Norwalk

Asa E. Smith and Ann M. Brown (daughter of Jedediah and Rebecca Brown) married, Sept. 11. 1*23. had, Amanda (died young); Amanda G. (Mrs. W. T Smith): Theodore E. ; Asa; Louisa C. ( died young t ; Anna L. (died young); Josephine F. (died young) : Elbert W. : Howard II.; Harriet G. (died young) Anna Frances (Mrs. Thos. I.. Peck). Henry W Smith married Feb. 29, 1824, Elizabeth, born Oct. 2S, 1805, daughter of Stephen and Rachel B. (Hickok) Camp, and had Caroline Ellen, born Jan. 30, 1825 (Mrs. William Curtice Hinman first, and sec- ond, Mrs. Lawrence Proudfoot Mott); Elizabeth Camp, born Nov. 26, 1826 (Mrs. Ctirtiss Rood, first, and second, Mr-. David M. Piatt): Stephen Ilenrv, born Aug. 29, 1828 died June 4, 1896; Emily, horn Oct. it, 1830'died voting): France^ Marion, horn Dec. 3<54 NORWALK. Eunice, daughter of Noah Smith,'"- married, Mar. i. 17S7. Samuel,' son of Esaias Bouton, and her sister Betsy married, Feb. 14, 1792, Absalom Day2 born May 15, 1770. Noah and Eunice Smith had also a son Charles and daughter Jane (Mrs. Hoytt. Mrs. Noah Smith18'- married, second, Samuel Pearsall of Fairfield. 30, 1N32; Margaret Ceiina, born Aug. 9, 1834 (Mrs. Benj. Franklin Morgan); Harriet E roily, born June 13, 1836 (Mrs. Alfred Jackson); Sarah, born Apr. 21, 1840 (died young) ; Homer Burr, born Jan. 12, 1843 (died young); Irene Louisa, born Sept. 3, 1846 (Mrs. Ruflts A. Fillow). Doctor S. Smith married, Sept. 9, 1S29, |nlia Ann Riley of Troy, N . Y . , and had Maria E., Rui'us R., Isabella, Sydney S., Riley, Julia, Charles, Lizzie. George E. Smith married, Jan. 23. 1N27, Marv E. Hoyt, and had George \V. ; Jam- E. : Sydney : Edgar; William; Henry. Ward H. Smith married, May 8, 1836, Maria Heedier, and had Agnes ; Thomas II. ; Jefferson ; Wal- lace B. : Theodore; Francis; Purvis. Eliza Jane Smith married, May 9, 1832. George W.. son of Joseph St. John, and had Charles F. ; Theo- dore E. ; Ferdinand R. ; Homer S ; I.e Grand S. ; Herman M. 'The children of Samuel and Eunice (Smith ) Bou- ton were Pha-I.c, horn Mcli. 14, 1788 (Mr*. Ira Ford) ; Abbie, born July 24, 1790 (Mr<. Walter Hoyt); Han- nah Smith, born Dec. 4, 1792 (Mrs. Aaron Gregory Hoyt); Esaias, horn July is, 1796; Mary Ann (un- married). Hannah Smith Bouton married, Jan. 14, 1809, Aa- ron Gregory, horn Sept. 2, 17S4, son of John and Ruth (Gregory) Hoyt and brother of Susan (Mrs. Matthew Wilcox). Samuel Bouton, son of Esaias and Phoebe, and father. of Hannah Smith Bouton (Mrs. Aaron G. Ilovt), lived first, it seems, at the head of "Witch Lane ", and opposite the small Bouton burial enclosure thereat. Here his children were, probably, brought up. lie afterwards removed to the old Middlesex road, beyond Flax Hill (Weal Street, South Norwalk, 1S96). Hannah S., after her marriage, lived on what » few years .j„ce, lh(. N(.„. york n()|v Trhrf Home on Roton Hill. She was a noma,, of energy even in later life. At the age of SeventT she herself •Ahsttluni Dnv.x now stands the It. Vt ..u-r Streets, South « ell ", a spring from early nnnie. Mr. Day Mar, ill Br,.-, new P. . I the garden Alger hi.in- ) ami founded Mil- eiulv hi. -1.11 Edward. VVc.i tin the north - c api. Na-h, « brother resided Sutluoiiel and 1 earthenware manufacturer. lived where ran Hlock.s. W. cor. of Washington and Norwalk, near whirl, home n, '■ ve olde vhich modern s„„t)i Norwalk derived it. ■- garden extended well toward, the 1 1S0S, II, luiildinjc Wn.hin^io,, Street. \Ve.,t ion K. Beard built (later the T. |.. Peek a Mth.iantial and inliitenlial f„m|v. |le to the -ightlv ere-, where now reside, •1 the Beards stood (be Chichester hou.e. the -treet. near the SrUiufl office lived of t .,pt. Daniel K. K»-t of (japt Na.h Itavmond. t he habitation cut down a tree on her premist-s. The children, of Aaron G. and Hannah S. 1 loy t were Mary Esther ( Mrs. Geo. \V Jennings); Emily Bouton; Harriet Amelia (Mrs. James M. Hoyt); Ira Ford; Walter Gritting. Ira Ford, son of Aaron G. and Hannah S. Ilovt, married Nov. 27, 1845, Maty Bell of N. J. and lived in the finely shaded home on Roton Hill, a few rod* south of his father's home. I lis children were Frances Elizabeth; Oliver Perry; Samuel Wixou; Marv Es- ther; Ira Mortimer; William Griffing; Annie Jose- phine; Edward Everett; Ilarrv llulibell and Dudley Ely. s'l'hechildren of Absalom Day" (of Chatham, N.J. later of Norwalk), were; Susanna (Mrs. Chas. Saun- ders), horn Dec. I, 1793; Absalom George, born Sept. 16, 1796 (married, Oct. 25, 18:8. Marv Ann, daughter of James and Esther (Camp) Fitch); Noah Smith, born Sept. 27, 1798 (married, first, Elizabeth Chap- man, and second, Elizabeth Price); Amanda, born Mar. 29, 1801 (married, first, John Smith, and second. Chas. Peck); Eliza (Mrs. William Raymond I lazlitt), born -Nov. 25, 1803; Mary (Mrs. Eli Reed), born Feb. It, 1S06; Jane""-, born Oct. to, 1808 (died young) ; Chas., born Apr. 22, 1810 (married Mary daughter of Nathan and Esther (St. John) Beers); Ward Smith, born May T2, 1812 (died unmarried at the age of twenty-three); Jane"1', born Apr. 6, 1815 (died unmarried) ; Caroline (Mrs. Jesse Searles) born July 5, 1818. Absalom George and Mary Ann (Fitch) Day had eleven children, the second of whom, Burwell Fitch11* born Apr. I, 1821 is the 1896 occupant of the new East Avenue Day premises a little north of the old "Oyster Shell Point" path. Mr. Burwell F. Davis'- married, March 4. 1S51, Clarissa Ann, daughter of Capt. Francis and Nancy (Fitch) Ilovt, and had, 1 fal- ser; Ella Hoyt; Burwell Fitch=d. ; N ancy Fitch ; Mary Anne. Mis. Burwell F. Day'-t. (Clari«su Ann Hoyt) is a grand-daughter of Josiah Hanford Fitch the children of the Raymonds (gr.-uncle and aunt to Maj.-tien. AY. T. sher man), may be seen to-day. The building, now dilapidated, con- trasts strangely with its neighboring pretentious business struc- ture.., nevertheless, neatness, cosiness and comfort there, dnubo less, had a seat when the .i'Mier-i allver (twenty-two veal', obi when the Kevnlutioit broke out) did patriot duty. Nest east of Nathaniel Raymond wa. the .till existing {Becker in 18961 Geo. Day home. Cornelius V.nderbilt and the Pecks wharfed their boat, at the Day dock, where Wood in quantities wa. stored for steamer use. It is an additional memory of days agnne that, at the south end of the old Commodore Vanderbilt pier, shad (once to the number of thirtv-.iv , were occa-ionall y seine-snared. X ORWALK. HOME-LOT XXX. THOMAS liEN EDICT. Norwalk had fifteen years history behind it when, selecting the colony of Conn, for his future residence, Thomas Benedict, Sr., left Long Island, and, accompanied by his wife Man', and sons John, Samuel, James and Daniel, and daughters Betty, Man-, Sarah and Rebecca, came, in 1665, to the new settlement. His first-born, Thomas 2d-, who had recently married into a Norwalk family, soon appears upon the scene. Although about all the available "home division" lots had, at the Benedict coming, been appropriated, still was there, at the southwest of the "parade ground", and on the other side of the street, a small undisposed-of tract, which, lying along the " Fayerfielde road", and in a good neighborhood, Mr. Benedict pitched upon, having evidently prevailed upon the ad- joining proprietors (Thos. Hanford on the east, Richard Holmes on the south and John Bouton on the west) to surrender portions of their own properties (two acres in all) suffi- cient to afford himself the average size " four acre " homestead. Here was, unquestionably, built the first Benedict dwelling, within which was housed a family circle, the members of which were a contribution to the substance, sense and strength of the growing plantation. Grants in diverse sections of the township were made to Thomas Benedict, Sr., to whom the honors of public office were continuously offered until, after his quarter-century's Xor- walk life he was gathered, in 1689-90, to his fathers. Thomas Benedict**1-, oldest son of Thomas'5'-, who had by about one year preceded his father to the tomb, left five daughters, but only one son, Thomas31'-, whose destiny it was to perpetuate the Thomas Benedict line. Thomas *d\ who in 1665 or '66, brought hither his bride (Mary, daughter of Andrew Messenger of Jamaica, L. I., and afterward of Norwalk) bought, in 1669, the " Fenn " homestead, which bordered the " coaste banke" in the rear of the present upper Osborn Avenue. The head of this home, like his parent, served the public. He was a surveyor, and himself and father-in-law (Andrew Messenger) were heavy •■ commonage " proprietors. He lived to see his only son, Thomas3"5-, reach almost to man's estate, but not long enough to be present when said son married, on May 13, 1697, Rachel, daughter of Samuel Smith and grand-daughter of Matthew Marvin, Sr. This Thomas3*1-, known as "Ensign" Thomas Benedict, was a surveyor also, and for several terms Selectman. He lost his first wife in 1737, and married, second, a Knapp of Danbury, by whom there was no issue. The second child of Thomas 3d- and Rachel Benedict, Thomas4"1-, born Oct. 29, I/OI, married, May 21, 1725, Deborah, daughter of Jonathan Waters of Long Island. Thomas*111- was the builder of the to-day remembered West Avenue Benedict house which stood in that part of the large meadow through which the present Maple Street has been laid out, and which was the contemplated site, twenty of which Josiah H. Fitch were Lucretia (Mrs. Sam- uel Dascam); Jonathan; Theodicia (died young); Nancy (Mrs. Francis Hoyt); Lewis (of New Haven); llsnfiml (died a lad); William (of Michigan); Mat}' (Mrs. Jonas Piatt Conklin) ; George (of New Haven) ; Horace (married a daughter of Eseck Kellogg of Norwalk and resided in New Haven). Descendant- of Lucretia and Nancy are Norwalk citizens to-day. 366 NORW A LK.