USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Leading business men of Fairfield County : and a historical review of the principal cities > Part 2
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Incidentally, it is surmised from the name that the early settlers expected to discover golden treasures in this particular hill, but like many other of their hopes, its realization never came.
In 1710, about fifty years after receiving their reservation, the Golden Hill tribe had dwindled down to about twenty-five families. Another fifty years, and in 1765, only three women and four men remained on Golden Hill. A question now arose between the white settlers and the Indians, as to which had the better right to the hill. The Legislature decided in favor of the Indians, but being bought off by the whites for thirty bushels of corn and three pounds worth of blankets, they vacated the land and vanished from this region, as permanent residents, forever.
The whites, however, did not proportionally increase. Soon after 1639, the set- tlement at Pequonnack came to be called Stratfield, but so slowly did it grow in numbers, that it was more than fifty years later before it possessed a church, always one of the first objects of the planters' longing and endeavors.
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FAIRFIELD AVENUE, FROM PARK AVENUE, LOOKING WEST.
The data concerning the first settlers of Bridgeport is very meagre. In the his- tory of Bridgeport, by the Rev. Samuel Orcutt, the historian quoted above, the names of Henry Summers, Sr., and Samuel Gregory are given as the heads of the first two families who settled in this region An ancient cut of a primitive log cabin. erected here about 1665, near the junction of the present Park and Washington avenues, has been preserved. At that time very little clearing away had been done, and no regular roads had been laid out.
The records of Fairfield, in 1669, show the names of the following freemen, who voted in that town, but resided within the limits of Stratfield: John Odell, James Bennet, Matthew Sherwood, Richard Hubbell, James Wheeler, Thomas Morehouse, Nathaniel Seeley, Thos. Bennet, Nathaniel Burr, Mr. John Burr, John Burr, John Cable, Sr., John Cable, Jr., Mr. Daniel Burr and Henry Rowland.
It is not probable that these constituted all the settlers dwelling at Stratfield, as- some might not have been church members and so, necessarily, not voters, and a. considerable number probably attended church at Stratford.
These few names are all that now remain to show who laid the foundations of modern Bridgeport. It is highly creditable to these men, along with their compan- ions, whose names are now forgotten, that in spite of the smallness of their numbers, the colony was not abandoned, as was the case in many similar settlements in the State.
Though compelled to battle alone against all the discouragements and hardships of the early settler's life, they unfalteringly maintained the few simple homes they had carved out here from the "wilderness;" and thus, amid the dark and bitter years from 1650 to 1690, the first stones of that structure which was destined to rise with such strength and beauty, were being laid.
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CHAPTER II.
OLD COLONY LIFE.
The tinge of romance which colors many of the tales of the olden time in New England that have come down to us, sometimes tends to lessen in our minds the practical value of true accounts of the early colonial life. It is safe to say, that there is not an influential cause of the prosperity of our country during the Nine- teenth Century, which cannot be traced back to its remote beginnings in the first century of our national life. Beyond all other potent factors, the greatness of the present was being foreshadowed and assured in the communities which were springing up all over New England during the latter half of the Seventeenth Century.
The history of this period in the growth of Bridgeport should portray, as far and as accurately as possible, first, the people of the colony themselves, their life and customs; second, the crystalization of their lives and characters in the principles of government and united action which underlie and explain the present.
With the total lack of biography, an appreciative analysis of the characters of the early settlers of Bridgeport is rendered impossible; but one marked characteristic deserves emphatic mention-the unflinching courage of the first few families that had gathered around the mouth of the Pequonnock before 1639. Whatever want of broad outlook or charitable toleration we may discern in the mental makeup of the Puritans, it remains that they were fitted as no others were or could have been for the colonization of New England.
That spirit of reverence toward God, of rectitude toward men, which was the ruling principle of the Puritans, enabled the early settlers of Bridgeport to maintain a steadfast position, where less sturdy souls would have faltered and failed. As the settlement grew slowly, it was more than fifty years before they were able to have a church of their own at Stratfield, and every Sunday all the able-bodied persons in the village were obliged, rather than omit church-attendance (which course did not present itself to the mind of a Puritan as possible), to tramp across the wild country for four or five miles either to the church at Fairfield or at Stratford.
It is possible to form a mind-picture of the procession which the few families in Stratfield would make on the way to church on those olden time Sunday mornings. They no doubt followed the usual custom in the colonies of going together. It was not until some time in the Eighteenth Century that carriages were used in attending church, except on special occasions. All, both young and old, were accustomed to walk. Some of the active, middle-aged men led the way as an advance guard. Others of the strong men were scattered through the company, while some brought up the rear. All the heads of families carried their weapons in readiness, even in
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such comparatively quiet settlements as Quinnipiac or Pequonnock, for the possi- bility of a sudden attack of the wandering tribes of Indians was always imminent. Beside, there was a large reservation of Indians on Golden Hill, indolent and harm- less generally, but one could not tell just how far to trust them. Under the watch- ful protection of the Puritan fathers, the Puritan matrons walked sedately along, watching over their younger sons and daughters, in whom the Puritan spirit had not yet subdued the natural tendencies to mirth and noisiness. The young men and maidens walked apart, for on Sundays, of all days, they were not supposed to have any desire for each other's company. Thus, in irregular companies of a half dozen or so, but all within a short distance of each other, the inhabitants of Strat- field would walk to church each Sunday morning, unless the weather was so inclem- ent as to prevent the women and children from going out. The men were obliged to be present, whether rain or shine, snow or ice prevailed.
Arrived at the church, the families were seated according to certain ranks and privileges which then prevailed. The young men and maidens were again separated, being seated on opposite sides of the church. But, though obliged to refrain almost from looking at the young ladies during the day, the young man's turn came around with Sunday evening. Then it was the regular time for him to visit his loved one's home, and ever since that day the custom seems to have continued. The noon meal was always brought to church, and the country people did not return home until after the sermon in the afternoon.
Thus passed a Sunday with the Puritans, looked forward to throughout the week as a foretaste of heaven. Indeed, all their pleasantest recollections and hopes clus- tered around the church. In the midst of the hard struggles of subduing the soil and the rough forest lands, this spot stood out as an oasis in the wilderness. Here they received their name at the first solemn ceremony in the course of their life. Here the banns of true love were first announced. Here, before the altar, after having ridden over in state, bride and groom together on the same steed, the most sacred vows of marriage were administered. Hither they expected to come on their last journey after the hard battle of life was over.
So the first and most important element which we meet with in the life of the early settlers in Bridgeport, as all through New England, is their relation to the church. In the light of this fact we may well consider it the most important event in the history of the colony up to that date, when the foundation of the first church was laid in Stratfield, in the year 1693. The fact that there could not have been more than seventy-five adults in the place at the time demonstrates the universal desire which existed for such an edifice.
The church was not finished until 1695, owing partly to the heavy strain put upon the inhabitants by reason of their small numbers and partly to the fact that much difficulty ensued in separating from the parishes at Fairfield and Stratford. The Reverend Charles Chauncey was settled as pastor of the church, and proved an ideal leader of the people.
About the same time, that other rock upon which New England is built, the common school was established in Stratfield. For a number of years the Rev. Chas. Chauncey had acted as both teacher and pastor, but before the beginning of the Eighteenth Century two flourishing schools were in operation, one in that part of the town bordering on Stratford, the other in the part toward Fairfield. Ever since
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that time the subject of education and its methods has continued to grow with the city, contributing indeed not a little to the stability of that growth. The Rev. Mr. Chauncey was a highly educated scholar, the grandson of Charles Chauncey, pro- fessor of Greek and Latin at Cambridge University, England, and later President of Harvard College, so we may be sure that in the beginning of the school at Stratfield, the first steps were wisely planned and intelligently taken. The standard was prob- ably somewhat higher than at most of the colonial schools where nothing was taught except the simplest rudiments. The discipline of the schools in those days con- formed to the Puritan idea, and the present system would seem the height of indul- gence in comparison.
Mr. Chauncey's salary as both pastor and teacher was £60, which was afterwards increased to £80. This may seem very small but in reality was very generous con- sidering the population of Stratfield at that time. The Stratfield Ecclesiastical So- ciety was the name given to the first attempt at local organization, which was granted a charter at the establishment of the first church in 1695 by the General Court of the State. Being the first community under this form of organization in the State, its privileges and powers were defined, according to Orcutt's history, in 1699, as follows:
1. To make choice annually of two or three persons who shall have power to order meetings of the society, their minister's rate and what concerns may be about their meeting house.
2. To choose collectors of the rates, and that they shall have power by virtue of a writ from lawful authority to distrain.
3. To choose a constable whose power shall reach from west side of Pequonnock River unto the utmost bounds of the village, westward, according to the limitations granted Commission Officers; the village consisting partly of Fairfield and Stratford.
4. That they shall have liberty to choose annually a society recorder to be sworn to that work.
The organization was of the simplest character possible, and yet, or consequently, proved most efficient in the small community, as long as it continued in operation. The chief members of the new society at its inception, were Richard Hubbell, Isaac Wheeler, James Bennit, Samuel Beardsley, Samuel Gregory, Mathew Sherman, Rich- ard Hubble, David Sherman and John Odell.
This union of all the forces of the town in one compact body had a most telling influence on the internal improvement of the region itself and the preparation for rapid advancement later on.
In 1703, the village had grown in numbers sufficiently to warrant the organiza- tion of a train-band. David Sherman was appointed as its Ensign; in the following year John Beardsley was elected Captain, and James Bennett Lieutenant. On the annual "training day," the whole company of some forty or fifty men would turn out, and march to the training grounds in the northern part of the village. The accoutrements of the soldiers were of the most varied and sometimes ridiculous nature. No attempt at uniformity seems to have been made. In close proximity might have been seen, one man wearing the helmet and cuirass of an English knight, with a broad cavalry sword in his hand, and another with no defensive armor at all, carrying a large " blunderbuss " over his shoulder. Fat men and lean men, tall and low, marched side by side indiscriminately, and almost in accordance with each individual's own sweet will, for the amount of absolute authority now given to a military commander,
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for the time being, would have seemed preposterous to those independent freemen. The day on the parade ground was spent in sham battles, athletic games and military reviews. Sometimes the Indians from the neighboring reservation would come down and try a wrestling bout with the soldiers.
" Training Day" was one of the chief holidays of the year. For one day, at least, the natural man in the old Puritans made itself apparent. Hilarity and merry making were almost universal. It was not, however, until a much later date that New England rum appeared upon the scene and added yet another feature to the day.
The only other holiday of the time worth mentioning, was Thanksgiving Day. The Puritans had rejected the observance of Christmas, along with all the other church days, but all joined in rendering this great festal day of Thanksgiving a red- letter occasion in the year. Families were united again under the roof of the pater- nal house, and an abundance of good things from field, forest, and sea were supplied. This distinctively New England custom was established before 1650, and no doubt was observed here from its inception. The glimpses of the kindred "touch of human nature" in our Puritan ancestors throw an amount of light upon their lives and habits which else were lacking.
The sober business, or in fact the life work of the early settlers of Stratfield, for their lives were religiously sober, was agricultural. Unlike many sister colonies, no thoughts of treasures to be gained by traffic on the sea seem to have been ever con- templated by them. For a hundred years the cultivation of the soil, which fortu- nately was unusually rich, absorbed their endeavors.
In the year 1714, the little settlement met a heavy loss, in the death of their be- loved pastor, the Reverend Charles Chauncey. Endowed with the highest natural gifts, cultivated by a broad, liberal education, he had thrown himself into the work of the church here with a self-sacrificing zeal that had a most marked and beneficial influence in moulding the tendencies of the early days in this colony.
The Reverend Mr. Chauncey was succeeded after a year's interval by the Rev. Samuel Cooke, one of the earliest graduates of Yale College, who carried on with energetic ability the work which had been so successfully inaugurated by his prede- cessor.
About this time the first evidences of mercantile activity made their appearance in the shape of sundry papers and agreements, showing that quite a number of mer- chants had settled here before the first quarter of the Eighteenth Century had been completed.
In 1717, the old church having become too small to accommodate the congrega- tion, a new "meeting-house" was erected under the charge of five leading citizens: Major John Burr, Captain David Sherman, Lieutenant Richard Hubbell, Jr., Samuel Sherwood, and Mr. Benjamin Fayerweather. It was voted that the sittings in the new "meeting-house " should be according to "dignity, age, and estate by the pres- ent list." In the following year, 1718, a gallery was built in the church, a rare inno- vation in those days, and one showing that the church must have been one of the best in this part of the State.
The great religious controversy which agitated New England from 1740 to 1745, created considerable excitement here. Mr. Cooke sided with the "New Lights," as they were called, who, influenced by the ideas of Whitefield, sought a more liberal
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expression of Christian thought, and more liberal methods in church work. Accord- ing to Orcutt, and all reliable sources, he seems to have had the sympathetic and un- failing support of his parishioners, though meeting much opposition in his position as trustee of Yale College.
In 1748 the first Protestant Episcopal church edifice was erected in Stratfield and placed under the charge of the Rev. Philo Shelton. Many religious changes were brought about by the "Great Awakening of Whitefield," as it was called, and one of them was the establishment of the Stratfield Baptist church in 1751.
The progress of Stratfield during the third quarter of the Eighteenth Century was slow. The repressive measures put upon the trade and manufacturing of the colonies by the English government tended to restrain and crush all attempts in these lines. Although increasing but slowly in numbers and wealth, the progress of thought and education was as marked here as anywhere in the Colony. Most of the people were well-to-do, paupers being almost unknown. Many had received a liberal education, as the early records of Yale College would demonstrate. In the meantime, the moral status of the settlement had been preserved intact amid all the growing tendencies toward a less severe and self-sacrificing manner of life which were beginning to take root among the descendants of the early Puritans.
Thus it was that the inhabitants of Stratfield were fully prepared for the great struggle for liberty about to break out in the American colonies. The first dark threatenings of the storm were watched with apprehension. The Stamp Act and Boston Port Bill aroused fiery indignation. The noble resistance to acts of oppres- sion throughout the Colony met with hearty sympathy here. The men began to take down their old flint locks and get them ready for active service, while the women were melting down their pewter spoons and other household implements into bullets. A company of minute men was formed ready for an immediate call to arms; societies of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty were the order of the day; eloquent orators passed through the villages from one part of the State to another, arousing the minds of the people to the magnitude of the struggle, and giving the watchword of liberty; all eyes were anxiously directed to the brave little seaport town of Massachusetts, ready for the storm to burst at any minute.
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CHAPTER III.
FROM REVOLUTION TO REBELLION.
When the news of Lexington and Concord reached Stratfield, on the 21st of April, 1775, the village was convulsed with excitement and rose in arms along with the rest of the State. A considerable number of volunteers, not less than forty, marched immediately on Boston, forming a part of the Sixteenth Regiment of the State Militia. These soldiers were engaged in the brilliantly conceived and con- tested engagements around Boston under General Washington.
In the expedition into Canada, led by Colonel Benedict Arnold, in the fall and winter of 1775, a company of volunteers from Stratfield participated. There were few more dangerous or more disastrous campaigns made during the war, the way lying mostly through rough, unbroken country, and the attacks against Montreal and Quebec being made under the most discouraging circumstances. The heroism of the volunteers from Stratfield was not surpassed by any of that noble band of Connecticut volunteers.
Two military companies were formed in Stratfield during 1776, one composed of the "Householders " of the village, the other called the "Stratfield Train-Band." The former seemed to have been a sort of " Home Guard;" the latter did gallant service in the battle of White Plains, N. Y.
Captain David Hawley, of Stratfield, commanded a vessel in the desperately- fought naval engagement on Lake Champlain, October 11, 1776.
As the war progressed, the little settlement at the mouth of the Pequonnock began to assume the proportions of a village, and came to be called by the name of New- field. This was part of the old village of Stratfield, but it was not many years before Newfield had surpassed the older part of the village.
Here at Newfield several exciting incidents took place during the course of the war. In the early part of 1777, the inhabitants of Newfield discovered that several boats were being rowed across frequently from Stratford to the British on Long Island with provisions for the enemy. Thinking it was the work of traitors, the indignant citizens of Newfield attacked one of the boats and killed two of the men, but the sad fact became evident afterward that the men were spies employed by General Washington to go within the British lines and report the condition of the enemy to himself. A pension was given to the families of these men unwittingly slain by their own countrymen while pursuing their dangerous calling.
In the fall of 1779, General Silliman, the Military Commander of this section of the Long Island coast, was kidnapped from his house on the coast near Newfield harbor by a party of British soldiers and Tories. They had crossed from Long
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Island during the night, and, by a sudden descent, carried off the General before the the surrounding region could be aroused.
Enraged at this midnight marauding expedition, and hoping to obtain prisoners who might be exchanged for the General and his son, who had been taken with him, the citizens of Newfield decided to make a return expedition to Long Island. Cap- tain Daniel Hawley was to lead the party, and the Hon. Mr. Jones, Justice of the Supreme Court of New York, was the person picked out for capture. Taking a crew of picked men in a large whale-boat, Captain Hawley crossed to Hempstead, Long Island, some miles from the home of Judge Jones. When they arrived at his home, it being about nine o'clock in the evening, a large ball was going on at the house, and the Judge totally ignorant of the danger hanging over his head, was enjoying to the full the gay festivities of the evening. The noise of the music and dancing prevented the approach of the Americans being perceived. Captain Hawley, no. attention being paid to his loud knocking, forced his way into the house, and arrested Judge Jones and a Mr. Hewlett in the entry. The two prisoners were rapidly con- ducted to the boat by Captain Hawley, who had to pass within a short distance of a guard of British soldiers. Judge Jones tried to attract the attention of these soldiers by " hemming," but desisted on being told he would receive a pistol shot. upon a second attempt.
There was a long journey between the mansion of the Judge and the boat where. his companions were waiting for Captain Hawley, but the latter conducted his- prisoners with consummate skill. After the arrival of the Judge at Newfield, he was entertained for several days at the house of Mrs. General Silliman. At the expiration of three or four months, an exchange was effected with the British, whereby General Silliman and his son were restored to their homes, in exchange for Judge Jones and Mr. Hewlett.
During the later years of the war the inhabitants of Newfield were much troubled by the communications of their Tory neighbors at Newtown with the British, and a guard of soldiers was stationed here to keep a watch along the coast.
The close of the Revolutionary War found the older farming section of Stratfield smaller and poorer than before, but the village of Newfield had made great progress. From a few scattered families it had grown in less than a decade to number about one hundred and ten inhabitants.
Many families had moved down from the interior and settled on the shore of the- bay. Among these we may note the Nichols, Hawleys, Hubbells, Shermans, Bur- roughs, Sterlings and Summers. A considerable trading and shipping business had sprung up, and from this time the chief interest of the historian of Bridgeport is- centered upon Newfield. Under the benign influences of peace and freedom the commerce of the village prospered for a number of years. Wharves began to appear around the upper end of the harbor, and a fleet of ships made their home in the harbor, unsurpassed anywhere on the eoast.
The borough of Bridgeport, consisting of Newfield and Stratfield, was chartered in 1800, so that the city began its present prosperous career with the century. It was the first local government of its kind in the State, and became a valuable pattern. after which many other communities in the State were modeled. The name itself signifies its own derivation, the place having probably come to be called so familiarly om account of the small turnpike bridge at the head of the port.
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