USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Stratford > A history of the old town of Stratford and the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut > Part 43
USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > A history of the old town of Stratford and the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut > Part 43
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In 1714, the Church in Stratfield lost by death its first pastor, the Rev. Charles Chauncey ; and on June 16, 1715, a call was extended to Mr. Cooke to become his successor. The church in New Haven was also pastorless, owing to the death of the Rev. James Pierpont; and on July 1, 1715, this society met " to nominate a man to carry on the work of the ministry on probation." Mr. Cooke was put in nomination, and the place was probably more attractive to him than was Stratfield ; but the vote stood 86 for Mr. Joseph Noyes to 45 for Mr. Cooke.
Accordingly, the call to Stratfield was accepted July 11, and Mr. Cooke appears to have begun his ministry there at once, though fulfilling his engagement with the New Haven Grammar School, until the end of the year 1715. His ordi- nation is said to have taken place February 14, 1715-16. The salary was £100 a year, with firewood.16
He retained this pastorate until his death, December 2, 1747, at the age of 60. His latter years were troubled by an alleged backwardness on the part of his people to make good the salary promised him ; and after his death his executors brought suit for the sum of £3000 arrears due his estate.17
In 1717, at the very beginning of his ministry, a new meeting-house was erected, which was used until the present century. In the events which followed the great revival of 1740, Mr. Cooke was a zealous advocate of what were known
16 Specimen of Mr. Cooke's Receipts.
" Stratfield, July ye 14, 1716. Received of henry Wakely and Sam11 Wells, Jnr, Collectors of the Minister's Rate or accepted as Received the sum of one hun- dred pounds six shillings and fore pence as money in full of the Rate that by agreement was to have been paid me on or Before the first day of March last passed and acordingly acquit the Society of Stratfield of one full years Rate and one myself endebted to the sd Society ye sum of six shillings and fore pence. Witness my hand, SAMLL COOKE.
17 A considerable part of this sum, probably, grew out of claims, in conse- quence of the depreciation of the currency.
32
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History of Stratford.
as " New Light " measures; and particularly, in May, 1742, he took an active part in the organization of a new church in New Haven. He had been since September, 1732, one of the Trustees of Yale College, but the predominant "Old Light" convictions of the other trustees led finally to the following vote, found in the original records of the Corporation for September, 1745: " Whereas, this board have at this and for- mer meetings signified to Mr. Cook their dissatisfaction with sundry things in his conduct, and he could not conveniently tarry to make any distinct answer thereunto at this time by reason of sickness in his family, Voted, that the President, with the rest of the standing Committee of this Board be desired to signifie to Mr. Cooke the reasons of their dissatis- faction in writing and desire his answer thereto."
It is but fair to read between the lines, and bearing in mind that this was the first meeting convened after the new charter of 1745 had passed the legislature, which gave power (not in the former charter) to six of the Trustees to remove a Trustee from his place, we may conclude that the writing sent to Mr. Cooke forced upon him the resignation of his trusteeship, which was announced to the Corporation at their next meeting, in April, 1746.
The New Haven County Association of Ministers had previously, September 25, 1744, sent a letter to Mr. Cooke signifying their uneasiness with, and offense at the proceed- ings of said Mr. Cooke, etc., in pretendedly gathering a Church among the Separatists at New Haven in opposition to the pastor and Ist church there. His letter in reply was voted " not satisfactory," September 24, 1745.
On the other hand the Fairfield Eastern Association of Ministers, in which Mr. Cooke was a leading member, passed, April 15, 1746, a series of resolutions, evidently bearing ref- erence to his citation before the Trustees, and to this effect : in view of the Assembly's having granted "a new College Charter with large privileges and a new form of government, and particularly by investing the newly incorporated body with powers of taking away as well as giving College honors, as the said Corporation see just cause; Therefore,
" I. Voted and Agreed, That no person or future mem-
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ber of this Association shall be looked upon by us obliged to answer before sd. authority for any such fact or facts as were committed by such member before sd. Corporation's Investi- ture with such new authority.
" 2. Voted and Agreed that no member of this Associa- tion is obliged to answer to sd. Corporation for any of their Doctrines or Conduct as ministers of the gospel. . .. . "
" He was," says his present successor, "a man whose personal dignity was long remembered in the parish, and was held in the highest respect-somewhat in fear. He was par- ticularly careful in his personal appearance. This comprised a heavy curled wig, black coat and small clothes, shoes with silver buckles, and over all a black gown or cloak."
His first wife was born July 22, 1688, and died August II, 1721 ; and he married, May 3, 1722, Esther, daughter of Nathaniel Burr, and widow of John Sloss, both of Fairfield ; she died in less than a year. He married, thirdly, Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph Platt, of Norwalk, Conn., born December 2, 1701, and died May 16, 1732, "of an apoplexy ;" and fourthly, Aug. 6, 1733, Abigail, daughter of the Rev. Samuel Russell, of Branford, and widow of the Rev. Joseph Moss, of Derby, Conn., who survived him. His children were, three sons and four daughters by his first wife, and three sons by his third wife. Three of his sons, Samuel, William, and Joseph Platt, graduated at Yale College in 1730, 1747, and 1750, respectively. One of his daughters married the Rev. Robert Silliman.
The inventory of his estate amounted to £2,787 ; it in- cluded 61 books and 173 pamphlets.
He published two sermons :
I. A sermon preached at the funeral of Rev. John Daven- port, of Stamford, published in 1731.
2. A sermon preached before the Eastern Association of Fairfield County, on a publick lecture in Danbury, July 29, 1741.
This sermon was introduced into a spirited controversy between Jonathan Dickinson and Samuel Johnson. Johnson published, in 1744, "A Letter from Aristocles Authades, con- cerning the Sovereignty and Promises of God," and Dickin-
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History of Stratford.
son, in replying, in 1746, with "A Vindication of God's Sov- ereign free Grace," interpreted Johnson's imagined antag- onist (Authades) as Mr. Cooke, whose views (as printed in his sermon) he certainly seemed to be controverting ; Johnson, however, in "A Letter to Mr. Jonathan Dickinson," disclaimed the intention of a precise reference to Cooke's sermon.
Besides these sermons should be mentioned :
3. " Invitations to the Rev. Mr. Whitefield from the East- ern Consociation of the County of Fairfield. With a Letter from the Rev. Mr. Samuel Cooke, of Stratfield, to a Minister in Boston, Concerning the former success of Mr. Whitefield's Ministry there."
This pamphlet contains a letter by Mr. Cooke to one of the Boston ministers, dated May 15, 1745. This letter is an urgent appeal that Mr. Whitefield may come and preach in the churches of Fairfield County ; and to show the spirit of some of these churches he prefixes a vote of the Consociation at a meeting held in Stratfield, October 7, 1740, of which he was Moderator and Scribe, inviting Whitefield.
This publication was quite possibly an additional motive for the action taken in September, 1745, by the College Trustees.
History of the Porter Property.18
Much interesting history is connected with the premises of No. 532 Main street and the house recently demolished to make room for a block of stores. The territory of nearly seven acres, on the east side of Main street from a point at or near Golden Hill street to Congress street, bounded easterly by the harbor, was purchased by Samuel Porter, sen.,19 from Zachariah Hawley, Feb. 5, 1759. A plot of the premises
18 Manuscript of Dea. R. B. Lacey, written for this work.
19 A portion of the old Samuel Porter deed.
To all persons ... Greeting. Know ye that I, Zakry Hawley, of Stratford and County of Fairfield and Colony of Connecticut in New England. For the Consideration of One Hundred and two pounds York money by me in hand re- ceived to my full satisfaction of Samuel Porter of Stratford, and County and Col- ony aforesaid, do give grant bargain sell to his heirs and assigns forever my
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Bridgeport.
copied from the original, made by Wolcott Hawley, surveyor, found among the Porter papers, is given with this record.
PEQUONNOCK RIVER.
Slaughter house.
Salt Works, 1825.
Old Fort.
Major Aaron Hawley. Old Red House.
Old Well.
GOLD STREET. Laid out about 1800.
MAIN STREET. Widened and Improved 1787.
Weaver's
Shop.
Barn.
Dwelling.
Samuel Porter.
MIDDLE STREET.
PEQUONNOCK RIVER.
THE PORTER PROPERTY.
Dwelling house and Land whereon it stands on Golden Hill, called ye old fort, and is Bounded South on Deacon Joseph Booth's Land Easterly and Northerly on ye creek and West on highway-the sd house and Land with all the apper- tenances thereunto belonging for him the said Samuel Porter forever. To have and to hold .. . forever.
Witness my Hand and Seal the 5th day of Feb. in the 32ª year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord GEORGE the second of Great Britain. . . .. King, Annoque Domini, 1759.
Signed and sealed in presence of Theophilus Nichols. Joseph Nichols.
ZACHARIAHI HAWLEY."
.
O
Porter's Rocks.
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History of Stratford.
There was a dwelling house on the plot in 1759, but not the one which has just been taken down. The latter was probably erected by Samuel Porter, sen., soon after the close of the Revolutionary war, and, with the " Old Red House" which stood on the west side of the highway,-Main street- the site of the present wooden block of Mr. Nathaniel Wheeler, was among the very first residences of a good class erected upon the Newfield, as Bridgeport was then called. James and Zachariah Hawley were sons of Gideon, and third in descent from the original Joseph Hawley, of Stratford, through first, Ephraim and Sarah Wells, and second, Gideon and Ann Bennett. They were pioneers here. The Hawley family were large land owners. James seems to have settled on the west side of the highway. His son, Deacon Elijah, was a house carpenter, and probably built and occupied the old red house. Isaac Sherman says of him : " He removed to the West very early, and died in Ohio in 1825, aged 84 years. He had a son by the name of Jesse, who was born in the old red house. This Jesse removed to the state of New York in early life and died there in 1843, at the age of 70 years. It is said that he was the projector of the Erie canal by communicating his ideas of such an enterprise to Gov- ernor DeWitt Clinton.
Major Aaron Hawley, a brother of Deacon Elijah, ap- pears to have been the owner of the old red house in 1787, at which period the "upright highway "-Main street-was widened and the site of the famous well in front, which stood its width in the street, was excepted and liberty was given to fence around it. The same well exists to-day covered by the sidewalk stone. Zachariah Hawley married Bethia Austin of Suffield, Ct., and probably removed to Massachusetts, for none of his descendants appear in this part of Connecticut.
Samuel Porter, sen., died September 15, 1795. The Por- ter purchase remained intact as field land during his life, ex- cept at the south end, where he gave a house lot as an advance- ment to his daughter Mary, who married Lewis Sturges. The old house, now a portion of the Elisha Hubbell property at the northeast corner of Main and Golden Hill streets, was the residence of Isaac Sturges, son of Lewis. His son Joseph
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Bridgeport.
P. Sturges-commonly called Porter Sturges-had his resi- dence a little way south. The original house is standing but it has a brick front and has been raised an additional story. The main building is occupied by Cohen (millinery) and Bain (a tea and coffee store.) It was a double house with hall- way and kitchen wings both on the north and south. Porter Sturges occupied the south house, and Henry Coty and the late Thomas Hutchins successively occupied the north part for many years.
There was a vacant lot between the two Sturges houses through which Golden Hill street was extended in 1847, from Main street easterly, leaving a strip of land on the south side of the street, which was leased by the city and an engine house, for the original No. 5 hand engine, was erected thereon. The same building is now occupied as a bakery by Mr. A. Brennan.
The survey from which the accompanying diagram is taken was made by Wolcott Hawley, a brother of Major Aaron and Deacon Elijah Hawley, October 20, 1795, to aid the distribution of the estate of Samuel Porter, Sen. The original has the dotted lines showing the portions set out to the two heirs, Samuel Porter, Jr., who had a double portion and his sister, Mary Sturges.
Lewis and Isaac Sturges with their families went West about 1820, and afterwards settled in Wisconsin. Rev. Albert Sturges, the veteran missionary of the American Board in Micronesia, is of this family.
They sold their interest in the remnant of this property on the death of Samuel Porter, Jr., who died without children, September 9, 1842.
The Rev. Thomas B. Sturges, of Greenfield Hill, Conn., is the only son and heir of Joseph P. Sturges. He inherited the undivided half of the old Porter house, lot No. 532, Main street, and came into possession of it on the death of the widow of Samuel Porter, Jr., April 12, 1867.
Recently, there has been a division by which he has ac- quired sole ownership of the entire Main street front, and is putting it to use by erecting the one-story block of stores now being built.
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History of Stratford.
This plot of land is referred to in the deed, as being lo- cated on Golden Hill, showing that the name was applied to the land extending to the Pequonnock river. It was also called " Ye Old Fort." Referring to the diagram on the right hand side, bordering on the creek at the extreme point, the position of the fort may be seen. These are the only allusions to a fort here, now known, and its previous existence must have been traditionary in 1795. It could hardly have been built by the English settlers, or there would have been some record of it, or in connection with its erection and use. Therefore it must have been an Indian fortification.
The location was a rocky promontory jutting out into the creek from a beautiful plateau which extended back to the highway. Later, for three-quarters of a century it was universally known as Porter's Rocks. It retained nearly its pristine beauty until 1838, and was a favorite resort for sports and bathing, by the young men and boys of the period, a few of whom survive to this day. . There was the round rock and the flat rock; both extending out so as to afford at their base considerable depth of water at high tide; the latter was at the extreme point and was a favorite place for fishing, espe- cially for frost fish in their season. A short distance from the point on the northern bank was the round rock, from which the bathers took their leap headforemost into the briny waters. The bank here was skirted with cedars, which afforded a good cover for this sport.
Just before the present century, a new spirit of enterprise was awakened here. Previous to the Revolutionary War the parish of Stratfield was a quiet farming community. Nothing had been done, specially, to develope the place. Long Island Sound had indeed become a highway of com- merce. The frequent disturbances, at that period in the political atmosphere of the Old World, were soon felt here, and the infant settlements, unprotected as they were, and their trading vessels especially, were a tempting and easy prey to the privateers, which swarmed on the American coast.
The harbors and settlements lying close upon the Sound were most exposed. Pequonnock river, however, was excep-
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Bridgeport.
tionally safe. There was fully as much depth of water above the neck, now the site of Berkshire bridge, as on the bar out- side, and plenty of space also. The wooded bluffs on the shore, some of them jutting out into bold promontories, shut out this portion from the open harbor and Sound, affording a safe retreat, almost a hiding place. Under the then existing state of things it is no wonder commerce was early developed at this place. Theophilus Nichols and his son Philip had their store and wharf at the extreme head of navigation near what is now known as the Plumb place. They built and sailed vessels from there, as did also Capt. Stephen Burroughs, Sen. The shore opposite the old red brick house on North avenue was long known and designated the Shipyard. The commercial and trading interests to this period with Boston and New York were not large, yet were sufficient to foster a spirit of enterprise and educate and prepare the more ambi- tious young men to improve their opportunities.
The establishment of our national independence not only infused new life, but brought greater security to our coast and coasting trade. The surrounding country naturally cen- tering here was rich in agricultural resources. Boston, New York, the Southern Atlantic States and the West Indies, were the markets. Water street had been laid out from the present Fairfield avenue, three rods wide to Welles' Tongue. Wharves and stores began to be built upon it. Men with their families, who had lived from one to two miles in the interior, settled on the shore and entered vigorously into trade and commerce. Among these may be mentioned the families of Nichols, Hawley, Hubbell, Sherman, Burroughs, Sterlings and Summers. The advantages of the location began to be appreciated and an enterprising element came into the place, from the surrounding towns and from a greater distance. Isaac Sherman mentioned by name, in 1857, not less than forty men who came from abroad and settled here between the years 1790 and 1806, who became prominent as successful business men.
The names of these persons with the date when they came, and their business occupations, are here given ; the stars in- dicating those whose descendants are known, still remain in the city.
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History of Stratford.
1786, Daniel Young, merchant, from Norwich, Conn.
1790, Salmon Hubbell, merchant, from Wilton, Conn.
1790, Capt. Abraham Hubbell, merchant, from Wilton, Conn.
1792, John S. Cannon, merchant and banker, from Norwalk, Conn.
1792, Robert and Prosper Wetmore, merchants, from Strat- ford, Conn.
1792, David and John DeForest, merchants, from New Haven, Conn.
1792, Thomas Gouge, hatter, from New York State.
1793, Reuben Tweedy,“ hatter, from Danbury, Conn.
1793, Nathaniel Wade,* watchmaker and merchant from Norwich, Conn.
1794, Capt. Thaddeus Hubbell, seaman, from Wilton, Conn. 1794, Isaac Hinman,* merchant, from Trumbull, Conn.
1794, Thaddeus Benedict, attorney, from Reading, Conn. 1794, Lambert Lockwood, merchant, from Wilton, Conn.
1794, Hull and Lyon, merchants, successors to David and John DeForest.
1794, Capt. Jonathan Baker,“ seaman, from an eastern town.
1794, Richard Hyde,* merchant, from Norwich, Conn.
1794, Samuel Burr, merchant, from Fairfield, Conn.
1796-1803, Ezra Gregory,* inn keeper, from Wilton, Conn.
[The following came between the years 1796 and 1803.]
Ephraim Middlebrook,* joiner, from Trumbull, Conn.
Stephen Hull,* blacksmith, from Wilton, Conn.
Dea. William DeForest,* merchant, from Weston (now Easton), Conn.
Robert Linus,* packer, from Stratford, Conn.
Capt. John Brooks,* seaman, from Stratford, Conn. Capt. Joseph Sterling Edwards, seaman, from Trumbull, Conn. Sylvanus Sterling, merchant, from Trumbull, Conn.
Jesse Sterling,* merchant, from Trumbull, Conn.
Capt. Ezekiel Hubbell, seaman, from Greenfield Hill, Conn. William H. Peabody, cabinet maker, from Norwich, Conn. Ira Peck,* merchant, from Brookfield, Conn.
Lemuel Hubbell, cabinet maker, from Stratford, Conn.
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Bridgeport.
Benjamin Hall, attorney, from Weston (now Easton), Conn. Joseph Backus, attorney, from Glastonbury, Conn.
Maj. Benjamin M. Woolsey, merchant, from Long Island, N. Y.
1806, Smith Tweedy, hatter, from Danbury, Conn.
1806, Samuel Penney, merchant.
1806, Hezekiah Ripley, printer.
1806, Lazarus Beach, printer, from Redding, Conn.
1806, Stiles Nichols,* printer, from Danbury, Conn.
1806, James E. Beach,* physician, from New Haven, Conn.
1803, Thomas Woodward, merchant.
1805, Josiah Prindle, merchant, from Derby, Conn.
1805, Mordeca Prindle, merchant, from Derby, Conn.
1805, Joseph H. Prindle, merchant, from Derby, Conn.
In 1797-8, the first drawbridge across the harbor was chartered and built.
In 1800, the borough of Bridgeport-the first in the State and a pattern for others-was chartered, and as a commercial and manufacturing community, BRIDGEPORT commenced her career of enterprise and progress.
Several new streets had been laid out, which were now recognized and named ; among them Gold street from Main to the harbor, two rods wide. Mr. Nathaniel Wade, a watch- maker by trade, from Norwich, Conn., afterward a merchant, bought land of Mr. Porter, and erected his house, the same is now standing on the southeast corner of Main and Gold streets. Philo and DeLuzern DeForest secured the northeast corner and erected the house now standing there, so long owned and occupied by Isaac Sherman, Esq., and now by his descendants. Capt. Joseph Sterling Edwards, from Trum- bull, bought and built on the south side of Gold street, from Middle to Water street. His widow left this with other property, to her brother, Isaac Burroughs, Esq., which has served to swell the Pettengill estate, from which such munifi- cent public benefactions are now being realized.
Mr. Jesse Sterling, also from Trumbull, a merchant, pur- chased the site on the north side of Gold street at the head of Water street, and erected the house more recently owned
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History of Stratford.
and occupied by Mr. Abel Drew. The same was removed in 1870 for the extension of Water street. Later, on Main street, next north of Isaac Sherman, Captain Gershom E. Hubbell located. Next to him was Mr. George Smith, and last on the plot was Captain William Goodsell, who had his slaughter house on the bank of the creek in the rear of the dwellings.
Isaac Sherman sold a part of his Main street front to Capt. Joseph H. Hand from Long Island-the same property being now owned by Jacob Sutter, and occupied by Mr. C. P. Coe's wholesale and retail grocery.
A Weaver's Shop is seen on the diagram, standing northerly of the dwelling house of Samuel Porter, back from the highway. It was occupied by both Samuel Porter and his son of the same name, who were weavers by trade, and supplied the settlement with the elegant woolen bed cover- lets,-specimens of which are still preserved in the old families, woolen cloth and blankets, damask and plain linen.
So far as appears, this building was the first exclusively devoted to the manufacturing of goods within the limits of Bridgeport, and is in very striking contrast with the splendid and extensive structures of the present day.
The Salt Works. For some reason, probably the scarcity of salt during and after the close of the second war with Great Britain, about the year 1818, it was deemed a wise measure to secure salt of home manufacture, and so prudent and saga- cious man as the late Isaac Sherman was persuaded that it was safe to invest capital and labor in it. The beautiful pla- teau north of Gold street, the property of his brother-in-law, Samuel Porter, Jr., was selected as the site for the opera- tions. The location of the evaporating vats is shown on the diagram. The salt water was pumped from the bay or creek into the vats, by means of a windmill stationed at or near the point. No statistics are extant as to the quantity or quality of the product, but merchantable salt was made.
One mistake as to location became apparent, that the water of the creek at this point was too much diluted with the fresh water of its tributaries, which with the increased
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Bridgeport.
facilities for procuring the West India product, conspired to render the enterprise unprofitable. The Salt Works, as they were called, were mentioned in the will of Samuel Porter, Jr., written in 1828. The unused vats were admirably adapted to, and improved by the young people, for the game of hide and seek. They disappeared soon after the year 1830, as re- membered by persons still living.
The Slaughter House is also represented on the dia- gram. Capt. William Goodsell, who early lived in the old yellow house which was removed from Main street in IS71 in order to open Congress street, is believed to have been the first to fit up and occupy a regular slaughter house here. It was a barn-like structure standing on the edge of the bluff and extending almost its whole size over the bank-which was well washed by each flood tide-the building being sup- ported by substantial posts. Its site was included in the pur- chase of the late Benjamin Ray, who had much difficulty in getting the boundary lines established satisfactorily. In his numerous and vigorous talks about the matter, well remem- Fered by many, very frequent allusions were made to " Capt. Goodsell's slaughter house yard."
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