History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

During the Revolution a large number of the inhab- itants of this district were Tories. Dr. Moses Mather was preaching in the Congregational church on Sun- day, July 22, 1781, when a party of Tories completely surrounded the church and took most of the people prisoners, only a few young men escaping through the windows. Two shots were fired at these; but they dared fire no more, as three guns was the well- known signal of alarm in this part of the country. All the males were then tied two and two and led out of the church, with the venerable Dr. Mather at their head. The Tories also carried ofi" some forty horses belonging to the congregation which had assembled, and marched the prisoners to the Sound shore, where they were embarked for Lloyd's Neck, on Long Island. From thence they were taken to New York and confined in the Provost prison, where they un- derwent the most severe treatment. The following contains a portion of a poem entitled A Poelifal Jlcl'ilioii .// Ihc Capture of the Congregation at Middteaex, witli an Arcoinit of their Sufferimj; ete., ichilc in captitily ; hi) Peter St. John. "Now to reluto 'tis my intent A Biul and Irapoul event. On what I wi ite you inny rely, Ab I've the history lying by. July tho twenty-second <luy. Wliero Oiristiiuis meet to King and pray, In seventeen hundred and eighty-oue, An horrid action was begun. Wliile to tlic I.onl Iticy ting and pray, The Toiie.s wlio in ambuHli lay. Beset the liouRo with brazen face ; At Middlesex it »ns the place. A guanl \va8 placeil the house before, Likewise ttehiinl and at each door. Then, void of shame, those men of sin The sacred temple entered in. The Itev. Mather cloBcd his Iwok : How did the congregation look? The reverend i)riest. the man of God. Severely felt the smarting rvnl, — Not by a whip do 1 pretend. But by abuses from those friends. How muHt he feel to see hi* sheep Thus worried, whilst llicy sib-ncc kcepi ThiMje demons plnndereil what they could. Either In silver or In gtdd. The silver buckles, which we use Both at the knees and on the shoos. Them cailKIs took theui; in their rage Had no resl»ect for sex or age. And OS they all were searching round. They w»veral silver watches found. They who were placed as guanls without, Like raging devils ranged al>out, Ti-Hjk forty hon*es to the shore, — Not many either less or niorv. — With bridles, smldles, pillions, on: In a few minutes all was done. The men which hence they took away, I'pon this sacreil awftil day. Was fortyM'igh!. l-esldes two more They cluuict.*! to tind uisjn the shore. When 1*1 the shore they wer« conveyed, The orders given they obeyc<l. On board the shipping they wore sent. But grrolly feared the sad event, DARIEN. 269 As well they niiglit, bemuse thi-y knew Their captors were the I>evirs crew. They huisted sail, the .Suuiul tln-y crussM, And near Lloyd's Nc-i-k they anchored tirst. Then every man must tell his nnme; A list they took, and kept the same. Now tweiity-fuiir of titty men Were ordered home aj^aiti; The twenty-six wlio stay'd behind, Most cnudly were tlify contined ; On buard the brig were urdered quick, And were confined beneath the deck. — ■ A nasly hole, with filth besinear'd. — But 'twas no more than what they fear'd. But to return whence I left otT, They at onr misery made a scoff, — Like racing devils tore about, 8«earinK they'd tear onr vilala out; That they'd nu (juarter ever give, Kor let a cursed rebel Hve ; But would their joints in pieces cut; Then round the deck like devils strut. Oh, human nature, how depraved ! Can any mortal e'er bo saved. So void of good, HO full of evil, And wholly bent to serve the Peril? July the four and twentieth day, We all were sent to Oyster Bay. ^ if 4i if/. :lf -lip Wo to t!io ferrj' came at last, View'd by spectators as we past: The gazing rabble, Tory throng, Would curse us as we passed along. Ten thousand curses round us rung; But some would laugh, and some would sneer. And some would grin, and gome would leer. A mixed mob, a medley crew, I guess, as e'er the Devil knew. To the provost wo then were haul'd. Though we of war were prisoners called ; Our irons now were ordered oft', — The standers-by would swear and scoff. But oh, what company we found ! With great surprise we looked around ! I must conclude that in this place We found the worst of Adam's race ; Thieves, murderers, and pickpockets too, And everything that's had they do. One of our men found, to his cost. Three iiounds of York money lie had lost,— His pockets picked, I guess, before We had been tliero one single hour. « « :i: * « * Full eighteen days, or something more, We fairly were exchang'd before; Of the oxcliange they let us know, Or from that place of bondage go. That of the number twenty-five, But just nineteen wore left alive ; Four days before December's gone. In sevcuteon hundred eighty-one." OLD DOCUMEXTS. The following arc given as beinjj documents : interestinfj old A DLSTItlBUTDlN BILL OF 1724. A Distribution Bill to lluth Scofield, wife to Joshua Scofield and daughter to Jolin Young, lato of Stamford, dec'd, for her part or por- tion, as follows: To particulars rec'd at marriage. 22. 10. To a bever hat, 3. G. To warming pan, 0. To a wodden mortar, 6. A knife, C. A groat bible. A parcel of old books. An almanac, a baskut, and whettitDUe. A grindstone to a tree. A tub. A Raiser, C Sisoi's. I'a mittens. A piece of land iipon ye esist si<le of Norutnn Nerk, gnuth of ye country roml, being twenty-i»ne rods in breadth at ye nnith end of highway. Two shilliugis and one j^euney of John Dean's bill. Two pad locks. The above distribution made Ijy us dijitribu tors uu'ier oath this 4 day of Feby. 1724. Samuei, Weed, Jonas Wkei>. AN EARLY DEKD. Whr-renn, the Town of Stanifoid in their Annual Meeting in Dec 112Z being hiwfnljy warned and cunvenod, voted nu follows, viz ^ town did Vote, the Town do impower the townsmen, or any three of thcni to agree with Jojshua Scofield & to e.xcliange that piece of laml which Mr. Elisha Holly seipiefltered to the uso<jf the Town, on the East side of Stony Brook, as also a piece of salt marsh on the East s^ide of Richard Scofield's Mill Pund fiir the convenience of a Highway down to Scofield's Mill or any other way bo for the best I>enetit of the Town And agreeably to the above vote the Si-lectmen agreed with me the "i Joshua Scofield of Stam- ford to exchange the land which now makes tlie Highway from the countiy road to the 'i null for the above ■' seiiue.steied land A nd whereas I the '1 Joshua Scotiekl on my part gave to the Town a well executed Deed for ^ Highway, but they neglecting on their part to give me a con- veyanie for th** "^ scjuesteretl land, thesjime remains yet my due There- fore, To all persons to whom these Presents shall come Greeting, Know ye that I the ^ Joshua Scofield of Stamfuiil in Fairfield County in C-on- necticnt State, for divers causes <fc considerations mo thereunto moving, more esjHjcially for the Parental Affection Love and good will which I have \' do bear towanls my loving it dutiful gramlson Gershom Scofield of Stamford afore'J, do give grant convey & confirm unto him the <i Ger- shom Scofield, & to his Heirs & assigns forever, all 1113' right, Title &. l)e- niantlti which I have to the ■* sequestered land, Iluunded according to the Bill of laying out as follows Easterly by Yming's, his land westerly by Stony Brook, or the line granted by the Town of Stamford to the ^ Y'oung's to set a fence, southerly by the cove called GooJwife's & north- erly by tlie country road laid out it sized to two Acres. To have and to hold tlie alwve Given & Granted right, Title, Demand to the above desi'ribeU Premises \uito him my -^ grandson Gei-slmm Sco- field A to his Heirs & Assigns forever to his A- their own proi)er use ifc behoof liB an Estate of Inheritance in fee simple, free ■& clear from all incumbrance whatsoever, in witness & confirmation whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal the IGth day of Augiuit a.d. 17S3 Signed Sea,led A delivered in presence of AbRM DAVE.NPORT ) ,^„j.^ SCOFIELD [l.8.] JoSlIlA SCOFIEI-II Jk) State of t'onneeticnt as Stanifonl on the «lay of the date above Person- ally appeared Mr Joshua Scotield, Signer and Sealer of the alwve written Instruiuent A acknowledged the same to be his free Act A Deed l)efore Abcm Davesport A6sist Gershom Scofield's Deed of Gift from Joshua Si-otield Kec to Record Dec' Htli 1"S3 A Recorded in Book K, Page Hi by John Hart, Jun"" Toirn Clerk EARLY MERCIIAKTS, Et.-. The first stores in this town were kept at "Ring's End," and among the first merchants are mentioned the names of Nathaniel Clock, Bell & Waterbnry, and Jones & Jarvis. The first merchant at Darien was Rufns Scofield. The first merchant at No.sota was one (Jorham. The first grist-mill wa.s built by Kicliurd Scofield, 270 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD .COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. and occupied the site of the mill now owned by Ben- jamin Fitch. The fust postma-ster was Rufus Bell, in 1814. There wa.s but one post-office in the town, and that was lo- cated in a building which stood nearly opposite the present parsonage of the Congregational church. Among the first physicians were Warren Percival and Dr. Richmond. Tlic present physicians are Samuel Sands and R. L. Bohannan. CHAPTER XXYI. DARIEN (Continued). ECCLESIASTICAL, CIVIL, AND MILITARY HISTORY. Congregational Cliurcb — Presbyterian Cliurcli — St. Lnkc's CliurcU — Metl)u(li»t EpiscoiMiI Clmrch — Incoritorutiou of tlio Parish — Organi- zatidn of tlie town— Selectmen from 1820 tolSSl — List uf Town Clerks — Rel)resentative8 from 1820 to 1880 — Darieu in tlio War of the Ke- bellion — List of Soldiers. How early separate religious services were held in this town no existing records sliow. Probably for years before Dr. Mather was settled here, in 1744, there had been preaching, with more or le.ss regu- larity.