USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Greenwich > Ye historie of ye town of Greenwich, county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, with genealogical notes on the Adams. > Part 21
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Rev. Benjamin M. Wright, Pastor of the Congregational Church at Kent.
"Our Guests."
Colonel Heusted W. R. Hoyt.
The members of the Grand Army and other veterans of the Civil War were marched to Ray's Hall, corner of Green- wich Avenue and Lewis Street, where another collation was served, presided over by Lieutenant Wright, Chairman.
The monument was designed by Lazzari and Barton of Woodlawn, New York, erected October 4, 1890, unveiled October 22, 1890, and paid for by the Town of Greenwich at a cost of about $6000.00.
It occupies the site of the old town building at the corner of Putnam and Maple Avenues, the headquarters of Green- wich patriotism during the Civil War, and where most of the enlistments for the war were made. It is also near the place where General Putnam drew up his forces to repulse the British during the Revolutionary War at the time of Tryon's raid, and finding himself in danger of being overpowered by a superior force ordered a hasty retreat, mounted his horse, and started for Stamford for re-enforcements chased by the enemy.
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Ye Historie of Ye Town of Greenwich
There are no records in the Town Clerk's office of the proceedings of the town officials during the time Greenwich was under the jurisdiction of the Dutch at New Amsterdam. Such records as there are, however, are to be found in O'Callaghan's Documentary History of New York, to which the author has referred in the compilation of this work. Greenwich submitted to the jurisdiction of the New Haven Colony on the sixth day of October, 1656. The first town meeting, however, of which there is any record was not held until the fifth day of February, 1665,' as the town was not incorporated until the eleventh day of May, 1665.
The town meetings were first held at the houses of the respective proprietors at irregular intervals, later at the schoolhouse; next at the house of the minister, or school- house; and after the meeting house was built they were fre- quently held in it. After 1705, the annual town meetings were held regularly in December, later this was changed to October, at which time the annual meeting is now held.
The annual town meeting held on the fifteenth day of December, 1760, authorized the building of a town house and left it to the authority of the selectmen as to its size and location. It was located on Putnam Avenue near the Sec- ond Congregational Church and during the Revolutionary War was used as a guard house for the Greenwich Artillery Company. It was burned on the twenty-sixth day of Feb- ruary, 1779, at the time of Tryon's raid, and not sold during the Revolutionary War to Colonel John Mead, as heretofore supposed to have been.
The meetings were then held in the meeting house, schoolhouse, or different houses of the inhabitants until the annual meeting of 1836, which was held at the new town building then being constructed on the site of the present Soldiers' Monument near the Second Congregational Church. In 1874 the town had outgrown this building, and the meet- ings were held in Armory Hall, southwest corner of Green-
I Old style, which according to new style would be 1666.
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Town Halls
wich Avenue and Elm Street, until 1878, when the first meeting was held in Ray's Hall, which was used until the completion of the present Town Hall in 1905. The old town building, on the site of the Soldiers' Monument, after it was abandoned for town meetings in 1873 was converted into a jail and used as such for only a short while. It was destroyed by fire on the fifteenth day of October, 1874.
At the annual meeting held in 1867, the building of a new town hall was discussed and a committee appointed to select a site. The report of this committee in 1868, that it had purchased a plot of ground on the northeast corner of Mechanic Street (now Sherwood Place) and Main Street (now Putnam Avenue) for a new town hall was confirmed. In 1870 plans and specifications were submitted and not approved, authorizing the building of a new town hall on that site at a cost not to exceed $60,000, to be completed on or before the first day of April, 1871, and the committee was discharged. This is the site to which the old Second Congregational Church was moved prior to the completion of the present building. The premises were authorized to be sold at the annual town meeting held on the second day of October, 1882.
The purchase of the Greenwich Avenue property was authorized at a special town meeting held on the fifteenth day of May, 1875, by the adoption of the following resolu- tion :
Resolved that the Town of Greenwich hereby accepts and agrees to the written proposition of Aaron P. Ferris, dated May 1, 1875, and presented to this meeting to-day, and that said town does hereby purchase the property mentioned in said proposition on the terms therein named, and that the selectmen be and hereby are fully authorized and directed to accept a deed for said property on behalf of the town and to execute and deliver to Aaron P. Ferris such notes as may be necessary, or proper, to carry said agreement into effect.
The time for the payment of the balance of $10,000, mentioned in said proposition being hereby fixed at ten years from June 1, 1875, or sooner at the option of the town,
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Ye Historie of Ye Town of Greenwich
and all lawful action of the selectmen in the premises being hereby ratified and confirmed.
The premises are located on the easterly side of Green- wich Avenue about half way between Lewis Street and Putnam Avenue, and consist of a lot fifty feet in front by about two hundred and fifty-four feet deep, with the build- ings, for which the town agreed to pay $11,500. It was used for the town offices. This property is now owned by the town and leased to the present occupant.
The dedication of the present Town Hall took place at a special town meeting held on the nineteenth day of October, 1905, in the auditorium of the building, which was profusely decorated with American flags and the platform was banked . with palms and chrysanthemums. Mr. Bruce occupied a central seat on the platform, together with the selectmen and other prominent town, borough, and court officials, and his sister sat in the balcony, which had been reserved for ladies.
The meeting was called to order by the moderator, George W. Brush.
Popular airs by St. John's Band of Stamford.
Acting Borough Warden, John Dayton, read a warrantee deed from Robert M. Bruce, conveying to the Town of Greenwich the tract of land situate on the northeasterly corner of Greenwich Avenue and Havemeyer Place with the new Town Hall thereon.
"Three Cheers for the Red, White, and Blue," by the Band.
The deed was then delivered by Moderator Brush to the first selectman, James G. Willson, who accepted the same on behalf of the town in a few well-chosen words.
Address by Hon. R. Jay Walsh.
"The Star Spangled Banner, " by the Band.
The unanimous adoption of the following resolutions by a standing vote:
Resolved, that by a rising vote of those present, the Town of Greenwich gratefully accepts the gift of a town
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The Present Town Hall
building and accompanying land made this day by our townsman, Mr. Robert M. Bruce, and his sister, Miss Sarah E. Bruce.
Resolved, that we extend to the generous donors a vote of thanks for their munificent gift, which will stand as a lasting testimonial to their unselfish interest in our town and its people.
Resolved, that the selectmen be authorized and directed to present to the donors a suitable engrossed and framed copy of these resolutions.
After a few appropriate remarks by Moderator Brush the meeting adjourned.
At an adjourned annual town meeting held on the twenty- seventh day of February, 1909, the following resolution was offered and adopted :
We, voters of the Town of Greenwich, in town meeting assembled, express our sincere regret at the recent death of our fellow townsman, Robert M. Bruce.
We mourn him as one of the foremost citizens of our town, always helpful in any movement for the material advancement of the community; and as that "noblest work of God," "an honest man."
The building in which we are assembled is a monument to his public spirit and a proof of his love for the town of his adoption. As in his life he preferred to make his many benefactions, both to the town and to the needy therein, modestly and without display, we can best reverence his memory by cherishing a quiet but graceful remembrance of them and of him.
Resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Miss Sarah E. Bruce, sister, and the family of the deceased; and that a copy of the same be entered upon the records of this meeting.
The late Robert M. Bruce during his lifetime deeded to the Town of Greenwich certain tracts of land with the buildings thereon, situate in said town, to be used for the purpose of a public park, and for other purposes; and at an adjourned annual town meeting held on the sixteenth day of October, 1909, it was:
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Ye Historie of Ye Town of Greenwich
Resolved that the deed executed to the town by the late Robert M. Bruce of certain property, consisting of about one hundred acres with the buildings thereon, for the pur- poses of a public park, said park to be known as "The Bruce Memorial Park, " be accepted.
Resolved that the deed of gift from the late Robert M. Bruce, just read, be accepted and this meeting manifest its appreciation of the magnificent gift by a rising vote.
In 1906, Putnam Hill Chapter, Daughters of the Amer- ican Revolution, a membership association, having acquired title to the old Knapp Tavern, concluded to celebrate the occasion by formally dedicating it as "Putnam Cottage," and selected the fourteenth day of June for their festivities.
It was a delightful June day with its soft balmy air, and the trees, with their luxuriant growth of fresh green leaves, together with the profusely decorated buildings, presented a sight which was truly enchanting. The exercises were held on the cottage lawn, and no more charming day for such an observance could have been had.
Early in the afternoon the invited guests and military companies arrived, and the procession was formed on Green- wich Avenue, right resting on Arch Street. At two o'clock it moved forward in the following order:
Marshal and Aides. Mertz Reed Band. Company L of Greenwich. Putnam Phalanx of Hartford. Wheeler and Wilson Band. Governor's Foot Guard of New Haven. Distinguished Guests in Carriages. 2nd Company, Governor's Foot Guard of New Haven. Lafayette Post, G. A. R., of New York. Minor Post, G. A. R., of Stamford. Lombard Post, G. A. R., of Greenwich. Minute Men of New York and Drum Corps. Sons of the American Revolution. Order of Founders and Patriots of America.
New England Society, and the American Scenic and His- toric Preservation Society.
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Dedication of Putnam Cottage
The line of march was through Greenwich and Putnam Avenues direct to the cottage. Opposite, on the grounds of the Episcopal Church, a collation was served and arms stacked, after which the following order of exercises was followed :
Chairman of the Day. Rev. M. George Thompson, Rector of Christ Episcopal Church, and Chaplain of Putnam Hill Chapter, D. A. R., presided.
Music by Mertz Reed Band.
"America." Sung by a Chorus of fifty school children.
Invocation. Rev. Joseph H. Selden, D. D., Pastor of the Second Congre- gational Church.
Address of Welcome. Rev. M. George Thompson, Chairman of the Day.
Address. Hon. Henry Roberts, Governor of the State of Connecticut.
Address. Sara T. Kinney, State Regent of the D. A. R.
"Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean." Sung by the Chorus.
Address. General James Grant Wilson.
Address. General Stewart L. Woodford, ex-Minister to Spain.
"The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Sung by Dr. Carl E. Martin.
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Ye Historie of Ye Town of Greenwich
Address. Rev. Josiah Strong, D.D., formerly acting Pastor of the Second Congregational Church.
Address.
Darius Cobb of Boston, Artist and Historian.
Address. Rear-Admiral J. B. Coghlan, Commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Address. Mrs. Lillie Devereaux Blake, President of the Legislative League of New York.
Address. Brigadier-General Henry S. Terrell, a member of the Order of Founders and Patriots of America.
Address. Lieutenant-Colonel Henry D. Tyler, of the Minute Men.
Address. General James R. O'Beirne.
Flag Raising. Master Henry Adams Ashford.
"Star Spangled Banner." By the Band.
Benediction.
Rev. DeWitt Pelton, D. D., Chaplain of the Minute Men.
Putnam Hill Chapter, Daughters of the American Revo- lution, was formally organized on the twenty-eighth day of December, 1897, with a membership of twenty-four. In 1901 a movement was started for the purchase of the old Knapp Tavern, now known as Putnam Cottage, as a home for the chapter and a historical museum, and during the
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Putnam Hill Chapter, D. A. R.
latter part of that year a subscription list was circulated and subscriptions obtained for the purpose of purchasing the cottage for the chapter. Early in 1902, a sufficient amount having been raised and paid in, chiefly through the efforts of Colonel Henry H. Adams, the property was purchased with the money so subscribed for the sum of $7125, and the record title taken in the name of Henry H. Adams. Later in the year a corporation was organized by the name of the "Israel Putnam House Association" to which the record title was conveyed for a nominal consideration, November, 1902.
In 1908, the question arose as to whether the chapter or the corporation was the legal owner of the property, and at a joint meeting of the two held in the latter part of Nov- ember, 1908, the officers of the corporation offered to transfer the management and control of the Israel Putnam House Association to the chapter on its incorporation. In pur- suance therewith, the chapter was incorporated during the month of December, 1908, and on the tenth day of May, 1909, an agreement was entered into between the Israel Putnam House Association, and Putnam Hill Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, whereby it was declared "that said premises known as Putnam Cottage, more particularly described in a deed made by Henry H. Adams to the Israel Putnam House Association and recorded on the 24th day of November, 1902, Liber 92 of Conveyances, page 255, of the Greenwich Land Records, are held in trust by the said Israel Putnam House Association for the use and benefit of the Putnam Hill Chapter, Daughters of the Amer- ican Revolution, incorporated, so long as said latter corpo- ration shall exist, and upon its dissolution they do hereby certify that said property shall thereafter be held in trust by the said Israel Putnam House Association for the use and benefit of the citizens of the Town of Greenwich in accord- ance with the objects and purposes as set forth in the Certificate of Incorporation of said Israel Putnam House Association."
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Ye Historie of Ye Town of Greenwich
The three islands lying in Long Island Sound, nearly opposite Greenwich Harbor, now familiarly known as Cap- tain's Island, Little Captain's Island and the Clump, undoubtedly derived their names from Captain Daniel Patrick, who was the first military commandant of the Town of Greenwich and one of the early settlers.
Justus Bush, son of Justus Bush of Rye, New York, settled in Horseneck, now the Borough of Greenwich, about 1715, and some time after bought these islands from the estate of Dr. Nathaniel Worden, late of Greenwich, deceased. He held this property at the time of his death on the twenty- third day of November, 1760, and on the distribution of his estate the islands were allotted to his son, Justus Bush, and. some of his other children.
The Province of New York, according to its interpre- tation of the boundary line agreement between it and the Colony of Connecticut, claimed a superior title to the islands,' and on the third day of September, 1761, John Anderson of Oyster Bay, Long Island, presented a petition to the government of the Province of New York, praying that letters patent might be issued to him for three small islands in the East River, near Byram River, the largest of which was known as Great Captain's Island, and on the twenty-sixth day of January, 1763, letters patent were issued to him for these islands. On the fourteenth day of September, 1764, Justus Bush, and other inhabitants of Greenwich, sued John Anderson for trespass in cutting tim- ber on Great Captain's Island. The suit was determined by the Superior Court of Fairfield County on the nineteenth day of February, 1765, and the jury found a verdict of 20s damages and costs for the plaintiffs, as jurisdiction over the islands was claimed by the Colony of Connecticut.
Captain's Island, according to an act of the Legislature of the State of New York passed on the seventh day of March, 1788, was included in the bounds of the Town of Rye.
I Baird's History of the Town of Rye.
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Captain's Island
In 1829, the United States Government obtained from Connecticut a cession of jurisdiction over a part of Great Captain's Island for the site of a lighthouse, and a few years afterwards a similar cession was obtained from New York, and this part of the island, about three acres, now belongs to the United States Government.
There have been several commissions appointed to settle the dispute as to whether the islands were within the juris- diction of Connecticut, or New York, and the last one decided that they were within the jurisdiction of Connect- icut, which was ratified at the session of the General Assem- bly held in January, 1880. The Town of Greenwich now levies the assessments and collects the taxes, which for 1908 were levied against the estate of Gilbert Lyon as to Captain's Island; and James F. Walsh, wholly, or partly, as to Little Captain's Island.
The militia generally has been considered in Chapter IX. As regards the military forces in Greenwich, a company was organized soon after the town was first settled, and Captain Daniel Patrick was the first military commander. After his death in 1644, he was succeeded by William Hallett, who was banished in 1648, for the commission of the act of adultery with Mrs. Elizabeth Feaks. The next leading citizen was Richard Crab, who seems to have removed from Greenwich about 1660. The following were his successors:
1669 to 1688, Sergeant Jonathan Lockwood.
1689 to 1695, Lieutenant John Bowers.
1696 to 1725, Lieutenant James Ferris.
1726 to 1735, Captain Caleb Knapp.
1736 to 1739, Captain James Reynolds.
At the October Session of the General Assembly, 1739, the military companies in the Towns of Norwalk, Stamford, Greenwich, and Ridgefield were organized into one entire regiment, known as the 9th Regiment. The regimental officers, who were commissioned at the same time, were:
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Ye Historie of Ye Town of Greenwich
Jonathan Hoit, Colonel; Thomas Fitch, Lieutenant-Colonel; James Lockwood, Major.
During the various colonial wars which followed the creation of this regiment, the soldiers for those wars were detailed from the militia. In King George's War, 1744- 1748, the Town of Greenwich furnished as its quota twenty- five officers and men.
During the French and Indian War, 1754-1764, a com- pany of volunteers was organized in the Town of Greenwich, which consisted of men from the 9th Regiment, who lived in the town. This company was commanded by Captain Thomas Hobby and participated in the campaigns of 1758, 1759, 1760, 1761 and 1762.
Colonel John Mead, later General John Mead, com- manded the 9th Regiment all through the Revolutionary War, and it rendered much service. After the Revolution- ary War the following commanding officers were residents of the Town of Greenwich :I
1786 to 1793, Jabez Fitch, Lieutenant-Colonel. 1794 to 1800, Ebenezer Mead, Lieutenant-Colonel, pro- moted to Brigadier-General in 1801. 1816 to' 1820, Ebenezer Mead, Jr., Colonel. 1828 to -, Drake Mead, Colonel.
1831 to 1833, Thomas A. Mead, Lieutenant-Colonel.
The May Session of the General Assembly, 2 1847, passed an act consolidating the state into eight regimental districts, one for each county, thereby disbanding the old 9th Regi- ment, which had been in existence since 1739, continuously, the 8th Regiment taking its place. Amos M. Brush was lieutenant-colonel of the 8th Regiment in 1849. In 1854 another act was passed, which superseded the act of 1847.
The May Session of the General Assembly, 1861, passed an act further consolidating the militia into not less than
See Connecticut Registers.
2 See article on "Connecticut Soldiery " in Connecticut Quarterly for 1897, p. 254.
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Militia
forty, or more than sixty-four companies. All the old com- panies were ordered to be disbanded on the first day of August, 1861, and new ones were organized, but none in the Town of Greenwich. The last military company in the town was disbanded in 1856. The Special Session of the General Assembly held December, 1862, passed an act increasing the military companies to not more than ninety. In 1865, the General Assembly authorized the active militia to be hereafter called "The Connecticut National Guard," and during this year a new company was organized in the Town of Greenwich, which was disbanded in 1881.
In 1871, the active militia were consolidated into four regiments of infantry and two sections of artillery, one regi- ment for each Congressional District. The company in Greenwich then became part of the 4th Regiment, which Heusted W. R. Hoyt was colonel of from 1872 to 1877.
Company L, 3rd Regiment Infantry, Connecticut National Guards, the present company, was organized early in 1904, and mustered into the military service of the State of Connecticut on the fifteenth, eighteenth, and twentieth days of February, 1904, respectively. The company had its first camp experience in the manœuvres at Manassas, Vir- ginia, in the early fall of 1904, and since at:
Niantic, 1905 and 1906. Fort Wright, Fisher's Island, 1907.
Fort Mansfield, R. I., 1908. Fort Terry, Plumb Island, 1909 and 1910.
The commissioned officers have been:
F. G. C. Smith, Captain, 1904, retired May 15, 1907. Seaman M. Mead, Captain, June 5, 1907, retired Dec. 7, 1908; June 5, 1910, appointed to the Colonel's Staff, as Ist Lieutenant of Coast Artillery Corps; March 10, 1911, appointed Captain of the 7th Company at Stamford, Coast Artillery Corps.
John J. Haff, Captain, Dec. 7, 1908, present commander. William S. Boswell, Ist Lieutenant, 1904, resigned June 5, 1905.
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Ye Historie of Ye Town of Greenwich
Seaman M. Mead, Ist Lieutenant, July 3, 1905, promoted to Captain, June 5, 1907.
A. Stanley Todd, Ist Lieutenant, June 5, 1908, resigned Apl. 30, 1910.
Seaman M. Mead, 2nd Lieutenant, 1904, promoted to Ist Lieutenant, July 3, 1905, and Captain, June 5, 1907.
A. Stanley Todd, 2nd Lieutenant, July 2, 1905, promoted to Ist Lieutenant, June 5, 1908.
Benjamin N. Booth, 2nd Lieutenant, Apl. 14, 1910.
On the fourteenth day of December, 1907, it was changed to the 12th Company, Coast Artillery Corps.
There has been appropriated by the General Assembly the sum of forty-five thousand dollars for the building of an armory in the Town of Greenwich for this company, and the site therefor was purchased by the State of Connecticut on the fourteenth day of December, 1909. The plans for the building were accepted on the third day of February, 1910, and on the nineteenth day of July, 1910, construction began. The armory was formally dedicated on the twenty-sixth day of April, 1911.
The active militia in the State of Connecticut, which is called "The Connecticut National Guard, " now consists of a Troop of Cavalry; a Battery of Field Artillery; Coast Artil- lery Corps, fourteen companies, of which the Greenwich Company is the 12th; Ist and 2nd Regiments of Infantry ; a Separate Company of Infantry; and the Naval Militia, four divisions.
The first investigation into the management of the affairs of the Town of Greenwich was commenced in the fall of 1890, and at an annual town meeting held on the sixth day of October, 1890, it was:
Resolved that John F. Close, Dr. F. M. Holly and Augustus I. Mead, all of Greenwich, be and hereby are appointed a committee to examine the reports and accounts of the town treasurer of Greenwich from 1881 to the pre- sent time, and report their doings to the next annual town meeting, or to any special town meeting called for that purpose.
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Investigation of Town Affairs
In pursuance with the foregoing resolution the committee made its report to the annual town meeting held on the fifth day of October, 1891. The report is spread in full on the minutes and part of the same is as follows:
To summarize we find that the treasurer's reports show he is entitled to credits not heretofore entered amounting to $209.60, and that he should strike out from his report the credit of $8960.24, which will leave a balance due the town of $8750.64 in excess of the amounts already reported.
The report shows that this $8750.64 belonged to the Town Deposit Fund and had been used by the town, which the selectmen had given the treasurer their notes therefor.
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