The Romance of Norwalk

September 4, 1724, Thomas married Hannah Hall of New Haven. Ten children were born of this union. The best known of the sons was Colonel Thomas Fitch of Yankee Doodle fame. He was born August 12, 1725. He was justice 1761 to 1772. In May, 1768 he was made Lieuten¬ ant Colonel of the ninth regiment. He married Sarah St. John Hill of Fairfield. The second son of the Governor was Jonathan, born April 12, 1727, who married a daughter of Samuel Mix in New Haven and lived elsewhere than in Norwalk. Inci¬ dentally, he held the office of high sheriff longer than any one else in his time. The third son was Ebenezer, born February 25, 1729, who married Lydia, daughter of Samuel Mills, Jr., of Greenwich. He left home early and died at the age of 33. The fourth child was Hannah, born April 10, 1731. Of her it is said “like the delicate sea pinks which edged her father’s spray besprinkled meadows down in the fields, she bloomed beautifully and quickly blanched. She died at the age of fourteen.” The fifth child was Mary, born Septem- 124 ROMANCE OF NORWALK ber 20, 1733. She married at the age of 18 and was mother of Thomas Fitch Thatcher who dwelt on “Drye Hill.” The sixth child was Timothy, born in 1735. He lived, married and died in Norwalk. The seventh child was Hezekiah, who married September 21, 1767, Jerusha Burr of Fairfield and resided in that town. He and his relatives entertained such colonial gentry as General Lafayette, Benjamin Franklin and Timothy Dwight. It was a family which Trumbull visited, according to story, and the members of which saluted John Hancock when he was wedded within their residence. The eighth child was Elizabeth who was born in 1739 and who married Andrew Rowland of Fairfield. She was the brave woman who in 1779 when the shot was flying thick and Fairfield was on fire, remained alone in her dwelling, facing the foe. The ninth child was Esther who died at the age of 29 sum¬ mers. The tenth was Giles who passed away when only two years old. It was said of the Fitches that they always selected their farms beside rivers. The older Norwalk Fitches purchased largely of water bordered lands. They owned parts of Oyster Shell Point, Fort Point, Fitch’s Point, Gregory’s Point and around Cow Pasture Point. The Fitch home stood on lower East ave. on the east side of Earle’s East ave. hill, according to the old locations. As a matter of fact, the home of Miss Sarah Fitch at 173 East ave. is the site of the original Governor Fitch residence. Thomas Fitch early took an interest in state and political affairs. He successively filled the offices of chancellor, judge of the superior court and chief justice of the state. From 1750 to 1754 he was chief justice; from 1751 to 1753 he held the office of deputy governor of Connecticut. In 1754 he became governor, remaining in office until 1766. RISE AND FALL OF FITCH The story of Governor Fitch’s rise and fall is a curious one. Fate decreed that a strong wave of public opinion GOVERNOR FITCH OF NORWALK 125 should thrust the Norwalker into the high chair of gover¬ norship, and that a still stronger wave of public opinion, suddenly turned against him, should thrust him out of office and into retirement. A Spanish ship figured prominently in the events which preceded Fitch’s election. It so happened that in the winter of 1753, the early part of the year, during a terrible snow storm, there limped into the port of New London, a Spanish ship on its way from Havana, Cuba, to Cadiz, Spain. The ship, in trying to make port, dashed onto a reef of rocks and sustained such damages that it was found necessary to unload her and to store the cargo with Joseph Hill, Esquire, collec¬ tor of the port of New London. Don Joseph Miguel de St. Juan was master of the cargo and he made all preparations to set sail again in the spring¬ time, 1753. A new ship of 200 tons was purchased and all was ready early in April. Miguel commenced to load his cargo on board but when half way through, discovered that a large part of it was missing, whether mislaid, withheld from him or stolen, he couldn’t find out. The collector of the port giving the Spaniard no satisfaction the latter applied to the Connecticut General Assembly for damages. The Assembly decided after much consideration that the petition was unreasonable and could not be granted. Before the meeting of the freemen in April, 1754, it was generally understood that the Spanish gentleman had been robbed or at least that part of his very valuable and rich cargo had been kept from him, lost, or stolen. The colonists were in an uproar. Some saw themselves the victims of great difficulties, heavy debts, and unpleasant relations with Spain. Others felt a sympathy toward the Spaniard and claimed that Connecticut had outrageously treated a for¬ eigner in distress. Governor Wolcott and associates were blamed for not tak¬ ing proper care or caution in safeguarding the stranger’s property and for not according him justice, and suspicious fingers were pointed at several gentlemen “high in politics.” 126 ROMANCE OF NORWALK Whether or not Wolcott deserved the criticism we do not know. At any rate, the whole affair greatly affected the freemen. So deeply was the public stirred by the matter that in spite of Wolcott’s popularity he lost much support and in the election of May, 1754, he was defeated. In Roger Wolcott’s chair in 1754, was placed Thomas Fitch of Norwalk. The Norwalker was a Conservative, which fact was not exactly conducive to brotherly relations between himself and the majority of the colonists, in those hot-headed times. However, Fitch was a man of extreme level-headedness and manly bearing and he conducted himself while in office, with dignity and with credit to all concerned. In 1755, he was a member of the Council of War in New York City, with his Excellency General Shirley, Commander in Chief of His Majesty’s forces in North America, Sir Charles Hardy, the governor of New York and others. In 1756, he took it upon himself to write letters to the Board of Trade in England, complaining of the heavy debt incurred by the colony in keep¬ ing up military undertakings during the French and Indian War. When first rumblings of trouble with the mother country over the proposed Stamp Act were heard, Governor Fitch did all in his power to prevent the Act’s passage. And this, in spite of the fact that he looked with disfavor on the growing opposition of the colonists to par¬ liamentary measures. The General Assembly sitting in session in 1764 voted that the Governor should draw up a paper of protestation against the Stamp Act. Fitch and his committee forthwith penned a document on uThe Reasons Why the British Col¬ onies in America Should Not Be Charged with Internal Taxes, by Authority of Parliament, Humbly Offered for Consideration, in Behalf of the Colony of Connecticut.” Historian Hollister writes of this document by Fitch, that it “shows an intimate acquaintance with the principles of the British Constitution and the rights of the subject under it, that is unsurpassed by any paper originating in any other GOVERNOR FITCH OF NORWALK 127 colony during that exciting period.” Jared Ingersoll of Milford who helped draft it, took it to England. There it was duly read and Lord Grenville even went so far as to praise its tone. Notwithstanding all efforts on the part of the colonists however, the act passed, receiving the royal signature March 27, 1765. Meanwhile, Governor Fitch was remaining quiet and say¬ ing nothing. He felt very badly over the fact that the act had passed, inasmuch as he considered it unjust to the colo¬ nists, but at the same time he reasoned that as long as it had passed it was proper for the colonists to submit until repeal might be secured by lawful means. The majority of the governor’s council thought him wise and sided with him in his decision to do nothing further for the present. There were others, however, who felt that the governor, in justice to the colonists, should rebel or revolt. Among them were Pitkin, the lieutenant governor, and Trumbull, who was des¬ tined to sit in the governor’s chair in later years. Both of these gentlemen left the council chambers in indignation when they saw that the governor fully intended taking the oath required by the act. The political future of Governor Thomas Fitch was poi¬ soned right then and there and he earned for himself two strong enemies, Pitkin and Trumbull. Fitch was regularly nominated at the next election, but Pitkin was elected gover¬ nor, polling so many votes that no one even bothered to count them. Fitch had carefully prepared a pamphlet, which he issued in due season before the election giving the reasons for his recent course, but he failed to return to office. His popularity, founded to a great extent on his engaging per¬ sonality, his sterling character and sound judgment, had dwindled to a pin point upon his refusal to take, in an active and forceful manner, the side of the colonists in the Stamp Act trouble. It was in 1769 that Thomas Fitch made his last try for a recapture of the governor’s seat, but he was unsuccessful. Fitch, who went into office in ’54 and out of 128 ROMANCE OF NORWALK it in ’66 now remained in retirement. He died at the age of 75, July 1 8, 1774, in Norwalk, before the calamities of the Revolutionary War descended on the colonists. On the tombstone placed at the head of the Honorable Thomas Fitch’s grave in the East Norwalk cemetery, the Norwalker is extolled as follows: “Eminent and distinguished among mortals for great abilities, large acquirements, and a virtuous character; a clear, strong sedate mind, and an accurate, extensive acquain¬ tance with law and civil government; a happy talent of pre¬ siding, close application and strict fidelity, in the discharge of important trusts, no less than for his employments by the voice of the people in the chief offices of the state and at the head of the colony.’’ GOVERNOR COMES HOME