History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

"Banks. — Tiie aru-cstor of all of this funiily-name in Kairflchl County was Jolm Banks, who ninrrit'd a daughter of Charles Taiiitor, of Wcthens- flcld, whoro ho was town clerk in 10-1.1 ; removed soon afler to Falrneltl, of wldoli town ho was repre^iontative soverul years between 1C51 and ICCO ; removo<l to Rye, N. Y., and was representative fnmi that town 1670 to 1C73. lie made his will Dec. Vi, 1GS4. In it he uienliouod suns- John, Samuel, Obadiali, and Beiijaniin — and daughters — Susannah Stnrgos, Hannah, wife of Daniel Burr — and sister. Blarj* Taylor. Ho had a son, Joseph, not mentioned in this will. Oliuiliali died in Fnirfleld in February, 109], and Benjamin tlie next year. Of Sjininel nutliing retlablo is known. B«»th at Fairfield and Greenwidi those of tlie name are nu- jnerons, and also at Redding, whoro some of JoAeph's descendants s«t' tied. "Gershom Banks was born May 1, 171'.:. He was married Uiree times, and his children were Daniel, Marannuh, Thomas, Jane (who died in infancy), Gershom, Joseph, Jane, Noah, EI(Jali, Hyatt, and I-iiuic. Ger- shom Banks, Jr., married his ciiu»in. Until, daugliter of BiMijamin Banks April 20, 1774. Tiieir children were Uuth, Mary, llulduh, Noah,Gerahom, niarlcs, Lucy, and Cynthia. " The children of Beiijauiin Banks were Molly, Benjamin, llezekiuh, Mabel, Kiith, Kstlier, Kllen, .\nna,anil Jonathan. " This family wiui noted for longevity. Benjomin Banks died at the ago of one humlriHl and two yeaiv, and lib oldest great.gronds^>n, Kev. Daniel Banks, preache«l his funeral s4'rmon. His olduit child, 3lolly, widow of y\o*r» 0g,lcn, livtMl to the ago of one hundre.1 ami three. When the British numlied to Danbnry in 1777, Mary, daughter of (3er»hom Banks, Jr., was a child lew* than a year old, and wiis w ith otberx, w-omen and chihlren, together with wuch articles as could he hn*tily collected, conveyed in an iLXM-art to a place of safety. Get*luini Banks, Jr., and lii.i . . hrothor-in-law, Jonathan Banks, were capture<l ami taken to New York, but were soon lll»en»te«l. The house wiui plumlered of everything of value. The daughter, Jlary, who had such an early ex|>vrionce of the horrora of warfare, married, flmt, Francis Bradley, Jr., and afterwards Eira Hull, of Bedding." FAIRFIELD. 309 No. 30. This house was built by Gersliom Thorpe; date not ascertained, l)ut, from tlie traditions and records in families in Greenfield, its being a "colonial" is undeniable. When the British made their raiil in these parts, the owner, Gershom Thorpe, hid beliind the chamber-door. His wife, full of courage, met the foe at tlie door. They asked if there was a man or a gun in the house, to which she replied, "No." .She fed them, and they passed on and took prisoner Ben- jamin Banks, who was driving oxen near by. They conveyed him to Danljury and to New York, where in time he was exchanged. He returned, married, settled, and multiplied. This house is small, but large families have been Ijrought up in it. The second owner was Eli Thorpe, son of the builder, Gershom Thorpe. The third owner was James Goodsell, grandson of the Rev. John Goodsell, first pastor in Greenfield. The fourth owner is the present occupant, Mr. Simeon Banks. No. 31. The old house on these premises was built by Gershom Banks, who attained the age of eighty, and his widow that of ninety-seven. It has been moved from its former site to give ]ilace for a new structure, thougli it is to be preserved for a storage- house. A large family has also emanated from this old dwelling. It is now owned by Aliraham Banks, grandson of the luiilder, and his wife is a (hiughter of James Goodsell, once the oAvner of "No. 30." Jonathan Banks, brother of Benjamin Banks, above, heard the British w-ere advancing in tliis direc- tion, went into his house, seized a robin-gun, and started to alarm the neighbors. A.s he opened the door to this house to go to the next he met a British soldier, who asked him what he was going to do with that gun. He replied, " .Shoot robins." The soldier responded, " Shoot ' Red-coats.' " He took Jonathan prisoner with liim to Danbnry, and then to the fa- mous "Sugar-house" in New York, where he had the smallpox. In time he and his l)rother Benjamin were exchanged, and he came home to his father, wlio built the " colonial" No. 32. No. 32. The first owner and builder of this house was Benjamin Banks, who was born in 1703 and died 1805. He had the two sons above, who were taken prisoners. One of them, Jonathan, was the next owner, and his wife, like himself, had a rough experi- ence. She was Molly Wakeman, daughter of ( iershom Wakeman. As soon as he heard the enemy was at C'ompo he mounted his horse and started in the defense of his country. A bullet struck him in the forehead, as he rode to join the forces, and he fell dead. His wife fled, leaving the children of his first wife to care f<ir themselves. Molly, the eldest, took the rest of the children and the cow and passed up a back lane to the woods, where they spent a week, subsisting on the milk of this cow. They were terribly anxious about the animal, fearing that it might make a noise and discover to the enemy their place of secretion. After a week they returned to tlieir home, where in time Molly became Mrs. Banks. These were the grand- parents of Mrs. Isaac Jlilbanks, in lunise "No. 17." .lonathan's daugliter was the owner next ; afterwards it fell to Zalmon Bradley, who is the present proprie- tor. It was converted into a barn some years since, and in a few years this landmark will disai>i)ear. No. 33 is located in the northeastern part of Green- field. It was built by Jabez Thorpe, — a name which is of consideralilc antiquity in England and exten- sively known in this section. They had more of a maritime taste or were merchants. Capt. Stephen Thoriie was left homeless through the disaster at Fairfield, July 7, 1779. He jnirehased after it Chan- cellor Kent's home in Westport. Andrew Thorpe was a merchant for many years in New York. He died suddenly at his mansion on Mill Plain in 1876. After Jabez Thorjie, Zalmon Price had possession ; later, Samuel, son of Nathan Bradley. The present owner, William Bradley, ca])tain in the State militia, occupies the house alone; it has undergone repairs of late, so that it is quite habitable for those of hermit- ical inclinations. No. 34. This is known as tlie " Lobdcll" house, though it is very cjld, having been liuilt by Samuel Bradley (Isti, who died in 1771. Here his first capi- tal was "the jug of rum and a fiddle." Rum was a common article in those days, and one of the staples of trade. As near as can be remembered witliout a wearisome search of records, David Downes was the next owner, and he was succeeded by Eliphalet Meeker. The Meekers belong to an old family. Many of the descendants live in the western part of Green- field jiarish, and many lie in Greenfield l)urying- ' ground. One is commemorated thus: "IlEllE LYES BURIED THE BODY OF DE.\CON D.WID MEEK.\U, who <li*i).irtc(l this Lite .\l«il jc 1V\ 17 5 4, In tin; 07'1> year of his age." The present owner is William Lobdell, who was born in Westcliester Co.,N. Y. This house is in good re|>air, but its ancient style of large beams and low ceilings is preserved. No. 3">. This was an old-fashioned long-roofed house built by Hezekiah Price about 1770. He too lies in the Greenfield ground, with this slab above him : "In Bli-hioty of M' Ilczcldiili I'licc, who died .\l>rll l.i, 181C, in tlie 73 year of ills age." His wife's stone is separated from his by a cedar- tree. It reads : 310 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. "Diod on the 29 of Nov., 1843, Eunice Trice, widow of llozekiiiti Price, & dnughtcr of Duvid Beers. in the 100 year of hor age. She lived a life of piety & devotion to ttie service of God, and died in tile lio|M3 of a gloriuufl resurrection." Their son Hezekiah inherited and remodeled it. His daughter, Jlrs. Betsey Calligan, is the present owner and oecupant. No. 36. This liouse is of Bradley origin. Its present owner is A\'illiani Hawley Bradley, son of Capt. Hezclciah Bradley, who was son of JIaj. Me- dad Bradley, who w.ts the son of Ilezekiah 15radley, sou of Samuel Bradley who occupied the house " No. 34," owned now by AVilliam Lobdell. It is difficult to ascertain who was the builder. It is a very old domicile, and in fact uninhabitable. The Bradleys were in the " colonials" so near of blood kin, and so numerous, and lie so thick in the Greenfield ground, that a few inscriptions are here given : " In Memory' of Abigail Bradley, wlio Died Sept. 1, 1777, in her IS" Year, Sarali Bradley, who Died FebruJ 28'', 1775, in her &>*" year, and Abigail Bradley, who Died Oct. lU", 1779, in her 1" year. All daughters of Hezekiah & Abigail Bradley Stay, thou ntaiden, etay ; Learn bow earthly joys decay. Here three lovely ei:iter>i sleep; Bead their fartt, and, reading, weep. Swift the hours, deceiving, Hy ; Death unseen is ever nigh : Soon the form of healtbiei^t bloom Think Iiow soon may find a tomb. Wisdom, then, and heaven to gain, Kurly seek, nor reuil in vain." "In memory of Duct' Aaron Burr Bradley, born April 2Z\ 17C9, died Febninry lU", 1814." This is a simple inscription. The following is as short as can be found: " Samuel Bradley, Ks^i'. Obt. Aug. T.I, ISOJ, JEt. 70. This Bradley house stands on Burr's Highway, and is on the estate of Eldad Gould, a sea-captain, who accumulated rjuite a property. William H. Bradley's daughter married George Gouhl, whose death was oc- casioned by a stone falling on his head while in a well, injuring liini fatally. No. 37. Another hou.se on Burr's lligliway, a large dwelling, wits built by Eliphalet Lyon, who lived to be ninety-four. He was a weaver, and very skillful in the art. One day Dr, Dwight came t<i .see him and brought a piece of carpet lie had obtained in New Haven, and asked if he could weave like that. Mr. Lyon, after raveling a piece, replied that he could,