shell. Private A. E. Bronson was made a pris- oner, wliile remaining with Sergeant Marsh as a comforter and friend. The same shell which killed Marsh wounded Lieutenant Bailey slightly. These are the only casualties Danbury received in this battle. The Wooster Guards returned home on August 1st, their term of enlistment having expired, and the 3d inst. saw a large gath- ering in Nichols's woods in Great Plain District, which was a reception tendered the Guards. A meeting was held there in the afternoon at which Hon. Roger Averill jDresided. Rev. Mr. Griswold made a touching prayer, and the glee club sang. Mr. Richard Busteed, of New York, made a patriotic speech, and a series of resolutions were oS'ered and unanimously passed. These resolutions embodied, first, the duty of the Government to defend itself from external and internal foes by every means in its power ; second, that the efforts of the present Government to crush out the rebellion meets witli the hearty approval of the meeting, and a mutual pledge be given of their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor ; third, that while deprecating war, they de- manded the vindication of the country's honor, and while desir- ing peace they would offer no compromise. The fourth resolu- tion we give in full : " Resolved, That the patriotism exhibited by our fellow-towns- 392 HISTORY OF DANBURY. men of the Wooster Guards, in promptly tendering their services in response to their country's call, and the gallant bravery ex- hibited by them upon the field of battle, merits and receives our hearty commendation, and we believe that the flattering notices received by them from their superior officers have been fully deserved." The last resolution was a sympathetic one for the families of those who had died for their country or been taken prisoners. At the conclusion of the speech of Mr. Busteed Rev. Mr. Townsend made a short speech about the loss of Sergeant Marsh, of the Rifles, and read a letter from Captain Moore detailing the circumstances of his death. At the close a contribution was made for the family of the deceased, and $40 was raised. Unexpectedly to most of the citizens of the town, Captain Moore's company returned on August 14th in a heavy rain storm. A movement was immediately started to give them a hearty welcome, and on the 17th a picnic was held in the Oil Mill Grove, at which there was a large crowd and a big supply of eatables. A shower came up just after dinner, and the meet- ing adjourned to Concert Hall, where the affair was concluded with addresses by citizens and music by the Union Glee Club. The shock of the defeat at Manassas had been received, and the recovery was rapid. The enthusiasm which had lain dor- mant since the Zouaves left awoke again. Military Hall was on each evening a blaze of light, and B. F. Skinner and William Moegling received authority to form a company for the Sixth Regiment. Thirty men had already enlisted, many of them being the old members of the Guards and Rifles. They were drilled nightly in the hall, and new recruits, who came in daily, were drilled as an awkward squad in one corner. Young America took a hand in. The deep-silled window-frames were crowded nightly by the boys who came in, full of enthusiasm, to witness the drills. They used to cheer any particular fine movement, and when any new recruit signed the roll yells of delight and encouragement came from the healthy lungs of the boys. On the evening of Monday, August 19th, a meeting of the citizens was held in the Concert Hall, to further the enlistment of this company, and to express the sense of the community on the present state of affairs. The venerable Colonel Abram HISTORY OF BANBURY. 393 Cliicliester presided. Hon. Roger Averill made the principal address of the evening, and Lewis S. Barnum, James S. Taylor, and F. J. Jackson, of Banbury, and William A. Judd, of Bethel, also spoke. Mr. Skinner closed the meeting with tlie suggestion that the only way of compromise he advocated was the forma- tion of another company, and then stated that the enlistment roll could be found at Military Hall. A series of resolutions were also offered embodying the following points : First, the struggle into which our country is now plunged demands the entire loyalty of all citizens and the vigorous prose- cution of the war to a successful issue. Second, that until the rebellion is overcome it is the duty of every citizen to lay aside all local and minor differences, and unite in a full and enthusi- astic support of the measures adopted for the victory of the G-ov- ernment. Third, that those who, in the present emergency, are engaged in attempting to inflame the public mind against the authorities should be severely condemned and their actions meet with reprobation. Fourth, a hearty welcome is extended to the brave defenders of the Union who have just returned : and while welcoming them, sympathy is extended to the family of their companion who gave his life nobly in defence of the country. Fifth, that while regretting the imprisonment and captivity of those who remained behind, we glory in their indignant rejection of the terms of release offered them, w^hicli would deprive them of the right to defend their country's flag again. An incident occurred on August 24th which will ever be re- membered by the participants and witnesses, among whom was the writer. Part of the citizens of New Fairfleld had erected a peace flag on a pole in that town, and many Danburians, learn- ing of it, went up to pull it down. The New Fairfielders, deter- mined to protect their rights, gave battle, and there were som.e wounds received. All kinds of weapons were used, shov- els, pitchforks, etc. The Danburians returned without per- forming their object. Two days later Messrs. John and David Cosier and Wilson Porter w^ent up there, and after an argument in which they convinced the indignant New Fair- fielders of the impropriety of their actions, hauled down the flag. It gave rise to considerable excitement in town, and a local bard set forth the engagement in rhyme. It was on the Wednesday following the New Fairfield affaii" 394 HISTORY OF DANBURY. September 28th, that Captain Benjamin Skinner marched his men through Main Street, escorted by an immense cavalcade, and to the railway station, where a dense concourse of citizens was awaiting the brave fellows who were about to leave. The times were again growing exciting. It had been proved that the strength of the rebellion was greater than was at first supposed, and instead of crushing it out with the first seventy -five thou- sand men which the President called for in April, it would take a longer time and more men. The first to respond to the three years' enlistment were the Zouaves, whose departure has been chronicled. After they had gone, the three months' men re- turned, and in this second company of three years' men were many who had been upon the bloody battle-field at Bull Run. The departure was signalized in a similar manner to the others. Addresses were made by Elder Swan, of New London ; A. S. Treat, of Bridgeport ; and William A. Judd, of Bethel. Rev. Mr. Woolsey made the opening prayer. The company was made up as follows : Captain, Benjamin F. Skinner. First Lieutenant, Joseph S. Dunning. Second Lieutenant, Thomas Hooton. Sergeants : Theodore C. Wildman, Charles A. Benger, Henry T. Broas, Augustus Staples, Andrew B. Nichols. Corporals : John F. Morris, William Trumbull, Seth J. Crosby, Eli D. Seeley, Darius A. Veats, Charles Gordon, John Ward, Lewis A. Wygant. Musicians : Lewis P. Bradley, Silas T. Atwater. Wagoner, Charles Fitzsimmons. Privates: George Adams, Thomas T. Alexander, James L. Allen, Samuel P. Armstrong, Alonzo Austin, Edward Ayers, George W. Banker, Theodore B. Benedict, James Ballard, Charles H. Bevans, John H. Bishop, Francis E. Broas, Charles Butcher, Oscar Byington, Charles Byxbee, John T. Byxbee, Henry S. Cole, Warren Collomore, William Crof ut, Byron Cros- by, John Davis, Owen Dewenny, James Divine, John Doughton, Charles C. Dolph, Joseph Eaton, Ebenezer Ellis, Joseph English, Henry Erwin, William Fagan, Jerome Fairchild, Frederick A. Felch, Philip Fortune, James Gelde, Abram Grimm, Seeley Hall, William H. Hall, William Holly, John T. Holmes, James H. Howard, Reed M. Howes, Eleazer Jones, Leonard Jones, Edwin HISTORY OF DANBURY. 395 Judson, Robert L. Keith, Christian Kohlenberg, John Kenseller, William H. Lessey, John Laliey, Samuel K. Lynes, Charles E. Lyon, Charles F. Mehan, James Mehan, James Martin, Lewis Martin, John F. Morris, William M. Merritt, John Mildem, Edward Moffatt, Frank R. Nash, William W. Newman, William Nichols, Bartholomew 0' Brian, George Olin, Henry Parks, George W. Raymond, John Roberts, Nathan S. Roberts, Orrin K. Scofield, Charles S. Scott, Daniel R. Shelton, Oscar Smith, William H. Smith, Asa Stricldand, John C. Swords, Albert Van Tassell, Wheeler J. Veats, Albert Walker, George B. Waterman, Joseph Waterman, George Webb, William F. Webb, Charles H. Weed, Isaac Weed, John D. Wilcox, Henry Williams. On September 5th a call was issued for a meeting of the free- men of Danbury " who are in favor of the Union and the per- petuity of the Government, and who value the constitution and laws of our common country as the most priceless inheritance ever bequeathed by an honored ancestry, and who are in favor of a vigorous prosecution of the war against a wicked and un- provoked rebellion," to be held in Concert Hall on Saturday, September 7th. This call was signed by E. S. Tweedy, John W. Bacon, B. F. Ashley, John F. Beard, and over four hundred other citizens irrespective of party. On that day, at two o'clock in the afternoon, there were nearly one thousand people present under the elms in front of Hon. F. S. Wildman's residence. Hon. Roger Averill presided and made a patriotic speech on taking the chair. His theme was the preservation of the Union at all hazards. He introduced Rev. Samuel P. Seeley, of Albany, who spoke for over an hour in an eloquent, patriotic strain. D. B. Booth, Esq., presented a set of resolutions and a Pruden- tial Committee was appointed. Even at the time of the departure of Captain Skinner's com- pany, which became Company D, Seventh Regiment, a new com- pany was forming. On September 24th the new company elected G. M. Southmayd Captain, S. G. Bailey First Lieutenant, and C. H. White Second Lieutenant. This company, eventually named Company A, of the Eleventh Regiment, left Danbury on September 26th. It was a national fast day, and there was a very large crowd at the cars to see them off and bid them good- by. Keeping up the usages of the past, a large cavalcade escorted them on their march. Impromptu addresses were made 396 HISTORY OF DANBURY. by Messrs. Comstock, of Bethel ; L. S. Barnum and V. W. Benedict, of Danbury, and a gentleman named Bradford, of England. They were mustered in on November 27th, 1861, and immedi- ately left for the front. The company roll was as follows : Captain, George M. Southmayd. First Lieutenant, Samuel G. Bailey. Second Lieutenant, Charles H. White. Sergeants : Henry J. McDonald, David B. Mansfield, Irving Stevens, Nathan Cornwall, Knowles H. Taylor. Corporals : Stansbiiry L. Barnum, Eben L. Barnum, Ira Tay- lor, Christian T. Post, Thomas Payne, Franklin Clark, Michael Eagan, George Cassidy. Musicians : Jacob L. Dauchy, Sylvester C. Piatt. Wagoner, Edwin Babbitt. Privates : Peter W. Ambler, David Andruss, Norris W. Bal- lard, Homer B. Barnard, Frederick Bassett, Samuel Bassett, Samuel B. Buxton, John B. Beardslee, Philo P. Bradley, George Bronson, Edward Burns, Lewis Carley, James Conboy, Edward Confroy, Patrick Cotter, Romeo Crittenden, John Case, Elias Cromwell, Edward Curtis, Sylvester De Forest, Samuel L. Dibble, William W. Dickens, Edgar A. Eastwood, Charles Edwards, Elijah Fields, Thomas Foley, Grandison D. Foote, Aurelius Fowler, Edwin B. Gage, Rliomanza Gage, Anthony Gilchrist, John P. Gillick, Clark Gorham, Daniel Gregory, Pat- rick Green, William H. Hamilton, Clark Hamilton, Isaac H. Hawley, John Hawkins, David A. Hoag, Edgar A. Hoyt, Will- iam F. Hoyt, Henry E. Hurd, Patrick Lannon, William Leach, Sylvester Lessey, Prentice A. Mallory, Joseph B. Mallory, William Mantz, James Melvin, William Milson, Charles 0. Mor- gan, Orlando Morgan, Thomas Murphy, P. M. E. McGuinness, John McJohn, Philo S. Pearce, Christian Quien, John Quien, Aaron Robertson, Lorenzo D. Rockwell, Chauncey L. Rowland, John Ryan, James Sands, William Savage, Theodore A. Smith, Russell Smith, Isaac Smith, John H. Sniffins, Asa Stevens, Edward Stevens, John C. Thom^Dson, Orrin C. Turner, Charles Turner, John Voorhees, Edward Walker, Benjamin Ward, Solo- mon R. Wheeler, AVilUam H. White, Cyrus A. White, John B. Winian, Theodore I. Winton. The company went into camp in Hartford. On October 8th, HISTORY OF DANBURY. 897 at a meeting of the company, they unanimously adopted the name of " Averill Rifles," in honor of Hon. Roger Averill, of Danbury. Mr. Averill highly appreciated the compliment, and on Thanksgiving Day, November 28th, he presented the com- pany with an elegant flag. There were from twenty-five to thirty of the company present, under command of Captain Southmayd. Concert Hall, where the affair was held, was packed with citi- zens. The company marched, headed by martial music, to the stage, where they were received by Mr. Averill. Mr. L. S. Bar- num stated the object of the meeting, and then Mr. Averill ad- dressed the Rifles. He welcomed them home on this day pecul- iarly interesting to New Englanders. It was gratifying to him to say, both from published statements and from personal obser- vation in camp, that the Rifles had earned the respect and con- fidence reposed in them, and a rank among the most efficient and best-drilled companies that had gone into camp in the State. The speaker acknowledged the honor conferred upon him by the company in selecting a name, and as a slight token of his appre- ciation of the compliment he had procured the colors. Turning to Captain Southmayd he handed them to him, and then again addressing the company he charged them to guard it with zealous care. " If, in the battle, the standard-bearer should be shot down, let another brave man take it up, and with its folds wav- ing over the heads of the company, lead them on to victory. And should it be torn to ribbons, preserve as many of the shreds as possible, bring them back, and when you come we will give you such a welcome as never greeted you before." Captain Southmayd being unable to speak a loud word by reason of a cold, Mr. L. S. Barnum responded for the company. He spoke in a very complimentary strain of the Rifles, for he had been two weeks in camp and knew what he had seen. The colors were taken in charge by Color Sergeant Irving Stevens. They were made of heavy silk, of regulation size, six feet by six feet eight inches, embroidered with heavy bullion gold fringe, and surmounted with two heavy gold tassels. On the top of the staff was a gold eagle with outstretched wings. The flag went with the company through the war, and was brought home with them. Lieutenant Peter W. Ambler was appointed custodian of the flag. Among the members of the company was Mr. Grandison D. 398 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Foote. Mr. Foote was in the first company of three months' men, and after returning he went back to his trade of hatter in the Pahquioque Factory. The departure of the Averill Rifles was too much for him, and throwing down the implements of his trade he enlisted in the same company. They had already gone to Hartford, and there Mr. Foote joined them. On the afternoon of his departure his fellow-workmen gathered together, and Mr. William Mansfield, in behalf of the men, presented Mr. Foote with a Bible with |20 in bills between the leaves. The Bible had embossed on the cover his name, company, and regi- ment. Mr. Foote responded, and then left for the cars. As the train passed the shop the whole force turned out, and he went by amid the cheers of the crowd. The Eleventh Regiment, of which Captain Southmayd's company was a part, left Hartford on December 17th, and ar- rived in New York on the same day. They were received by the Sons of Connecticut, an organization composed of those residents of that city who were originally from this State, and were escorted to the barracks at City Hall Park, where the men were sumptuously fed. The officers were entertained at the Astor House. On December 3d of this year, Andrew Knox, who had returned with the three months' men, was duly authorized to raise recruits for the service. He immediately began the work, and in a very short time had secured forty-five volunteers. With these he reported at Hartford for duty on January 14th. They were assigned to Company B, of the First Heavy Artillery, which had then emerged from the Fourth Infantry. Nelson L. White was the lieutenant-colonel of this admirable regiment. Knox was made second lieutenant of the company, and was promoted shortly after to be first lieutenant. The roll of these recruits, who were assigned to Company B, was as follows : Second Lieutenant, Andrew Knox. Sergeant, Frederick Hubbard. Privates : Charles H. Anderson, Daniel N. Andrews, Gran- ville W. Benedict, Henry Brown, Robert Brown, Patrick Clancy, Joseph P. Dayton, Milo Dickens, James Fitzsimmons, Edward Foley, Walter Griffin, Thomas Hefren, William L. Hyatt, Jesse L. James, Ichabod E. Jenkins, George D. Keeler, James McDer- mott, Charles McDermott, John W. Miller, Alexander Miller, HISTOKY OF DANIiUKY. 399 James Muldoon, Charles P. Nettleton, Philii^ O'Rourke, Fred- erick A. Osborn, Edward A. Osborn, William R. Potter, Samuel M. Petit, Alfred Piatt, George M. Roff, Tliaddeus Rooney, Grandisoii Scott, Ely J. Sherwood, Thomas G. Sherman, Al- son J. Smith, Walter C. Sparks, John Sweeney, Charles Shep- ard, John C. Tavlor, William Tillotson, Hiram Wood, George L. Wood. Dr. Eli F. Hendrick was an assistant surgeon in the First Heavies, and was afterward transferred to the Fifteenth Regi- ment Infantry. The second year of the war opened quietly in Danbury, There was little excitement. " All quiet on the Potomac" was the general answer to questions as to the state of affairs. Occasion- ally little ripx^les of excitement would be caused by the return of some crippled veteran discharged because of wounds, or the coming home of some sick soldier on a furlough to recuperate among his friends, and to go back with renewed health, energy and determination. There was a call for hospital sup- plies, and mittens for the soldiers. The writer remembers that in the Centre District School the scholars were allowed to pick lint as a reward for good behavior. The mittens were knit by the ladies, but as they had to have the forefinger sepa- rate from the rest of the hand, few knew how to do the work. Mrs. Eliza Botsford gratuitously taught all who came to her for instruction. Then there was a loud call for stockings and underclothing, and many a box filled with these articles went out from Danbury. A ladies' sewing society, organized for the purpose of prepar- ing articles of clothing and hospital stores, did a big work for the cause. Rev. G. M. Stone, pastor of the Baptist church, went to Washington on a tour of inspection, and when he re- turned he gave a lecture on his trij) for the benefit of this society, which netted them $24. To relieve the monotony of the times the selectmen made a draft on Monday, January 27tli. Ninety was the quota of Dan- bury, and the list drawn embraced the names of some of our leading business men. A large proportion of these either were excused, procured a substitute, or paid a fine of $10. These drafted men were not to go into the army, but were for an active State militia. The next week after the draft the selectmen 400 HISTORY OF DANBURY. received an order from the Governor suspending further action until the meeting of the General Assembly. On Monday, February 17th, news of the capture of Fort Donelson was bulletined in front of the telegraph office, and crowds surrounded the board, reading with glad faces the news that the fort had been captured, together with fifteen thousand soldiers and several rebel generals. It was not long before the news was spread by the church- bells, and several pairs of en- thusiastic hands were blistered by the rope of the First Church bell. All the church-bells were rung, the factory whistles blew, and even the little bell of the Liberty Street school-house rang out the glad news. And as if these could not make noise enough, the cannon was brought out and during the afternoon was fired again and again. In the evening an impromptu meeting was held in the rooms of the Young Men's Christian Association. The President, Mr. William Mansfield, Rev. G. M. Stone, Rev. A. N. Gilbert, Rev. F. J. Jackson, Dr. Eli F. Hendrick, and others sjwke eloquent words of congratulation and pleasure. In view of the encouraging news, Washington's Birthday was celebrated with even more enthusiasm than ever before or since. There was a meeting in Concert Hall in the afternoon, at which addresses were made by the clergy and others, and in the even- ing another meeting was held in the Disciples church, at which Rev. I. L. Townsend read Washington's Farewell Address, and Rev. A. N. Gilbert made a short speech. Again on Monday, May 2d, news of the fall of Norfolk and Portsmouth and the sinking of the rebel ram Merrimac made the enthusiasm of our Danbury people break forth anew. Bells were rung and cannon fired, and for days congratulations were extended to each other. On June 5th A. H. Hoddinot and I. N. Jennings, who had been in the hands of the rebels for sev- eral months, having been captured at Bull Run, arrived home. Their coming was the occasion of more excitement, and they were warmly greeted and made to tell their experiences again and again for the benefit of their friends. The two weeks before July 1st were weeks of agonizing sus- pense. McClellan was about to force the fight before Richmond, and the people expected that he would be successful in captur- ing the stronghold of the Confederacy. The result is well known. Davii) Foote, 2t> Pres't Samtel Tweedy, 1st Pues't. Building Built in 1S26 for Bkancii of Fairfield County Bank, XOW THE DaNBURY NATIONAL BaNK. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 401 The failure disheartened the weak, but made stronger the strong. President Lincoln on July 1st called for 300,000 more troops. His call was supplemented by one from Governor Buckingham calling for the enlistment of six regiments in the State. The call was received in Banbury with enthusiasm. A meeting was held in the law office of Lieutenant-Governor Averill on the evening of Wednesday, July 16th, and an address issued as follows : -' CITIZENS OF DANBURY, TO THE RESCUE ! " The people of our country have been called upon to add 300,000 soldiers to the Army of the Union. The enemies of our Government are vigilant and active, and duty requires that they should be met with \igilance and activity on our part. Already the people of the State have arisen in response to the call, and men and money are being bestowed with no illiberal hand. You are asked to contribute your fathers, brothers, sons, yourselves to this glorious w^ork. With the proud record which Danbury pre- sents, let it not be said that our patriotic old town is behind in furnishing her share to push forward the column. To do this our country needs fighting men, and for the purpose of assist- ing to obtain them, our citizens will meet in Concert Hall on Friday evening next at 7.30 o'clock. We know we need not urge a full attendance. " Gentlemen of distinction, among whom may be mentioned Governor Buckingham, are expected to be present and address the meeting." This address was signed by fifty-six representative men of the town, among whom all parties were represented. It was no time for an exhibition of party spirit. The darkest hour of the Re- bellion w^as then at hand, and something more than the stagnancy of the past six months must ensue. The call was heeded. July I8th was a gala day almost. The town was alive with people in the afternoon, and numerous resi- dences were decorated with bunting, while every iiag-stafl car- ried its flag. At nine o'clock a special train carrying some of the prominent men of the town went down to Norwalk. There, after a short waiting, Governor Buckingham was received and introduced to the committee. They took the special train ba^'lv 402 HISTORY OF DANBURY. to Danbury. When they passed the Pahquioque Hat Factory a cannon roared out its welcome, supplemented by the sten- torian cheers of the small army of employes. In the afternoon the Governor, with Lieutenant-Governor Averill and others, visited Bethel, where a recruiting station had been for some time opened. In the evening Concert Hall was not large enough by half to accommodate the crowd which had gathered in response to the call. When Governor Buckingham entered the hall leaning on the arm of Lieutenant-Governor Averill, the thousand people packed in that house, to a man, cheered and cheered again until from very hoarseness they were obliged to desist. Mr. Averill was called to the chair, and made a strong, patriotic speech in thanking them for the honor. He was followed by the singing of " My Country, 'tis of Thee," by the combined musical talent of Danbury and Bethel. Rev. A. N. Gilbert, then pastor of the Disciples church, made a speech, which for fervid eloquence and masterful power, equalled anything ever heard in the old hall. He was again and again interrupted with cheers. Another song, and then Dr. Hill, of Norwalk, addressed the meeting. His speech awoke many responsive throbs in the hearts of the au- dience. The address of Rev. Mr. Hoyt, of Rochester, N. Y., who was at the time supplying the pulpit of the Baptist church, was a mingling of pathos and humor, and closed with the recommendation that the people praise God with leaden bullets shot out of a gun as the old Covenanters' cannon praised Him with its booming discharge. The enthusiasm broke out anew when Governor Buckingham arose. There was a deafening storm of cheers and cries, which showed how warm a place the " War Governor" had in the hearts of the people. He spoke of the crisis upon them. He said he had come to Danbury for men, and the country must have them. As the Governor closed it was evident that the audience realized the importance of the occasion, and that his words had sunk deeply into their hearts. He was followed by Rev. John Craw- ford, whose remarks were to the effect that despondency was out of place. A speaker had used the word defeated. He did not like the word. We were not defeated, but would be conquerors. He called on the men to come and the women to give them up. HISTORY OF DANBURT. 403 He was cheered on closing. Rev. Mr. Clark, of New Fairfield, and Hon. D. B. Booth also spoke. Mr. Booth offered a reso- lution calling upon the selectmen to call a special town meeting to provide for the families of volunteers and to authorize the payment of bounties. When the speaking was over there was a call for volunteers. A tall man went forward. He had the typical military figure — tall, slim, straight. He wrote his name on the paper presented. It was the first name, and was read to the audience. It was that of James E. Moore. The announcement of this name was re- ceived with a storm of applause. Little did he who wrote it, or those who cheered it, anticij)ate the tragedy that a year later was to end his life. Other names rapidly followed, and the first step for the formation of the Wildman Guards was taken. The name was adopted in honor of our fellow-citizen, Frederick S. Wildman. During the enlistment of men at the meeting a gentleman in the audience offered $25 for the next name. This was immedi- ately taken up by others, and several made similar offers, show- ing the liberality of our citizens. The meeting soon after closed with three cheers for General McClellan, and it was by far the largest and most enthusiastic meeting held during the war. The company which began its formation at that time was com- manded by Captain James E. Moore, and took the designation of " C" in the Seventeenth Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers, then being raised by this county, and the only distinctively Fairfield County regiment recruited. Its headquarters were at Bridgeport. August 28th it was mustered into the United States service, and on September 3d it left the State for the front. On the morning of July 28th Captain Moore left Danbury for Bridgeport with fifty men, for this was only the first detach- ment. Many were from Bethel, New Fairfield, Brookfield, Ridgefield, and Newtown. Squads of men were sent each week to the camp almost up to the date of their mustering into ser- vice. We give the roll of the company as it left the State : Captain, James E. Moore. First Lieutenant, Milton H. Daniels. Second Lieutenant, Henry Quien. Sergeants : William O. Dauchy, Robert S. Dauchy, August E. Bronson, William L. Daniels, Bethel S. Barnum. 404 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Corporals : George Scott, Benjamin S. White, Edward S. War- ren, Eli Lobdell, George Dickens, William E. Baldwin, Henry E. Williams, Lewis A. Ward. Musicians : Justin S. Keeler, Horatio G. Jenkins. Wagoner, Thomas McCorkell. Privates : James M. Bailey, Charles Brotherton, Orrin L. Bronson, Frederick H. Bussing, Charles H. Benedict, Charles S. Benedict, John H. Benedict, William E. Benedict, George F. Bradley, David Bradley, Jjewis Bradley, John W. Bouton, George W. Barber, Jarvis F. Beers, Alfred Bennett, Frank J. Benson, Theodore Blackman, Henry Booth, William H. Curtis, WiUiam Curtis, Charles G. Curtis, William A. Clark, William B. Clark, Samuel G. Clark, Amos C. Day, Samuel M. Downs, Smith Delevan, Charles T. Delevan, Thaddeus S. Edwards, Charles Z. Ferren, Leverett B. Fairchild, Alpheus B. Fairchild, Thaddeus Feeks, Joseph I. Foote, Francis H. Ferry, Robert W. Fry, Rob- ert Farvour, Frederick W. Goodale, John H. Grannis, John Ganung, Louis B. Griffin, John W. Holmes, William Humphries, James A. Harmon, Ezra S. Hall, Oscar S. Jennings, Edgar L. Knapp, James Kyle, Norman Kellogg, Phineas C. Lounsbury, Theodore S. Morris, Joseph Maddock, John McCorkell, John McHugh, Edward H. Northrop, William F. Otis, Lewis P. Osborn, George S. Purdy, Daniel H. Purdy, Amos Raymond, Rufus S. Rice, Patrick Ryan, Charles S. Small, George Sears, Samuel G. Shepard, Ira Sherman, William H. Smith, Frederick S. Smith, David F. Stillson, Horace E. Tomlinson, Richard D. Taylor, Adam C. Williams, William H. Warren, Rufus Warren, Charles H. Wilcox, John M. Walters, Joseph S. Whitlock, Nephi Whitlock, Iren^eus P. Woodman, George L. Wood, George W. Wood, Charles Wooster, Moses A. Wheeler. The selectmen, in compliance with the resolution passed at the war meeting on July 18th, called a town meeting for the 24th of that month. It was voted there to pay a bounty of $25 to any resident of the town who had then enlisted, or who should enlist before August 20th, into the military service of the State, under the recent call of the Governor. On Saturday, August 30th, a large delegation from Captain Moore's company came up from Bridgeport, and were met by Captain Jenkins and his company, then forming, at the railway station. They were escorted to Concert HaD, where a little cere- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 405 mony was in store for them. This company being Banbury's favorite — if Danburians can be said to have had any particular favorites in the army during the war — the hall was crowded. Marching to the platform, Captain Moore arranged his men in line, and with Lieutenants Daniels and Quien stood in front, ready for anything that might come. Lieutenant-Governor Averill then stepped forward to the men, and in a few brief and appropriate remarks presented to each of the officers a handsome sword, in behalf of the citizens of Danbury. The recipients responded feelingly, calling out the warmest expressions of regard from the donors. The meeting then adjourned, and the members of the company returned to their families until Mon- day, when they went back to camp at Bridgeport, and left for the front on the Wednesday following, September 3d. Captain James A. Betts, of Company A, Fifth Regiment, was home during the latter part of August recruiting his health from the effects of his imprisonment, having been captured at the battle of Winchester, May 2oth, together with Isaac Rogers and George Scott, of his company. Being a member of Union Lodge No. 40, F. and A. M., the fraternity purchased a handsome sword, which was presented to him at a lodge meeting Mon- day evening, September 1st. He returned to the front soon after. Our citizens also about this time sent to Second Lieutenant Theodore C. Wildman an outfit suitable to his office, he having been promoted from Orderly Sergeant in place of Lieutenant Thomas Hooten, killed. Danbury filled her quota under the call for 300,000 more men dated July 2d. Then came, on August 4th, the call for a draft of 300,000 more. It was decided by the State [authorities that volunteering could go on, however, and under this decision Cap- tain James H. Jenkins began the enlistment of a company, which was known as Company B, Twenty-third Regiment. This com- pany was enlisted for nine months, unless sooner discharged. The company left on a special train on Wednesday, September 3d, for camp at New Haven, and on November 16th it left the State. The muster roll is as follows : Captain, James H. Jenkins. First Lieutenant, Frederick Starr. Second Lieutenant, William B. Betts. 406 HISTORY OF DANBURT. Sergeants : Henry I. Smith, Oliver R. Jenkins, Henry L. Read, Charles B. Pickering, Azariel C. Fuller. Corporals : John S. Thomi^son, John W. Hodges, Abel B. Gray, Elias N. Osborne, Horace Bourell, David B. Hoyt, Edwin Barnum, Robert S. Stratton. Musicians : Joseph D. Bishop, George L. Smith. Wagoner, John R. Smith. Privates : Edward Armstrong, Oscar W. Ambler, John D. Bell, Andrew Bell, Henry Barry, William E. Bailey, Joseph T. Bates, George C. Bradley, George Ball, William E. Barlow, Charles W. Crofut, Eugene Conklin, William E. Comstock, Theo- dore Clark, Francis P. Clark, William A. Carlson, Edward Cowan, William W. Downs, Frederick M. Dunham, George W. Deforest, Egbert W. Gilbert, Edwin M. Griffith, Charles Green, Reuben C. Hodge, Hiram H. Hodge, Charles H. Hoyt, Daniel E. Hoyt, William P. Hoyt, Graham E. Hull, Edward A. Hine, Henry Hawley, Clark Hawley, Hiram H. Hadden, George W. Hoyt, James G. Hagan, Augustus Kinner, Michael F. Knapp, John Knapp, Jr., Ira S. Knapp, Jacob Lehwald, Hiram Lock- wood, William P. Mallory, Richard M. Murray, James L. May- nard, Ira B. Manley, Lewis H. Northrop, John F. Noble, Benja- min H. Peck, Burton L. Roseboom, John M. Raymond, Henry B. Sturgis, WiUiam Smith, Theodore Sanford, Sylvester J. Scott, Oliver E. Trowbridge, Reuben Tompkins, Henry B. Veats, Oliver Wood, Frederick F. Wood, Abel M. Wheeler, Theodore M. Wheeler, Edgar Wygant, Ezra G. Wildman, Charles B. Waterman. Soon after the departure of Company B, Company K was organized, and left for the same headquarters on September 12th. Its muster roll is as follows : Captain, Samuel G. Bailey. First Lieutenant, Edwin H. Nearing. Second Lieutenant, George Quien. Sergeants : Charles H. Hart, Henry N. Fanton, Thomas Mac- kay, Edwin Hodge, John Allen. Corporals : Monroe Throop, Gilbert H. Campbell, Charles H. Frank, Fred S. Olmstead, Ira W. Beers, Frederick C. Barnum, Andrew Osborn, John H. Fanton. Musicians : Charles D. Nicholson, Henry A. Buckingham. Wagoner, James W. Hamilton. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 407 Privates : Henry Bayer, Elbert Barsley, Peter Bush, David Bamum, Frederick A. Bennett, William H. Bunnell, William E. Barker, George Bartram, James C. Croal, John A. Croal, John W. Crane, Michael Carmody, Martin Davis, David Disbrow, Charles E. Disbrow, George Daines, Patrick Dunlavy, Henry Daniels, Joseph E. Evarts, John C. Evans, Charles J, Fish, John Gaffney, Selah Gage, Michael Haviland, Frank A. Hulslander, Henry A. Hoyt, John Haberman, Russell Hatch, Philip Halpin, Jacob H. Husk, George A. Jackson, Nathan S. Miller, Stephen Monroe, Francis Mackay, Elnathan N. Mabie, Philo F. Mans- field, Richard Morrison, Francis MacAuley, Robert McKabb, Philander L. Perry, Henry Payne, George N. Peck, Sylvester C. Piatt, Thomas G. Robinson, George W. Rogers, Samuel Steven- son, Charles Sproal, George R, Selleck, Francis B. Smith, Fred- erick W. Stevens, Hanson C. Smith, Orrin Serine, James H. Tay- lor, George AV. Truesdell, Henry B. Thomas, Lyman Taylor, Abel C. Tracy, Cyrus Wood, Selah T. Wheeler, Joseph Willi- mann, Ephraim G. Whitlock, George C. Whitlock, Lyman Whitehead, Moses Wheeler. Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Gregory, of the State militia, was the adjutant of the regiment. Interest in the operations of the Army of the Potomac was intensified at this time by the return of Lieutenant-Colonel Nel- son L. White, who delivered a lecture in Concert Hall on the evening of September 26th, on the subject of his personal experi- ences. His remarks were earnest, impressive, and eloquent. He alluded to General McClellan, then in command of that army, in terms of highest praise, and his references were received with unbounded enthusiasm. He closed by appealing to the young men to enlist at this critical juncture of the war, and rec- ommended the " First Heavies" in particular. The evening following this lecture Concert Hall was again crowded. Company B having come from New Haven for the purpose of receiving a present of swords for their commis- sioned officers. Lieutenant-Governor Averill was chairman. Rev. S. G. Coe, of the First Church, opened the meeting with a prayer, and then Rev. A. N. Gilbert made a lengthy speech, after which he presented the swords to Captain Jenkins, Lieu- tenants Starr and Betts, and to Adjutant Gregory. Each gentleman responded appropriately, and after re- 408 HISTORY OF DANBURY. marks by Rev. Messrs. Stone and Robinson, the meeting closed. The departure of Company K, Twenty-third Regiment, closes the record of Danbury's contributions to the army as companies. The winter of 1862 and 1863 was uneventful. War and rumors of war were the only exciting events which stirred the sluggish life of Danbury. Occasionally a soldier direct from the front would come home to recruit his health, and over and over again would tell his story of life in the camp or on the battle-field. Anxious friends would inquire after the boys, and would be disappointed if he did not know personally of the where- abouts of each Danbury man in the army. The papers of that time were filled with letters from the army, and many a heart was made glad and relieved of a heavy burden by their publi- cation. On January 20tli, 1863, news was received of the death of Lieutenant -Colonel Stone ; and on February 22d a memorial ser- vice was held in the Baptist church for him who had "fallen on sleep." In the early part of March Adjutant Samuel Gregory, of the Twenty-third Regiment, came home, having resigned on account of prolonged ill-health. Adjutant Gregory received from Col- onel Holmes, commanding the regiment, a letter of thanks from the boys for the constant care he exercised for the welfare of the regiment, and expressing their sorrow that he was obliged to leave them. Captain Moore, Sergeant Bronson, William O. Dauchy and Richard 1). Taylor fell in the "baptism of fire" at Gettysburg, and the Fourth of July, 1863, was a sad day for Danbury. Her bravest and noblest sons had gone into this fight, strong in their bright manhood, and had come out leaving many of their com- rades dead or prisoners. The record of Captain Moore's com- pany shows its loss in that fight to have been the most serious sustained by any Danbury company in any one engagement. The company went into battle with forty-four members. Of these, eleven were killed outright or died shortly from the effects of the wounds. Eleven were otherwise wounded, and eleven were captured, leaving eleven survivors. On July 27th a town meeting was called to make appro- priations from the town treasury for the support of the fam- HISTORY OF DANBUKV. 409 ilies of such persons as might be drafted and enter the service of the United States Government under the draft ordered. The meeting was largely attended. Hon. D. B. Booth occupied the chair, and a resolution was offered providing that each man drafted or providing a substitute should be paid from the treas- ury of the town the sum of $300. This was not exactly the idea of the meeting. This would enable any drafted man to pay a substitute with the town's money. A substitute to this reso- lution was offered, which we coi)y in full : " Resolved, That the town treasurer be and he hereby is authorized and directed to pay to the proper officer appointed to receive the same the sum of $300, for each person drafted from this town into the service of the United States under an act of Congress entitled ' An act for enrolling and calling out the national forces and for other purposes,' provided such person is not otherwise exempt from the provisions of said act ; or the selectmen be authorized to draw an order on the same treasurer for the sum of $300 for each man so drafted, and that all moneys now in the hands of the treasurer or collector shall be paid upon these orders, and are hereby appointed for that purpose. ^^ Hesolved, That in case any person is drafted in accordance with said act and shall volunteer for three years or during the war, the treasurer of the town is hereby directed to pay to such person the sum of $300, instead of paying the same to the officers of the General Government for exemption. " Resolved, That for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of these resolutions, the selectmen of the town are hereby ordered and directed to borrow a sufficient amount of money upon the credit of the town for said purpose." A question of legality was raised, and finally it was referred to Mr. William F. Taylor, who said that his private opinion was that the appropriation contemplated would not be legal. But while the statute did not provide for such an act on the part of the town, it contained nothing expressly forbidding it. Other towns had made similar appropriations. The meeting then decided almost unanimously to take the risks, and the votes were passed. For several weeks after this there was much discussion as to the legality of the meeting, many claiming that the meeting was attended and the votes passed by boys, non- voters, and strangers. 410 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Accordingly the selectmen called another meeting for August 29th. The Town Hall was crowded, and the meeting of great interest. After expelling all non- voters from the room, it was " Voted, That there be i)aid to each of such volunteers here- after enlisting in the United service who are credited to the quota of this town, the sum of $300, provided that the number of said volunteers to whom said payment be made shall not exceed the quota of men called for and due from this town during the pres- ent war. " Voted, That the selectmen be and they are hereby author- ized to draw an order on the treasurer of the town for the sum of $300 in favor of each man who shall be drafted from this town into the service of the United States, under an act of Congress entitled ' An Act for Enrolling and Calling out the National Forces and for other Purposes' (and shall be sworn into the ser- vice of the United States), or shall procure a substitute to the acceptance of the Board of Enrolment. " Voted, That a sum not exceeding $1000 be and hereby is appropriated from the treasury of this town to be expended by Edgar S. Tweedy, Waters F. Olmstead, Frederick S. Wildman, and Orrin Benedict, at their discretion, for the purpose of sup- plying the necessary wants of the families of such persons in indigent circumstances as have died, or are now in their country's service from this town, and the committee shall receive no com- pensation for their services. '' Voted, That the selectmen be and are hereby authorized to borrow such an amount of money as shall be necessary to carry the foregoing votes into effect. "■ Voted, That the selectmen be instructed not to draw any orders on the treasurer under the votes passed July 27th, 1863." On August 9th, 1863, its term of service having expired, the Twenty-third Regiment left New Orleans, and arrived in New Haven on the 24th instant. The two Danbury companies be- longing to this regiment reached home early the next morning. Owing to their unexpected arrival, no formal reception had been prepared, but later a public welcome was given them in the form of a picnic at the old camp-ground in Redding, now Putnam Park. The attendance of soldiers was not so large as could have been wished for — many were waiting in New Haven for their final pay ; but there was a goodly representation from Danbury, HISTORY OF DANBURY. 411 Bethel and Georgetown companies, and addresses were made by Lieutenant-Governor Averill, Rev. A. N. Gilbert and Messrs. Farnum and Judd, of Bethel. For the benefit of the sick and disabled soldiers the ladies of Danbury had always shown themselves interested. On Septem- ber 9th and 10th a fair was held in Concert Hall by Danbury ladies for this purpose, and the gross receipts, including money contributed, were $1217.19. Of this $924.59 were net profit. This sum was disposed of as follows : $700 were sent to the United States Sanitary Commission in New York, and the balance was contributed to the Soldiers' Aid Society of Danbury. This society also held an entertainment in December, the prominent feature of which was an old-fashioned kitchen. The net receipts of the affair were $150. In October Rev. E. C. Ambler, Chaplain of the Sixty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment, was in town, and on the 25th of that month the Methodist church was packed to hear his story of prison life. It was a vivid, graphic, and truthful nar- rative of his experiences while in the hands of the enemy, and his sentiments of patriotism and loyalty were several times applauded, despite the place and day. The summer of 1863 passed in Danbury with nothing but the draft and the battle of Gettysburg to relieve the strain on the nerves of the people. There was no movement for recruiting, no parades, no drills. The people quietly waited for the end, which they were confident w^as now near at hand. Gettysburg was pronounced the decisive battle of the war, and it was believed that the South could not much longer present a resistance to the Government forces. On Saturday, August 29th, Captain G. M. Southmayd pre- sented the sword he had carried when in service in the Eleventh Regiment to Lieutenant John Sniffin, of that regiment. When the captain resigned from the service he said to his men, in order to stimulate them to the largest exertions in the line of duty, that he would present his sword to the private who should first receive a commission. Lieutenant Sniffin was in town on the 29th, and agreeable to promise, Captain Southmayd presented him with the sword. On Wednesday evening, September 30th, a public meeting, largely attended, was held in Concert HaU, and was addressed 412 HISTORY OF DANBUEY. by Dr. Samuel T. Seelye, of Albany, a native of Bethel. His subject was the " Condition of Our Country," and a very fruit- ful topic it was at the time. The most exciting event in the fall of 1863 was the draft. It occurred in October, but it had been hanging over Danbury for a long time, occasioning the liveliest kind of distress to many people. The names were drawn by J ohn Waters. The number enrolled for the draft w-ere 712. The number required were 215. The drawing took place in Bridgeport, on Tuesday, October 13th, and the result was awaited with intense anxiety by our citizens, but it was a misery that had plenty of company. Of the 215 selected to do honor to the town in the struggle for the Union, 120 were excused because of physical infirmity, or being the support of parents or young children dependent upon them, or getting a substitute, the last-named class greatly pre- ponderating. Four days after the draft, on the 17th, the President issued a call for 300,000 more troops. This was a call for volunteers, and was in addition to what had been conscripted or were to be under preceding calls. A volunteer army was preferable to a drafted force, and having shown the people that it was in deadly earnest about getting troops, the administration believed enough would volunteer and get a bounty rather than to run the chance of being compelled to go without any compensation, to fill the call. But the call was a thunder-clap to Danbury, which had already contributed so largely to the Union Army, and there was a fear among those who had survived the draft that such difficulty would be met in filling the quota of the town with volunteers as to necessitate another conscription. The volunteering, which was designed for tlie benefit of the depleted ranks of regiments already in the field, did not advance with any degree of the desired rapidity, and on Wednesday evening, December 15th, two months after the issue of Mr. Lin- coln's call, a large assembly of our citizens took place in the basement of Concert Hall, to devise means to hasten the enrol- ment. L. S. Barnum was chosen chairman of the meeting, which resolved to go to work to raise money for bounties, and appointed Edmund Tweedy, James S. Taylor, and A. N. Sharp to dispose of the fund to the best advantage. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 413 A committee of one in each school district was appointed to solicit subscriptions, and the amonnt collected was $3670. At this time some thirty volunteers had come forward, and it was doubted if the above sum would be sufficient to induce enough more to enlist to fill the town's quota under the call before January 6th following, w^hich was the limit for the same. The remainder of the year 1863 passed quietly in Danbury, there being little of war interest beyond the possible draft tran- spiring in the village. On October 9th six members of Company C, Seventeenth Regi- ment, arrived in Danbury on a twenty-four-hour furlough from Governor's Island. They were exchanged prisoners, captured at Gettysburg, and were on their way to the regiment, then located in South Carolina. On Wednesday evening, December 9th, an entertainment was given in Concert Hall for the benefit of the Soldiers' Aid Society, and the amount netted was $150. On December 20th the Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society completed its second year of existence, and made a report showing some- thing of the work it had done. The report gives the following list of articles gathered and sent in that time : Twenty-nine large boxes of hospital supplies and six kegs of pickles have been sent to the New York City branch of the Sanitary Commission. Two boxes of supplies and two kegs of pickles to the Colum- bian Hospital, Washington, D. C. One box of supplies to the Seventh Connecticut Volunteers, Port Royal, S. C. One box of supplies to the State Hospital, New Haven, Conn. Two boxes of supplies to the United States Hospital at An- napolis, Md. The following is a partial list of articles sent : 3247 rolls of bandages ; 110 pounds lint ; 93 bedquilts ; 605 cotton shirts ; 65 new woollen shirts ; 240 pairs cotton drawers ; 72 pairs new woollen drawers ; 96 under-jackets ; 69 dressing-gowns ; 171 sheets ; 316 pillow-cases ; 21 woollen blankets ; 601 pocket- handkerchiefs ; 448 towels ; 98 woollen mittens ; 59 pairs slip- pers ; 211 pairs cotton socks ; 110 pairs new woollen socks ; 80 coats, vests, and pants ; 182 pounds jellies ; 20 bottles of wine ; 50 i)ounds dried fruit, besides corn starch, soap, farina, broma, 414 HISTORY OF DANBURY. wheaten grits, pincushions, reading matter, and many other useful articles of which no special account has been kept. The year of 1864 dawned unhappily upon Danbury. It is doubtful if January, 1861, was more surcharged with gloom. As intimated in the last paper the call for troops was not heartily responded to. About everybody who thought he could go to the war had gone. Volunteering appeared to be out of the prospect entirely. The town looked for its supply to fill the quota and save drafting to the hiring of men at market prices. The market price was beyond the reach of most people. In New York $1000 was appropriated for each recruit. This had a bad influence on the market here. A man who enlisted simply for the money would take the highest price offered, of course, and was not particular to count on the quota of Connecticut if he could get more by enlisting from New York. The effort of the town had been directed to raising a fund sufficient to secure enough of these men to fill its quota. To this end appeals through the local press were made to the citizens, and canvassers were appointed to go about and solicit contribu- tions from those liable to military duty. Enlisting had been rather lively at the opening of December, but it died out materially before the month closed, and during the first week in January there were but twenty enlistments in the district embracing the counties of Fairfield and Litchfield. The quota of Danbury, as estimated at this juncture, was one hundred. Up to that time forty names had been secured, leav- ing sixty to raise. And the prospect for getting them and sav- ing another draft looked exceedingly slim. It was almost im- possible to secure substitutes at any price, and the fund the town held did not warrant paying a very high price. On January f)th, the limit of the time provided wherein the State should pay $300 bounty to every volunteer expired, but Governor Buckingham issued a proclamation on the 2d extend- ing the time to the 15th. On January 14th a town meeting was held to accept and pay the amounts expended in securing volunteers under the call of the October preceding. The bill presented was $2899. It was referred to an auditing committee, who reported at a meeting on the eighteenth which voted to pay the same. The expenses to the town for the sixty volunteers that had HISTORY OF DANBURY. 415 been so far obtained under the last call was at the rate of nearly $50 a man. This was in addition to the State and national bounties. On February 1st there came another call for 200,000 more men, to be got by draft if not filled on March lOtli following. How much distress this intelligence added to what already ex- isted our readers can imagine. In the first week in March the Adjutant-General of the State visited Washington to examine the records of the War Depart- ment as relating to the contributions to the armies from this State, and on comparing them with his own made the gratifying- discovery that Connecticut was entitled to 1000 more men than it had been credited with. This not only made up its deficiency under the last calls, but left a small surplus over to be credited to those towns which had more than filled their quotas. This did not relieve the towns which had not filled their apportion- ment from the possibility of a draft, but it staved off the prob- ability. As Danbury was one of these it breathed freer in th(i first week of March than it had expected to. The spring of 1864 passed quietly in Danbury. There was less of military movement, and consequently less of excitement than during any spring of the war. The draft that had been so long dreaded did not take place. It was called for March 10th. On that date Danbury had secured in recruits and the previ- ously drafted or their substitutes 160 men. The quota of the town was 176, and there were but 16 to secure to fill the quota. These were obtained shortly after by volunteering. The month of June opened lively in the matter of enlistments. There was an impending call for more troops. On .Monday evening, the 13th, a meeting was held to devise means to raise volunteers. It was a matter of some doubt at this juncture as to the condition of the town toward its quota. If the re-enlisted volunteers were credited to the towns whence they originally went, Danbury would have an excess over the past quota of forty-six, which would apply to its apportionment in the coming call. If they were not thus counted for the towns, but applied on the State at large, then the town would be forty behind. It was subsequently settled that the re-enlisted men should apply to the town. The meeting was largely attended. A committee of five were 436 HISTORY OF DANBURY. appointed to devise means for filling the quota on the last and impending call. The number enrolled at this time was 1147. The committee recommended that an appropriation be made for the securing of volunteers, and a vote was passed author- izing the selectmen to borrow on the credit of the town, at not over 6 per cent interest, a sum not to exceed $5000, to be appro- priated by them in paying the expenses in filling the quota of the town under the anticipated call of the Government. On July 4th the dreaded proclamation was issued. It called for 500,000 men. Fifty days were allowed to fill this call by volunteering. All deficiency after that limit was to be made up by drafting. Under the call Danbury's allotment was 215 men. Deducting a surplus of 48 men, in excess of past quotas, there remained 168 men to be secured. On Saturday, July 30th, a town meeting was held to further arrange for the enlistment of men. Several resolutions were presented, but only one was acted upon, and that was rejected. The resolution in question appointed a committee to ensure ex- emption, at the expense of the town, to every man subject to the draft who shall pay into the town treasury the sum of $50. The meeting adjourned one week for a further consideration of the subject. At this meeting two votes were adopted. The first authorized the selectmen to fill the quota in the way deemed best ; the second empowered them to borrow such sums of money as they found necessary to carry out the provisions of the first vote. One week later the selectmen decided to pay $300 to the family of each volunteer or substitute, or to the man himself if he had no family. On Monday, August 22d, a third town meeting in the interest of the momentous subject of filling the quota was held. In this gathering definite sanction was given to the paying of bounties, and the bounties themselves were defined. It was voted to pay every man who enlisted for one year the sum of $500 ; to every man who enlisted for two years, $600 ; and to every three-year volunteer, $700. It was further voted to empower the selectmen to borrow a sum not to exceed $100,000 to pay these bounties, and was still further voted to appropriate $10 for the expense of conveying each recruit to the place of rendezvous. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 417 It will be seen by this record of several town meetings how the approach of the draft stimulated the zeal of citizens, and opened the town's pocket. Owing to this liberal action of the town, volunteering started up with spirit, and on Monday, September 12th, the quota was filled and the draft averted. On Saturday, the 17th, a town meeting was held to provide for anticipated Government calls for troops, and it was voted that the selectmen recruit one hundred more men. At a subse- quent meeting it was voted to furnish substitutes for those who paid into the treasury $100, and loaned the to\vn for six years on interest the amount required to secure such substitute. This ends the record of 1864. With the exception of the fight against the draft, which was certainly lively enough, the year passed in Danbury in a remarkably quiet manner. The last year of the war opened dully for Danbury. Through the month of January there was absolutely nothing happening either here or in the field to stir the sluggishness of the village. The first ripple came on February 1st, with a statement from the agents appointed by the town to secure volunteers. On the last call by the President for troops the quota of Dan- bury was figured to be about 130. The agents reported on Feb- ruarj^ 1st that they had secured 40 recruits and 10 substitutes. Besides this number there was a surplus of 12 from the call which preceded the last, making a total of 62. This would leave a balance of 68 to obtain to till the then determined quota. The recruits cost $143.65 each. In the town meeting on the 22d of the preceding August very large bounties were voted to encourage enlistments. On Feb- ruary 13th another meeting was held, and it was voted to in- crease the bounty for two years' and three years' men $50 beyond the sum fixed at the August meeting. Resolutions were pre- sented at the same meeting to give each drafted man who served $800, and $500 to each man who furnished a substitute. The former was tabled for future action, and was adopted at a meet- ing held on the 18th. The latter was rejected. Whether it was in the natural order of war events, or whether it was the act of the Danbury town meeting in generously putting forth such immense bounties, will never, perhaps, be known, but it is true that almost immediately 418 HISTORY OF DANBURY. after this meeting the South showed marked evidences of col- lapsing, and a few weeks later the break began in the surrender of General Lee's army. Those who might have enlisted for three years and received the $750 bounty would have had no service in the field, and it is not likely they would have had to leave the State. No more army movements were made in town. The drum- ming up of recruits, the fighting between the taxpayers over the bounties and other accessories to recruiting, the appeals to patriotism — all died away and became entirely lost. Saturday morning, April 15th, the news of the assassination of President Lincoln was received here, and brought the same shock it carried to every community in the North. The bells of the churches were solemnly tolled. Flags were draped with crape and hung at half mast, and many places of business and residences put on mourning before the day closed. The next evening, Sunday, the congregations of the several churches assembled in the First Church, and addresses com- memorating the virtues of the dead man and mourning his loss were given by the clergy. At the hour of the funeral in Washington, at noon Wednes- day, the 19th, the people of Danbury were called upon by the warden of the borough, J. Amsbury, to put their places of busi- ness and residence in mourning, so far as was possible, and to close all places of business from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., which was done. A funeral service was held at the First Congregational Church, and Bishoj) Williams conducted a special service at St. James' Church. Although the war was now virtually ended, there was much work yet to do by the troops, and it was not until the middle of the summer that the regiments in which Danbury had companies began to return. No public demonstration greeted them as they straggled home, but each found a hearty welcome awaiting him. In all the towns of this suffering, enduring, brave little State, none present a grander war record than does Danbury. From the hour when the shame put upon Sumter thrilled her loyal heart, she never faltered in the way once set before her, and from out the tears that fall for those who, in the shock of battle, went the royal road to death, she looks with grateful pride HISTORY OF D ANBURY. 419 upon the work so nobly wrought, and lays thereon her earnest benediction. PERSONAL MENTION."^ Lieutenant-Colonel Stone. Henry Burton Stone was born in Troy, N. Y., on December 2d, 1827. He was resident in Bethel in 1847, and having a taste for military affairs, enlisted on August 19th of that year as a private in Company B, Ninth Infantry, United States Regulars. By strict attention to duty he soon gained the rank of Orderly Sergeant. He served in the Mexican War, and was wounded, though not seriously, at the battle of Chapultepec. On return- ing from the field he once again entered the peaceful pursuits of life, and continued in these until the breaking out of the Civil War. In June, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Fifth Connecticut Volunteers, and was mustered into service as Captain on July 22d of the same year. His promotion to the rank of Major fol- lowed on October 23d, and on July 12th, 1862, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel. He was wounded at the battle of Cedar Mountain, on August 9th, 1862, and taken to Delevan Hospital, at Charlottesville, Va., where he died on January 20th, 1863, and was buried on Virginia soil. Loved by many, respected by all, he has left a spotless record of bravery and honor. Lieutenant-Colonel Moegling. William Christian Moegling was born in Stuttgart, capital city of the Kingdom of Wiirtemberg, Germany, on October 30th, 1834. He came to America early in 1854, and to Danbury in the autumn of 1857. At the outburst of the Rebellion he was one of the first to offer his services, and went to the front with Com- pany A, of the Connecticut Volunteers. After the battle of Bull Run he wanted the company to take a vote to stay until the war should be ended, but it refused. Mr. Moegling was Sergeant when mustered out of service. When new regiments were formed the Adjutant-General in Hartford told him that if he could enlist a company he should * The military record of Lieutenant-Colonel White will be found in the History of the Bar. Chapter XXXVI., and that of William C. Bennett, M.D., and E. F. Hendrick, M.D., in Medical History, Chapter XXX VII. 420 HISTORY OF DANBURY. be given the command of it. In two weeks the quota was mus- tered in at Hartford, with Mr. Moegling as Captain. This was Company C, the banner company of the Eleventh Regiment, under command of Colonel Kingsbury. After the battle of New-Berne, N. C, Mr. Moegling was pro- moted Major. At the battle of Antietam he was wounded and came home, but went again to the front, just in time to take part in the battle of Fredericksburg, Va., where he was slightly wounded. In 1863, the two years' time of the regiment being expired, he was stationed in New Haven as mustering oflBcer, after which he went at the head of his old regiment, the Eleventh Connecti- cut Volunteers, for a three years' stay. From this time the regi- ment had hard service, and was engaged in a number of battles, of which the fight at Cold Harbor was most severe. At a later engagement his foot was struck by a piece of shell, when he went to the hospital, where he sickened with fever and was brought to Danbury, where he died on his thirtieth birthday, October 30th, 1864, He was buried with all military honors. Captain Moore. James E. Moore was born in April, 1820, at York, Pa., of a line of patriots. When the war cloud arose upon our Southern border, he enlisted in April, 1847, at Cincinnati, in the Fourth Ohio Volunteers, and as color-bearer served until the close of the Mexican War. A resident of Danbury at the commencement of the Civil War, he raised a company which joined the Third Regiment Connecticut Volunteers for three months, and formed a part of the few heroic souls who did something to redeem the disastrous day at Bull Run, for they stopped at Centreville and came back to Washing- ton as a company, saving, in connection with their regiment, a large amount of Government property. His short term of ser- vice having expired, he returned home. In the summer of 1862 Captain Moore raised a company who enlisted for three years as color company in the Seventeenth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers. Requesting to be sent to the front from the monotonous garrison duty at Baltimore, he was stationed at Thoroughfare Gap, in the Virginia Mountains, where, owing to exposure, many of his men became ill. His HISTORY OF D ANBURY. 421 constant devotion to them won for him the endearing title of the *' father of his company." At Chancellorville this company formed a part of the Eleventh Corps, and after following the enemy through unparalleled marching achievements they overtook Lee at Gettysburg, and immediately went into battle. The Seventeenth Connecticut Volunteers was the first regiment of the Eleventh Corps sent forward as skirmishers, and met with courage and steadiness the fierce attack of the foe. Captain Moore fell while rallying his men on July 1st, 1863. His remains were sent home and buried with all honors, the vast concourse at the funeral attesting the high place he filled in the esteem of his fellow-citizens. Captain Starr. Samuel Starr, of the Third Missouri Regiment, was buried from St. James' Episcopal Church on April 4th, 1864, with mili- tary honors. Captain Hall. Henry C. Hall, of the Eighth Regiment, was killed at Peters- burg, Ya., and buried from the Methodist Church in Danbury, on Sunday, July 24th, 1864. Military honors. Captain White. Selleck L. White, of Long Ridge, was killed at Deep Bottom, Va., and buried with honors from his home in Long Ridge on September 11th, 1864. Lieutenant Stevens. Jesse D. Stevens was born in England, August 3d, 1831 ; came to America when only three years old, and passed most of his life in Danbury. He was Lieutenant of the Wooster Guards, and largely instrumental in enlisting that company. His health broke down after he had been with the army for three months, and he was obliged to return home, greatly to the distress of his loyal spirit. At the time of his death on June 20th, 1889, he was Secretary of the Knight Templars, Treasurer of the International Hatters' Association, and one of the selectmen of the town ; also a mem- ber of James E. Moore Post, No. 18, Grand Army of the Republic. 422 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Lieutenant Hooten. Thomas Hooten was killed at the battle of James Island, S. C, on June 16th, 1862. On July 7th memorial services were held in Danbury, at the rooms of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation, of which he was a member, and suitable resolutions of sorrow and sympathy were passed. Lieutenant Starr. Frederick Starr was born December 16th, 1819. He enlisted in the Civil War, and was wounded at the battle of La Fourche Crossing, in Louisiana, about three days before his death, which occurred on June 24th, 1863. Lieutenant Stevens. S. S. Stevens, of the Sixth Regiment, was killed at Fort Wag- ner, in July, 1863. His remains were brought to Danbury the following November, and buried from the Universalist Church with military honors. Lieutenant Umerstone met death in Virginia, and was buried in Danbury, October 29th, 1864. Dr. Joseph Williman, Surgeon of the Twenty-third Regiment, was buried from the First Congregational Church on November 9th, 1863. Sergeant Marsh. John Marsh was a native of England and served in her army during the Crimean War. This experience and his knowledge of military matters enabled him to render efficient service in diall- ing recruits. It is generally conceded that he was the first Con- necticut soldier killed in the war. He fell in the battle of Bull Run, on July 21st, 1861. He was noted for his bravery, and be- loved by all. George E. Ims. George Edward Ives, the son of George W. and Sarah H. Ives, was born in Danbury, August 3d, 1845. He early exhibited a marked taste for music, and received a thorough musical educa- tion in New York, graduating in June, 1862. At that time, though only seventeen years of age, at the request of Colonel HISTORY OF DANBURY. 423 Nelson L. White, he raised among his German musical acquaint- ances in New York the Connecticut Volunteer Band. With the First Connecticut Heavy Artillery, under General Tyler, this Volunteer Band, under the leadership of Mr. Ives, went into the war, and remained unbroken until mustered out at the close of the war, when Mr. Ives returned to Danbury, where he resided until his sudden death on November 5th, 1894. At that time he held the positions of Cashier and Director in the Danbury Sav- ings Bank, of which his father was one of the founders. CHAPTER XXXIX. MONUMENTS. Dedication of Wooster Monument. On April 27th, 1854, was unveiled and dedicated the Wooster Monument. Early morning saw the streets filled with people, and from every avenue of approach new crowds appeared anx- ious to participate in honoring the memory of General Wooster by the dedication of this monument commemorative of his mili- tary services. Ten thousand people were in the town, and many dis- tinguished visitors, among them Governor Pond, ex-Governor Cleveland, Mrs. Sigourney, the poetess, and Hons. Charles Chapman and Thomas B. Butler. The military was represented by five companies and many prominent officers. Revolutionary soldiers were i)resent in the procession. The Masonic fraternity was, of course, in the majority. Forming the column at the corner near the Wooster House, they were marched down Main Street, and countermarched through several side streets to the cemetery. At the south gate the procession, which consisted of four divisions, halted. The first division, composed of military, opened ranks, and the Governor with his staff, the distinguished guests, and the Masonic bodies marched through and up to the monument. Here the officers of the Grand Lodge formed around the stone, and an ode composed for the occasion was sung. Rev. Brother Willey, Grand Chaplain, made a prayer, and then the Grand Master ordered the Grand Treasurer to make the deposits in the box.* The Grand Secretary deposited the box in the * The contents of the box were a Bible ; copies of the United States and State Constitutions ; Journal of the last General Assembly ; Masonic Grand Lodge report ; names of State officers and members of the General Assembly ; copy of the speech of Hon. John Cotton Smith in the House of Representatives, during the passage of the resolution making an appropriation for the monument ; pieces of American HISTORY OF D ANBURY. 425 stone, and the stone was let down, while an ode to Masonry was sung. The Grand Master next received from the Master Archi- tect the proj^er tools and applied them in ancient form, and the contents of the gold and silver vessels were poured upon the stone, after which the Grand Master invoked the Divine blessing, to which all responded Amen. The contents of these vessels were corn, wine, and oil, signifying peace, health, and plenty. After the stone had been struck three times with the gavel, the brethren present gave the grand honors, three times three. The Grand Secretary then waited upon the Governor and informed him that the chief stone of the monument had been laid and awaited his inspection. David Clark, the Grand Master, made a sliort address upon Masonry, which was responded to by the Governor at some length. The procession then reformed and marched to the First Congregational Church, when Brother Henry C. Deming delivered the oration. The church was crowded to its utmost capacity, and then the audience composed but a small portion of those who wished to hear the speech. At its close the procession marched to the Wooster House, where a dinner was served in the pleasant green dooryard of that day, which only a "green memory" of t?ds day can reproduce or a vivid imagination picture. On the summit of the gentle slope near the entrance of the cemetery stands the monument unchanged, looking out over the city. This monument, entirely of brown freestone, stands on a solid platform about twenty feet square ; at the corners are mas- sive stone posts which support an iron railing. The plinth is richly moulded, with the name of Wooster in raised letters upon the south side. A finely sculptured relief represents the General as falling from his horse at the moment he received the fatal ball. Above this the arms of the State appear, and higher still the main shaft is ornamented with a trophy consisting of sash, sword, and epaulettes. On the opposite side are appropriate coin ; Continental bills ; a daguerreotype of General Wooster ; the bullet by which he was supposed to have been killed ; copies of the New York Tribune, Uerald, Times, and Danbury Times ; documents from the New York Deaf and Dumb Insti- tute. There is some doubt concerning this bullet. When the supposed site of Wooster's grave was opened, a bullet was thrown out with the bones. Some people to-day claim that this bullet was carried there, dropped, and then picked up to prove (?) the grave of Wooster authentic. It has since been removed from the box and sent to Hartford to be preserved among the historical relics of the State. 426 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Masonic and military emblems. The whole is surmounted with a globe on which stands the American eagle bearing in his beak the wreath of victory. Early in the evening of this day a terrific storm broke over the town. The rain fell heavily, and, added to the large quan- tities of snow upon the ground, caused a freshet such as had never been seen here before. The dam of Oil Mill Pond was carried aw^ay, and with it two other dams. A factory used as a comb shop, the dam at White's fur factory, and one at what is now known as Hurlbutt's Pond were broken away. A portion of the dam connected with the factory of Wildman & Crosby, on Main Street, was swept away, and the bridge on Main Street was partially destroyed. The bridge crossing the river below was taken away, but the " Barn Plain" bridge, afterward destroyed by the Kohanza disaster in 1869, withstood the combined attacks of the waters and the floating timbers. The comb shop of A. T. Peck was swamped. The railway bridge, just below him, remained on three legs, and here was lodged the upper story of the bridge which had been near the old carriage factory. From this point to South Norwalk there was but one uninjured bridge. The track was washed badly, and it was ten days or more before trains ran over it regularly. At Beaver Brook the water cut away the embankment on the east side of the dam at the old grist mill, and from this point on Still River to the Housatonic, every bridge was swept away. The stream across West Street, near Benedict & Montgomery's factory, was swollen beyond all precedent, but by well-directed efforts the factory was saved from destruction, though the foun- dation walls on one side were laid bare and undermined, and a channel some three yards wide and eight feet deep was ploughed out. The Soldiers' Monument. As early as 1862 the project was started. It may seem strange to us at this day that a monument to commemorate the fallen soldiers in the war for the Union should have been suggested before the war was one fourth done, but at that time the close of the war seemed drawing nigh and the dawn of peace at hand. The project was of the women of Danbury, and they worked faithfully for its completion, despite the pressure upon them of other cares and duties incidental to that critical time in our his- HISTORY OF DANBURY. 427 tory. We who in a time of peace, with the channels of business unclogged, have seen how difficult it was to raise additions to this fund, can comprehend in some degree the magnitude of this task. Through the year the association gave a series of enter- tainments to raise a fund, and netted therefrom the sum of $1070.94. The amount was invested by William H. Tweedy, who in 1873 turned it over to the association with accumulated interest, making the total amount $1901.18. Two years passed without any special action being taken. In October, 1875, Charles H. Merritt was elected president of the association, and three trustees were chosen, these being Lyman D. Brewster, Mrs. Theodore T. Tweedy, secretary and treasurer, and Miss Elizabeth Wildman. These trustees invested the money in the Danbury Savings Bank. In April, 1878, the matter was again revived ; the trustees reported the fund to be at this time $2183.28, and contributions were solicited from the public. At this time a discussion was begun as to the site for the monument, the two locations being Concert Hall Square and the cemetery. This discussion was continued for some time in the columns of the News, and on Thursday evening, May 9th, a public meeting was held in the Grand Army of the Eepublic Hall, when the two parties pre- sented their views. In July committees from the association and the Grand Army of the Republic voted that all contributors should give their preference for the site with the sums donated. The result was not satisfactory, nor was that attained through other channels. As a final result, a borough meeting was caUed at which a request for necessary space for the monument in Con- cert Hall Square was submitted. The vote was to determine the site. If the request was rejected, the monument would be placed in the cemetery. A year later, in 1879, a meeting was held, and the space in Concert Hall Square was appropriated with but one dissenting vote. On April 1st of that year a design for the monument was received from Carpenter & Raymond, of Dayton, 0., and was accepted on July 1st at a price of $3500. On May 30th, 1879, a committee of citizens was appointed to act with the Monumental Association, and on March 17th, 1880, the committees announced the fund to be complete. Danbury was gay with flags and colors on May 27th, 1880, the day set 428 HISTORY OF DANBURY. apart for the unveiling of the Soldiers' Monument. The president of the day was Hon. Roger Averill ; the marshal of the day was General James Ryder. Among distinguished guests present were Governor Charles B. Andrews and staff ; Generals Harland, Wes- sells, Sloat, and Fuller ; Colonels Dean, Morse, Coe, and Fox ; Major Swan, ex-Secretary S. D. Stanton, General Smith, brigade commander, with his staff ; Major-General Couch, ex-Governor Miner, Treasurer Baker, Hon. David Clark, Judge A. B. Beers, and the department officers of the Grand Army of the Republic. Visiting posts were from Bridgeport, Norwalk, South Nor- walk, Stratford, Sandy Hook, and Wins ted. Water Witch Hose Company, of New Milford, was also present. The proces- sion contained one thousand men. It made a fine appearance with waving banners and marching to the martial music of the various bands. After reaching the monument the troops were massed around it, every available spot in the neighborhood being thronged with expectant crowds. Prayer was offered by the Rev. A. C. Hub- bard, after which the monument was unveiled by Miss Minnie E. Moore, daughter of Captain James E. Moore, of Danbury, who fell at the battle of Gettysburg. Governor C. B. Andrews made a short but stirring address, after which Mr. Averill introduced the orator of the day, Hon. Samuel Fessenden, who delivered a glowing oration. In the evening exercises were held at the Opera House, when an address was given by James Montgomery Bailey, the greater part of which the reader will find woven through his report of the Civil War.* Mr. W. A. Croffutt was the poet of the even- ing, filling this position in an altogether satisfactory manner. The singing of the " Battle Hymn of the Republic'' closed one of the eventful days in Danbury's history. The details of the day, addresses, oration, and poem will be found in the Danbury News of date May 27th, 1880. * The following is from the description of the day, written by Mr. Bailey in his own style for the News: " As early as Tuesday the hammer of the decorator was heard in the land, and the effect to-day in the bright sunlight is fine indeed. Yester- day afternoon the man of the house with the hammer, and his wife with advice, began to be real busy, and as early as five o'clock this morning they were at work again. When the procession passed, the man, with his thumb in a rag, and the woman, clad in a cool muslin, stood out at the front. This is the difference between a hammer and advice." Mrs. M. >r. CnoFFrT. Mrs. Frederick S. Wii.djian. Soldiers" Moxljient. Mrs. Thk(i])(ire S. Tweedy. Mrs. Edgar S. Tweedy. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 429 This monument is of Westerly granite, and is thirty-two feet in height. It is a circular column resting upon six pieces, con- sisting of lower base, plinth, mould, die, cap, and column mould, which make a combined height of ten feet. The column is twelve feet high, with a diameter of twenty-six inches ; the cap surmounting the column is two feet, and upon this stands the figure of a soldier five feet, eight inches high, bearing a flag in his right hand, while against his left side rests a cavalry sword. This figure is of Italian marble, and was carved in Italy. On the die facing Main Street is the following inscription : " To Our Brothers, Beloved, Honored, Revered, Who Died that Our Country might Live." On the West Street face we read : " The Defenders of The Union." The shaft is encircled with a band on which are engraved the names of battles, as follows : " Bull Run, Wilderness, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Appomattox, Petersburg, Port Hudson." Monument to the Heroes in Unknown Graves. Near the entrance of the beautiful Wooster Cemetery stands a fine monument erected by the James E. Moore Post to the memory of our heroes in unknown graves. The corner-stone of this monument was laid on Decoration Day (May 30th), 1893, with appropriate ceremonies. The introductory address was made by Post Commander N. B. Rogers. Edmund Tweedy, on behalf of the Cemetery Association, presented the plot for the monument, and Department Commander W. D. Rogers, of Meri- den, accepted the gift for the James E. Moore Post. Comman- der A. J. Smith, on behalf of the Monument Committee, pre- sented the foundation-stone, which was accepted by Comrade George R. Bevans in behalf of the post. On Decoration Day, in 1894, the completed monument was 430 HISTORY OF DANBURY. dedicated, with the city in gala attire and a large and imposing parade. Governor Morris and other State officials were present. Mr. Joel Foster, in a few well-chosen words, stated the cause for the assemblage. Rev. A. F. Pierce pronounced a fervent invo- cation, and " Old New England" was sung by a double quartette. Mr. Henry N. Fanton formally presented the monument to the State and city with impressive words. Governor Morris made the speech of acceptance for the State, and Mayor Andrews for the city. Mr. John W. Bacon accepted the monument for the Cemetery Association. " America" was sung, and the exercises closed by an address by Hon. Augustus Fenn, of Winsted, on " The Unknown Soldiers and Sailors Dead." On the front and rear faces of the monument are the words " In Memoriaui." On the front is a tablet on which is inscribed " Danbury's Memorial to her Soldiers and Sailors who Rest in Unknown Graves." Above this tablet is one bearing the names of some of those we honor to-day. Above the names is the in- signia of the navy— a windlass, sheeve-block, and anchor backed by crossed swords. On the back is the insignia of the army, a shield of Stars and Stripes surrounded with a laurel wreath, and backed by crossed swords. The cross bears a large badge of the Grand Army of the Republic, with the letters G. A. R. upon the three points. From the ground to the top of the statue the distance is four- teen feet. The base, cap, and die are of blue granite ; the figure of the soldier that crowns the monument is of Westerly granite.* * The Danbury Mws of date May 30th, 1894, contains a detailed account of the ceremonies of the day. CHAPTER XL. WOOSTER CEMETERY ASSOCIATION. In extent and topography the grounds of Wooster Cemetery- are not excelled by any burial-place in Connecticut. There are eighty-three acres in the enclosure. It is rolling land, with a number of broad plateaux, is abundantly shaded, has attractive drives, and a lake dotted with verdant islands. The first officers of the society were Frederick S. Wildman, President ; Lucius P. Hoyt, Secretary. The directors were Edgar S. Tweedy, George W. Ives, Nelson L. White, S. A. Hurlburt, Henry Benedict, and Samuel C. Wildman. The Danbury Cemetery Association was organized in Novem- ber, 1850, under a law of the State relating to cemeteries. The shares were $25, and there were sixty shareholders. The first purchase of land was made in December of that year, sixteen acres from William H. Clark for $300, and five and one quarter acres from Colonel E. Moss White for $80, In November, 1867, the Association purchased of tbe late William Augustus White about thirty-five acres at $35 per acre. The natural diversities of this ground have lent themselves to the good taste of those who have made this beautiful cemetery of to day, but it has required years of constant care and tireless energy, and these were freely given by the three good men whose names are graven on the tablet of the Memorial Chai^el "just within the gates, " and who rest quietly in this place which they made beautiful. The shade trees are numerous and varied, the grass is green and thick, and everywhere are evidences of loving thought and care for those who have gone before. The pretty curving lake fills the place where once was a swamp thick with bogs and bushes, and the drive about it is shaded by trees, where the birds " swing and sing" in the spring time. On April 27th, 1854, the W^ooster Monument was dedicated 432 HISTORY OF DANBURY. with appropriate ceremonies, to perpetuate tlie memory of Gen- eral Wooster. In 1862 the reception vault was built, and four years later the massive stone columns at the entrance of the cemetery were erected. The grounds were laid out and improvements made by and under the direction of George W. Ives and Edgar S. Tweedy. Mr. Ives departed this life in 1862. His remains rest on the northern point of the main ridge, beneath a granite cross of simple design, on the base of which is inscribed the following testimonial from his fellow-citizens : " This monument is erected to George W. Ives by his friends as a testimonial of his services in laying out and beautifying this cemetery, and in remembrance of his public and private worth." After his death Mr. Tweedy had the sole supervision of the grounds until his death in 1893. GEORGE W. IVES. Mr. Ives, to whom reference is made in this sketch, died on December lOth, 1862. In the issue of December 17th the local paper gave this record to his life and worth : " We are called upon this week to record the death of Mr. George W. Ives, which occurred at his residence last Thursday afternoon, after an illness of some three or four months. '* In the death of Mr. Ives our community is caUed upon to mourn the loss of one of our most valued and respected citizens. Born in the city of New York, he more than thirty years ago adopted this, his ancestral town, as his permanent residence. At the time of his removal here he was a member of the well- known hat firm of Leary & Co., of New York, and retained an interest in their business until within a year or two of his death. For some years Mr. Ives was a director in the Danbury Bank, was the Treasurer of the Danbury Savings Bank until quite recently, and was, and had been from its first organization, Treas- urer of the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad Company. Since his residence among us he has been foremost in every public im- provement designed to benefit and adorn our village, among the most prominent of which may be mentioned the Wooster Ceme- tery, laid out by him, and which will endure as a monument of the public spirit and cultivated taste of the deceased long after his name shall only be recalled as from the dim past. FREDEnilK S. ■\VlLn.MAN. Ge year of his age ^^^^^ A patriot of the Revolution Here Lyes Interrd the Body of Polly Comstoc^ Daughter to M* Andrew and M^^ Mercy Comstock Who Departed tliis Life July the 18 1775 Aged 13 Months ecclesiastical. Congregational Church. The First Ecclesiastical Society of Bethel was organized on November 12th, 1759, the society having its legal origin in an act of the General Assembly of Connecticut, passed the October previous. The church was organized November 25th, 1760, with a mem- bership of seventy-one persons duly recommended from the church in Danbury. At this date the church was recognized by a council of the Eastern Consociation of Fairfield County, of which Rev. David Judson, of Newtown, was moderator. This council also ordained as pastor of the church Mr. Noah Wet- more, a licentiate, Rev. Ebenezer White, of Danbury, preaching 630 HISTOEY OF DANBURl. the sermon. In the autumn of 1760 Captain Ebenezer Hickok gave the society land for a meeting-house, and sufficient land for a burial-ground. The meeting-house was completed so far as to be occupied the following summer ; its interior remained unfinished until 1796, when pews, pulpit, and gallery were added. A steeple was erected in 1818, and a bell procured ten years later. In 1832 extensive repairs were made. This build- ing was burned in 1842. A second and larger house of worship was erected the year following, and dedicated in June. In the spring of 1865, during a gale, the house was injured by the falling of the spire, and having been repaired, was sold to the town and moved ten rods west of its former site. The third and present house of worship was erected in 1866, and has been refitted from time to time, as the increasing demands of the parish required. The present parsonage, on Chestnut Street, was built by the society in 1873, and enlarged in 1883. The following is a list of the pastors : Rev. Noah Wetmore, ordained November 25th, 1760 ; dis- missed November 2d, 1784 ; died March 9th, 1796, aged 65. Rev. John Ely, ordained November 30th, 1791 ; dismissed June 7th, 1804 ; died November 2d, 1827, aged 64. Rev. Samuel Sturges, installed April 9th, 1862 ; dismissed December 11th, 1811 ; died November 22d, 1835, aged 68. Rev. John Gr. Lowe, installed January 1st, 1822 ; dismissed January 20th, 1829 ; died March 1st, 1855, aged 67. Rev. Erastus Cole, installed September 29th, 1830 ; dismissed September 26th, 1837 ; died October 18th, 1862, aged 66. Rev. John Greenwood, installed April 18th, 1838 ; dismissed April 27th, 1842 ; died March 21st, 1879, aged 85. Rev. Sylvanus Haight, installed November 4th, 1846 ; dis- missed February 8th, 1848 ; died April 6th, 1864, aged 87. Rev. John S. Whittlesey, installed December 12th, 1849 ; dis- missed January 1st, 1852 ; died May 11th, 1862, aged 50. Rev. Wheelock Nye Harvey, ordained May 18th, 1853 ; dis- missed June 29th, 1858. Rev. Elijah C. Baldwin, ordained September 5th, 1860 ; dis- missed February 6th, 1865. Rev. Robert C. Bell, ordained November 3d, 1869 ; dismissed April 2d, 1872. X ^ HISTORY OF DANBURY. 531 Rev. George F. Waters, ordained July 2d, 1873 ; dismissed September 22d, 1882. Rev. Henry L. Slack, the present pastor, installed May 22d, 1883. The present membership of the church is 430, and of the Sunday-school, 335. This church has sent forth into the Gospel ministry the follow- ing persons : Ebenezer Piatt, Laurens P. Hickok, Bennett F. Northrop, Dennis Piatt, George Barnum, John L. Ambler, Samuel T. Seeley, Julius H. Seeley, Laurence Clark Seeley (now the President of Smith College), Theodore Benjamin, Henry Lobdell, Pliny S. Smith, Arthur J. Benedict. These labored in Congregational and Presbyterian churches, while Levi Peck, Nathan Benedict, George S. Judd, and Horace Q. Judd entered other connections. St. Thomas' Church. This was organized as a separate parish on April 13th, 1846, having been for the previous eleven years a chapel of St. James' Church, Danbury. The church edifice was erected during the summer of 1835, and consecrated in October of the same year. It was subsequently enlarged and furnished with a new bell and organ in 1855 at a cost of $3600. The parsonage was purchased in 1849. The first rectors were David H. Short, Thomas G. Guion, John Purves, Henry Olmstead, and William Everett. Rev. Mr. Purves was recalled January 23d, 1847, remaining six years, and laying solid foundations for future growth. He was succeeded in Sep- tember, 1853, by the Rev. George Rumsey, who resigned in 1860. Rev. C. C. Barclay followed him, he being succeeded by Rev. F. D. Lewin. After him came Rev. Eugene C. Pattison, who entered upon his duties as rector in April, 1868, and died in 1881. In 1881 Rev. George Paul Torrence began his ministry, and continued until May, 1890, in which month Rev. William Mor- reU took charge of the church, and is the rector of to-day. Methodist Episcopal Church. In the winter of 1837, being unable to attend service in Dan- bury, Mr. and Mrs. Horace Trowbridge, Mr. and Mrs. Heman Benedict, and Miss Laura Trowbridge met together in a private house for prayer and class-meeting. The members interested in 532 HISTORY OF DANBUEY. this early movement rapidly increased, and it became necessary to find enlarged quarters. During 1839 they worshipped in a hall at the corner of Elm and Maple streets, where there was preaching by a minister from Danbury once in four weeks. At this time they became connected with the Conference circuit, which at that time included Ridgefield, Danbury, and Poplar Plains. Until 1848 services were held in different places, when the first church building was erected on Centre Street. The following is a list of the pastors between 1848 and 1858 : Levi Perry, Morris Hill, Horace Bartlett, G. S. Stillman, S. H. Smith, and John Crawford. Eev. D. Osborne succeeded Mr. Crawford in 1859. From 1860 until 1863 Kev. H. S. Pease was pastor, and during his pastorate the present commodious house of worship was erected. Follow- ing Mr. Pease came Revs. J. S. Breckenridge, B. F. Abbott, W. J. Robinson, T. N. Laine, E. H. Dutcher, George A. Park- ington, A. P. Chapman, William Brown, Moses E. Scudder, Will- iam H. Barton, Frank G. Howell, John T. Langlois. Rev. Charles A. Knesal, the present pastor, assumed the care of the church in 1893. The church was partially destroyed by fire in the early months of 1884, and rebuilt immediately at a cost of $6000. A new par- sonage costing $5000 was built in the summer of 1894. The church has 306 full members, with 11 probationers. The Sun- day-school has 40 teachers and 227 scholars. MEDICAL HISTORY. Dr. Noah Rockwell, of whom mention is made in the medical history of Danbury, was probably resident here as early as 1760 ; and it is likely that he was succeeded by his son Elihu, who died about 1775. In 1785 we find among the records of the Ecclesiastical Society mention of Dr. Peter Hayes, who married, on February 6th, 1777, Mrs. Mary Rockwell,* the widow of Dr. Eliud Rockwell. * Mrs. Mary Rockwell was the daughter of Captain Thomas and Mary (Sherman ?) Starr. She married, November 7th, 1768, Dr. Eliud Rockwell, who died December 9th, 1774, leaving two children. Mercy, only daughter and oldest child, born June HISTORY OF DANBURY. 533 Following him were Dr. Ansel Hoyt and Dr. ''Tyle" Taylor. Samuel Banks, M.D., moved into Bethel from Wilton, Conn., about 1812. Dr. Ezra Bennett commenced the practice of his profession in Bethel in 1828, removing to Danbnry ten years later. Follow- ing him came Hanford Bennett, William Irwin, Carter Benedict, now a practising physician in Syracuse, N. Y., Munson Shepard, Joseph Clark, H. E. Mather, Eansom Lyon, H. Young, George Benedict, Edward Lyon, A. E. May, now of Waterbury, Frank Benedict, now of Seymour, and H. E. Yining. The resident physicians of to-day are A. E. Barber, C. H. Hart, James A. Day, and J. Dobson. SCHOOLS. Bethel has seven school buildings, four outside the village. The three in the village have 12 rooms and 12 teachers. The High School buUding, erected in 1878, accommodates this grade only, with a three years' course. Commencing with this year the grade has been extended to meet the needs of the most advanced high-school pupils. To-day it has 66 pupils. The number of children of school age enumerated at the begin- ning of the last school year was 771 ; number of pupils in the town, 725. EMINENT MEN. Bethel has sent out into the world a number of prominent men, who have made their mark in the history of our country. Some of them, after busy lives, rest in the pretty cemetery on Bethel Hill, over which they wandered in their boyish days. Others sleep in the distant homes of their adoption, but they are not forgotten in their native place, and are ever spoken of with tender memory. Julius Hawley Seeley. Julius Hawley Seeley, President of Amherst College for the thirteen years ending in 1890, and connected with Amherst as teacher and President for a period of thirty-one years, died at 17th, 1770 ; married October 10th, 1787, Thomas Benedict, Jr. Noah, born March 24th, 1772. Hayes children : Thomas Starr, born 1778, died 1824 ; Polly, born 1782 ; Marcia, born 1785 ; Peter Perrit, born 1788. — Starr Family and JDavhury Town Records. 634 HISTORY OF DANBURY. his home in Amherst on Sunday, May 12th, 1895. President Seeley was born in Bethel, September 24th, 1824 ; graduated at Amherst in 1841 ; pursued theological studies at the Auburn Seminary and in Germany, and in 1853 became pastor of the First Reformed Dutch Church in Schenectady, N. Y., resigning the pastorate five years later to accept the professorship of Men- tal and Moral Philosophy at Amherst. In 1871 he was elected to Congress on a non-partisan basis, and at the end of the term declined a renomination. President Seeley held important iDositions of trust in several educational institutions besides Amherst, was for some years President of the American Missionary Association, received the degrees of D.D. and LL.D. from Union and Columbia colleges respectively, and wrote frequently for reviews and weekly x)apers. Failing health compelled him to resign the presidency of Am- herst in 1890. His principal works are a translation of Schwegler's " History of Philosophy" (New York, 1856) ; "The Way, the Truth, and the Life," lectures to educated Hindus in India (Boston, 1873) ; " Christian Missions," Yale lectures (New York, 1875) ; Hickok's " Moral Science," edited (Boston, 1880). Eev. Laurens Clark Seeley, a brother of Julius Seeley, born in Bethel, September 20th, 1837 ; graduated at Union College, 1857. He was pastor of North Church, Springfield, Mass., 1863- 65 ; Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature at Am>3rst College from 1865 to 1873 ; made President of Smith College, Northampton, Mass. , in 1875, and occupies to-day that position. Rev. Samuel T. Seeley, D.D., also brother of Julius Seeley, born in Bethel, October 24th, 1822 ; graduated at Western Re- serve CoUege in 1843 ; divinity at Auburn, 1846 ; pastor in Tor- rington and in Albany, N. Y., 1855-63 ; in East Hampton, Mass., from 1863 to 1876, where he now resides. Laurens P. HicTcoJc. Laurens Perseus Hickok was the son of Ebenezer Hickok and Polly (Benedict) Hickok, of Bethel, Conn. His paternal grand- father was Ebenezer Hickok, who married Mary, daughter of Abraham Benedict, and his maternal grandfather was Oliver Benedict, who married Mary, daughter of Deacon Joseph Starr. The subject of this sketch was born December 29th, 1798, and m^ a 25 z t» HISTORY OF DANBURY. 535 graduated from Union College, 1820. After occupying the Chair of Theology in the Western Reserve College and the Auburn Theological Seminary, Dr. Hickok, in 1852, was appointed Pro- fessor of Mental and Moral Science and Vice-President of Union College. He was made President in 1866, upon the death of Dr. Nott, and resigned in 1868. President Hickok was the distinguished metaphysician of whom the late Sir William Hamilton spoke in high terms. He issued twenty publications, including " Rational Psychology" (1848), " System of Moral Science" (1853), " Empirical Psychol- ogy" (1854), "Creator and Creation" (1872), "Humanity Im- mortal" (1872), and " Logic of Reason" (1875). After leaving Schenectady President Hickok and his wife made their home in Amherst, Mass., where they passed quietly the peaceful evening of a long and busy life. He died May 6th, 1888 ; his wife January 13th, 1895. Both sleep in the beautiful cemetery in Bethel. Orris 8. Ferry * Orris Sanford Ferry, a member of the Fairfield County Bar, was born at Bethel, August 15th, 1823, and died at Norwalk, where he resided, on November 21st, 1875. His father, Starr Ferry, was a manufacturer, and for a time Sheriff of Fairfield County. Young Ferry was fond of athletic games and sports, and when grown to manhood greatly enjoyed a day's recreation with his gun or fishing-rod. He worked for a short time, when a boy, in his father's hat factory, but his growing love for books soon determined him to seek a liberal education. At the age of seventeen he entered Yale College, graduating in 1844. He ex- celled when in college in general literature, oratory, and debate, being awarded by the faculty the highest literary prizes, and taking such rank among his fellow-students that they regarded his future eminence as assured. Immediately after graduation he began the study of law under the late Judge Osborn, at Fairfield, and afterward pursued it at Norwalk in the office of Hon. Thomas B. Butler, since Chief Justice. He was admitted to the Bar in 1846, and was for a short time in partnership with Judge Butler. Mr. Ferry about * By Asa B. Woodward, Esq. 536 HISTORY OF DANBURY. this time married Miss Charlotte C. Bissell, a daughter of Gov- ernor Bissell. Mr. Ferry soon became a conspicuous character in the com- munity in which he lived. A native of the county, of popular manners, a generous disposition, a tall and commanding figure, a highly intellectual face, of fine abilities and culture, and already a practised and eloquent public speaker, ambitious of professional distinction, with too much pride of character to be a self-seeker, and yet a natural leader, he could not fail soon to attract the public attention. He soon found himself in the en- joyment of a good practice, which steadily increased, and though he was at times drawn aside from his profession, he never re- turned to it without finding an immediate and abundant call for his services. While he was yet a young man he ranked among the leaders of the Bar in the amount of his business and the ability and success with which it was conducted. If Mr. Ferry had devoted his life to his profession he would have been a great lawyer. He had a fine legal mind. It was not acute and subtle, but it was broad, comprehensive, logical, quick of apprehension, and rapid in its operations. He had an excellent memory both of facts and principles. He was not a man of especial tact nor of artful expedients, neither was he cool, calculating, and passionless ; on the contrary, he was always frank, open-hearted, ardent in temperament, and natu- rally so impulsive that he would often have made grievous mis- takes but for the restraining powers of his strong common sense and clear intellect. He had an excellent knowledge of the common law as a scien- tific system, and loved to read the abstruse treatises of the old writers. His conservative mind was somewhat impatient of modern innovations, yet had the flexibility to recognize and adapt itself to the actual condition of things. He was not de- ceived by sophistries, either in his own argument or that of his opponent, but was a clear, logical reasoner, and was especially powerful as an advocate both before juries and courts. Great responsibility never depressed him or paralyzed his efforts, but always nerved him with increased energy and power. His legal arguments and opinions were rapidly, but carefully and deliber- ately prepared, and he was a safe and judicious legal adviser. His mode of examining a legal question was characteristic of HISTORY OF DANBURY. 537 his mind. He never counted the authorities on one side and the other, but quickly turned to the leading cases, scrutinized the reasoning of the judges, rapidly seized upon the exact point decided, and then by a comparison of the cases formed his own judgment of what was the true princiijle with just limita- tions. . . . Mr. Ferry was for a short time Judge of Probate for the Dis- trict of Norwalk. In 1855 and 1856 he was a member of the State Senate, and from 1856 to 1859 was State's Attorney for Fairfield County. When he entered the Legislature he was a young man, and was then for the first time in public life. He there found him- self associated with gentlemen of unusual experience and ability, but his own talents soon gave him a recognized rank among the ablest of them. He now became known to the State at large, and from this time was a positive power in the affairs of the commonwealth. . . . His services as an advocate of the principles of his party were much sought and freely rendered. He entered with great zeal into the Presidential canvass of 1856, making many public speeches in this and the neighboring States. In 1857 he was nominated for Congress and was defeated. In 1859 he was again nominated. It was not then common in New England for candidates to address the people in their own behalf. Mr. Ferry yielded reluctantly to the request of the convention which nominated him, and spoke in every town in the district. The contest was considered a doubtful one, but Mr. Ferry was elected by a handsome majority, and the result was attributed in great measure to his own speeches. Mr. Ferry was in many respects remarkable as a public speaker. He possessed a fine taste, and when the occasion required it, could prepare addresses of much literary merit. . . . In the autumn of 1859, before taking his seat in Congress, Mr. Ferry made a public profession of religion by uniting with the First Congregational Church of Norwalk, and the profession of his faith was not with him a matter of mere form. He was a man emphatically of growth in religious character as well as intellectual power and breadth to the day of his death. While he was a member of the National House of Representa- tives he delivered two elaborate speeches on the slavery question 538 HISTORY OF DANBURY. and the threatened secession of the Southern States, in which he ably set forth and defended the principles of the Republican Party, and was a member of the celebrated committee of thirty- three on the state of the Union. In 1861 he was again nominated for Congress, and was defeated. Being in Washington at the breaking out of the Civil War, he enlisted in a volunteer battalion for the temporary defence of the seat of government, and served until troops were obtained from the North. He was soon after tendered and accepted the command of the Fifth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers. He was afterward promoted to be brigadier-general, and served through the war with an honorable though not brilliant record. Returning in 1865 to his profession, he was a year later chosen United States Senator for the term commencing in 1867, and was re-elected in 1872. The limits of this notice will not admit an outline of his senatorial career. Many questions of grave im- portance, growing out of the late war, demanded the attention of Congress. Corruption was rife in many departments of the public service. The conventional usages of the Senate restrained Mr. Ferry at first from- taking a prominent part in the debates, and in the spring of 1869 an insidious disease, ultimately fatal, attacked his spine, and gradually impaired his physical powers, so that in the latter part of his career he could not mingle in the discus- sions to the extent that he would have desired. He was, how- ever, always at his post of duty, and a laborious worker on com- mittees, where he had a prominent place ; and he spoke fre- quently, at first in more elaborate efforts, but afterward generally in off-hand powerful arguments, inspired by his earnest and posi- tive convictions, and remarkable for compactness, brevity, and effective force. He came to be regarded as one of the ablest members of the Senate, and his acknowledged uprightness, inde- pendence, and intellectual power combined to give him an influ- ence in that body hardly surpassed by any in his time. He died with no blot on his good name, and no man ever suspected his integrity or questioned his purity or his personal honor. Phineas Taylor Barnum. Ephraim Barnum 2d, grandson of Thomas 2d, born 1733 ; mar- ried 1753, Keziah Covell, by whom he had ten children. He HISTORY OF DANBURY. 539 married, 2d, February, 1776, Mrs. Rachel Starr Beebe, daughter of Jonathan and Rachel (Taylor) Starr, and widow of Jonathan Beebe, of Danbury. They had five children, among them Philo, born 1778 ; married Polly Fairchild, of Newtown, Conn., who died in 1808, leaving five children. He then married Irene Taylor, daughter of Phineas and Molly (Sherwood) Taylor, of Bethel, and among the five children of this marriage was Phineas Taylor (born July 5th, 1810). His paternal grandfather was a captain in the Revolutionary War. His father was tailor, farmer, and sometimes hotel-keeper, and Phineas drove cows to pasture, weeded garden, j^loiighed fields, made hay, and when possible went to school. Later on he became clerk in a country store established by his father. In 1826 he went to the city of Brooklyn as clerk in the store of Oliver Taylor ; in 1827 he opened a porter-house in New York, and in 1829 married Charity, daughter of Benjamin Wright and Hannah (Sturges) Hallett. The same year he had a fruit and confectionery store in his grandfather's carriage-house in Bethel, and also had on hand ' ' a lottery business, and was auc- tioneer in the book trade." In July, 1831, with his uncle, Alanson Taylor, he opened a country store in Bethel. In October the nephew bought out the uncle's interest, and also in October (19th) he issued the first copy of the Herald of Freedom. As, unfortunately, he lacked the experience which induces caution, he was immediately plunged into hot waters of litiga- tion, and finally sentenced to pay on one suit a fine of SlOO, and be imprisoned in the jail for sixty days. He had a good room, lived well, had continual visits from friends, edited his paper as usual, and received large accessions to the subscription lists. When the sixty days were ended he received an ovation, and after a sumptuous dinner, with toasts and speeches, an ode and oration, in a coach drawn by six horses, accompanied by a band of music, forty horsemen, sixty carriages of citizens, and the marshal and orators of the day, amid roar of cannon and cheers of a multitude, Mr. Barnum rode to his home in Bethel, where the band played " Home, Sweet Home," and the procession re- turned to Danbury. His editorial career was one of continual contest, but he persevered in the publication of the Herald of Freedom until the spring of 1835, when it was sold. 540 HISTORY OF DANBURY. In 1841 lie bought the American Museum in New York City, and had found his vocation. The career of Mr. Barnum as showman and lecturer is too well known to need record here. Bridgeport, the city of his adoption, is indebted to him for a gift of many acres toward enlarging and beautifying Seaside Park, and for the Barnum Institute of Science and History, which was his last gift, and was formally presented to the city on February 18th, 1893. Mr. Barnum also gave to Tufts College, Massachusetts, $100,000, with which was erected and stocked the Barnum Museum of Natural History. Mr. Barnum was Mayor of Bridge- port, a member of the Legislature four times, President of the Pequonnock National Bank of Bridgeport, President of the Bridgeport Hospital, and the Bridgeport Water Company. In 1876 Mr. Barnum wrote a book of fiction founded on fact, entitled " The Adventures of Lion Jack ; or, How Menageries are Made," which was dedicated to the boys of America. In the summer of 1881 Mr. Barnum presented to Bethel, his birthplace, a bronze fountain eighteen feet high, which was made in Germany ; the design, a Triton of heroic size spouting water from an uplifted horn. At the unveiling of the fountain many speeches were made, among them an impromptu one by Mr. Barnum, w^hich, as a good description of the days of old as well as his own history, we quote entire : " My Friends : Among all the varied scenes of an active and eventful life, crowded with strange incidents of struggle and excitement, of joy and sorrow, taking me often through foreign lands and bringing me face to face with the king in his jDalace and the peasant in his turf-covered hut, I have invariably cher- ished with the most affectionate remembrance the place of my birth — the old village meeting-house, without steeple or bell, where in the square family pew I sweltered in summer and shiv- ered through my Sunday-school lessons in winter, and the old schoolhouse, where the ferule, the birchen rod and rattan did active duty, of which I deserved and received a liberal share. I am surprised to find that I can distinctly remember events which occurred before I was four years old. " To-day, as the events and scenes of my boyhood crowd upon my memory, I become a child again. I am playing tag and HISTORY OF DANBURY. 541 hide-and-seek with John Hoyt and Bill Shepard, Eli Ferry, Ben Beebe, Willis Judd, ' Dil ' Benedict, Rans. Seeley, and many other boys whose names rise up in my memory with the fresh- ness of yesterday. My parents called me Taylor, ignoring the name Phineas, although my maternal grandfather gave me a great reward, even Ivy Island, for bearing it. Boys of my own age called me Tale Barnum. " I can see as if but yesterday our hard-working mothers hetchelling their flax, carding their tow and wool, spinning, reeling, and weaving it into fabrics for bedding and clothing for all the family of both sexes. The same good mothers did the knitting, darning, mending, washing, ironing, cooking, soap and candle making, picked the geese, milked the cows, made butter and cheese, and did many other things for the support of the family. " We babies of 1810, when at home, were dressed in tow frocks, and the garments of our elders were not much superior, except on Sunday, when they wore their ' go-to-meeting clothes ' of homespun and linsey-woolsey. " Rain-water was caught and used for washing, while that for drinking and cooking was drawn from wells, with their ' old oaken bucket,' long poles, and well-sweeps. " Fire was kept over night by banking up the brands in ashes in the fireplace, and if it went out, one neighbor would visit another about daybreak the next morning with a pair of tongs to borrow a coal of fire to kindle with. Our candles were tallow, home-made, with dark tow wicks. In summer nearly all retired to rest at early dark without lighting a candle, except on ex- traordinary occasions. Home-made soft-soap was used for wash- ing hands and faces and everything else. The children of fam- ilies in ordinary circumstances ate their meals on trenchers (wooden plates). " As I grew older our family and others got an extravagant streak, discarded the trenchers, and rose to the dignity of pewter plates and leaden spoons. Tin peddlers, who travelled through the country with their wagons, supplied these and other luxuries. Our food consisted chiefly of boiled and baked beans, bean por- ridge, coarse rye bread, apple-sauce, hasty pudding eaten in milk, of which we all had plenty. The elder portion of the family ate meat twice a day, had plenty of vegetables, fish of 542 HISTORY OF DANBURY. their own catching, and occasionally big clams, which were cheap in those days, and shad in their season. These were brought from Norwalk and Bridgeport by fish and clam ped- dlers. Uncle Caleb Morgan, of Wolfpits, or Puppytown, was our only butcher. He peddled his meat through Bethel once a week. It consisted mostly of veal, lamb, mutton, or fresh pork, seldom bringing more than one kind at a time. Probably he did not have beef oftener than once a month. " Many families kept sheep, pigs, and poultry, and one or more cows. They had plenty of plain, substantial food. Droves of hogs ran at large in the streets of Bethel. When one of the neighbors wanted to feed his hogs, he went out into the street and called ' Pig ! ' which was pretty sure to bring in all the other hogs in the neighborhood. " I remember one man, called ' Old Chambers,' who had no trouble in this respect, and he was the only one excepted from it. He had a peculiar way of getting his hogs from the general drove. When he wanted them, he would go out into the street and shout, ' Hoot ! hoot ! hoot ! ' At this cry all the hogs but his own would run away ; but they understood the cry, and would stand still and take the meal. " Our dinners several times each week consisted of ' pot luck,' which was corned beef, salt pork, and vegetables, all boiled together in the same big iron pot hanging from the crane, which was supplied with iron hooks and trammels and swung in and out of the huge fireplace. In the same pot with the salt pork, potatoes, turnips, parsnips, beets, carrots, cabbage, and some- times onions was placed an Indian pudding, consisting of plain Indian meal mixed in water, pretty thick, salted and poured into a home-made brown linen bag, which was tied at the top. " When dinner was ready the Indian pudding was first taken from the pot, slipped out of the bag, and eaten with molasses. Then followed the ' pot luck.' I confess I like to this day the old-fashioned ' boiled dinner,' but doubt whether I should relish a sweetened desert before my meat. "Rows of sausages, called 'links,' hung in the garret, were dried, and lasted all w^inter. I remember them w^ell, and the treat it was when a boy to have one of these links to take to school to eat. At noon we children would gather about the great fireplace, and having cut a long stick, would push the i: ^ 2S HISTORY OF DANBURY. 543 sharpened end tlirougli the link, giving it a sort of cat-tail appearance. The link we would hold in the fire until it was cooked, and would then devour it with a keen relish. '' There were but few wagons or carriages in Bethel when I was a boy. Our grists of grain were taken to the mill in bags on horseback, and the women rode to church on Sundays and around the country on week days on horseback, usually on a cushion called a pillion, fastened behind the saddle, the hus- band, father, brother, or lover riding in front on the saddle. The country doctor visited his patients on horseback, carrying his saddle-bags, containing calomel, jalap, Epsom salts, lancet, and turnkey, those being the principal aids in relieving the sick. Nearly every person, sick or well, was bled every spring. " Teeth were pulled with a turnkey, and a dreadful instrument it was in looks and terrible in execution. I can remember that once I had a convenient toothache. Like many other boys, I had occasions when school was distasteful to me, and hunting for birch or berries, or going after fish, were more of a delight than the struggle after knowledge. This toothache struck in on a Monday morning, in ample time to cover the school hour. I was in great pain, and held on to my jaw with a severe grip. My mother' s sympathetic nature permitted me to stay at home with the pain. My father was of rather sterner stuff. He did not discover that I was out of school until the second day. When he found out the trouble, he wanted to see the tooth. I pointed out one, and he examined it carefully. He said it was a perfectly sound tooth, but he didn't doubt but it pained very much and must be dreadful to bear, but he would have some- thing done for it. He gave me a note to Dr. ' Tyle ' Taylor. Dr. Tyle read the note, looked at the tooth, and then, getting down the dreadful turnkey, growled : ' Sit down there and I'll have that tooth out of there, or I' 11 yank your young head off ! ' I did not wait for the remedy, but left for home at the top of my speed, and have not had the toothache since. " I was born in an old-fashioned house on Elm Street, where the great elm-tree now stands. This tree looked as large to me then as it does now. My father, early one morning, discovering an eagle perched near the top of this tree, shot it. When it struck the ground, he found it was one of his turkeys. " Uncle Sam Taylor, the father of Dr. Tyler, Melissa, Hannah, 544 HISTORY OF DANBURY. and Rachel, lived on the other side of the street, farther west. '^ The old schoolhouse stood near where Asel Beebe's house now stands. Captain Noah Ferry lived where George Clapp afterward resided, and 'Squire Ben Hoyt lived at the foot of Hoyt's Hill. Phineas Judd and his sons, Silliman, Willis, and Almon, with a daughter Sarah and one other daughter, lived on the top of Hoyt's Hill. Beyond him, in Wolf pits, lived Eleazer Taylor, Charles and Ledowick Dart, Uncle Caleb Morgan, the two Samuel Judds — the eldest of whom, on account of his swarthy complexion, was called 'Black Sam' — Abel Hoyt, the father of Starr, Joshua, Warren, Giles, and several daugh- ters. " On the Wildcat Road lived Captain Eli Taylor, Seth An- drews, and others of that family, Uncle Jabez Taylor and his sons, Oliver, Elias, George, Davis, etc.; Uncle Martin, a quaint old man in knee-breeches, who kept a pair of hounds, and Deacons Elihud Taylor, Ephraim Barnum, and Ira Benedict ; Silas Hickok, Daniel Taylor, and his son Benedict, Ammon Taylor, Starr Benedict and his son Cyril, Fyler Dibble, Taylor Dibble, and others. " In Bethel village lived my grandfather, Phineas Taylor, called ' Uncle Phin.,' and his sons, 'lawyer Ed.' and Alanson, his daughters, Irena (my mother) and Laura, who married Aaron Nichols ; Deacon Nathan Seeley and his children, Aaron, Isaac, Seth, Joanna, Frederick, George, Hannah, Harry, and Ransom ; Dr. Samuel Banks, Asel, Lemuel, and Eli Beebe ; Oliver Shepard and his children, among whom I remember William Augustus, Frederick, Charles, Andrew, George, Charlotte, and Mary ; Starr Ferry and his brothers, Sherman and Philander, and Starr's son, Hon O. S. Ferry. Uncle Daniel Barnum, father of Daniel, Jr., for whom I scraped horns for 10 cents per hundred ; Lucinda, who married Zerah Benedict, father of Dibble, Andrew, Julia, and other daughters, Jerusha and Anna, the latter of whom married John Benedict, brother of Zerah, and Ammon Benedict, who married my half-sister Irena. My other half- sister, Minerva, married Ezekiel Drew. 'Squire Tom Taylor, one of whose daughters married Seth Seeley ; another, Eliza, married Laurens P. Hickok, of Union College, a brother of Tim- othy B., and whose father, Ebenezer Hickok, I well remember. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 545 Also Silas Hickok and his sons, Andrew and George ; our presi- dent of to-day, Ethel T. Farnani ; George and John Clapj), Hii'am Weed, Harry Preston, and Benjamin Durant. " In Grassy Plain lived Ebenezer Taylor, called ' Uncle Neze,' father of Joseph, Lewis, Eleazer, Czar, and several daughters, one of whom married my old friend, Almon Price. In the same neighborhood lived Amos Wheeler with his mother and sisters, Jerusha and Mary ; also Zadock Starr, Jabez and Eliakim Trow- bridge, Hugh, Matthew, and George Starr, and Levi Benedict. My uncle. Deacon Peter Barnum, resided near by, also David P. Nichols with his mother and sister. In Old Lane, between Grassy Plain and Bethel, lived Deacon Daniel Hickok, a very old deaf man, who for several years before his death sat in the pulpit in order to hear the services. Noah Hubbell lived in Old Lane, and Jabez and Samuel Trowbridge lived at the south end of Grassy Plain Street. " In Plumtrees I remember Uncle Thad. Williams, the father of Jenks, Thad., Isaac, Ira, John, Whipple, Welcome, and some daughters. North of Mr. Thad. Williams lived Pliny Barnum, who with his family removed to Ohio in 1818. Their travelling two-horse wagon, covered with a brown linen top, drove into Bethel village, where all their neighbors and friends met them to say good-by. Men and women cried like children at the thought that this family was to make a journey of from four to six weeks, exposed to the perils of the great Western wilderness. Near Pliny Barnum lived Asel and Ira Barnum, and my grand- father, Ephraim Barnum, who was a captain in the Revolu- tionary War. My uncles, Noah S. Barnum, Samuel and Abel Barnum, Jonathan Couch, John Benedict, Benjamin Hoyt, with son of same name, Gilead Ambler, Joseph Hitchcock, IBenajah Benedict, Thaddeus Starr, the father of Hannah and Rebecca. The latter married Timothy Hollister. John Dibble and my cousin, Ephraim Barnum, lived in the same locality. " The calling over of these names, though scores of former friends are omitted, reminds me of the good woman who was piously reading from the New Testament to her dying husband, to comfort him in his last moments. The clergyman entered the sick-room and heard her devoutly reading from the first chapter of Matthew, ' Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judas,' etc. I hope the genealogy of our Bethelites, 546 HISTORY OF DANBURY. imperfect as I have given it, may be at least as edifying as the reading of that chapter to the dying man. " I remember seeing my father and our neighbors put through military drill every day by Captain Noah Ferry, in 1814, for the war with Great Britain of 1812-15. My uncles, aunts, and others, when I was a child, often spoke of ravages of Indians from which their ancestors had suffered, and numbers of them remembered and described the burning of Danbury by the Brit- ish in 1777. " One season I attended the private school of Laurens P. Hickok (now Professor Hickok), in which his sweetheart, Eliza Taylor, was also a scholar. One day he threw a ruler at my head. I dodged, and it struck Eliza in the face. He quietly apologized, and said she might apply that to some other time when she might deserve it. He and his wife are still living in Andover, Mass., a happy, gray-haired old couple of eighty or more. " Eliza's father. Esquire Tom Taylor, sometimes wore white- topped boots. He was a large, majestic-looking man of great will force, and was considered the richest man in Bethel. Mr. Eli Judd was marked second in point of wealth. " Every year I took $12 to Esquire Tom Taylor to pay the interest on a two-hundred-dollar note which my father owed to him. I also carried annually $4.50 to Eli Judd for interest on a seventy-five-dollar note, which he held against my father. As these wealthy men quietly turned over each note iiled away in a small package till they found the note of my father, and then endorsed the interest thereon, I trembled with awe to think that I stood in the presence of such wonderfully rich men. It was estimated that the richer of them was actually worth $3000 ! " Esquire Tom made quite a revolution here by one act. He got two yards of figured carpet to put down in front of his bed in the winter, because the bare board floor was too cold for his feet while he was dressing. This was a big event in the social life of that day, and Esquire Tom was thought to be putting on airs which his great wealth alone permitted. " When I was but ten years old newspapers came only once a week. The man who brought us the week's papers came up from Norwalk, and drove through this section with newspapers for subscribers and pins and needles for customers. He was HISTORY OF DANBURY. 647 called Uncle Silliman. I can remember well his weekly visit through Bethel and his queer cry. On coming to a house or village he would shout, ' News ! News ! The Lord reigns ! ' One time he passed our schoolhouse when a snowstorm was pre- vailing. He shouted, ' News ! News ! The Lord reigns— and snows a little.' " It took two days and sometimes more to reach New York from Bethel or Danbury. My father drove a freight or market wagon from Bethel to Norwalk. Stage passengers for New York took sloops at Norwalk, sometimes arriving in New York the next morning, but were often detained by adverse winds several days. " Everybody had barrels of cider in their cellars, and drank cider-spirits called ' gumption.' Professors of religion and the clergy all drank liquor. They drank it in all the hat and comb shops ; the farmers had it at hay and harvest time. Every sort of excuse was made for being treated. A new journeyman must give a pint or quart of rum to pay his footing. If a man had a new coat, he must ' sponge ' it by treating. Even at funerals the clergy, mourners, and friends drank liquor. At public vendues the auctioneer held a bottle of liquor in his hand, and when bid- ding lagged he would cry, ' A dram to the next bidder ; ' the bid would be raised a cent, and the bidder would take his dram boldly and be the envy of most of the others. " The public whipping-post and imprisonment for debt both flourished in Bethel in my youthful days. Suicides were buried at cross-roads. " How blessed are we to live in a more charitable and enlight- ened age, to enjoy the comforts and conveniences of modern times, and to realize that the world is continually growing wiser and better ! " I sincerely congratulate my native village on her character for temperance, industry, and other good qualities. I intend soon to come to visit the various localities near Bethel where as a boy I drove cows, rode horse to plough for 10 cents per day, gathered chestnuts, went to mUl, and worked in garden and meadow. " I am desirous once more to see those places bearing the euphonious names of Toad-Hole, Fenner's Rocks, Puppy town, Wolfpits, Chestnut Ridge, Great Hill, Wildcat, Shelter Rock, 548 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Great Pasture, Stony Hill, Beaver Brook, Plumtrees, East Swamp, and above, and more than all, I am anxious to rest my eyes once more on that noble, blessed, historical Ivy Island. " And now, my friends, I take very great pleasure in present- ing this fountain to the town and borough of Bethel, as a small evidence of the love which I bear them and the respect which I feel for my successors, the present and future citizens of my native village." In 1890 Mr. Barnum visited Denver, intending to go on to the Pacific Coast, but gave that up and returned home on November 1st, apparently as well as usual, but after November 6th he did not leave his home, and died on April 7th, 1891. " With the calm consciousness that he had only a short time to live, his cheerfulness, courage, constancy, and contentment were surpris- ing and inspiring, and literally he approached his grave ' like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.' " CHAPTER LIII. MEMBERS OF THE CONNECTICUT HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM DANBURY FROM 1776 TO 1895 INCLUSIVE. The following list of those who have represented Danbury in the Legislature since the birth of Fourth of July is valuable for reference and interesting to study. It will be seen that military titles prevailed in the first ten years. 1776, May, Colonel Joseph P. Cooke. " " Captain Daniel Taylor. " October, " Comfort Hoit. '< " " Daniel Taylor. 1777, May, Richard Shute. " " Captain Eli Mygatt. " October, 1778, May, Colonel Joseph P. Cooke. " '' Captain Daniel Taylor. " October, Same persons. 1779, May, " October, Captain Noble Benedict. " " " James Clark. 1780, May, Colonel Joseph P. Cooke. ''- " Captain Daniel Taylor. " October, Colonel Joseph P. Cooke. " " " Eli Mygatt. 1781, May, " Joseph P. Cooke. " October, 1782, January, adjourned " " " " " Eli Mygatt. " May, Colonel Joseph P. Cooke. '« " " Eli Mygatt. " October, Same persons. 1783, May, " " 650 HISTORY OF DANBURY. 1783 October, Colonel Joseph P. Cooke. '< " Doctor Sallu Pell. 1784, May, Colonel Joseph P. Cooke. " '' Major Ezra Starr. " October, '"' " " '< " Colonel Eli Mygatt. 1785, May, << " Major Benjamin Hickok. '' October, Colonel Eli Mygatt. " " Captain Daniel Taylor. 1786, May, '' " '* " '' Joseph M. White. " October, Colonel Eli Mygatt. " " Major Benjamin Hickok. 1787, May, Captain Daniel Taylor. " " " James Clark. " October, Colonel Eli Mygatt. " " Captain Daniel Taylor. 1788, May, Colonel Eli Mygatt. " " Joseph M. White. " October, Same persons. 1789, May, Colonel Eli Mygatt. " " Captain James Clark. " October, 1790, May, Colonel Eli Mygatt. '' " Zadoc Benedict. " October, Colonel Eli Mygatt. '' " Captain James Clark. 1791, May, Same persons. " October, 1792, May, Colonel Eli Mygatt. '' " Elisha Whittlesey. " October, Same persons. 1793, May, Elisha Whittlesey. " " Justus Barnum. " October, Colonel Eli Mygatt. " " Justus Barnum. 1794, May, Elisha Whittlesey. '' "* Colonel Eli Mygatt. October, Joseph M. White. u HISTORY OF D ANBURY. ggl 1794, October, Benjamin Hickok. 1795, May, Elisha Whittlesey. '' '' Colonel Eli Mygatt. " October, Timothy Taylor. '' " Isaac Ives. 1796, May, Colonel Eli Mygatt. " " Isaac Ives. " October, Colonel Eli Mygatt. " " Thomas P. White. 1797, May, D. N. Carrington. " October, Elisha Whittlesey. " " Benjamin Hickok. 1798, May, Justus Barnum. " " Benjamin Hickok. " October, Elisha Whittlesey. Thomas P. White. 1799, May, Same persons. " October, " " 1800, May, Captain James Clark. Thomas P. White. " October, Elisha Whittlesey. " " Comfort S. Mygatt. 1801, May, Elisha Whittlesey. " " Epaphras W. Bull. " October, Timothy Taylor. " " Colonef Eli Mygatt. 1802, May, EHsha Whittlesey. " October, Comfort Mygatt. EUsha Whittlesey. 1803, May, Thomas P. White. Daniel B. Cooke. " October, Captain James Clark. Daniel B. Cooke. 1804, May, Samuel H. Phillips. " " Epaphras W. Bull. " October, D. N. Carrington. *' " Captain James Clark. 1805, May, Epaphras W. Bull. Noah Hoyt. 552 HISTORY OF DANBURY. 1805, October, Thomas P. White. " " Nathan Seeley. 1806, May, Epaphras W. Bull. " " Benjamin Hickok. " October, Eliakim Benedict. *' " Amos Cook. 1807, May, Eliakim Benedict. " " Morse White. " October, Eli Mygatt. " " Moss White. 1808, May, Ebenezer Nichols. '' Epaphras W. Bull. " October, Eliakim Benedict. Moss White. 1809, May, Joseph P. Cook. " " Friend Starr. " October, Eliakim Benedict. " '' Jonas Benedict. 1810, May, Friend Starr. " " Daniel N. Carrington. " October, Daniel B. Cook. " *' Nathan Cornwall. 1811, May, Same persons. ^' October, Ephraim M. White. " " Benjamin Hoyt, Jr. 1812, May, Friend Starr. " " Elias Starr. " October, Elias Starr. " " Elanson Hamlin. 1813, May, Samuel Wildman. Elijah Sanford. " October, Samuel H. Phillips. Phineas Taylor. 1814, May, Friend Starr. " '' Daniel Comstock, Jr. " October, Russell White. Daniel Hoyt. 1815, May, Elijah Gregory. '' " Friend Starr. *' October, Eleazer Benedict, Jr. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 653 1815, October, Eli Taylor. 1816, May, Elijah Gregory. Eliakim Peck. " October, Peter Ambler. 1817, May, Friend Starr. " " Elijah Gregory. ' ' October, Phineas Taylor. Nathan Seeley. 1818, May, Samuel Tweedy, Jr. " '' Zalmon Wildman. " October, Eden Andrews. ** " Matthew Wilkes. Since 1818 there has been but one session a year, in May, until the change in the constitution in 1876, since which time it has been held in January. 1819, Friend Starr. " Zalmon Wildman. 1820, Eden Andrews. " Samuel Tweedy, Jr. 1821, Elijah Gregory. " Eden Andrews. 1822, Elijah Gregory. '' Reuben Booth. 1823, Sturges Selleck. " James Knapp. 1824, Eli Taylor. " Samuel Tweedy. 1825, Zadock Stevens. " Samuel Taylor. 1826, Elijah Gregory. " Oliver Shepard. 1827, Russell Hoyt. " Isaac Seeley. 1828, Nathaniel Bishop. '' George Clapp. 1829, William Comstock. " Starr Ferry. 1830, Rorry Starr. '' Abel Hoyt. 554 HISTORY OF DANBURT. 1831, Rony Starr. " Ira Benedict, 2d. 1832, Peter Barnum. " Rorry Starr. 1833, Eli T. Hoyt. " Russell Lacey. 1834, EU T. Hoyt. '' Starr Ferry. 1835, Ephraim M. White. " Abram Stow. 1836, Ephraim M. White. " Hiram Benjamin. 1837, Peter Barnum. " David D. Wildman. 1838, Same. " Isaac H. Seeley. 1839, Ephraim M. White. " Charles S. Smith. 1840, Starr Nichols. " Levi Beebe. 1841, Orrin Knapp. " Henry O. Judd. 1842, William Peck. " Nathan Seeley, Jr. 1843, Sherman Ferry. " No choice for other. 1844, H. L. Sturdevant. '' William C. Shepard. 1845, Edgar T. Tweedy. " Starr Hoyt. 1846, Lewis S. Hoyt. " Charles W. Couch. 1847, Richard Osborne. " William A. Judd. 1848, Benjamin Stone. " Horace E. Hickock. 1849, Cyrus S. Andrews. " Eli T. Hoyt. 1850, N. H. Wildman. ** Joseph Taylor. 1851, George Ferry. HISTORY OF DANBURY. ggg 1851, Henry O. Judd. 1852, Ezra M. Starr. " Charles S. Smith. 1853, George Hull. " Pierre A. Sutton. 1854, Frederick S. Wildman. '' John H. Dart. 1855, Orrin Knapp. '' Nathan Seeley. 1856, Smith Tweedy. " Frederick T. Wildman. 1857, Giles M. Hoyt. " William B. Hoyt. 1858, D. F. Comstock. " George Starr. 1859, Judah P. Crosby. " John Armstrong. 1860, David P. Nichols. " Thaddeus Bronson. 1861, George Starr. '' James S. Taylor. 1862, Abijah E. Tweedy. " Aaron Pearse. 1863, Alfred N. Gilbert. " David B. Booth. 1864, David B. Booth. " Orrin Benedict. 1865, David P. Nichols. " WiUiam H. Tweedy. 1866, Samuel Mallory. '' James S. Taylor. 1867, George H. Davis. " Samuel Mallory. 1868, Edward K. Carley. " Roger Averill. 1869, Walker B. Bartram. " John Tweedy. 1870, Henry N. Fanton. " L. D. Brewster. 1871, Henry N. Fanton. " Ed. R. Humiston. 656 HISTORY OF DANBURT. 1872, David B. Booth. '' Henry L. Read. 1873, Isaac Smith. " Charles H. Read. 1874, Henry Perry. " Thaddeus Rooney. 1875, Levi K. Wildman. " Nathan B. Dibble. 1876, Norman Hodge. " Charles H. Crosby. 1877, Charles H. Crosby. " Nathan B. Dibble. 1878, L. D. Brewster. " E. S. Davis. 1879, L. D. Brewster. *' Charles H. Hoyt. 1880, Benjamin F. Bailey. " David P. Nichols. 1881, David B. Booth. " D wight E. Rogers. 1882, Howard W. Taylor. '' Charles J. Deming. 1883, James Ryder. " Albert B. Hoyt. 1884, JohnN. Fanton. " Henry Crofut. 1885, Alfred N. Wildman. " Samuel Gregory. 1886, Thomas F. O'Rourke. " Cyrus Raymond. 1887, L. Legrand Hopkins. " Dietrich E. Loewe. 1889, W. W. Sunderland. " D wight E. Rogers. 1891, William A. Braun. " Albert B. Hoyt. 1893, William A. Braun. " Albert B. Hoyt. 1895, Eugene C. Dempsey. " Louis Orton. CHAPTER LIV. CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD FROM EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT DAY. The following record of leading events in the growth of the town and the borough of Danbiiry will be of interest : 1684. — Temporary settlement. 1685.— Permanent settlement made by Thomas Taylor, Francis Bushnell, Thomas Barnum, John Hoyt, James Benedict, Samuel Benedict, James Beebe, and Judah Gregory. 1696. — First Congregational Church erected. 1702. — Charter of town granted. 1708. — Danbury made a garrison town. 1719.— Second Congregational Church building erected. 1727. — First Episcopal service held. 1735.— Thomas Taylor, first Representative to the General Assembly, and the last of the original settlers, died. Rev. Mr. Shove, first ordained minister, died. 1756. — First recorded census taken. Population, 1527. 1763. — First Episcopal Church edifice erected on South Street. 1765.— Robert Sandeman, of Scotland, founder of the Sande- manian Society, arrived in Danbury from Boston. 1768. — Third Congregational Church building erected. 1771.— Robert Sandeman died. First public library estab- lished. 1774.— Census taken. Population, 2526. 1775. — Dysentery epidemic. One hundred and thirty deaths. 1776. — Danbury made a depository of army stores. 1777.— Danbury burned by the British under Try on. General David Wooster killed. 1778. — Four brigades of the Continental Army encamped on Shelter Rock. 1780.— Union Lodge, No. 40, F. and A. M., instituted.'" Zadock 558 HISTORY OF DANBURY. Benedict starts a hat shop on site of present Consolidated Rail- road station on Main Street. 1782.— Census taken. Population, 2747. 1784._Danbury made a shire town. 1785. —Fourth Congregational Church building erected, later known as Concert Hall. First Baptist Church organized in King Street District. First court-house and jail erected. 1789. — First Methodist Episcopal service held by Rev. Jesse Lee. 1790.— Second Baptist Society organized in Miry Brook. First newspaper, Farmer's Journal. Census taken. Population, 3031. 1791. — Jail burned. Second jail built with proceeds of a lot- tery organized for that purpose. 1792.— First paper-mill erected in Danbury (Beaver Brook District). 1793. — Republican Journal first published. 1794. — First Baptist Church building erected in Miry Brook. 1797. — Religious Monitor and Theological Scales first pub- lished. IgQO. — Wages for a man and horse on the roads was established by a town meeting at 75 cents per day. Census taken. Popu- lation, 3180. 1801.— Great flood. Small-pox epidemic. \S0^.— Farmer'' s Journal and Columbian Ark established. 1804. — New England Republican first published. Permis- sion granted by the General Assembly for a lottery to build a poorhouse. 1807.— Unsuccessful efforts made to dispossess Danbury of her right as a shire town. 1809.— First Methodist Episcopal Church erected on the hill near where the Tweedy hat factories now stand. 1810.— Census taken. Population, 3606. 1817.— Disciples of Christ Society organized. 1820,— Census taken. Population, 3873. 1821.— Second Baptist Church building erected on Deer Hill. 1822.— First Universalist service held in Great Plain District. Charter granted for a borough government. 1824. —Danbury Bank established. 1826.— Danbury Records first published. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 569 1829.— The first fire companies organized. 1830.— Census taken. Population, 4311. Survey made for a canal from Danbury to Westport. 1831. — Herald of Freedom and Gospel Witness first published. 1832. — P. T. Barnum imprisoned for libel. Connecticut Re- pository published. 1833. — First Universalist Church building erected, comer Main and Wooster streets, now known as St. Peter's Hall. Danbury Gazette published. 1834. — First pipe water introduced by the Danbury Water Company from Tweedy' s springs. 1835. — Second Methodist Episcopal Church building erected on Liberty Street. First survey made of horse railroad from Danbury to Norwalk. IS^Q.— Danbury Chronicle and Fairfield County Democrat established. IS^l.— Danbury ^'we* published. 1838.— First Catholic service held. First regular grocery in Danbury by D. P. Nichols and L. S. Benedict. 1840.— Census taken. Population, 4504. First Disciples' Church building erected on White Street, later used as dwelling- house and school. 1844. — Second Episcopal Church edifice erected on West Street. 1845. — Hatters' Journal published. 1846. — The Junta published. 1847. — Baptist Church building erected. 1849. — Savings Bank of Danbury established. Milk route established by Horace Bull. 1850.— Census taken. Population, 5964. Danbury Cemetery Association organized. Hook and Ladder Co. formed. 1851.— Unsuccessful efforts made to introduce public water. Second Congregational (West Street) Church Society organized. Wooster House opened. 1852.— Universalist Church building erected on Liberty Street. Second Congregational Church edifice erected on Main Street, now owned by the Catholic Society. Danbury and Norwalk Railroad completed. 1853.— Second Methodist Episcopal Church building erected. Disciples' Society purchased their present building on Liberty Street. Big freshet, November 13th. 560 HISTORY OF DANBUEY. 1854. — Great flood in Danbury. Wooster Monument raised. Paliquioque Bank established. Wooster Light Guards estab- lished (the first company in the State to offer its services to the Governor in 1861), E. E. Wildman, Captain. 1857. — Charter granted for Chapter of Royal Arch Masonry. Illnminating gas introduced. 1858. — Present First Congregational Church building erected. 1860. — Jeffersonian published. Census taken. Population, 7234. Public water introduced. 1861.— First war meeting held at the Court House, April 18th. 1865. — Present West Street Congregational Church dedicated. Charter for Masonic Council granted. 1866. — Union Savings Bank organized. 1867. — First cylinder press brought into Danbury by the Dan- hury Times. New Street schoolhouse building completed at a cost of $35,000. Main Street stone bridge built. 1868. — William Augustus White, donor of Public Library, died. New York, Housatonic and Northern Raikoad completed to Danbury. 1869. — Kohanza dam burst, ten lives lost. Present Kohanza dam built. Danbury Agricultural Society organized. Public Library incorporated. 1870. — The Times and Jeffersonian consolidated in the present Danbury News. Population, 8753. Knights Templar insti- tuted. Iron bridge on AVhite Street built. Poorhouse com- pleted. 1871.— First daily paper {The Daily News) established in Danbury. Water-power first applied to printing machinery by the News. 1872.— The '' Cozy Home" instituted. 1873. — Steam-power first applied to printing machinery. First building designed specially for a printing-office erected by the News. The new brick jail completed. 1874. — Danbury Globe established. 1875. — Danburian established. The house in which General Wooster died torn down. Present Catholic church dedicated, 1876. — July 4th, celebration of the first centennial of the sign- ing of the Declaration of American Independence. 1878. — Concert Hall, near Soldiers' Monument, torn down. HISTOKY OF DANBURY. 561 1879. — A new Danbury library opened. Elm wood Park re- opened. The Court House remodelled. Telephone introduced. 1880.— Population, 11,666. Union Lodge, No. 40, F. and A. M., celebrated its century anniversary. 1881.— New England Railroad opened to Danbury. 1882.— Pahquioque Hotel burned. Fire alarm established. Hatters' strike. 1883. —Evening News established. 1884. — Danbury Hospital established. German Lutheran Church dedicated. Police force organized. Borough Court established. 1885. — Remodelling of the Fh'st Congregational Church. The borough adopts the Schuyler electric light for street lighting. Hospital opened for patients. Parochial school built. 1886. —Danbury Hospital chartered. Housatonic Railroad leased the Danbury and Nor walk Railway. Town Club estab- lished. City Hall completed. 1 887. —Horse railway opened to the public. Board of Trade organized. Electric light introduced. 1888. — First pavement laid. The Morning Democrat estab- lished. 1889. — First fire steamer purchased. Population estimated at 18,000. 1890. January 11th.— Danbury Hospital finished. " 14th. — First new hose wagons for Danbury Fire De- partment. " 17th. — New system of Fire Department, part paid, part volunteer, goes into effect. February 2d.— Danbury Hospital opened. March 15th. — Street railway company send petition to Com- mon Council asking leave to extend their sj^stem. Ai^ril 9th. — Injunction laid on street railway. " 13th. —Baptist Church celebrated one hundi-edth an- niversary. June 5th. — Terrific thunderstorm. " 22d. — Corner-stone new Methodist Church laid in a blinding rain. 662 HISTORY OF DANBURY. July 2d. (( 20th. August 12th. u 16th. a 20th, September 19th (( 27th, u 28th, October 11th. November 17th. <( 28th. December 1st. (( 5th. January 1st. u 11th. (( 25th. March 18th. March 20th. May 7th. June 16th. (( 26th. December 7th. January 4th. a 12th. (( 14th. i( 15th. (( 31st. March 23d. May -Great Plain Chapel dedicated. -Hottest day of the year, 98°, -Paving begun on Main Street. -Macadamizing Main Street begun. -City appropriates $500 for an ambulance. -Official census returns. Population, 19,386. -Big boom in hatting. -German Lutheran parochial school dedicated. -53,745 people at the Danbury Fair. -A lock-out inaugurated, and hat factories closed to the Trimmers' Union. -Conference of trimmers and hat manufacturers at Wooster House. No agreement. -A new Trimmers' Union formed. -Difficulty between trimmers and manufacturers adjusted. 1891. -150 poor children given a New Year' s dinner. -Heavy rain and freshet. -Heavy snowstorm. -New Methodist Church opened with a concert. -New Methodist Church dedicated. -Building of outfall sewer begun. -Thermometer 100° in the shade. -Death of Mrs. Ambler, a famous army nurse in late war. -New armory building formally opened by Company G. 1892. Several deaths from grippe. Thermometer below zero. Severe thunderstorm. Eight inches of snow. New Disciples' Church dedicated. Crofut & White's factory burned. Loss, $30,000. 23d. — Local street railway sold to an outside syndi- cate. HISTORY OF DANBURY. 663 September 22d.— Danbury and Bethel Street Railway Company petition to use electric motor power. " 24th. — Severe electrical storm with much damage. October 21st. — Scholars of public schools celebrate Columbus Day. December 28th. —Order of Golden Cross instituted. 1893. . — Mercury 20° below zero. . — New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company make extensive purchase of prop- erty on Canal Street. .—Common Council vote in favor of trolley sys- tem for street railway. . — Town meeting votes to build new almshouse. . — Legislature passed amended city charter. . — New Baptist Church on West Street dedicated. — Special town meeting votes $5000 for Crosby Street Bridge. — Alexander M. White deeds property valued at $55,000 to Danbury Library. . — Legislature gave Danbury Hospital an annual appropriation of $3000. — Corner-stone of Soldiers' Monument in Woos- ter Cemetery laid. — Danbury Library made a free institution. — Decided to postpone building of trolley until following year. . — New Universalist Church dedicated. — Hat Manufacturers' Association presents prop- osition for change of mutual agreements to trade unions. —Hat manufacturers issue notice that agree- ments with employes will be severed Novem- ber 25th. — 4000 hatters discharged, 19 factories closed. — Hatters declare the action of the manufac- turers a lock-out. — Knights of Labor take uj) the cause of locked- out hatters. — Merchants' Board of Trade organized. January 17th, (( 21st. March 10th. April 5th. (( 12th. <( 16th. (( 21st. (( 22d. May 5th. (( 30th. July 1st. (( 26th. September 10th. October 11th. Novembei : 8th. a 25th. u 28th. December 9th. a 14th. 564 IIISTOHY OF DANBURY. 1894. January 1st.— First break in lock-out. Beltaire, Lurch & Co. resumed work as a fair shop. 2d.— John W. Green announced that he would open an independent shop. 4th.— Hat manufacturers issued statement in which they threatened to have their hats made in other places. 9th.— Prospect of settlement of hatting troubles. 10th.— Negotiations begun for a settlement of the labor trouble. 12th.— Finishers' and Makers' associations gave com- mittees power to effect a settlement of the difficulties with the manufacturers. 14th. —Conference between trade-unions and manu- facturers. 16th.— Hatters conference in session. A settlement looked for. 18th.— Conference ended without agreement. 19th.— Manufacturers decide to open independent shops. 22d.— Six factories ready to open " fair." Negotia- tions being made with the unions. 24th.— Trimmers refuse to grant concessions asked by manufacturers. Eight independent factories opened. Few applications received. 29th.— Six concerns open fair shops and employes re- turn to work. 31st. — Labor unions declare the lock-out off. February 1st.— Hundreds of hatters return to work. " 19th.— Petition sent to New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad officials for a new railway station. " 20th.— Hatters' free soup kitchen discontinued. March 4th.— James Montgomery Bailey died. April 11th.— Training school for nurses opened at the hos- pital. May 4th.— Public hearing upon the trolley question largely attended. HISTORY OF UANBURY. 665 May 9tli. — City engage an electrician to supervise con- struction of proposed electric road. " 17th. — Monsignor Satolli given a reception in Dan- bury, " 28th. — Monument to soldiers and sailors in unknown graves unveiled in Wooster Cemetery. June 7th. — Common Council gives street railway permis- sion to adopt trolley system. " 16tli. — High School Alumni Association formed. " 18th.— Construction of electric road begun. " 29th.— School officers elected by ballot for the first time in the history of the Centre District. July 5th. — Delay in building trolley caused by scarcity of rails. " 10th. — Danbury hatters indorse the Western railway strike. " 13th. — Work begun upon Memorial Lodge in the cemetery. " 26th. — Work on disinfecting plant begun. August 8th.— Centre District vote to purchase lot in East Danbury for schoolhouse. " 25th. — A no-license movement inaugurated. September 13th.— Ground broken forj the construction of the trolley. " 17th. — Encouraging boom in hatting. November 15th. — New almshouse opened with a reception. " 31st.— Danbury and Ridgefield telephone company's line opened. December 14th.— New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad prevent electric road crossing tracks at Bethel. " 30th. — First electric car run over the Danbury and Bethel Line. 1895. January 1st. — Electric street railway formally opened. March 20th.— W. H. Francis, oldest hatter, died. April 27th. — Anniversary of burning of Danbury in 1777. May . 30th. — Electric road opened to the Fair Grounds. 566 HISTORY OF DANBURY. June 3d. —City meeting asks appointment of committee to amend the city charter. " 24th.— First electric car to Lake Kenosia. October 11th.— Governor Coffin and staff visit Danbury Fair. " 30th. — New York, New Haven and Hartford Raikoad purchase property on White Street for new station. December 26th.— First Congregational Church holds its two hundredth annual meeting. INDEX. " Ye Labor and ye Patience, ye Judgment and ye Penetration which are required to make a Good Index, is only known to those who have gone through with this most necessary and painful, but least praised part of a publication." William Oldya, 1687. Names op Persons. A. B. Abbott, 142, 187, 238, 315, 322, 532. Adams, 68, 91, 117, 156, 362, 448. 449, 506. Addis, 169. Adkins, 211. Agnew, 66, 68, 71, 80, 81. Akin, 142. Allen. 2, 152, 299, 440, 461, 508. Ambler, 56, 59, 142, 144, 165, 229, 242, 249. 260, 284, 307, 309, 397, 411, 440. 462, 526, 531. 545, 562. Ames, 155. Amsbury, 318, 418, 446, 459, 460. Anderson, 15, 313. Andrews, 46, 103, 138, 161. 197, 240. 248, 291, 292, 322, 385, 428, 430, 476, 483, 521, 525, 526. Andros. 52. Anthony, 116. Armstrong, 257. Arnold, 30, 61, 63, 72, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83, 89. Ashley, 197, 395. Astor, 217. Atherton. 16. Atwaler, 79. 84. Atwood. 19. Aubrey, 323. Austin, 459, 463, 464. Averill, 146, 356. 358, 361, 362, 367, 381, 393, 395, 397, 401, 402. 405, 407, 411, 428. 446, 453, 455, 464. Babbit. 136. Babcock. 137, 215, 216. 238. 372. Bacon, III.. 168, 273. 292. 385, 395, 430, 446, 463. 464. 468, 475, 476. Bagg. 375. Bailey, III. IV. V. VI., 149, 313, 377. 391, 428. 446, 449, 450, 451, 452, 454, 465, 466. 467, 472, 564 Baily. 527. Baker, 203, 372, 428. Baldwin, 29, 35, 91, 145, 286. 287. 288, 289, 290, 388, 437, 446, 464, 530. Ballou, 322. Balmforth, 214, 509. Banks, 502, 525, 533, 544. Barber, 221, 300, 470, 522, 533. Barberry. 519. Barclay. 388, 531. Barelle, 312. Barlow, 470. Barns, 57. Barnes. 155, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207. Baruhart, 305, 306. Barnum. 13. 14, 17. 25, 44, 49, 52, 54, 56, 58. 69, 88. 89, 98, 103, 125, 134, 140, 146, 148, 164, 197, 208, 209. 243, 244, 261, 282, 295, 323, 332, 333, 342, 343, 350, 362, 368, 377, 387. 396, 397, 412. 449, 450, 453. 455, 475, 476. 501, 502, 508, 509, 510, 525,527, 528, 531, 538, 539. 540, 544, 545, 548, 557, 559. Bartlett, 56, 80, 532. 568 INDEX. Bartow, 444, 532. Bartram. 93, 260. Bassett, 49. Bates, 16, 205, 234, 324, 326, 364, 446, 453. 502, 516. Battie, 299. Baur, 337. Baxter, III. Beach, 296, 437. Beard, 170, 272, 295, 395, 473, 475. Beardsley, 91. Beattys, 204, 306. Beckerle, 233, 238, 255, 261, 313. 504. Beebe, 14, 25, 26, 28, 36, 43, 44, 45, 47, 244, 295, 528, 539, 541, 544, 557. Beers, 102, 123, 138, 160, 161, 192, 193, 194, 195, 302, 428, 455. Belden, 273, 349, 354, 439. Belding, 321. Bell, 170, 530. Bellamy, 310. Beltane, 255. 564. Benedict, III. IV., 9, 13, 15, 18, 25, 26, 27, 28, 36, 40, 43, 44, 46, 47, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 67, 70, 73, 90, 91, 93, 94, 97, 102, 125, 131, 133, 134, 135, 141, 143. 144, 145, 146, 151, 155, 157, 159, 161, 164, 168, 177, 181, 191, 193, 194, 203, 208, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 222, 226, 228, 237, 238, 239, 243, 259, 261, 265, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 295, 309, 313, 316, 322, 339, 340, 341, 342, 365, 368, 369, 372, 376, 396, 410, 426, 431, 449. 462, 463, 468, 508, 509, 510, 512, 515, 519, 525, 527, 531, 532, 533, 534, 541, 544, 545, 557, 558, 559. Benedick, 14, 41, 52. Benjamin, 464, 531. Bennett, 57. 155, 351, 373, 374, 378, 419, 448, 533. Bennit, 16, 53, 284. Berkeley, 156. Bernd, 454, 476. Betts, 47, 50, 370, 371, 390, 405, 407. Bevans, 211, 429. Beyer, 336. Bill, 245. Bishop, 261, 272, 299, 485, 510. Birch, 103, 299. 306. Birdsey, 296. Bissell, 536. Blackman, 148, 155. 191, 508. Blakenum, 87. Blatchford, 117. Bloodgood, 181. Boardman, 15, 353. Bohn, 335, 336. Boltwood, 47. Booth, 94, 146, 343, 344, 352, 353,354, 356, 358, 359, 361, 362, 363, 365, 366, 374, 393, 395, 403, 409, 440, 443, 444. Bosely, 307. Bostwick, 101. Botsford, 168, 373, 399, 440, 446. Botta, 222. Boughton, 9, 22, 134, 135, 142, 152, 161, 216, 218, 219. 238, 282, 295, 340, 461, 463, 464, 508, 510. Bouton, 11, 15, 16, 50. Bowers, 385. Bradford, 19, 290, 396. Bradley, 79, 80, 285, 307. Brady, 447. Bray, 306. Breckenridge, 532. Brewster, 39, 130, 362, 363, 364, 367, 427, 447, 449, 450, 451, 459, 478. Bridgum, 46. Briggs, 311, 457, 459. Britton, 307. Brockett, 222, 240, 387. Brocton, 99. Brodhead, 271. Bronson, 297, 306, 307, 808, 391. Brooks, 36, 201, 321. Brothwell. 234, 256. Brower, 227, 375. Brown, III., 249, 375, 877, 532. Brownlee, 378. Brunker, 157. Brush, 268. 453. Buckingham, 355, 381, 401, 402, 414. Buckley, 352, 448. Bull, 149, 156, 157, 191, 330, 332, 344, 345, 346, 362. 445, 446, 460, 462, 508, 559. Bulkley, 37, 258, 375, 379, 478, 517. Bur, 40. 41. Burchard. 57,234. Burke, 360, 361, 376. Burns, 176. INDEX. 569 Burr, 141, 175, 176, 186, 214, 215, 224, 225, 229, 230, 231, 349, 510. Burton, 7. Bushnell, 13, 25, 44, 47, 49, 50, 235, 557. Busteed, 392. Butler, 256. 296, 313, 322, 368, 424, 447, 535. Buxton, 164. C. Cain, 186. Calhoun, 156, 201. Camp, 36, 273. Campbell, 57. Caner, 295. Canfield, 91. Canty. 57. Cargill, 299. Carpenter, 19, 304, 427. Carrington, 155, 183, 184, 185, 190, 370, 371, 372. 508. Carter, 322. Castle. 341. Chalmers, 309. Chambers, 542. Chapin, 324. Chapman, 57, 424. 532. Chappell, 134. 156, 158, 175, 242, 298. Chase, 7, 323. Chichester, 393, 502. Church, 97, 272, 357, 358. Churchill, 299. Clapp, 86, 261, 311, 321, 544, 545. Clark, 28, 56, 58, 73, 91, 119,130, 142, 154. 155, 156, 176, 180, 181, 182, 195, 201, 216, 228, 238, 257, 265, 284, 305, 306, 370, 376. 377. 403, 425. 428, 431, 440, 448, 458, 460, 463, 501, 508, 513, 533. Clason, 377, 448. Clements, 57. Clemens, 446. Cleland, 181. Cleveland, 424. Cliff, 307. Cobb, 101. Coe, 294, 386, 407, 428. Coffin, 566. Cole, 242, 526, 530. Coleman, 302, 306. Collar, 57. Collier, 235. ColHngs, 256. Collins, 242. Collom, 310. Colver, 142, 165, 310. Combs, 57. Comes, 6, 306, 450, 453, 516. Comstock, 18, 50, 57, 73, 143, 147, 149, 150, 151, 195, 208, 249, 258, 284, 371, 373, 396, 458, 508, 529. Cone, 259. Cooke, 28, 57, 65, 71, 91, 123, 129, 131, 132, 141, 143, 149, 153, 182, 189,195,286, 295. 341, 344, 369, 370, 485, 508, 510, 512. Cooper, 103. Copp, 16. > ^ Corbiu, 285. < Cornwall, 14. 37, 89. Couch, 428, 525, 545. Cove, 84. Covel, 57. Covell, 538. Cowperthwaite, 229, 230, 231, 472, 475. Cozier, 140, 342, 390. Craig, 318, 321, 322, 378. Crane, 154, 372. Crawford, 305, 306, 532. Crocker, 440. Crofoot, 14, 53. Crofut, 12. 162, 165, 169, 234, 240, 256, 312, 428, 446, 450, 455, 475, 485, 508^ 517, 526, 562. Crosby, 53, 56, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 204, 205, 208, 217, 228, 235, 295, 371, 385, 426, 431. Crosley, 323. Crow, 526. Crowel, 302. Cuff. 366. Cummings, 321. Cunningham, 484. Curtiss, 14, 18, 28, 57, 58, 123, 145, 164, 186, 304, 508. Cushman, 19. D. Daniels, 140, 142, 405. Darling, 344. Darsie, 321, 322. Dart, 240, 244, 544. Dauchy, 408. 670 INDEX. Davenport, 45, 255. Davis, 48, 227, 241, 256, 322, 363. 367, 372, 449, 450, 475. Day. 286, 304, 533. Dean, III., 54, 368, 428. DeComeau, 238. DeForest, 9. DeGrasse, 131. DeKlyn. 446. Delevan, 446. Delohery, 255, 256. Deming, 86, 425, 446. Dempsey, 365, 366. Dennison, 19. Depew, 6. DeWolf, 376. Dexter, 255, 453. Dibble, 13, 14. 15, 69, 85, 89, 117, 133, 143, 157, 158, 160, 161, 174, 175, 208, 221, 240, 241, 261, 296, 325, 341, 445, 446, 508, 626. 528, 544, 545. Dick, 309. Dickinson, 281, 307, 368, 369, 372, 506. Dikeman, 243. Dimon, 117. Divossy, 307. Dobbs, 146. Dobson, 533. Dodd, 156, 183. Dodge, 326. Donovan, V., 198, 465, 466. Douglass, 182, 184, 187, 191. 194, 437. Dowd, 350. Downs, 143, 234, 235, 387, 395, .455. Drake, 48. Dray, 327. Drew, 544. Drowne, 299. Duer, 110, 114. Dunham, 263. Dunleavy, 256. Dunning, 308. 243, 244, 526. Durant, 243, 449, 536, 545. Dutcher, 533. Dutton, 149. Dwighl, 3o3. E. Eaton, 3, 331. Earle, 163. Easton, 331, 333. Edy, 57. Elliott, 370. Ellis, 377. Elwell, 135, 332. Ely, 134, 182. 184, 187, 191, 194, 200, 238, 299, 344. 507, 530. Emery, 280. Errelt, 314. Erskine. 66, 68, 71. Erwin, 446. Evans, 359. Everett, 531. F. Fairchild. III., 313, 443, 502, 525, 526, 539. Falkland. 96. Fanning. 218, 224. Fanton, 260, 263, 430, 453. Farnum, 341, 363, 411, 535, 536, 545. Fay, 333. Fayerweatber, 350. Feaks, 304. Fenn, 232, 430. Ferguson, 323. Ferry, 57. 241. 243, 244, 354, 525, 527, 535, 536, 537, 541, 544, 546. Fessenden, 428. Finch, 37. Fischer, 333, 334. 337. Fitch, 40, 41. Flagg, 305. Flint, 141, 258, 454, 465, 467. Flower, 273. Flynn, 99, 157. Folansbee, 377. Folsom, 447. Foote, 18, 123, 142, 148, 175, 191, 219,239, 261, 293. 322, 375, 398, 458, 460, 508. Forrester, 501, 502. Foskett, 330. Foss, 304. Foster, 63, 63, 186. 363, 324, 336, 333, 335, 340, 430, 446, 447, 449, 450, 453, 457, 459, 475, 536. Forwards. 13, 53. Fox, 377, 378, 438. Francis, 90, 314, 229. 231, 233, 234, 239, 240, 374, 565. Franklin, 194, 465. INDEX. 671 Frazer, 195. Freeman, 331. French. 443. Frinke, 336. Frlsbie, 294. Frost, 135, 158. 186. 371, 508. Fry, 154, 159. 208, 219, 223, 224, 239, 295, 344, 480. Fuchs, 337. Fuller, 322, 428. G. Gage, 234. Garfield, 485. Gates, 31. Gault, 321. Gay lord. 16. Gerry. 322. Gerstenmaier, 337. Gesner, 235. Gilbert. 82. 321, 377, 400, 402, 407, 411. Gill. 231. Gillett, 261, 310. Glas. 194, 298. 299. Godfrey, 378. Gold, 79. Goodrich. 130. 131, 182. Goold. 84. Gordon, 295. Gorham, 57, 59, 80, 373. Gorman, 526. Gould, 81. Graham, 15, 245, 447. Grant, 220. Gray, 93. 150, 187, 195. 519. Green, 14, 57, 122, 150, 162, 163, 211, 476, 564. Greenwood. 530. Gregory, III., 14, 15, 18, 25, 26, 28, 36, 46, 47, 48, 52, 54, 59, 67, 68. 86, 101, 123, 137, 140, 141, 159, 161, 162, 164. 183. 186, 189. 208, 210, 216. 219, 221, 222, 238, 239, 243. 261, 282, 295, 297, 322,339, 341, 344, 383, 407, 408, 440, 460, 508, 510, 512. 516, 557. / Griffin. 57. 157, 162, 256, 448. 450. Griffing. 240, 317, 455, 462, 463. Griggorie, 44. Griswold. 134. 154, 157, 188, 194, 195, 806, 307, 850, 382, 388, 446. Griswould, 10. Grumann, 371, 508. Guion, 297, 350, 531. Gunn, 140. Guthrie, 57. H. Haight, 530. Haite, 43. 44. 52. Hall, 297, 421. Halley, 284. Hallett. 539. Hallock, 7. Hamlin, 123, 188, 151, 375. Hamilton, III., 37, 56, 58, 66. 67. 341, 510, Hanaford. 878. Hand. 256. Harland, 428. Harris, 16. Harrison, 295, 325. Hart, 376, 533. Harvey, 211. 234. 348. 530. Hatch. 181. 132, 138. 146, 221, 322, 830, 831, 353. 862. 446. 510. Hatfield, 306. Hawkins, 57. Hawley. 255. 296. 822, 860. 475, 518. Hayes, 15, 16, 26, 41, 57, 840, 842. 369, 372. 532, 538. Hayden, 322. Heacock, 56, 59. Headington, 321. Heath. 142, 825, 463. Heinzelmann, 337. Henderson, 15, 807. Hendrick, 319, 374, 375, 399. 400. 419, 455. Hendricks, 440. Henman, 84. Henry, 158. 369. Hershey. 331. Hickok. 16. 49, 208, 209,241, 242, 360, 508, 525, 526, 528, 529, 581, 534. 535, 544. 545, 546. ^ yj , Higgins. 256. - ^ U^' Ji/^. ^ Hill.-H?., 6. 177. 27^, 285, 304, 806, 402. 532.^yy- Hilliard, 195. Hillyer, 13. Hinckley. 57. Hine. 282, 285. 572 INDEX. Hinman, 91, 94. Hinsdale, 349. Hitchcock, 243. 331, 545. Hoadley, III. Hoags, 216. Hobby, 17. Hoddinot, 400. Hodge, 219, 323, 463, 464. Hodges. III.. 446. Hoit, 13, 14, 18, 56, 57. Holcorab, 57. Holden, 221. Holdischel, 335. Holland, 470. Hollister, 53, 65, 129, 545. HoUey, 143, 163, 235, 255, 344, 461, 462, 506, 508. Holmes, 19. 370. Holton, 65. Hooker, 3, 374. Hooten, 405, 422. Hopkins, III., 478, 483. Horsch, 256. Horton, 322. Hough, 283, 294, 363, 364, 365, 446, 462. Houseman, III., 161, 195, 299. Howard, 191. Howe, 83. Howell. 331, 532. Hoyt, IV., 7, 25, 26, 37. 44, 45, 46, 47, 49, 53, 58, 73, 94, 124, 125, 135, 137, 138, 143, 144, 145, 155, 157, 181, 183, 190. 191, 208. 215, 217, 218. 219. 223, 224, 228, 233, 235, 236, 239, 240, 242, 244, 257, 265, 268, 273, 279, 330, 341. 342. 343, 344, 345, 350, 369, 372, 385 386, 402, 431. 433, 439, 440, 446, 447, 449, 459, 460, 461, 462, 464, 485, 501, 502, 506, 518, 520, 533. 541. 544. 545. 557. Hubbard, 195, 296, 307, 312, 428, 446. Hubbell, III.. 16, 18, 140. 294. 326, 545. Hudson. 307. Hughes, 245, 327. Hull, 68, 98, 99, 102, 148, 160, 168, 222, 238, 258, 296, 308, 313, 371, 372, 385, 461, 463. 468. Humphries. 450, 453. Hungerford. 362. Hunt, 256, 468. Huntington, 79, 331, 350. Hurd, 162, 219, 220, 223, 239, 302. Hurlburt, 237, 426, 431. Hyde, 455. Hyson, 256. I. Isaacs, 273. Ising, III. Irwin, 152. 344, 345, 349, 350, 462, 508, 533. Ives. III., 89, 146, 168, 183, 265, 273, 295, 332, 343, 344, 350, 363, 422, 423, 431, 432, 433. 438, 439, 440, 446. 447, 448, 449, 450, 453, 460, 461, 462, 463, 472, 476. J. Jabine, 464. Jackson, 16, 57, 189, 350, 393, 400. James, 273. Jarvis, 70, 149, 161, 296. Jay, 106, 109, 111, 113. Jeffrey, 298. Jenkins, 404, 407. Jennings, 155, 211, 212, 234, 391, 400. Jessup, 306. Jewell, 365. Johnson, 57. Jones, 208. Judd, 57, 59, 175,J244, 393, 411, 463, 525, 526,531,541.544,546. Judson, 315, 529. K. Kaiser, 245. Keeler, 46, 50, 83, 148, 180, 221, 240, 303, 459, 472, 502. Kellog, 16. 461. Kelly, 327. 376. Kenny, 331. Kent, 288. Ketchani, 47, 285. Kimberly, 44. King, 323. King, Charles, 43. King, George, 56, 69, 89, 106, 146. King, William, 44, 531. Kingsbury, 420. Kinner, 358. Kinney, 386. Klumpf, 237. Knap, 15, 16, 53, 129, 342. \ INDEX. 573 Knapp, 9, 14, 26, 36, 50, 57, 59. 66, 68, 71, 93, 125, 143, 143, 160, 163, 187, 295, 308, 369, 501, 502,508, 510, 517. Kncsa], 532. Knox, 398. Kopp, 336. Krom, 363. Labiaux, 232. Lacey, 148, 235, 237, 239, 376, 448, 461. Lacille, 228. Lafayette, 131. Laine, 532. Lamb, 79, 84, 442. Langdon, 10, 22, 36, 116, 117, 146,290, 291, 437. Langlois, 532. Larcombe, 309. Lathrop, 224. Lauf, 337. Lawlor, 328. Lawrence, 235, 343, 507. Layden, 197. Leamau, 256. Learning. 296. Leary, 432. Le Baron, 19. Leckey. 452. Lee, 57, 120, 255, 302, 308, 418, 421. Leete. 2. Leggett, 163. Leland, 182, 192. Lemmer, 376, 377. Lent, 307. Leonard, 365, 446, 478. Leowe, 235, 255, 335, 337. Lerom, 531. Lewis, 195. Lincoln, 57, 381, 400, 412, 418. Lindall, 47. Lindly, 57. Lindsley, 59, 340, 341, 371. Lines, 14. Lloyd, 176. Lobdell, 197, 330, 332, 346, 531. Lock wood, 65, 178. 374. Lounsbury, 82, 304, 484. Lovelace, 163, 164. Lowe, 530. Lowell, 318, 321. Lucas, 10. Ludlow, 44. Lurch, 255, 564. Lynch, 256, 327, 328, 329, 37(3. Lyndsley, 371. Lynes, 472, 475. Lyon, 101, 237, 349, 370, 533. M. Mabie, 256. MacDonald, 379. Mackensie, 256. Magee, V. Magoun, VIL Mallory, 58, 208, 231, 234, 235, 31H, ^22, 446, 462. Manahan, 327. Manley, 232. Mansfield, 398, 400, 454. ?\Iarsh, 95, 391, 422 Marshall, 134, 156, 297, 298, 3:J2, 440. Martin, 544. Marvin, 47. Marzioch, 334. Mason. 219. Mather, 45, 533. Maxwell, 295, 299. May, 376, 533. McArthur, 7, 120, 258, 295. McClellan, 400, 403, 407. McClure, 194. McCue, 362. McDonald, 307, 356, 864. McEwen, 195. McGeachy, 198. McKensie, 526. McLachlin, 256. McLean, 9, 73, 91, 98, 156, 243, 286, 296, 461, 462, 506, 508. McMahon, 329. Mead, 15, 244. Meath, 255. Meeker, 151, 154, 203, 233, 255, 349, 860, 455, 462, 501, 502. jMerrick, 57. Merritt, 58, 121. 143, 252. 255. 259, 427, 451, 444, 447, 448, 454, 459, 472, 475, 519. Merwin, 306, 444. Middlebrook, 81. 574 INDEX. Miley, 306. Miller. 337. Mills. III., 303. Millard, 255. Milton, 156. Minor, 15, 428. Mitchell, 309. Moegling, 392, 419, 420. Montgomery, 17, 103, 169, 222, 223. 228, 235, 237, 239, 240, 426, 439, 461. Moore, 141, 164, 322, 386, 391, 403, 405, 408. 420, 421, 428, 429. Mootry, 440. Morehouse, 57, 59, 142. Morgan, 240, 241, 242, 244, 542, 544. Morrell, 531. Morris, 99, 158. 190, 197, 258, 259, 315, 316, 322, 372, 385, 387, 430, 447, 455, 502. Morrow, 244, 331. Morse, 157, 158, 192, 345, 428. Moss, 443. Mosely, 91. Muetschele, 337.^ Munson, 285. ' Murray, 377. Murphy, 249, 366. 367. Mygatt, 26, 28, 48, 50, 52, 73, 91, 124, 133, 145, 181, 183, 184, 185, 186, 189, 191, 339, 371, 438, 440, 484, 507. N. Nash, 331. Nelson, 57. Newman, 280. Newton, 197. Nichols, 59, 66, 67, 135, 143, 145, 151, 155, 168, 170, 172, 174, 175, 187, 195. 196, 200. 208, 210, 216, 217, 223, 226, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 238, 239, 242, 273, 322, 331, 346, 382, 391, 440, 446, 462, 463. 601, 508, 518, 525, 545, 559 NichoU, 175. Nickerson, 141. Nickolls. 16. Noble, 15, 446. Noney. 525. Norris, 473, 475, 502. Northrop, 17, 57, 531. Norton, 369, 442. Nougaret, 232, O. O'Brien. 212. Ogden, 157. Oley, 379. Olmstead. 263, 297, 337, 410, 463. 464, 531. Orgelmann, 335. Osborne, III., 196, 197, 203, 222, 241, 301, 307, 314. 315, 317, 318, 322. 336, 369. 463, 465, 501, 5U7, 532. 535. Osterheld, 232. Oswald, 79. Otis, 261, 304. Oysterbanks. 519. P. Page, 198, 331, 362. Painter, 307. Palmer, 13, 101, 203, 375. Parker, 310. Parkington, 532. Parks, 203. Patch, 123, 140, 141, 240, 322. Patchen. 304. Patrick. 44, 201, 350. Pattison, 531. Payne. 273, 479. Peabody, 234. Pearce, 101, 144, 177, 178, 271, 461, 470. Pease, 532. Peck, 36. 53, 56. 57, 95, 137. 145, 155, 175, 201, 216, 233, 325, 326, 331, 339, 345, 372, 426, 446, 463, 464, 472, 473, 476. 483, 531. Peddie, 312. Peet, 242, 243. Peffers, 447. Pegg, 306. Pell, 369. Pellctreau, 103. Penfield, 239, 379, 447, 448, 449, 455. Pentermann, 337. Pepper. 308 Perkins, 310. 311, 349. i Perry. 182, 296, 303, 358, 372, 373, 532. Peters, 151, 264. Pettit, 124. Phillips, 135, 144, 145, 150, 161, 216, 238, 443, 508. INDEX. 576 Picket, 13. 14, 15, 20, 57, 175, 340, 346, 368, 508. Pierce, 295, 362, 367, 480. Pierpont, 45, 358. Pierson, 16. Piex, 233. Pilsbury, 306. Pine, 173. Piatt, 16, 26, 46. 50, 200, 231, 475, 531. Plum. 296. Pond, 850, 851, 424. Porter, 57. 59, 67, 68, 69, 86, 93, 293, 520. Potter, 372. Powers, 881. Preston, 545. Price, 349. 545. Prindle, 234. Procopy, 387. Purdy, 304. 365, 367. Purves, 296, 531. Putnam, III., 101, 208, 309. Quien, 405. Quinn, 327, 328. Q. B. Raimond, 16. Randall, 446. Ray, 307. Raymond, 50, 222, 229, 234, 322, 427, 459. Read, 459. Redfield, 224, 468. Reed, 27, 159, 305. 318, 446, 449, 450. Reynolds, 201. 202, 295. Richards, 359, 374. Richmond, 249, 526. Rider. 155. 157, 159, 184, 844, 446, 447, 449, 450, 508. Riddell, 311. Ridge, 526. Robbins, 11, 19, 22, 28, 24, 38, 39, 56, 60, 67, 70, 142, 215, 438, Roberts, 93. Robertson, 299, 331, 332. Robinson, 162, 237, 238, 240, 257, 260, 408, 532. Rochambeau, 131. Rockwell, 91. 159, 216, 238, 868, 369, 372, 516, 532. Rodgers, 405, 512. Rogers. 262, 290, 344, 371. 429, 446, 447, 448. Rood, 210. 292. 293, 344. Rosaboom, 216. Rowan. 1()9. 479. Rowe. 195. Rude, 307. Rumsey, 531. Rundle. 142. 228, 255, 459, 460, 472, 475, 476, 483, 503. Ryan, 176, 327. Ryder, III., 350, 428, 463, 464, 473. S. Sandeman, 34, 299, 800, 301, 507, 547. Sandiforth. 273. Sallet. 299. Salter, 443. Sanford, 91, 121, 344, 485. Schenck. 346. Schultz, 884. Schuyler. 108. Scofield, 195, 303, 825, 330, 331. Scott, 324, 360, 364, 366, 405, 428, 446. 455. Scovel, 57. Scribner, 7. Scrivener, 16. Scudder, 532. Seal, 216. Seamer. 44, 49, 50. Sears, 208, 393, 475. 476. Seeley. 119. 152, 154, 160, 208, 211. 221, 240, 241, 242, 243, 268, 271, 865, 395, 412, 446, 460, 461, 462, 464, 473, 502, 581, 533, 534, .541, 544. Segar, 57, 59. Seger, 260. 261. Seil. 181, 182, 264. Selleck, 61, 256, 378, 461. Senior, 234. Seymour, III., 245. Sharp, 157, 412. Shaw, 302, 305. Shears. 271. Sheldon, 208. Shelthar, 235, 463, 464. Shelton, 331. Shepard, 242, 244, 450, 533, 541. Sheridan, 327. \ 676 INDEX. Sherman, 47, 91, 240, 378, 532. Sherwood, 17, 345, 349, 515, 517, 539. Short, 297, 526, 531. Shove, 15, 27, 33. 34, 49, 51, 52, 177, 280, 308, 339, 341, 515, 521. Shuldin, 233, 450. Sieker, 334, 336. Sigourney, 424. Silliman, 30, 52, 61, 63, 75, 76, 78, 79, 97, 547. Simmons, 306, 447. Skene, 297. Skellinger, 155. Skinner, 151, 196, 392, 394, 395. Slack, III., 531. Sloat, 428. Sloane, 297. Slocum, 374. Smith, v.. 57, 96, 97, 148. 208, 256, 261, 273, 275, 307, 321, 327, 351, 373, 428, 454, 467, 525, 526, 531, 532. Smythe, 233, 255. Sniflfen. 411. Snow, 376. Solomon, 234. Southmayd, 385, 397, 398, 411. Southworth, 19. Sovets, 256. Spencer, 57, 310. Sperry, 91, 93, 381. Spiudler, 322. Sprague, 217, 220, 259, 289, 440. Sproulis, 223. Stanton, 428. Stapleburg, 479. Staples, 307. Starbuck, 449, 450. Starr, III., 6, 14, 15, 17, 26, 27, 28. 43, 47, 48, 50. 53, 57, 59, 67, 68, 86, 88, 91, 93, 95, 96, 97, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 129, 133, 134. 135, 145, 146, 147, 148. 150, 151, 152. 157, 158, 159, 160, 162, 169. 177, 190, 203. 208, 209, 210. 212, 213, 218, 220, 221, 229, 235, 238, 239, 240, 242, 257. 259. 260, 285, 293, 295, 302, 303, 304, 332, 338, 339, 340, 342, 344, 346, 351, 369, 370, 372, 385, 407. 421. 422. 440, 446, 449, 461, 501, 505, 506. 607, 513. 514, 525, 527, 529, 532, 533, 534, 539, 545. Stebbins, 80, 81, 82, 149, 150, 151. 154, 169, 858. 463. 464. Steel, 306. Steele, 187. St. John, 156, 195, 224, 225. Stephens, 18, 56, 57, 282, 322. Stevens, 7, 14, 16, 375, 397, 421, 42i, 447, 455, 459, 502, 509. 518, 520. Stevenson, 201. Stewart, VI. Stiles, 45. Stillman, 532. Stilson, 368. Stockbridge, 158. Stokes, 446, 447. Stolle, 337. Stone. 3, 56, 57. 59. 154, 157. 216, 234, 258, 293, 294. 295, 311, 312,386, 388, 390, 399, 400, 408, 419. 446, 461. 464. Strasser, 337. Stratton, 376, 377. Street, 273. Sturdevant, 57. 208. 231, 235, 461, 463, 469. Sturges, 214, 244, 306, 358, 379, 530. Stutz, 333. Sunderland, 263. Sutton, 234. Swiin. 428. Swertfager. 197. Swift. 223. ■ T. Taller. 49. Tallant. 455. Talmadge, 101. 208. Taylor, III., 14. 25, 26, 28, 37, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 56, 57, 65, 67, 73. 89, 90. 91, 125, 130, 147. 150. 154, 157. 160. 182, 196, 197, 210, 221, 222, 224, 225, 228, 230, 231, 232, 233, 235, 240, 242, 243, 244, 261, 281, 283. 284, 285, 286, 322, 341, 356, 359, 361, 364, 365, 366, 367, 393, 408, 409, 412, 461, 463, 464, 466, 501, 507, 510, 513, 525, 526, 528. 529, 533, 539, 541, 543, 544, 545, 546, 557. Teagarden, 313, 322. Thomas, 316, 321, 521. Thompson, 81, 84. Thurston, 331. Tichenor, 321. Todd, 296. 358. 376, 446, 450, 451, 452. INDEX. 577 Tomlinson, 87, 325, Toohey, 362. Torrence, 531. Towner, 16. Townsend, 57, 59, 110, 111, 112, 297, 350, 386, 392, 400. Tread well, 464, 473, 475. Tredway, 444. Trobridg, 54. Trowbridge, 56, 57, 58, 59, 89, 125, 129, 175, 182, 188, 195, 200. 226, 241, 282, 284, 285, 370, 371, 531, 545. Trumbull, 94. Tryon, 29, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 70, 72, 73, 76, 83, 85, 99, 296. Tucker, 146, 183, 295, 343, 443. Turnbull, 309. Turner, III., 77, 211, 322, 454, 501. Turrell, 502, 503. Tuttle, 309. Tweedy, 133, 143, 165, 169, 191, 208, 215, 217, 218, 223, 224, 227, 232, 233, 237, 238. 289, 245, 249, 255, 256, 257, 265. 273, 363, 364, 366, 385, 389, 395, 410. 412, 427, 431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 439, 440. 446, 449. 453, 454, 455, 459, 460, 461. 462, 485, 510, 558, 559. Twining, 268, 267, 268, 270. Tyley. 124. U. Umerstone, 422. V, Vail, 232. Vanderbilt, 201. Varian, 510. Vaughn, 370. 372. Veal, 56. Videto, 9, 15. Vincent, 322, 324, 326. Vining, 533, Von Gal,^255. W. Wade. 378. Wadhams, 154. Waite, 321. Wakeman. 365, 867, 478. Walker, 4. 53, 87. Waller, 16. Walsh, 364, 865, 867. Wanzer, 194. Ward, 160, 193, 258, 455. Warner, 35, 286, 371. Warren, 87, 804, 351. Washburn. 119, 194, 258, 259. 326. Washington, 20. 131. 289. Waters, 412, 531. Watson, 876. 377, Way, 447. Weaver, 807. Webb. 310. Weed, 13, 56, 57, 58, 93, 510, 545. Weiss, 378. Weissart, 318. Wells, 224, 229. Wessels, 428. Westcott, 512. Westerfield, 447. Wetmore. 16. 368, 483, 529, 530. Wente. 335. 337. Wheatley, 196. Wheaton, 57. Wheeler, 87, 258, 304. 442, 545. Wheelock. 447, 448, 453, 455. White, III.. 9. 11, 15, 33, 34. 85. 86, 54, 73. 91. 96, 121, 128. 125. 128, 180. 182, 133, 136, 137, 141, 142. 146. 149, 156, 160, 161, 163, 168, 175, 177, 182, 183, 186, 188, 195, 210, 214, 215, 217, 218, 220, 221, 323, 224, 226, 228, 233, 234, 235, 236. 238. 239, 240, 243. 255, 256, 257, 273, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 314, 822. 344. 346, 850, 352, 354, 356, 358, 864. 381, 398, 407, 419, 421, 423, 426, 431, 441, 442, 443, 449, 456, 457, 468, 472, 485, 501, 508, 510, 529, 560, 562, 563. Whiting, 84, 154, 180, 196, 261, 503, 507. Whitlock, 200, 285, 350. Whittlesey, 20, 21, 22, 28. 124, 138, 151, 156, 159. 195, 286. 310, 352, 356, 363, 364, 366, 373, 446, 530. Widmere. 257. Wigton, 181. Wilcox. 89, 478. Wildman, 14, 15, 16. 20, 50, 52. 53. 69, 73, 90, 91, 100, 121, 122, 124, 184, 140, 141, 143, 145, 146, 148, 1.50, 152, 154, 156, 160, 161, 102, 168, 169, 170, 173, 578 INDEX. 181, 192, 198, 208, 218, 219, 220, 223, 224, 226, 228, 234, 235, 236, 238, 239, 261, 265, 273, 295, 308, 314, 315, 322, 335, 349, 382, 383, 386, 395, 403, 405, 410, 436, 427, 431, 435, 436, 439, 440. 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 454, 455, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462, 464, 475, 478, 480, 485, 502. 515, 560. Wile, 262, 375, 378, 879. Wilks, 14. Willey, 284, 424. Williams, 101, 273, 295, 299, 374, 418, 447, 460, 545. Williman, 422. Wilmot, 197. Wilson, III., 162, 258. 268, 309, 344. Wing, 305. Winthrop, 44. Winslow, 2. Witzel, 307. Wixtcd. 520. Wood. 18, 26, 49, 65, 73, 91, 133, 136, 154, 155, 208, 216, 238. 281, 284, 285, 286, 341, 368, 369. 372, 378. 501, 507, 508. Woodruff, 306. Woodward, 535. Wooster, 30, 61, 63, 65. 71, 72, 73, 75,76. 77, 78, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 99, 128, 158, 298, 382, 384, 387, 391, 421, 424, 425, 432, 435, 436, 438, 557, 560. Wygant, 331. Y. Yale, 188, 194, 196. Yearnshaw, 821. Young, 105, 106, 233, 257, 332, 533. Z. Zeigler, 233. Znerod, 256. OFFICIAL INDEX. Representatives, 1776-1895 inclusive, 549- 555, Roll of Wooster Guards, 382, 383. Roll of Co. C, Third Regiment, 386, 387. Roll of Co. A, Fifth Regiment, 388, 389. Roll of Co. D, Seventh Regiment, 894, 395. Roll of Co. A, Eleventh Regiment, 396. Roll of Recruits assigned to Co. B, of the First Heavy Artillery, 398, 399. Roll of Co. C, Seventeenth Regiment, C. v., 408, 404. Roll of Co. B, Twenty-third Regiment, 405, 406. Roll of Co. K, Twenty-third Regiment, 406, 407. Officers Fire Companies, 1829, 486. Officers Fire Companies, 1850-1896, 486- 490. Officers Societies, 491-500 inclusive. Members Board of Trade, 476, 477. NAMES OF PLACES. Abiugton, 299. Albany, V., VII., 203, 266, 267, 270, 272, 363, 367, 412, 534. Amherst, 846, 364, 533, 534, 535. Andover, 546. Annapolis, 413. Ansonia, 294. Autigonish, N. S., 379. Appomattox, 429. Auburn, 534. Augusta, 359. Ball's Pond, 127. Baltimore, 420. Barcelona, 263. Barkhampstead, 365, 378. Beaver Brook, 7, 8, 10, 89, 99, 120, 170, 181, 191, 212, 213, 281, 235, 548. Bedford, 202, 203, 204, 277, 370. Belden's Bridge, 189. Belfast, 182. Belle Isle, V. Bethel, III., 5, 31, 85, 36. 37, 49, 63, 64, 65, 72, 73, 75, 88, 128, 124, 139, 165, 186, 196, 197, 238, 239, 240, 241, 243, 249, 257, INDEX. 579 261, 267, 275, 278, 281, 297, 327, 328, 332, 368, 372, 376, 377, 385, 388, 391, 396, 402, 411, 412, 419, 438, 441, 524, 527, 533, 534, 535, 539, 546, 563, 565. Bethlehem, 371, 378. Berkshire, 53, 299. Bermudas, 151. Birmingham, 298. Boggs, 5, 6, 127, 340, 341, 342, 471. Boston, III., 2, 35, 200, 266, 277, 278, 279, 289,298,443, 521. Branch ville, 274. Bran ford, 19. Brewsters, 278, 279, 362. Bridgeport, III., 117, 151, 196, 201, 204, 271, 272, 276. 362, 363, 364, 376, 391, 403, 404, 405, 412, 428, 457, 459, 460, 472. 540. Bridge water, 371. Brighton, Eng., 332, 396. Bristol, 202, 203, 309. Brooklield, 5, 19, 27, 28, 36, 38, 88, 152, 153, 167, 174, 204, 227, 277. 278, 297, 372, 376, 403. Brooklyn, 231, 293, 312. 333, 336, 374,376, 377. 441, 539. Broughton, Eng., 45, 48, 57. Buckingham, 50. Burlington, la., 375. Buenos Ayres, 237. Buffalo, 346. Bull Run, 391, 400, 420, 422, 428. Caen, 222. California, VI., 379, 519. Cambridge, 3. Canaan, 26, 485. Canada. 17, 86, 103, 306. Cape Breton, 17. Cape Cod, 67. Caribee Islands. 1. Cedar Mountain, 419. Centreville. 420. Chancellorsville, 421, 429. Chantilly, 50. Chapultepec, 419. Charleston, 181, 216, 218, 219, 222, 279. Charlestown, 505. Charlottesville, 419. Chicopee, 310. Chicago. 262, 377,378, 3/9. Cincinnati, 312, 346, 376, 420. Clapboard Ridge, 123, 125, 135. Clarkstield, 238. Cleveland, 294. Cobbleskill, 378. Colbrook, 22. Colchester, 375. Cold Harbor, 420. Cold Spring, 379, 502. Compo Point, 30, 61, 79. Cornwall, 177, 292. Cooperstowu, 170. Cross River, 201, 204, 277. Croton Falls, 205. Cumberland, 374. Danesbury, 5. Darling's Corner, 204. Dayton, O., 159,427. Deep Bottom, Va., 421. Denver, 548. Derby, 87, 443. Des Moines, la., 294. Detroit, 309. Dodgingtown, 127. Dorchester, 3, 443. Drusey's Bluff, 331. Dublin, 151. Dundee, 195, 298. Dutchess Co., 56, 269. Dunfarm, 15. East Chester, 202. East Fishkill, 367.' East Greenwich, 43. East Hartford, 377. Easthampton, 293, 362, 534. East Windsor, 194. Edinburgh, 309, 452. Elkhart, 6. Elmwood, 127, 525. England, VI., 45, 50, 86, 106, 157, 230, 232, 236, 238, 263, 295, 296, 299, 315, 368, 373, 421, 422, 433. Erie, 277. Essex, 363. Europe, VI., 86, 346. Fairfield, III., 1, 3, 13, 28, 30, 31, 33, 34, 40, 41, 44, 45, 54, 61, 79, 81, 101, 117, 119, 177, 208, 214, 266, 272, 281, 282, 354, 355, 360, 361, 363, 364, 370, 379, 403, 414, 458, 459, 460, 472. 529, 535, 537. 580 INDEX. Fall River, 376. Farraington, 302, 359. Fishkill, 107, 108, 109, 110, 113, 114, 193. Florence, O., 370. Fort Donelson, 400. Fort Johns, 58. Fort Montgomery, 107. Fort Sumter, 357, 380. Fort Ticonderoga, 58, 86. Fort Washington, 58, 90, 95. Fort Wayne, 423. Fort William Henry, 17. Forwards Plain, 52. France, VI., 223, 233, 363. Frankfort, 337. Fredericksburg, 430, 429. Geneva, N. Y., 849. Georgia, 181, 349, 374. Georgetown, 328, 411. Germany, 236, 237. 378, 419, 534. Gettysburg, IV., 378, 408. 411, 413. Gilead, 115. Glasgow, 67, 309. Governor's Island, 418. Grassy Plain, 14, 128, 233, 241, 242, 244, 267, 524, 526. 545. Great Plain, 8, 59, 145, 165, 170, 173, 174. 379, 340, 341, 391, 517, 558. Greenwich, 116. 174. 193. 396. Guilford, 3, 44. Hadley, 45. Hanover, N. H., 378. Harlem, 377. Harrison. 303, 303. Hartford, 1. 3. 33. 36. 40, 45, 167. 174. 176. 178, 179. 190. 193. 303, 303, 359, 365, 373, 374, 278, 280, 293, 308. 312. 361. 380, 388, 390, 396, 398, 419, 420, 425, 564, 565. 566. Hart's Village, N. Y., 444. Harwich, 103. Harwinton, 202, 203. Hawleyville. 204, 275, 376, 378, 536. Heights of Abraham, 17. Herkimer, N. Y., 154. Highlands, 114, 378. Hillsdale. 375. Hillside. 379. Hilton Head, S. C, 331 Horse Neck, 15. 17. 101. 308. Housatonic. 377, 278, 426. 526. 560. Hoyt's Hill, 65, 66. Hudson, N. Y., 181. Illinois, 169, 337. Illsminster, Eng., 44. India, 315. Indiana, 161. Ireland, VI., 182, 360. Italy, 428. James Island, S. C, 422. Jersey City, 189, 468. Kenosia, 5, 6, 7. Kent, 10,43, 103, 132, 271, 353,356, 362, 444. Kentucky, 318. King Street, 6, 8, 51, 58, 59, 120, 127, 142, 307, 340, 341, 342, 343, 517. Lake Champlain, 29, 57. Lake George, 18. La Fourche Crossing, La., 422. Lebanon, 512. Leipsic, 378. Lewisboro, 275. Lexington, 56. Lime, 15. Litchfield, 2, 6, 47, 101, 150, 151, 202, 203. 204, 269. 275, 278, 358. 360. 414, 460, 524. 526. Lonetown. 65. London, 50, 88. Long Island, 50, 63, 79, 176, 333. Long Ridge, 8, 421. Lowell. 337. Madeira, 1. Manassas, 392. Massachusetts, 192, 261, 534, 540. Melbourne, 263. Meredith, 309. Meriden, III., 330. Merrimack, 5. Mexico, 338. Middle River, 6, 59, 131, 122, 142, 209, 516. Milford, 3, 87, 524. Millersville, 371. Mill Plain, 6, 7, 59, 234, 259, 311, 341, 342, 518. Mill Ridge, 124. INDEX. 581 Milwaukee, 296. Miry Brook, 7, 27, 51, 59, 74, 75, 76, 120, 124, 126, 307, 308, 340. 515, 558. Missouri, 333, 336, 421. Monterey, 375. Monticello, 372. Montreal, 103. Mosul, 332, 346. Mount Holly, 310. Mount Vernon, D. C.,~500. Mountainville, 126, 134. Munich, 378. Nebraska, 5. Newark, 63, 232, 291. 336, 377, 442. Newbern, S. C, 375, 420. Newburgh, 203. 278. Newbury, 31, 32, 36, 339. 340, 375. New Brunswick, N. J., 378. New Canaan, 7. New England, 67, 259, 270, 281, 287, 299, 330, 356, 380, 474, 537. New Fairfield, 6, 28, 49, 88, 122, 167, 175, 176, 290, 342, 345, 365, 372, 379, 386, 398, 403. New Hampshire, 219, 375. New Hartford, 376. New Haven, 1, 3, 18, 35, 45, 48, 61, 79, 80, 81, 85, 89, 99, 136, 157, 174, 176, 189, 191, 205, 215, 220, 228. 238, 265, 266, 276, 281, 298, 346, 355, 368, 371, 373, 374. 376, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 387, 405, 407, 410, 413, 420, 444, 459, 564. 565, 566. New Jersey, 234, 245, 346. New London, 1, 140, 157, 391. New Milford, 1.5, 31, 45, 47, 53, 62, 98, 184. 194, 202, 203, 208, 227, 232, 271, 272, 276. 326, 353, 371, 428, 524. New Orleans, 154, 244, 410. Neversink, 5, 10. Newton, Ct., 378. Newtown, 3, 9, 14, 28, 31, 70, 88, 151, 161, 167, 176, 178, 187, 208. 227. 242, 261, 276, 290, 296, 327, 353, 372. 373, 374, 403, 539. New York, IV., 5. 29. 61, 69. 95, 97, 103, 105, 130, 135, 139, 146, 151, 167, 176, 185, 191, 192, 199, 200, 201, 204, 220. 222, 223, 224, 226, 230, 233, 237, 239, 241, 243, 245, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 273, 274, 276, 277, 278, 288, 289, 291, 309, 314, 315, 325, 333, 334, 335, 336, 345, 346. 356, 359. 370, 373, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379, 391, 398, 411, 413, 414, 422, 423, 425, 432, 433, 457, 466, 511, 534, 560, 564, 565, 566. Norfolk, 19, 400. North Britain, 15. North Castle, 277. North Salem, 277. Northampton, 523. 534. Norwalk, 3, 10. 11, 26, 40, 41, 44, 45, 46, 47, 49. 50, 61, 65, 83, 101, 135.'':i50, 165, 183, 189. 195, 199, 200, 201, 204, 205, 208, 233, 240, 241, 245, 249, 266, 268, 272, 273, 274, 275, 279, 368, 371, 401, 402, 428, 432, 458, 472, 480, 508, 524, 535, 537, 546, 559. Norwich, 287. 290. Nottingham, 44. Nova Scotia. 70, 379. Ohio. 5. 91, 93, 151, 261, 336, 340. 362, 374, 420, 545. Ottawa Co., O., 5. Oxford, 16, 87, 374. Padanarum, 128. Pahquioque, 11, 25, 41, 43, 521. Paterson, N. J., 333. Peabody, Mass., 377. Peekskill, 62, 101, 107, 376. Pemberton, N. J., 310. Pennsylvania. 245. Pembroke, 8, 58, 123, 128, 142, 340, 341, 520. Pequag, 3, 40. Perth, 34. 195. 299, 300, 301. Petersburg, Va., 355, 421, 429. Philadelphia, 262, 293, 309, 355, 378. Pittsfield, 364, 373. Plainfield. 354. Pleasant Valley, 378. Plumtrees, 243, 299, 526, 545, 548. Plymouth, 2, 19, 358. Pocono, 5, 14. Pomperoage, 4. Poplar Plains, 532. Port Chester, 278. Port Hudson, 429 582 INDEX. Port Royal, 413. Portsmouth, 299, 400. Potomac, 374, 399, 407. Poughkeepsie, 139, 203, 465. Providence, 219, 220. Putnam Co.. 56, 103, 267, 269. Quaker Farm, 87. Quebec, 16, 18. Redding, 5, 61, 88. 96, 97. 146, 181, 182, 204, 208, 209, 265, 273, 296, 297, 328, 372, 373, 376, 410. Redwillow Co., 5. Richmond, 355, 400. Ridgebury. 31, 36, 74, 76, 84, 88, 277, 341. Ridgefield, 5, 7, 15, 28, 30, 31, 53, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 83, 84, 100, 122, 151, 180, 182, 186, 201, 202, 204, 274, 275, 292. 296, 297, 306, 307, 324, 327, 328, 364, 372, 376, 388, 403, 451, 532, 565. Rio de Janeiro. 263. Rhode Island, 128, 151. Rochester, 135, 160, 402. Rockville, 362. Rome, IV., 451. Rondout, 333. Rouen, 222. Roxbury, 224. Rush, N. Y.. 379. Sacramento City, 519. Salisbury, 352, 356, 361, 362, 370, 375. Sandusky, 91, 365. San Francisco. 262. Sandwich, Mass., 378. Sandy Hook, 262, 428. Saugatuck, 79. Saugerties, 30, 379. Savannah, 192. Schenectady, 534, 535. Scotland, VI., 34, 37, 67, 151, 195, 298, 299, 300, 452, 506, 557. Seymour, 376. Sheffield, 369. Shenandoah, 374. Shepaug, 278. 526. Sherman, 167. Simsbury, 48, 280. Sing Sing. 199, 200. SouUibury, 9. Southeast, 108, 114. South Kingston, R. I., 67. South Norwalk, 426, 428. Southold, L. I., 44, 46. Southport, 358, 373. South Salem, 58. Springfield, Mass., 192, 534. Stamford, 133, 195, 296, 360, 472. Starr's Plain, 7, 126, 304, 306, 341, 515. Staten Island, 336. St. Bartholomew, 192, 507. St. Louis, 262. St. Thomas, 192. Stony Hill, 9, 98, 136, 203, 212, 243, 525, 548. Stonington, 443. Stokes Co., 5. Stratfleld, 14, 49, 54, 129. Stratford, 3, 41, 47, 49, 87, 175, 289, 428, 443, 511, 524. Strawberry Hill, 133. Stuttgart, 419. Syracuse, 533. Taunton, Mass., 280, 299. Thoroughfare Gap, 420. Torrington, 534. Troy, 419, 444. Trumbull, 81. Turtle Bay, 289. United States, 37, 38, 160, 228, 257, 263, 352, 374, 384, 389, 403, 409, 411, 413- 424, 510. Vermont, 114, 192. Vienna. 263. Virginia, 355, 375, 420, 422. Wallingford, 19, 296, 371. Warwick, 372. Washington, 202, 355, 362, 399, 413, 415, 418, 420, 498, 499, 500, 538. Waterbury, 278, 362, 533. Weantinache, 41. Westchester Co., 104. Westerly, 428, 430. West Indies, 2, 135, 507. West Stockbridge, 266, 267, 271, 375. West Point, 73, 98, 103. Weston, 26, 61, 167, 373. Westport, 61, 165, 265, 266. Westville, 6, 58, 59, 67, 127. Weymouth, 443. INDEX. 683 White Plains, 106, 107, 201, 303, 304, 205, Winstead, 365, 428, 430. 208, 209, 273, 277. Wisconsin, 376. Wilderness, 429. Wolfpits, 526, 542, 547. Wilmington, 310. Woodbury, 27. Winchester, 405. Woodbury Co., 5. Windham, 292. WUrtemberg, 419. Wilson's Point, 266, 275. Yonkers, 232, 378. Wilton, 178, 186, 354, 379, 434. York, Pa., 420. Windsor, 3, 45, 47. Zoar, 167. :re'?8 n^(Hjif:J::-jti^[;;j!|pJi;HmiPK LIBRARY OF CONGRESS i III! Jlill MJ|I|J|||']|I III j II |:|l|l^l|M|l!lli 014 076 107 2 i! \