Landmarks of New Canaan, Part 2

Author:
Publication date: 1951
Publisher: New Canaan, Connecticut : The New Canaan Historical Society
Number of Pages: 522

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Conetta Not In Politics

In a personal statement to the Advertiser, the newly elected member of the Democratic Town Committee, Daniel Conetta, declared that he has no intention of accepting this position. He has no desire to be mixed up in politics, as he has no time to devote to it. He was elected a member of the Democratic Town Committee in the Demo- cratic caucus held last week.

the profits of this trade and to finance new ven-

Historians smile Indulgently when they recall how the citizens of only a half century ago ignored the facts of geography as they clung to the idea that New Canaan could compete with the mass production methods of blg industrial cities.

Oddly enough, however, there Is no evidence of a "ghost town" transition after the financial debacle of the late 1800s. The change was grad- ual. The town hardly realized it was taking on a new destiny. The real effects of the change were not felt until the late 1920s.

A hundred and fifty years from now historians may smile just as indulgently at the hope and dreams of 1951 as we do now at those of 1801. But as we prepare to mark this anniversary, we can only pray that we will hold as strong a faith in this town as did those citizens of 150 years ago.

New Canaan Needs:

Removal of the Public Utilities Poles In the Business Sections.

A Fair Tryout of Parking Meters.

A Community Bullding.

A Program for the Construction of Permanent Roads.

A Scenic Park between Route 123 and River Street.

A larger Public Library.

Rotary Traffic at Dangerous Intersections. Adoption of a System that will reduce the amount borrowed annually In anticipation of the Collection of Taxes.

Sidewalks in South Avenue and Forest Street.

New Canaan Fifteen Years Ago

Taken from the Newo Canaan Advertiser of May 7, 1936

Buy Elin Street Property

A property transaction which involved $67,- 355.06 was completed here on Friday when George H. Stevens transferred business property on the south side of Elm Street to the Colonial Company. The new owners now own all of the property in the block on the south side of Elm Street from South Avenue to the property of the Texaco Company at the corner of Park and Elm Streets. The company also owns four of the six lots on the north side of Elm Street, begin- ning at Park Street. On two of the latter lots a store building is now being erected. The prop- erty involved in the Friday transaction involves 123 feet frontage by a depth of 185 feet. The buildings include the stores now occupled by the First National Stores, Olcott & Katzenbach, the Thread and Needle Shop, Mar-Ken's, a small wooden building occupied by McLaugblin's Hat Shop and Mrs. Knapp. These stores front on Elm Street, formerly Railroad Avenue.

May linprove Station

Representatives of the New York, New Ha- ven and Hartford Railroad attended a meeting of the Lions Club here today, at the Melba Inn, with First Selectman George T. Smith, Park Commissioner Henry Kelley, Miss Miriam D. Walker and Miss Myra Valentine of the New Canaan Garden Club. Following the luncheon an inspection of the railroad property was made. It is expected that improvements, including painting, will be made at the station,

Townsendites To Meet

Orient better than any other man. Events have demonstrated that

CANCER DRIVE SUCCESS Editor New Canaan Advertiser: On behalf of the New Canaan NATION IN PERIL Chapter of the Connecticut Cancer Our country is in grave danger. Society, I wish to thank you for ths tlons and individuals are giving us generaus financial help toward our Our only apparent enemy Is Russia. outstanding cooperation received liberal scholarship program. And The risk of Russia coming into the during our recent driva for funds. the local merchants have helped us war must be taken. Are we going frequently with the means at their disposal. A variety of Interested organiza- Editor New Canaan Advertiser:

At various times we are told not its ataff who were one hundred per eq

ce ou

The Bouton-Keeler-Kiessling House

[This is one of a series of approximately 150 New Canaan Landmarks articles which have appeared on this page, They will be published soon in one volume by the New Canaan Historical Society. Since the edition will be limited, those wishing copies are being advised to order through Dr. T. W. Benedict (9-1134), treasurer of the society, or Mrs. V. A. Hower (9-1107), book editor. 1

In 1854, a young couple from Ridgefield, John and Ruth Keeler, bought this house from Phoebe Com- stock and settled down to raise their children and to make this their life-long home. They were both born in Ridgefield, John on June 1I, 1816, and Ruth Sherwood on August 8, 1815. They married in Ridge- field on October 28, 1834, at the young ages of 19 and 18. They lived there for the next 20 years, where seven of their nine children were born. After coming to New Canaan in 1854, they lived continuously in this house until their deaths, John in 1880 and Ruth in 1888.

They had five sons, Edward S., Theodore, John W. Charles R. and William Irving and four daughters, Harriet A., Sarah A., Elizabeth Phyllis and Caroline, Only one daughter, Harriet, ever married. Born in Ridgefield on June 30, 1840, she married Justus Fitch Hoyt, the Blind Miller's son, at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in New Canaan. They had one daughter, Sarah Lockwood Keeler Hoyt, born In New Canaan on March 26, 1866, and is now living in Ridgefield.

Elizabeth Phyllis Keeler, born in Ridgefield on July 4, 1884, was a school teacher and taught In Wes- ton until 1888 when she returned home to help care for her ailing mother. Phyllis, as she was called, died in 1902, only four years after her mother's death. Sarah, born in Ridgefield on May 27, 1842, and Caro- line, born in Ridgefield on August 23, 1850, both remained at home and lived in this house the longest of any of the family Of these two maiden Keeler daughters, vague recollections invite the pen of an imaginative novelist.

Distinctly Victorian, they might have fitted Into some of those charming pictures of refined ultra conservatives one recalls from Cranford, Miss Caro- line is sald to have never left the place since her childhood. They watched the world change while they guarded their traditions behind curtained win- dows in quiet seclusion.

According to that story, the attorney general had advised the governor he believed the state people here and elsewhere who make between $2,500 and $5,000, and who would like to have homes.

LANDMARKS

NEW CANAAN

DEUS

PATRIA.

OLD MEETING HOUSE. ELLS PLACE. LONE TREE.

MAY 7. 1731. SEP. 9, 1889.

001. .94

New Canaan, Connecticut The New Canaan Historical Society

1951

WITH PLEASURE AND PRIDE AND WITH DEEP AFFECTION ( BUT WITHOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE )

THE NEW CANAAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

DEDICATES THIS BOOK TO THE MAN WHO MADE POSSIBLE ITS CONCEPTION AND ITS WRITING

STEPHEN B. HOYT

FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS THE SOCIETY'S CHIEF SOURCE OF INSPIRATION GUIDE, COUNSELLOR AND FRIEND OF US ALL WHOSE NAME IS SYNONYMOUS WITH LOVE OF THE LAND AND ITS HUMAN ASSOCIATIONS

FOREWORD

1190364

THE NEW CANAAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY is devoted to the service of its community by promoting a love of the land and an appreciation of the traditions and human associations that it has accumulated. We hold that good citizenship in the present is enhanced by knowledge and under- standing of an honorable past. By adhering to the broad objective of com- munity service, rather than the pursuit of private hobby, the Society has gained an important place in the community. Dues are nominal in order to attract wide membership, which at present has reached a figure of about ten percent of the entire population. Special gifts and bequests are used to finance activities which could not be covered by income from dues alone. Among these are a number of publications, of which the present volume is one.

This book is the culmination of the Society's most ambitious project to date. It assembles under one cover one hundred and fifty-one articles which have appeared singly on the editorial page of the New Canaan Advertiser. Our frontispiece is a reproduction of one such page. The arti- cles have attracted great interest, locally and far beyond our borders.

The Advertiser has won many awards for excellence in its own right but several of them have cited the unique contribution of the "Landmarks" to its editorial page. On September 14, 1949, both the Society and the Advertiser received an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History, in recognition of their contribution to Amer- ican local history.

Perhaps the most striking feature of these articles has been the wide' participation in their preparation. Through this venture the Society has been successful in attracting to its work more than one hundred and fifty people, a broad cross section of the community. Among the contributors the reader will see many famous professional names intermingled with those of our amateur writers and artists. All are local citizens-many relative newcomers to New Canaan-and all alike volunteered their services.

The project was conceived by S. Pearce Browning, Jr., then President of the Society, when Edwin Eberman showed him a volume of Nantucket sketches that he had just published. For his own pleasure Mr. Eberman had begun some drawings of New Canaan scenes and was considering the advisability of publication. Mr. Browning saw the possibility of a popular illustrated series on local history, and of securing a broad participation in the individual research assignments. The series was launched with publi- cation of the first "Landmark" on November 26, 1946, and continued with a high degree of regularity, except in the summers, for nearly five years.

Mr. Eberman did the first forty drawings consecutively as well as others later when called on, and throughout the series he rendered inval- uable aid to the editors. It is not too much to say that there would have been no series without him. Mr. D. Putnam Brinley, A.N.A., arranged for the artists for the second season. Mrs. Lee A. Keane directed the prepara- tion of the articles for a season and was succeeded by Mrs. Gerald I. Cutler, the duties including, by this time, the assignment of artists as well as authors. Mrs. V. Allen Hower served in this capacity, thereafter, and also as chairman of the Editorial Committee for this book. While many others have contributed generously of their time and effort, these are the people who carried the administrative burden. It is to their initiative and persistence that the success of the undertaking is largely due.

Stephen B. Hoyt, who saw in this project the fruition of a lifetime of study in the human associations of the land, has assisted nearly every author in research and has been an invaluable guide and counsellor as well as a source of inspiration throughout. Few of the writers were famil- iar with historical research or with the details of New Canaan's past, and it is a tribute to Mr. Hoyt's guidance that they have done such creditable and enthusiastic work.

Widespread participation has necessarily resulted in an unevenness not usual in professional work but which lends added charm here. In the main the articles are presented substantially as they appeared in the Advertiser. Almost no major changes have been made, but all were re- read and corrected and in some cases additional material has been in- cluded. We hope no significant errors have slipped by, but we do not claim a uniform degree of authority for every article. Historians and geanealogists will find this book an invaluable guide to their own research but for further and in some cases more authoritative material they are

referred to the Society's extensive library, its earlier book, "Readings in New Canaan History," published in 1949, and to the "Annuals" published each year since 1943.

The revisions, additions and corrections were accomplished by a num- ber of people whose work is deeply appreciated. Besides those already named, the members of the committee working under Mrs. Hower were: Mrs. Horace A. Barry, Mrs. Addison C. Burnham, Miss Alice Bristow, Mrs. John G. Fuller, Mrs. Ernst J. Guengerich, Mrs. John M. Lyden, Miss Helen Bristow, Mrs. Watson W. Lee, Mrs. Milton M. Purdy, Mrs. Stephen Valentine, Mrs. Alex B. Carver, and Messrs. Frederick O. Mckenzie, Sr., Frederick O. Mckenzie Jr., Marshall H. Montgomery, Theodore F. Bene- dict, Arba B. Marvin, Halsted H. Myers. The cooperation of the New Canaan Advertiser at all times is gratefully acknowledged.

Our fellow citizen Mr. Elliott B. Macrae, president of E. P. Dutton & Co., has again and very generously had his firm supervise production. To Mr. B. D. Recca of that firm we are indebted for help at every stage. The book has been designed by Mr. Macrae, Mr. Recca and Mr. S. A. Jacobs, whose press executed the typography and letterpress you see here.

The Landmarks covered by this series have been chosen without any fixed pattern. In the main they are those thought to be the oldest but we have included a good sample of the modern houses which are rapidly appearing on our hillsides. History is new as well as old. We are well aware that some houses just as old, or new, and just as distinguished as those included here have been omitted. The actual selection has been of landmarks for which there was an interested author or artist. We hope that those which remain may be the subject of a second volume to be published sometime in the future.

The reader should note carefully the date which appears at the head of each article (and also in the middle of a few long ones which were pub- lished in two or more installments ). This is the date on which the original material first appeared in the Advertiser. This is the point of reference which the reader must keep in mind, for there has been no attempt to revise the articles to include events which took place after their original publication dates.

THE NEW CANAAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

JOHN G. PENNYPACKER

Chairman

RICHARD B. FANT President

October, 1951

DEUS

PATRIA.

ØRE

OLD MEETING . HOULE

ELL$ PLACE .

LANE TREE .

MAY 7.

1731.

SEP. 9,1889.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD

V-VII

LANDMARKS 3-498

INDEX of AUTHORS 499

INDEX of ARTISTS

501

INDEX of LANDMARK NAMES

503

This FIRST EDITION of Landmarks of New Canaan is limited to 1000 copies

THE SILLIMAN-HOUSTON HOUSE

STEPHEN B. HOYT, Author

EDWIN EBERMAN, Artist

[November 26, 1946]

In 1731 when the common land was being di- vided by the proprietors of the Norwalk and Stamford colonies, there fell to the lot of Thomas Hanford 2nd, "eight acres in Canaan eastward of Haines Ridge, west of Five Mile River bounded north and east by common land, south by ye highway and west by Mr. Haynes."

In 1736, Hanford sold this land to Samuel Prindle for sixty pounds. This deed describes the land as eight and one-half acres with the same bounds except Mr. Haynes having died, the west is noted as "Heirs of Mr. Haynes."

In 1737, Prindle sold eight and one-half acres with a house to Oliver Arnold bound north by

common land, east by David Marvin & com- mon, south by highway, west by John Bartlett and Samuel Hanford. It will be noted that the east and west bounds have changed. Land was changing hands rapidly at this date. This spot is described as being in "Canaan Parish" for the first time, the parish having been formed in 1731-33.

In 1740, Oliver Arnold sold to William Bolt, "fifteen acres at Haynes Ridge with dwelling house bounded north by Capt. Sam Hanford, east by Hanford and David Marvin, south by highway, west by Haynes Ridge."

In 1767 William Bolt sold "ten acres at the lower end of Haynes Ridge near ye meeting

house" to Stephen Hanford bounded north by Capt. Hanford, east by Hanford and Andrew Seymour, south and west by highway. The price was one hundred pounds.

In 1788 Sarah Hanford, widow of Stephen, sold to Elisha Leeds this same land for two hundred eighty five pounds. Although inflation might be a factor in the increased value of this land, it is still a safe inference that the house had been built during this period between 1767 and 1788. Tradition substantiates this belief for there has always been a story current that Ste- phen Hanford kept a tavern there during the revolutionary days. In substantiation of this tradition there appears in the Connecticut Archives, Revolutionary War, Ist Series, Vol. XI, Document 32, the following: "To Stephen Hanford for horse keeping 14 nights." This ac- count is accepted by Eliphalet Lockwood Feb. 20, 1777.

This authentic record reveals our local asso- ciation with the Revolutionary War at the time when Connecticut troops were being rushed to the support of Washington's army in the New York area.

In March 1798 the will of Elisha Leeds was probated. It devised "to my dutiful and well beloved Son-in-law, Joseph Silliman and his wife Martha, my daughter," the property above described. This Joseph Silliman was the son of Rev. Robert Silliman, second pastor of the Congregational Church. He was a physician, a prominent man in the parish. He had several children, one of whom, Samuel Cook Silliman was Town Clerk well into the next century. His son, Joseph, married Martha Mitchell, daugh- ter of Rev. Justus Mitchell, the fourth pastor, and continued to occupy the home. Of their children, Joseph Mitchell married Caroline, daughter of Capt. Stephen Hoyt and his wife, Ciley Benedict. Their family consisting of Jo- seph Mitchell, James Hoyt, Martha, Robert Leeds, Nelson, Caroline and Ethel, are the gen- eration still carrying on the traditions of this ancient line: James, still identified with the Silliman Hardware store married Phoebe Jane Hoyt who died without issue; Caroline, who never married but spent her active life as a mis- sionary teacher in Asia Minor and who has but

recently retired and returned to live with her family; Ethel, who married George Kellogg and lives on St. Johns Place.

Addendum by MARION H. FULLER

When Mr. and Mrs. Philip Kingstand Hous- ton, the present owners, bought the house in 1924, it was the first actual purchase since Elisha Leeds bought it in 1788. For the next hundred and thirty-six years it was handed down by will in the Silliman family. This un- usual record indirectly points up the warm charm of this fine old homestead.

The Houstons have taken great care to pre- serve the original character of the house mak- ing changes only to improve its liveability. They altered the rear ell of the house to make a modern kitchen, and enlarged the living room at one end by doing away with a hallway. In some cases they uncovered more of the fine paneling, and opened up fireplaces.

A long porch across the front of the house, of a later vintage, was replaced by an exact replica of the original one. This was copied by an architect from a photograph found in the attic, which showed a very tall man in a very tall stovepipe hat walking down the porch- probably he was an earlier Silliman.

Thus the house stands today, on a wide sweep of lawn at the first curve of Oenoke Ridge beyond St. Mark's, very much as it has for so many years, trim and solid and mellow. The traditional simple design, the white clap- board and big square chimney are handsome, warm-hearted reminders of the early days.

The interior is somewhat more spacious to- day because of the Houston improvements, but the four wonderful old fireplaces, the excellent paneling throughout, and the hammered iron- work recall the unexcelled handcraft of the ar- tisans who built houses of this period. Alto- gether the house reflects care and understand- ing, and serves today in its best capacity, as a most gracious home.

Mr. Houston spent most of his early years in the historic town of Concord, Massachusetts, although he was born in Boston. His father, Frank A. Houston was active in the early life of the telephone industry and served as coun- sel and vice-president of the New England Telephone Company until his death. Mrs. Mar- garet Houghton Houston was born in New

York, but her parents, Augustus S. Houghton and Carol LeBan Squier lived in New Canaan for many years. Mr. Houghton, an enthusiastic conservationist, was instrumental in the pass- age of many laws for the protection of birds and fur-bearing animals. Mr. and Mrs. Hous- ton have three children, Philip K., Jr., Marga- ret Morgan and Sherrill Houghton.

Edwin Eleman 194.

THE BETTS-OGDEN-MORRIS HOUSE

STEPHEN B. HOYT and MARSHALL H. MONTGOMERY, Authors

EDWIN EBERMAN, Artist

[December 5, 1946]

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Harry H. Morris, Jr., and family on the northeast corner of Oenoke Avenue and Country Club Road is one of New Canaan's best examples of the standard New England all purpose house. Sometimes called the "double-breasted," it always has two

full stories, a center chimney, and a center door flanked by pairs of windows with five windows across the top. This particular house is not only pleasing to look at, it has been pleasing to live in, having successfully and typically reflected through its owners the changing nature of New

Canaan, from farming to local industry, to summer only living, to commuter all year round living.

There came to Norwalk in 1650 among the first group of settlers one Thomas Betts, from Guilford. His son, Thomas Jr., died in 1717 owning land at Smith's Ridge near the swamp at the head of Five Mile River and also land on the west side of Five Mile River. This latter tract undoubtedly ran up to the crest of Oenoke Ridge, and is the piece which interests us. It fell to John Betts, the second of Thomas, Jr.'s sons.

John Betts married Hannah Burwell, was a farmer and carpenter, and also the architect of five sons, one of whom, John, Jr. inherited enough of his father's skill and enough of his land to build the house which is our subject. The dating would be somewhere between 1749, when he acquired the property, and 1761, when he made one of those queer distributions in lieu of a will which make us wonder what family life was like in those days. To his widow he gave one half of the house, one half of the barn, one half of the well, and one half of the fruit trees ( not one half of the orchard, notice ), and to one of his two sons, Jesse, all the other halves.

In 1769 Jesse and his mother gave up their dual tenancy in favor of single occupancy and ownership by the other brother, whom we shall call John Betts II, otherwise listed in the old deeds and documents as John the Absentee. His absenteeism was an enforced one, due to peculiar convictions he had about the Crown with the Revolution coming on-we find him referred to as "living with the enemy over on Long Island." The house and land, therefore, reverted to the State in the form of David St. John, who was Judge of Probate and custodian in such matters.

The next transfer, which describes "a certain piece of land with an old dwelling house thereon, 23 acres more or less," turns out to be a real eyebrow raiser. With the war over and the State required to dispose of its confiscated propertics, who shows up as the new owner but David St. John, Jr., son of the Judge? The ad- jective "old" is probably less a clue to antiquity

than a reference to dilapidation and neglect after years of State ownership. Anyway, David Jr. made a quick turn and sold to Zabrid June in 1790, who as absentee owner almost immedi- ately made a sale to a David Smith, who had acquired quite a little surrounding land. David Smith remained owner eleven years, then sold out to Seth and Mathilda Kellogg, neighbors, who in 1810 let the property go to another neighbor on the north, Isaac Benedict.

Isaac Benedict was one of New Canaan's heroes in the Revolution, who, after the war, had become a man of substance and achieved the dignity of Deacon in the Congregational Church. He never lived in the Betts house, but evidently bought it in order to provide a home and farm for his son-in-law, William Daven- port, who took title to the place in 1812. Wil- liam Davenport and Abigail Benedict were married by Rev. Justus Mitchell, the groom being the son of Deacon John Davenport, lord of the manor over on Davenport Ridge. This union of two prominent families produced eight children, and the house now entered one of its happiest cras.

The farm consisted of thirty acres, with or- charding and sheep raising the prominent ac- tivities. Following the death of Abigail Bene- dict in 1839 William Davenport removed to Brooklyn, where he became an active leader in the Plymouth Church. He continued to come to New Canaan summers, however, visiting members of his family who occupied the house -here is a rare, probably unique, example of a native son of New Canaan who also led the vanguard of summer colonists from the city. Because of his leadership in Brooklyn civic af- fairs, he may well have been responsible for the pronounced cast that city gave to the sca- sonable influx which reached full tide in the '80's and '90's.

Shortly before his death, with his family grown and scattered, Mr. Davenport sold the house with its usual 30 acres to Edmond Og- den. Although born in Wilton, Edmond was the son of New Canaan residents, Jesse and Esther Elwoof Ogden. He married Theodosia Fancher of Poundridge, and the young couple farmed in that town for a while before enlarg-

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Landmarks of New Canaan, Part 2

Author: Publication date: 1951 Publisher: New Canaan, Connecticut : The New Canaan Historical Society Number of Pages: 522

Author:
Publication date: 1951
Publisher: New Canaan, Connecticut : The New Canaan Historical Society
Number of Pages: 522