History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

John Boiiton, or Bowton, was one of the first orijr- inal inhabitants of Norwalk. ilis name is found in Hutton's "History of Emigrants from IGOO to 1700." He, with about nine or ten otiiers of tlie first settlers of the town, thoujrh tliey eame from England, were French refugees. April, lOIio, at the age of twenty, he embarked from Gravcsend for the Massa- chusetts colony, in the ship '' Assurance," and landed in Boston the following December. He resided in Newtown and Watertown nearly sixteen years, and then went to Hartford ; thence to Norwalk. His an- cestors are authentically traced back to the latter i)art of the twelfth century. He was a lineal descendant of the Boutons of Chantilly, France, and a brother of Noel, born lOyO, who was the son of Nicholas, born 1598, who was a dcsceiulaut of Jean Bouton, whose name often appears in the French annals.* John Bouton was married when he came to Nor- walk, and was the father of Ivichard and Bridget Bou- Aoli. His wife died soon after his arrival here. His ^/fiecVmd wife was Abigail Marvin, daughter of Ma- thew, by whom he had at least five children, — viz. : John, Mathew, Rachel, Abigail, and Mary. His third wife was the Widow Stevens, whose first husband was killed in the "direful swam])-fight." By her he had two sons, — Richard an<l Thomas, Richard by the second wife being dead. John Bouton was made fri'eman in l(iii4. He was selectman in 1671, 1(;74, l(J7o, and lij70, and surveyor also in KiG'J. In 16SG he was elected one of a commit- tee to settle all differences between Fairfield and Nor- walk about the " head-lynes," and elected to rcju'e- sent the town in tlie General Assembly from 1071 to lfi83, and also in lOS.J. He was living in 170.'5 or 1704. He died at the age of about ninety. Thomas Betts' name first apjiears in the records of Norwalk in KJoG. Probably he iwrived here about 1651 or 1652. He was living in tUiiltbrtl in 1650. Without doubt he was a brother of John, whose name is also in the records of Guilford in 1648. At the date of settlement in this town the brothers had been in the colonies about twenty years, having arrived about 1636 or 1G37. There is a family tradition that they came from Buckingham, England. The late (}. W. Betts had a Bible said to have been owned by the family in England, brought here by Tliomas or .John. Thomas Betts was a repre<entative from Norwalk to the General Assembly in l(i!»2, 16!)4, 1704, 1705, and 1707. tie was an efficient member of the First Church, and his descendants have always been noted for their puritanical proclivities. His estate was set in the list of 1687 at one hundred and ninety-six pounds. * lie luJvanceil the liunors of liis hoii.so, anil wxs cieaterl Marquis of Chamilly and, 17li:!, marshal of Franco. Sue Dictionnaiie di'S G<m4icau\ Franfais, in the Astor Literary, city of New York. 32 Benedict, — the order of the Benedicts, or benedic- tion, a blessing. Thomas Benedict, iir., was a lineal descendant of'WiUiam Benedict, who resiiled in Not- tingham, England, in the year 1500. Thomas Bene- dict, of Norwalk, of the fourth generation, from Wil- liam, was also born in Nottingham in 1617. He emigrated to New England at the age of twenty-one, and settled in Massachusetts. From thence lie re- moved to Southliold, L. I. In 1()65, Thomas Bene- dict and family crossed Long Island 8ound and settled in Norwalk. He was thrice chosen town clerk, and for several years selectman. He represented his adopted town in the colonial Legislature in 1670 and 1675. Ho was elected .deacon of "ye Prime iSociety" of Norwalk. Thomas Benedict, Sr., of Norwalk, is the progenitor of the numerous family of that name in this country. He died in 1600, aged seventy-three ; his widow lived to the age of one linndred and six. Francis Bushuell was a carpenter. At the age of twenty-si.x he left England in the ship " Planter," for New England with his wife, aged twenty-six, and one child, aged one year, April 4, 16;j5. He carried with him to the port from whence he .sailed a certificate that he was no " subsedy man." In 1G5.'! he arrived in Norwalk. Oct. 12, 1675, he married Hannah Ley- man, daughter of Thinuas, for his second wife, by whom he had at least two children, — viz., Hannah and Mary. His estate in 1693 was nominal. He seems not to have been a member of the church, and never held office. INIatthew t'anfield, or t'anipfield, was in New Haven in 1646. His name is not in the history of emigrants, nor is it known at what date he came to North Amer- ica. Proljably he did not arrive until 164.3 or 1644. He was a magistrate and judge in Hartford, and a l)roiiiinent man in all official business. He was one of the signers of a petition to King Charles 11. of England for the colony. In 1662 he was appointed one of three to hold courts in Fairfield. He was made a citizen of Norwalk in l(i54, and elected a deputy in 1654-56, assistant in 1658-63, deputy in 16G4, and deputy commi.ssioner. He removed from Norwalk to New Jersey in 1669. Christopher Comstock was a resident of Fairfield, about ten years after the settlement of Norwalk. Probably he came from Hartford to Fairfield, though it is evident that he was not one of the colony why founded that si'ttlement. It is not now known when he arrived in America, or where he resided in old England. He probably, on his way from Boston or its vicinity, tarried a short time in the Hartford colony to prospect. From thence he proceeded to Fairfield, and after spending a few years in that town removed to Norwalk, for on Jan. 27, 16G1, Christopher Comstock, then living in tlu^ former place, bought of "Thomas Betts land laid out to said Bettri or belong- ing to the accommodation of Nathaniel Ely." Later, in 16G3, he marrii^l Hannah, daughter of Richard Piatt, of the town of Mllford bv whom he had six 490 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. I children. In 1673 his estatp was rated at one hundred and forty-six ])oiin<ls and in KiitO at two lunidrod and one jjounds. He was approved of to " Ivcpe an ordi- nary for the entertaining of strangers." He was a sergeant of the town militia, was of puritanic stock, and his descendants have ever been noted for their attaelinicnt to the religious principles of their ances- tors. He died Dec. 28, 17(12. John Crompton was also one of those who came to Norwalk after the settlement of the town. He came to America from England between 1623 and 1638. He came lierc about 1655 or 1(556, and married Sarah Kockwell, of Stamford, Oct. 8, 1676. by whom he had three children, viz., Sarah, Abigail, and .John, born Jan. 7, 1682. In 1679 he was voted three acres of land " because he was a souldier in the late Indian war." He was the owner of but a small property. He never held office in the town. Joseph Fenn came to Norwalk probably in 16.54 or 16.55. JIarcli 27, 1665, in "town-meeting it was voted unt<) Mstr Ffenn that home-lot lyine by Will Eascoe's home-lot, which Tiionias Belts hath resigned up." Joseph probably was a brother of Richard, who was living "over the river at ye Plantacion .ag't Jame.s Cittie," Virginia. Several emigrants named Ely came to the British colonies as early as 1()22. In the parish record of "St. Michael's, Barbadoes," appear the names of James Ely and wife, with tiiree children and thirteen slaves. February, 1623, Walter Ely was living in Vir- ginia. The ])arish muster shows that he and wife settled there in 1622. One Eelie, aged fourteen, came to Virginia, which then included New England, in the " Primrose," having been examined as to his " conformitie to the Church of England." The name in the records is also spelt Ella, Eeles. All of them embarked at Gravcsend, England, and were doubtless all branches of the same family. It hius been thought that Nntlianiel Ely was an offspring of one of the families named, and that he was born in America. But this is a mistake, for Nathaniel did not emigrate to this country until 1635, while the other persons of the name arrived in the colonies from ten to fifteen years prior to the latter date. Nathaniel Ely's name first appears in the colonial rccorils of New I'ligland as a resident of Hartford in ■16.35. He landed in Boston, probably late in the fall of that year, and went directly to Hartlbrd, where he remained about sixteen years, and was constable in 1630. From thence he removed to Norwalk in 1650, having been one of the fourteen persons who agreed with Rodger Ludlow for the "settlement and jilan- tinge" of the town, the agreement being dated .Tune 19, 16.50. He removed from Norwalk to Springfield, Ma-ss., .iboufl660. His estate was set in the tax-list at two hundred and ninety-three pounds, — no mean sum for those times.* ■ Tliomiv* Fitch i>robably came to America with his brothers Joseph and James, who crossed the ocean in ! the ship " Defense," which sailed from the port of London, England, in July, 16.'!5. Although his name docs not appear in the list of emigrants with those of Joseph and James, it is conjectured that he came to the colonies, as others did, under an .assumed name. He was a follower of Cromwell in the civil war against Charles I., and after the accession of Charles II. was proscribed for his disloyalty towards his government. Dr. Nathaniel Bouton .says Thomas was a younger brother of Joseph and James, but it is a mistake. Joseph was the youngest of the three brothers. His name is set in the register as being only fourteen when he embarked for North America. Joseph set- tled in Widson, and James (the minister) was pastor of the church in Saybrook, and alterwards was settled over the church in Norwich. There were a numerous family of the Fitches, or Fittz, in Buching and vicinity, Essex Co., England. Five or six of the name emigrated to James City, Va., j as early as 1618 or 1620. Thomas Fitch was not among the first settlers of Norwalk. He was made freeman in 1657, in 16oy I selectman, and town-clerk or recorder of lands in I 1656. He represented the town in the General ,\s- ' sembly but once before he was seventy, after which age he served in 172(>, 1727, 17251, and 17.30. He was the largest tax-payer in the town in 1673. His estate