The Resseguie Family (Alexander Resseguie of Norwalk)

Abijah Resseguie, born in Ridgefield, Conn., March 26, 1791 ; died there April 16, 1887. aged ninety-six years. He mar- ried, Feb. 1, 1829, Anne Keeler, daughter of * Timothy and F.sther * "Squire Timothy Keeler was born in 1769, and died in 1815. He was a representative in the General Assembly, justice of the peace, and postmaster for many years." — S. G. Goodrich (Peter Parley). FOURTH GENERATION. gl (Kellogg) Keeler, of Ridgefield. She was born Nov. 9, 17S7, and died in Ridgefield Dec. 23, 1862. Mr. Resseguie was for many years the proprietor of the *; old Keeler tavern," which, under the management of his father-in-law, 'Squire Keeler, was widely famous as a hospitable hostelry. The old tavern sign was long since taken down, but it may not be uninteresting to quote a few brief lines from " Peter Parley's "Recollections of a Lifetime," in support of the reputation once accorded it : " He who wishes to eat with a relish that the Astor House, or Morley's, or the Grand Hotel de Louvre cannot give, should go to Ridgefield and put himself under the care of Mrs. Resseguie. When you go there — as go you must — do not forget to order ham and eggs, for thev are such as we ate in our childhood. As to blackberry and huckleberry pies, and similar good gifts, you will find them just such as our mother made fifty years ago, when these bounties of Providence were included in the prayer, ' Give us this day our daily bread,' and were a worthy answer to such a petition." A cannon-ball, shot by the British during the Revolutionary War, may still be seen firmly imbedded in the northeast corner post of the house. The following interesting and comprehensive account of Mr. Resseguie is taken from the Ridgefield Press: "The soul of the venerable and respected landlord, Abijah Resseguie, has left its earthly habitation and gone before. The fruit has fully ripened and is gathered into the storehouse. " Mr. Resseguie was a descendant of staunch old Huguenot stock, remarkable for longevity of life and sturdiness of manhood. In the bloody massacre of St. Bartholomew (1572) many of his ancestors perished. He was ninety-six years of age at the time of his death. Notwithstanding his old age, a week before he died, in a chat with a neighbor, he seemed to enjoy the witticisms and general conversation as much as he would have done in his younger days. He astonished his friends with his wonderful gift of memory. He could recall any important event in his own life or the general history of his country. " While men who live but half his ripe years become ' old-fogyish ' in their notions, Mr. Resseguie was always up with the times, and took deep interest in all current doings and events, local and general. He believed in progress, and was always watching as carefully the many improvements in ' old Ridge- field' as did his younger neighbors. "Mr. Resseguie was a man who never indulged in tobacco in any form ; he was not straight-laccd, by any means, in his manner of living, though he believed in temperance. He knew how to cater to the traveling public in the cuisine line, and he could enjoy a good dinner, too. He never exercised fanat- icism in matters which to him seemed right. He was far from being narrow 32 RESSEGUIE GENEALOGY. in his views, and, while enjoying discussion of a question, he would always concede the point when worsted. To sum up, — he was as much unlike the vast majority of elderly country people of our time as is day unlike night. He might have been called, with semblance of truth, a young man of progressive ideas in the guise of an elderly gentleman. "At an early age, Mr. Resseguie showed evidence of a mechanical bent of mind; and it was not a mistake when, in his fifteenth year, after having acquired a fair education, he was apprenticed to a carriage-maker, John Wat- rous, who lived in a cottage occupying the site of the present home of Mr. Charles Brown. His employer, perceiving inventive genius in the lad, soon made him a valuable assistant during their 'off hours,' in contriving labor- saving tools for the trade, and even in attempting to solve that most perplex- ing of all enigmas, perpetual motion. And here we might parenthetically state that Mr. Resseguie, from boyhood to the month of his death, studied with deep concern all the great inventions of the past century, — the steamboat, the locomotive, the electric telegraph, and, in Edison's time, the later wonderful achievements. When he visited the Brooklyn bridge three or four years ago, he stood on that mammoth structure for an hour examining into and inquiring about the principles of the cable road. At this time he visited the New York Stock Exchange, and expressed satisfaction in noting the many wonderful achievements in modern architecture. " After serving his apprenticeship, he continued to pursue his trade in the town of his birth, and for years he was the respected head of the firm of Res- seguie & Olmstead, doing a thriving carriage business. The firm shipped vehicles South and West, and supplied Orange County, N. Y., with hundreds of wagons of Ridgefield manufacture. " In the year 1S2S Mr. Resseguie began to realize that it was not good to live alone ; and, like thousands of his fellows, discovered the ' one ideal of his heart,' and Miss Anna, daughter of Landlord Keeler, — who 'kept tavern' in the very house in which our subject passed away — was led to the hymeneal altar. When Mr. Keeler died the hotel fell into the hands of Mr. Resseguie, and for sixty years our late venerable resident has been known as Landlord Resseguie. Mrs. Resseguie died in 1S62. "Mr. Resseguie never courted notoriety or prominence, and whatever official position he held was thrust upon him. Like all other respectable citizens of a country town, he was an available candidate for town offices, and filled several such positions during his earlier life. He was also elected to the General Assembly in 1S47, ar>d gave satisfaction to his constituents. In general politics he was conservative, but voted with the Whigs, and afterward with the Republicans. " Being a man of strict integrity, honor, and principle, Mr. Resseguie was a faithful adherent of his religious creed. He early connected himself with St. Stephen's Church, this village, and took active part in all that society's doings throughout the best years of his life. For twenty years he was a warden, fill- ing that office acceptably to within a year of his demise. " It was deeply interesting and exceedingly amusing to the neighbor and friend to listen to the aged landlord's anecdotes and incidents connected with his career, many of which give so true a picture of Ridgefield in earlier times. He FOURTH GENERATION. g~ remembered'distinctly to have heard the church bells toll on the day of Wash- ington's death. He was then only eight years of age. He was a witness of the last flogging which took place in Ridgefield — that barbarous punishment so repulsive to modern times ; and he often related how cruel was the scene of the whipping-post, and of the rejoicing of the people when that relic of bar- barism was abolished. " Words fail to give more than the slightest idea of the geniality and sunshine which hallowed the departed innkeeper^ existence. He never looked on the dark side. He was always ready to enjoy a witty storv, and as a storv-teller he was always popular on the long winter evenings, while the company of friends, with the quota of travelers, were gathered about the old-time fireplace with its crackling logs. There was no end to his humor. "To show how sturdy he was in his old age, it may not be amiss to state that he attended the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 1S76, and that, at eighty years of age, he tired out the younger members of his party sight seeing in Washington. "Within a few years he seemed deeply interested in the Mackay-Bennett cable, and interviewed even- caller whom he thought might have been posted on the subject. Mr. Resseguie is conceded by the fraternity to have been the oldest Free Mason in the country, he having joined the order in the year 1S12. Because of this fact he had acquired a national reputation. " The funeral of Mr. Resseguie was attended at his late residence on Tuesday, at 11 o'clock, a. M., Rev. W. W. Leete officiating. The house was filled with sympathizing friends, and the very few who remain to claim the closer tie of kinship with the deceased. Several beautiful floral designs were about the house, some of them presented by those who sojourn here during the summer. and who had learned, like the rest of us, to appreciate the cheerful presence of the one who has now gone from our village no more to return. The service, in keeping with Mr. Resseguie's taste and at his daughter's request, was sim- ple and brief. After reading from the Episcopal service to the end of the Scriptural selection, Mr. Lecte remarked somewhat as follows: "'I turn from the sustained dignity of this noble service of burial, which, in its lines, emphasize the solemn thoughts, of death, judgment, and the life to come, as also the sweeter comfort of Gospel hope, to speak but one word of the departed. As we take out from this ancient homestead the venerable form which has so long been a tenant here, it would seem strange to allow that word to remain unspoken. Your hearts are all occupied with it, and I would not divert them by mentioning something new. '"It is no ordinary life which has closed. When we reflect on the period through which that life has extended, we feel the force of this remark. His years almost covered the age of the constitution of this republic, his eves beholding the light of every presidential administration. He saw thrones tremble, and heard of "war and rumors of wars" on every continent. Agita- tions of thought and social reformations of the most extensive kind have affected the world since he took his place in it. The services and inventions which contribute now so n.aterialiy to the comforts of living have come to their perfection under his notice. No one was more desirous of understand- ing them or ready to acknowledge their merits than he. His life has thus run