USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Danbury > History of Danbury, Conn., 1684-1896 > Part 6
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
5. Thomas Taylor, born in Windsor, 1643 ; married February 14th, 1677, Rebekah, daughter of Edward Ketcham, of Strat- ford ; survived all the original settlers, and died in January, 1735, aged 92 years. His children were : Thomas, born Novem- ber 26th, 1669 ; married Phebe, daughter of James Benedict, and died in 1753, aged 90. Deborah, born June, 1670-71 ; mar- ried Daniel Betts, of Norwalk, and died in 1750, aged 80.
48
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
Joseph, born 1672-73 ; died unmarried in 1762, aged 90 .* John, born in 1672-73 (probably twin of Joseph) ; married - Marvin, and died in 1742, aged 70. Daniel, born in 1676 ; married Eliza- beth, daughter of James Benedict [second wife, Rachel Starr, died July 3d, 1741 ; third wife, Elizabeth Boughton, whom he married June 1st, 1742], and died in 1770, aged 94. Timothy, born in 1678 ; married Mary Davis, and died in 1734, aged 56. Nathan, born in 1682 ; married Hannah, daughter of Daniel Benedict, and died in 1782, aged 100. Theophilus, born 1687 ; married, first, - Bushnell ; second, Sarah Gregory, and died in 1777, aged 90. Rebecca, married Daniel Benedict, and lived to the age of 99. Eunice, married Benjamin Starr [Lieutenant], and had children : David, born December 7th, 1724, and Elizabeth, who married, about 1732, Joseph, son of Joseph and Elizabeth [Stephens] Mygatt. From this marriage are descended the fam- ilies of that name in Danbury. Eunice [Taylor] Starr died at the age of 90. Thomas and Nathan Taylor married sisters. Daniel and Rebecca Taylor married brother and sister.
6. John Hoyt, son of Walter Hoyt, was born at Windsor, Conn., and married for his first wife Mary Lindall, daughter of Henry Lindall, a deacon in the church at New Haven. This marriage took place September 14th, 1666. The births of five children are recorded at Norwalk : John, born June 21st, 1669 ; married Mary, daughter of John Drake, of Simsbury ; lived in Danbury, and died here March, 1746. Samuel, born October 17th, 1670 ; lived in Danbury, and died here 1749-51, probably without issue, as his will leaves his estate to children of his deceased brothers. Thomas, born January 5th, 1674 ; lived in
* This record is probably incorrect, although it has been accepted by the family for many years. The will of Joseph Taylor, drawn in January, 1764, mentions " wife Sarah, only son Joseph, son-in-law John Starr (wife, Sarah Taylor), daughter Rachel, wife Samuel Gregory."
The Town Records show the death of Joseph Taylor (second) in 1793, who was born in 1703. His will, drawn in May, 1793, gives to each and every of his negroes their freedom ; " to Negro Servant Patience, who is now somewhat advanced in years, and hath been both to me and my parents a good, kind, and faithful servant," the interest of £100 during her life, and the disposal of the principal by bequest, with all his household furniture. To his nephew, Jonathan Starr, all the remainder of his estate, and makes Colonel Eli Mygatt executor.
Evidently this is the Joseph who died unmarried, and is buried in the old South Street graveyard, where his grave is marked by the following inscription : "Joseph Taylor 2nd. was born in 1703 and died Nov. 7th 1793."
49
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
Danbury ; was living in 1727, but died before 1749. Mary, born September 1st, 1677. Deborah, born December 28th, 1679 ; mar- ried Francis Barnum. Joshua, born -; married Sarah -; lived in Danbury, and died about 1726, leaving widow Sarah and four daughters. Benjamin, born -; married Mary -; lived in Danbury, and died about 1721-22, leaving widow Mary and two sons and two daughters. Nathaniel, born - ; married Mary -; died in Danbury about 1712, leaving widow Mary. John Hoyt died in 1722, at an advanced age.
7. Thomas Barnum was originally of Fairfield, but the births of four of his children are recorded at Norwalk-viz .: Thomas, born July 9th, 1663 ; John, born February 24th, 1667 ; Hannah, born October 29th, 1680. "Ebbinezer, the daughter of Thomas Barnum, borne May 29th, 1682." There were also Francis and Richard and four daughters, whose names are not known.
Thomas Barnum, Sr., died in Danbury, December 26th, 1695, aged about 70. The name of his first wife is not known. He married, second, Sarah, widow of John Hurd [died 1681], of Stratford. After the death of Thomas Barnum she returned to Stratfield, in Stratford, where she died in 1718, aged 76 years.
Francis Barnum married Mary -, and had six sons and one daughter. His son Abel, who died in New Fairfield in 1799, was the last grandson of the first Thomas. Ephraim, son of Thomas, married Mehetable -, and lived in Bethel, where his descendants still continue. He had seven sons and two daugh- ters : Ruth, who married John Bassett, and Rachel, who mar- ried Benjamin Hickok.
8. Francis Bushnell married, for his second wife, Hannah, daughter of Thomas Seamer, of Norwalk, on October 12th, 1675. Their children were : Hannah, Mary, Abigaile, Lidia, Mercy, Rebeckah, and Judith. Abigaile Bushnell chose Ensigne Thomas Tailer for her guardian after her father's death in 1697.
The last grandson of Francis Bushnell was Daniel Shove.
Samuel Wood was an Englishman by birth, and married Rebecca, daughter of Thomas Benedict, first. They had but two children : Mercy, born March 30th, 1717; Samuel, born August 30th, 1719. His grandsons, David Wood and Dr. John Wood, were among the nineteen principal sufferers by the British attack in 1777.
Daniel Benedict, third son of Thomas Benedict, came to Dan-
50
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
bury in 1689, and sold his land in Norwalk in 1690. His son Daniel married Rebekah Taylor, daughter of Thomas, one of the original eight.
Josiah Starr, from Long Island, Joseph Mygatt, from Hart- ford, and the families of Knapp and Wildman were early settlers, and probably came soon after the original eight settlers were in possession.
The families of Bouton and Comstock were probably here before 1700. John Bouton was one of the first settlers of Nor- walk, and a lineal descendant of the family of Bouton, of Chan- tilly, France.
The Betts family are said to have come from Buckingham, England.
Ralphe and Walter Keeler came from the port of London, England, in 1635 or 1636.
Joseph Platt was a French refugee who settled in Norwalk about 1699. He was representative from Norwalk at the Gen- eral Assembly from 1725 to 1790. He had one son, John.
Richard Raymond, probably a French refugee, was a land- holder in Norwalk in 1654.
Thomas Seamer (or Seymore), whose daughter married Francis Bushnell, is also supposed to have been a French refugee, who escaped into England and soon after came to America. His name appears in the town list of Norwalk in 1655.
As families of these various names have been of Danbury since its early settlement, [the above information may be of in- terest to them.
CHAPTER IX.
IN THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS.
THE first ecclesiastical structure of Danbury was built by the First Congregational Society in 1696. It stood on Main Street, between the present Court House and what is now the Turner House. The second was the Episcopal St. James, which was built in 1763 on South Street. The graveyard on that street was the churchyard of this structure. The building was moved to the west corner of Main and South streets, where it was modern- ized and converted into a tenement, and is thus occupied to-day. The third church society established in the century was the Sandemanian. The fourth was the First Society of the Baptists, now more familiarly known as the King Street Baptist Church, taking its name from the district in which it is located. The first Methodist services were held in 1789, but the church edifice was not erected until nearly twenty years after. The second Baptist Society was organized in Miry Brook District in 1790, and its building erected in 1794.
The village was made a fortified post in 1708 by order of the General Assembly. Two houses were selected and fortified as shelter for the various families in case of an attack by the Indians, who were being incited to deeds of violence upon settlers at that time by the French Government. The Assembly further ordered that a good scout, consisting of two trusty men, be sent out every day to observe the movements of the enemy. To de- fray the expense of the fortification and the scout, the General Assembly, in the following year, voted the town " five pounds in country pay," which meant currency of the country, not country produce. One of these houses was the parsonage of Rev. Mr. Shove, of the Congregational Church, which stood near the church, and the other was the house of Samuel Benedict, at the foot of Main Street.
The only incidents of note that occurred in the century were the dysentery and the War of the Revolution ; and the former
52
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
destroyed more of our citizens than did the latter, but it caused no loss of property. The epidemic came the year before the Declaration of Independence, and caused the death of one hun- dred and thirty persons.
We give a synopsis of a few old deeds which have been pre- served, while the folios in which they were recorded went up in flame at the burning of Danbury. Among the names are some that have never been known by the older generation now living. A century and a half ago those now forgotten "lived, and moved, and had their being" in this town of Danbury, but as years went by they were gathered to their fathers, and to-day these papers, yellow with age, are all the records that time has left of their once busy lives.
On September 15th, 1722, " Benjamin Barnum and Anne Barnum, his Wife, formerly Anne forward, the second daughter of Joseph forward, of Danbury [Deceased]," deed to " Thomas Wildman [our Aforesd father in law]" their share in a four-acre home-lot, and " one half of A seventeen Acre lot of swamp and upland," at a place known by the name of forwards plain .* " Bounded easterly by the other half of sd lot which our sister Lydia sold to our father in law Thomas Wildman = Southerly by highway, westerly by Abraham Andros in part, and partly by Lieut. Daniel Benedick, northerly by Mr. Seth Shove.
" Signed before John Gregory, Justice of the Peace.
" John and Ephraim Gregory, Witnesses."
March 14th, 1735, Samuel Hait deeded land to "Thomas Wildman [the son of Thomas]," which deed was signed before John Gregory, Justice of the Peace, and witnessed by Robert Silliman and John Gregory.
April 9th, 1744, Ebenezer Knap sold land to Thomas Wild- man, "three acres and a half of land lying in sd Danbury"- " the same lyeth Southerly from forwards plain, being land bought of Joseph Mygatt, also the Remainder of my land. I also bought of sd Mygatt lying nigh the wolf pond, being about two acres, be it more or less, bounded west by the myry brook and wolf pond and all other parts of highway or common land.
"Thomas Benedict, Justice of the Peace.
" Thomas Benedict and Nathan Stevens, Witnesses."
* Near Wolf Pond, in Miry Brook.
53
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
May 5th, 1761, Matthew Wildman deeds to Thomas Wildman, Jr., "land to be laid out in the Clear Commons in sd Danbury, according to the Vote of the proprietors of the Common and undevided lands in Danbury aforesd .
" Thomas Benedict, Justice of the Peace.
" Thomas Benedict and Anna Benedict, Witnesses."
January 29th, 1770, Charles Peck, of Danbury, deeded to Thomas Wildman, Jr., land in Berkshire County, Mass. Signed in Danbury before Thomas Benedict, Justice, with Benja- min Crosby and Thomas Peck, Witnesses.
From some old deeds kindly loaned us by Miss Hollister, of Grassy Plain, we glean the following :
" A Record of a piece of Land of James Crofoots, lying within the Bounds of Danbury, beyond the East Swamp in the Great field, the sd land being swampy land, and lying for one acre and half being bounded all Round with Common land near to Benja- min Starr's Broken up land, which is a Little homeward of the East butment, the Record of sd acre and half of land is accord- ing to the Return of the Layers out of sd land-Namely Thomas Hoyt, James Bole (?). Recorded March 18 Day A.D. 1714, by Josiah Starr, Clerk.
" Thomas Benedict, Register."
February 2d, 1744-45, Daniel Walker and Mary, his Wife, of New Milford, deed to James Crofutt " one Certain piece of land lying in Danbury, over Shelter Rock Hill, in the East Part of sd Hill containing eight acres.
" Witnesses, Thomas and Mary Benedict."
April 23d, 1745, Abraham Bennit, of Ridgefield, in " con- sideration of Two Hundred and fifty pounds money Old Ten- ner," deeds to " Sergt. James Crofutt ten acres of land in Gras- see Plaine.
" Witnesses, Thomas Benedict. Thomas Benedict ye 3. "Thomas Benedict, Justice of the Peace."
" May 31st, 1748, James Crofutt, of Danbury, in Fairfield
54
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
County and Colony of Connecticut, in New England, in consider- ation of that Love, Good Will, and Affection which I have to my son-in-law, Stephen Trobridg, and Lydia Trobridg, his Wife, my eldest Daughter," deeds "land in Grassey plaine with half a house standing thereon, the other half of sd House made over to Sam11 Trobridg, of Stratfield, bounded easterly by the street, Southerly by Sam11 Trobridg, Westerly by Capt. John Benedict's Land, and Northerly by my other Land.
" Witnesses, Uriah White. Sam11 Gregory. "Sam" Gregory, Justice of Peace."
June 12th, 1755, Samuel Barnum deeds to Samuel Trobridg, of Danbury, five acres of land " lying in Danbury between Shel- ter Rock Hill and Richards Island, located on the South part of my land lying at sd place.
" Witnesses, Daniel Dean. Thomas Benedict. " Thomas Benedict, Justice."
In 1784, one hundred years after its first settlement, Danbury was made a shire town, dividing with Fairfield the business of the county. The year following a court-house and a jail were built. In 1791 the jail was destroyed by fire, and a new build- ing took its place.
Danbury did not make a remarkable stride in growth during the first century of its existence. This might be attributed to its distance from tide-water and its lack of railway facilities ; but even after the introduction of all rail communication, in 1852, with the chief market of the country, there was no remark- able growth in the population until after 1880.
There is no official census on record before 1756. The popula- tion of Danbury was then 1509. After that the census was taken irregularly until 1790. Estimating the population to have been three hundred at the beginning of the eighteenth century (1700), the increase in the fifty-six years shows an average yearly growth of twenty-one.
The next official census was taken eighteen years later, in 1774, when the population was 2470, an increase of 961. The official figures from 1756 to 1800 are as follows :
55
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
Year.
Number.
Interval.
Increase.
1756
1,509
71 years.
1774
2,470
18
66
961
1782
2,697
8
227
1790
3,031
8
334
1800
3,180
10
66
149
By the above it will be seen that the greatest growth was in the first period, eighteen years, when the increase per year aver- aged a fraction over fifty-three. The period showing the least growth was the last decade of the century, when the average yearly increase was a fraction under fifteen. The average yearly increase from 1756 to 1800, forty-five years, was thirty-eight.
CHAPTER X.
DANBURY IN THE REVOLUTION.
THE chief event in the history of Danbury was its capture and burning by the British in 1777. Rev. Dr. Robbins has given a sketch of the affair in his sermon, but it is surprising that he did not dwell more at length upon this event, especially in view of the fact that he was contemporary with many who were eye- witnesses of the proceedings. He gives less space to this than to the religious controversy which preceded it.
In April, 1775, occurred the battle of Lexington. When the news of this famous and momentous engagement reached Dan- bury, there was great excitement. The bell on the meeting- house of the First Congregational Society was rung, the village cannon fired, as were muskets, and bonfires were kindled. A public meeting was held, and the village orators who were not friends of King George made fervid speeches, urging the able- bodied to enroll themselves in defence of the country.
Noble Benedict, a resident of the town, aglow with patriotic fervor, started to raise a company of soldiers. Many enlisted, and the company was organized, with Mr. Benedict as captain. The first man to respond to his call was Enoch Crosby, a shoe- maker. He subsequently became locally famous as a spy, oper- ating in Putnam and Dutchess Counties, N. Y., where were a number of Tory organizations. He was instrumental in the capture of several companies of these enemies of the govern- ment.
There were ninety-eight members of this company, whose names are herewith given : Captain, Noble Benedict ; lieuten- ants, James Clark, Ezra Stephens ; ensign, Daniel Heacock ; sergeants, John Trowbridge, Eliph Barnum, Elijah Hoit, Nathan Taylor, John Ambler ; corporals, Aaron Stone, Jonah Benedict, David Weed, Moses Veal ; musicians, Joseph Hamilton, drum- mer ; Russell Bartlett, Nathaniel Peck, fifers ; privates, Seth Barnum, Eleaz Benedict, John Barnum, Eli Barnum, James
VIEWS OF OLD DANBURY, TAKEN FROM BARBER'S HISTORY, PUBLISHED, 1836.
57
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
Boughton, Josiah Burchard, Samuel Bennet, Lazarus Barnum, Hez Benedict, Gilbert Benedict, William Benedict, David Bishop, Eben Barnum, Abram Barns, Joseph Boughton, John Comstock, Enoch Crosby, Samuel Curtiss, William Combs, Isaac Coller, Thomas Campbell, James Clements, Samuel Cook, Miles Canty, Henry Covel, John Chapman, Elnathan Edy, Eliph Ferry, John Guthrie, William Griffin, Drake Hoit, Thaddeus Hoit, Joshua Hinckley, Jonathan Hayes, John Holcomb, William Hawkins, Francis Jackson, Thomas Judd, John Johnson, Benjamin Gor- ham, John Green, Henry Knapp, Elisha Lincoln, John Linly, James Lincoln, Nathan Lee, Thomas Morehouse, Thaddeus Morehouse, Done Merrick, John Morehouse, Sylvanus Nelson, Isaac Northrop, Wilson Northrop, Joshua Porter, William Porter, Elkanah Peck, Farrel Picket, Caleb Spencer, Samuel Spencer, Eli Stephens, Samuel Sturdivant, Daniel Segar, Levi Starr, John Stephens, Jabez Starr, James Scovel, Stephen Scovel, Peter Stringham, Isaac Smith, Thomas Starr, Ephraim Smith, Levi Stone, Stephen Townsend, Samuel Townsend, Stephen Trowbridge, Joshua Taylor, Thomas Weed, Samuel C. Warren (or Warden), Major Warren, Thomas Wheaton, Jonas Weed, David Sturdivant.
Captain Benedict's company joined the Sixteenth Regiment, and was ordered to duty with the northern army, reporting at Lake Champlain. They enlisted for a term of six months, and the company returned home without the loss of a single member.
This was the only organization that Danbury raised during the Revolution. Many of the citizens served in the defence of the country, but they went away and were enrolled in outside organizations.
Captain Noble Benedict was the father of the late Archibald Benedict, and lived on North Main Street, near Franklin. The captain was a stutterer, and many anecdotes based on this in- firmity are related of him. We give one of them. When he was at Lake Champlain with his company the countersign in use one night was the word " Ticonderoga." The captain came across a sentry, who, halting him, demanded the countersign. T was a bad letter for the captain to overcome, and in his mad efforts to clutch it he lost all memory of the word itself. In this dilemma he shouted to the sentry, " S-s-s-s-say the word, and I C-C-c-c-can tell it."
58
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
History does not tell what the sentry did, but as the captain safely returned to Danbury, it is presumed the matter was satis- factorily compromised.
James Clark, first lieutenant, lived on South Main Street. His wife, on the coming of the British, sunk her silverware and some other articles in the well, and fled with her family to a more congenial latitude.
Ezra Stevens, the second lieutenant, lived in Pembroke Dis- trict. His son, Eli, was in the company as a private.
First Sergeant John Trowbridge lived at the upper end of Main Street. He was a grandfather of Truman Trowbridge. Second Sergeant Eliph Barnum lived at the south end of the village. Third Sergeant Elijah Hoyt lived where now stands the residence of Charles H. Merritt, on Main Street.
" Corporal Jonah Benedict was a thorough patriot, and took an active part in the war. He was before Ticonderoga in August, 1775, and was commissioned sergeant by Captain Noble Bene- dict, November 19th, 1775, at Fort Johns. He was taken pris- oner with many others while on duty at Fort Washington, on the Hudson River, November, 1776. He was on the old prison- ship Grosvenor, lying at the Wallabout, and also in the old Sugar House, suffering greatly from sickness and ill-usage until per- mitted to depart, when considered at the point of death, in April, 1777. He and his old father, Matthew, who was living with him in Danbury, were taken out of their beds before daylight on Sun- day morning, April 27th, 1777, and tied to trees in his garden, while the British troops set fire to his house. Prior to the Rev- olution he carried on a farm, and afterward manufactured hats at South Salem, where he died, March 28th, 1811."
-Benedict Genealogy.
Corporal David Weed lived in Westville District ; the drum- mer, Joseph Hamilton, lived in Pembroke District, which ap- pears to have been a very patriotic portion of the town.
Private Seth Barnum lived in King Street, opposite the Baptist Church. John Barnum and Eli Barnum lived in the same dis- trict. Samuel Curtis lived near where Ezra Mallory & Co.'s hat factory stands. He was once sexton of the First Church. Drake Hoyt and Thaddeus Hoyt lived in Pembroke District. Thad- deus for a number of years kept the town poor on contract, as
59
HISTORY OF DANBURY.
was then the custom. Thomas Judd lived in Great Plain Dis- trict. Benjamin Gorham lived in Miry Brook District. John Green lived at the junction of Elm and River streets. John Lindley lived in King Street District. Thaddeus Morehouse lived on Main Street. Stephen Trowbridge lived, we are told, on the corner of Main and Liberty streets, where is now Benedict & Nichols' block. Levi Stone belonged in the Middle River District. Joshua Porter came home from the northern campaign all right, but lost his life by Tryon's troops in Major Starr's house.
John Ambler, the fifth sergeant, was a great-grandfather of Rev. E. C. Ambler, and was at that time a man of advanced age. The grandfather of Rev. Mr. Ambler, Peter Ambler, and two of Peter's brothers, Stephen and Squire Ambler, were in the war, but not in this company. The family lived in Miry Brook District.
Ensign Daniel Heacock was a grandfather of Colonel Samuel Gregory. He lived in Bethel. His home is still standing. Col- onel Gregory has in his possession the powder-horn which Henry Knapp, private, carried in the company's campaign. Mr. Knapp lived in the Westville District.
Jabez Starr kept the tavern which stood on property adjoining the News office. Daniel Segar lived on the Mill Plain Road. Stephen Townsend lived near the New York State line.
CHAPTER XI.
THE ATTACK ON DANBURY.
BEYOND what has been recorded in the preceding chapter, no event of Revolutionary interest occurred in Danbury until the latter part of the following year, 1776, when the commissioners of the American army chose Danbury as a place of deposit for army supplies. These were chiefly designed without doubt for the troops operating in the vicinity of the Hudson. Danbury was considered a good point of divergence, as it had fair roads running to the river, to the Sound, and eastward. Again, it must have been deemed a place of security, as but very few troops were left here to defend the stores.
Several months later, in April, 1777, Governor and General Tryon, of New York, planned an expedition from that city to Danbury, for the express purpose of destroying those stores. He is spoken of by Dr. Robbins in his sermon as a man of " blaz- ing memory." Another writer calls him the " firebrand." He has generally been pictured as a demon of blood and flame.
By the Tories and Royalists he was spoken of as a just and humane man. Rev. Dr. Peters, in his views of Connecticut at this time, speaks very highly of him. Dr. Peters was to the manor born, being a native of this State, and a descendant of a first settler, but he was a stanch Royalist and a bitter Tory. He says of General Tryon : " He was humane and polite ; to him the injured had access without a fee ; he would hear the poor man's complaint, though it wanted the aid of a polished lawyer."
Danbury was sacked and burned by the troops under Tryon, to be sure, but there is evidence from our own people to show that Tryon was no worse in his conduct of the war than the other generals engaged, American or English ; and while his soldiers were vicious and mercenary, there is plenty of evidence in the records of our General Assembly to show that our own troops were not faultless in this respect.
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.