History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 210

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) comp. cn
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1572

USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 210

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THIRTIETH REGIMENT INFANTRY (COLORED). Company A.

Roberts, Sherman, eul. Nov. 14, 1864 ; died.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

STURGES BENNETT.

Sturges Bennett, son of Elias Bennett, Jr., de- scended from an old pioneer family of New England. He was born in 1805 and died May 30, 1880, at the ripe age of seventy-five. His grandfather was a sol- dier in the Revolution and took part in the battle at Ridgefield, in which Gen. Wooster was killed. He died at the age of ninety-six. His father, Elias Bennett, Jr., is remembered by the oldest inhabitants, as in the capacity of post-rider he for many years delivered the Bridgeport Standard and Farmer and the Norwalk Gazette through various towns.

In the spring of 1830, Sturges Bennett married for his first wife Charlotte, daughter of Benjamin Gil- bert, by whom he had four children, three of whom preceded their mother to another world. Soon after this marriage he became associated with his father in business, and they built the red shop which stood on the site now occupied by the fine buildings now used as a store by his son Eli. From this small beginning sprang the extensive manufacturing business which has since been conducted with such success.

In 1848, Mr. Bennett was united in marriage to his second wife, who through all the succeeding years of his life was a cheerful, faithful, and affectionate com- panion, always making his pleasure and comfort her first consideration.

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LEWIS OLMSTEAD.

ELBERT OLMSTEAD.

SAMUEL KEELER.

Ahn B. Sturges

863

WILTON.

LEWIS AND ELBERT OLMSTEAD.

LEWIS OLMSTEAD is of English-Seoteh deseent, of early settlers of New England, and was born Feb. 25, 1795. His grandfather Samuel Olmstead lies buried near Comstoek's store, in North Wilton. His father, also named Samuel, is buried in Hillside Cemetery. Lewis was the eldest son of Samuel and Merey Olm- stead. He learned the trade of shoemaking in all its branches, but the loss of his hand, by an aceident, compelled him to give up this business, and to support a large and growing family he was obliged to resort to other work. He began storekeeping in his native village; at the same time he eommeneed in a small way the manufacture of shirts. This was in 1834. He began making them for Mr. MeGrath, a New York firm. His first invoice from him was two dozen shirts. These, owing to Mr. Olmstead's inexperience, were not made to thesatisfaction of that gentleman, and he hesitated about giving him more; but the earnest- ness of Mr. Olmstead's manner gave assurance that the work would be done as well as he could do, which, with a little more experience, would be well enoughi. Mr. Olmstead received more work, which on its re- turn was pronounced well done, and from that time forth no difficulty was experienced in getting all the work desired. The business had not been reduced to the system by which it is now eondueted, neither was the work prepared as it is now. The kind manu- factured were principally of common ealieo, with puff bosoms, and were difficult to make, the seam- stresses throughout the country working by hand (this was before the sewing-machine eame into general use, -indeed, we believe, before its invention). This diffi- eulty Mr. Olmstead overeame, and from a small beginning his business assumed almost eolossal pro- portions, and for many years he enjoyed the reputation of being the largest manufacturer of shirts in his see- tion.

Lewis Olmstead was married, Feb. 24, 1818, to Miss Sally, second daughter of Elied and Isabel De Forest, of New Canaan, Conn. Seven children were born to them,-Melissa, Maria, Hiram, Samuel L., William De F., Mary, and William H. Melissa was married, Oet. 15, 1845, to Elbert Olmstead. Their eliildren have been Frank L., Herman (deeeased), and Wil- liam E.

ELBERT OLMSTEAD had been in the business in the employ of his father-in-law, and on the death of the latter bought into the eoneern in connection with his brother-in-law, William H. Olmstead. After a part- nership of a few years, Elbert bought the entire business, which he has since sueeessfully eondueted.

JOHN BURR STURGES.

John Burr Sturges, sou of Samuel Burr and Eliza- beth Marvin Sturges, was born in the city of New York, July 5, 1838. His grandfather, Samuel Sturges, was a native of Fairfield Co., Conn.

His father, Samuel Burr Sturges, was born in Wil- ton, Feb. 21, 1807, and died there Nov. 11, 1872. He followed the business of merchant and farmer com- bined; he was a prominent man in the Episcopal Church in that place, and one of its wardens for many years. Early in life he was married to Eliza- beth, eldest daughter of Samuel and Luerctia Marvin, of Westport. Their children were Frederick Den- nis, and John Burr. The former, a graduate of New York Medieal College, is at this writing (1880) sur- geon in the Paeifie Mail Steamship serviee.

John B. Sturges was edueated in New York City, and at Trinity College, Hartford. He follows from choiee the voeation of farming. He has often been ealled to official position by the citizens of his town, and at present is one of its selectmen. He lives on what has been the Sturges homestead for nearly a eentury.

At the age of thirty-two he was married to Helen Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Sherman P. and Saralı M. (Jones) Fiteh, of Wilton. At this writing their children are Florence M., Samuel B., Mabel F., and Frederick S.

SAMUEL KEELER.

Samuel Keeler bears the patronymie of his an- eestors through many generations. His grandfather, Samuel Keeler, was one of the original settlers of Norwalk. His great-great-grandfather, Samuel Kee- ler, settled in what is now Wilton among the first settlers, and built the house the frame of which is still standing and is oeeupied by Mr. I. N. Benedict. The property on which Legrand W. Keeler, father of the subject of this sketch lives, has been owned by the family since its settlement.

The great-grandfather of Samuel, also named Samuel, was an active patriot during the Revolution, and was despoiled by the British under Tryon. His brother, Isaiah Keeler, was a soldier in the American army.

His grandfather, Isaialı Wheeler, was an extensive farmer and prominent in his town, often holding posi- tions of publie trust. He was married carly in life to Luey, daughter of Capt. Jolin Watrous, of Ridge- field. Their children were Fannie M., Legrand W., Emily A. (deecased), and Martha (deceased).

Legrand W. Keeler was born Oet. 19, 1815. He married, Sept. 17, 1844, Catharine, youngest daugliter of Horatio and Bethia Loekwood. Of this union there have been born Samuel, Edward L., Wellington R., Catharine L., and William L.

Samuel Keeler, subject of this memoir is (1880) in his thirty-fifthi year, and was born in Wilton, Fair- field Co., Conn. He carly evineed a disposition to acquire knowledge, for the attainment of which his father gave him every opportunity. He was fitted for college at the preparatory school of Professor Olmstead, of Wilton, and entered Yale College in tlie elass of '67. After his graduation he studied

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HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

law with Hon. Levi Warner, of Norwalk, and was admitted to the bar of Fairfield County, afterwards to the New York bar. He is now practicing his pro- fession in New York City.

WILLIAM HENRY TAYLOR.

William Henry Taylor, the youngest son of Levi and Esther (Belden) Taylor, was born at Wilton, Conn., Jan. 5, 1810. His education was commenced in the district schools, and his studies were completed at the academy of Mr. Olmstead, in Wilton.

While but a youth he became a member of the Coast-Guard, organized in the latter part of the Rev- olutionary struggle to defend the shores of Long Island Sound against the attacks of ex-Governor Tryon and Benedict Arnold, for which service, in the later years of his life (after sustaining heavy losses of prop- erty ), he drew a pension from the United States gov- ernment.

When quite a young man he was appointed to the office of county surveyor, succeeding his father in that position. He afterwards established and ınain- tained for several years a boarding- and day-school in the town of Wilton ; his health failing by reason of close confinement and application to his duties, he was compelled to give up this enterprise and retire to his farm residence, where he spent most of his timc. He at different times taught the district schools in or near his native town, and was always highly es- tecmed as an instructor by those with whom he was associated.

In February, 1842, Mr. Taylor experienced religion during services then being held at the Protestant Methodist church at Georgetown, Fairfield Co., Conn., and shortly afterwards united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he remained a consist- ent and useful member until the time of his death. He was one of the founders of the Zion's Hill Meth- odist Episcopal Church, at Wilton, Conn., which was dedicated in November, 1844. For many years he occupied an official relation in this church, being trustee, steward, and superintendent to the Sabbath- school. The latter office he was, however, compelled to resign on account of failing health a few years be- fore his death.

During a portion of his lifetime he filled the office of justice of the peace, and was at different times se- lectman of his town. In the year 1854 he represented the town of Wilton in the Connecticut Legislaturc, but declined to serve a second term on account of his business interests, which required his entire atten- tion.

In 1861, feeling a deep interest in the war of the Rebellion and the emancipation of the slaves, he was not satisfied until he had taken a trip to Washington and Virginia and visited the camps of our soldiers.

Mr. Taylor never married, but leaves one brother,

one sister, and a number of nephews and nieces to honor his memory. He died at Wilton, Conn., May 13, 1863.

CHAPTER LXXXVIII.

BETHEL .*

Descriptive-Early Days-"Milking-Yard"-Manufactures - Miscella- Deous.

THE first settlers of our village must have had, at the best, only a faint idea of a future town of several hundred residences, a score and more of stores and markets, and nearly or quite as many manufacturing establishments.

The assemblage of dwellings, stores, factories, and shops constituting the village of Bethel is neither upon a hill nor in a valley, nor yet is it on a plain. Still there are hills and valleys, and upon the sides and summits of the hills, and in the lower grounds, the dwellings, the stores, and the factories are located. The grassy plain upon our western border, and now included in the borough of Bethel, is the only level ground of any considerable extent within the limits of the town. It certainly appears to be the only feas- ible situation in or upon which to locate a town site, and even this is of comparatively moderate extent. It is only a few years-certainly within the memory of many citizens now living-that this district seemed of small account, but within the last thirty-five years it has made wonderful strides towards metropolitan dignity. It has a number of fine residences, as good as the best in town. In Grassy Plain, also, you may find the best constructed, if not the largest, hat-factory in Betliel. It is a large structure, built of brick, and its business is conducted by the well-known firm of O. Benedict & Co. In good times, when hats are in lively demand and all hands-numbering one hun- dred or more-are at work, it can turn out from one hundred and twenty-five dozen to one hundred and fifty dozen hats per day.

This particular portion of the town will demand further notice as we progress in our observations about Bethel, ancient and modern.

As Bethel was a portion of Danbury at the date of the settlement of this part of the country, it follows naturally that a great deal of the early history of the younger place will be found in the records of the older onc. Our town records were kept in Danbury, we voted at Danbury at Presidential elections, at State elections, and at town-meetings for many, many years. But as the first settlers came from Norwalk, they were obliged to pass through the territory now belonging to Bethel in order to reach their new homes, on streets now called South and Main Streets in the borough of Danbury. And these first settlers-the pioneers -had no smooth highway through Redding. Their

* Contributed by George Benedict, M.D.

al d

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BETHEL.

first path was through the woods on the west side of the pond, and between that and the mountain. The pond nowy called "Sympang" (a good old Indian name it is) was, until the last quarter of a century, or per- chance thirty-five years at most, known as " Milking- Yard Pond." The highi hill on the west was always in the past called " Milking-Yard Mountain," and the broken, hillocky land (perhaps one hundred acres) lying between pond and mountain was and still is known by the name of " Milking-Yard Farm." The name came naturally enough. More than fifty years ago, in the tender years of infancy and childhood, did the writer hear from the old Revolutionary grand- sire about the trouble the early settlers had with their cattle, particularly the cows, for before these pioneers had time to fence their grants, purchases, or farms, said cows would leave their " pastures fresh" in the up- country and return to the familiar scenes where now stands Norwalk. To prevent the exodus of the beasts a fence was built across the milking-yard farm, so- called, from the south end of the pond to the moun- tain on the west, the distance not being more than thirty rods. Here the progress of the cows towards their old home by the shore was stayed; and from homes on what is now Danbury's Main Street lads and lasses, grave fathers and sedate mothers rode on horseback a distance of three miles to milk the cows, for there were no wagons hereabout in those early days. We can hardly imagine the fun there must have been. Each horse, furnished with saddle and pillion for the occasion, would carry from two to four gay passengers. The cows having been milked, were left to their own " sweet will," while man and maiden returned with brimming pails of the healthful fluid. And thus it continued until the settlers could complete their houses and fence their fields.

Why should not this territory be known as " Milk- ing-Yard" for all generations to come? In passing, it may be remarked that the country on the east side of the pond has been known as Sympang from time immemorial,-the genuine Indian name.

The " Milking-Yard Farm " has been in possession of one branch of the Benedict family for three genera- tions most surely, perhaps for as many more. The writer should know something of it, having paid taxes on the land to thie treasurers of both Danbury and Bethel.

After the lapse of years a more feasible route was found and opened between the new colony and the old home of its founders. The present highway, so far as can be learned at this date, corresponds very nearly with the one surveyed and laid out more than one hundred years ago. The present road is through the "Turkey Plain" neighborhood,-a suggestive name indeed, for in the early history of the neighbor- hood there was an abundance of wild turkeys, and the name was given to this locality from this cir- cumstance. "Turkey Plain" lies on the east side of " Milking-Yard Pond."

There were panthers also in the early years of this country. There is a rock on the mountain still known to some of us as "Painter Rock" (being an abbreviation for Panther Rock), where one of the ancestors of the writer, after a desperate fight, killed the furious animal. It is possible that from this same rock on the mountain the only view of the salt water of Long Island Sound can be obtained within the limits of this town ; but on a clear day in fall or winter, when the trees are bereft of foliage, one can with naked eye look upon the glancing waters of that portion of the mighty ocean.

"Silver Spring" lies a little north and west from the pond. The water is very clear. Its form is ncarly circular, with a diameter of fifty feet or more, and was in days long gone by famous for the large speckled trout taken from its limpid waters. It gives rise to a considerable stream which, uniting with the one from "Milking-Yard Pond," flows through Grassy Plain, and the two contribute to the volume of the Still River. With the exception of the extreme southern portion of the territory of the town, the water-shed inclines to the north, and the streams are tlius discharged into the Housatonic River near New Milford, in Litchfield County, and thence into the salt water between the villages of Stratford and Milford.

As with nearly all colonists, the first care of our ancestors was to gain a livelihood, and as that must under the circumstances come from the soil, it follows that farming was the employment of the newcomers. And yet every house was a factory on a small scale. Wool was carded by hand, and matron and maiden made musie with a spinning-wheel instead of a piano or organ. The cloth was woven at home and manu- factured into garments in the house, and worn by father and mother and the children. The farmers raised and dressed their own flax also, and this con- tinued to be the custom in some families until within about fifty years. We could find linen sheets and pillow-cases of home manufacture even now without leaving the house where we write. Many of the liv- ing remember the broad old fireplace, with its cheer- ful blaze, before the advent of stoves. For a number of years after stoves came into use the old grand- fathers would have nothing to do with them. For- tunately wood was much more abundant then than at the present time.

Through the war of the Revolution, Bethel was loyal to the American cause. There were but few loyalists in the society, and five of its citizens joined the American army. On Saturday, April 26, 1777. the British army under Gen. Tryon marched throngh the place on its way to burn the military stores in Danbury. One of the few Tories who lived here seereted a deserter from the American army, Thomp- son by name. Thompson was hung soon after in Newtown.

In the summer and fall of 1775 a malignant form

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HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

of dysentery prevailed in this place. It was known as the "camp distemper," from a supposition that it might have originated in and spread from the quar- ters of the Revolutionary army. Within three months there were about fifty deaths in the society, the greater portion of the suffering being among children.

Fifty years and more ago the most prominent man- ufacturing interests in Bethel were comb-making and hatting, and perhaps the former was even more prom- inent than the latter. But the comb-makers are among the things that were. There is nothing donc at the business in the town now. Yet within the writer's recollection there were a number of firms and individuals who carried on an extensive business. In Elmwood District, Mr. Azarael Smith had a large factory which was surmounted by a cupola containing a bell. It depended upon a small stream for its power, but for its time was a large concern. It stood near the house of James P. Ridge. Mr. Charles Smith also had a shop in the same district a little east of the one just mentioned, nearly opposite the house formerly belonging to the late Joseph Taylor, Esq. The fac- tory of Mr. A. Smith was destroyed by fire between forty and fifty years ago.

In Plumtrees the firm of Charles and Horace Couch did for many years a large business. The building now known as Bartow's saw- and cider- mills was built by the brothers Couch for comb- making purposes.

Charles Barnum also built a shop near the old fac- tory, and for a number of years carried on the busi- ness. This was afterwards owned by Deacon Asahel Dunning and used as a hat-shop.

There were others, belonging to different members of the Williams family, in the near vicinity, and others in the village. Of all kinds of factories and shops for the manufacture of combs, in 1840, there were not less than twenty.

The manufacture of hats has not only held its old footing, but has absorbed almost everything else in the way of goods to be sent out of town for sale. The facilities for getting grain from the fertile Western States has made farming in these sterile New Eng- land towns a secondary consideration, and young men who are raised on the farm, as a rule, quit the old homestead, and either learn a trade or emigrate to the large cities or to the West. Of course many of these have helped to swell the company of hatters, so that now more than a thousand of our population depend upon employment in this trade for a support. There are at least fourteen establishments in town devoted to this work. A few of them are small shops, but seven or eight of them do a large business. In a good trade the semi - monthly payments for labor amount to three thousand dollars, or even four thou- sand dollars, in each of several of the larger factories.

The earliest reliable account of this business in Bethel dates back to 1793, when there were four small

shops, in which boys, as apprentices, did most of the work. Of thesc, Zar Dibble's shop stood on the ground now occupied by Ferry's Block, corner of Centre and Chestnut Streets. Capt. Eli Taylor's was a little west of his house, the place now occupied by Eli T. Andrews. Thomas Taylor's shop stood just west of his house, in Grassy Plain. This house, ap- parently as old as the oldest in town, is the first dwel- ling near the highway, east of "The Willows" shop, and near the entrance to W. Kyle's Oakland farm.

The shop of Eli Hickok, the fourth in this enu- meration, stood where Mr. E. T. Farnam now lives. In those days hats were made mostly of lamb's wool, napped with "back muskrat." Belly muskrat was considered too fine and short for use in those days. The hats were heavy, unwieldy head-gear compared with the specimens of the present time, but they had the virtue of durability, and one style of those days would outlast a half-score of such as we are now in the habit of using.

In the course of years business increased, and shops were built in the outside districts. There were a num- ber in Wildcat (now Elmwood) District, and in Plum- trees and Wolfpits Districts, until they amounted at one time to more than twenty different places of inan- ufacture. Some of these were small concerns in small buildings, just sufficient to contain one sizing-kettle and room for the men to work around it. But of late years they have become centralized, and, with two ex- ceptions, the hatting business of the town is carried on in the Centre and Grassy Plain Districts.

The following is a list of the firms and individuals now engaged at hat-making : Messrs. Cole & Ambler, George G. Durant, Judd & Co., Judd & Dunning, George A. Hickok & Son, H. Hickok & Co., F. Mc- Kenzie, Judd & Judson, Charles W. Smith,-the above are in Centre District ; O. Benedict & Co., E. T. Farnam, Short Brothers, Grassy Plain; Reuben Tay- lor, Elmwood; Nelson Taylor, Plumtrees.

Connected with the hat-making interest, Mr. Hugh Reid, of Grassy Plain, has a large factory for making paper-boxes, and in Centre District Theodore Clarke, Esq., has another for the same kind of work. There are also two factories for the manufacture of cases or large wooden boxes, in which the hats are shipped to market. New York is the immediate destination for the products of the factories here, although before the late war many firms sent their goods to Southern and Western cities, where some of them had partners and stores. At one time the work was almost exclusively upon silk hats, but of late, for twenty years perhaps, the soft and stiff hats only have been made.

Of stores, there are eleven in the grocery business, although two of them, E. S. Barnum & Co. and J. J. Meyer, keep dry goods also. Mr. C. H. Hoyt, in Ferry's Block, keeps a large stock of dry goods. There are three markets for the sale of meat and vegetables, and two that supply fresh fish and vege- tables. There is one military company of about sixty

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BETHEL.

members, Frederick Cole, of Redding, captain. The company have a fine armory over town-hall.

We have a Masonic lodge, established in 1857, and numbering about one hundred and sixty members. There is a lodge of Knights of Pythias, Sons of Tem- perance, and a Band of Hope for the young.

The Danbury and Norwalk Railroad runs frequent trains through the place, and the Shepaug Branch Railroad gives us a connection with the Housatonic Railroad, and is a continuation from Hawleyville of the Shepaug Road between that place and Litchfield.

Of physicians, we find the name simply of Dr. Peter Hayes, as far back as 1785, as a member of the Eccle- siastical Society, but learn nothing more of his history. During the present century there have been Drs. Orvis Taylor, Samuel Banks, Ransom Lyon, H. N. Bennett, and Joseph Clarke, deceased. Dr. E. P. Bennett, the celebrated surgeon and physician of Danbury, commenced the practice of his profession in Bethel, and removed from this place to Danbury forty-two years ago, in 1838. There have been sev- eral other medical men engaged in practice here for longer or shorter periods, some of whom are living in other places. Dr. R. Lyon, whose name has been mentioned among the deceased, was at the time of his death, August, 1863, surgeon of the Twenty-eighth Regiment Connectieut Volunteers. He died and was buried at Port Hudson, La. Of the present physi- cians, Drs. C. R. Hart and A. E. Barber are in active practice, and Dr. George Benedict, on account of ill health, attends but little to his profession. Drs. Hart and Benedict served as surgeons in Connecticut regi- ments during a part of the war of the Rebellion. The three are graduates of medical colleges of the regular practice.

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History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 210

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) comp. cn Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co. Number of Pages: 1572

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) comp. cn
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1572