USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Fairfield > The history of Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, from the settlement of the town in 1639 to 1818. Vol. I > Part 34
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In the mean time, while the town was without a settled minister, Major Gold was appointed, " to provide & supply for carrying on the Sabbath by some person or persons to preach, until some other provision to be made at the town's cost." It appears from the records that Mr. Samuel Adams, instead of Mr. Thompson, carried the letter to Mr. Harriman, and that he was allowed ten or twelve shillings to defray his expenses to and fro from New Haven. Nathan Gold, Jehu Burr, John Sturges, Sergeant Seely, John Osborn, and Sergeant John Thompson were appointed to discourse with Mr. Harriman "in regard to his being settled in the ministry at Fairfield." Failing to obtain this gentleman's services, the Rev. Mr. Davenport of New Haven was nominated, but "the town did declare, by a vote, that they saw no cause to invite Mr. Davenport to settle among them. " At the same time it was voted " to give Mr. Joseph Webb a call, he declaring to their satisfaction what his practice might be as to baptism." At a town meeting held on the 23d of May, " the town for the accommoda- tion of the ministry in Fairfield," voted " to leave it to the present towns- men to purchase Barlow's lot, lying near the town-house, to be the parson- age forever, provided it can be bought for seventy pounds in pay."+ On the 29th of July, Captain John Burr, Jonathan Gold, sr., and John Thompson were appointed to wait upon Mr. Webb, and upon his satisfying them about his views in regard to baptism, to offer him ninety pounds a year, with the use of the parsonage land and a house, " providing he maintain said house, when it is fully furnished, while he so continues a minister among us."
At the same time the town granted to Mr. Chauncey, of Pequonnock, three acres of land on the north side of his home-lot. In case he died in the ministry at Pequonnock, it was to go to his heirs. On the 9th of August following, the committee reported favorably of Mr. Webb to the townsmen, who had assembled at the town-house. All who were in favor of his being chosen pastor of Christ's Church were asked to hold
* The Rev. John Harriman, whose father, John Harriman, was an inn-keeper in New Haven, married Hannah, daughter of Richard Bryan of Milford, and between 1690 and 1692 settled at Elizabethtown, N. J., as pastor of the church in that place .- Savage's Genealogical Dictionary.
+ B, Town Votes, p. 98.
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up their hands, "which," added Nathan Gold, jr., the town recorder, " was a full vote, a very few or none voting against it, for I observed & saw that none voted against it."
Nathan Gold, Captain John Burr, and John Thompson, were appointed " in the name & behalf of the town to give Mr. Webb a call. Jonathan Morehouse & Samuel Squire were chosen to remove Mr. Webb with his family & goods to Fairfield at the town's cost." Under this last record is the following entry: "It is to be remembered that Mr. Webb & his family came to Fairfield, on a Thursday, at night, being the 13. of October 1692."* From the particular attention paid to Mr. Webb's views on baptism, and from his church record, it is evident that a majority of the townsmen favored what was called the half-way covenant, which for many years was sanctioned by the ministers of Fairfield. By this provision the children of non-communicants who accepted the church covenant before the congregation, were baptized.
At the May election Major N. Gold and Captain John Burr were chosen assistants ; Captain Mathew Sherwood and Mr. Nathan Gold + deputies, and Jehu Burr commissioner for Fairfield .;
The French having made a descent upon Block Island during the pre- ceding year, caused great alarm among the people of New London, Ston- ington and Saybrook. In each of these places the fortifications were garrisoned with recruits, and put in a state of defense. Rumors that the French and Indians were about to cross Lake Champlain and attack the plantations in that region, gave rise to renewed anxieties throughout New England. The Assembly ordered scouts to be sent out to discover the approach of the enemy. The governor and any two assistants were appointed to manage and direct the scouts of New Haven and Fairfield
counties. Three shillings a day was allowed a man and horse for this purpose. Grover's hill, at Fairfield, was probably fortified and manned to defend the harbors of the town. Samuel Squire was appointed at a town meeting held on the 17th of May " to fence across the highway by " Grovers Hill, so called," on the east side of the creek by ye creek in two places, about 25 rods asunder, provided he make & maintain bars suitable while he so fenceth, for people, horse & cart to pass as occasion required ; this to stand during the town's pleasure." An important vote was also passed at this meeting in regard to fencing the public highways. Lieuten- ant Hall and Sergeant John Thompson were made a committee " to settle
* B, Town Votes, p. 98.
+ Mr. Nathan Gold was the only son of Major Nathan Gold.
# Col. Rec. Conn., IV., 65, 66.
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or stake, or stone ye highway out, so that they may be known, specially at or about Pequonnock in ye woods."
The Indian land at Rocky neck in Sasco field at the mouth of Mill river, was also to be bounded out to the Indians. The point or neck of land on the west side of Mill river, in the Sasco field, which had been reserved by the town for a ship-yard, and called Joseph Palmer's neck, was ordered to be bounded out .* Every person owning fence in the common line of fence in the common field, was ordered within ten days to set a stake at each end of his fence in the line, with the initial letters of his name distinctly marked upon them. The highways, on the west side of Mill river were to be laid open, and made free for grazing the cattle of the town for six months. John Beardsley of Stratford, was invited to set up the trade of a smith at Fairfield.
An unusual excitement prevailed throughout the town about this time. Sir William Phipps notified Governor Treat, on the 20th of June, of his safe arrival at Boston from England, with the Massachusetts charter, and of his appointment as governor of that province. He also informed him that he had been appointed commander-in-chief of the militia, land and sea forces in the colonies of New England. He requested that some per- son might be sent to meet him at Boston, who should be prepared to give an account of the militia forces, forts, etc., with the names of their chief officers, within the limits of Connecticut. Governor Treat immedi- ately convened the General Court, which met at Hartford on the 22d of June. An answer was returned to Governor Phipps' letter, in which the court expressed their surprise at the contents of his letter in regard to the army and sea forces ; but that he must be aware that under their charter, the government of the militia was vested in the governor and company of the colony, who had faithfully exercised that power ; that having no direct orders from the king and queen of England, they knew of no better way to govern the colony, than that which their charter afforded ; but that they were willing according to the best of their ability, to contribute their aid to anything tending to the common safety of the country.
Fairfield was never more astir than at this time. This new infringe- ment of their chartered liberties was discussed at every fireside ; Major Gold, now well advanced in years, with Major Burr and the deputies of their town, had already expressed their approval of the message sent to Governor Phipps, and calmly awaited further developments. A second cause of excitement prevailed to an alarming extent. Witches, after a
* This neck is probably the point which lies opposite the breakwater at Southport .- B, Town Votes, p. 97.
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lapse of forty years, had again embodied themselves in some of the women of the town. Mercy Disborow of Compo, Goody Miller, goodwife Eliza- beth Clawson, and Mrs. Staples, had been indicted for familiarity with Satan. So great was the mass of evidence against them, and the number of witnesses so large, that at the special session of the General Court, the governor, deputy-governor, and assistants, numbering seven at least, were granted a term of oyer and terminer, at Fairfield on the second Wednesday in December. The coming of the governor and so many of the assistants, added to the prestige of the case, and probably the women, save Mrs. Staples, had never figured more conspicuously before the public. Mrs. Staples after a lapse of more than forty years since her first trial, was again accused of being a witch, but once more proved too clever, even for the governor and his seven judges.
The supposed witches were tried before the governor and the assist- ants and judges of the General Court, but the jury failed to agree in ren- dering a verdict. An account of what had been done was related by Governor Treat before the General Court in October, when it was decided that a new trial should take place at Fairfield as soon as possible, so that a verdict might be obtained, upon which the court should render a final issue. John Wakeman and Nathaniel Burr acted as deputies at the fall session of the Assembly. Major Gold was granted fifteen pounds for his services to the colony during the year. On the 19th of September a special court of oyer and terminer was again held at Fairfield to try the women accused of witchcraft. Governor Treat, Deputy-Governor William Jones, Secretary John Allin, Assistants Andrew Leete of New Haven, John Burr of Fairfield, William Pitkin of Hartford and Moses Mansfield of New Haven, occupied the bench.
The grand jurors impaneled were Joseph Bayard, Samuel Ward, Edward Hayward, Peter Ferris, Jonas Waterbury, John Bowers, Samuel Sherman, Samuel Gilpin, Ebenezer Booth, John Platt, Christopher Com- stock, and William Reed. The petit jury were James Beers, Isaac Wheeler, John Osborn, John Miles, Ambrose Thompson, John Hubby, John Bowton, Samuel Hayes, Eleazer Slawson, John Belding, John Wake- man, and Joseph Rowland. Mercy Disborow, Goody Miller, Elizabeth Slawson, and Mrs. Staples, were arraigned before this august body of magistrates and sworn jurors. The charges made against them were, as in all of the witch cases, of the most absurd character. The testimony given in was " very voluminous." About two hundred depositions were taken. The women were pronounced to be guilty of witchcraft; but that none of them might suffer innocently, it was decided to try a plan, which had been
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adopted at Hartford, of throwing them into a river or pond, under the superstition that if they sank under the water they were innocent of the charge brought against them; but if they floated, they were veritable witches, fit only for condemnation and death.
Whether this test was performed at Hyde's pond, or at Edward's pond on the meeting house green, is not stated ; but " four witnesses swore, that Mercy Disborow, being bound hand & foot & put into the water, swam like a cork, though one labored to press her down." Elizabeth Clawson also floated.
The court again assembled at Fairfield on the 28th of October, when fresh testimony was taken. Elizabeth Clawson, Goody Miller, and Mrs. Staples were acquitted ; but Mercy Disborow was found guilty. The jury were sent out a second time to reconsider their verdict ; but they returned to the court room, and the foreman stated "that they saw no reason to alter it, but found her guilty as before. The court approved of their verdict, & the governor passed upon her the sentence of death." Her sentence, however, was not satisfactory to a majority of the people in the town. Their zeal for hanging witches appears to have been satisfied, when the simple-minded woman, Goodwife Knapp, ended her life on the scaffold to satiate the ignorance and fanatical bigotry of her neighbors, in which then, as in the present instance, the leading and most learned and pious magistrates of the colony concurred. To the credit of the more enlight- ened townsmen of Fairfield, however, a petition, exhibiting considerable intelligence, was presented to the General Assembly in her behalf, setting forth weighty reasons why she should be pardoned .* The petition appears to have been granted, as she was living in 1707, in which year her hus- band's will was probated, and she is mentioned as the widow of Thomas Disborow.f In the summer of this year Fairfield lost another of her most distinguished public men, in the death of Captain Jehu Burr. The pages of this history give many proofs of his great usefulness in the town, in the General Courts, and particularly in King Philip's war, during which time
* An account of this case of witchcraft was published in the Connecticut Mirror, The New York Commercial Advertiser for July 14th and 15th, and re-printed in the New York Spectator July 18th, and in the Times and Weekly Advertiser, of Hartford, Aug. 8th, 1820, by the late William L. Stone, of Hartford, then editor of the Connecticut Mirror .- Col. Rec. of Conn., IV., 76, 77.
+ Mercy Disborow appears to have been a daughter of the widow of the Rev. John Jones, by a former marriage. In a sale of land made by Thomas Disborow of Compo, about 1688, the consent of his mother-in-law, Susannah Jones, and that of his wife, Mercy Disborow, was obtained. Let- ter A, Town Deeds, p. 622. Susannah Jones sold out her right in her husband's parsonage at Fairfield to Thomas Bennet, soon after Mr. Jones' death, and moved to Compo.
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he was made a commissioner, and invested with great power. The renown of his family had increased in luster almost from the time of the landing of his father, Jehu Burr, at Boston.
Upon due deliberation it was thought advisable to consult with Mr. Webb about a parsonage, and to learn if he would be willing to reside in the town-house. On the 2d of January his rate was fixed at " one penny on the pound." At the same time it was voted to give him the town- house " for his encouragement in the ministry in Fairfield, he relieving said town from finding or. providing him an house to live in. He is to take it as it is; & if he die in the ministry in Fairfield, said house is to be his own." If he left the place, then the town-house and the land belong- ing to it were to return to the town; and he was to be paid back what money he had spent upon it. When Mr. Webb had been in Fairfield about a year, he received a call to another parish ; but so well satisfied were the townsmen with him, that, at a public meeting, held on the 7th of Decem- ber following, it was by vote manifested that he should continue among them, and take his office charge upon him, that they may be in a settled way, " & that he might be under a necessary tie to them in said work." The sum of ten pounds, ten shillings, was added to his salary " instead of allowing him wood, so long as he continued in the ministry in Fairfield."
To settle a minister in those days was an important undertaking. It was not a matter of a few months or a year or so, but a life settlement, " a necessary tie." The careful investigation made to learn the views of Mr. Webb on the subject of baptism, and to know that he was fully approved by all the town's men, commends to the present generation an example of wisdom, prudence, and watchful zeal for the welfare of churches, worthy of imitation. In the month of May the General Court, for the encourage- ment of learning in the colony, granted the counties of New London and Fairfield twenty pounds each towards maintaining grammar schools.
The fears which had so long been entertained of a continued war with the French and Indians were realized, when it was learned that Count Frontenac had attacked the forts of the Mohawks with remarkable success, but having been pursued by Colonel Schuyler, of Albany, at the head of a brave band of two hundred English volunteers, had escaped back into Canada. Application from New York was made to Governor Treat to dispatch without delay two hundred men with arms, ammunition, and pro- visions to Albany for the defense of his Majesty's colonies. A General Court was convened at Hartford on the 21st of February, when it was resolved to raise 150 men, of whom fifty were to be dragoons. Thirty-five of these were to be supplied from Fairfield county. John Miles, of New
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Haven, was appointed captain, James Bennit, of Fairfield, lieutenant, and Manassa Minor, of Stonington, ensign of the company. Captain John Burr was appointed commissary for Fairfield county. The troopers with their officers were ordered to meet at Hartford complete in their arms on the following day by ten o'clock in the morning, furnished and ready to march. A few days later, still another dispatch was sent to Governor Treat from Governor Phipps, demanding the assistance of one hundred men, and fifty Indians to defend the eastern towns, and to defeat the fishing and planting of the eastern Indians. A special Assembly met on the 6th of March, when it was voted to send Governor Phipps a company of sixty-four men and thirty Indians, to be placed under the command of Captain William Whiting, of Hartford. A garrison of forty or fifty men was also sent up to defend the upper river towns. An extra tax of a penny on the pound was levied to defray the expenses of the expedition, upon the credit of which the treasurer was ordered to borrow money for their immediate necessity. At the May election Major Gold and Captain John Burr were chosen assistants, Isaac Wheeler deputy, and Nathan Gold, jr., commissioner for Fairfield. Major Gold was appointed to administer the commissioner's oath to the county commissioners.
It was during the sitting of this Assembly that the following law in regard to juries was passed. All juries when impaneled and sworn into the court, having heard the pleas and evidences for and against trials of capital and criminal cases, should immediately withdraw themselves into some convenient room or place appointed by the court, under the care of some fit officer ; " & there abide until they had agreed upon a verdict ; " unless some difficult question arose about the charge given them, when they should be allowed to return to the court-room for further light or information, and immediately " return & abide in their room," until they had decided upon a verdict. A fine of twenty shillings was imposed upon any juror, warned and returned to serve on a jury, absent without giving good reason. A fine of twenty shillings for contempt of court was laid upon any person refusing to answer a summons of attachment upon his property, as well as the necessary costs of a hearing to the judges in attendance at the court for his time, etc. A law was also passed that when persons were imprisoned for debt or any other misdemeanor, they should be supplied by the person who caused them to be imprisoned, with food, if nothing more than bread and water, which was afterwards to be repaid to the plaintiff.
For the unhappy law which required persons to be imprisoned for taxes or debts, the court provided a mittimus to be sent to the prison keeper,
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requiring him to keep them in prison. No execution for the future was to be considered legal " on any other estate, but as in a late law about rates, wherein lands were exempt."* Executors and administrators were allowed 2s. 6d. for every estate of fifty pounds; 5s. for estates not exceed- ing £200, and Ios. all above £200.
Again the military officers of Fairfield shared with those of the other towns in the colony, a further cause of righteous indignation, in a demand for their control by Colonel Fletcher, who had been appointed governor of New York. He arrived from England on the 29th of August, 1692, vested with plenary power for commanding the whole militia, of Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, etc. This was a new dilemma, and between the authority given Governor Phipps and Governor Fletcher, the colony seemed in a fair way to be drained of its militia as well as of its wealth. As Governor Fletcher insisted upon assuming the authority with which he was vested, Governor Treat assembled the General Court at Hartford on the first of September. John Wakeman and Isaac Wheeler represented Fairfield. A memorial with two thousand one hundred and eighty signa- tures was presented to the Assembly, requesting that their Majesties be petitioned for the control of their militia and their chartered privileges; and that each town should share the expense of sending an agent to England. Major Fitz John Winthrop was chosen for the undertaking, and the Rev. Gurdon Saltonstall of New London was invited to accompany him. +
A penny on the pound was levied on the towns of the colony to defray the expense of sending Major Winthrop to England, by the 20th of Sep- tember at farthest. An agent was also sent to New York, to seek reconciliation with Governor Fletcher. The Assembly met again on the 12th of October. Major Gold, as assistant, John Wakeman and Nathaniel Burr were present from Fairfield. Major Gold was granted 15 pounds for his good services during the year. A tax of 4d. on the pound was levied to defray the current expenses of the colony, which, with the army taxes, amounted to 6d. on the pound. It was about the 23d of the month, while the Assembly was still in session, that Governor Fletcher addressed a letter to them from New Haven. He had landed at New Haven, and sent a messeger forward, requesting the court not to adjourn until he
* A law was passed in Oct., 1682, exempting land from execution, while there was personal estate to cover the debt ; nor could an execution be served between May and November, except for rates and fines .- Col. Rec. of Conn., III., IIO.
+ State Archives, Foreign Correspondence, II., 39, 40. Col. Rec. Conn., IV., 101, 102. Trumbull's Hist of Conn., I., 411, 412.
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should arrive at Hartford. He had sent his horses by another sloop, and was hourly expecting them. On the 26th he arrived at Hartford and sent a letter by Colonel Bayard to the Assembly, in which he styled himself " Their Majesties' Captain General & Governor in Chief, in, & over the Provinces of New York, Pennsylvania, &c .; & Commander in Chief of the militia, & of all the forces, by sea & land, within their majesties colony in Connecticut, & of all the forts & places of strength within the same." He demanded a speedy surrender of the militia of the colony, and ordered out the militia of Hartford, that he might drum up recruits. The Assembly insisted that the militia was under their command ; nevertheless the train-bands were summoned out. Again Fletcher addressed a letter to the Assembly, assuring them that he had no designs whatever upon their civil rights, and "that he would not set a foot out of the colony until he saw obedience paid to his commission " by all such as were loyal subjects of their Majesties; promising he would distinguish those who acknowledged his authority. Governor Treat was tendered a commission for the command of the militia of Connecticut, which he refused to accept, and with the Assembly sent a reply, that not having received orders from their Majesties to surrender their chartered liberties, they conceived their duty to the king and queen, as well as to themselves, "to continue the militia as formerly, till, by their agent, then on his way to England, they should receive further orders" direct from William and Mary. They assured him that they were willing to render every possible assistance in the defense of their Majesties' colonies ; and that although, besides the loss of lives, they had already expended about five thousand pounds for the de- fense of Albany, they were yet willing to grant six hundred pounds more.
Meanwhile the train-bands assembled, and the tradition is, that while Captain Wadsworth was exercising the men in military drill, Governor Fletcher ordered his commission to be read. Colonel Wadsworth immedi- ately commanded, " Beat the drums !" at which the drummers filled the air with a deafening roar. Governor Fletcher shouted, "Silence !" and again attempted to read ; when Colonel Wadsworth shouted, " Drum, drum I say!" The drummers instantly beat with their utmost skill. Again Governor Fletcher commanded "Silence!" With a stern and angry countenance, and tones not to be misunderstood, Colonel Wadsworth once more gave the command, " Drum, drum I say !" and turning to Governor Fletcher he said, " If I am interrupted again, I will make the sun shine through you in a moment !" Alarmed at the fire in his eyes, and by his resolute manner, Governor Fletcher desisted from any further efforts, either to read his commission or to attempt enlisting men. A large body
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of men and women, with angry, defiant looks and mutterings, caused him to feel that he would be safer within the limits of New York; and he accordingly took leave of the invincible New Englanders with feelings of great indignation, and vows of future vengeance.
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