USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Fairfield > The history of Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, from the settlement of the town in 1639 to 1818, Vol. II > Part 4
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* Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, p. 15.
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HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD
[1707
duty to comply with his request, & therefore for divers reasons do decline the same; & what may be further expected of like nature do altogether discourage from joining in any such enterprises."*
The Assembly met again May 8th, and held its session until the 22d. Mr. Jonathan Sturges was present as one of the deputies from Fairfield. An addition was made to the law entitled :
"Inhabitants & whom to admit, That if any transient person should take up his or her abode in any town, contrary to the established law of the colony, without the authority of the select-men, said person should pay twenty shillings for the use of the poor; & if after due warning to depart, he refused to leave & had no estate to satisfy a fine, then such person after the expiration of ten days was ordered, "to be whipt on the naked body, not exceeding ten stripes."+
One Samuel Carter of Deerfield, who had been attacked by the French and Indians, who had rifled his house, destroyed his cattle, killed his wife and three children, and had four other children taken into captivity, one of whom was redeemed by paying twenty-five pounds, was recommended by the Governor and Council to the charity of New Haven and Milford and to the several towns in the County of Fairfield.
At the October session of the Assembly, held in New Haven on the 9th, a petition was offered by Captain Nathan Gold, Mr. Peter Burr, Captain John Wakeman, John Edwards, Jonathan Sturgis, John Barlow, Gideon Allyn, Samuel Wilson, Samuel Jennings, Moses Dimon and Jos- eph Wakeman, all inhabitants of Fairfield, for a certain tract of land lying north of Danbury, to be laid out for a township, the boundaries of which were: " Southerly by Danbury, running north fourteen miles ; easterly by New Milford & westerly by the colony line." This petition was granted, the regulations of which were to be subject to the judgment of the As- sembly. This tract was afterwards called New Fairfield. It was not, however, settled for some time, on account of the war with the French' and Indians.#
The death of Governor John Winthrop was the cause of calling the Assembly together at New Haven, December 17th, to elect a new gov- ernor. Mr. Gurdon Saltonstall was elected by a majority of both houses, and Captain Nathan Gold was made one of a committee to announce to Mr. Saltonstall that he had been chosen governor. The governor's oath was administered to him January 1, 1708.
The Church of England services were this year again held in a private
* Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, p. 17. + Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1717, p. 21.
# Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, p. 34.
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1707]
family at Fairfield by the Rev. Mr. Muirson, where he baptized a number of adults and children. He was accompanied by Colonel Heathcote, " to whose prudence & the eminence of his station, as he was a man of great consequence among them," Mr. Muirson attributed his success. The excitement caused by this effort to establish the Church of England in Connecticut was very great.
Among those of the New England colonists who were ranked under the name of Puritans there were many who had not separated from the Church of England, but had differed from that body in regard to cer- tain errors which, from time to time, had crept in, or had been thrust upon them by the Church of Rome. They, too, had been subject to the same persecutions which the Congregationalists, Presbyterians and all other dissenting churches had endured; but when the Mother Church, purified from these errors, was presented to them by her missionaries, they welcomed her services with tears of joy. How touching and beauti- ful must her prayers, the Gloria in Excelsis, the grand Te Deum and the Benedicite, have sounded to them on this side of the Atlantic! Not all, however, who appeared pleased with the introduction of the Church of England in the colonies were honest by any means. Some were attracted by novelty; others thought to escape being taxed for the support of religion ; while there were others who were from that leaven of evil which since time immemorial, from an inherent love of opposition and mischief- making, as natural to them as the air they breathe, have existed in all Christian bodies, and who are classed by our Saviour under the head of tares. Those, however, who professed to favor the Church of England were but few in number when compared with the multitude belonging to the Congregational or the Established Church of the Colony.
From an account given at this time by Colonel Heathcote to the Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, it is shown how our forefathers were, many of them, greatly opposed to the intro- duction of the Church of England in Fairfield. He wrote:
" It would be absolutely necessary for the better & more casy effecting this great & good work, that an order be procured from her Majesty, requiring the government of that Colony not to force any of her subjects to pay for the maintenance of the minister settled by their laws, & to repeal that act whereby they pretend to refuse liberty of conscience to those of the Established Church. If these grievances were re-dressed, which in itself is very reasonable & proper, & not much more than hath been granted the Quakers, on their petition against the same government, it would be of greater service to the Church than can at first sight be imagined."
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[1707
In the same letter he recalls some mention having been made in a previous letter :
-of a very ingenious gentleman at Stratford, one Mr. Reed, the Minister of that place, who is very inclinable to the Church, & if the charge can be dispensed with, he is well worth the gaining, being much the most ingenious man they have amongst them, & would be very capable to serve the Church. By reason of the good inclination he shows for the Church, he has undergone persecution by his people, who do all in their power to starve him; & being countenanced & encouraged therein by all the ministers round them, they have very near affected him; so that if any proposal could be made for his coming over for ordination, his family, which is pretty large, must be taken care of in his absence."
In a letter from Mr. Muirson to the Secretary, dated April 4, 1707, which was written about two months after Colonel Heathcote's com- munication, he relates his experience with the magistrates of Stratford, and says :
" One of the magistrates came to my lodging on Saturday evening. & read a long paper in the hearing of Col. Heathcote, & a great many people; the meaning of it was to let me know that theirs was a chartered government; that I had done an illegal thing in coming among 'em to establish a new way of worship, & to forewarn me from preaching any more."
The law was also read to him, and he goes on to say :
"I was lately invited to preach & baptize some children in a town called Fairfield; upon which, I sent a letter to the minister & magistrates of said town, entreating the use of their meeting-house, supposing they would really grant it, being on a week day; but they refused it, & told me they would discountenance such new ways. A gentleman was so kind as to invite me to his house, where, notwithstanding all the stratagems they used to hinder the people from coming, I had a large congregation; but so cruelly was the Independent party set against us, that they railed & scoffed at the Church, making her as idolatrous as Rome, & denied us the liberty of ringing the bell, or beating a drum to give the people notice."
Mr. Muirson was accompanied on this missionary visit to Stratford and Fairfield by the Rev. Mr. Evans, another missionary of the Society, who reported that they " found a considerable number of people in a ready disposition to be received into the Church, flexible to invitations, & only wanting occasions of instruction."
A letter from Colonel Heathcote to the Secretary, dated April 14, 1707, relates that Mr. Reed was turned out of his church on account of his tendencies to the Church of England. He calls the Rev. Mr. Evans "an extraordinary good man, & one that hath done very great service to the Church, not only in Philadelphia, but in other neighboring towns."*
* Doc. Hist. Prot. Episc. Church, U. S. A., by Francis L. Hawks, D.D., LL.D., and William Stevens Perry, A.M., p. 19.
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[708]
1708. On the 5th of January the Assembly passed a law that the governor should be chosen by the people instead of by the magistrates in nomination as had been previously the case .*
On the 13th of May the General Assembly and Court of Election were held at Hartford, where Nathan Gold and Peter Burr were chosen Assistants, and Ensign Theophilus Hull and Mr. John Burr as deputies to the General Assembly. Gurdon Saltonstall, Esq., was chosen gover- nor for the ensuing year. Captain Nathan Gold was chosen deputy governor.t
The inhabitants of the west farms of Fairfield petitioned that they might be granted liberty to settle among them an orthodox minister of the gospel. The matter was recommended to the consideration of the reverend elders in the County of Fairfield, and to make their report at the October session of the Assembly.#
It was decided at this time " that the major part of the inhabitants of a town who were entitled to vote, & were in full communion with the Church, should have full power to call & settle a minister, any law, usage, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. And that all agreements made by them respecting the settlement & maintenance of a minister, should be binding upon the whole of said town or society.">
As concerning Dissenters from the lawful way of worship, "That if any such persons should qualify themselves according to an act made in the first year of the late King William & Queen Anne, granting liberty to worship God in a way separate & apart from that which is by law established, they shall enjoy the same liberty & privilege within the colony without any let or hindrance or molestation whatever. Provided always, that nothing herein shall be construed to the prejudice of the rights & privileges of the churches by law established in this government, or to the excusing any person from paying any such minister or town dues as are now or shall hereafter be due them." *
Owing to misunderstandings in regard to the government of the Congregational Church, and for a nearer union among the churches, it was advised that the ministers of the several counties in the colony should meet together in their county towns, on the last Monday in June, with messengers from each church, to agree upon more definite rules for the management of ecclesiastical affairs. At the time of their meeting two or more or their number were to be appointed to meet at Saybrook at the next college commencement, for the purpose of devising a form of
* Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, p. 39. + Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, p. 41.
# Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, p. 42. § Col. Rec. Conn,, 1706-1716, pp. 43, 50.
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[1708
ecclesiastical discipline to be presented to the fall term of the General Assembly .*
The Synod met May 13th, and the messengers chosen from Fairfield County were the Rev. Charles Chauncey of Stratfield and Rev. John Davenport of Stamford. The time appointed for meeting was at Say- brook, September 9th, when the Savoy Confession of Faith, with only a few alterations, was accepted. It was called the Saybrook Platform of Faith. This platform was approved of by the fall Assembly, and adopted as the instrument by which the established church and college of the colony should be governed.
It was made a law that the regular Council appointed to assist the Governor in maintaining the affairs of the colony according to their charter were not to raise men or money to send out of the colony, unless in case of exigency.t
The elders of the County of Fairfield were appointed to meet at Fair- field the last Monday in June to invite and call some special person to settle in their ministry; and whoever they saw fit to call should be main- tained and supported until they agreed to settle a minister among them.
A home impost was levied on all liquors towards defraying the ex- penses of the colony, at the rate of fourpence a gallon on wine, rum, brandy and distilled liquors, twelve pence on each barrel of cider and two pence per gallon on metheglin. Every public and private house was sub- ject to this fine, under a penalty of forfeiture, if not duly reported to the authorities. A duty was also levied on all imported liquors, at the rate of fifty shillings for a pipe of wine, rum or brandy, or other distilled liquors. A custom-house officer was ordered to be appointed in each county to collect these customs, and to employ as many officers under him as he should need to assist him in collecting said duties. He was authorized to seize all home liquors not reported, as well as such as should be landed without paying duty. The delinquents were subject to arrest and trial before each county court, and to be prosecuted from court to court till the case was ended. Black Rock was made the port for collecting these customs for Fairfield.
The ministers in the several towns were directed to preach an annual sermon proper for direction in the choice of civil rulers, on the day of election. This appears to have been the origin of town election sermons. #
* Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, pp. 51, 87. + Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, p. 32. # Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, p. 61.
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1708]
Peter Burr, Esq., was appointed Judge of the County Court of Fair- field, and Deputy Governor Nathan Gold Judge of the Probate Court.
At the fall session of the Assembly, holden at New Haven, only one constable was appointed in each town, society or village, to make up and collect the annual taxes, with the treasurer of the town, etc.
The second Wednesday in November was appointed a day of public thanksgiving throughout the colony, and " all unnecessary servile labor " was forbidden .*
The selectmen of each town were ordered to supply "a stock of ammunition, & a stock, also, of arms for the poor if need be."
Deputy Governor Nathan Gold was granted forty pounds salary for the year.
"Seven pence on the pound was levied on all rateable estates to pay the public expense, viz. : wheat at six shillings a bushel, rye three shillings a bushel, six pence on Indian corn a bushel ; pork three pounds fifteen shillings a barrel; beef forty-five shillings a barrel; or if any person was disposed to pay his or her taxes in money at fifteen penny- weight for six shillings, it should be accepted at two-thirds."t
All persons above the age of forty-five were released from serving in the train-bands, but not from keeping arms and ammunition, nor from voting in the choice of their commissioned officers. Every sentinel was ordered to appear complete in his arms on the regular training days, or pay a fine of five shillings. +
The tax upon cider and metheglin was repealed. The constables and treasurers of the County of Fairfield were required to make all their tax collections on or before the first week in June.
Deputy Governor Nathan Gold was ordered to take charge of " one barrel of powder with lead & flints" for the use of the soldiers in the county. He was also given authority to erect two garrisons at Wood- bury, Danbury and Oweantenuck, and support them with men and pro- visions at the expense of the colony.
Fifty pounds was allowed for bringing up and maintaining dogs tor the northern frontier towns, to hunt after the Indian enemies, to be always ready for the service of the colony. S
A severe penalty was inflicted upon those who sold guns or ammuni- tion to the Indians.
* Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, p. 72. # Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, p. S3. 2
+ Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, p. 82. § Col. Rec. Conn., Vol. 1706-1716, p. 86.
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[1709
Mr. Peter Burr was appointed major of the Fairfield County militia regiment .*
The introduction of the services of the Church of England into Fair- field do not seem to have met with much success this year; on the con- trary, they met with great opposition. In a letter written by the Rev. Mr. Muirson to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, he says :
" They call the Church of England the sister of Rome." On the 9th of January, 1708, he writes to the Secretary: "And though every Churchman pay his rates for the building & repairing their meeting-houses, yet they are so maliciously set against us, that they deny us the use of them, though on week days. They tell our people that they will not suffer the house of God to be defiled with idolatrous worship. They say the sign of the cross is the mark of the beast, & the sign of the Devil, & those who receive it are given to the Devil." t
It seems that in 1707 several gentlemen in Stratford formed them- selves into a Church of England Society and petitioned the Queen that they might be allowed to enjoy the freedom of the services of that Church, and also to be made exempt from paying taxes towards the support of the Congregational Society. Before they received a reply to their peti- tion the Rev. Mr. Muirson was taken from them, he having died in October of this year. The Rev. John Talbot wrote, February 14, 1708, of the Rev. Mr. Muirson : " The people of Norwalk and Fairfield are ready to break open their meeting-house doors & let him in if he would suffer them." They had hoped to enjoy the regular services of Mr. Muirson in their society and to unite with Fairfield in his maintenance. His death was a great blow to them, and their past efforts to establish the Church now seemed almost hopeless. For some years the churchmen of Strat- ford and Fairfield were visited only occasionally by missionaries stationed at New York and New Jersey, among whom were the Rev. Messrs. Talbot, Sharpe and Bridge. Mr. Sharpe upon one of his visits spent a month at Stratford, and baptized a number of people both in Stratford and Fairfield.
1709. At the meeting of the General Assembly at Hartford, May 12th, Nathan Gold was re-elected Deputy Governor, Peter Burr an Assistant and Captain John Osborn and Mr. James Bennet deputies from Fairfield.
A letter from Queen Anne, dated March 2, 1709, to Governor Salton- stall, requiring the assistance of her subjects in the colony in an expedi-
* Col. Rec. Conn., Vol. 1706-1716, p. 88.
+ Hist. Prot. Episcopal Church, Bishops Hawks and Perry, p. 30.
1709]
WAR WITH THE FRENCH AND INDIANS
tion to be immediately made against the French in Canada, Acacia and New Foundland, was laid before the Assembly. Connecticut was directed to raise three hundred and fifty men to be sent on the expedition.
Anxious to be freed from the common enemies of the colonies, who had constantly harassed, murdered and plundered their frontier towns, and burned and laid waste their homes and plantations, the Assembly without hesitation granted to arm and equip the number of troops re- quired. All the towns in the colony were to send their quota of men, and thirteen men were to be sent from Fairfield .*
This expedition was, by the advice of the Earl of Sunderland to her Majesty, to be dispatched from Boston by the middle of May, with five regiments of regular troops. Twelve hundred of these troops were to be sent from the towns east of Connecticut, thoroughly equipped and prepared with " transports, flat-bottomed boats, pilots & provisions for three months," to make an attack upon Quebec. Fifteen hundred men were to be raised and sent from Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and the southern colonies. They were to proceed by way of the lakes and make an attack upon Montreal.
Colonel William Whiting was given the command of the Connecticut troops.
Ex-Lieutenant Governor Nichols of New York was appointed to com- mand the troops by land as far as Wood Creek, and there await the arrival of the English fleet at Boston. " More than a hundred batteaux & an equal number of birch canoes were constructed for crossing the lakes. Three forts, block houses & stores for provisions were erected." But the fleet from England did not arrive, on account of the defeat of the Portuguese, which caused the fleet destined for America to be sent to Portugal. The troops of the colonies returned home in the fall. greatly disheartened and chagrined at the failure of the expedition. Many of them had died, and Connecticut lost about ninety of her men. But it was resolved not to give up the undertaking, but to await the opening of spring, when, with the friendly assistance of the Five Nations, they hoped to continue the war. Governor Saltonstall visited New York for the purpose of holding a consultation with the governors of the other provinces as to the best mode to prosecute the war.t
Moses Dimon was appointed lieutenant and Mr. John Wheeler en- sign of the train-band of Fairfield. Lieutenant John Wheeler of Strat- * Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, pp. 90, 93. +.Trumbull's Hist. Conn., 2. 457
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[1709
field was appointed surgeon and physician to go with the expedition to Canada .*
On the 8th day of June a special Assembly was convened by order of the Governor and Council at New Haven. Governor Saltonstall laid before the Assembly the result of his visit to New York, and that the gov- ernors of New York and New Jersey and Pennsylvania were thoroughly in favor of another expedition. All necessary arrangements were made to further this agreement, as the colonies were inspired with the hope that their French and Indian enemies would be brought into subjection.
To such straits had the colony been reduced by the drain upon its treasury that the first paper money in Connecticut was issued by this Assembly, consisting of bills of credit upon the colony from two shillings to five pounds, the whole sum to amount to eight thousand pounds. These bills were to be taken and accepted in payment for the public debts at the advance of 12d. on the pound. Bills to the amount of four thousand pounds were to be first signed and issued, the remaining four thousand to be left unsigned until further orders. For the repayment and drawing in of these bills of credit and for defraying any further charges of the colony a rate of tenpence on the pound was granted to be paid into the treasury, one-half to be levied against the heads of the next list of public taxes, to be paid into the treasury before or by May 1, 1710, and the other half on or before May 1, 1711. The planters were to pay this tax either in bills of credit, silver money or in pork at fifty shillings per bar- rel, or beef at thirty shillings per barrel, winter wheat at four shillings per bushel, rye at two shillings fourpence per bushel and Indian corn at two shillings per bushel," all to be in good order and signed with the packer's mark. t This issue with all others up to 1740 were called old tenor bills.
The following note gives a correct description of the three shilling bill issued at this time :
CONNECTICUT. 1237 3s.
No.
THIS INDENTED BILL OF THREE SHILLINGS
Due from the Colony of Connecticut in New England to the Possessor thereof shall be in value equal to Money. And shall be accordingly accepted by the Treasurer and Receiver subordinate to him; for any stock at any time in ye. Treasury. Hartford, July the twelfth, Anno Dom. : 1709. By order of ye General Court.
JOHN ELIOT, JOHN HAYNES, Committee. JOHN CHESTER,
* Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, p. 99.
+ Col. Rec. Conn., 1706-1716, pp. III, 112.
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1709]
On the left of the committee signatures was the seal of the Colony of Connecticut with the grape-vines and our motto, "Qui Transtulit Sustinet." (He who transplanted still sustains.)
The list of estates at Fairfield this year were valued at £16,708 16s.
Governor Saltonstall was appointed by the Assembly to visit Eng land and to present to the Queen and her Council for the well-being of the colonies the absolute necessity of prosecuting this war against the French and Indians. At the October session of the Assembly Captain Theophilus Hull, Lieutenant Samuel Couch and Ensign John Osborn were confirmed as officers of the west train-band of Fairfield; and Captain David Hubbell, Lieutenant Samuel Hubbell and Ensign Richard Hubbell for the village of Stratfield.
It appears that Colonel Whiting's Connecticut troops were some of them ill and in a sad condition at Albany. The Assembly ordered that the sick should be conveyed home by water and provided with every comfort, and that those able to move should march as speedily as pos- sible, and Colonel Whiting was ordered to have his officers to disband their men when they reached home .*
Laws for the improvement of militia companies were passed, and for calling out troops for her Majesty's service. Major Peter Burr, Captain Joseph Wakeman and Captain Theophilus Hull of Fairfield, with Mr. Joseph Curtis of Stratford, were appointed a committee of war for Fair- field County, to care for and defend the Connecticut frontier towns against the enemy.t
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