History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

"Gens. Wooster, Arnold, and Silliman immeiliately collected sncb a party of inhabitants as they were able, and effectually annoyed the enemy on their retreat to their shipping. .\ spirited lU'tion was fought at Itidge* Hebl the same day they left this town, in which Miij.-Gen. Wotwt«>r re- ceived a mortiil wound. Ue was bivugbt to this town, died on the 20tli, and was interred in the common burying-place. Congn-ss residvtH) that a monunn-nt should be erecteil to liis memory, and made the necessary grant; the charge was committed to his st^m, who has never fulfilled IL His grave still remoins, anil probably ever will, witbiiut a stone to tidl posterity where ho lies. "Notwithstanding the public loss of this town, it was still used tv* h dct>osit for Continental (itores through the war. A guani for security was maintained the Mhole |>eriod. A gi'eat Inwpital was also kept in this town from March, 1777, till the ternduathui of the war, in which great iiundK'rs died. In the autumn of 1778 a ilivision of the army, consisting of four brignde.H, under the command of (ten. Gates, was tjtiarten'd in this town for a few weeks, Snnill delncbinents of the army were bereocciLslonally afterwanls. "The |>eople of this town were uniieil in one s«Ki -ty till the yt-ar ITM- At that tinu- a |»art of the town, with a itart of the low o-* of NcwSIilforJ and Newtown, was incoqximledasLsieiy by the nanienf Newbury. The society of Bethel, which is wholly in this town, was incortMmted by act of Assembly, Oclobt*r, 17.VJ. In May, I'i'd. a small ]Mirt of the town, with a i»art of the town of Hi"lg<dic|d. was incor)Miniiei| n soiieiy by the name of Kidgcbur>'." FinST I'lBLlC LIBRAUY. " A public lil)mry was establisheil in tliis town in the yonr 1771, Hhich nfler^vanls cousistrit of about one hundred volunn^. In the conflagrs' tion of the town the Inxiks, except a few which were out. weie con:<unu»d. It rennUne<l in such a mntilateil slate till March, 17!>*>. when it was dispersed. In Jainmry, 179ll,a nundwr of inhabitants forme«l and signed a constitution for a library com|wny ; one dollar and seventy-flvw cents was paid on each share, and hd'l out for the purchane of Intuks. An an- nual tax, generally of lialf a dollar ui>on a sharx', has Is-en regularly applieil fi>r the purchase of lMX>ks, judiciously chosen. The library now I'ontjiins two hundred volumes; Hlioutd the same care in enlarging and 1 Dr. RaniBoy*8 account of Uio lusse* in Uiit town to rcrtnlnly far sliort of the truth. DANBURY. 179 preserving it continue, it promises to be a respectaMe und useful collec- tion. A library was foumU-tl at Bethel al>i-ut tliu yuar ITO::, wliii d in.w contjtiiis cue liiiiiilrCTl voluniry, ami is inrri.'a.snig. " By an act uf the GenL-ral A-sseniMy passcii in Jlay, 17K4. this t.jwn \v;us uiaiie a liall'-sliire of the coiuity of Fairfield. From that time to this the loiirts have met alternately in Fiurfield and Danhury. A euurt-honsc and jail were hnilt in the tiiwn, with some assistance finiii the neij^hhor- ins towns, the year fultowiiiK; the sum of three hundred and eightiu-ii pounds was raised by a tax, the remainder by subscription. In the year IT'Jl the first jail was consumed by fire, after which a second one was built, mure valuable and s.cure. Tli-- exprnsc wa,s difiavt'd by the pro- duct of a lutlery. "A census uf this State was taken in Ibr yi-ar IT'iil. AVe knnw of im earlier enumeration uf the iuliabitunts liaviu}; been made. At that time the whole number was lilii.r.ll; the number in Fairfield t'uiuity wjus ■20,560; the nnnd'er in tliis town was IJJT. Another census was taken in January, 1774. Tlie Slate then c-uitained 197,S.'i[J inhabitants; the county of Fairfield, 30,l"_)(i; the town of Itanbury, i;o20. By the census of 1790 the popuhitiun of the State was i;;J7,il46; the number in Fairfitdd County was ;ir.,.i;i(i ; in this town it was :in2!>. This was after the town was diniinisbrd by the society uf Xewbury being inc<irporated a t<iwn. In the census of the year past, returns frum the wlude State have not been made ; the county of Fairtield is fuuml !■■ < nutaiii :;s,i60, and the town of Danbury :iii74. inhabitants. Tlie inimliei' of town^ in the State in 175G was 7:>; in 1774 it wjls Tt»; in I7'.)[i it was Hs ; in isno it was bKl. "A print ing-uffice was estaVdished in this tuwn in Manh, iT'.io. A weekly news-print has been rej^ulaily pul)lislied fruui tliut time t^) this, on demi-paper; it has geneially been, as it is at present, respectable fui- good [irinciples an<l information. The nundjernf papers issued at tii>t were but one liundred ; there have been as many as twu thousand ; the usual number has been abuut one thuusaud. In .June, 17'.i-^>, a second jiaper was publislied in tnw n, wliirh iniiliimed several months. " We now i>roceed tu relate in a .ouri^.- manner a sketch of the eccle- siastical history of the town. Tlie time when a church was fir>t or- ganized in town cannot be exactly determined ; it was probably at llie ordination of the fii-st minister. The first nunister in this town was tlie Rev. Mr. Shove, a very jiioiis and wortliy man, wlio was veiy sucrfssful in his exertions for the promotion of peace, virtue, and true reliL'ion ; So that the geneial peace and union in his time are jiroverbial at this day. He wju* ordained in the year lO'.Mi, and ilied Oct. :;, 17.i.'i,a^ed sixty- ei;ilit.* The town wjis destitute of a settled minister l»nt a short time, lu a few months the church and people, in gieat harmony, invited Mr, Ebenezer White to setth; with them in the ministry. He was accortl- ingly ordained March Id, 17;i0.t fniversiil harmony prevailed between the peojde and their minister for nioie than twenty-five yeai-s. The people of the town weie considered by all the neigldtoi inj; towns as emi- nent for morality and reIie;ion, for regularity of conduct, and for constant attendance on the institutions of Christianity, though it is tu be la- mented that there hits never btten any special revival of religiou in this town from the first settlement. In tlie great awakening which sjiread through the land in the years 174IJ and 1741, which was pndiably the most signal eftiision of divine grace this country has ever experienced, this town was mostly pa.ssed over. In the great revival of religion in two years past, in the northern part of this State and many other places, which is doubtless the greatest display of divine grace,^ exceiding the one before nu-ntioned, whicii luia taken place in this country the past century, this and the neighboring towns seem to liave jiossessed no share. These consideiations call for serious consideration and humility. "It is BupiMJsed, on good groumis, that the fii-st nn-eiiug-house wjls built prior to Jlr. Shove's ordinati<»n; its dimensions were about forty feet in length and thirty feet in breadth. It is remarkable that after tin* frame was raised every pei-son that belonged to the town was present and j sat on the sills at once. The second nieeting-hoiise was built about the year 1719; its dimensions wen- fifty feei in b-ngtli and thirty-five feet in breadth. In 1740 an a.ldition of fifteen feet was made to the whole front of the house. About the year 17(i2 religious controverey began in this town, and was carried to a great extent for many yeain. It is presumed that in no town in this State has there been more religions ctuiteidion than in this. It is hoi»ed that the fiame is now mostly buried, never tti broaU forth again. '*At the time above nieutiouei!, Mv. White having altered his senli- mcutsand preaching inseveial particulars, some uneiusiness arose among his people. The etlorts of several ecch*.siasticiil councils to heal tlie di- vision proving ineftectual, it fimilly issued the dismission of Mr. White His tombstone, t The records of the Eu-stern Consociation .f Fairfield C<.uiity. from his pastoral charge, March, 17644 A major part uf the members of Mr. White's church Joined with him in denying the jurisdiction of eccle- siastical councils and lenoiim iiig the form of church goV(rrnment estali- lished by the churches in this Statu. The remaining part, who signified their adherence to the ecclesiiiatieal government, were established and acknow ledged by tlic two Consociations of Fairfield County, convened in council, iis the Fii-st Church in I>aiibury. Soon aflei- this Mr. Wliite and his atlherent'* sej)arated from the churcb an<l society and formed a separate church; they weie generally denomiiKited ' 5Ir. Wliite's ad- herents.' In October, 177t), a number <d' the inhabitants of the town in- dividually named in the a<t, piincipally those who «omposed this sepa- lale ehuicli, were incorporated a society by the name of "New Danbury.' I'lior to this they built a good meeting-house, its dimensions about fifty feet by forty, in the year 1708, which was consumed in the general con- flagration of the town. In the same year IMr. Elienezer Kussell White was ordained a colleague with his father oV('r that church.