History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

The manufacture of boots and shoes was another industry which once occupied a prominent position in Danbury. It was of recent birth. In 1869, C. H. Merritt built and occupied iis a boot- and shoe-factorj- the brick building now standing at the north end of Main Street. The same year he took into partuorship Lucius R. Sprague. In 1870, Mr. Spraguc retin-d, and Mr. Richard W. Cone went into the firm. This firm remained in the business until the latter part of March, 1880, when they closed up, sold their macliin- erj', and the factory will soon be occupied in hatting. The firm in its busiest seasons employed nearly two hundred hands. As far as we can trace back we find an oil-mill on the south side of what is now known asCrofut's I'ciiul. or Oil Mill Pond. In 1812, Friend Starr, father ol Mr. C. H. Starr, used to make linseed oil from the flax raised in this section. It wius quite a prosperous business at one time. The mill was pulled dnwii many years ago, — so many, in fact, that none of our ' old citizens remember it. Many of them have indis- tinct recollections of this building in their early youth, but the date of its destruction is- lost. On the north side of the dam stood a saw-mill owned by Friend Starr and Benjamin and Faireliild Ambler. The former was the father and the latter the uncle of Rev. E. C. Ambler. Mr. .Vmbhr remem- bers going to the mill to carry his father's dinner, and help about the work at times. He also relates an anecdote of Mr. Starr which we think worth rei>ub- lishing. Mr. Starr was an Episcopalian, but for sonu' reasons he was temiiorarily Dtlendcil with the chureli. and used to go to hear Rev. Mr. Trumbull, the Baptist pastor. One Sunday, after Mr. Starr had come in, 1 Mr. Trumbull arose and gave his text: "Friend, ' friend, how camest thou hither not having a wedding- DANBURY. 245 garment?" Mr. Starr at first thought this rather per- sonal anil manil'estcd his disapproliation plainly. But, the minister proceeding, he saw that the text was not intended for him, and he became calm. The manufacture of sewing-machines Avas another industry for which Danbury was once well known. It was a machine patented by Walker B. Bartram. The first nuuiufactnrers were the Bartram & Faiiton Sew- ing-Machine Company. They started in the old sliirt- fiietor}' on Ives Street in l.Stio. The lu-xt year they purchased the brick building on ('anal Street now occupied by P. Robinson tfe .Son, and moved there. The comjiany continued running with varied success until 1872, when it was reorganized, and many of onr people, poor and rich alike, took stock therein. In two years more (1874) the company failed, and the stockholders mourned for the faded dreams of furtu:ie. In the summer of 1815 (the cold summer) Eli Seger lived in the red hou.se on the Jlill Plain road, now- owned by the Terry family, which stands on the corner of the old road leading to the fair-ground en- trance, across Fish-Weir bridge. The lower jiart of this house Seger used for manufacturing nails, living , in the upper part. Seger was grandfatlier to Rev. E. I C. Ambler. Soon after this date he moved to Ohio, where lie died. Comb-making was another industry which was once extensively carried on here, and which is now ' extinct. In 1810, Nathaniel Bishop started a comli- faetory on the site (U- just back of Peek & Wildnuui's j store. He kept a large number of hands at work for I twenty-five years. Foote & Barnum began in 1814, in a .shop that stood near the corner of Main and Centre Streets. Otis & Whiting had a shop just this side of St. James' Church, West Street. Alfred Gregory, Peck & (iil- lett, and several others had small shops scattered about town. The comb business — the value of the goods and the number of hands employed — exceeded that of hatting from 1820 to 1831, and continued about equal till about 1837. In 1847, T. T. Peck occupied the woolen-mill on West Street, near Beaver Street, and was burned out. The shop was rebuilt and the business carried on till 1852, when it was removed to A. T. Peck's old shop, where Beekerle i*l: Co.'s factories now are. Barnum & (ircen w-as another firm who carried on business in 1812, on the corner where Hon. F. S. Wildman's garden now stands. Daniel Taylor, it is claimed, was tlie first man to make combs in Danliury. His factory was in the then Wildcat District, Bethel. In the same locality there were at one time seven shops in operation, — Azarael and Charles Smith, Daniel Taylor, E. Hull Barnum, T. T. Dibble, S. B. Peck, and Amnujn Tay- lor ; in Bethel Village and Grassy Plain, Daniel Bar- num, George Clapp, Amnion Benedict, and several others. In 1820, and from then to 1837, there were many small shops scattered along the road from Beaver Brook to Newtown, and from Xewtown to Danbury liy the Bethel road. In 1852 the business died out, mainly because the cond)-makcrs in Massa- chusetts combined their capital and skilled lalior and killed off the small nuiuufacturers in other parts of the country. The present manufacturing establishments, arc as follows : Hiit-Mtimifactiiriiiij ComjMiucs. — C. H. Merritt, E. A. Mallory & Son, Tweedy Manufacturing Company, D. E. Lowe & Co., S. C. Holly i*i Co., Rundle iSc White, Nichols & Hine, G. M. Iloyt & Co., Crofut, White & Peabody, Gardin c'i Co., Beekerle .S: Co., D, W. Meeker, H. M. Senior. Fur-MdjiiifactiiriiKi Coiajjunlca. — N. A. & A. M. White, Lacy & Downs, P. Robinson & Co. Paper-Box Mi-UinfiirtiiriiKj Oimpanies. — E. S. Davis, Theodore Clark, Aliijah Abbott. PldiiiiKj-Mith mid Luiiihi-r. — D. Stevens & Co., Fos- ter Brothers. Ilid-Iiii.r Miiiiiifucturhuj (_'i»iip(tiiirs. — Daid.iury and Bethel Manufacturing Co., Daniel Starr. Shirt-Mitiiiifactm-iiiij Cnmpiuiy. — Reed, Stevens & Co. MacItine-SliopK. — Danbury Iron-Works, Turner Ste- vens & Son, Fanton Brothers, R. A. Belden & Co. Hot-Air Ftiriiai-rs. — E. S. Jlorris it Co. THE EXECUTION OF ANTHONY. "There have been two executions in Danbury. Both of these (iccurrcd within a period of twenty years, and liotli were of negroes convicted (jf rape. Tiie first was a man named Anthony, a free negro, living in Greenwich. He jierhaps had no other name, as 'Anthony' is alone used in the indictment and the warrant for execution. His crime was committed on the 7th of Jfarcli, 17'J8, and he was hung in Novem- ber following. "The following is the eojiy of the indictment from the graiul jury, for eoi>y of which and of the warrant that follows we are indebted to Mr. A. P.. Hull: I "• Tlie Grjiml .Iiitoi-> Inr tlie bndy of .sniil County of Faiififlil.oii their ofiths Jiicsfut iiiiil say tliat ;it (iiffiiwicli, in Ksiiil County, on tlie w'v^ht next suci'eeilini; tbe 7th ihiy of March. A.n., IT'.'S, .\ntIiony a Fiee nt-^'ro, tlu'ti ronlinjc in s-ai»l Greenwich with fiuce and anns wilfully wicUod and feloinously did make an assault in and upon the liody of Mary Knai'p of i^aid (Ircenwirh, a maid under the age of nineteen yeai's, then an<l there in the Peace of God and of this State, . . . being against tho I'eace and contray to the form, force and eflect of the laws of this State, entitled "An Act for the Punishment of Rape." On this indictment the said Anthony was arranj^ed before the liar of this Couit, ami on such his arrain{j:ement was put to plead. Pleaded not (guilty and for tlial put himself on God and the Country. The issm- with tlie evidence wits com- mitted to the Jury, duly impaneled and called upon to pju^s between the State of Connecticut and the said Anthony the Prisoner at the Bar, which Jurors on their oath do say that said Anthony, the prisoner at the bar, is guilty of the ciinio charged against him in the said indii tuient where- upon it is consi<lered hy the court and this court uo join sentence and against the sjiid Anthony, the Prisoner at the liar, that he go from hence to the Goal from whence he came and from thence to some open and con- venient iilaee for execution then to be hanged between the Heavens and the earth until he shall be ilead.' "This was at Danbury, Aug. 10, 17i:l8. Anthony remained in the jail here until November 8th, when 246 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. he was called forth for execution, the warrant for the sheriff: The following is "'To tlic Sheriff uf the county of Foirfleld lu the State of Coiincelicut, Greeting: "* Whereas one Anthony a free Negro Man residing in Groenwicli in eaid comity Itoforo tlio Supremo Court holdon at IMnbury witliin the said County of Fairfield on tlic siconil tucsdiiy of Auguit 1708 was legally convicted of the crime of a llape Committed on tlie Body of Marj' Knapp of Greenwicli afor<Baid a maid under the ago of nineteen years. And thcreui>on lie the said Anthony was hy tlie consideration of said Supremo Court adjudged and sentenced to be Hanged by his neclc be- tween tlio lleaveu anil the Kartli on the Eighth Hay of November next between tlie tiours of Ten o'clock in the forenixin and three o'clock in the afternoon of said Day until lie should bo Dead. All of which by the records of said Supreme Ctmrt appears. And Kxecutiou thereof renuiins to be done. These are therefore in the name an<i by the Authority of the State of Connecticut to Will A Command you that on the Kight day of November next ensuing some time between the hours of Ten o'clock in the forenoon & Three o'clock in the afternoon of said Day you have him the said Anthony forth of the Common Goal in said Fairfield County where he now remains in Custody untn some open i^ convenient place for execution and liini said .\nthony then A there Cause to be Hanged up by hbt neck between the Heavens and the Karth until ho shall be Dead. For which purpose this shall be your Legal A suflicient wan-ant liereofyou may in no wise fail A makedue return with such yourdoinga thereon Kndorsed. " ' Dated at Windham tho ISth day of September, a.d. 1798 & in the 23d year of the Indopcuccdence of the United States uf America.* "There is no record of the return from the .'sheriff called for in the closing paragrajih, and tliere are those who dispute that Anthony was hung here at the time.