USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Ridgefield > The history of Ridgefield, Conn. : from its first settlement to the present time > Part 16
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"'Whereas, The Town of Ridgefield did, on the gth day of August last, in Special Town Meeting, vote a bounty of two hundred dollars to such volunteers as had already enlisted, or such as might thereafter enlist, until the quota for Ridgefield under the last call of the President of the United States for six hundred thousand men should be filled, and
"' Whereas, A vote was also passed authorizing the Selectmen to borrow the money to pay said bounties, and believing said vote did not convey sufficient au- thority to said Selectmen to borrow the necessary amount of money ; therefore,
"' Resolved, That the Selectmen be, and are hereby requested to call another Town Meeting, to authorize the Town Treasurer to borrow from time to time, upon the credit of the Town, a sum not exceeding sixteen thousand dollars, for the purpose of paying the bounty that may have been voted ; and also to ratify and con- firm the action of the Selectmen, in so far as they have borrowed money upon the credit of the town, and have paid a portion or portions of bounties hereto- fore made.'
" On motion adjourned.
" Attest, L. H. BAILEY, Town Clerk."
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING.
" A Special Town Meeting will be held at the Town- House, in Ridgefield, on Saturday, Sept. 13th, at 3 o'clock P.M., for the purpose of authorizing the Town
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Treasurer to borrow upon the credit of the town a sum not exceeding sixteen thousand dollars, for the purpose of paying the bounties that may have been voted ; and also to ratify and confirm the action of the Selectmen, in so far as they have borrowed money upon the credit of the town.
" EBENEZER HAWLEY, -
" AMOS SMITH, Selectmen.
" SMITH KEELER,
" RIDGEFIELD, September 8, 1862."
"At a Special Town Meeting, holden September 13th 1862, in pursuance of the foregoing notice, William Lee was appointed Moderator.
" On motion, it was voted that the following Reso- lutions be adopted :
" 'Resolved, That the Town Treasurer be, and he hereby is authorized to borrow, on the credit of the town, the sum of fifteen thousand four hundred dol- lars, on the best terms possible, for the purpose of paying the bounties voted to volunteers at the Special Town Meetings of August 9th and September 6th, 1862.
" 'Resolved, That the action of the Selectmen in bor- rowing money to pay the first instalment of town bounty to volunteers be, and hereby is legalized and ratified by the town.
Resolved, That the several votes passed at the Special Town Meetings of August 9th and September 6th, in relation to bounties to volunteers from the town, to fill the quota for the six hundred thousand volun- teers, be, and the same is hereby ratified and con- firmed.'
" On motion adjourned.
" Attest, L. H. BAILEY, Town Clerk."
" At a Special Town Meeting of the Electors, held
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at the Town-House on Saturday the 7th of February, 1863, the following resolution was passed :
" 'Resolved, That a Committee of Seven be appoint- ed (the Selectmen and Town Treasurer be a part of said Committee) to equalize the payment of the war debt of the Town of Ridgefield, and report at an ad- journed meeting the best way to liquidate the same.
" 'Voted, That Messrs Lewis H. Bailey, Hiram K. Scott, and George Keeler, Esqs., be that Committee.'
" The meeting was adjourned to Saturday the 28th inst."
"At a meeting of the Legal Voters, held pursuant to adjournment on Saturday the 28th day of February, 1863, the meeting was called to order by Ebenezer Hawley, Moderator.
" The Committee appointed at the meeting of Feb- ruary 7, 1863, presented their report.
" It was moved and seconded that the Report of the Committee be accepted, and was carried in the affirmative.
" Moved and seconded that the Resolutions recom- mended by the Committee be adopted.
" Pending the discussion on the adoption of the Resolutions, it was moved and seconded that the fol- lowing Resolutions be substituted for the Resolutions of the Committee, viz. :
"'Resolved, That under and by authority of an Act of the General Assembly of this State, passed Decem- ber Session A.D. 1862, entitled " An Act to authorize Towns, Cities, and Boroughs to issue Bonds or other Obligations for War Purposes," to which Act reference is here had,
" 'The Town of Ridgefield hereby authorizes and di-
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rects the issue of Bonds in payment and liquidation of its expenses and liabilities incurred solely for the pur- poses named in said Act, to an amount not exceeding in the whole the sum of sixteen thousand dollars, in sums not less than fifty dollars nor greater than five hundred dollars ; all to bear date the first day of July, 1863, and made payable to order or bearer, at the option of the purchasers, with interest at the rate of six per cent per annum, and made payable and redeem- able by the Treasurer of the Town of Ridgefield, at his office in said town, as follows, viz : The interest on the whole amount to be payable on the first day of July, 1864, and thereafter the interest to be paid by the said Treasurer on the succeeding first day of July in each year, on all of said Bonds unpaid, until the whole of principal and interest is paid ; and five hundred dollars of the principal to be paid on the first day of July, 1864 ; six hundred dollars on the first day of July, 1865 ; seven hundred dollars on the first day of July, 1866 ; eight hundred dollars on the first day of July, 1867 ; nine hundred dollars on the first day of July, 1868 ; one thousand dollars on the first day of July, 1869 ; eleven hundred dollars on the first day of July, 1870 ; twelve hundred dollars on the first day of July, 1871 ; thirteen hundred dollars on the first day of July, 1872 ; fourteen hundred dollars on the first day of July, 1873; fifteen hundred dollars on the first day of July, 1874 ; sixteen hundred dollars on the first day of July, 1875 ; seventeen hundred dollars on the first day of July, 1876 ; and seventeen hundred dollars on the first day of July, 1877.
The Bonds shall specify the amount of interest, when and where payable, and shall be signed by the First Selectman, and countersigned by the Town Treasurer, and registered upon the Town Records by the Town Clerk ; and when so executed, signed, countersigned, registered and delivered, shall be valid and of obligatory force and effect upon said town.
"'Resolved, That hereafter, and until said Bonds
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are paid or redeemed, according to their tenor, the Treasurer of said town is hereby directed, from year to year, to reserve from the tax or income of said town, on the first day of July in each year, such sum as shall be necessary and sufficient to pay the interest then due on all of such Bonds then outstanding ; and also such sum of the principal as shall fall due on the said first day of July, until the whole of said Bonds and interest are paid and redeemed ; and that this vote shall be printed upon the margin of each of said Bonds, and made and become, a part and condition of the contract between said town, and each bond- holder.
' Resolved, That the Town Treasurer shall have the charge of said Bonds ; and with the advice and assist- ance of the Selectmen shall prepare the proper and necessary blanks ; and said Town Treasurer shall see to the proper execution and registering thereof, and with the assistance of the Selectmen shall sell and deliver the same to the best advantage, at not less than par value ; and said Treasurer shall make a reg- ister of all such Bonds, showing the amount and number of each Bond executed and sold, the date of sale, and the name of purchaser, which register shall be left with the Town Clerk, and when the Treasurer shall pay any of said Bonds, he shall cancel the same by erasing the signatures thereon, and shall also write upon the face of said Bonds cancelled, this day of
, and sign the same, and note such cancella- tion in said register, and report the same to the Town Clerk ; and said Clerk shall thereupon enter upon the Town Records such cancellation : Provided that be- fore said Town Treasurer shall have the charge and custody of said Bonds he shall give good and suffi- cient bond, with surety, to the acceptance of the Selectmen of said town, conditioned for the faithful discharge of said trust ; and said Selectmen and Town Treasurer shall attach interest coupons to said Bonds.
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"'Resolved, That the Town Treasurer shall apply the avails of said Bonds, in payment of expenses or lia- bilities incurred for any matter connected with, or growing out of the raising, equipment, or subsistence of volunteers or militia, to serve in the armies of the United States, as provided in said Act, and for no other purpose whatsoever.'
" And the resolutions so offered and substituted were declared by the Moderator to be carried in the affirmative.
" At a Special Town Meeting of the Electors, held pursuant to notice, at the Town-House, March 7, 1863, it was
"'Voted, That the Resolutions passed at an ad- journed Town Meeting, holden February 28, 1863, in re- lation to issuing of War Bonds, be reconsidered in all that relates to the date of said Bonds, the time when the interest and the several payments shall be made, and reserving of tax or income.
" 'Voted, That the said Resolutions be so amended as to make said Bonds all bear date April Ist, 1863 ; that the interest on the whole amount be paid on the first day of October, 1863, and the interest payable thereafter on all of said Bonds unpaid on the first day of October in each succeeding year ; until the whole amount is paid ; and the first payment of five hun- dred dollars to be made October Ist, 1864; and the several payments to be made on the first day of October in each year, instead of the first day of July ; also the appropriation from tax or incomne.
' Voted, That this meeting be now adjourned.' "Attest, HENRY SMITH, 2ª, Town Clerk."
" At a Special Town Meeting of the Electors, held at the Town-House, July 25, 1863, the following Reso- lution was offered and adopted :
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" 'Resolved, That the Treasurer of the Town of Ridgefield shall pay to the proper officers appointed . to receive the same, the sum of three hundred dollars for each person who shall be drafted in accordance with the Act entitled 'An Act for enrolling and call- ' ing out the National Forces, and for other Purposes.
" The meeting then adjourned.
" HENRY SMITH, 2ª, Town Clerk."
"At a special Town Meeting, held at the Town- House, August 7, 1863, the following Resolutions were offered and adopted :
" 'Resolved, That the Town Treasurer be, and he hereby is authorized and directed to pay out of the Town Treasury the sum of three hundred dollars to each person who may be drafted, accepted, and mus- tered into the United States service, under the late call for three hundred thousand men by the President of the United States, for three years, or during the war ; or to the drafted man who shall furnish an able- bodied substitute, who shall be accepted and mustered into the United States service.
".Voted, That the Selectmen and Town Treasurer be, and they hereby are authorized and instructed to bor- row, upon the credit of the town, a sum of money sufficient to pay the said three hundred dollars to each of said persons who may comply with the above vote. '
" The meeting then adjourned.
" HENRY SMITH, 2ª, Town Clerk."
" At a Special Town Meeting, held October 20, 1863, the following Resolutions were offered and adopted :
" 'Voted, That the Town Treasurer be, and he hereby is authorized and directed to pay out of the Town Treas- ury the sum of three hundred dollars to each person
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who has been drafted and accepted into the United States service, under the late call for three hundred thousand men by the President of the United States for three years, or during the war ; or to the drafted man who shall furnish an able-bodied substitute who shall be accepted into the United States service.
" 'Voted, That the Selectmen and Town Treasurer be, and they are hereby authorized and instructed to bor- row, upon the credit of the town, a sum of money suffi- cient to pay the said three hundred dollars to each of said persons who may comply with the above vote.
Voted, That all votes taken at previous meetings conflicting with the above votes are hereby declared to be null and void.
"'Voted, That Ebenezer Hawley and Ebenezer Jones be, and they hereby are appointed a Committee to at- tend at Bridgeport, on Wednesday or Thursday of the present week (as they may deem best), and pay to all such persons as have been drafted and accepted, or who have or may furnish a substitute who has or may be accepted, a sum of money not exceeding three hundred dollars, in accordance with the vote passed this day.'
"On motion adjourned.
" Attest, A. N. THOMAS, Town Clerk."
"At a Special Town Meeting, held pursuant to no- tice, at the Town-House, January 2, 1864, the follow- ing Resolutions were offered and adopted : .
" 'Resolved, That this town appropriate a sum not ex- ceeding two thousand dollars, to defray the expenses of Ebenezer Hawley, recruiting officer for this town, in filling our quota under the last call of the President. " 'Resolved, That the Selectmen of the town be author- ized to borrow, on the credit of the town, a sufficient sum for the above purpose, provided there are not sufficient funds in the Town Treasury.'
"Attest, A. N. THOMAS, Town Clerk."
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" NOTICE.
"The Legal Electors of the Town of Ridgefield are hereby warned that a Special Town Meeting will be held at the Town-House, in said Ridgefield, on Satur- day, August 6, 1864, at 2 o'clock P.M., for the purpose of taking such action as may be deemed expedient and necessary to encourage volunteering, and filling the quota of this town under the last call of the President of the United States for five hundred thousand men ; and to make an appropriation from the town Treasury of such sum of money as may be necessary to pay such as may volunteer or be drafted in case said quota is not filled by volunteering ; and also to appoint a re- cruiting agent, or agents, for the town ; also, to author- ize the Selectmen and Town Treasurer to borrow, upon the credit of the town, by Bonds or otherwise, a sufficient sum of money to defray the expense of pro- curing the requisite number of men to fill said call.
" EBENEZER HAWLEY,
" DAVID C. KEELER, Selectmen. " DANIEL HUNT,
" RIDGEFIELD, July 29, 1866."
" At a Special Town Meeting of the Legal Voters of the Town of Ridgefield, held at the Town-House on Saturday, August 6, 1864, in pursuance of the above call, Samuel Scott was appointed by the Selectmen and Town Clerk Moderator of said meeting.
" On motion of Henry Smith, Esq., the following Resolutions were offered :
' ' Resolved, That in order to fill the quota of the Town of Ridgefield, under the last call of the President
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of the United States for five hundred thousand men, this town hereby appropriate from the Treasury of the town a sum of money not exceeding nineteen thousand dollars, for the purpose of defraying the expenses at- tending the filling of said quota, and to pay volun- teers who have already enlisted under this present call, and who shall apply to the credit of the town, or all who may hereafter enlist under this call, and in case the requisite number is not obtained by volun- teering, then to pay to drafted men (in case there be such), who may be mustered into the service of the United States, a sum like unto that which may be paid to volunteers, and also to pay a like sum of money to such person or persons as shall furnish a recruit who shall be mustered into the United States service, said recruit to apply to the quota of this town, and shall apply to the credit of such person or persons as shall furnish such substitute recruit, upon the proper vouchers being presented to the Treasurer of said town.
"'Resolved, That H. K. Scott, L. H. Bailey, and John D. Hurlbutt be, and hereby are appointed a Com- mittee to procure volunteers and substitutes to fill the quota of the said town, and said committee are hereby authorized to pay to each volunteer, substitute, re- cruit, or drafted man, or his substitute, who shall be mustered into the United States service, a sum of money not exceeding five hundred dollars ; and said Committee are hereby authorized and empowered to draw orders on the Treasurer of the town for money sufficient for that purpose ; and the Town Treasurer is hereby instructed and directed to pay out of the Treasury such sums as may be drawn for by said Committee ; providing always that such sums in the aggregate shall not exceed the said sum of nineteen thousand dollars.
" 'Resolved, That the Town Treasurer and Selectmen of this town be, and they hereby are authorized and directed to borrow, upon the credit of the town, in
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such manner as they may deem best, a sum of money not exceeding nineteen thousand dollars, for the pur- pose of placing the funds in the Treasury, to pay the amount authorized in the foregoing resolutions.'
" The above resolutions, on motion, were adopted.
"'Moved and adopted, That the Selectmen and Town Treasurer be an Advisory Committee with and for the above appointed Committee.
" 'Moved, That the second resolution be reconsidered. Carried.
" 'Moved, That after the words ' drafted man,' the words 'or his substitute,' be inserted, and then ac- cepted.' Carried.
" The following Resolutions were then offered :
" 'Resolved, That any person or persons furnishing a substitute recruit, shall furnish to the Recruiting Com- mittee satisfactory evidence of the amount that they have actually paid for such substitute, and shall re- ceive only such sum as actually expended ; providing always that such sum shall not exceed five hundred dollars.
" 'Resolved, That the Committee just appointed shall draw from the enrolled subjects in the town as many names as they shall furnish substitutes ; and such names so drawn shall be exempt for three years ; pro- viding such person whose name so drawn is a military subject ; and the town shall pay the travelling ex- penses of those who may be exempted by the surgeon.
"'The foregoing Resolutions were, on motion, adopted :
"'Moved, That the Committee use discretionary power in regard to the draft, as to when, and how, and what number to draw at a time.' Carried.
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"The meeting, on motion, then adjourned.
"Attest, ALBERT N. THOMAS, Town Clerk."
"Notice is hereby given that a Special Town Meet- ing will be held at the Town-House, in Ridgefield, on Saturday, the 10th inst., at I o'clock P.M., for the purpose of appointing an agent or agents to fill, in the best possible manner, the quota of men that may be called for by the President of the United States from the Town of Ridgefield, and to make the necessary appropriations from the Treasury of said town to de- fray the expenses of filling said quota.
" WILLIAM LEE,
" TIMOTHY JONES,
" WILLIAM W. BEERS, Selectmen.
"SAML S. ST. JOHN,
" GEORGE BOUGHTON,
" RIDGEFIELD, CT., Dec. 5, 1864."
"At a Special Town Meeting of the Legal Voters of the Town of Ridgefield, held at the Town-House, on Saturday, December 10, 1864, in pursuance of the above call, William Lee was appointed by the Select- men and Town Clerk Moderator of said meeting.
"'Moved, That we adjourn for the space of thirty minutes.' Carried.
" Pursuant to the foregoing adjournment, met at the expiration of time mentioned, when the following Res- olutions or Votes were offered :
" 'Resolved, That the Town Treasurer of the Town of Ridgefield be, and he hereby is authorized and direct- ed to borrow, on the credit and for the general pur- poses of the town, such sum or sums of money as shall be approved by the Selectmen, not exceeding ten
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thousand dollars, either on temporary or permanent loan, at his direction, and to execute all proper notes and obligations therefor as such Treasurer.
"'Resolved, That Timothy Jones and John D. Hurl- butt be, and are hereby appointed a Committee on be- half of this town, duly authorized and directed to pro- cure the enlistment into the military service of the United States, on the quota of Ridgefield, of so many men as may in their opinion be hereafter required on any anticipated or pending draft or drafts, under the following restrictions : That all persons who will pay the sum of one hundred dollars each, for the purpose of procuring a substitute, for three years, to the Treas- urer of the town, within ten days, shall be entitled to a substitute in his own name. And in case more per- sons shall pay said sum within said ten days than is necessary to fill the quota (in the judgment of the Committee), the Committee shall designate by lot the names of those who shall be furnished with substitutes ; and the Committee shall put on no more substitutes than there are persons who may pay the one hundred dollars ; and said Committee shall draw orders on the Treasurer of the town for such sum or sums of money as they shall from time to time require to meet the expenses incurred by their vote, duly signed by the Selectmen ; and said Selectmen are duly authorized to fill any vacancy or vacancies which may occur in said Committee.
''Resolved, That the Town Treasurer be, and hereby is authorized and directed to pay all orders drawn by the Committee, for the purpose named in the foregoing Resolution, out of any funds now in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.'
"On motion, the above Resolutions were carried.
"'Moved, That the Committee appointed to fill the quota be, and are hereby instructed to have the names of such invalid persons as are not military sub- jects, whose names appear in the enrolment, stricken
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from the same ; and when instances require the trans- portation of the same to and from Bridgeport, the Committee be instructed to have the same attended to at the expense of the town. The motion was carried. "Moved, That the Committee use discretionary power as to time, etc., in taking such persons to and from Bridgeport.' Carried.
" On motion adjourned.
" Attest,
A. N. THOMAS, Town Clerk."
" NOTICE.
"The Legal Voters of the Town of Ridgefield are hereby warned to attend a Special Town Meeting, at the Town-Hall, in said Ridgefield, on Saturday, the 18th day of February, 1865, at I o'clock P.M., for the pur- pose of hearing the report of the Recruiting Committee, appointed at a Special Town Meeting holden at said Town-Hall, on the IIth day of December, 1864, and to take such action in relation to recruiting for said town, on the call of the President of the United States for three hundred thousand men, as said meeting shall deem expedient.
" WILLIAM LEE, r " TIMOTHY JONES,
" WILLIAM W. BEERS,
Selectmen.
" SAMUEL S. ST. JOHN,
" GEORGE BOUGHTON,
" RIDGEFIELD, CT., February II, 1865."
"At a Special Town Meeting of the Legal Voters of the Town of Ridgefield, held at the Town-House, on Saturday, February 18, 1865, in pursuance of the above call, Hiram K. Scott, Esq., was chosen Chairman of said meeting.
"The Report of the Recruiting Committee, ap-
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pointed at Special Town Meeting, was presented and read, as follows :
" The undersigned persons, who were appointed re- cruiting agents for the Town of Ridgefield, at a Special Town Meeting held in this place on December 10, 1864, beg leave to make the following report :
"On account of the small number attending said meeting, immediate efforts were made by said agents to give notice throughout the town of the action taken at the above-mentioned meeting. The following nam- ed persons paid into the Town Treasury each one hun- dred dollars, within the time required by said meeting:
John S. Keeler,
Charles B. Staples,
Isaac P. Howe,
John T. Hunt,
David Daw,
Charles Lockwood,
Samuel Beers,
Smith Gage,
Henry A. Stuart,
Clark Keeler, 2ª,
Benjaman F. Bradley, Edward T. Hunt,
John B. Smith,
amounting to thirteen in number. Your agents proceed- ed at once to the marshal's office in Bridgeport, for the purpose of acquitting themselves fully of the duty assigned them.
" They found upon the enrolment at said office about one hundred and eighty names registered as military subjects for this town. Sixty of these, from various causes, were erased, leaving at this time about one hundred and twenty-five enrolled, including additions necessary to be made. They also negotiated with Seth J. Benedict, of Bridgeport, to furnish us with the re- quisite number of recruits for said town, who agreed to furnish at $630 per man, costing the town for each man the sum of $230. Two substitutes were enlisted under this contract, one for John S. Keeler and one
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for Henry A. Stuart, when an order was issued by Pro- vost-Marshal General Fry requiring the principal in all cases to be present at the time of enlistment. The effect of this order was almost to stop business at the office ; and also Mr. Benedict did not consider him- self any longer bound by the former contract with your agents. Also the price of substitutes advanced from $630 to $775. Your agents, controlled by their own judgment, held the opinion that this sudden advance in the price of men was fictitious, and that men would soon be of less price. Consequently they re- turned home, with the intention of awaiting the result, whatever that might be. They also communicated with brokers elsewhere, and became satisfied that the increase of price was not confined to Bridgeport alone. Mr. Benedict also informed us every few days what the prospect was with him, the substance of which was the price remained for several weeks at the last- named figures, and that very few men passed exami- nation out of the large number presented. Your agents would also state that immediately after the publication of the above order there was a decrease in the number of substitutes for three years. Men most- ly preferred to go as volunteers ; with such your agents had no power, according to the vote of the town by which we held authority. In the meantime a young man by the name of Marcus J. Olmsted pro- posed to volunteer for this town, and the Selectmen took upon themselves the responsibility of closing a bargain with him, which cost the town about $IIO. Your agents enlisted him under authority of the Se- lectmen. A few more weeks elapsed, and the time appointed for the draft was near at hand. Your agents
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