USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Redding > The history of Redding, Conn., from its first settlement to the present time : with notes on the Adams, Banks Stow families > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16
Daniel married Esther Hull April 18th, 1758. Children : Eli, baptized August 16th, 1761. Chloe, July 5th, 1767 ; and others. Seth married Rebecca, daughter of Deacon Stephen Burr, April 25th, 1759. Her children, as named in Deacon Burr's will, 1776, were : Elias, Ebenezer, Joel, Elijah, Samuel, and Seth. Mary married Timothy Sanford, son of Joseph. Abigail married John Hawley December 21st, 1762. Samuel, Jr., married Sarah Olmsted July 23d, 1767. (Town record.) His children re- corded were : Uriah, baptized February 14th, 1768. Thomas, December 17th, 1769. Peter married Abi- gail Keeler June 1st, 1780.
Ephraim Sanford the first, settled in Sanfordtown, and was a large land owner there, as is shown by sev- eral deeds now in the possession of his descendants, some of which date back 'as far as 1733. His chil- dren by his wife Elizabeth Mix, according to the par- ish record, were : Rachel, baptized July 29th, 1733. Abigail, baptized May 18th, 1735. John, April 29th, 1739. Oliver, September 20th, 1741. Lois, September 17th, 1743. Huldah, May 5th, 1748. Augustus, July 15th, 1753. Esther, April 27th, 1755. His will, dated January 30th, 1761, mentions also. Ephraim, Elizabeth, and Tabitha. Ephraim
221
HISTORY OF REDDING.
Sanford, according to the family tradition, was the first man having a store of goods in Redding. His goods were brought from Boston. Of his children, Abigail married Daniel Jackson October 2d, 1755. John married --- , and settled in the Foundry district, in Redding. His children were : James, Stephen, Ephraim, John, Eli, Huldah, Lois, Betty, Elizabeth, and Annie. James, the eldest son, settled in the Foundry district, near his father. He was a teamster in the Revolutionary army, and was present at the execution of Jones and Smith on Gallows Hill. He married Sarah, daughter of John Beach, and grand-daughter of Rev. John Beach, the faithful missionary of the Church of England. He was the father of Squire James Sanford. John, Jr., the fourth son of John Sanford, settled in Redding, and was the father of John W. Sanford, a well-known citizen.
Oliver Sanford, son of Ephraim, married, in April, 1767, Rachel, daughter of Deacon David Coley, of Weston. Their children were : Mary, baptized July 31st, 1768. David, August 20th, 1769. Ephraim, September 15th, 1771. Abigail, May 29th, 1774. Enoch A., April 28th, 1776. Levi, December 14th, 1777. Oliver C., Abigail, Mary, Betsey, and Lor- raine.
SMITHI.
ANNA, daughter of Samuel Smith, of Redding, was baptized July 6th, 1740; and Seth Samuel, son of Samuel and Lydia Smith, September 28th, 1760. The latter was the first lawyer who located in Red- ding. He had an office in the centre, where also he
HISTORY OF REDDING.
kept a select school. He was town-clerk for a terni of years, and wrote a most elegant hand, as will be remembered by those familiar with the records of his times. He also filled many other important positions in the town. He married Huldah Their children were : Zalmon, baptized February 3d, 1780 : and probably others.
STOWE.
ROBERT STOW, the first of the name in Red- ding, settled in Lonetown, on the farm now owned by his grandson, Sumner Stowe. He married Anne Darrow January 26th, 1775. Their children were : Daniel, born July 4th, 1779. Abigail, born April 11th, 1776 ; married Israel Adams. Sarah, born October 4th, 1777. Sarah, born August 11th, 1781. Sumner, born September 17th, 1783. Huldah, born February 6th, 1787 ; married Andrew An drus, of Danbury. Abraham, born March 4th, 1792. Polly, born September 20th, 1794 ; married Moses Parsons, of Newtown. Robert Stow died November 5th, 1795. Daniel Stow married Lucy Hoyt, of Bethel, and settled in Redding, near his father. His children were : Robert, Almira, Sarah, Harriet, Lucy, Sumner, Mary, and Polly. Abraham settled in Bethel. Sumner died when a young man.
Other settlers in the town at an early date, but who do not appear to have been permanent resi- dents, were: Daniel Bradley, Thomas Williams, Thomas and William Squire (of Fairfield), Ebenezer Ferry, George Cowden, Nathaniel Booth, Edmund Sherman, Jonathan Squire, John Whitlock, John
223
HISTORY OF REDDING.
Truesdale, Frederick Dikeman, and John Nott. The families of Byington, Chapman, Hamilton, Knapp, Osborne, Dennison, Bennett, St. John, Gilbert, Johnson, Abbott, Duncomb, Edmonds, Olmstead, Rider, Treadwell, and Todd figure in the later rec- ords of the town.
CHAPTER XV.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
JOEL BARLOW, the poet and statesman, was born in Redding March 24th, 1754. He received his early education first from the Rev. Mr. Bartlett, pas- tor of the Congregational church in Redding, and second at Moor's preparatory school for boys, near Hanover, N. H. He entered Dartmouth College in 1774, at the age of twenty, and shortly after removed to New Haven and was entered at Yale. His col- lege course was a highly creditable one in many re- spects. During the college terms he was a faithful student, especially winning distinction for literary attainments ; and during the long summer vacations he joined the Continental army as a volunteer, and aided in fighting the battles of his country. He grad- uated in 1778. From 1779 to 1783, he was chaplain of one of the Connecticut regiments in the Revolu- tionary army. Shortly after leaving the army in 1783, he married Miss Ruth Baldwin, daughter of Michael Baldwin, Esq., of New Haven, and in 1785 settled as a lawyer in Hartford, Conn. In Hartford Mr. Barlow appears as lawyer, journalist (editor of
224
HISTORY OF REDDING.
the American Mercury), bookseller, and poet. In the latter capacity he produced a revision of Dr. Watts's " Imitation" of the Psalms, and also, in 1787, his famous poem, "The Vision of Columbus." In 1789 he accepted from the Sciota Land Company the position of foreign agent for the sale of their lands in Europe, and went to England and later to France for this purpose ; but shortly after his arrival the company made a disgraceful failure, and he was again thrown on his own resources. Fortunately, his literary reputation had made him quite a lion in the French capital, and he easily succeeded in ob- taining work on the French journals. Later he em- barked in some mercantile ventures, which proved successful and brought him a competence. He at first participated actively in the French Revolution, which broke out soon after his arrival in France, but becoming disgusted with the atrocities of the Jacobins, he withdrew and went over to England. In London, in 1791, he published his "Advice to the Privileged Orders," a work which drew out a formal eulogium from Fox in the House of Commons. This was succeeded in 1792 by his "Conspiracy of Kings," a poem so bitterly hostile to royalty, that he found it prudent to leave England for France im- mediately on its publication. On his return to France, at this time, the privileges of French citi- zenship were conferred on him, only before accorded to but two Americans, Washington and Hamilton. In 1793 he accompanied Gregorie, former Bishop of Blois, and other dignitaries to Savoy, and aided in organizing that country intova department of the Republic. While here he wrote his " Hasty Pud-
225
HISTORY OF REDDING.
ding," the mock-heroic, half-didactic poem, which has chiefly endeared him to his countrymen. In 1795 President Washington appointed him consul to Algiers, with instructions to ratify the long pend- ing treaty with the Dey, and to liberate the Ameri- can prisoners there. Colonel Humphreys, American Minister to Portugal, an old friend of Mr. Barlow, himself came to Paris to urge him to accept; and proving successful, the two friends left Paris on the 12th of September, 1795, for Lisbon. From Lisbon Mr. Barlow proceeded to Algiers vid Alicant, and after a year and a half of effort, succeeded in ratify- ing the treaty and in liberating the captives. He then returned to France. During the succeeding eight years he resided in an elegant villa near Paris, formerly the property of the Count Clermont Ton- nere, enjoying the friendship of the chief men of the nation, as well as that of all Americans of eminence who visited the capital.
But in 1805 the desire to once more revisit the land he had left seventeen years before, became too strong to be resisted longer, and disposing of his estates in France, he returned in July of this year to America. He was warmly received in his native land, and after an extensive tour, extending into the western country, he returned to Washington, where he built an elegant mansion called Kalorama, and which was widely famed in its day for its beauty and elegance, and as being the resort of all the famous men of the times. At Kalorama, Barlow gave his chief attention to the cultivation of the Muses, and to philosophical studies. Here, in 1808, he finished his great poem, "The Columbiad," which was
16
226
HISTORY OF REDDING.
printed at Philadelphia, and was one of the most elegant volumes ever issued from the American press. He also busied himself with collecting materials for a general history of the United States. In 1811 President Madison offered him the respon- sible position of Minister to France, in the hope that his reputation and his influence with the French Government might secure for us a treaty giving in- demnity for past spoliations on our commerce and security from further depredations. Barlow ac- cepted the position from motives of the purest pa- triotism, in the belief that his talents and position might be made useful to his country. He sailed from Annapolis in July, 1811, in the historic frigate Constitution, Captain Hull, which had been placed at his disposal by the Government. His negotia- tions with Napoleon, while on this mission, were conducted through the Duke de Bassano, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and covered a space of nearly a year and a half. Napoleon acknowledged the justice of the claims of the United States, and ex- pressed a willingness to ratify a treaty of indemnity: but he was so absorbed in directing the campaign against Russia, and in his other operations on the European field, that it was very difficult to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion.
At length, on the 25th of October, 1812, Mr. Bar- low received a letter from the Duke de Bassano, writ- ten at Wilna, Poland, saying that the emperor had deputed the business of the treaty to him, and that if Mr. Barlow would come to Wilna, he had no doubt but that the treaty might be speedily ratified. Bar- low, on receipt of the note, at once set out, and trav-
227
IIISTORY OF REDDING.
elling night and day, reached Wilna about the first of December, only to find the village filled with fugi- tives from Napoleon's retreating army, while the duke was out on the frontiers hurrying forward re- inforcements to cover the emperor's retreat. Dis- appointed in his mission, he hastened to retrace his steps ; but at Zarniwica, an obscure village in Poland, he was seized with an acute attack of pneu- monia, the result of privations and exposure, which terminated his life December 26th, 1812. He was buried in the little village where he died, and a mar- ble pillar was erected by Mrs. Barlow to his mem- ory. No friendly pen has ever written the poet's biography, and his memory has pretty much faded from the minds of his countrymen ; but there were few men of his day more widely known, or who did deeds more worthy of grateful recognition by the American people.
"STEPHEN RUSSELL MALLORY, second son of Charles Mallory, of Redding, Conn., was born in the West Indies in 1814, and came to the United States when but three months old. In 1819 he accom- panied his father to Florida, and was placed at an 'old field school' near Mobile, from whence he was removed to the academy at Nazareth, Pa., where he spent several years. He returned to Florida in 1830, and established his residence at Key West, where he embraced the profession of law. Mr. Mal lory has filled many important trusts under the State and General Governments, and was collector of the customs and superintendent of the revenue at Key West, under Mr. Polk. In 1850 he was
228
HISTORY OF REDDING.
elected to the United States Senate for the term of six years." The above is from Gleason's " Pictorial Companion" for 1853. Mr. Mallory's subsequent career as Secretary of the Confederate Navy is familiar to the reader.
DUDLEY SANFORD GREGORY, Mayor of Jersey City, N. J., and prominently identified with the early history of that city, was a native of Redding.
MAJOR-GENERAL DARIUS COUCH was born of Red- ding parents, in South-East, New York, July 25th, 1822. The following sketch of his career, taken largely from Cullum's History of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy, will be read with interest :
" Darius N. Couch, born in New York, appointed from New York, cadet at United States Military Academy from July 1st, 1842, to July 1st, 1846, when he was graduated and promoted in the army to Bre- vet Second Lieutenant 4th Artillery. Served in the war with Mexico in 1846-47-48, being engaged in the battle of Buena Vista, Mex., as Second Lieutenant in Captain Washington's Battery, Light Artillery, for which he was brevetted First Lieutenant for gallant and meritorious conduct. Participating in the oc- cupation of the Seminole country in 1852-3, he planned and executed at his own expense a scien- tific expedition into Central and Northern Mexico, the results of which were very creditable to his en- terprise. He married, in 1854, a daughter of Hon. S. L. Crocker, of Taunton, Mass., and grand-daugh- ter of Isaiah Thomas, founder of the Antiquarian Society of Worcester, Mass., and author of the ' History of Printing.' The next year he resigned from the army. At the breaking out of the Rebel-
229
HISTORY OF REDDING.
lion, being settled in Taunton, Mass., he raised the 7th Reg. Mass. Vols., and proceeded to Washington in July, 1861. Was made Brigadier-General in August, and assigned to the command of a brigade in the defence of that city. In Mcclellan's Cam- paign on the Peninsula, General Couch commanded the 1st Division, 4th Army Corps, holding the left of the line at the siege of Yorktown. At the battle of Fair Oaks, his brave Division held their ground for more than two hours against the combined at- tack of the Confederate troops. With part of his Division he reinforced Hooker in the hot action of Oak Grove, June 25th, 1862, and was in various skirmishes during the seven days until July 1st, on which morning General McClellan posted him on the main road leading to Richmond, where was fought the successful battle of Malvern Hill.
" Being promoted to the rank of Major-General, July 4th, 1862, he joined Pope with his Division on the retreat from Manassas, in the Northern Virginia Campaign. October, 1862, in command of the 2d Army Corps, Campaign of the Rappahannock. At Fredericksburg December 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th, it fell upon General Couch to assault Mary's Heights, in which desperate work that brave, mag- nificent 2d Army Corps lost more than 4000 men. The loss of his Corps at the disastrous battle of Chancellorsville, where he was second in command, was very heavy. In November, 1864, he joined Thomas, who was besieged at Nashville, and was assigned by that commander to the command of an Army Corps. In the battle which followed he com- manded a division, turned Hood's left, and cap- tured several pieces of artillery and many pris- oners. In North Carolina, March, April, and May, aiding Sherman in closing the war. Resigned in June, 1865, the Great Rebellion having been crushed out.
" The General has for several years resided at
230
HISTORY OF REDDING.
Norwalk, Conn., having been Quartermaster-Gene- ral at Hartford during the years 1877-78."
HON. GIDEON H. HOLLISTER, of Litchfield, is a de- scendant of two of our Redding families, as will be seen by reference to the notes on the Gray and Jack- son families. He was born December 14th, 1818, in Washington, Conn., and graduated at Yale College in 1840. Studied law in Litchfield, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1842. He practised law in Litch- field until 1859, when he opened an office in New York. He went as United States Chargé d'affaires to Hayti when that country was under the adminis- tration of Salnave. In 1855 he published a History of Connecticut in two volumes, of which two edi. tions, of two thousand copies each, have been ex- hausted. He is the author of three historical dra- mas, one of them bearing the title of "Thomas à Becket." He has also written a legal treatise on the Law of Eminent Domain. Mr. Hollister is now engaged in writing a history of Hayti.
Attorney-General Bates, of Missouri, was of Red- ding ancestry.
Judge Strong, of the United States Supreme Court, spent his childhood and youth in Redding, and made his maiden plea here before a justice court.
Mrs. Dora Goodale, a writer for Scribner's, is a native of Redding, being a descendant of Colonel John Read, one of the earliest settlers. She is the mother of Elaine and Dora Goodale, the child poets, whose charming verses have been so warmly wel- comed by the American public.
In the several professions Redding has been well
231
HISTORY OF REDDING.
represented. "Dr. Asahel Fitch, the first physician who settled in the town, is remembered in Fairfield County as a worthy man, and one of its most respect- able practitioners of medicine. He was among the principal pioneers in the formation of the County So- ciety, but died soon after its organization. His death occurred in 1792, or about that period. I understand that he was the grandfather of Professor Knight, of Yale College.
Among the physicians of Fairfield County who enjoyed a long and successful practice was Dr. Thomas Davies, of Redding. He removed to Redding in 1793, on the decease of Dr. Fitch, and there con- tinued in the duties of his profession until his death, which occurred in 1831. Dr. Daveis possessed the reputation of being among the first of the physicians of the county who assumed regularly obstetrical duties, and so successful were his labors, that he be- came particularly eminent in that department.
The doctor was once summoned as an important wtiness to appear before the Court in Fairfield, and not appearing, the sheriff was sent to compel his at- tendance. Being absent, and learning on his return that the officer was awaiting at a public-house in the vicinity, he without notice to the official rode to Fairfield, and appeared before the Court. On the question occurring with the Court regarding the costs attending the capias, he requested one or two of his legal friends to excuse the delinquency. The judge decided, notwithstanding, that the law must be observed and that the doctor must bear the expenses. Dr. D. then requested a hearing in his own behalf, which being granted, remarked : "May it please the
233
IIISTORY OF REDDING.
Court : I am a good citizen of the State, and since I was summoned to attend this Court I have intro- duced three other good citizens into it."
The Court replied, that for so good a plea, he would leave the parties to pay the expenses.
Rev. Thomas F. Davies, of Philadelphia, is the only male descendant of Dr. Davies .*
Among the later practitioners of the town, Dr. Charles Gorham was very widely known and re- spected. He was the son of Meeker Gorham and Elizabeth Hubbell, of Greenfield Hill, in the town of Fairfield. He began the study of medicine with Dr. Jehiel Williams, of New Milford, and afterward pur- sued his studies at the College of Physicians and Sur- geons in New York. He settled in Redding in 1816, at the age of twenty-one years, and practised as a physician and surgeon in Fairfield County forty- two years. He married Mary, daughter of William King Comstock, of Danbury. Dr. Gorham is de- scribed as a man of more than ordinary strength of character, with a well-balanced mind and sound judgment. He was fond of scientific investigations, and was remarkable for close observation and power of analysis. He died at his residence in Redding Centre, September 15th, 1859.
Among clergymen may be enumerated the follow- ing : Rev. Justus Hull, Rev. Lemuel Hull ; Rev. Thomas F. Davies, of Philadelphia ; Rev. William T. Hill, Presiding Elder of New Haven District ; Rev. Aaron K. Sanford, Presiding Elder of Pough-
* From an Address before the Connecticut Medical Convention, in 1853, by Rufus Blakeman, M.D.
233
HISTORY OF REDDING.
keepsie District, New York Conference ; Rev. Aaron S. Hill, of New Haven ; Rev. Morris Hill, of New Haven ; Rev. Moses Hill, of Norwalk ; Rev. Hawley Sanford, of Iowa; Rev. Morris Sanford, of Iowa; Rev. Platt Treadwell ; Rev. Albert Miller, of Iowa ; Rev. Leroy Stowe, of Milford, Conn .; and Rev. A. B. Sanford, of Brooklyn, N. Y.
The following State Senators have been natives or citizens of Redding : Thomas B. Fanton, elected in 1841; Lemuel Sanford, 1847; Cortez Merchant, 1855 ; Francis A. Sanford, 1865; James Sanford, 1870 ; Jonathan R. Sanford, 1877.
Thomas Sanford, former High Sheriff of the county, and at one time nominee of the Democratic party for Comptroller of the State ; Henry Sanford, of New York; Superintendent of Adams Express Company ; Aaron Sanford, of Newtown, present High Sheriff of Fairfield County ; and Albert Hill, City Engineer of New Haven, are natives of Red- ding.
APPENDIX I.
THE following recollections of those who attended church at the old Congregational meeting-house, before it was pulled down in 1836 to make room for the present edifice, have been kindly furnished by Thomas Sanford, Esq. They will be read with interest, as relating to a later period of the town's history than that covered by the preceding chapters.
Jesse Lacy, wife, son, and daughter, resided in the north- cast part of the town of Easton, and had to go about five miles to meeting. The son, Deacon Rowland B. Lacy, now resides in Bridgeport.
Eli Lacy, wife, and daughter, from the same neighbor- hood.
Mrs. Ichabod Gilbert resided about two miles north- east of Redding Ridge. She was the grandmother of the Gilbert Brothers, of Bethel.
Deacon Lemuel Hawley, and niece, Miss Sarah M. Dut- ton, who afterward became the wife of Rev. Thomas Dut- ton.
Daniel Betts, wife, and two daughters.
Michael Jennings, wife, and daughter, Eliza, who be- came the wife of Mr. Thatcher, of Hartford.
Samuel S. Osborn and wife.
Joseph Hawley and wife.
Jedediah R. Hawley and wife.
Mrs. Abbott, the mother of the present Deacon T. M. Abbott, who was married about this time, and, together
APPENDIX I. 235
with his wife, were, and have been constant attendants at meeting.
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel A. Frost, and son, Ezra M. Frost, who now resides in Watertown, Ct.
Rev. Thomas F. Davies built the house just north of the Town House, and with his family attended church here till 1831, when he left to take charge of the Congrega- tional church at Green's Farms.
Charles Wilson and family.
Leman Canfield and family.
Zalmnon Read, an officer in the Revolutionary War, and family.
Deacon Samuel Read and family.
Henry Read and family.
Widow Betty Adams.
Calvin Jenkins and wife. He was a drummer in the Revolutionary army.
Mrs. Harry Lines and children.
Abraham Parsons, a soldier of Revolution, wife, and daughter.
Timothy Parsons and children.
The widow of Doctor Thomas Davies.
Deacon Lemuel Sanford and wife.
Widow Huldah Marvin and children.
Deacon Charles D. Smith, of this place, married the only daughter of Widow Marvin for his first wife.
Eli Read and wife.
Rev. Jonathan Bartlett and family.
Samuel J. Collins, wife, and two daughters. His youngest daughter is the wife of our present physician, Dr. Wakeman.
Jared Olmstead, a soldier in the War of 1812, and family.
Colonel Aaron Burr and family.
Jonathan R. Sanford and family.
236
APPENDIX I.
Mrs. Benjamin Couch.
Mrs. John Goodyear and Jane Tillow.
Colonel Asahel Salmon, a soldier of the Revolution, and family. Colonel Salmon led the singing for several years.
Mrs. Daniel Sherwood.
Daniel Meeker's family.
Captain Lemuel Adams and family.
John Meeker and wife. He played the bass viol for years.
Azariah Meeker and wife, the grandfather of the pres- ent Azariah.
Harry Meeker and family.
Moses Meeker and family.
Captain John Gray and wife.
Joel Gray, wife, and daughter.
Mrs. Daniel Benedict and two daughters.
Captain John Davis, a soldier of Revolution, and two daughters.
Benjamin Meeker and wife.
Eli Starr Boughton, father of Benjamin S. Boughton, and family.
Samuel Meeker and wife.
George B. Phillips and family.
Cortez Merchant and family.
Mrs. Samuel S. Gray and children.
Mrs. Holmes.
Edward Couch, wife, and two boys. The boys now reside in Ridgefield-Edward J. and Simon.
Peter S. Coley and wife.
Alfred Gregory, wife, and children.
Eli Sanford, wife, and son, Hinman.
Daniel Barlow and wife.
Burr Mecker, a soldier in the War of 1812, and family ; and Miss Coley, who became the wife of Dr. L. N. Beardsley, of Milford, Ct.
237
APPENDIX 1.
Joel Barlow and family.
Henry and Joseph H. Meeker.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.