Leading Business Men of Fairfield County

Seven years ago, in 1880, Mr. S. Adams came to this city and located at 89 Main street. The competition was then already very great, and everyone shook their heads, saying: "He won't last long." Still he exists, and very few business men of this city have retained Iheir customers and obtained daily newT ones, as has Mr. Adams, and by perseverance he has succeeded in building up a business which is founded on such a substantial basis, that by inquiring for sub- stantial clothing it has become a by-word to say: "Go to Adams'." Only sound goods are kept on hand, and not, as in many finely fitted up Cloth- ing emporiums, shoddy garments. The store is not fitted up "gold edged," but it contains as full and as complete an assortment of Clothing, Underwear, Furnishing Goods, etc., as can be found in any store even in the metro- polis. The policy upon which Mr. Adams conducts his business is characterized by liberality and the careful fostering of the interests of his patrons, so that transactions once entered into with him may be not only pleasant for the time being, but of a permanent nature. Owing to his increasing trade, he has of late been compelled to double his help in the store. Buyer or no buyer, everyone is re- quested to inspect his assortment before making a bargain anywhere, and the general opinion has always been that S. Adams, the Clothier, carries an Al complete assortment and is invariably the cheapest in Stamford, which means a great deal. Mr. Adams was born in Prussia in 1844, came to this country in 1863, and before his starting busi- ness in this city he resided mostly in New York city. He is to day through perseverance, honest deal- ings and strict personal attendance to his business, one of the city's well known and highly respected citizens, and is what may be termed a self made man. E. Vanderwerken, Watchmaker and Jeweler. — A house which probably carries at least as full an assortment of the goods in which it deals as any similar establishment in town is that conduct- ed by Mr. E. Vanderwerken, watchmaker and jeweler. This gentleman began business about three 3'ears ago and has already succeeded in building up a large and rapidly increasing patronage. The stock on hand comprises Watches, Clocks, Jew- elry, Silverware and similar articles, and is not only large in proportions but is most excellently selected to suit the wants of the public. The store is 24x90 feet in dimensions and em- ployment is given to three assistants. The re- pairing department is a very important feature of the business, and the most complicated and deli- cate watches or chronometers may be unhesitat- ingly confided to Mr. Vanderwerken with the as- surance that they cannot be entrusted to more skillful or experienced hands. Repairs of what- ever nature in Watches, Clocks, Jewelry, etc., will receive early and painstaking attention, and will be executed at very low prices. Mr. Vanderwerken is a native of New York State, of old Knickerbocker stock, which is al- most of itself sufficient guarantee of the trust- worthy and reliable character of his goods and his work. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAN BURY. In the primitive days, when the whites first began to settle in Connecticut, the territory now occupied by the city of Danbury was called by the Indians " Pah- quioque." No permanent colony seems to have been established in the place before 1685, though a few clearings and improvements had been made upon the virgin country before that date, mostly by settlers of Norwalk. In the spring of 1685 eight families settled here and formed the nucleus of a growing colony. The names- of the heads of these families were: Thomas Taylor, Francis Bushnell, Thomas Barnum, John Hoyt, James Benedict, Samuel Benedict, James Beebe and Judah Gregory. A regular purchase of the land from the Indian proprietors was first made and a few acres of rough land cleared around the rude log cabins in the cen- ter of the tiny settlement, at that time on the outskirts of the New England colo- nies. The whole amount of territory pui*chased from the Indians is recorded to have been eight miles from north to south and six from east to west. While the settlement was yet only a few years old it received a valuable addition in the arrival of Dr. Samuel Wood, a talented physician, born and educated in Eng- land, who had come out across the colony to the very border of civilization to prac- tice his beneficent profession where it might do most good, but where all hopes of ambitious advancement were vain. To such men as Dr. Wood New England owes no small share of her early development. Other settlers came slowly, among whom were Josiah Starr from Long Island, Joseph Mygatt from Hartford, and the families of Picket, Knapp and Wildman. The name "Danbury" was taken from that of a town in Essex, England, of which some of the settlers were doubtless natives. The first church in the village was probably organized about 1696, when the Rev. Seth Shove, the first minister of Danbury, was probably ordained. He was " a very pious and worthy man, who was very successful in his exertions for the promotion of peace, virtue and true religion." The first " meeting-house " was erected about the time of Mr. Shove's ordination. Its dimensions were 40 feet in length by 30 feet in breadth, and the remarkable fact is stated that " after the frame was raised, every person that belonged to the town was present, and sat on the sills at once." A very approximate idea of the number of inhabitants in Danbury may be obtained from this odd statement. A town patent was received by Danbury from the General Court in 1702, and from the advantages which drew settlers to it, it soon became one of the most influ- ential towns in this part of the State. A second meeting-house was erected in 1719, which was 50 feet by 35 feet, to which 15 feet were added on the front in 1745: DANE UR T, ' PAST AND PRESENT. 1 7 1 again we can notice the growth of the population, indeed, in the early Puritan days the church was a most accurate census-keeper. The Rev. Seth Shove died in 1735, after thirty-nine years of faithful service, and was succeeded by Mr. Ebenezer White, who was the pastor for the next twenty-nine years; sixty-eight years of a church's life with only two ministers ! This period of almost perfect religious harmony was succeeded by another so marked by fierce con- troversies that it was believed that "in no town in the State, has there been more religious contention than in this." After Mr. White had served the church with great satisfaction for more than twenty-five years, he began to preach some new ideas, which caused much uneasiness among his people. Finally, in 1764 the discussions resulted in the dismissal of Mr. White from his charge. He however rejected the authority of "ecclesiastical coun- cils," and, the majority of his congregation adhering to him, he formed a separate church, known as the "New Danbury Society." In 1768, Danbury was visited by a terrible conflagration, which laid waste almost the entire town. Like Rome, it arose from the ashes more beautiful than ever. The Revolutionary war had a very important relation to and effect upon Danbury. At its beginning the total valuation of the town was estimated at £28,501. In the early part of the war, the Commissioners of the American Army chose Danbury as a place of deposit for military stores. Pseudo-Governor Tryon, learn- ing that a large amount of supplies had been collected here, on the 26th of April, 1777, made a sudden assault upon the town. The men had been landed at Compo Point, Fairfield, the day before, and arrived at Danbury about three on the after- noon of the 26th of April. Their first work was to destroy the stores. Then they began those brutal and cowardly acts of cruelty and excess which were characteris- tic of all their invasions. Neither the persons nor the property of the citizens were spared, save of a few tories who, however, thought it best not to remain after the departure of the troops. The enemy Avere fearful of being surrounded by the Continental forces, which were gathering rapidly under the leadership of Colonel Cook, the commander of Danbury at the time of the invasion, so they rallied together early on the mornino- of the 27th, and firing a few more private houses as a parting blessing, started on their return march, which was little better than a retreat. In the pursuit of the British back to the coast from Danbury, Major-General Wooster and Brigadier General Silliman led the Americans. On the second day's fighting General Wooster was mortally wounded and brought back to Danbury, where he died in a few days. He was buried in the Danbury cemetery, opposite the Court House. Few Generals in the New England States were more highly honored or more deeply mourned than General Wooster. In 1854, a large and beautiful monument was erected to his memory in Danbury, and his name has been cherished with those of Hale and Putnam. As the British marched away they drove off the sheep and cattle of the inhabit- ants, and after their departure it seemed as if the town had been swept bare. One record states that " nineteen dwelling houses, the meeting-house of the ' New Dan- bury Society,' and twenty-two stores and barns with all their contents were con- sumed. The quantity of Continental stores which wei-e consumed cannot now be accurately ascertained; accounts vary considerably. From the best information 172 D ANBURY, PAST AND PRESENT. which can be obtained, there were about 3,000 barrels of pork, more than 1,000 bar- rels of flour, several hundred barrels of beef, 1,600 tents, 2,000 bushels of grain, besides many other valuable articles, such as rum, wine, rice, army carriages, etc."