USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Danbury > History of Danbury, Conn., 1684-1896 > Part 39
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In November, 1867, the Association purchased of the 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 Chapel " 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 Wooster Monument was dedicated
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
with appropriate ceremonies, to perpetuate the 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 10th, 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 called 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.
1
FREDERICK S. WILDMAN.
GEO. W. IVES.
EDGAR S. TWEEDY. ENTRANCE TO WOOSTER CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL CHAPEL.
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
" His purse was ever open to assist the needy, and no one was ever sent away from his door empty-handed. Unostentatious in his manners and social intercourse, he preserved his own self- respect, while he regarded every man his equal. He carried within his breast a heart large enough to embrace the whole human family. An unflinching hater of wrong and oppression of every kind, he was always found in defence of the weak and oppressed. A firm friend, a kind neighbor, an honest man has passed away.
"The body of the deceased was laid in the cemetery, the grounds of which he had done so much to adorn."
EDGAR S. TWEEDY.
Mr. Tweedy, who was closely associated with Mr. Ives in advancing the interests of Wooster Cemetery, took entire charge of the work upon the death of Mr. Ives. Mr. Tweedy died March 10th, 1893, just thirty-one years after the death of his fellow-worker. The Evening News of March 11th publishes this record of his life and worth :
" Mr. Tweedy was born in this city May 23d, 1808. At the age of fourteen he went to New York City and became clerk in the store of Prosper M. Wetmore. He remained in New York until he was twenty years of age, when, suffering from a severe cough which threatened to permanently undermine his health, he returned home. Later he became a partner in the firm of Hoyt, Tweedy & Co., hat manufacturers in Danbury, which firm had a store in Charleston, S. C.
"Mr. Tweedy was never very actively engaged in business pursuits. He was not strong physically, although his erect figure and quick step gave no indication of this.
" But in all enterprises looking to progress and betterment of the town, and in all works of charity, he was particularly active.
" He was one of the incorporators of the Wooster Cemetery in 1850, was elected Vice-President of the Association, and after the death of George W. Ives, in 1862, was the superintendent of the grounds, and served in this office until 1889, when advanced age obliged him to retire from its duties. All this time he was unremittent in his labors to make this city of the dead the beautiful place it has become, and has lived to see the fruit of his labor.
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" He was active in the organization of the Danbury and Nor- walk Railway, Danbury's first railway ; was its secretary, and for twenty-five years served as a director of the company.
"He was one of the organizers of the Danbury Gas Light Company, and for a long time served as a director. He was one of the incorporators of the Danbury Bank, now the Danbury National Bank, and was on the Board of Directors.
"He was chosen President of the Danbury Library when it was established, and has been continued in that office ever since. When the Relief Society, which has been such an important help to the honest poor, was formed, he was chosen to be its president, and has filled that office continually since. His work in this department was most important, so long as his health permitted him to work. He assisted at the organization of the Danbury Savings Bank, and has always been retained on its board of directors and as a vice-president.
"He was also treasurer of this town for many years, and he was active in school and temperance work for many years.
"Mr. Tweedy was chosen to represent Danbury in the State Legislature in 1845, but he did not aspire to political office.
" In 1880 he was chosen a delegate to the National Republican Convention which nominated Garfield, and although seventy-two years of age, attended all the sessions of that protracted con- vention.
"In 1834 Mr. Tweedy married Elizabeth S., daughter of Rev. David Belden, of Wilton, who survives him. There were seven children, four sons and three daughters.
"Mr. Tweedy was a man of broad views, active mind, and large heart. He possessed all the qualities demanded in good citizenship. He was always alert to see the need of the commu- nity, and always active in meeting it. In everything calculated to promote the welfare of the town, to advance education, to improve the condition of the unfortunate, to make beautiful his city, he was always foremost.
"Mr. Tweedy was a gentleman of the highest type. One felt this immediately on coming into his presence. He was kindly, dignified, well read, and thoroughly honest. His life has been an enviable one. His record is without blemish. In the fulness of years he has gone out from among us, sincerely mourned by the community whom he so long and so faithfully served."
VIEWS IN WOOSTER CEMETERY.
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
Frederick S. Wildman died on October 16th, 1893. We can write no more faithful account of his long years of interest in the cemetery than will be found in the following minute, which was unanimously adopted at a meeting of the Danbury Ceme- tery Association, held on January 20th, 1894 :
"The directors of the Danbury Cemetery Association hereby place upon record their deep appreciation of the great loss which they have sustained, personally and officially, in the death of their venerable associate, Frederick S. Wildman, who has been president of the Association since its organization, and for many years its treasurer. In both of these capacities, and as a mem- ber of the board, he has rendered most faithful and efficient ser- vice, and the Association owes much to the sound judgment, careful administration, and earnest zeal which he has displayed in its affairs. From his earliest manhood, during a lifetime pro- longed much beyond that usually allotted to mankind, he was ever among the foremost in the inception and promotion of all projects for public improvement, and always ready to give them active aid and encouragement.
" Among them all, none occupied a higher place in his regard or received in fuller measure his loyal support than Wooster Cemetery. In the meetings of the board he presided with such dignity, courtesy, and consideration as to command the highest respect and esteem of his associates. Impatient of routine, and disregarding matters of mere form, he was prompt in the dis- patch of business, and always sought the shortest route to the end in view. Extreme age did not abate his interest in affairs, nor impair the vigor of his intellect. To the last the duties pertaining to his many trusts were performed with the same scrupulous fidelity and thoroughness for which he was distin- guished through life.
" At the last meeting of the board, on the day preceding the beginning of his fatal illness, he prepared with his own hand the resolution providing for the erection in the cemetery grounds of a building as a memorial to George W. Ives and Edgar S. Tweedy. It is most fitting and proper, in recognition of his devotion and services to Wooster Cemetery, that his name should be inscribed with theirs upon the memorial tablet to be placed upon this building, and that the memory of these three, who were closely united in life by the ties of sincere friendship, and
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by association in many good works, should be jointly honored and perpetuated by this beautiful and appropriate tribute, and the building committee are hereby directed to cause such in- scription to be made."
The Cemetery Association have completed this present year a neat memorial chapel near the entrance. It is of Pompeian brick, with interior finishings of natural wood and tile flooring. As is eminently fitting, it has a bronze tablet in memory of the three citizens of Danbury under whose care and skill the ceme- tery has been made the beautiful " quiet haven" that it is to-day. The tablet reads : "In memory of George W. Ives, Edgar S. Tweedy, Frederick S. Wildman." No other words are needed, for the cemetery itself is their monument.
CHAPTER XLI.
TOWN LIBRARIES.
SOON after the settlement in 1770 of Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin over the First Congregational Church in Danbury, he drew up terms of subscription for a library which should be free to all denominations, and this was the beginning of the first library of which we have any record. This was called the Danbury Library, as the following advertisement, taken from an old issue of the Farmer's Journal, will show : "The subscribers to the Danbury Library are requested to meet at the house of Mr. Fair- child White on Tuesday evening, the first of January next, pre- pared to pay in the amount of their subscriptions, and transact the necessary business of the company.
" Timothy Langdon, Nathan Douglass, Comee. Lazarus Beach,
" Danbury, Dec. 1, 1792."
The books of this library, except a few that were out, were consumed in the conflagration of the town. It remained in this incomplete state until March, 1795, when it was dispersed.
In January, 1793, a library company was formed, with shares at $1.75, and was probably the beginning of the Franklin Library, for in 1797 we find in an estate inventory "a right in the Franklin Library."
The Danbury Library of the present time has two volumes of this old Franklin Library. These are The Federalist, printed in New York in 1788. The label bears the following :
" RULES.
" All books must be returned four days previous to the Annual Meeting, which is held on the second Monday in January in each year on penalty of 34 cents.
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" Each member may keep a Book after the 1st of April and until the first of November two months, -after the 1st of Novem- ber, one month.
" Fees for all damages will be exacted."
A library was founded at Bethel in 1793, which in 1800, according to the Century Sermon of Mr. Robbins, consisted of one hundred volumes. No trace of it can be found at the pres- ent time.
The Franklin Library ceased to exist in 1833, as the following vote, recording the doings of the Mechanics' Library, under date of October 7th, 1833, shows :
" Whereas, On the 3d of October, inst., passed the following votes, to wit :
" Voted, That the books and all the property belonging to the Franklin Library Company be assigned over and transferred to the Mechanics' Library Association in this town.
" Voted, That the Franklin Library Company be abolished.
" Voted, That the condition on which the books and all the property therein shall be assigned, as expressed in the first vote, is, that the members of the Franklin Library Company shall be entitled each to one share in the Mechanics' Library Associa- tion, provided, etc.
"Thereupon, resolved, That the Mechanics' Library Associa- tion accede to the," etc.
Thus the Franklin Company became merged in the Mechanics' Association. Its last librarian was Eli Mygatt, who afterward became librarian of the new association.
MECHANICS' LIBRARY.
We copy from the records of this association (now deposited with the present library) the following items, which give, per- haps, as comprehensive an account of its doings as can be obtained :
" A meeting of some of the citizens of Danbury was held at the house of Isaac Ives on the 8th of April, 1833, to take meas- ures to establish a library in this village."
This action was taken six months before the dissolution of the Franklin, and as our village was then quite small, the inference of the record is that the old library was not in a very healthy condition.
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
The report goes on to state that I. Ives was appointed chair- man and William Montgomery secretary of the meeting. A committee (the members of which are not named) was appointed to solicit subscriptions for the " purpose of purchasing and estab- lishing a library for the use of the inhabitants of the town of Danbury forever."
This moderate announcement of their purpose was followed by the choice of a committee to draft a constitution. The com- mittee were Eli T. Hoyt, George W. Ives, and F. S. Wildman.
At a meeting of the subscribers " held at the Middle District school-house" on Friday evening, 1833-Rory Starr in the chair, and E. S. Tweedy, secretary-a preamble and constitution were adopted. From these papers we copy articles and parts of articles, to give an idea of the nature of the organization. The modest wording of Article 10 is especially worthy of considera- tion in this age of boast and brag :
" Article 2 provides that any person shall be a member by payment of $2, and continue to be so as long as conforming to the rules, etc.
" Article 3. Officers. There shall be twelve directors, three of whom shall be apprentices over eighteen years of age.
" Article 4. Location of library to be always within limit of borough of Danbury.
" Article 5. Secretary's duties to call meetings by notice pub- lished in some newspaper published in the village, or by posting on the public sign-post.
" Article 7. Every apprentice between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one bringing from his employer a certificate of good character and guarantee for safe return of books shall be en- titled to use of books free of charge.
" Article 8. No books on sectarian theology shall ever be admitted into this library ; and no novels or works of fiction unless they shall be approved by three quarters of the directors.
" Article 10. This association shall never be dissolved.
" Article 11. This constitution may be altered or amended at an annual meeting of the society by a vote of three quarters of the members present, excepting the clause in Article 8 relating to works on sectarian theology, and Article 10, which articles are never to be altered or amended."
At this meeting also the first election of officers was held,
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
choice being made as follows : President, Rory Starr ; Vice- President, Eli T. Hoyt ; Secretary, Edgar S. Tweedy ; Treasurer, Frederick S. Wildman. Directors : George W. Ives, Russell B. Botsford, Reuben Booth, Thomas M. Gregory, Irel Ambler, Cur- tiss Clark, Starr Nichols, A. Edward Tweedy, Horace Marshall, Charles Hendricks, William A. Crocker, Thomas Sprague.
There was no change in the officers of the institution until the thirteenth annual meeting on January 12th, 1846, when, owing to the death of Rory Starr, the President, Eli T. Hoyt was elected to the vacancy, and A. E. Tweedy was made Vice- President.
At a meeting of the Mechanics' Association, held on June 25th, 1833, it was voted to attach a reading-room to the library. The school-room of Colonel Elias Starr was rented for both purposes, and he was made librarian with a yearly salary of $25. The rent of the room was $20 per annum.
This building was next south of the house now occupied by Edmond Allen. The library hours were from seven to nine o'clock A.M., and from five to seven o'clock in the evening. The reading department was opened to the public from half-past six until nine o'clock P.M.
At a meeting held on October 30th, 1834, Eli Mygatt was appointed to take charge of the library and furnish necessary lights and fuel, the expense of the same not to exceed $70 for a period of two years. The library remained under the care of Mr. Mygatt in his house until the time of his death.
On September 1st, 1844, the books and other property of the association were taken to the store of Thomas Mootry and placed in his care, where they remained until January 23d, 1856. At a meeting held on that date the Mechanics' Association dis- solved, and the library was turned over to an organization called the Young Men's Literary Association, " for their more economic management and better care." The Young Men's Literary Association was but short-lived, and in its extinction the material of the library disappeared. From that time until 1871 our town had no public library, nor do we know of any effort to estab- lish one.
THE DANBURY LIBRARY.
As it exists to-day, with its commodious and elegant building on Main Street, the dwelling-house adjoining, its books and
COL. E. Moss WHITE,
E. M. WHITE'S HOMESTEAD-WHERE LIBRARY NOW STANDS,
.
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
other property, including its invested funds, it is substantially the gift of one family, that of the late E. Moss White, of Dan- bury. The late William Augustus White, of Brooklyn, son of E. Moss White, by his last will and testament bequeathed the sum of $10,000, to be paid five years after his decease, for the establishment of a public library in his native borough of Dan- bury. The Legislature of Connecticut, at its session in 1869, passed an act incorporating the Danbury Library, which act was approved by the Governor, June 5th, 1869.
On June 1st, 1870, Alexander M. White, of Brooklyn, brother of William Augustus White, and sole executor of his will, placed at the disposal of the trustees of the library the house on Main Street, in which he was born and in which his parents died, to be used for library purposes until a suitable building could be erected upon the premises. At the same time Mr. White also notified the trustees of his willingness to give a plot of ground, fifty feet on Main Street by one hundred and fifty feet in depth, on which to erect a suitable building, and also the sum of $5000, besides an equal amount to be given by his brother, George Granville White, toward the erection of such a building, so soon as the citizens of Danbury would join in erecting, free of debt, a suitable building upon this ground. At this time Mr. White directed that repairs be made upon the house so given, and that suitable furniture be purchased at an expense not to exceed $500, the cost of such repairs and purchases being paid by him.
In 1871 Alexander M. White made a further donation of $500 for the purchase of books. A donation of $500 by the late Charles H. Merritt and of $50 by Miss H. E. Merritt was made and accepted. Subsequently, in accordance with the wishes of Charles H. Merritt, after his death a gift of one hundred shares of stock in the Danbury & Bethel Gas and Electric Light Com- pany, par value of $2500, was made in his name, the interest of the same to be devoted to the library.
The library continued to occupy the house formerly the resi- dence of E. Moss White until the fall of 1876. In May of that year Alexander M. White notified the trustees of his desire to see a suitable building erected upon the site for library uses, and of the offer of his brother, George Granville White, to contribute $5000 for this purpose. To this amount Alexander M. White generously offered to add $15,000, making $20,000 in all. Mr.
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
White subsequently offered to remove the old dwelling-house to the rear of the library lot at his own expense, and to fit it up for rental ; also to donate additional ground on the south side and rear of the library lot, and directed that plans be obtained for a building costing from $20,000 to $25,000. Since then he deeded to the library all the remaining portion of the old White homestead, extending from the lot of the Misses Norton on Library Place to Terrace Place.
Of all these several gifts and donations the trustees have thankfully availed themselves. Not only the $25,000 placed at their disposal by the Messrs. Alexander White and George Granville White has been, in accordance with their wish, ex- pended upon the building, but in October, 1878, Mr. Alexander M. White, to insure the utmost possible perfection in the com- pletion of the new structure, made a" further donation of $1500. Upon receiving a vote of thanks from the trustees for this amount he added $3500 for finishing, furnishing, and purchase of books. These contributions, Mr. White desires us to under- stand, are, like others coming through him, from the family of the late E. Moss White.
The present building has been erected from plans furnished by Messrs. Lamb & Wheeler, of Newark, N. J. It was begun in 1877 and completed early in 1879. The first story is rented for offices, leaving the entire second story for library uses. It is heated by steam throughout, and has received the approval and admiration of some of the best architects and authorities upon architecture in the country. It is a monument to the gen- erosity and philanthropy of a single family, and a public bene- faction of which all the inhabitants of Danbury have every reason to feel proud.
On January 1st, 1893, the fine Post-Office building, the last gift of Mr. White to the library, was ready for occupancy. The cost of this building with necessary ground improvements was in round numbers $40,000. The children of Mr. Alexander M. White gave to the Danbury Library $4000, " to provide for the equipment and furnishing of the Post-Office building, and for the laying of sidewalks around the same." Through this munifi- cence of Mr. White and his family, the Danbury Library was opened on August 1st, 1893, as a free library to the public. At this time there were 320 subscribers at an annual fee of $1.50.
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
At the close of the first year as a free library the number of subscribers was 2300, and at the present date the subscribers number 2654. The number of books drawn from the library during the past year was 70,641. Number of persons using the reference room, 871 ; number of volumes now in the library, 12,801.
GENEALOGICAL LINE OF THE FAMILY OF E. MOSS WHITE.
1. Thomas White, born in England, 1599, came to Mas- sachusetts about 1630 ; made Freeman of Weymouth, March 3d, 1636 ; representative in 1636, 1637, 1657, and 1670; died in Weymouth, August, 1679. The name of his wife is not known.
2. Their fourth son and fifth child was Ebenezer White, born in Weymouth, 1648 ; made Freeman in 1674, and died July 24th, 1703, in Weymouth. He married Hannah, daughter of Nicholas and Hannah (Salter) Phillips, born in Boston, 1654. She survived her husband.
3. Their second son and child was Thomas White (deacon and captain), born in Weymouth, August 19th, 1673; died April 28th, 1752. He married in 1700 Mary, daughter of James White, of Dorchester, Mass., born there 1676 ; died in Weymouth, 1716. (His second wife was Silence French.)
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