History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Judge Sherman was versed not only in jurispru- dence, but in theology and metaphysics, and w.is fond of the exact anil natural sciences. He was familiar with the theory of government and political economy, and with whatever a .statesman should know. Neither did he neglect elegant literature. This various knowl- edge he made tributary to his profession in eases that could be illustrated by it. and sometimes a.stonished and delighted his luiditors as he ptmrcd forth its treas- ures. He was not only great, but good, and was strictly subordinated to moral and religious principle, ^^'ith- FAIRFIELD. 327 out bigotry, he bt'lievcd in the doetrines of Dwi^ht and Edwards. He was a modest, unassuininix, unobtrusive j man, and impressed all who l.)eeame acquainted with j liim. He maintained the strictest inteirrity and up- i ri^^htness in all his public, private, and professional \ transactions, and scrupulously adhered to truth, kept his promises, abstained from making any whicli he could not fulfill, would not sell his couseience for office (^r eni<dument, discouraged what seemed to liim to be groundless litigation, and was a model of parental and conjugal love, tenderness, and lidelity. He was an early and powerful advocate of the temperance cause, and seemed to be everybody's friend.^ I He left a very lengthy will, — covering pages in the town records, volume for 1840, page 359, — of which the following is an abstract: *' I give tliu ' f'diiilmr^h Encyclop.TiIiu,"' Wi/ltstfi's lar^t- fniartn <lic- tionary, in 2 vols., Bezii's Greek Testament. Si-utt's ' Family Ililih',' in 5 vnls. (inurtt). tlio works of Itobeit Hall, in 2 vols., the sermons of Dwight, Ciianibers, Saurin, Biinler, Davies, and all other sermons ami treatises on Theology, also Hume's 'History of EiighuMl,' and the cuntinimtioii of said history, in T2 vols., lettered on tlie hark ' Hume's Knglaud,' the I Life and Wrilin^H of .lohn Jay,' Cialib's ' Synonyms,' Jay's ' Politieal Ei-onotuy," ISosIii k's ' I'hysiulogy,' Good's ' Book uf Nature,' Olmsled'a * Philosojiliy,' in 2 vols., Murray's Grammar, octo., Spanisli and French Dictionaries and .Spanish Grammar, one Greek Lexicon, Alexander Adams' 'Konian Antiipiities,' Barher's 'Histotical Collections for Con- neeticnt, Ma-ssacliusetts,and New York,' and Dufree.-.' ' Nature Displayed,' to the First Kcclesiastic Society in Fairfield for the use of tlie minis- ters' Ulirary. The said books shall be sdways kejit in said library, and sliall never be sold or exchanged. "I giveanddevise my homestead, — b.mnded southeasterly on the main street in Fairfield, on laud of Sirs. Knaiip and on laud formerly belong- ing to Wm. IMmoii, now deceased; sontliwesterly on highway on land of AbrahamGould Jennings, and on land formerly belonging to said Dimon; northwesterly on highway and laud of saiil Jennings; imitheastorly on land of M'm. S. Snuth, together with the dwelliug-liouse and all other buildings on said homestead, — and I also give the double windows or Itussian lights, the Venetian Idinds, all the fire-grates and stoves which ^ilall be in use at my decexse, the large metallic clock, the carpet on the Btairs, in the front hall, and all the carpels or mattings on the lloors of the lower rooms .and iu use at my decease, and no other carpets or mat- tings, ami the oil- or floor-cloth which may then be on the tloor of the front entry, to the First Ecdesiiistic Society iu siiid Fail field, in trust, for the personal use, hal-itjitiou, and occupation of the minister of said Society while statedly ministering therein, and every niini>ter of said Society while statedly ministering therein, etc., etc. "I also give ami betpieath to said Society twenty-five shares of Stock on Fairfield County Bank, in the Fairfield County Bank, in trust, to apply the dividends thereon and the income thereof to tliu keeping of the building and fences of the said homestead in good order and repair; and whenever said dividends or income shall be more than is necessiiry for that purpose, the surplus may be appropriated to purchasing carpets for the front rooms of the dwelling-house, sliould new carjiets be neces- sary, and whatever of said income or dividends shallbe more than wanted for either of the said i)urpose8 shall be safely kept or invested on good Becuiity, to be used or applied for those purposes and for no other when- ever the same may become necessary or expedient." The balance of his projjerty (which amounted to seventy-two thousand and some odd dollars) he willed to various institutions and to various relatives He is said never to have replied " Yes" or '* No" to a question. Once a friend, meeting liiin coming out of the post-office, thought sure he would put an in- terrogation which would draw out a " Yes" or a "No;" * See Dr. Lyman Atwater's Funeral Discou:-Ke of Hon. R. 51. Sher- imiii. Fairfield, Jan. 'i, 1S45. SO he asked *' Is the mail in?" Sherman replied, " Are you expecting a letter?"! A townsman, speaking of Mr. Shennau, said, '' He was a lawyer what was a lawyer." In the Foote Genealogy (published 1S49), page aOD, may lie found the following: "Mis. Elizabeth Slicrmau, widow of the late Hon. Roger M. Sherman, died at Fairfield, Aug. 3, 1S4S, in the seventy-fifth year of her ago. Thus has passed away all that renuiined of the family of a man of eminent di>tiuiti..ii in theCimrchaud tlie State. Hisvent'rable relict, who has now tnll.iwcd him tothe grave, adorned the staVion allotted her by Provi- dence by bringing toit intellectual powers and accomplishmeuls not in- feiiitr to those of her distinguished husband. Itenuirkable for her con- scientiousness, prudence, wisdom, her firmness and steadfiistness of attach- ment to the doctrine and ordinances tif the gospel, her /.cal in maintaiu- iug religious institutions, her liberality to the poor, and in sustaining the missionary and charitable entenuises,— she was in all tliese high points of a spirit congenial to his, of ' like precious faith,' his cordial and flKcient fellow-helper, with him ' ready to do every good work.' In her death tlie poor universally mourn the loss of a great benefactor; the Church bewails the removal of a strong pillar; benevolent institutions will miss a coastant ami generous patron; society suffers the Krss of a bright example and firm supporter of wluitever is pure and lovely aiul of good report. " In accordance with the mutual understanding and united wishes of herself and husband, she lias made tlie following beipiests to religious and imblic institutions. She h;LS bequeathed her miscellaneous library, liovise, and homestead to the First Ecdesiiistic Society of Fairfield, to- gether with a fund of $i."»00 for the piiipose of keeping the siime in re- pair,— tlie fi>rmer for the increase of the ministerial library, the latter Ibr a parsonage. She has given the law-library of her late husband to the county of Fairfield for tliu use of the bar and covirts of said county ; 54iX)ii to tlie corporation of Yale Ctdlege, on the condition that they pay an annuity of S^OI) tji one of lier nephews during hi.s life ; $2un(} to the E;ist Windsor Institute; i^Uno ti the American Home Missionary So. ii-ly ; S4(X)0 to the American Colonization Society ; H'-HKl to the Re- treat for the In^ane at Hartford; S'>UO to the Female Beneficent Society of Fairfi^dd." A monument to the memory of Mr. and Mrs. Sher- man ami two Sons is erected in the East ground: " Hon. Roger Miiiot Sherman, Judge of the Supreme Court of ConncLticut, IMed December 30, 1S44, aged 71 years & 7 mo. "Eminent as a Civilian, a Jurist & an Orator, Adorne<l witli rare moral and <'hrif>tiau excellence, iu life he \%;u> widely belovi-d and revered, and ' in death greatly lamented. " Reviviscemus!'' The inscription to his wife reads : " Elizabeth, widow of Roger Minot Sherman, Died Aug. 3, 1S4S, Aged 74. " Likelier dif^tingui^hetl husband iiighly gifted by nature and education she WiLs his associate & fellow-helper iu all good wt)rks, A, dying as the had lived, in tlie laith and hope of the gosjiel, her death was mourned iis a public calamity." The portraits of the judge and his wife- hang in the parlor of the parsonage, wdaieh has been occupied since the demise of Mrs. Sherman by Dr. Lyman At- water, now professor in Princeton, Dr. Willis Lord, Rev. Alexander McLean, Rev. E. E. Rankin, D.D., who at present resides in Hartford as a private citizen, and Rev. George 8. Burroughs, who was elected last May a member of the American Oriental Society, ■j- Dr. J. T. Denison. 328 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. which was organized some fifty years since, and num- bers among its members the heading American Orien- tal schohirs, with associate and lionorary members in Europe and Asia. Mr. Burrouglis lias entered on the study of the Assyrian hmguagc.* 4. Rev. Andrew ElinCs Home. — This was not burnt in 1779, from the fact that it was not completed. Dr. David Hull, who married a Miss Susanna Eliot, daughter of Dr. Eliot, of Boston, purcha.sed it, fin- ishe<l it, an<l resided there for a few years. That was the only house unoccupied at the time of the confla- gration, and Dr. Hull intended to purchase it. There were, as near as can be ascertained, only nine houses standing at that time scmth of the railroad in Fair- field, five of which have been mentioned in the " Colo- nial lTouses."t One of these was left standing till 1874, when Arthur IJennitt had it torn down. It was not burnt in 1779, as it was owned by a Freemason. The house next to it is always spoken of as the Turncy house, from which those of that name in town probably originated. The principal ones remaining are Albert and Theodore Turney,t who reside not far from this old "eoloiual." Rufus Turncy was town clerk from 1867 to 1870. The present town clerk, Daniel Maloney, was born in the " colonial" on the Bennitt place. He served from 1872 to 1873, and from 1874 to 1880. He is the only one who served iis town clerk who has not be- longed to a colonial family, though he was born in a colonial house I The Turney house was set lire to, but the flames were either extinguished or it failed to burn.