USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Danbury > History of Danbury, Conn., 1684-1896 > Part 18
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
not Beers, the almanac-maker. Mr. Beers replied that it was. " Vell 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 Danbury in the beginning of the present century, and even as early as 1790. The most important book published in Danbury 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, was 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.
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
Glory to the Righteous One."-Isaiah xxiv. 16. 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 Western 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 3ยช 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 ; II. Natural History ; III. Rhetoric ; IV. Miscellany. To which is added A Short but Complete 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.
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HISTORY 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, with Suitable Forms. By Samuel Whiting, Esq. Danbury : Printed by Nathaniel L. Skinner, 1814.
In 1803 Selleck Osborne established here the Republican Farmer, and continued its publication until the autumn of 1805, when he sold it to Stiles Nichols, who continued it here until 1810, when it was removed to Bridgeport.
In 1812 The 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 in 1814.
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 pur- 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 who 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 wanted.
"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-
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
lishing office was in the 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 Con- 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-
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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. Morris commenced the publication of the Hatter's Journal, but it continued only a short time.
The Danburian appeared in 1875, conducted by C. E. A. McGeachy, and The People, a Greenback paper, by T. Donovan, in 1878. Both of these were of short duration.
The Globe was established by W. F. Page in 1874 ; the Demo- crat, by L. K. Wildman, in 1877, and the Republican in March, 1879.
The papers of to-day are the News, Dispatch, the New Eng- land Monthly, and the Prescription.
CHAPTER XXIX.
HOW DANBURY WENT AWAY AND GOT BACK.
DISTANCE lends enchantment to the view. So does time. We hear much of the " good old 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, via 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, chiefly 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 was thirty-four miles from Danbury ; the distance down the river was about the same.
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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 carried 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 Platt 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 supper 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
Comunitario 1812
WHEREAS 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 necessity of a War, they are fixed in the determination to support it, till the attainment of an honorable peace.
Thomas Barnum Lewis Gregory Bonajah Benedict
David Jennings David Sherman Benjamin Martin
Tla Benedet
Ephmain Barnum Abram Stow
John mattheus waly fin eman Elena Jimmy Zachariah Dumcambie Lories Taylor Philips Minhoto John Andlui
phineas Jaybon Ebenezer Taylor Oliver Shepard Daniel J thehard rathausbulge Joan S.theword John Dibble Elager Taylor Oura Hamilton davon Leyes
E li Taylan Andrea Andour Is ana H Selge Nochi & Barnum Hatter M Castro Stiles Trolley Delucana Ranja mamin Milfram goven Samuel Banks
Ammen Taylor Ebenezer Platt Chim profit Samuel Project In" Leve taylor In2 Ina Benedicte gourmet to Harley Gerthem Mostraut viaron Larry
Samuel Dibbleq Samuel Taylor 2"
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
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 Vanderbilt put on an opposition boat, and the strong competition reduced the fare from $1 to 1s. 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 Ridgefield 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-
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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 1s.
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 Danbury'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
From Hartford to
Bristol . 1.00
Harwinton 1.25
Harrison. 1.70
Litchfield 1.65
North Castle. 2.00
Washington. 2.15
Bedford . 2.35
New Milford. 2.65
Ridgefield 2.90
.Danbury 3.45
Danbury 3.45
From New York to
East Chester $1.00
White Plains. 1.50
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
From Danbury to
Ridgefield
$0.55
New Milford $0.80
Bedford
1.10
Washington 1.30
North Castle. 1.45
Litchfield 1.80
r
Harrison. 1.75
Harwinton 2.20
White Plains 1.95
Bristol
2.45
East Chester
2.45
Farmington 2.90
(New York
3.45
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
From Danbury to
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
frozen condition. That 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 1830. He was a heavily built man with a voice that was a surprise in that it was not deep 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 period 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 passenger 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 Beattys and the railway company. He made the
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
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 trip 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 Railway. 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 trips 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 prepared to believe that the event took such a hold upon the Norwalk people as to almost entirely unfit 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.
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