History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Daniel Wilcoxson resided, and probably was an early setttler, on Barn Hill. He was wealthy, a man of ability and faith. His son, Daniel Wil- coxson, was a graduate of Yale College, and for some two years waa a teacher in Bermuda, — a gentleman of taste and intluenc. Tradition Btates that he introduced the first piano into tliis town, if not the first in this county. This simple relic of the juist is in poi^session of Mr. H. Beardsiee. It wjis manufactured by Ball, Tottingham (now IiOniii>n), and presented to Miss Sylvia Curtiss, in ttie year I811J, — sixty-two years ago. Datiiel was accidentally drowned, being tlirowa from liis hoise in crossing Leavenworth Bridge, — the first I'ri'lge built i>ver the Ib'U>atonic Kiver. "Elihu Curtiss, son of Peter Curtiss, lived beyt>nd East A'illage, on or near what was called Webb's place. He was fitted for college, A large landliohier, a man of ability and of wide political influence, lie was often a member of the State Legislature ; was esteemed as an honest and ex- emplary man ; was a warm supporter, I infer, i>f the chunh aTid of pul>- lic worship. "James McEwi-n was an early settler, and resid'-d nn the brantifnl northern slope of Bagburn Hill, on the corner v>ppt)site the residence of our friend Charles McEwen. The mins of his homesteari are still visi- ble, and some fruit-trees stand to memorialize the spot. His mind ran in a remarkable degree upon the Bible, with which, as illustrated by Brown's 'Commentary,' — a largo folio volume, — he was remarkably familiar. He was a man of great faith, social and quiet, and a great loss, as we may well infer, when he died. It is stati-d of him that he was absent but one Sabbath foi- years from the sanctuary. He was found dead in hiscorn-fieldinor near the year 1815. His descendants, ius represented ' in our midst, ai-e known and esteemed by us, a gianddaughter, Mrs. ' Samuel B. Beardsiee, and a grandson, Mr. Charles McEwen, being mem- I bersof this church. | "Ebenezer Lewis lived in Walker's Farm District. He was a man of I property, and remarkable in prayer ami exiiortation. His daughter married the fath.-r of Mr, W. Plumb, and in that family he is honorably | represented in the church. "Elijah Curtiss, a son of EUhu Curtiss. and grandson of Peter Curtiss, , —and gnindfuther, I believe, of 5Ir. William and Charles Curtiss,— a ! man of marked ability, slirewd and influential, went to the Legislature several times ; was a true patriot, strong in the princii)Ies of the gi)Kpel, , and a great supporter of public woi-sbip. It is reported of him that fur | years lie did not fail to attend meetings on the Sabbath. His name and | faith still live,— the third in one family desc ent who suslain.-d a deacon- j ship in thii^cbunb. "Edniond Lewis, son of Deacon Benjamin Lewis, W!is a devotedly i pious and exemplary man,— one of whom the worhl look knowledge that he walked with God. Ho had no children, and gave an imp(u-tant legacy to this society. In the support of the preaching r.f the word I this legacy speaks his praise, and will speak it while this church and society sliall exist. "Deodate Sillinian lived on the road west of Upper Stepney. He is re- ! ported as a nnin of deep social feelings, given to pleasantry and wit in conversation, and yet a man of dev.ut feelings, ainl one deeply interested in the welfare of tlie ehurch and sorh-ty. He was uncle to the late eiiu- neut Benjaiiiiii Sillinian, professor in Yale College. "John Wilcoxson, nephew of Deacon Wilcoxson, livetl on Barn Hill ; was a man of faith and prayer. He died in 1820. ' "As far as tradition affirms, all these deacons were men i>f ability and worth. They were, b»>, blessed, we believe, with exoTiiplary wiv.'j^, who with them loveil and helped enstain the church. I "Atdifl'erent periods, when the society wa-s feelde and supplies Were not td)tained for the pulpit, divine service was maintained by tho deacons. In this they were sustained by tho members of the church and society and their families. This is named as one of the great moans of preserv- ing the church. It speaks volumes for the intelligence and energy of I the deacons and tlie true-heartedness of the peojde. Even the young I peojde, it is said, were punctual in attendance, and thus most happily anrl eflectively aided in the work of building up this temple of the Lord. "The bell, or the lli-st one, if there have been two, must have been procured early, — probably in I78r., the year wIkju the first house, as we infer, was dedicated. I find in the filed accounts of the society charges ! for repairing the tongue of tho bell lus far back Jis 179.''>, if not earlier. [ The piesent bell dates 182G; if so, it has pealed forth its joyous notes for some thirty-eight years — or some two thousand times — sis Sabbath after I Sal'bath has rolled by. The tongue, worn by fn-ijuent utterance, on the I last Sabbath loosed its hold, dropped fi*om its I'hice, and wiia reveren- tially silent during the day. It has been refitted, and stands again ready J to do its joyful work, wo trust, for a hundred yeais to come. *■ The singingof the congregation and ihnreli has ever been, we judge, I well sustained and of more than a common order. It was early con- ducted, we believe, by Capt. Nathan Booth, — certjiinly for a number of ' years by Mr. Abel French, who was an esteemed and active member of 1 this society. More recently it has had the valuable services of Mr. Elisha Booth, aided by Messrs. Elisha Beardsiee, Cliarles McEwen, Hiram I Beardsiee. William Curti^s. Dr. Edward M. Beardsiee, Miss Wheeler, Page, Curtiss, the Miss Beardslees, and others well known by all. I "Many a sweet psalm and hymn lias iluring the five thousand and two hundred Sabbaths of the one hundred years now closing here sent forth its sweet utterances of penitential joy and excellent praise. Many a time, with help of the flute, clarionet, bugle, antl more recently the melodeon, have voices sweet sounded forth ' Old Hundred.' * Wimlham,' 'Deumarke,' ' Wells,' ' Mear,' ' ('hina,' ' Delight,' ' Mortality,' ' Majesty,' ' Lenox.' and the anthem, 'See the Purple Bannere Flying,' — tunes which, amid all the revolutions and changes and boasted improvements in sacix-d music, remain unsurpassed in power of musical and devotional efl^ect. M'hile, then, we would have what is i.'.jnd in tho new, let us at the same time remember and honor what was, and is, so precious in the old. " Among the teachers of select and private schools I find reference to Rev. Mr. Rexford, a clergyman, who succeeded him, Legrand Moore Lewis, Samuel Monson, Miss Hannah Howley, Miss Nancy Wright, Mr, and Mi-s. Atwell, Miss Lyon Judson, Samuel B. Beardsiee, Dr. E. M. Beardsiee, Dr. R. Grey, and 3Iiss Wheeler. The elements of knowledge were thoroughly taught in these nni-series of intelligence and good morals. The schools of those days, though far iiderior in advant;igea, were wiju^leifully effective. "To the close of the hist century, and sonn-what into tliis, there were but few if any four-wheeled vehicles. Journeying and juLssing to and fro was performed on the saddle, — side-saddle antl pillion, — on horseback or on foot, or on the ox-sled and cart. "Then the conveniences for warming scliool-houses and churches as now enjoyed were unknown, the only stove being the small han<l fout- stove, some of wdiich, as curiosities, still exist in our miilst. Not long since, a stranger here iiiquireil of a fiieiid, ' What is that squiire tin tlung i[i a fiiMue that woman carries about in church V " Then there were but few roails and bridge^^ and means of conmnini- cation by travel or by letter. The celebrated Juilge Swift, of this State, then a meml>er td' ('ungress in Philadelphia, in his anxiety to hear from h<)nio by mail, the time being some three weeks, said, in a note to my father, tliat the best idea he ever hail of eternity was given him whilo waiting for the mail. "Then friends comitaratively neai' by i;icli i'tber were far apart, and a few miles from a tiver or shore settlement was like being in th<- distant « ildcriiess or on (u- beyond tho Rocky MiuintaiuR. "Well do I remember, tjuito within this century, when thought-s of the wilderness West, as in Centiul or Western New York and Ohio, wore full of dread and alarm. Then a sung, the churtis of which, as I remem- ber il, — " ' We'll travel tliPiugh the wild wood, We'll hunt thebuflalo. And we'll camp on the banks Of the pleasant Ohio,'— seemed like an utterance id' tlie ages to lonie. 432 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. " No legs (liBtinctly do I remeiiilwr the firet four-wheeled, one-h'trso wagon seen in Brulgepoit. I watt i|»ntf small, — not au high as the wheels, — Bay in I8I0. It attracted iw nmch attention as a locomotive haj« more recently. It was thought a wonder that the fore and litnd wheels would run in the same track, and that it could he turtied ahout without taking it to pieces. That wagon wtu* owned by Capt. George lloyt, the then cashier of the Bridgeport Bank. It was brt)ught, I heliovo, from some- where in the county near here." ST. PETEU'S CHURCH.* At the beginning of the j>re;ient century the parish of New Stratford (now Monroe I wa.-; incorporated witli the town of Hipton (now Jluntington), and for a long time these two organizations were .siibstiiiitially one, having the same reetor and a united intere.st. The earliest accounts of this parish are therefore much scattered and necessarily few, many of the records being in the adjoining town and mingled with other statistics, and later ones imperfectly kept or not kept at all. We have no means of knowing who composed the families and members of this church at its organiza- tion, and the first real intimation of its existence as a parish dates at the commencement of this present century. In an old number of the Churchman's Maga- zini', under date of September, 1S07, we find a pub- lished account of the con.secration of this church.