USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Danbury > History of Danbury, Conn., 1684-1896 > Part 46
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49
E. T. FARNUM.
FARNUM HOMESTEAD, BUILT AS EARLY AS 1760.
525
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
house on the line of the electric road just north of the corner, where formerly stood the house of " Aunt Laura Nichols."
The Andrews homestead in Elmwood was built by Ensign An- drews before the Revolution, and is still in possession of the family. Another house in old Wildcat, built about the same time by Ebenezer Hickok, remained in that family until within the last twenty-five years.
The house built by Eliakim Benedict passed to his widow, who married Elihu Taylor. Later on it became the property of Captain Eli Starr (a brother of Friend Starr), and has been for nearly half a century in the Ferry family.
The " Benedict Homestead," at Stony Hill, is a Revolutionary house, but has been occupied for the last half century by the Dikeman family. Another house of the Revolution, formerly occupied by Jabez Taylor, stands on Hoyt's Hill. This is now the property of the Judd family, and has been for sixty years.
The Farnum homestead was built " at the old town place" by Captain Benjamin Hickok. Its foundations are truly laid upon a rock, and its great oak beams are as firm and solid to-day as when first put in place. This was a tavern, and the partitions on the upper floor were made to swing up and fasten to immense hooks (which are still to be seen), thus forming a ball-room. There is also the " fiddler's box," in which the fiddles were kept, from whose strings deft fingers drew forth merry music for the dancers of over a century ago. At the death of the original owner the place passed to his son Eli, and in course of time to his grandson Benjamin. Since then its owners have been the following : Ward Nichols, Samuel Banks, George Noney, of Kent, Deacon Ira Benedict, and his stepson, Ethel T. Farnum. The daughter of the last mentioned, Mrs. Martha B. Fairchild, is its present owner.
Fifty years ago the most prominent manufacturing interests were comb-making and hatting. The latter industry has grown to large proportions, while comb-making is a thing of the past. At that time Azarael Smith had a large factory for the making of combs in Wildcat, now Elmwood, and Charles Smith had a shop in the same district. In Plumtrees, the firm of Charles and Horace Couch did a large business, and Charles Barnum carried on the same business for a number of years. There were other shops belonging to different members of the Will-
526
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
iams family, and in 1840 there were not less than twenty shops for the manufacture of combs.
The earliest reliable account of the hatting industry in Bethel dates back to 1793, when there were four small shops in which boys, as apprentices, did most of the work. The proprietors of these shops were Zar Dibble, Eli Taylor, Thomas Taylor, and Eli Hickok. In the course of years an increase in business led to the building of shops in the outside districts-Wildcat, Plum- trees, and Wolfpits. At one time these numbered twenty, but of late years the business has been centralized in Bethel and Grassy Plain.
To-day Bethel has ten hat factories, with the following pro- prietors : Edward Short ; Richmond Brothers ; Andrews, McKen- sie & Durant ; Gorman, Wixted & Crow ; Cole & Ambler ; Judd & Co. ; The Judd & Dunning Hat Co. ; F. W. Smith & Son ; Foster & Ridge ; Farnum & Fairchild. It has also three paper- box factories, three hat-case factories, one hat-forming factory, and one large morocco factory. It has two fire companies and one hook and ladder company, a military company, and two bands of music. It has a lodge of Knights of Pythias, a lodge of Knights of Honor with eighty members, and one of United American Mechanics numbering seventy-five members. It has good markets and stores, handsome residences, flower gardens, and orchards filled with fruits in their season.
Bethel has a fine water supply conducted through iron mains from the reservoir near Mountain Pond, and the green lawns with their beds of flowers show that the town fully appreciates her water privileges.
The Consolidated Railroad runs frequent trains through the place, and the Shepaug Branch Railroad connects with the Housatonic, and is a continuation from Hawleyville of the She- paug Road between that place and Litchfield. The trolley line between Danbury and Bethel brings the two places into quick and constant communication, as also with Lake Kenosia, now the pleasure resort of both Danbury and Bethel.
Bethel sent soldiers to the Revolutionary War, to the War of 1812, and her full quota to the late Civil War.
The Centre Cemetery of Bethel is beautiful with hill and vale, groves of stately trees, long rows of sturdy pines, and the pleas- ant landscape view from the hill-tops. To these natural beauties is added all the attraction of constant care, and the profusion of
527
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
flowers and shrubs tell of the tender thought with which here life remembers death.
A fine soldiers' monument " in the midst of the grounds" tells of loving remembrance for those who fought our battles and now sleep quietly under the white Peace that bravery saved.
The old burial-ground beside the Congregational church holds the graves of the first settlers of Bethel. We find here bits of broken headstones, from which we can gather neither names nor dates ; time has obliterated both and crumbled away the " rec- ord stone which mourning hearts had thought would tell for ages of their dead."
We give some epitaphs copied from later headstones :
In Memory of LIEUT JOHN BENEDICT who departed this Life March 17th 1792 In the 73th Year of his age
In Memory of BENJAMIN BAILY who was instantly killed by the over siting a cart June 21 1807 Æ 50 years 6 mo 12 days In Memory of CLOE the Daughter of MR SAMUEL & MI® SARAH CROFUT Who Departed this Life January the 13th A.D. 1788 in the 15th Year of her Age My Friends As You pass by See here I Lie And Realise That You Must Die
In Memory of CAPT
JOSEPH STARR who died April 3. 1802 in the 76 year of his age In Memory of CAPT JOSEPH BARNUM who died March 7 1813 in the 52 year of his age.
Dear parent sleep and take thy rest God call'd the hence he thought it best.
In memory of CAPT NOAH T. FERRY who died May 5 1843 in the 65 year of his age
528
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
JOSHUA TAYLOR Died Aug 29 1804 aged 53 He served as sergeant during the war of the revolution
EUNICE TAYLOR Died Aug 10 1847 aged 90 She received a pension 16 y'rs for services rendered by her husband during the war of 76
In Memory of COL NOAH S. BARNUM who died Jan 19. 1859 aged 82
IN memory of
CAPT
ETHEL BEEBE
who died
May 19. 1812
in the 48 year
of his age.
NAOMI wife of CAPT ETHEL BEEBE who died June 2. 1841 in the 75 year of her age
Here lies the
Body of LIEU! JOHN DIBBLE
who departed this Life March 11th 1790 aged 82 years
Here lies buried the Body of CAPT EBENEZER HICKOK who departed this Life July 8th A. D 1774 in the 83ª Year of his Age. He was for many Years a Deacon in the Church of Beth el a principal Pillar in that Church and Society and an Ornament to the Christians Religion The memory of the Righteous is blessed.
Here lies buried the body of Mus ESTHER HICKOK the virtious and amiable consort of CAPT EBENEZER HICKOK who depart ed this Life August 25th A.D 1775 in the 70 Year of her Age
529
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
In memory of
In Memory of
CAPT DANIEL HICKOK
A patriot of
CAPT ELI TAYLOR a patriot of the revolution Who Died
the Revolution who died Dec 24 1835
Dec 4 1840
in the 88 year of his age
Aged 81 Years
In memory of THADDEUS STARR
CAPT EPHRAIM BARNUM ; died April 17 1817 in the 81 ** year of his age
who died May 3 1841 aged 81 A patriot of the Revolution
Here Lyes Interrd the Body of POLLY COMSTOCK
Daughter to M" ANDREW and M22
MERCY COMSTOCK Who Departed this 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
530
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
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 G. 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.
NATHAN SEELEY AND HIS SEVEN SONS.
HARRY.
GEORGE.
RANSOM.
FREDERICK.
ISAAC.
AARON.
SETH.
531
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
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 Platt, Laurens P. Hickok, Bennett F. Northrop, Dennis Platt, 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- rell 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 DANBURY.
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.
Rev. D. Osborne succeeded Mr. Crawford in 1859. From 1860 until 1863 Rev. 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
533
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
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 Danbury 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, Ransom Lyon, H. Young, George Benedict, Edward Lyon, A. E. May, now of Waterbury, Frank Benedict, now of Seymour, and H. E. Vining.
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 building, 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 Danbury Town Records.
534
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 positions 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 papers. 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).
Rev. 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 Amherst 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 College 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. Hickok.
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
LAURENS P. HICKOK. PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN WESTERN RESERVE COLLEGE, OHIO.
HION. ORRIS S. FERRY. U. S. SENATOR, FROM 1867-73.
JULIUS SEELEY, D.D., LL.D. PRESIDENT OF AMHERST COLLEGE, MASS.
535
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
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 S. 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
537
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
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 principle 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.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.