History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

down his face. As he went slowly ilown the street he reasoned with himself. Worldly ease and ambition tempted him to frive up and yield to the entreaties and try to helieve that the slave was hi'tter otV as he was than he would he to he a " free ni^'fjer." I'lit a (/w)(/ spirit said, "How about the Mrohlen Rule?' ean a slaveholder be doing what, and as he would that, others shouhl do unto him? and John Wesley says, ■ Ameriean slavery is tlu' sum of all a iUauies,' and I hrlicvr it! I irill hi' nn abolitionist and aeeejit the eonsequenees. Thank (lod for tliis di-eision ! / Lninr I am right." And from that moment there was never anything that eouhl amount to a temptation to turn baek. All that was ])ropliesied came upon him, i and mure; but all the trials and ditlieiilties were or- dained for good, as is promised to them that are faith- ful to frod and humanity and a good eonseienee, and now this chapter of his experience in life is regarded and cherished as the brightest, and crowded with pleasant memories. < )f eoin-se, as may Ije inferre(l, from tin- time of his cojiversion he voted as he prayeil and talked and wrote. He acted with the poor, despised " Liberty party" famities until the organizatio]i of the " Free Soil" party, then with them until the organization of the llepublicaii party, wdio.se grand and glorious mis- sion was to first stop the spread, then strangle, and finally, with Hashing sabn> and glittering bayonets and thundering cannon, in the hands of a million "Boys in Blue," stamp out for aye and evermore the American system and "sum of all villanies." With this party he stood from tlie first, and stands to-day with " malice towards none and charity towards all." In bS8() he united with the IMethodist Ejdscopal Church, where he still worships. Creed and pro- fe.ssions he regards much less than the every-day walk and conversation, and, while reverencing the Bible, he has no fears that it will be sacrilegious to have the (dd one revised and corrected, fully believing that we have as good and learned men as they had two hundred years or more ago, that are cai>able of revising it in the interests of truth, righteousness, and revelation. He has no anxiety either about what science has al- ready developed, or will develop, in reference to the truth of what is esteemed Bible teachings, for wherein I truth is really found God will be (bund also, ami He i can be trusted to take care of His own. From his earliest recollections he has been (bnd of I reading, and in his sixteenth year stdiscrihed for Mr. Greeley's New Yorker, a weekly literary paper, whi(di, he insists, he has never seen excelled. He continueil ' that until its publication w;is suspende(l. He has ' been a constant reader of the Trihiine from its start, has taken the daily regularly for twenty-eight years, aud considers himself under ol)ligations to Horace \ Greeley for more and better sound common-sense in- ' ■ struetion in morality, social as well as political, tlian all other persons or sources combined. In addition to the popular magazines and other monthly issues, he averages, besides the I)/iihj Tribiine, at least one weekly every day, Sunday included, and has one of the largest, if not the largest jirivate library of miscellaneous books in the town. His farm, whicli, when he came into possession, had been without a proptM- head for seventec-n years, and had become almost a waste, ha-s been cleared up, drained and fenced, buildings renovated and ad<le<l to, until it has become one of the best farms in tlie vicin- ity, and is now an un]iretending I.iut comfortable a:iil dcliglitfnl country home. He was re-eleetcil to the Legislature in 188(1. C.\bEI? .«. BENEDICT. The Benedicts are of English descent, and came to tills country at a very early day, settling in Norwalk, Conn. The great-grandfather of Caleb 8. Benedict, also named Caleb, was one of the earlit^4 settlers of New Canaan. He died in ]"<!], at the age of fifty-two. An arm-chair used by him Ts in the possession of the family. .lames Benedict, one of his sons, died at the age of ninety-five. He was the founder of the shoe business in New Canaan. His youngest son, Caleb), was the first to liegin the nianufacture of peg shoes in tliat place, having bought the right to do so from parties in New York. His was a town-riglit, which jiermitteil him to manufacture in New Canaan only. He from a small beginning manufactured quite extensividy at last, probably to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars per annum. He was married at about the age of twenty to Miss Ellis, daughter of Hezekiah St. .Toliii, of New Canaan. There were filteen children, of whom (_'aleb S. was the eldest son. He was born in New Canaan, Oct. 28, 1808, and was reared to the trade of his fathers, working in his father's establishment until his mar- riage, Nov. 0, 182G, to Miss Hannah E., eldest daugh- ter of Deacon William and Polly (Mills) Crissey, of New Canaan, when he engaged in business on his own account. The children of the la.st-recordeil mar- riage have been eleven in number, of whom eight are living, — namely : Harriet E., now Mrs. H. D. I^oek- wood, of Stamford; Mary .1., now Mrs. William E. Hustcd ; ,Iose]ili I. ; Junius C. S., Jr. ; Polly M., now Mrs. fieorge Kellogg, of Ocean Grove ; Theodore W. ; and Henry G. The three decea-sed are Harriet E., William C, killed in battle of Murfreesboro', and Ed- ward 8. Three years since, Mr. and Mrs. Benedict eclel>rated their golden wedding, at which there were |)rcsent ninety-nine guests, the major part of whom were their descentlants. The life of Mr. Beniclict has been one of active business; considerable of his time has been given to the interests of the public, having at various times held almost all of the town offices. In IsCiJ he was 450 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. elected to the Legislature, representing his town again 1 in that body in 1872. The manufacture of the establishment with which Mr. Benedict is connected does not exceed thirty ' thonsand doUar.i per annum. Associated in business with him are several of his sons. EBEN'EZER .1. RICIIAUDo. The Richards are of Welsh e.vtraction, and trace their descent in this country from Samuel Richards, who w!is one of tiie original settlers in Norwalk, and who was great-grandfather to the subject of our sketch. James Richards settled in New Canaan some years before the Revolution. One of his children, Jesse, youngest but one of a large family, was married to Miss Lydia, daugliter of Jesse and Ly<lia Hickok, of New Canaan. His children were six by his first wife; his second marriage was to Clarissa, daughter of Judge Ebenczer Lockwood, of Westchester, N. Y. Elienczcr J. Richards was the only child of this second marriage, and was born April H, 181(i, in New Canaan. His opportunities for acquiring an educa- tion were such as are afforded by the common school, with one term at a higher institution of learning in New York City. Possessing talents wliich would have enabled him to reach success in professional life, lie has clung to the calling of liis father, that of farming, from choice, believing tiuit to bo a business requiring quite as high order of talent to prosecute successfully as the learned professions. Mr. Richards enjoys the reputation of a successful farmer. Ebenezer .J. Richards was married somewhat late in life to Miss Julia M., youngest daughter of Han- ford and Mabel (Fitdi) Carter, of New Canaan. Mr. Carter was a man of more tlian ordinary talent and force of character, and rei)resented his town a number of times in the Legislature, and was for many years one of its selectmen. E. J. Ricliards has liilcd many town offices, and in 18G3 represented his town in the Legislature of his State. AVILLI.\.M KDt;.\ll U.VV.MOND. AVilliam Edgar Raymond, third son of Samuel Ray- mond, wius born in the city of New York in 1821. His grandfather, William Raymond, moved into tlie parish of Canaan aliout the year 178.>, from Norwalk, settling on a suuill tract of land in the ejtstern i)art of the township, wlierc lie built a house in whicii he lived and died, lie was a descendant of one of three brothers who immigrated to this country from France in the early settlement of the colony of Connecticut. Two of the brothera#«ccording to tradition, settled in New I^>ndon, the third in Norwalk. William Ray- mond was a soldier Ln the French-Canadian war, and his discharge and receipt arc on file in the comptrol- ler's office at Hartford. He came into the |)arish ( f Canaan a cripple, from wounds received in battle, and was comparatively a poor man, but he reared quite a large family of children, — sons and daughters, — all of whom, with the exception of the youngest son, Samuel, went to other States and settled, and their numerous descendants have made honored uame-s for themselves and families. Samuel Raymond early saw his situation, — that his father's few acres of rough laud would not give him a living, — and prevailed on his father to allow him to do something for himself. On the rocky farm of one Matthi.as St. John, young Samuel began the real batth' of life, remaining with him until he w;i3 bound out tu learn the trade of shoemaker. Mr. St. John after- wards married his oldest sister. At the age of twenty Samuel purcha-cd his time and went to Walton, Del- aware Co., N. Y. Here he remained one year, and returned to his native town and commenced the man- ufacture of shoes, in which he was moderately su:;- cessful. In 1808 he was married to Polly, daughter of Jacob Selleck, a well-to-do farmer of New Canaan. Jacob S3lleck became the purch:ucr of "the Shaker Farm" when that society sold out and removed to Lebanon, N. Y. It is now owned by the sons of the late C'apt. Stephen Hoyt. The children of Samuel were Char- lotte, Cliarles, Thomas, and William E.