USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Oxford > History of the town of Oxford, Connecticut > Part 3
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Beginning at the mouth of the four mile brook in Derby bounds, where the brook emptieth itself into the great river, and to run as said brook runneth, by said brook unto the bridge that is between the dwelling houses of Abel Gunn and John Holbrook; and from said bridge by the highway that runneth between the land common- ly called the Camp's Mortgage and the land called Quakers Farm Purchase, unto the river called the Little river; and thence as the Little river runneth to Naugatuck River; and thence northerly, by said Naugatuck River, that being the east bounds of said society, until it comes to the dividing line between the towns of Derby and Waterbury; Thence turning westerly and running as the line run- neth between the towns of Derby and Waterbury, as aforesaid, until it comes to the southeasterly boundary of Thomas and Joseph Osborn's farm in the bounds of Derby, and from thence to run northerly by the northeast corner boundary of Jos. Weed's farm in Waterbury town bounds; and from thence a northwesterly line to the northeast corner of Isaac Trowbridge's farm, in said Waterbury town bounds: and from thence to run westerly, in the line of said Trowbridge's farm about sixty rods, to Woodbury town line; and thence to the northwest corner of Isaac Knowles' farm in the township of Woodbery; and from the northwest corner of said Knowles' farm, a west line to the eight mile brook, in the bounds of Woodbery; and then by said brook, until it comes to the dividing line between the towns of Woodbery and Derby; and thence to run westerly in the line that divideth between the said towns of Woodbury and Derby, unto the great river; thence by the river southerly to the first mentioned boundary, the mouth of four mile brook; as by said report on file dated May the 7th anno Dom. 1741.
"It is thereupon resolved by this Assembly, That the above said memorialists, inhabitants of Derby, Waterberry and Wood- berry, situate and living within the bounds and limits above described, be and become together one entire, separate, and distinct ecclesiastical society or parish, subsisting and known by the name of the parish of Oxford, and endowed with all powers and privileges wherewith other parishes within this government are by law endowed."
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The question may be raised as to why the new parish was named Oxford. The "Register and Manual of the State of Connecticut" pre- pared annually by the Secretary of State says that it was named after Oxford, England. No authority is given for the statement, and as ap- parently none of the settlers came from that city, it does not seem likely the parish was so named. A possible reason for the choice is that John Twichel suggested the name because he had come to Oxford from Oxford, Massachusetts when a lad of seventeen. His father had been instrumental in the purchase of lands for the Massachusetts town. By 1740, when the petition was signed, John Twichel was 66 years old and of great influence in the new community. It may even be that Oxford Center had already been known locally as the place "where the Oxford people live". All of this is mere conjecture, and as Oxford, Massachusetts was probably named after the English town, it follows that Oxford, Connecticut, either directly or indirectly got its name from Oxford, England.
1740 66 1614 + 17 1681
The record of the first parish meeting is as follows:
"At a meeting of the parish or society of Oxford, in the colony of Connecticut on the thirtieth day of June 1741, being lawfully warned & held at the house of Samuel Twitchels. Isaac Trowbridge of said Parrish by a major vote was chosen clerk of the same, and the oath by law provided for a society Clerk was to him adminis- tered in said meeting pr Samll Bassit, Esquir, Justice of Peace.
At said meeting mr Isaac Knowles by a major vote was chosen medderator for said meeting.
Voted and past in said meeting that mr Caleb Perry, mr Ebenezer Riggs, mr John Lumm to be a committee for said society to take care of the prudentials of sd society.
Voted and Past in said meeting to hier a minister for this Present year.
Voted and Past in said meeting that mr John Towner, mr Abial Fairchild and mr Samll Twitchel to be a minister committee for this Present year and to hier a minister upon probation.
Voted and Past in said meeting that their shall be a rate made of five pence upon the pound upon the list in the year 1740 in order to Defray the Charges of hiering mr Birdsey, this vote the inhabi- tants on Rock house hill are exempted from paying and charges thereof.
Voted and past in said meeting that mr Ephraim Washband shall be a Collector and Treasurer and to collect and gather sd five peney rate by the first day of September next ensuing.
Voted and Past in said meeting that mr John Towner and mr Samll Woster shall be in with the first committee in order to take care of the prudentials of said society.
test per me
Isaac Trowbridge Society Clerk."
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Subsequent meetings continued to be held in the house of Samuel Twitchel and at the home of John Twitchel, probably the house still standing on the north side of Academy Road, just west of Jack's Brook. At a meeting held October 6th 1741 the Society voted to build a meeting house, as follows:
"It was voted by a two thirds part of the inhabitants by law qualified to vote and present in meeting, to build a meeting house, and to meet the assembly in their next session at New Haven to pray for a commission to appoint, order, and fix the place whereon their meeting house shall be erected and built."
The above wording is quoted in Judge Wilcoxson's "1876 Centennial Address", and the Judge adds "Who that committee was or were, when, where and why they decided on setting their stake for a site for the house to be built does not appear on Society or Parish Records"
But this latter statement by the Judge appears to be incorrect, for Sharpe, in his "Oxford History, Part 1" says "Mr. Ebenezer Riggs was appointed agent for the Society to present the matter to the General Assembly and the latter appointed Capt. Isaac Dickerman, Mr. James Talmadge and Mr. John Hitchcock as the committee to affix the place; the following being the order of the Assembly: "the said committee having viewed their circumstances (i.e. of the inhabitants of Oxford), and have set down a stake and laid stones to the same at the south end of the hill, commonly called Jack's Hill, and near the highway that runs on the east side of the Little River, on land belonging to Ephraim Washbourn, which said place the said committee report to be a most convenient place for the said inhabitants to build a meeting house upon; Resolved by this Assembly, that the above said place be the place for the said inhabitants to build house upon; and the said inhabitants are hereby ordered to build a meeting house at the said place accordingly." ("Jack's Hill" and "Jack's Brook", the latter a tributary of Little River, are supposed to have been named after an Indian who bore the English name of Jack). Two things are noticeable in the action of the Assembly, the first being the closeness of church and state, it not only being necessary to get permission of the Assembly to build, but also to have a committee of the Assembly actually choose the site. The second is that the site of this first meeting house, built in 1743 was quite near the present Congregational Church. The site was on land owned by Ephraim Washbourn, and the deed covering the transfer of the land was dated October 20, 1741. A couple of years followed be- fore the building was completed and the record of the first meeting held in it is dated June 21, 1743. This building is of course not the present Congregational Church building, which was not erected until 1795.
"At the parish meeting held June 21, 1745, it was voted to give Mr. Jonathan Lyman a call to preach on probation. A committee,
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consisting of Capt. Timothy Russell, Capt. John Lum, and Ensign John Chatfield were appointed to hire Mr. Jonathan Lyman upon probation for the space of four sabbaths. At the end of this period, at a meeting on the first Monday of July, 1745, it was voted to give Mr. Lyman a call to settle over the parish. A settlement of £500, old tenor, was voted to be paid in four years (£125 yearly) and a salary of £125 yearly till the settlement was paid; the salary then to advance to £150 yearly. Subsequently, it was voted to add £10 yearly to the salary for five years."
He was installed as minister of the parish of Oxford the fourth Wednes- day of October, 1745. He continued as such for 18 years until 1763 when he fell from his horse and was killed.
In the foregoing, the expression "old tenor" is used. The word "tenor" meant the value of the bill as marked on its face. Bills issued before the year 1739 were known as "old tenor", and those of a date later than 1739 were called "new tenor". At that time England and Spain were at war in the West Indies, and to raise money to aid in the conduct of the war, the Connecticut Assembly issued £45,000 in paper currency in 1739, making it the dividing line between the old and new issues. The new bills depreciated rapidly and it was probably for that reason that Mr. Lyman's settlement was to be paid in bills of the "old tenor".
By 1787, the following men lived in the Oxford part of what was then Southbury: Eliphalet Bristol, Riggs Bristol, Truman Bristol, Gad Bristol, Isaac Briscoe, Thomas Bissell, David Candee, Samuel Candee, Timothy Candee, Jehiel Peet, Joseph Towner, Samuel Wheeler, J. Wilmot, and Isaac Munson.
CHAPTER 5
SOME EARLY SOCIAL AND BUSINESS PROBLEMS
In a history of this limited scope, no attempt can be made to cover all the social customs and problems of early days, so mention is made of only a few which seem to apply to Oxford and are of peculiar inter- est.
No celebration whatever was made of Christmas Day or of any saint's day. Marriage was a civil contract only, with no church ser- vices, and most burials were without any religious service.
SOCIAL TITLES
It was a period when social ranks were still strongly marked re- gardless of how democratic the government might be, and titles of respect were in common use, Thus, a very highly respected citizen might be addressed as "The most worshipful Capt. Johnson. "Esquire" or "Squire" was applied to large land owners, usually also to justices of the peace. Mr. (Master) was a title of respect given only to per- sons of mature age and high standing in the community. The ordinary citizen was plain "John Doe", or sometimes "Goodman Doe".
Military titles were also in common use; General, Colonel, Major, Captain, Lieutenant, and Ensign all appear. Skippers of merchant vessels engaged in ocean borne commerce were also given the title "Captain", so that it is often difficult to tell whether the title of Cap- tain is military or nautical.
It is also said that unmarried women were addressed as Mistress and not Miss., the latter title being applied to young ladies of doubtful reputation.
MEALS
"The breakfast of the farmers often consisted mainly of a soup made of salt meat and beans, and seasoned with savory herbs. This dish was called bean porridge. Tea and coffee they had none during the seventeenth century. Their drink was chiefly beer and cider, after their orchards were sufficiently grown to afford them such a luxury.
The dinner was a much more substantial meal. A large Indian
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pudding, with an appropriate sauce often constituted the first course; and after that, boiled beef and pork, and then wild game with potatoes; and then succeeded turnips and other vegetables native to the climate; and in the fall, samp and pumpkins were cooked by them into various dishes. Dinner was served at noon.
At supper, afterwards called tea, they also ate very substantial food. It was almost always cold, with an occasional variation of cake made of corn meal, rye, or buckwheat. These cakes, how- ever, were oftener prepared for breakfast."
A favorite drink was made from a mug of cider heated by plunging into it a red hot poker. This was known as "flip".
The position of women whose husbands were missing was difficult. Women were scarce in the early settlements, and widows were ex- pected to re-marry. After the war with the Pequot Indians, there were some Connecticut soldiers who did not return to their homes, and their wives did not know where they were or whether they were alive or dead. These women were left in an uncertain position, not knowing whether they were wives or widows, and they could not remarry with- out first proving that their husbands were dead. To remedy this situa- tion, the court passed the following order, October 11, 1697:
"It is ordered by this court that no bill of divorce shall be granted to any man or woman lawfully married but in case of adultry, fraudulent contract, wilfol desertion for Three years with total neglect of duty or seven years providentiall absence being not heard of after due enquiary mead and certified, such party shall be counted as legally ded to ye other party in all which cases a bill of divorce may be granted by ye Court of assistants to ye agreved party ( ) may then lawfully mary or be married to any other ( ) by woful Experience in ye late war many of ye inhabitants".
*The ( ) indicates a hole in the old document. So after seven years, a widow could remarry, and Gunn's record of the court action would seem to indicate that there were such cases in Derby.
Going to meeting on Sunday was the great social event of the week, and, curiously enough, each man aspired to be allotted a seat of dig- nity in the meeting house, the front seats being considered those of greatest dignity. The men sat by themselves on one side of the meet- ing house, the women on the other.
Once each year, at a town meeting, the town of Derby "seated the meeting house", allotting to each member his seat, according to his rating on the town tax list and in these selections, the Oxford people must have participated. It must have been a ticklish business, this seating, and seems to have been the cause of some heart burnings. The earliest record of "seating" is in 1707.
They started at it in October, when it is recorded that at a meeting
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of the Derby Congregational Society they voted "that the town will seat the meeting house", and have seated Major Johnson, Ensign Riggs, Mr. William Tomlinson, and Isaac Nichols in the first seat before the pulpit, Lieut. Thomas Wooster, Ensign Joseph Hull, John Tibbals and Stephen Pierson senior, in the first short seat joining to the pulpit, and further they have not proceeded yet"
But, apparently, it did not suit Major Johnson to be seated with the three other men. One might infer from this, that by this time the Major had become rather overbearing, but, as we have already pointed out, it was an age of social distinctions, and there seems to have been no objection to granting him this rather unusual honor. And so, Abel Gunn records as follows:
"December 9, 1707. Voted yt Major Johnson shall according to his desire set at the end of the pulpit in a short seat alone and yt the town be at suitable charge to make it hansome and convenient to entertain the sd Major honorably; at the same time voted yt Mrs. Bowers, Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Moss shall sit in sd seat on the women's side next the pulpit which is made with bannisters like a pew. Voted that those seats before the pulpit be parted. At the same time voted yt Ens. Saml Riggs Mr William Tomlinson shall sit in the first seat facing to the pulpit, and their wives likewise. Item yt Mr Isaac Nicols and Lef: Thomas Worster in the 2nd of these seats facing to the pulpit, and their wives in the same rank. Item Doctor John Durand and Mr. John Davis in the 3rd of these seats and their wives in the same order. At the same time "voted yt Stephen Pierson, John Tibbals, Lef. Joseph Hull, Joseph Hawkins shall sit in the first short seat facing to the end of the pulpit be- hind where the Major sits; at the same time voted yt the town will have the rest of the meeting house seated according to rates and yt John Tibbals Ens: Joseph Hull and Joseph Hawkins be a committee to see yt matter of seating according to rates p pound. At the same time voted yt heads shall be taken out of the list all except one head to each Estate, in order to seat the meeting house according to rates."
But it apparently took another meeting to get the entire matter set- tled to everyone's satisfaction, for Gunn records:
"At meeting 26th of December 1707 the town voted yt the first long seat shall be accounted the highest in dignity, yet unseated, and yt the first short seat yet unseated shall be accounted the 2d seat in dignity yt is yet to seat and then the 2d long seat the third in dignity, at the last short seat fourth in dignity and then the other seats Being all in one tear to receive their dignity from their order, successively."
The "History of the Old Town of Derby" gives a slightly different
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version of this event, the date of the meeting being given as December 15th instead of December 7th. It records that they voted also "to seat the Widow Washborn, widow Johnson, widow Tomlinson and widow French and wife of Abel Holbrook in the next seat behind the pew" (i.e., the seat on the women's side which is made with bannisters like a pew.) Both accounts agree that the men sat on one side of the meet- ing house, and the women by themselves, on the other side.
The militia in Colonial days were generally known as "Train Bands", and the days on which they were called to be present on the Green for military training were known as Training Days, or Muster. Their arms and accoutrements were examined and if they proved to be in proper condition, the men were said to have "passed muster", a phrase still in use for civil as well as military matters. These days were occasions for the general gathering of the inhabitants. Drums and fifes and the waving of flags added to the excitement. By the end of the day, the trainees gave themselves up to games such as wrest- ling, races, cricket, quoits, and shooting at a mark, and it is pretty well conceded that many of them returned home at night rather thoroughly intoxicated.
In Oxford, there appears to have been two military districts (pos- sibly east and west) for when in 1826, St Peter's Episcopal Church agreed to the setting off of Quakers' Farm as a distinct ecclesiastical society, it was voted that the new society was to be "bounded by the military line of Oxford." No record has been found of what this line was.
Rockey's "History of New Haven County" says that the following were the captains of the 1st Company in Oxford: John Lum, Abel Gunn, Joseph Davis 1754, Zacheriah Hawkins, Joseph Osborn, John Woster, Thomas Clark, Ebenezer Riggs, David Pierson, Samuel Candee, Jehiel Hine, Job Candee, Asahel Hyde, Col. John Davis, Andrew Buckingham, Lemuel Beardsley, Philo Beecher, Gideon Riggs, Hiram Candee, Letson Osborn 1821, William Osborn, Sherman Buckingham, Lewis Davis, John Beecher, Ebenezer Riggs, William Hinman, Moody M. Brown 1835.
For many years, the bodies of those who had died in the Oxford district were carried down to Derby for burial. For this purpose it was customary to use a horse litter. "Two horses with saddles were placed with their heads in the same direction, one forward of the other about seven or eight feet, and a long stout linen bag turned or looped up at each end was put over each saddle to receive the ends of two long smooth and strong poles, one on each side of the horses, and two or three cross pieces were put on the poles between the horses. On this litter the coffin was placed lengthwise and fastened to the crosspieces by cords. As the horses moved on, the bearers walked on each side and steadied the coffin. The coffin was often made of whitewood boards and colored with lampblack, but the most costly were made of cherry wood.
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For general travel, they had no wheeled carriages or wagons until the middle of the eighteenth century and very few until the Revolution- ary War was closed. The bridegroom who went to a neighboring town to be united with a partner whom he hoped to find through life a "help- meet for him", whether he was a gentleman or yeoman, rode on horse- back and carried her home on a pillion behind him".
GOVERNMENTAL REGULATION OF BUSINESS
Regulation of business often seems to be a modern innovation, but as early as 1677, it became necessary to set a limit to prices to be charged for tanning leather and for the manufacture of shoes.
In the early days of Derby and Oxford, harness, shoes, and much clothing was made of leather. As the hides had to be tanned to make them usable, the tanner was an important man, and in a position to raise prices as he desired unless restrained by law. It seems hard to believe that so early in this simple society, any industry should have required governmental supervision, but unscrupulous men were then found, even as now. So on October 11, 1677, the General Assem- bly passed the following order:
"For the regulation of ye tanners, it is ordered by this Court yt no tanner shall have any more for tanning any hide than Two penc upon ye pound for green hids and fouer penc upon ye pound for dry hids.".
Likewise with the shoemakers:
"For ye regulation of ye shoemakers it is ordered yt after ye first of May next no shoemaker shall take above five pence hapeny a size for all plain and woden hele shoes for al sizes above ye mens Sevens, 3 sole shoes well made and wrought above 7 a size for well wrought French sols".
It does not appear what "French" soles were, but it is known that shoes were not made "right and left".
CHAPTER 6
MEN OF THE EARLY TIMES WHOM OXFORD REMEMBERS
There is a tradition that the first white child born in Oxford was John Griffin, in 1725. Judge Wilcoxson gives this item in his 1876 Centennial Address, and Sharpe repeats it in his "Oxford Sketches, Part Two". Neither one gives any authority for the statement, and how the tradition arose is not clear. Before 1741, when Oxford was made a separate parish, all births were recorded as having taken place in Derby. As we have already noted, John Chatfield, John Tibbals, Samuel Riggs, John Hall, John Pringle and Samuel Nichols had all settled in Oxford by 1710, and it would have been quite extra- ordinary if one of these families had not had a child born before 1725.
The tradition has been perpetuated by the establishment of a rest area on Route 67 bearing Griffin's name. We do know that John Griffin served with Gen. Wolfe at Quebec in the 12th Company of the 3rd Regiment and in the Revolution, he was in Col. Storr's Regiment at New York in the autumn of 1776. He is said to have lived in Quaker Farms "opposite the old cemetery". It may be that the stone house on Park Road known as the "Griffin House" did not attain that name until about 1839, when William Griffin married the daughter of Silas Sperry who built it.
EBENEZER JOHNSON
Of the early settlers in Derby the most prominent man seems to have been Ebenezer Johnson. He is thought to have been born in Fairfield, Connecticut about 1649. He came to Derby about 1668, when he was a young man of nineteen. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Wooster, in 1671. Abel Gunn records April 18, 1677 that "the town have granted to Ebenezer Johnson a home lott ---- and if the Said eben Johnson build not a sofitient hous according to law eith in a yere or be in a very; Likely way So to doe; the lott shall return to the town again." This happened when he was twenty-eight years old. It will be noticed that he was addressed as plain Ebenezer Johnson, without any title whatsoever. He must have taken up his home lot shortly after this peremptory notice to him, for he soon became a leading spirit in all the interests and enterprises of the town. He is said to have developed marvellous activity and energy, and a generosity of charac- ter that won the confidence of the whole community.
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He became a very successful farmer, and soon gained a military officer's rank, which brought him some little money, thereby obtaining considerable advantage over most of his neighbors, who did their busi- ness almost entirely by barter. In 1685, he was chosen Lieutenant of the First Company organized in Derby, and in 1689, (aged 43) he was commissioned Captain by the General Court in a Volunteer Company raised to aid England to oppose the French in the twenty-four years of war that followed. For his public services, the town (Derby) gave him while Captain, one hundred and seventy-five acres of land at "Quaker's Farm" including the Eight-mile brook from North to South.
However, it does not appear that he ever lived in Quaker's Farm, but he gave his son, Peter Johnson 150 acres of land "in the southern part of "Quakers' Farm Purchase" where he, Peter Johnson, lived and died.
By 1703, Ebenezer Johnson, then aged 54, appears to have attained a commanding position in the town, being addressed as "Ye Worship- ful", signifying the highest dignity. Abel Gunn records "February 1, 1703:
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