The Romance of Norwalk

Christmas may have meant nothing to the early colonists here, but Thanksgiving certainly did, for it was the one great festival of the year. Weeks before the time came, the event was anticipated by old and young alike. Thanksgiv¬ ing was announced in church on the Sunday preceding the day itself, generally in late November. The minister read the governor’s proclamation, and no sooner had the good folk returned home, than preparations were commenced. During the week, every member of the family labored from morn till night, storing vegetables, killing fowls, making clothes, for Thanksgiving was a time of dressing up as well as eating up; and baking dozens of pies. Not all of the lat¬ ter were eaten on Thanksgiving Day. The majority were io8 ROMANCE OF NORWALK stored in the attic or barn, frozen solid all winter, and came out just as fresh, with the violets in April, as the day they were made. Picture a Norwalk home on a frosty Thanksgiving morn¬ ing in the year 1750. Long before the sun rose, every mem¬ ber in the house was out of bed. The Goodwife saw to it that no one lingered over the porridge breakfast and soon the little clapboard house had been given its last cleanup and brushup before the arrival of the company. The company included all the relatives in the neighborhood, for no one thought of eating Thanksgiving dinner alone. It was a family affair, pure and simple. Little Silas had his neck and ears scrubbed until they matched the cherry preserve in color; young Fan put on her new lace scarf, and the Goodman brought from out its hiding place his best beer and cider. The male members of the family spent the early part of the day in public worship, the boys twitching in their seats waiting for the last amen, the men looking on, with generous good nature, for once. At home, all was hustle and bustle. The great table was set in the center of the floor, the snowy linen and the best silverware being placed upon its surface. Huge logs were piled in the fireplace and the house gave forth an air of com¬ fort and supreme well being. At last the great moment ar¬ rived, all sat down to table, the blessing was said and every¬ one “fell to.” There was cod and shell fish of several kinds for “appetizers.” Clam chowder and oysters often formed part of the meal, too. Then came great plates of deer meat, chicken, puddings and roast turkey. Roast pig and apple sauce with pigeon pasties, heaped the overloaded table to groaning point. All sorts of vegetables, and corn and barley loaves, added to the tastiness of the first courses. Deserts included so many different kinds of pies that it would take a month to mention them all. In addition there was plum porridge, dotted with bits of toasted crackers, hasty pudding eaten with butter and treacle, and great baskets of grapes NORWALK IN 17 so 109 and nuts. All this was topped off with barrels of golden beer and cider. After the dinner the men grouped themselves in one cor¬ ner and talked over cattle and farm problems while the women did their “washing up.” Later, everyone gathered around the fireplace, told stories, sang songs, roasted nuts over the glowing logs and related strange tales in the shadow of the tallow candle light. By and by when the little ones began to nod and the evening waxed late, the family Bible was brought out and the head of the house, in hushed, emo¬ tional voice, gave thanks to the good Lord for a full harvest. The nine o’clock curfew bell suddenly startled the members of the gathering out of their reveries. The elders jumped up and hastily sought hats and wraps; sleepy children were bundled off to bed. At last the guests were ready to depart, including Grandpa with his third scarf knotted high about his ears and Grandma in her long cloak, fur muff, two pairs of woolen stockings and felt boots. Cheery goodbys were said and the guests trailed off across the frozen earth under the moonlit sky chattering gaily as they wended their way homeward, and looking forward to a comfortable winter when the growling wolf would be far from the door. Husking bees, apple paring parties, quilting bees, sleigh rides, straw rides, balls and weddings were other annual festivities in addition to the celebration of Thanksgiving, enjoyed by the colonies. Funerals might well be added to this list, not because they were actual festivities but because they were really en¬ joyed by the colonists. Funerals were quite imposing, espe¬ cially if the deceased was a personage of some importance and there were always gifts and refreshments. Gloves, rings and scarfs were the usual presents offered the mourners. If a pauper was buried, the town complied with the custom, giving away articles and charging them to the town. Last but not least, there were the fast days, always public holidays, which relieved the monotony of the colonists’ lives. The fast days were designated by the general court or by I IO ROMANCE OF NORWALK the governor, at irregular intervals, because of some present catastrophe or threatened calamity. No food was cooked on the fast days, nor did the exemplary members of the church eat any regular meals till after the sun went down. Public worship similar to Sunday services was held, and the time was spent in self examination, humiliation and prayer. CUSTOM OF “BUNDLING” Other quaint practices were in vogue about 1750 in Con¬ necticut and of course in Norwalk, besides the custom of giv¬ ing presents at funerals. There was for instance, the habit of “bundling.” The dictionary gives to the term bundling, the definition of: “to sleep or lie on the same bed without undressing; said of a man and woman, especially lovers.” As a custom it was found in remote localities in New York as late as 1804, and in Pennsylvania, in 1845. One Van Corlear writes that he occasionally stopped in the villages to eat pumpkin pies and to bundle with the Yankee lassies. It is thought the custom originated during the severe win¬ ters when it was almost impossible to keep the houses warm, or even above freezing point. The older folks, who went to bed early, banked the fires for the night before retiring and within an hour or so, the once comfortable living room, had become a very chilly place. In order to keep warm, the young folks, fully dressed of course, crawled under the covers and continued their wooing. This, with the knowledge and assent of their parents. How queer are customs ! The young maiden of those days would have been roundly de¬ nounced had she dared to show one tenth of the leg exposed to view these days, yet bundling was in perfect good form. FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR Chapter XI England and France Declare War — Acadians Come Here — Many Local Men Go to Front — Colonel Thomas Fitch Distinguished Soldier — Dispute Over Yankee Doodle House in Norwalk and Yankee Doodle House in New York. A red letter year, in the history of Norwalk was 1754, for it marked the ascendency to the highest office in the state, that of governor, of one of Norwalk’s own sons, Thomas Fitch. Of his life, his family, his characteristics, his acts in office and his accomplishments, we shall speak later. No sooner had Fitch removed his household from Nor¬ walk to Flartford than the French and Indian war troubles commenced, and Connecticut found itself once more muster¬ ing men to send to the front. Hostilities had existed be¬ tween the French and English in America for one year before England formally declared war on France, May 18, 1 75 6. Several months before this declaration, Connecticut re¬ ceived word that there would shortly be sent to the colony, a portion of the 7,000 French Catholics, Acadians, who were then being driven by the British from their peaceful homes in Nova Scotia, and who were to be distributed along the coast from New Hampshire to Georgia. In October, 1755, the General Assembly at New Haven passed an act looking to the reception and disposal of whatever Acadians might be sent here. January 21, 1756, 300 Acadians were landed ROMANCE OF NORWALK 1 12 at New London and on May 22, another transport arrived at the same port with many sick and dying of smallpox. “Though unwelcome guests, the General Assembly of Connecticut gave evidence of its desire to provide for the maintenance of its hapless charges,” says Rev. J. IT. O’Don¬ nell in his history of “The Diocese of Hartford.” “The conduct of Connecticut in dealing with the exiles was in marked contrast with the cold, cheerless, and unchristian methods adopted by Massachusetts.” At its session in January, 1756, the General Assembly at New II aven voted on the distribution of the Acadians, a certain number being sent to each town in the colony. Nor¬ walk was to take 12. Norwich and New Haven took the most, 19 apiece. The lowest number taken by any town was three. The selectmen in each town were directed to “Take care of, manage and support them as tho’ they were inhabitants of such town, according to the laws of this Colony.” The expenses incidental to the support of the French exiles from the time of their arrival at New London till they had reached their respective destinations were to be borne by the colony and we find that Norwalk sent in a bill under date of March 11, 1756, as follows: “To Norwalk Selectmens Bill Transporting french people from Fairfield, one pound, six shillings.” In spite of the instructions of the General Assembly that these unfortunate, unhappy people, homeless, depressed and bereft of all their worldly goods, should be cared for and supported in the towns to which they were sent “as tho’ they were inhabitants”, — in many of the Connecticut villages and towns, the Acadians were badly served, were not only fre¬ quently treated as paupers but were bound out to the most menial service. We do not know what happened to them in Norwalk for the records do not say. We only hope that the town fathers extended them the helping hand to which their natural generosity would prompt them. FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR ii3 NORWALKERS IN WAR