Norwalk, history from 1896, Part 33

Author: Selleck, Charles Melbourne.
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: The author,
Number of Pages: 553

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of Milford Memorial Bridge inscription, of which family, United States Senator Plumb, of Kansas, is a descendant. The Plumb-Baldwin union was that of two marked families, and the Norwalk arteries which to-day carry the blood are those of the descendants of Stephen St. John.4th. The Hickox uncles and aunts of Mrs. Stephen St. John3d. (children of Samuel, Jr., and Elizabeth Hickox) were Ebenezer. Samuel, John, Hannah, Elizabeth (Mrs. Samuel Smith), Gideon and Silaus (Mrs. Abr. Bennett. Mrs. St. John was the grandniece of " ye worshipful Joseph Platt," and her grandson Alanson (Capt. A. P. St. John) took for his second name that of Platt. Capt. St. John's sister Caroline (Mrs. Henry Chichester) attributed certain family characteristics, decision, etc., to their Platt blood element. The captain began the life which afterwards as a Hudson River commander (see page 142) made him famous, with Capt. John Brooks, of Bridgeport. At that time the former started as a clerk or mate on the old Sound steamboat " Nimrod," which, under the control of the latter, plied between Bridgeport and New York. Capt. Brooks required that the gang doors of the boat should be closed every night at 9 o'clock and strictly ordered that not a man, from the captain down, belonging to the boat should be admitted after that hour. It happen- ed that the first person to be caught out, after the is- suing of the order, was the captain himself. Board- ing the boat later than the hour named he found everything tightly fastened and called to the clerk. " Who are you?" was the response from within. It is quite possible that the young St. John did not dis- tinguish the tone, but the reply, in substance, which ended the matter was: "I do not recognize the voice."

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is still pointed out immediately west of the bridge that crosses Norwalk river, somewhat be- low the Wilton railway station of 1896. The child mounted the horse and rode thither, but when the visit was paid the careful grandfather, unwilling that she should make the six miles to her home alone, insisted that an older person should share and show the way to Norwalk. The young Caroline agreed to the companionship, but not, characteristically, to the leadership. Competent to take the head she there remained through a long life, and her offspring to-day revere her vital memory. Her brother Edward early went out into the world, became a city broker, maintaining for many years a residence in Ninth Street, New York, and retiring, finally, to end a busy life at Cornwall-on-the-Hudson. Capt. Alanson P., another brother, of fine face, features and nature, became a favorite steam commander. Jessup St. John, another brother, always remained in Norwalk. He married into the Johnson family, and when his father's estate was settled, he desired the old homestead which his son Stephen now occupies. Sally Ann, a sister, married Thomas B. Merrill, and was a true mother. The ambition of Moses and Charles took them, one West, and the other South, while Catherine (Mrs. Lawrence M. Stevens) and Harriet ( Mrs. Gould D. Jennings) to this day survive.

A THOMAS BETTSend. MENTION.

Thomas, and. son of Thomas"t. and Mary Betts, married Sarah, daughter of Matthew Marvin, zad, and a granddaughter of Hon. Matthew Marvin. The groom was Guilford and the bride Norwalk born, and the latter was ten years the junior of the former. They had six children, Thos., John, 2nd. Sarah, Matthew, Mary and Elizabeth. John, and. the second son, is to be distinguished from his cousin, John3d. (son of John'st.). The lines of the two cousins lead quite differently, albeit both relatives are the heads of widely known Nor- walk hearthstones to-day. John Betts, 2ad. born July 7, 1684, married Apr. 15. 1708, Han- nah, daughter of John Burwell,'st. of Greenwich; which union makes appropo the inser- tion, in this place of the following :

Sketch of the Proceedings in Relation to the Burwell Estate in England, from the time it was leased by John Burwell in 1689, to the present.

" John Burwell, in whose posterity in Conn. and New York is the heirship of a large Estate lying in the parish of Bovingdon, in Hertfordshire, England, emigrated to this country about 1685. He inherited the said Estate from his father, whose name also was John, and who died, as appears by the Court Rolls of the Manor of Hemel Hemp- stead, in which the said Estate is situated, previous to the 30th of May, 1670. When he emigrated he left the Estate in possession of his sister Maria Burwell, in whose hands it remained a number of years.

" Upon his arrival in this country, he came to Milford, Conn., from which place he went with others to Greenwich, Conn., with Jeremiah Peck, a native of Milford, and who settled as Pastor of the Church in Greenwich in 1688. John Burwell bought his house lot in Greenwich, Feb. 28th, 1688-9. He there married Hannah Lockwood, daughter of Ger-

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shom Lockwood.' In the spring of 1688-9 he went to England, and leased the Estate and returned soon after. The next spring he took the small-pox in New York, of which he died in Greenwich, May Ist, 1690. He left one daughter and his wife (a posthumous child died soon after its birth) leaving Hannah his sole heir. At the bottom of the Inven- tory of the Estate of John Burwell in Greenwich is an entry that "there is other Estate which remains in foreign parts, which is not known to us." (The Appraisers.)

" The said Hannah Burwell, as appears by the Greenwich Records, married John Betts, of Norwalk, on the 13th day of April, 1708. After John Burwell's decease it does not appear that his heirs received rent from the Estate, but about 1721 they had cor- respondence with some person in England on the subject, as appears by an old letter, dated April 7th, 1721, in which it is stated that John Burwell leased the Estate when in England. The matter probably rested until 1745, when John Betts empowered Nathaniel Hazard, of New York, a man of limited means, to proceed to England and collect the rent due on the Estate. The agreement is dated March 5th, 1745. Hazard went that spring and before he returned John Betts died. His will was received at the Probate Office, August 12th, 1745. Hazard returned that fall in a ship he had purchased in Eng- land, laden with English goods; he bought a store in New York, and went extensively into mercantile business, thus becoming suddenly rich. Finding John Betts deceased, he refused to come to any settlement, or give any account of the business, and the affair again rested until 1808, when Joseph Betts, eldest son of Burwell Betts, and grandson of Hannah Burwell Betts, took it in his hands, obtained power of attorney, collected his money and was ready to sail, when he was taken sick, and died soon after. In 1814 Nathan Betts, a brother of Joseph next engaged in it, got new power of attorney, and raised funds for the purpose of sending an agent; and in 1817, he employed one Capt. Paul Chase (who was going to England) to investigate the matter. He wrote back that the possessor having no title, had never ventured to cut down the wood, and that they had laid by the rent for a long number of years, to have it ready when called for by the own- ers of the soil, and that the value of the Estate was about 680,000 sterling, besides back rent. This appears to be about all the trouble he took to ascertain the situation of the property, he being engaged in another business. In 1821, J. B. Walker who was going to England was employed to inquire into the affair; he wrote back in a letter dated Jan. 20, 1822, that the Estate was worth half a million pounds sterling; and that the occupants had not a scrap of paper to show as title; and that he had ascertained that the title was still vested in the heirs of John Burwell, who had made no application for rent for nearly a century. This was the amount of what he accomplished. In 1825 money was raised by

Hannah Lockwood (Mrs. John Burwellist.) was the daughter of Lieut. Gershom Lockwood, of Greenwich, born in Watertown, Mass., Sept. 6, 1643, fifth son of Robert and Susannah Lockwood, and next younger brother of Ephraim, the Norwalk Lockwood settler. John Burwell died in 1690 and his widow, Hannah, married, second, Thomas, 2d. son of Rev. Thomas Hanford, of Norwalk. Thomas llanford.2d. had, before marriage, been a transient resident of Greenwich. The Norwalk home of him- self and wife is now the site of the Selleck School

property. He was one of early Norwalk's instruct- ors. By his marriage to the widow Burwell there were several (see Hanford lineage) children. The John Hanford (see note page 76) who married Mehitable, daughter of Nathan Comstock, of Wil- ton, was a grandson of Thomas2d, and Hannah (Lockwood-Burwell) Hanford. Huldah, daughter of John and Mehitable Hanford, married Ebenezer D. Iloyt, whose grandchildren now occupy the original Gould Hoyt Main Street house in Norwalk, which house has been well kept.

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the heirs, and Truxton L. Powel employed to investigate the situation of the Estate. After a considerably fruitless search he found the office of Court Rolls of the Manor of which Wm. Briggs is steward, or keeper, made known his business; W'm. Briggs was not in; went again next morning, and found Wm. Briggs had left London that morning for France, to be gone five weeks; but had left the Court Rolls in the care of one W'm. Har- rison. They commenced search, but could find no Court Rolls earlier than 1730. Wm. Harrison said there must be Court Rolls earlier than that, of which Wm. Briggs alone knew (where they were). Powel not knowing how to wait till his return, left the next day for Paris, and did nothing further.

" At a number of different times after this, until 1837. the claimants met in New York, appointed committees, drafted resolutions, and subscribed money to carry the busi- ness of recovery into effect, without accomplishing anything of importance. The excite- ment dying away soon after the return of the said claimants, so that commonly the money subscribed was not paid in, and in one or two instances when paid in was embezzled or lost. Thus the business remained until 1837, when Charles Lemon, of Troy, went as agent for the claimants to England, where he arrived on the 9th of February of said year. He commenced his search at the Office of Wills in Doctor Commons; then at the Enroll- ment Office ; the Chancellor's Office ; the Office of Commissioners of Woods and Forests ; these were all applied to without meeting anything of importance to the claimants. He called upon Wm. Briggs, Steward to the Lord of the Manor of Hemel Hempstead (the same as before mentioned), but he refused to let the records be seen, or give any extracts from the.n, until he was satisfied of his authority to make such inquiry, accompanied with show of title. As a consequence of his inquiries, he was directed to a man by the name of Perkins, who lived as foreman on the farm of Mr. Goodat Studham, and who was once in possession of the Bovingdon Farm. His statement was that the farm was formerly in possession of a Mr. Loomis, but could not tell how long ; after his death it came in pos- session of a man by the name of Bachelder, who lived and died on it, leaving his son in possession of it. He (the son) lived on it 22 years, during a part of which time he (Per- kins) lived with him as help. The last Bachelder died leaving the farm to his wife, and appointing Mr. John Field as trustee to the farm and children. The widow Bachelder soon married this Perkins, and he lived 19 years on the farm when his wife died. Immedi- ately after her death, Mr. Field, who was left trustee, presented a long bill against the Estate and another against Perkins, and succeeded in alarming him so much as to induce him to sign a quit-claim and put Field in possession, Field paying him a bonus. That took place in 1827 or 8 ; Perkins said that in 1837 Mr. Field sold the farm of 200 acres to the now Mr. Rugder, of the son of Lord Narrowby, the same nobleman as mentioned in Walker's letter as having bought a large tract of it, thus securing the Estate that had been so long divided. Perkins also mentioned having often seen an old parchment, like a lease, signed in a plain round hand, " John Burwell," which he left in the house when he quit it. Mr. Lemon made an effort to find this document but without success, it having probably passed into the hands of Mr. Rugder. This is the substance of the information concern- ing the Estate obtained by Mr. Lemon.

"In August, 1838, Edward R. Lambert, of New Haven, went to England, for the investigation of it ; the results of whose inquiries were as follows : He arrived in Eng- land on Friday, September 7th ; landed at Portsmouth, and proceeded directly to London.

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On Monday he delivered his letters of introduction to Junius Smith, Esq., and by his ad- vice, and accompanied by him, went to the Office of Wills, Doctor's Commons, and made a thorough search from the year 1750, but found nothing of importance concerning the business. He next went to the Office of Commissioners of Wood and Forest, but was re- fused an examination of their books. During the week went to the office of Mr. Briggs, Steward of the Lord of the Manor of Hemel Hempstead, but he would not allow his rec- ords to be examined in reference to the Estate in question, without proof of authority to make such examination. Provided the letters of introduction from Junius Smith, Esq., to Smith and Grover, lawyers in company in Hemel Hempstead, he proceeded by railway to the place in question ; went to the office of Smith and Grover, found Mr. Grover, to whom he delivered Mr. Junius Smith's letter. After reading it, he remarked that the property he was inquiring about in behalf of the heirs of John Burwell, was the property Mr. Rugder had lately obtained possession of. He said Lord Narrowby bought a large tract of it some years ago, and Mr. Rugder (a son of Lord Narrowby) had now obtained the remainder. He said his partner, Mr. Smith, could give every information concerning the property, for he was one of the administrators of Bachelder's Estate, (a person who had lately had the Burwell Estate in possession) that at Bachelder's death, there was wood and timber cut from off the Estate to the value of 8 or 10,000 pounds. The next day Lambert called again, and found Mr. Smith. Mr. Grover said the gentleman introduced to their notice by Mr. Smith, of London, wished to make some inquiries concerning the Burwell Estate or Rugder's place. Ah, (said he to Lambert) are you any way interested in that property, or from what motive do you make the inquiry ? Lambert told him that he was authorized by people interested, to make inquiries about the property. He replied, if he (Lambert) was seeking information about that business, he must say that he was not at liberty to give any advice or information concerning it ; for he was solicitor for Mr. Rugder, the present pos- sessor of the property. He said it was his opinion, however, that if Mr. Burwell ever did own the Estate, it did not belong to him now, or his heirs at law ; and it was not worth the trouble to inquire any further about it.

" Lambert told Mr. Deacon, keeper of the King's Arms Inn, in Hemel Hempstead, about the management of Smith and Grover, who advised not to place much reliance on what they might say in the matter, for one of them had been interested in the affair, and might fear he would be called to account for the avails of the timber cut off the land soon after the death of Bachelder. Mr. Deacon told Lambert he had better see Perkins, (the same above mentioned) who had been in possession of a part of the Bovingdon property, and was surreptitiously removed from it ; thought from a feeling of retaliation he would be apt to tell what he knew about it ; but might rely on what he said, as he was considered a man of veracity. Lambert saw him soon after and obtained the same information prev- iously communicated to Mr. Lemon ; said he had seen several papers about the land, and particularly mentioned the old parchment lease, signed . John Burwell.' He said there was an inquiry made by the Lord Chancellor a long time since who the legal heirs were, and that a Receiver was appointed, and rents paid annually until the death of the Receiv- er, after which the rents were not called for, and that Bachelder at the time of his death, had the money laid up for several years' rent; said that he, after he married Bachelder's widow paid . quit rent to the Lord of the Manor.' He said that the family of Bachelder became dissipated, and that Mr. Field got a mortgage on the Estate for money lent Bach-

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elder. He said that he had heard his wife say that the owner of the land went to Amer- ica, but that they never heard of him after, and that his name was John Burwell.

" Lambert soon returned to London, and with Mr. Junius Smith again applied to the Office of the Steward of the Lord of the Manor of Hemel Hempstead, but every ob- stacle was put in the way of their investigation. They made another call at the same of- fice, and were informed that Mr. Briggs had gone to France, and would not return in a number of weeks. They explained the business to the clerk left in the office; he said the old Court Rolls of the Manor were at the office, but were locked up, and could not be got at until Mr. Briggs returned. Lambert called there a number of times afterwards, but Mr. Briggs had not returned when he left London. He made arrangements with Junius Smith, Esq., before leaving London to carry forward the investigation of the claim, but was unable to make any progress in the affair."

Burwell, born Apr. 14, 1715, second son of John and Hannah (Burwell) Betts, mar- ried, Nov. 1, 1740, Thankful, born Oct. 24, 1719, daughter of Thos. and Sarah Raymond and grand-daughter of John's" and Mary (Betts) Raymond. These had four children. The wife died Dec. 3, 1749, and Mr. Betts married, second, Sarah, daughter of Nathan Bur- well, and had a daughter, Molly, born April 4, 1757. who married Oct. 21, 1780, Heze- kiah Whitlock,' whose daughter Fanny, born Aug. 4, 1799, married, April 4, 1821, James Stevens,' of Norwalk. Betsy, born July 3, 1772, sister of Molly Betts, married, as his

A son of Hezekiah and Molly ( Betts) Whitlock, viz., Lewis, kept, for many years, the Norwalk light- house on the old "Smith's," later, " Norwalk" Island. " Uncle Lewis" maintained a sort of bachelor's quarters on the island, but his home was a hospit- able retreat to parties who were storm-surprised and storm-stayed. lle lived in the whitewashed stone cottage which was erected at the foot of the light- house, and picturesquely stood beneath the willow. Mr. Whitlock's island life was rather monotonous, but a small slate which hung on the inside of hi- living room door and upon which he recorded the passing of vessels up and down the Sound, evidenced that the tedium of his office was thus, in a measure. relieved.

2James Stevens, son of Daniel, ed. who was son of Danielist. and Sally ( Brown) Stevens, of the Oblong. was, with Henry Selleck, engaged, in early life, in the large manufacturing establishment of the patriarch Caleb Benedict, Sr., of Benedict's Ilill, subsequently Brushy Ridge, New Canaan. Both young men came afterwards to Norwalk, and here established families. Mr. Stevens was long the proprietor of the " Connec- ticut Hotel," corner of Main and Wall Streets, (site of present Boston Store) and Mr. Selleck, for years, the first selectman of Norwalk. The children of James Stevens were Georgianna ( Mrs. S. Henry Bailey), Mary ( Mrs. Eli S. Quintard) and Susan ( Mrs. Frederick T. Betts). The parents and sisters are dead, the grand-children being the late Samuel and

James S. Bailey, and the present Mr -. Rev. Frederick R. Sanford, Mrs. Charles Dell. Brower, Mr. LeGrand C. Betts and Mr. Frederick Quintard. Mr. Stevens' son-in-law, S. H. Bailey (son of Noah Bailey of Nor- walk), was a St. Louis, Mo., merchant, Mr. F. T. Betts (son of Hon. Thaddeus Betts of Norwalk) is a Norwalk farmer, and Mr. Eli S. Quintard is a New Haven and Derby R. R. official. Mr. Quintard is a son of Anson and Polly (Sanford) Quintard, who re- sided in the Joseph Keeler homestead, at present the tenement quarters opposite the coal office of C. T. Leonard. Eli S. Quintard was a New York and New Haven railroad official during the early period of said company's existence and his mention summons up primitive memories of that, to-day, colossal cor- poration. Among Mr. Quintard's contemporary and somewhat-later conductor-brethren were the well-re- membered Upson, Dennis, William Comstock, Wil- liam Lineburgh, Ward Nichols, John Bradley, George Cornwall, William Bauch, Frederick Lockwood, " Jack " Stock, William H. Wallace, Joseph Frank- lin, and Strickland. Messrs. Upson and Dennis were among the earliest conductors. Mr. Com- stock, who commanded the & A. M. " Boston Ex- press" out of New York on the morning ( May [853 ) of the fatal plunge of a large portion of the train into the Norwalk river, now resides in the : West. Mr. Lineburgh, of Norwalk birth. has since been an enterprising citizen of Bridgeport. Ward

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third wife, Dec. 9, 1798, John, son of Denton and Elizabeth (Sherwood) Gregory, and had Antoinette, Angeline (the second Mrs. Edmond Tuttle), George B. and Burwell D., the children of which Burwell D. Gregory are the present John B., of Cranberry Plains, and his brothers, George, Charles and Francis. These boys' grandfather, John Gregory, was born Dec. 25, 1775. He was the grandson of John Gregory3d. (son of John, 2d. who was son of John, Ist. the Norwalk settler). He was a large landowner in Cranberry Plains, and his brother Josiah built and liberally supported the Poplar Plains Methodist Church.

A RARE BETTS-KEELER CONNECTION.

Sarah, born Jan. 21. 1686-7, daughter of Thomas and Mary Betts, married, Dec. II, 1712, Samuel, 2d. son of Samuelist. (who was son of Ralph Keeler, the settler). Sarah Betts was the second wife of Samuel Keeler, ad. which Keeler had previously, Jan. 18. 1704, married Rebecca, daughter of James and Sarah (Gregory) Benedict, of Danbury. By the first marriage of Samuel Keeler2d. there were two children, Samuel and Rebecca, the sec- ond of whom died in infancy. The first son by the second (Sarah Betts) marriage, was born March 14. 1716, and was given the name of his Marvin grandfather (Matthew) and of his uncle Matthew Betts. This son ( Matthew) of Samuel and Sarah Betts Keeler became,

Nichols, of solid Fairfield County Nichols stock, has held, in later years, public office in New Haven. John Bradley was admired by the ladies. George Cornwall, brother of the honored John, of Bridge- port, was a favorite with the journeying public. Wil- liam Bauch, portly and a " no nonsense " official, is remembered for his dry wit. Collecting, one day, his fares, a passenger unintentionally took a small business or other card from his pocket and proffered it, instead of the passage ticket, to the conductor. " I do not attend that church," was the characteristic reply, which restored the traveler's wits. Messrs. Lockwood, Stock and Strickland were sterling, and the latter so perfectly poised that when his engineer on one occasion, having mistook the signal, proceed- ed quite a distance over the route, leaving the con- ductor behind, Mr. Strickland simply went com- placently to the waiting room and quietly rested until his men, having ascertained the blunder, re- turned the train to South Norwalk again. Mr. Wal- lace was always on hand, and Joseph Franklin long conducted the former 8 o'clock night "owl train." Subsequent to Mr. Quintard's time the popular " Ed- die" Wildman ". ran " the 7 A. M. way train from 4th Avenue and 27th St. to New Haven. This was one of the road's important " runs, " and with Mr. Wild- man rode the young news messengers whose duty it was, under the direction of Max and Henry (now C'ol.) Huss (a- representatives of the Adams Express (o.) to supply the patrons of the main line and its connections with the daily papers. Those of the boys who " worked" the Housatonic and Naugatuck

roads went as far as Bridgeport, while the Hartford and Shore Line lads proceeded to New Haven. The sprightly fellows who furnished the morning " down trains" went no further than the " Harlem Junction," a mile or so N. E. of Williams Bridge. Here, with arms full of folded Sun, Herald, Tribune and Times, they waited, in all sorts of weather, the arrival of the " Scoot," "Commutation " and Express trains from the east which there came to a full stop before taking the Harlem track. One of the youngster's train-tarrying spot was a "junction " rock which he facetiously termed his "brown stone front." The vigilant and vigorous Huss Brothers trained their wards well and some of these olden days proteges of the road, which was a school to them, have met with good success in life. One had a handsome Norwalk Savings bank deposit wherefrom he drew, when old- er, in purchase of a city business for himself. Anoth- er is to-day a superintendent of a prominent Western railway, and another still a Central New York law- ver. Invited back in the era of the W. D). Bishop and John T. Shelton incumbencies, to a gathering of their industrious order at Chestnut Hill, Wilton, the juvenile news-scatterers who were met, after their day's trade and travel-toil in diverse parts of the State, at South Norwalk, and thence transported to Chestnut Hill, distinguished themselves for their tell- ing good humor as well as taking civility-manners. Eli S. Quintard had a brother Frederick, who died young, and a sister, Mary Frances, who married El- birt . Curtis, who had Wm. A., now cashier of the Central Nat. Bank, Rebecca, and a child not living.

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Norwalk, history from 1896, Part 33

Author: Selleck, Charles Melbourne. Publication date: 1896 Publisher: The author, Number of Pages: 553

Author: Selleck, Charles Melbourne.
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: The author,
Number of Pages: 553