History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 74

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 74

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).

The name lias undergone changes, as the following is found :

" Here lyes ye Body of Mrs. Abigail Osbun, wife to Mr. Samuel Osbun, Aged about 44 years. Decd August ye 5th, 1 7 2 4."

A new stone-cutter or improvement in spelling is shown on her husband's stone :

" Here Lyes Buried the Body of Mr Samuel Osborn, who departed this Life April 2nd, Anno Domi 1752, Aged 72 Years."

The next stone underwent more changes, as that was to

" Benjamin Osborne, who departed this Life July ye 22, 1770. Aged 47 Years."

Longevity was a feature among the Osborns.

Deacon Daniel Osborn died in 1804, aged seventy- nine years. He was the politest of husbands. In those days it was the custom for milkmaids or house- wives to do the milking, so he used to drive up the cow, hand Mrs. Osborn the pail, and brush away the

flies while she milked. Mr. Howes Osborn died 1807, aged eighty-five. Mrs. Howes Osborn died 1812, aged eighty-one. (See "Colonial," No. 48.) Hon. Thomas Osborn was meniber of Congress, and served two terms in the House of Representatives. His residence was that occupied at present by Mr. Henry J. Beers, of Fairfield. Hon. Thomas Osborn was a lawyer. He and Deacons Charles Bennitt and Samuel A. Nichols were executors on Hon. Roger M. Sherman's estate. Mr. Osborn's son, Arthur D., is a lawyer and clerk of the courts in New Haven, Conn.

This colonial property fell by purchase or otherwise to Capt. J. Wakeman Davis, who had five children born here, of whom one son, William, died from eat- ing stramonium-berries. The next day there was no more stramonium on the place, as a scythe cropped every plant of the species.

Capt. Davis made repairs on the place, which after- wards came into the possession of Mr. Walter Jen- nings, now a resident of Green's Farms. He was an extensive landholder in Mill Plain, owning the prem- ises of Aaron Gould and property in possession of Charles Smith, also a portion of Andrew Thorpe's property. The name of Jennings is associated with real estate in the same district to some extent to this day, the principal representative being Horace Jen- nings, who has been engaged in the grocery business, but, suffering greatly by three fires, has turned his attention to agriculture.

Mr. Walter Jennings sold this colonial to Andrew Thorpe (son of Capt. Sturges Thorpe), who went to New York in his youth, learned a branch of cabinet- making, and became a member of the firm and amassed a handsome fortune. He built a fine country- seat on the site of his father's (Capt. Sturges Thorpe) house, facing the green on Mill Plain, which he occu- pied till his death, which occurred July 4, 1877. His property remains undivided.

Mr. Thorpe wished to improve his property by ex- tending his lawns, so he exchanged this colonial with Mrs. Charlotte Burr and her sons, David and Charles Bulkeley, for their home contiguous to his grounds. He removed their house and fences, while they moved into the colonial, which they occupied for some twenty years, when Burr Perry purchased it and newly covered it and made a square two-story house of it by raising the long roof side and changing the chimney. It is now used for a tenement-house.

No. 9. What remains of the old house on the Perry homestead has the following history: It, with the mill- property, belonged to Richard Ogden, and is recorded in 1680. In 1705 the mill was burnt; it then stood on what is now called Laurel Brook. Some of the oak- timbers which helped form the dam reputed as the first in Fairfield are yet on the original foundation. Proofs are given of a dam's being there, as the old deeds are given of land lying in the old mill-pond. Mr. Ogden was too poor to rebuild the mill, so the town bought back the site.

* Thus wrote an eye-witness to the Bridgeport Standard.

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FAIRFIELD.

It was next purchased from the town by Joseph Perry (1st), son of Nathaniel and Hester Lyon Perry, and grandson of Richard, the first Perry settler, who received " May ye 18th, 1649," a grant from the town of "one common lott, eontayning two aeres and ten rods, more or less," etc. " Also one parcel of land in the Newfield" (now Bridgeport). "Also one parcel of meadows in ye meadows before ye town," etc. " Also one parcel of meadow by the harbor."

In Book B, Town Records, page 120, it is found that May 16, 1704, "the town grants liberty to Joseph Perry to erect a grist-mill on ye Mill River att sueh a place and upon such conditions as ye committee hereafter named shall agree to. Ye committee are as follows, viz. : Capt. John Wakeman, Mr. Peter Burr, John Edwards, John Sturgis, and John Wheeler." Page 133, Book B, states "Joseph Perry proposeth for liberty to erect a grist-mill or mills upon ye Main River near ye place where his present inill stands. Ye town, having considered his proposal, do grant unto him, ye said Perry, liberty to erect a grist-mill or mills on ye main stream or river where he shall think fitt, near ye place where his present mill stand, and only upon ye same terms and conditions as are ex- pressed between him and ye town in ye late covenant about the present mill." Joseph Perry made pur- chases in 1705, and in 1709 obtained a permit to trans- fer the building of the mill to Mill River. Tradition states that the inill, on its original site, was protected by a fort from devastation by the Indians, and that one man, while acting as sentinel thereon, was killed by an Indian. It is also stated that a band of Ill- dians set out to destroy it, but a few of the colonists at work in a cornfield, concealed by the high corn, apprehending their danger, made a great noise, which caused the foe to beat a hasty retreat, fearing they were greatly outnumbered.

In 1705, Joseph Perry also bought the Ogden home- stead, contiguous to the mill, and in all probability moved thither. Joseph married three times: (1) Sarah, daughter of John Bulkley; (2) Deborah, daughter of Daniel Burr (1st); (3) Mary, daughter of Michael Clugstone, and granddaughter of Rev. Samuel Wakeman. Joseph was the father of twelve children. It is not known whether they were all born in this house. The original deeds granted him from the town from 1705 till 1751 of the "common and undivided lands" are in possession of Messrs. David Beers and Burr Perry. He (Joseph 1st) lies in the old burying-ground under the simple inscrip- tion, all in capitals :

" Here lyes Buriod the Body of Mr Joseph Perry, who departed this life August ye 9th, 1 75 3, in the 77th Year of Ilis Age."*

* His inventory amounted to seven thousand five hundred pounds, and includes a negro wench and a negro girl, but does not include the mill,

His son Joseph, Jr., married Sarah, daughter of Peter Bulkeley (24), of Fairfield. They had four children. He died eleven days later than his father, leaving a widow and three children.t The eldest, Peter, was born Jan. 24, 1739 (O. S.), and married Sarah Bradley in 1763. They were the parents of fifteen children. Betsey, the last of them, married Samuel Sherwood, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and died in 1878. She was the last of four generations interred in the old burying-ground, whose record (of the four) extends back two hundred and one years. Peter's sister married David Hubbell. (See "Colonial," 21.) His (Peter's) children were baptized Sall, Miah, Pol, and Job. His father intended that the name of the latter should be Jo, but the clergyman, not under- standing, baptized him Job. He repaired the house, and, judging from his account-book, he must have re- modeled it, as the work of repairs began in 1760 and extended to 1763, at an expense of £159 148.

This is considered the oldest house in town. It must have been newly sided with cedar shingles, which are yet on two sides of the building, though in some cases holes are worn entirely through them. Everything was probably fitted up in fine style for the times in which he lived. The beaufet, with its circular shelves and rounded-top sash-door, with its curious pane of glass, the cranes, and trammels, yet remains. The tiles about the fireplace have been taken for old-time relies.

Among the one hundred and fifteen items of ex- pense on the house are :

To 4500 of Shingles.

14 15

" 4 Day's work.

" A Week's board .. 5

" 14000 tenpenny nails.

" A box of Glass.

" 50wt of White Lead ..

" 2000 fourpenny brads ..

" 1000 of Short Shingles 1

" 12000 Lath Nales

" 5 dozen tile.

12 0

From these extracts prices can be compared with the present rates.

In the old church record kept at Deacon Joseph Lockwood's, written in the beautiful handwriting of Rev. Andrew Eliot, is the following :

" Mary, daughter of James and Elizabeth Bulkley.

"Jonathan, son of Walter and Ruth Buddington, baptized at the house of Peter Perry, Aug. 15, 1779, the church having been consumed by fire July 8, 1779."

After Peter Perry's death his son Job bought the homestead of the heirs, and placed his son Alfred thereon in 1811, and he in 1815 brought hitler his wife, Ann Dimon (see "Colonial," No. 10), who died in 1850. In 1854 he married Mary Godfrey, widow of Walter Andrews, of Easton. She is the last sur- vivor of that generation of Job's family, either of husbands or of wives. In 1835, Alfred built the

which had been sold previously to his son Joseph. It also includes a quantity of silver. It is dated Sept. 19, 1753.

+ Joseph Perry, Jr.'s inventory amounted to six thousand two hun- dred pounds, including some silver. Both father and son were wealthy for the times.

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296

HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

present dwelling, occupied by Burr Perry, who mar- ried (1) Laura H. Gildersleeve, daughter of Dr. Thomas Gildersleeve, of New York, in 1866. She died in 1869. (2) Kate E. Peet, in 1870, a descendant of Capt. Thomas Nash (see "Colonial," No. 13) and Col. John Burr, both of Fairfield, and also of Thaddeus Peet, one of the first settlers of New Milford, Conn.

Alfred moved the old dwelling to the northwest a few feet, and removed a portion of the house; the rest has been devoted to various purposes. An upper room is now used for an industrial and Sunday- school, with some thirty-five pupils in attendance. The frame bids fair to stand another century. It has been in the Perry family to the seventh generation.

The cradle in which Peter Perry's fifteen children were rocked, and the clock, made by John Whitear in 1763, which told the hour of their birth, are pre- served on the grounds of the first purchaser.

The mill being built in 1709, in 1760 Peter Perry repaired it at a considerable expense, building a new water-wheel, repairing the dam, etc. In 1811, Job Perry tore down the old mill and built a new one, when he introduced Oliver Evan's* machine "for elevating grain and meal, and conveying the same from one part of the mill to another, and for cooling the meal and attending the bolting-hoppers," for which he paid a license of twenty-five dollars, but which proved a fraud.

There was no change in the mill till 1849, when Alfred Perry added a burr-stone at the cost of seventy- one dollars in New York. In 1850 he imported two more run from France, for one hundred and one dollars and fifty cents. In 1866 his nephew, Burr Perry, had possession, and in 1868 raised the mill several feet, put in entirely new machinery, and added the turbine-wheels at the expense of two thousand dollars. The first toll-dish used in the first mill in this section still hangs in Perry's mill, having been in existence about two hundred years.

Peter Perry built a malt-house in 1762, from which he sold malt at four English shillings per bushel. The greatest number of entries in his account-book was for meslin (a mixture of wheat and rye used for bread-making). The prices seemed to fluctuate same as at present.

Peter Perry was a business man, and amassed a goodly estate. He was a miller, merchant, and owner of vessels, an extensive land-owner, and an excellent financier. Having preserved all his papers and ac- count-books,-which also are journals of events, in- terlarded daily,-much light is thrown on the doings of a century ago. He held several offices in the dis- trict, but his aspirations were not in that direction. He was industrious, energetic, able, and pious, and brought up his family in like manner, and, like most of his descendants, felt that a " simple steadfast life alone is glorious."

Peter Perry's sons, Job and Walter, married sisters, -Sarah and Elizabeth Sturges, daughters of Joseph Sturges (who married Sarah, daughter of Ebenezer Dimon), who was taken prisoner by the British and died of the smallpox on one of their prison ships.

As several from Fairfield died on the prison ships, the following is given: One of the prison ships was the "Jersey," anchored on the present site of Brooklyn Navy-yard. This ship was of sixty-four guns, dis- mantled, and moored about twenty rods from shore. Her port-holes were closed up, and two tiers of holes, twenty inches square, barred with iron, were cut in her sides. For a long time the average number of prisoners on board was one thousand. Their allow- ance of rations was .two-thirds the quantity issued to British seamen, but with no fresh vegetables of any kind. The rations were mostly cooked in an immense boiler called "the great copper," the meat being boiled in sea-water, which corroded the copper and rendered the food poisonous. There was some relief for those of the prisoners who happened to possess any money. An old woman known as "Dame Grant" came along- side on alternate days, in a boat rowed by two boys, and sold fresh bread, vegetables, etc., prudently re- quiring that the cash be placed in her hands before the goods were delivered.

The prisoners had no means of washing their linen except by dipping it in sea-water and then laying it on the deck and treading on it. No light or fire was furnished, and every night there was a struggle for the places nearest to the small grated openings.

The prisoners lost almost every feeling of humanity for one another, and the principal anxiety of the vol- unteer nurses seemed to be to claim their perquisites by robbing the dead and dying of their clothing. One captain, a new prisoner, finding there were several cases of smallpox on board, inoculated himself, using a common brass pin for a lancet. There were eleven thousand five hundred deaths on these prison ships. An armed guard was necessary in the well-room to compel the prisoners to work the pumps enough to keep the hulk from sinking. The highest privilege that was granted a prisoner was to go ashore as one of a burying-party .;

The Sturges line is as follows : John Sturges, born about 1624 or 1625, died in 1700. He married Deb- orah Barlow. They had at least seven children, one of whom was Joseph, born about 1653 or 1654, and died May 12, 1728. He married (1) Sarah Judson ; (2) Mary Sherwood. He had at least twelve children, of whom Solomon, one of the elder ones, baptized May 15, 1698, died July 9, 1779, married, March 8, 1725, Abigail Bradley. They had three sons-Heze- kiah, Joseph and Judson-and seven daughters.

This family stood in excellent repute. The house in which Solomon lived stood over the cellar in Miss Mary Nichols' field, near the large elm-tree by the

* "Father of mills in the United States."

+ See Bryant's United States History, vol. iii. page 539.

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FAIRFIELD.

street. When he heard the British had landed, he called for his horse, which was bronght, when lie monnted the same and started for his cattle, which were down near the beach, with the hopes of resening them from plunder; but, the British spying him, one of their solders leveled a gnn at him, and the shot wonnded him, so that he was unable to reach home. He crawled under a tree, nnable, from his wonnd, to go farther, when another British soldier ran him throngh with a bayonet, so that he died. He is the Solomon Sturges referred to in Rev. Andrew Eliot's letter preserved in Vol. III. of Massachusetts Histor- ical Collections.

Solomon's son Hezekiah and family struck for safety. They were farmers of goodly estate, with plenty of excellent provisions. A Tory passed by, and, seeing a light, peeped in the window, where the cnemy had a tempting snpper set of baked pig, turkey, chicken, ham, etc. There was also a quantity of wine in the cellar, brought there by a privateersman. The enemy partook of this freely, and after they gratified their physical wants they gave way to fiendish deeds, and bnrnt all that was not otherwise plnndered and destroyed.

In the winter, when snow came, Hezekiah Sturges drew timbers on the sled and built anew. He pnt np the frame for a large house, and finished as means and time would permit. The kitchen ran the length of the honse ; over this was a chamber of like dimen- sions, which was seated and used by the Episcopa- lians for public worship till they could erect a church, which they did; and this was the third Episcopal church in Fairfield. A descendant of his (Mary Nichols) still owns the premises.

Among his posterity were Capt. Solomon, who died at sea ; Edward, who lived where George Chapman now does; Samnel Sturges, who resided on the prem- ises of Mrs. Morris Wakeman; Capt. Eben Sturges, who died at Jamaica, West Indies, with the small- pox; and Dimon Sturges, whose sister married Capt. B. Lothrop Sturges, from another branch of the Sturges family. The latter was a son of the cele- brated Judge Jonathan Sturges, who resided opposite the Catholic church, where Jerry Toomy lives, and was father of the late Jonathan Sturges. (Sce "Special Honses," No. 5.) In Dimon Sturges' family, Solomon and Eben were bankers in Ohio, and were also large real-estate owners and men of unlimited influence.

Walter Perry, who married Elizabeth Sturges, lived in Southport, on the premises now owned by Mr. Oliver H. Perry, who has the deed of the premises conveyed to his grandfather, Peter Perry, from John Cannon in the last century. Miah Perry and his wife, Elizabeth Dimon, married in 1787, lived where Nehemiah Jennings' mcat-market now is. These two brothers were engaged in the mercantile trade and shipping. Job Perry, who married Sarah Sturges, was a merchant and miller in Weston. Seth Perry was a

merchant in Black Rock. David Perry was a mer- chant in North Carolina.

Of Peter Perry's daughters, "Sall" married David Ogden (see "Colonial," 11); Nancy married Heze- kiah Osborne (see "Colonial," 8); Mabel married Isaac Margnand. They were the parents of Henry Marqnand, the banker in New York, and Frederic, best known as the founder of Marquand Chapel, at Yale College, also a very large donor to the same in- stitution. Pol married Henry L. Penfield, and Betsey married Samuel W. Sherwood, of Brooklyn, N. Y.

Of Peter Perry's grandchildren, Francis D., son of Miah Perry, is president of Southport National Bank; Oliver H., son of Walter, is a leading official in the Sonthport Savings Bank, and has been prominent in Church and State affairs. His sister Narcissa married Judge Samnel Hitchcock, of New Haven; Emily inar- ried Dr. Chandler Smith, of Danbury. Job and Sarah Sturges Perry's children were all born in Weston, Conn., and were all millers or merchants. Alfred was a miller, and occupied the old Perry homestead ; Munson was a miller and merchant, moved to Somers, N. Y., and was the father of ten children,-Talman, a miller, afterwards a Inmber-dealer in Bridgeport; Burr, a merchant at Black Rock ; Orando, miller in Weston; David, a merchant in Bridgeport, engaged in the whale-fisheries, and owning shares in various vessels; Emeline, who married Ephraim Gregory, a hatter in Danbury. These are all dead, but their de- scendants are numerous and prosperons.

Of Peter Perry's great-grandchildren, John Hoyt, son of Oliver H., is a lawyer of the firm of Woodward & Perry, of Norwalk. He is a graduate of Yale, a director in the Southport National Bank, also of the savings bank, and is an ex-member of the Legislature. Winthrop H., brother of Jolin Perry, is also a grad- nate of Yale, a thorough scholar, with bright pros- pects for a successful professional career. Henry, another brother, graduated from the Yale Scientific School. Rev. Talman Perry (Presbyterian) is located in La Prairie, Canada; Thomas Perry is a civil engi- necr in Illinois ; Frederic M. Perry is the well-known hatter in Bridgeport; Miah Perry, of Weston, is an ex-member of the Connectiont Legislature.

No. 10. This house was built by Daniel Dimon abont 1755. Building was his business; his reputa- tion as an architect (carpenter in those days) was ex- cellent. He was the builder of the house owned by Mr. O. W. Jones, also of the Fourth Congregational Church, built 1785. This was taken down in 1849 to give place to a more modern structure. Mrs. Sophia Edwards, of Brooklyn, daughter of O. W. Jones, wrote in 1850 the following, suggested by the occasion of tearing down this place of worship :

LINES ON LEAVING THE OLD CHURCH.

Farewell, old temple of our sires! Gone is thy ancient form ; No more around thy spise will play The sunshine and the storm.

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298

HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

Thy venerated walls have stood Through sixty-five long years, While fathers sleep who planted thee With mingled hopes and fears.

Farewell, each dear, familiar thing ! Thy ever-faithful vane, Thy lofty pulpit, large square pews, We ne'er shall see again ! A stranger has usurped thy place And stolen thy old bell, And we must bid thy sacred courts A final, sad farewell.

Here have we met each Sabbath day To hear God's holy word; Together here have joined our hearts To supplicate the Lord; And here, in grateful songs of praise, Our voices oft to blend,

To Him from whom all blessings come, . Ours and our fathers' Friend.

The Spirit oft, we trust, has been Within this hallowed place,- Revived the Christian's faith and love With gentle dews of grace; And many souls have tasted here The joy of sins forgiven,

To whom this earthly house has been The very gate of heaven.

And must Time's rapid, ceaseless course Blight all things with decay? The dearest relics of the past Forever fade away ? Must all the mighty works of man But share this common doom,

And he in beauty, youth, and strength Go to the silent tomb?

Oh, could this temple of our sires Its thrilling story tell,

Of most who've trod its well-worn aisles And loved its courts so well, Whate'er their weal, whate'er their woe, It would this truth reveal,- That they repose where nevermore Life's changes they can feel.

And is there, then, no brighter world Beyond this vale of tears, Where Time can never steal away The objects love endears ? "Yes," sweetly whispers heavenly Hope, " A home of sacred rest, Where all who are the friends of Christ Shall be forever blest."

Now, dear old temple of our sires, As we thy ruins see, With cheerful spirits we will give Our last farewell to thee; For while our temples perish here, In faith we'll raise our eyes To that fair house, not made with hands, Eternal in the skies.

Feb. 14, 1850.

In Revolutionary times Daniel Dimon was an offi- cer, and was away on duty, while his wife, a delicate woman, was left to care for her family the best she could.

Bradley Dimon occupied this house for several years, but after his decease the name became detached from the property. Ann, reared here, daughter of Daniel Dimon, married Alfred Perry. (See " Colo- nial," No. 9.)

The Dimons bore an old and respected name in town. An old stone in the old ground commemorates one thus: "Capt. John Dimon, died in 1764;" an- other thus: "Capt. Moses Dimon, died in 1748."

As the Dimons were people of good repute in town, the following may be interesting to various families. This is found in the West burying-ground:

" Jesse Dimon, died in Augusta, Ga., Nov. 1, 1822 Aged 52.

Robert Dimon, son of Jesse & Bethia Dimon, died in Augusta, Ga., Aug. 21, 1823. Aged 23 y'rs & 7 mos.

John Dimon, son of Jesse & Bethia Dimon, died in Brooklyn, L. I., Nov. 20, 1835. Aged 33.

Elizabeth Dimon, daughter of Jesse & Bethia Dimon, wife of Samuel S. Adams, died in Eaton Rapids, Mich., Sept. 17, 1861. Aged 63."

Mr. Marvin Hull purchased this estate, and in 1874 built a new house, the old one being removed to the westward. The Hulls are of an old family; the first entry on the records of the Prime Ancient is: "Theo- philus Hull, and Mary his wife, renewed covenant, Aug. 26, 1694." (See "Special Houses.")

A stone on Greenfield Hill commemorates the name thus:

" E. H. In Memory of Doctr Eliphalet Hull, born April the 8th, 1738, And died Novemr 18th, 1799, in the 624 year of his age, Universally lamented by all who knew him. May he sleep in JESUS and awake in glory."

No. 11. This was built by Jonathan Ogden, who had three sons-Sturges, Abel, and David-who set- tled near him. Sturges married Zoa Thorpe, probably a descendant of Stephen Thorpe, who had his dwell- ing burnt during the conflagration of Fairfield, and who afterwards purchased Chancellor Kent's place in Westport, now owned by Mrs. Mary Burr Hedenberg. Sturges Ogden built the house on the corner, at the entrance to Oak Lawn Cemetery.

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History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 74

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